For People Like This
The southern US is blessed with an ever growing population of large raptors. Here on St. Simons we have Ospreys, Red Tailed Hawks, and a number of Bald Eagles. Populations of Owls and wild Turkeys are also frequently seen wandering the large Live Oaks and Pine forests here in south Georgia.
In case you’ve never seen one, an Osprey’s and a Bald Eagle’s nest looks like a giant brush pile in the very top of a tree, often situated close to water. Bald Eagles are known to be strong enough to steal entire 2x4’s from construction sites to include in their nest structure. If you are fortunate enough to have these bigger birds in your back yard or otherwise nesting on your property—you’d have to be blind to miss the signs of their presence.
That's why I have absolutely no sympathy for this moron developer that got caught cutting a tree on his property that contained a bald eagle nest.
"A Fort Myers developer has agreed to pay $356,000 in penalties for cutting down a tree containing a protected bald eagle's nest while building houses in Collier County in 2003, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
“Stock Development was found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of taking a federally protected bald eagle nest. A U.S. magistrate judge sentenced the company to one year of organizational probation and ordered a $175,000 fine.
As part of the agreement, the company also will pay a total of $181,000 in restitution to several wildlife protection agencies.
According to court documents, company officials knew the tree had an eagle's nest in it when a construction supervisor ordered it cut down in November 2003.
The birds and their nests are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.”
I’m a big advocate of property rights, but balking at saving one tree??? Give me a break here.
The irony is that most people pay extra to have things like eagle’s nests in their neighborhood or yards.
What was this idiot thinking?
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
An Uninvited Weekend Guest
Prior to my visit to the hospital earlier this month we had made plans to fly to Pittsburgh this weekend for Pat's family reunion. My fragile health, combined with the approach of Tropical Storm Ophelia, has caused us to have a change of plans.
It looks like she (Ophelia) is going to slowly drag up the Florida coast, hanging 75-100 miles offshore, then pausing offshore here in south Georgia to gain Hurricane strength. The current computer models indicate a chance that an area of high pressure will develope over the southeast and will push the storm back eastward offshore.
Ophelia
Following my own advice, I'm heading to the grocery store now to pick up some extra drinking water and a few staples before the wild eyed hoards start ravaging the place. Maybe I'll buy a couple of cart loads of bread and milk just for the heck of it.
Talk to y'all later...
It looks like she (Ophelia) is going to slowly drag up the Florida coast, hanging 75-100 miles offshore, then pausing offshore here in south Georgia to gain Hurricane strength. The current computer models indicate a chance that an area of high pressure will develope over the southeast and will push the storm back eastward offshore.
Ophelia
Following my own advice, I'm heading to the grocery store now to pick up some extra drinking water and a few staples before the wild eyed hoards start ravaging the place. Maybe I'll buy a couple of cart loads of bread and milk just for the heck of it.
Talk to y'all later...
An Answer To Their Questions
In Their Own Words…
The New Orleans Times Picayune is the largest newspaper in Louisiana. It also has, in my opinion, the coolest name of any paper in the entire country. I hope to someday have my own by-line on an article or editorial published under the Picayune banner.
As the media sniping and cheep shots at President Bush starts to wear thin and die down, the “lamestream” major media is actually starting to do some research to back up the stories they publish under the heading of news rather than just printing hot headed and ill informed rhetoric delivered by various idiots with obvious axes to grind in public.
Believe me when I say that there is plenty of information out there that indicates that the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana knew they had a problem—they just chose to ignore it while they waited for the Feds to pony up the cash, cash that the Levee Boards would then be free to spend as they saw fit. Not necessarily on levee construction either.
Much of this information has been bouncing around the bloggosphere for over a week now—things like The City of New Orleans Emergency Plan that I wrote about last Sunday in my posting titled Tonight’s Reading Assignment and the numerous news articles in the Times Picayune and other media sources dating back into the 1990’s addressing the vulnerability of the existing levee system and the Category 3 design criteria.
The New Orleans Times Picayune is the largest newspaper in Louisiana. It also has, in my opinion, the coolest name of any paper in the entire country. I hope to someday have my own by-line on an article or editorial published under the Picayune banner.
As the media sniping and cheep shots at President Bush starts to wear thin and die down, the “lamestream” major media is actually starting to do some research to back up the stories they publish under the heading of news rather than just printing hot headed and ill informed rhetoric delivered by various idiots with obvious axes to grind in public.
Believe me when I say that there is plenty of information out there that indicates that the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana knew they had a problem—they just chose to ignore it while they waited for the Feds to pony up the cash, cash that the Levee Boards would then be free to spend as they saw fit. Not necessarily on levee construction either.
Much of this information has been bouncing around the bloggosphere for over a week now—things like The City of New Orleans Emergency Plan that I wrote about last Sunday in my posting titled Tonight’s Reading Assignment and the numerous news articles in the Times Picayune and other media sources dating back into the 1990’s addressing the vulnerability of the existing levee system and the Category 3 design criteria.
Here’s an excerpt from part I of the article published June 23, 2002:
“If enough water from Lake Pontchartrain topped the levee system along its south shore, the result would be apocalyptic. Vast areas would be submerged for days or weeks until engineers dynamited the levees to let the water escape. Some places on the east bank of Orleans and Jefferson parishes are as low as 10 feet below sea level. Adding a 20-foot storm surge from a Category 4 or 5 storm would mean 30 feet of standing water.
Whoever remained in the city would be at grave risk. According to the American Red Cross, a likely death toll would be between 25,000 and 100,000 people, dwarfing estimated death tolls for other natural disasters and all but the most nightmarish potential terrorist attacks. Tens of thousands more would be stranded on rooftops and high ground, awaiting rescue that could take days or longer. They would face thirst, hunger and exposure to toxic chemicals.”
Sound familiar? And how about this:
"The debris, largely the remains of about 70 camps smashed by the waves of a storm surge more than 7 feet above sea level, showed that Georges, a Category 2 storm that only grazed New Orleans, had pushed waves to within a foot of the top of the levees. A stronger storm on a slightly different course -- such as the path Georges was on just 16 hours before landfall -- could have realized emergency officials' worst-case scenario: hundreds of billions of gallons of lake water pouring over the levees into an area averaging 5 feet below sea level with no natural means of drainage.
