$5 Gallon of Gas

Gasoline.

$5.00 per gallon pretty soon.

Disaster.

Or, maybe not. Perhaps (after the inevitable American way of stubbornly holding onto our right to drive the biggest gas guzzling machine possible) we will have to give in to price. If we do, we might see the following:

• Less dependency on other countries
• Smaller cars
• Less air pollution
• Easier driving
• Car pooling
• Easier parking
• Better use of mass transit (Ala NY, D.C., Chicago, etc.)

To me, the most reasonable course of action is to quit subsidizing the oil industry and subsidize fully the Hybrid model for the next 10 years or so while we figure out how to get away from oil without crippling our economy. It can be done. We need leadership AND guts from the next President, the next Congress, and the scientific community.

As citizens we cannot bitch about the oil company profits while our 401-k dollars are funding oil companies. We are nearly as guilty as individual investors. We must demand of our public officials, scientists (especially those on the public dole), and ourselves that we get away from oil and gasoline and learn to conserve and use alternative fuels.

P.s. It is not reasonable, apparently, to use corn as the basis of the alternative fuel. Too bad, but we are running up the cost of food, tearing down rain forests, killing other countries and gaining nothing in the way of cost containment or pollution or ozone control.

Hillary & John love Rev. Jeremiah NUT JOB

Barack Obama has a critical problem, namely:

Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

The man is a nut job and clearly does not want to see Senator Obama elected President of the U.S. of A.

I wonder if all other Reverends of Black churches know that he represents all Black churches? He said that attacks on him are basically an attack against all Black churches in America.

Like all public figures (which he has become), he is frustrated that his body of work has been reduced to sound bites. I actually understand this stance because I despise that the media expects us to make decisions based on sound bites.

However, in this case, the sound bites are pretty awful and instead of explaining himself or even defending himself, Rev. Wright tried to turn this into a White attacking Black issue. What a completely unreasonable and idiotic stance.

Hillary and John love the Rev. Jeremiah Wright!

Republicans Need to Laugh At Themselves Too!

In an earlier post I stated people need to be able to laugh at themselves. Unfortunately the below isn't really funny because it has some basis in truth. This is the type of stuff that makes me (card carrying member of the Republican party - literally) crazy. (No, I didn't think these up myself - I cut and paste and I didn't include all that were presented.)

TO BE A REPUBLICAN YOU NEED TO BELIEVE:

• Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's Daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion. LOL
• Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony. LOL
• Woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational drug corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation. LOL
• The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay. LOL
• If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex. LOL
• Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. HMO's and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart. LOL
• Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools. LOL
• A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy. LOL
• Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet. LOL
• Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery. LOL Squared.

Fellow Republicans it is time to laugh at ourselves, then cry, and then look for some real leadership that will put the party back on the proper track instead of barking about the Dems and supporting whatever Bush and Bush wanna-be the party leadership puts in front of us.

What? Are you kidding?

My 17 year old son will be 18 prior to the general election in November. Today he went online to register to vote in Arizona. The first question on the first screen?

Would you like to register in English or Spanish.

Are you kidding me?

Totally unreasonable. Completely UNREASONABLE!

Ben Franklin Rocks

As is my usual habit, I must admit there is not an original thought here - I just found it comforting for a variety of reasons. Enjoy!

"To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine and those who don't. As Ben Franklin said:

In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria. In a number of carefully controlled trials scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichiacoli, (E. coli) -bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop. However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila,rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting. Remember: Water = Poop, Wine = Health. Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit. There is no need to thank me for this valuable information: I'm doing it as a public service."

Totally Reasonable!

Life Lessons

I read in Time magazine about professor Randy Pausch who gave a great lecture at Carnegie-Mellon University- his last since he is dying of cancer. For anyone who attended a university, you remember sitting through painfully boring lectures that you were sure would never end.

Hopefully you had a professor or two that delivered much more robust lectures. For me, Leroy Asbury was the history professor at Washington State University that was a fabulous lecturer. On the last day of class, the class size would double as other faculty and students would show up for his campus-famous lectures.

Well this lecture is one of those types. The intro is a bit long and the whole thing last about 1 hour 20 minutes so plan accordingly. (I was able to skip ahead past the two people doing intros - about 8 minutes in.) But, if you want to hear a man deliver a lecture with humor, humility, and inspiration, it is a well spent hour and 20 minutes. Copy the link below.

mms://wms.andrew.cmu.edu/001/pausch.wmv

NAFTA

In Pennsylvania a very reasonable thing happened the other day:

Hillary Clinton admitted that her husband made a mistake with NAFTA.

