Gas Prices Up?

So gas prices are going up again? Just in time for Memorial Day and the summer vacation season. Who is surprised?

Anyone?

Really, anyone?

What are they going to blame it on this time? John and Kate Plus 8 and their extramarital affairs? Maybe it's the AIG bailout. No, no, it's the price of corn. No, wait, it's Miss California's hatred of gay marriage. No, it's the gays themselves! Maybe it's Elizabeth Edwards' new book. Probably it's Bill Clinton. At the very least they can blame the Socialist/Democrat Black Dude in the White House.

Because, after all, we all know it's not plain old GREED.

End our dependence on oil.

I just heard about the Pickens Plan.
This is a former oil man who recognizes the energy crisis inherent in oil dependence. He is pushing a plan to replace about 1/3 of our oil usage with natural gas, and pushing to replace 1/3 of our electricity generation with wind. He doesn't go as far as I'd like, but it's a start. Go to The Pickens Plan and tell me what you think.

Should I buy this bike??

I really want a bike - something that works with my extremely short frame and arthritic wrists. I think this Schwinn Cruiser might be the ticket. I could ride it to work, to the pool, etc. and it would fit my fat a$$, my short arms, and my numb hands. It's available at Target for $129, or I could get a "nicer" brand at a local bike shop for $249. Either way I'm buying a groovy set of back baskets or a front wicker variety. There are a couple of used cruisers on Craig's list but the current owners are about an hour away.

What is your vote??

Of course, if the oil companies and speculators weren't so greedy I could afford gas and could therefore keep my lazy butt in my minivan where there is air conditioning and cloth seats. Then again, I wouldn't have such a lazy fat behind if I rode a bike more often.

A Ray of Hope in this Recession

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Jorge Fernandez strolls across the used-car parking lot littered with dozens upon dozens of sport utility vehicles the size of small tugboats.
SUVs like these are having a tough time selling with gas prices at all-time highs. With gas at $4 a gallon, many have sat there since last summer.
"The cars are literally just sitting, and it doesn't matter how much you sell them for," Fernandez says of the SUVs and trucks nobody wants anymore.Fernandez, a wholesale auto dealer who has been in the business for more than 20 years, says SUV owners are hit especially hard. The really large ones with V-8 engines that can get as little as 12 miles per gallon in the city -- like the Cadillac Escalade, Ford Expedition and Chevy Suburban -- are dropping in value by the thousands.

I say it's an ill wind that blows no good. This is one happy piece of news coming out of this recession. SUV's are the highest level of conspicuous consumption. To have them disappear would be cause for celebration. Hope they take the Hummer with them.

Enough Already!

I'm casting my vote right now for a nation-wide primary in July, followed by 3 months of campaigning before the November election. I'm just sick to death of this drawn out presidential race. I remain a John Edwards supporter, but we can't always get what we want. Barack Obama is now my choice, but frankly I'd be glad to get ANY Democrat into the Oval Office after The Idiot and his minions.

More bullsh$t about gas prices

Our good friend MG turned me on to this video from the Colbert Report. Damn funny, and really, really sad.

How do we show our outrage?

I'm just mad as hell and don't know what to do about it. Is anyone else over the top angry that the big oil companies are raking in record profits on our backs? Guess it's not enough that we're in a recession, but now we have to shell out more bucks for gas, and consequently food, so that Exxon, BP, and others can pack their wallets. Where is our government protection? Where is the justice? Where is the corporate control? WHERE IS THE AMERICAN OUTRAGE?