That would turn the city and the east bank of Jefferson Parish into a lake as much as 30 feet deep, fouled with chemicals and waste from ruined septic systems, businesses and homes. Such a flood could trap hundreds of thousands of people in buildings and in vehicles. At the same time, high winds and tornadoes would tear at everything left standing. Between 25,000 and 100,000 people would die, said John Clizbe, national vice president for disaster services with the American Red Cross."
See, these articles prove that they KNEW that they had a problem and they KNEW that they needed to plan to provide a means to evacuate the large inner city population, and yet when the disaster finally came they DIDN’T do anything to help. They just point fingers and issue statements blaming the President.
HOW IN THE HELL CAN ANY REASONABLE, SANE PERSON HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT THE PRESIDENT AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD BEAR ANYTHING OTHER THAN A SMALL AMOUNT OF SECONDARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS SITUATION?
Is it just me?
I Understand Where They’re Coming From
Having grown up near the Gulf Coast of Florida, Hurricanes have always been an area of intense interest for me and my family & friends, occupying a top priority each year in August, September, and October. My decision since 2001 to reside adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico in Mexico Beach Florida for a year, to live on a 32’ boat in south Florida for a while in 2002, and relocating here to St. Simons Island for the past 18 months has provided me with the opportunity to become even more intimate with the realities of seasonal storm preparation.
Thankfully, Georgia is in much better shape when it comes to hurricane evacuation and recovery planning than almost every other southern state because of our relatively small coastal populations. Georgia, in its infinite wisdom, has elected to purchase most of the coastal barrier islands over the past 100 years and as a result, commercial and residential development adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean has been severely limited or outright prevented.
Tybee Island, St. Simons Island, Sea Island, and Jekyll Island are the only major Georgia barrier islands with substantial development. There are only a few smaller islands that even have highway connections to the mainland, and fewer still with connections via boat or private airstrip. Glynn County, where Jekyll and St. Simons Islands are located, only has a population of about 75,000 people—a fraction of humanity when compared to South Florida or the panhandle resort areas like Panama City and Destin.
The hurricane evacuation routes leading inland here are well developed. Interstate 16 leading away from Savannah even has built in gates on the southbound exit ramps allowing the state patrol to prevent southbound entry to the interstate during an evacuation—allowing all lanes to safely operate serving northbound traffic.
That said, I find the decision to evacuate our home here to be a difficult issue to address. Since our condo is situated only a couple of feet above sea level in sight of the salt marshes, I am certain that the approach of a category 3 storm will cause me to relocate inland, but I face quite a dilemma when it comes to storms of lower intensity. Tropical Storm Ophelia is our latest concern. Will she strengthen further before making landfall to our south near Jacksonville?
In the back of my mind, a major concern is that of obeying the evacuation order, then finding myself stuck in temporary accommodations for an extended time because the “authorities” refuse to allow residents to return to our homes once the storm has passed. I appreciate the “authorities” desire to protect me from hazardous conditions like downed power lines and flooding, but my home is my castle and I feel that I have a right to occupy and defend MY PROPERTY regardless of what some tin hat dictator says to the contrary.
For this reason I have a certain empathy for the holdouts in New Orleans. A heavy-handed blanket order to evacuate, in some instances, could be considered a bit over the top. What if someone has survived the storm and watched the flood waters dissipate (or never was flooded) and is sitting in their property with a generator, food, water, and a boat to use in acquiring new provisions. Should the government be allowed to force them out of their secure situation—a situation that they planned for and paid in advance to ensure?
I say no, but the Mayor of New Orleans obviously sees things differently as he has issued an order for police to remove the holdouts by force if necessary. The problem with this situation is that if they make you leave and someone vandalizes or otherwise damages your property, the government can’t be held liable for your losses.
I guess it’s a good thing that Janet Reno isn’t still Attorney General or we might see a re-run of the David Koresh/Branch Davidian Texas debacle. Will the NOPD shoot the holdouts or burn them out if they refuse to leave?
I don’t have a good solution for this situation other than to say…Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
What do you think?
Thankfully, Georgia is in much better shape when it comes to hurricane evacuation and recovery planning than almost every other southern state because of our relatively small coastal populations. Georgia, in its infinite wisdom, has elected to purchase most of the coastal barrier islands over the past 100 years and as a result, commercial and residential development adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean has been severely limited or outright prevented.
Tybee Island, St. Simons Island, Sea Island, and Jekyll Island are the only major Georgia barrier islands with substantial development. There are only a few smaller islands that even have highway connections to the mainland, and fewer still with connections via boat or private airstrip. Glynn County, where Jekyll and St. Simons Islands are located, only has a population of about 75,000 people—a fraction of humanity when compared to South Florida or the panhandle resort areas like Panama City and Destin.
The hurricane evacuation routes leading inland here are well developed. Interstate 16 leading away from Savannah even has built in gates on the southbound exit ramps allowing the state patrol to prevent southbound entry to the interstate during an evacuation—allowing all lanes to safely operate serving northbound traffic.
That said, I find the decision to evacuate our home here to be a difficult issue to address. Since our condo is situated only a couple of feet above sea level in sight of the salt marshes, I am certain that the approach of a category 3 storm will cause me to relocate inland, but I face quite a dilemma when it comes to storms of lower intensity. Tropical Storm Ophelia is our latest concern. Will she strengthen further before making landfall to our south near Jacksonville?
In the back of my mind, a major concern is that of obeying the evacuation order, then finding myself stuck in temporary accommodations for an extended time because the “authorities” refuse to allow residents to return to our homes once the storm has passed. I appreciate the “authorities” desire to protect me from hazardous conditions like downed power lines and flooding, but my home is my castle and I feel that I have a right to occupy and defend MY PROPERTY regardless of what some tin hat dictator says to the contrary.
For this reason I have a certain empathy for the holdouts in New Orleans. A heavy-handed blanket order to evacuate, in some instances, could be considered a bit over the top. What if someone has survived the storm and watched the flood waters dissipate (or never was flooded) and is sitting in their property with a generator, food, water, and a boat to use in acquiring new provisions. Should the government be allowed to force them out of their secure situation—a situation that they planned for and paid in advance to ensure?
I say no, but the Mayor of New Orleans obviously sees things differently as he has issued an order for police to remove the holdouts by force if necessary. The problem with this situation is that if they make you leave and someone vandalizes or otherwise damages your property, the government can’t be held liable for your losses.