Pandering to voters? Paying Bill back for his philandering?

Who knows and I don't care. Bottom line - Ross Perot predicted the "giant sucking sound" and it has come to pass. We need the manufacturing jobs in America - period. Fix it or kill it before NAFTA destroys America.

America's Toughest Sheriff

In Arizona, Maricopa County specifically, we have "America's Toughest Sheriff." He was dubbed this years ago by the media - I am sure they meant it in some negative way.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is easily the most popular politician in AZ - not even John McCain can rival Joe. The media absolutely despises Joe despite his immense popularity with the voting public. Apparently the liberal press in America's 5th largest city knows better than us mere plebes.

Currently Joe and his posses are sweeping up the illegal immigrants. These laws have been in place for a long time and Joe wasn't all that hopped up on enforcing them. Then immigration was ignored by congress, the people of AZ (and elsewhere) got ticked and Joe Arpaio stepped in to take up the slack. A little late to the game, but joining none-the-less.

Predictably illegal immigrant groups, the ACLU, and the liberal press, etc. are upset with this "racial profiling." They apparently are not upset with illegal immigrants that kill/rob/rape our citizens, but they are upset when the Toughest Sheriff rounds them up and locks them up or turns them over to the Immigration Department.

I am not in favor of every person of color being pulled over and arrested. Nor is that likely to happen. If they are illegally here, they should not be treated like a small fish - caught and released.

People in other parts of the country comment on how they wish they had a no-nonsense Sheriff like Joe. They hear about the pink underwear, chain gangs, tent city, etc. They should desire such a tough sheriff and we should be happy to have America's Toughest Sheriff.

That is only reasonable.

You Gotta Be Able to Laugh!

In unreasonable times you have to be able to laugh at yourself. Have a chuckle Dems.

China and the Olympics

Some time back the world started having this series of celebrations related to the Olympic Torch. Actually pretty cool thing really. Of course the whole ceremony has gone to hell because of protests and calls for boycotts.

The Chinese government (communist country running a huge capitalist society) has a woeful record in the area of human rights. This is not news to anyone - think Tiananman Square in 1989. Despite this, the IOC saw fit to award the Olympic games to China. Totally unreasonable.

So, the commies are involved with atrocities in Tibet (Dalai Lama land) and support of the ridiculousness in Darfur. They are bad people running a huge country with huge resources and huge designs on global economic power.

Now people are upset (reasonably) and calling for boycotts of the games and protesting in a sometimes violent manner.

The athletes deserve to go and have their time to shine. The boycotts of the 70's by the US and USSR did nothing good - only hurt amateur athletes who trained their whole lives for their few moments of optimal performance.

The IOC should be shelved after these games and reworked to ensure that this doesn't happen again.

Giant Sucking Sound

1992 Presidential Election - George Bush, Sr., Republican; William Jefferson Clinton, Democrat; H. Ross Perot, Independent.

Most readers are old enough to remember Ross Perot. He made his name and money in big business in Texas. When he ran for office, he talked mainly about the economy - criticizing Bill Clinton's experience as Governor of Arkansas because Walmart had a bigger budget and contributed more to the GNP. He also had a propensity for using an easel and charts with a pointer while on TV. Funny guy, who just happened to be right.

How right? Ol' Ross championed the opposition to NAFTA, urging voters to "listen for the giant sucking sound of American jobs heading south to Mexico should NAFTA be ratified." Seems like we are hearing the GIANT SUCKING SOUND everyday. Today there is a story about Mexico building more and more parts for the aerospace industry.

Who is responsible?

• NAFTA signed by Republican President George Bush, Sr.
• NAFTA ratified under Democratic President Clinton
• Congress at the time of NAFTA - 1993 (To be clear, the U.S. House of Representatives passed NAFTA on November 17, 1993, by 234-200 vote - 132 Republicans and 102 Democrats voting in favor; 43 Republicans, 156 Democrats, and 1 independent against, and the U.S. Senate passed it on the last day of its 1993 session, November 20, 1993, by 61-38 vote - 34 Republicans and 27 Democrats voting in favor; 10 Republicans and 28 Democrats against
• Since then, Republican President George W. Bush and;
• Democratic and Republican led congress for the last 8 years have not addressed the problem.
  

Ross was a true independent, he held specific positions that had been left aside by both parties — he was all about America and a bit of an isolationist. He crusaded for a balanced budget and warned of the dangers of the national debt. People who feared him, made jokes because he was a short little fella with a funny voice and ideas that were easy to dismiss as old fashioned or not realistic. Bull - he was spot on.

Too bad Ross can't jump back in with his charts, pointers, and most importantly, with his zeal for what is the America that could be.