Don't let Chevron Corn Whole-sale you

Admittedly I am more than a casual Talk Radio listener. In the past weeks I have been struck not by the various hot shot mouth pieces, but a curious and constant Anti-Prop 87 commercial. My political DNA would normally push me to a "NO" vote with or without any urging by political ads. The historical track record of government leading positive change is pretty poor.

However, I am going to check the "yes" box this time and it is probably for the same reason I am going to vote for the Libertarian candidate for governor (whoever that is). It is a protest vote. The harsh reality is that Big Oil has a strangle hold on the poltiical process, bought and paid for by you and I at the "price protected pump". Apparently, Chevron (one of the sponsors of the anit-87 ads) has enough cash left over from the past few record quarters to fund these ads.

OIL IS A COMMODITY, CORN IS A COMMODITY...the difference is;

If you were a farmer who grew corn and you and 4 other farmers were the only farmers of corn in the country AND...

The 5 of you owned the harvesting machines that picked the corn AND...

The 5 of you owned the trucks that took the harvested corn to the whole-seller AND...

The 5 of you owned the Wholesale markets And...

The 5 of you owned the distribution centers that brought the corn to the retailers AND...

The 5 of you owned the majority of the Retail stores where the corn was sold

You can be assured that Corn would cost alot more that 25 cents an ear during the peak season (August) when Americans are bar-b-que crazy

A VOTE FOR PROP. 87 may not provide the alternative, but given how hard Chevron is fighting it,...there must be something to it!

The fact that the 4 billion may be passed along to us (over 4 years) seem like a lot. Let's break this down;

40,000,000 Californians
more than half drive'
14 gallon capacity (average tank)
Fill Up once a week
52 weeks in a year
20,000,000 x 14 (gal) x 52 (weeks) x 4 (years)= 58,240,000,000 gallons
divided by 4,000,000,000 (the propositions tax) = 14.56 cents a gallon

I'll pay 15 cents for the hope of an alternative

The feds gave the Oil companies a 1.9 billion tax cut (annually) to research alternatives...you know what they found out?

We will need Oil for at least the next 30-50 years and there is no viable alternative on the horizon.

FOX WATCHING THE HEN HOUSE....No Thanks!

Why I welcome a Democratic triumph in November

I'll vote, and I'll vote Republican for the most part but with less enthusiasm that anytime since I started voting in 1976.

However, as I ponder the probabilities of a Democratic shift, I do not fear the future. While it is true that a DNC victory will probably mean;

***higher taxes
***a stalled Congress
***Increased exposure to addle brained rhetoric

I can take solice in two important victories that are seeded in the soil of defeat!!!

1) The GOP will take the opportunity to purge itself of the Rhino's and GOP-fakers who have taken over the party of Reagan. Like trimming back a grape vine in fall, the following year brings a stronger plant with deeper roots.

2) The democrats will (in very short order) prove once again that while they excel at opposition rhetoric, they cannot lead!

In a year or two, when it really matters, the GOP will field a President that is dedicated to;

***Truly secured borders and ports
***Fighting the true War of Terror, you know like hunting down Bin Laden
***Rejects the Big Oil manipulation of the free and fair market
***Restores fiscal responsibility

This is just one scene in the movie called American Politics. November will be that dark time, when the bad guy is just about to win and then out of the most unlikely of places,..the hero appears and galvanizes the people to vanquish the beast!

Beast=democratic liberal fringe and Rhinos with no testicles

Nukes for everyone, paid for by U.S. consumers

So todays' buzz is all about the North Koreans and their "nuke lite" test. The hand ringng and blame game machines are operating at full throttle. Jimmy Carter launched his salvo at Bush in the NY Times, the Fox network fires back and trashes Clinton.

This is all folly!

Our trade deficits with the world are fueling a virtual cornicopia of soon-to-be owners of nukes in their driveway. Since we have already pawned off some of our missle technology, the world grows smaller.

Business opportunities have trumped any sense of moral compassing or national security interest. I don't suggests an isolationists policy, nor a disengagement from world commerce. However, we need to prepare for the logical, predictable and envitable consequences of our Wall Street driven political centricity.

The exclusivity of nuclear deterence is fading. The access to WMD's in places ironically other than Iraq are growing. Here's my four step plan...

1) Minimize the trade deficit which is increasingly driven by petroleum (about 750 billion annually).
2) Find the next big thing first...space based lasers, sonic weapontry, star war missle defense etc.
3) The enemy of my enemy is my friend...Japan needs nukes, as does South Korea..if everyone can nuke each other the world might become a more respectful place. If nothing else, somebody else can handle Kim Jong Il's mental illness and need to pick saber rattling over farming as a national pasttime.
4) Recognize that the most powerful weapon might be an assassins bullet, well timed and properly aimed. If a world leader demostrates the inability to be trusted with WMD, don't make the entire country pay the price. Shut him/her up the old fashion way.