I guess it’s a good thing that Janet Reno isn’t still Attorney General or we might see a re-run of the David Koresh/Branch Davidian Texas debacle. Will the NOPD shoot the holdouts or burn them out if they refuse to leave?
I don’t have a good solution for this situation other than to say…Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
What do you think?
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Gilligan's Dead--And I don't Feel So Good Myself
There can't be a single member of the "Baby Boomer" generation out there that hasn't seen every single episode of the 1960's TV show "Gilligan's Island."
I have to admit that my hand still freezes on the remote control today when I pass "the castaway's" image on late night TV...
TV in a simpler time
Things were so much simpler back then.
RIP Bob...
I have to admit that my hand still freezes on the remote control today when I pass "the castaway's" image on late night TV...
TV in a simpler time
Things were so much simpler back then.
RIP Bob...
Admiral “Nemo” Still Talking Trash
It turns out swashbuckler wannabe Sean Penn actually managed to trip over a few stranded flood victims in New Orleans this weekend. Unfortunately, Admiral Penn can’t just do his kind deeds and keep his stupid mouth shut:
"Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Sean Penn, who has been assisting rescue efforts in New Orleans, said the US government did not "seem to be inclined to help".
"We were pulling drowning people out of the water, it's the ultimate distress and human suffering ... dead bodies," he told GMTV.
Penn said he had spent nine hours on Monday searching the water for people and during all that time he saw just three boats carrying US officials.
"There are people that are dying right now and I mean babies and old people and everybody in between - they're dying. There are people dying and (the US government are) not putting the boats in the water, I think that's criminal negligence. I don't think anybody ever anticipated the criminal negligence of the Bush administration in this situation." "
Penn is the worst kind of “do-gooder.” He has to do his charity work in public, under a spotlight. He even brought along a personal photographer on his trip to document his heroics.
What I want to know is why didn’t Admiral Penn just stay home and donate money to the rescue effort? What do you suppose the cost of his trip was? Five thousand dollars would have easily covered the airfare from Hollywood, renting the boats for the day, hiring the photographer, and buying incidentals like motel rooms, food, and gasoline.
Talk about maximizing your Public Relations dollars…
And the sad thing is that a lot of our young people will admire his efforts.
"Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Sean Penn, who has been assisting rescue efforts in New Orleans, said the US government did not "seem to be inclined to help".
"We were pulling drowning people out of the water, it's the ultimate distress and human suffering ... dead bodies," he told GMTV.
Penn said he had spent nine hours on Monday searching the water for people and during all that time he saw just three boats carrying US officials.
"There are people that are dying right now and I mean babies and old people and everybody in between - they're dying. There are people dying and (the US government are) not putting the boats in the water, I think that's criminal negligence. I don't think anybody ever anticipated the criminal negligence of the Bush administration in this situation." "
Penn is the worst kind of “do-gooder.” He has to do his charity work in public, under a spotlight. He even brought along a personal photographer on his trip to document his heroics.
What I want to know is why didn’t Admiral Penn just stay home and donate money to the rescue effort? What do you suppose the cost of his trip was? Five thousand dollars would have easily covered the airfare from Hollywood, renting the boats for the day, hiring the photographer, and buying incidentals like motel rooms, food, and gasoline.
Talk about maximizing your Public Relations dollars…
And the sad thing is that a lot of our young people will admire his efforts.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Setting The Record Straight
I was surprised this weekend when I noticed a mild spike in my blog readership. I assumed that someone had linked to one of my recent posts, and it was only after the blithering words from the comment trolls started rolling in that an E-mail from the lovely proprietor of Capital Freedom Blog tipped me off that Fox News contributor Radley Balco over at The Agitator Blog had linked to my recent rant on Gas Price Gouging. I’m quite flattered to have the attention, and I offer my thanks to Mr. Balco for the recognition and a general thanks to everyone for the comments—good and bad, pro and con.
Part of running a successful blog involves dealing with people with different viewpoints. Some take the time to make well thought out discussions of their criticism, while the majority of the nay-sayers resort to screaming age old insults and name calling.
One commenter actually called me a “partisan hack.”
I nearly laughed my ass off. You see, I might sometimes appear to be partisan, but “a partisan hack” I am not.
The NY Time’s Paul Krugman is a textbook example of a “partisan hack,” I am, at best, an amateur hack, but then the term hack is generally attributed to someone who should know better or is professionally employed (and compensated) in a field and fails to meet recognized standards or otherwise exhibits blatant bias.
I’m just a Mechanical Engineer, posing as a writer, remember?
I think that my own political affiliation, or lack thereof, has been well documented over the past 12 months that I have been writing “What I’d Liked To Have Said.” However, based on some of the recent comments I’ve received, I feel that now might be a good time to have a refresher course on where I’m coming from.
My dad escaped the coalmines of West Virginia to become the first person in his entire family to graduate from college—University of Kentucky, Electrical Engineering, class of 1952. He served four years in the US Army and qualified as a test pilot--continuing his engineering and flying career as a Civil Service employee for nearly thirty years. As a result of his education, he made more than an average living when I was growing up, but I can’t take any credit whatsoever for when and where I was born and the luck I enjoyed living in a household with two parents that loved each other and put our family’s well being first—no matter what the costs.
I was raised a southern "yellow dog" Democrat. George Wallace was governor of Alabama and the schools were segregated until the year before I started kindergarten. I’m too young to remember the day President Kennedy was assassinated, but I do remember the embarrassment of Governor Wallace standing in the doorway at the University of Alabama to block the admission of first black students and I remember the day Martin Luther King was shot dead.
I attended all 13 years of crappy public school with black and white classmates and in spite of residing in southern Alabama, I was not raised a racist or bigot. Ironically, Wilbur Jackson, the first black football player to start at the University of Alabama, attended the same high school I graduated from. I can’t take any credit for that either.
My mother’s family operated a small farm in southern Alabama. Her family never ever owned any slaves, but my grandfather did manage a group of “hired hands” and leased a few small shanties to black share cropper families in the days between WWI and WWII. My grandfather, a WWI infantry veteran, was a hardworking, self sufficient man of very modest means, who died never realizing that the value of the land and the timber growing on it would one day be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to his heirs. I, personally, can take no credit for his good fortune.
Because of my access to our farm, I learned to shoot a gun, fish, hike, camp and generally be comfortable in the woods at an early age. There is nothing like being able to walk outside in the morning and walk away from the house in almost any direction and not leave your family’s property, even if you walk all day long. It’s even more impressive to be able to walk into the woods with the weapon of your choice and shoot until you run out of ammunition--not hearing a word of discouragement from neighbors or government idiots. I guess that most of you Yankees and everyone from NY City can’t possibly understand the kind of freedom(s) I grew up enjoying. I take credit for considering “gun control” to be “the ability to hit the intended target—every damn time.” I've also never pointed a loaded gun at another human in my entire life.
In 1933, the year my mother was born, you could own 3 cars, 2 airplanes, 25 guns, 10 dogs, 3 mules, 2 horses, chickens, 100 head of cattle, a tractor, and the federal government nor the state of Alabama required a license to own or operate any of the above. Further, if you owned enough land, you could drive your car to your airplane hanger, take off, and fly wildly over your pastures while the dogs, chickens, mules, horses, and cows stampeded around in fear at your maniacal behavior. You could then go home, get up the next day, and do it all over again without fear of legal reprocussions.
Not anymore.
Today you have to have a drivers’ license ($25), a pilots license, ($4,000-$6,000), various federal firearms permits ($$$), and proof that all of your animals receive routine veterinary care ($$$) and you can't chase them around with your airplane else the police, the FAA, PETA, and God knows who else will be knocking on your door wanting to haul your ass to jail and/or take your animals away from you.
What total Bull Hockey.
In spite of my continued rhetoric delivered in support of President Bush, I am not a Republican, and I am most definitely NOT a partisan hack. My political leanings work more along the lines of Libertarian, although the majority of Libertarian candidates tendered at the national level are basically unelectable.
Just like decisions relating to attending church on Sunday—I hate it when 100 humans get together and hang a name on a sign over their head because invariably some sanctimonious asshole(s) always insist on imposing their own special caveats on the process. I believe in freedom of religion, not the freedom from religion currently imposed by the federal courts.
I also believe that you should be able to freely, legally smoke dope, pop pills, shoot cat shit mixed with Draino into your veins with a dirty needle, drink corn whiskey, smoke 50 packs of cigarettes each day, have sex with men and women of consenting age, drive your 1964 Plymouth down the highway in deserts of Nevada at 175 MPH, and jump into the shallow end of the swimming pool head first, butt naked. Did I miss anything?
No?
BUT, when you finally wake up and you are dead, dying, paralyzed, have cancer, AIDS, scurvy, cooties, herpies, or your ex-old ladies ex-old man shows up and kicks the living shit out of your stupid ass—I also believe that you don’t have the right to come crying to me or to my representative asking to steal my money in the form of taxes to burry your miserable, flea bitten carcass, buy a cure for what ails you, or to prosecute your tormentor(s).
Live and let live—live and let die…survival of the fittest has a lot going for it in my book.
I have a great deal of criticism to offer when it comes to Bush’s spending record during the past 4-3/4 years, but remember that CONGRESS passes the budget with the presidents’ approval. A line item veto would go a long way toward solving the majority of our problems--that, and term limits for Senators and Representatives.
Our federal government has become a lumbering leviathan that vastly exceeds the structure laid out by our founding fathers. The federal bureaucracy has overrun issues that were originally left to the people and the states, and the recent disaster in New Orleans and the protracted delay in the federal response is a perfect illustration of the impossibility of depending on GOVERNMENT to preserve the safety of individuals in a time of crisis.
Try as they may, the federal machine cannot respond adequately to these kinds of problems and sadly we have become a nation of invalids and half-wits that can barely make it through a day without depending on government to maintain our health, our sanity, or other major aspects of our well being.
It’s a sad day when three quarters of the population can tell you who Michael Jordan is and can identify the finalists on American idol, but over half of high school seniors can’t describe the three branches of the federal government and a similar number of adults can’t identify the names of their own Senators and US Representatives.
No, I’m not a partisan hack.
What I am is a proud, but frustrated, embarrassed, pissed off WHITE MALE AMERICAN that is really glad that I didn’t reproduce (I have no kids) and I worry and wonder how much longer the USA will survive in any form if we let the ”lamestream media” and the “partisan hack” liberals continue to have their way.
One of these days I'm just going to ask: "Beam me up, Scotty…"
Part of running a successful blog involves dealing with people with different viewpoints. Some take the time to make well thought out discussions of their criticism, while the majority of the nay-sayers resort to screaming age old insults and name calling.
One commenter actually called me a “partisan hack.”
I nearly laughed my ass off. You see, I might sometimes appear to be partisan, but “a partisan hack” I am not.
The NY Time’s Paul Krugman is a textbook example of a “partisan hack,” I am, at best, an amateur hack, but then the term hack is generally attributed to someone who should know better or is professionally employed (and compensated) in a field and fails to meet recognized standards or otherwise exhibits blatant bias.
I’m just a Mechanical Engineer, posing as a writer, remember?
I think that my own political affiliation, or lack thereof, has been well documented over the past 12 months that I have been writing “What I’d Liked To Have Said.” However, based on some of the recent comments I’ve received, I feel that now might be a good time to have a refresher course on where I’m coming from.
My dad escaped the coalmines of West Virginia to become the first person in his entire family to graduate from college—University of Kentucky, Electrical Engineering, class of 1952. He served four years in the US Army and qualified as a test pilot--continuing his engineering and flying career as a Civil Service employee for nearly thirty years. As a result of his education, he made more than an average living when I was growing up, but I can’t take any credit whatsoever for when and where I was born and the luck I enjoyed living in a household with two parents that loved each other and put our family’s well being first—no matter what the costs.
I was raised a southern "yellow dog" Democrat. George Wallace was governor of Alabama and the schools were segregated until the year before I started kindergarten. I’m too young to remember the day President Kennedy was assassinated, but I do remember the embarrassment of Governor Wallace standing in the doorway at the University of Alabama to block the admission of first black students and I remember the day Martin Luther King was shot dead.
I attended all 13 years of crappy public school with black and white classmates and in spite of residing in southern Alabama, I was not raised a racist or bigot. Ironically, Wilbur Jackson, the first black football player to start at the University of Alabama, attended the same high school I graduated from. I can’t take any credit for that either.