I preferred the old CIA when they did terrible things fairly well. As opposed to today when they do well-intended things badly.

What is it with the beige leisure suits and short nutty mad men? Just tell the sharp shooter aim for the guy not wearing a tie!

This is of course political satire and not a call to action. Wars must be declared before heads of state are legitimate targets.

However, the age old question becomes relevant again,...if you were alive in 1937 and knew Hitler would be responsible for the deaths of 50 million people...would you be justified in ending his life?

PC DISCLAIMERS; Offer void where prohibited, children require adultsupervision, don't try this at home, responses to this offer must be postmarked yesterday, not available in all states, good while limited supplies last and finally...MY HUMBLE APOLOGIES TO THE APPEASERS WHO THINK THAT THIS IS TOO HARSH A BLOG-POST AND THAT WE SHOULD TRY TULIPS INSTEAD OF DAISY-CUTTERS so that we can have 900 cars burned and rioting in our nations capitol because some Dutchman with a crayon illustrated the prophet Muhammad in an unfavorable light!

Those deserving will fill the vacuum

We need to begin fighting the WAR on TERROR and stop squandering precious treasure and blood in these mis-guided police actions!

The Sunni's and the Shiites have a date with destiny...for 30 years the Bathists under the knowing and accepting eye of the Bagdad area Sunni's subjugated, torchured and killed Kurds and Shiites. 10% of the population controlled and abused 90%....While the actions of the 10% were unforgivable, it is the 90% who are to blame...YOU GET THE GOVERNMENT YOU ARE ARE WILLING TO FIGHT FOR!

We were cupable in part (having supported and armed Saddam for 30+ years) however, we have repaid that debt and removed him. NOW THE IRAQI PEOPLE HAVE TO DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES WHO THEY ARE!

We are in the way of a pre-scheduled National Identity Conflict that must be fought (either verbally or physically)and resolved by the Iraqi's. My guess is the end result is 3 nation/states...the Kurds, the Sunni's and the Shiite's set up shop in their own world.

As for our 140,000 troops...I say;
1) Send 25% of them to Afghanistan to finish the job there...the 20,000 we have their need reinforcements
2) Send 25% into the region between Pakistan and Afghanistan and flush out and vanquish Bin Laden, his cornies, and anyone who decides to step in and help him.
3) Re-deploy the 50% (70,000) to various key points along the Syrian and Iranian borders to stop the flow of outsiders in to Iraq. Use our air resources to project this border protection. Much like a boxing match, keep the audience out of the fray and allow the Iraqi's to show the world who they are and who they will become.

Perhaps the prospect of an unmitigated civil war will snap the Iraqi's into a more pliable sense of governance, perhaps not...NOT OUR PROBLEM!!!

Let's get off the Oil drug and let Exxon, Chevron, Chavez grapple with China and India as to who gets the dino juice! If Exxon continues to pile up record profits on the backs of India and China...I'll sleep easier!

Will Iraqi's step up before their backs are against the wall?

Backs to the Wall, a metaphor whose origin is rooted in the battlefield. Where are the moderate Iraqi's or moderate Islamic movement for that matter?

Circa; 1900
Location; Battlefield WWI
First Recorded Usage; "Every position must be held to the last man; there must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall, and believing in the justice of our cause, each one of us must fight on to the end." Field Marshal Haig's order to British troops on the Western Front, 12 April 1918

Meaning; Up against a tough situation with very little room to avoid the evitable

As of this writing, our relationship with France is a strained one. While we describe the French as allies, we also use such enduring terms as “cheese eating surrender monkeys”. In an effort to give the French their due and put one spike in this ugly description I offer this explanation of the term “back to the wall”. A French general describing that he will not surrender did use a similar term “as our backs to the wall” he described that we would not surrender to Wellington. The Old Guard dies but never surrenders." That was the defiant reply by one of Napoleon’s generals on June 18, 1815, to the Duke of Wellington’s demand for a French surrender at Waterloo. Then in 1918 General Haig of Great Britain used the term as a term to steady and provide resolve for his troops.

Our “war on terror” will pin someone’s back to the wall the question is whose back?

Hopelessness breeds contempt. In the Middle East this contempt should be more justly focused on the corrupt regimes, hedonistic royals and those that have squandered the oil revenue. The absence of a middle class and a religion that suppress sexual gratification until you a re worm-fodder has created the tempest that will erupt and is erupting across the breath of Arabia. Currently Osama Bin Laden, Al Sadr and other religious zealots have enraged the masses and leveraged their ire in our direction. We do have some culpability, but the real villain here is the same we have seen before. Post-depression Germany, Pre-Revolutionary Russia and other examples demonstrate how evil preys on hopelessness. Personifying the cause for all your ills provides a gateway, a corrupting pressure valve to funnel the dreams and energy of youth into misplaced violence.

Perhaps our reaction will not be sufficient until our BACKS ARE AGAINST THE WALL!