My mother’s family operated a small farm in southern Alabama. Her family never ever owned any slaves, but my grandfather did manage a group of “hired hands” and leased a few small shanties to black share cropper families in the days between WWI and WWII. My grandfather, a WWI infantry veteran, was a hardworking, self sufficient man of very modest means, who died never realizing that the value of the land and the timber growing on it would one day be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to his heirs. I, personally, can take no credit for his good fortune.
Because of my access to our farm, I learned to shoot a gun, fish, hike, camp and generally be comfortable in the woods at an early age. There is nothing like being able to walk outside in the morning and walk away from the house in almost any direction and not leave your family’s property, even if you walk all day long. It’s even more impressive to be able to walk into the woods with the weapon of your choice and shoot until you run out of ammunition--not hearing a word of discouragement from neighbors or government idiots. I guess that most of you Yankees and everyone from NY City can’t possibly understand the kind of freedom(s) I grew up enjoying. I take credit for considering “gun control” to be “the ability to hit the intended target—every damn time.” I've also never pointed a loaded gun at another human in my entire life.
In 1933, the year my mother was born, you could own 3 cars, 2 airplanes, 25 guns, 10 dogs, 3 mules, 2 horses, chickens, 100 head of cattle, a tractor, and the federal government nor the state of Alabama required a license to own or operate any of the above. Further, if you owned enough land, you could drive your car to your airplane hanger, take off, and fly wildly over your pastures while the dogs, chickens, mules, horses, and cows stampeded around in fear at your maniacal behavior. You could then go home, get up the next day, and do it all over again without fear of legal reprocussions.
Not anymore.
Today you have to have a drivers’ license ($25), a pilots license, ($4,000-$6,000), various federal firearms permits ($$$), and proof that all of your animals receive routine veterinary care ($$$) and you can't chase them around with your airplane else the police, the FAA, PETA, and God knows who else will be knocking on your door wanting to haul your ass to jail and/or take your animals away from you.
What total Bull Hockey.
In spite of my continued rhetoric delivered in support of President Bush, I am not a Republican, and I am most definitely NOT a partisan hack. My political leanings work more along the lines of Libertarian, although the majority of Libertarian candidates tendered at the national level are basically unelectable.
Just like decisions relating to attending church on Sunday—I hate it when 100 humans get together and hang a name on a sign over their head because invariably some sanctimonious asshole(s) always insist on imposing their own special caveats on the process. I believe in freedom of religion, not the freedom from religion currently imposed by the federal courts.
I also believe that you should be able to freely, legally smoke dope, pop pills, shoot cat shit mixed with Draino into your veins with a dirty needle, drink corn whiskey, smoke 50 packs of cigarettes each day, have sex with men and women of consenting age, drive your 1964 Plymouth down the highway in deserts of Nevada at 175 MPH, and jump into the shallow end of the swimming pool head first, butt naked. Did I miss anything?
No?
BUT, when you finally wake up and you are dead, dying, paralyzed, have cancer, AIDS, scurvy, cooties, herpies, or your ex-old ladies ex-old man shows up and kicks the living shit out of your stupid ass—I also believe that you don’t have the right to come crying to me or to my representative asking to steal my money in the form of taxes to burry your miserable, flea bitten carcass, buy a cure for what ails you, or to prosecute your tormentor(s).
Live and let live—live and let die…survival of the fittest has a lot going for it in my book.
I have a great deal of criticism to offer when it comes to Bush’s spending record during the past 4-3/4 years, but remember that CONGRESS passes the budget with the presidents’ approval. A line item veto would go a long way toward solving the majority of our problems--that, and term limits for Senators and Representatives.
Our federal government has become a lumbering leviathan that vastly exceeds the structure laid out by our founding fathers. The federal bureaucracy has overrun issues that were originally left to the people and the states, and the recent disaster in New Orleans and the protracted delay in the federal response is a perfect illustration of the impossibility of depending on GOVERNMENT to preserve the safety of individuals in a time of crisis.
Try as they may, the federal machine cannot respond adequately to these kinds of problems and sadly we have become a nation of invalids and half-wits that can barely make it through a day without depending on government to maintain our health, our sanity, or other major aspects of our well being.
It’s a sad day when three quarters of the population can tell you who Michael Jordan is and can identify the finalists on American idol, but over half of high school seniors can’t describe the three branches of the federal government and a similar number of adults can’t identify the names of their own Senators and US Representatives.
No, I’m not a partisan hack.
What I am is a proud, but frustrated, embarrassed, pissed off WHITE MALE AMERICAN that is really glad that I didn’t reproduce (I have no kids) and I worry and wonder how much longer the USA will survive in any form if we let the ”lamestream media” and the “partisan hack” liberals continue to have their way.
One of these days I'm just going to ask: "Beam me up, Scotty…"
Sean Penn Vies For Lead In "Titanic II"
I personally appreciate it when outspoken liberals put their OWN money and efforts where their big mouths are. Unfortuntely, it looks like Sean Penn needs a little training to augment his seamanship skills--
"EFFORTS by Hollywood actor Sean Penn to aid New Orleans victims stranded by Hurricane Katrina foundered badly overnight, when the boat he was piloting to launch a rescue attempt sprang a leak.
Penn had planned to rescue children waylaid by Katrina's flood waters, but apparently forgot to plug a hole in the bottom of the vessel, which began taking water within seconds of its launch.
The actor, known for his political activism, was seen wearing what appeared to be a white flak jacket and frantically bailing water out of the sinking vessel with a red plastic cup.
When the boat's motor failed to start, those aboard were forced to use paddles to propel themselves down the flooded New Orleans street.
Asked what he had hoped to achieve in the waterlogged city, the actor replied: "Whatever I can do to help."
With the boat loaded with members of Penn's entourage, including a personal photographer, one bystander taunted the actor: "How are you going to get any people in that thing?" "
This is a perfect example of what can happen when people (well intended or otherwise) rush to the scene of a disaster (if you can call what Penn did "rushing") prior to the situation being stabilized. You yourself run a serious risk of becoming a victim.
Hey Sean, there's a thing called "a plug" that most real boaters know to install in the drain hole in the stern of the boat while it is still on the trailer on the boat ramp. There is also something called a bilge pump that helps a good deal when you do manage to take on water...
YOU ARROGANT POMPUS IDIOT...
"EFFORTS by Hollywood actor Sean Penn to aid New Orleans victims stranded by Hurricane Katrina foundered badly overnight, when the boat he was piloting to launch a rescue attempt sprang a leak.
Penn had planned to rescue children waylaid by Katrina's flood waters, but apparently forgot to plug a hole in the bottom of the vessel, which began taking water within seconds of its launch.
The actor, known for his political activism, was seen wearing what appeared to be a white flak jacket and frantically bailing water out of the sinking vessel with a red plastic cup.
When the boat's motor failed to start, those aboard were forced to use paddles to propel themselves down the flooded New Orleans street.
Asked what he had hoped to achieve in the waterlogged city, the actor replied: "Whatever I can do to help."
With the boat loaded with members of Penn's entourage, including a personal photographer, one bystander taunted the actor: "How are you going to get any people in that thing?" "
This is a perfect example of what can happen when people (well intended or otherwise) rush to the scene of a disaster (if you can call what Penn did "rushing") prior to the situation being stabilized. You yourself run a serious risk of becoming a victim.
Hey Sean, there's a thing called "a plug" that most real boaters know to install in the drain hole in the stern of the boat while it is still on the trailer on the boat ramp. There is also something called a bilge pump that helps a good deal when you do manage to take on water...
YOU ARROGANT POMPUS IDIOT...
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Tonight’s Reading Assignment
I’m building up yet another head of steam on the media’s coverage of the New Orleans situation. I’m still working on my rhetorical delivery, but here is some of the material I’m referencing so you can get a little ahead of me.
First there are the procedures contained in the City of New Orleans’ own Emergency Plan—in their own words (emphasis mine):
“III. EVACUATION ORDER
A. Authority
As established by the City of New Orleans Charter, the government has jurisdiction and responsibility in disaster response. City government shall coordinate its efforts through the Office of Emergency Preparedness
The authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane is conferred to the Governor by Louisiana Statute. The Governor is granted the power to direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from a stricken or threatened area within the State, if he deems this action necessary for the preservation of life or other disaster mitigation, response or recovery. The same power to order an evacuation conferred upon the Governor is also delegated to each political subdivision of the State by Executive Order. This authority empowers the chief elected official of New Orleans, the Mayor of New Orleans, to order the evacuation of the parish residents threatened by an approaching hurricane.
B. Issuance of Evacuation Orders
The person responsible for recognition of hurricane related preparation needs and for the issuance of an evacuation order is the Mayor of the City of New Orleans. Concerning preparation needs and the issuance of an evacuation order, The Office of Emergency Preparedness should keep the Mayor advised.”
Then there is this news article from 2004 addressing previous problems when the residents were running from Hurricane Ivan and were housed in the SuperDome, including poor behavior by many of the residents.
“Those who had the money to flee Hurricane Ivan ran into hours-long traffic jams. Those too poor to leave the city had to find their own shelter - a policy that was eventually reversed, but only a few hours before the deadly storm struck land.
New Orleans dodged the knockout punch many feared from the hurricane, but the storm exposed what some say are significant flaws in the Big Easy's civil disaster plans…
"If the government asks people to evacuate, the government has some responsibility to provide an option for those people who can't evacuate and are at the whim of Mother Nature," said Joe Cook of the New Orleans ACLU.
It's always been a problem, but the situation is worse now that the Red Cross has stopped providing shelters in New Orleans for hurricanes rated above Category 2. Stronger hurricanes are too dangerous, and Ivan was a much more powerful Category 4.
In this case, city officials first said they would provide no shelter, then agreed that the state-owned Louisiana Superdome would open to those with special medical needs. Only Wednesday afternoon, with Ivan just hours away, did the city open the 20-story-high domed stadium to the public.
Mayor Ray Nagin's spokeswoman, Tanzie Jones, insisted that there was no reluctance at City Hall to open the Superdome, but said the evacuation was the top priority.
"Our main focus is to get the people out of the city," she said.
Callers to talk radio complained about the late decision to open up the dome, but the mayor said he would do nothing different.
"We did the compassionate thing by opening the shelter," Nagin said. "We wanted to make sure we didn't have a repeat performance of what happened before. We didn't want to see people cooped up in the Superdome for days."
When another dangerous hurricane, Georges, appeared headed for the city in 1998, the Superdome was opened as a shelter and an estimated 14,000 people poured in. But there were problems, including theft and vandalism.
This time far fewer took refuge from the storm - an estimated 1,100 - at the Superdome and there was far greater security: 300 National Guardsmen.
The main safety measure - getting people out of town - raised its own problems.”
See, the local and state government KNEW they had a problem as early as in 1998 (during the Clinton presidency,) and they had a small-scale re-run of the problem again last year.
It seems to me that the buck should stop with the Mayor of New Orleans and the Louisiana Governor, NOT PRESIDENT BUSH.
First there are the procedures contained in the City of New Orleans’ own Emergency Plan—in their own words (emphasis mine):
“III. EVACUATION ORDER
A. Authority
As established by the City of New Orleans Charter, the government has jurisdiction and responsibility in disaster response. City government shall coordinate its efforts through the Office of Emergency Preparedness
The authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane is conferred to the Governor by Louisiana Statute. The Governor is granted the power to direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from a stricken or threatened area within the State, if he deems this action necessary for the preservation of life or other disaster mitigation, response or recovery. The same power to order an evacuation conferred upon the Governor is also delegated to each political subdivision of the State by Executive Order. This authority empowers the chief elected official of New Orleans, the Mayor of New Orleans, to order the evacuation of the parish residents threatened by an approaching hurricane.
B. Issuance of Evacuation Orders
The person responsible for recognition of hurricane related preparation needs and for the issuance of an evacuation order is the Mayor of the City of New Orleans. Concerning preparation needs and the issuance of an evacuation order, The Office of Emergency Preparedness should keep the Mayor advised.”
Then there is this news article from 2004 addressing previous problems when the residents were running from Hurricane Ivan and were housed in the SuperDome, including poor behavior by many of the residents.
“Those who had the money to flee Hurricane Ivan ran into hours-long traffic jams. Those too poor to leave the city had to find their own shelter - a policy that was eventually reversed, but only a few hours before the deadly storm struck land.
New Orleans dodged the knockout punch many feared from the hurricane, but the storm exposed what some say are significant flaws in the Big Easy's civil disaster plans…
"If the government asks people to evacuate, the government has some responsibility to provide an option for those people who can't evacuate and are at the whim of Mother Nature," said Joe Cook of the New Orleans ACLU.
It's always been a problem, but the situation is worse now that the Red Cross has stopped providing shelters in New Orleans for hurricanes rated above Category 2. Stronger hurricanes are too dangerous, and Ivan was a much more powerful Category 4.
In this case, city officials first said they would provide no shelter, then agreed that the state-owned Louisiana Superdome would open to those with special medical needs. Only Wednesday afternoon, with Ivan just hours away, did the city open the 20-story-high domed stadium to the public.
Mayor Ray Nagin's spokeswoman, Tanzie Jones, insisted that there was no reluctance at City Hall to open the Superdome, but said the evacuation was the top priority.
"Our main focus is to get the people out of the city," she said.
Callers to talk radio complained about the late decision to open up the dome, but the mayor said he would do nothing different.
"We did the compassionate thing by opening the shelter," Nagin said. "We wanted to make sure we didn't have a repeat performance of what happened before. We didn't want to see people cooped up in the Superdome for days."
When another dangerous hurricane, Georges, appeared headed for the city in 1998, the Superdome was opened as a shelter and an estimated 14,000 people poured in. But there were problems, including theft and vandalism.
This time far fewer took refuge from the storm - an estimated 1,100 - at the Superdome and there was far greater security: 300 National Guardsmen.
The main safety measure - getting people out of town - raised its own problems.”
See, the local and state government KNEW they had a problem as early as in 1998 (during the Clinton presidency,) and they had a small-scale re-run of the problem again last year.
It seems to me that the buck should stop with the Mayor of New Orleans and the Louisiana Governor, NOT PRESIDENT BUSH.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Long Hard Birthday
Well folks, I made it back home to my little island this afternoon--just in time to have a quiet birthday dinner with my girl and settle in to watch Georgia Tech play Auburn in football.
I checked E-mail early this morning before my flight to Atlanta and didn't have the energy to get back online until a few minutes ago.
I think I'm just going to take it easy and let my 46 year old body rest a little more. Tech's winning by 3 right now--you got to take life's pleasures where you can find them...
I checked E-mail early this morning before my flight to Atlanta and didn't have the energy to get back online until a few minutes ago.
I think I'm just going to take it easy and let my 46 year old body rest a little more. Tech's winning by 3 right now--you got to take life's pleasures where you can find them...
Friday, September 02, 2005
Everything That’s Wrong In The World
Isn’t Caused By Racism
I’m sick and tired of this well worn, predictable, yet ever present refrain.
Every single time some population of African Americans, er um Negroes, aaah Blacks…whatever the politically correct description du jour, gets their tail in a crack somewhere, the NAACP, the Congressional Black Caucus, Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton, et. al. all jump in front of the nearest microphone and/or TV camera and start complaining that things aren’t moving fast enough or are otherwise falling short of expectations and it’s all because the people are POOR or BLACK or some combination thereof. Somehow we are to believe that the displaced well-to-do white residents of New Orleans were shuttled out of town in Gulfstream Business Jets before the storm while the Po Folks was left to sweat and die in a scene of mass hysteria.
To hear the media, the Democrats, and the so called “self-proclaimed” Black leaders tell it, President Bush is supposed to act as some sort of Nanny for delinquent city and state leaders--running around sticking diapers and pacifiers on and in everyone and everything that screams because they don’t like the situation that THEY AND THEIR ELECTED LEADERS MADE FOR THEMSELVES.
What the hell do they think that the President’s job is, any way?
The situation in Louisiana generally and New Orleans specifically didn’t develop overnight, nor did it come about in the five years that Bush has inhabited the White House.
Let’s face some facts here people. Louisiana is one of the bottom five states when it comes to income, education, employment, and quality of life in general. I don’t mean that there aren’t nice places to live and educated people in Louisiana, but the state historically has lagged behind the rest of the nation when it comes to catching up with the 21st century. States like Georgia and Florida have lead the south in modernization and improvements, with the Carolinas, Alabama, and even Trent Lott’s beloved Mississippi turning the corner in recent years.
Exasperating the situation is the fact that the state government of Louisiana has a long, long colorful history of graft and corruption dating to the jailing of a former governor in the past ten years. New Orleans has always been a political cesspool within the larger landscape of swamps and corrupt parishes run by little local dictators.
Who knows how many billions of dollars have been wasted or outright stolen/misappropriated that could have been used for things like hiring and training more police officers and equipping them with things like boats or amphibious vehicles to address just the kinds of emergencies the city is facing now?
Remember Rudy Giuliani and NY City after 9/11? Rudi and the people of NY didn’t wait for the National Guard and Federal troops; they put on their uniforms and went to work. Rudi didn’t sit around cussing about the Federal Government’s involvement or lack thereof, he took command of the situation and handled things as he saw fit.
Today the world has proof that the leaders of New Orleans, like those of Atlanta and Detroit and any number of other medium sized US cities with large populations of inner city “minority” residents, is horribly guilty of taking the tax money allocated to them--local, state, and federal--and wasting it on programs and “empowerment initiatives” that continue to yield no tangible benefits to the citizens and communities they serve.
When are we going to stop bending over backwards and start calling a spade a spade?
I’m sick and tired of this well worn, predictable, yet ever present refrain.
Every single time some population of African Americans, er um Negroes, aaah Blacks…whatever the politically correct description du jour, gets their tail in a crack somewhere, the NAACP, the Congressional Black Caucus, Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton, et. al. all jump in front of the nearest microphone and/or TV camera and start complaining that things aren’t moving fast enough or are otherwise falling short of expectations and it’s all because the people are POOR or BLACK or some combination thereof. Somehow we are to believe that the displaced well-to-do white residents of New Orleans were shuttled out of town in Gulfstream Business Jets before the storm while the Po Folks was left to sweat and die in a scene of mass hysteria.
To hear the media, the Democrats, and the so called “self-proclaimed” Black leaders tell it, President Bush is supposed to act as some sort of Nanny for delinquent city and state leaders--running around sticking diapers and pacifiers on and in everyone and everything that screams because they don’t like the situation that THEY AND THEIR ELECTED LEADERS MADE FOR THEMSELVES.
What the hell do they think that the President’s job is, any way?
The situation in Louisiana generally and New Orleans specifically didn’t develop overnight, nor did it come about in the five years that Bush has inhabited the White House.
Let’s face some facts here people. Louisiana is one of the bottom five states when it comes to income, education, employment, and quality of life in general. I don’t mean that there aren’t nice places to live and educated people in Louisiana, but the state historically has lagged behind the rest of the nation when it comes to catching up with the 21st century. States like Georgia and Florida have lead the south in modernization and improvements, with the Carolinas, Alabama, and even Trent Lott’s beloved Mississippi turning the corner in recent years.
Exasperating the situation is the fact that the state government of Louisiana has a long, long colorful history of graft and corruption dating to the jailing of a former governor in the past ten years. New Orleans has always been a political cesspool within the larger landscape of swamps and corrupt parishes run by little local dictators.
Who knows how many billions of dollars have been wasted or outright stolen/misappropriated that could have been used for things like hiring and training more police officers and equipping them with things like boats or amphibious vehicles to address just the kinds of emergencies the city is facing now?
Remember Rudy Giuliani and NY City after 9/11? Rudi and the people of NY didn’t wait for the National Guard and Federal troops; they put on their uniforms and went to work. Rudi didn’t sit around cussing about the Federal Government’s involvement or lack thereof, he took command of the situation and handled things as he saw fit.
Today the world has proof that the leaders of New Orleans, like those of Atlanta and Detroit and any number of other medium sized US cities with large populations of inner city “minority” residents, is horribly guilty of taking the tax money allocated to them--local, state, and federal--and wasting it on programs and “empowerment initiatives” that continue to yield no tangible benefits to the citizens and communities they serve.
When are we going to stop bending over backwards and start calling a spade a spade?
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Price Gouging
Let's go through this AGAIN...
OK, if you’ve read me ranting about this topic (price gouging) before and already understand what I am saying, skip this posting.
If, however, you have disagreed with me in the past, please read me one more time if you will--maybe I can crack this through your thick skull.
Raising prices based on raw costs and market demand is not PRICE GOUGING.
Got that?
No?
Here is the deal on gas pricing specifically and price gouging in general…
Say that my name is Rahsee Patel and I just bought the local convenience store with gas pumps down on the corner near your house. In addition to stocking a lovely assortment of exotic smelling incense and plastic wrapped porno magazines, I also have one 10,000 gallon and two 7,500 gallon gasoline storage tanks buried in the ground under the parking lot out in front of my new retail empire.
After closing on my purchase, I rush to the store from the lawyer’s office and check my gas inventory. My giant wooden dipstick tells me that I currently have on hand 5,000 gallons of regular, 3,000 gallons of mid-octane, and 3,500 gallons of premium gasoline.
My sign out front of the store currently advertises $2.59, $2.79, and $2.99 per gallon, and sales are brisk this afternoon when we return to the store.
With the Labor Day holiday coming on, I place a phone call to two different distributors (my station is an independent) and I am shocked at what I hear. My new COSTS for replacement product exceeds what I am currently selling my gasoline for.
The first thing my brother “Big Bob” Patel does is prepare to go out and change our signs and the pump pricing--after all, we have to be able to afford to replace the gas in our tanks with new product at the higher prices, and our bank account is drained quite low after making the cash purchase of the store and its existing inventory.
I need at least 5,000 gallons of regular at a cost of $2.65/gal, and 3,500 gallons of plus and and 3,000 gallons of premium now costing $2.85/gal and $3.05/gal respectively.
Based on my actual purchase cost for the gasoline plus my 25% overhead and profit, the new costs will be $3.31, $3.48, and $3.71. This means that my new selling price for gas will go up by an average of $0.72 per gallon. We post the new numbers on our sign, and the uproar starts.
PRICE GOUGING SCREAM THE CUSTOMERS!!
A satellite news truck pulls up out front and the reporter asks me to come on camera and explain myself to the American people.
“Look,” I say, “I’m just a small business man and I don’t make the gasoline, I just sell it.”
“But what about all of that gas you already had in your tank that you bought last week for a lower cost?” they ask.
“If I sell my existing inventory at the old prices, I won’t make enough money to be able to fill the tank back up paying the new costs--don’t you see?” “I’ll have to borrow the money else operate with less than a full tank--I’ll risk running out.”
Here's the details. If I sell the existing 11,500 gallon inventory at the old prices, regardless of the initial cost, the store would net $33,785.00. That would be $4,490.00 less that the $38,275.00 cost to purchase equal quantities of new products.
By selling the gas already in the tank at a price based on the new product costs, the store will net $39,750, a whole $1,700 more than needed to replace the existing inventory at the increased costs.
Can you honestly call an extra $1,700 on a nearly $40,000 transaction PRICE GOUGING?
No?
Then how about everybody thinking before they holler next time? I know that the rising prices hurt in the ole' wallet and are a hardship for many people, but the details bear out the fact that everyone in the gas business isn't a thief and does not deserve to be villified the way they are.
The bottom line here is that gasoline sales is a business, not a charity, and you have a choice to pay what the asking price is or stay the heck at home.
It’s just that simple…
OK, if you’ve read me ranting about this topic (price gouging) before and already understand what I am saying, skip this posting.
If, however, you have disagreed with me in the past, please read me one more time if you will--maybe I can crack this through your thick skull.
Raising prices based on raw costs and market demand is not PRICE GOUGING.
Got that?
No?
Here is the deal on gas pricing specifically and price gouging in general…
Say that my name is Rahsee Patel and I just bought the local convenience store with gas pumps down on the corner near your house. In addition to stocking a lovely assortment of exotic smelling incense and plastic wrapped porno magazines, I also have one 10,000 gallon and two 7,500 gallon gasoline storage tanks buried in the ground under the parking lot out in front of my new retail empire.
After closing on my purchase, I rush to the store from the lawyer’s office and check my gas inventory. My giant wooden dipstick tells me that I currently have on hand 5,000 gallons of regular, 3,000 gallons of mid-octane, and 3,500 gallons of premium gasoline.
My sign out front of the store currently advertises $2.59, $2.79, and $2.99 per gallon, and sales are brisk this afternoon when we return to the store.
With the Labor Day holiday coming on, I place a phone call to two different distributors (my station is an independent) and I am shocked at what I hear. My new COSTS for replacement product exceeds what I am currently selling my gasoline for.
The first thing my brother “Big Bob” Patel does is prepare to go out and change our signs and the pump pricing--after all, we have to be able to afford to replace the gas in our tanks with new product at the higher prices, and our bank account is drained quite low after making the cash purchase of the store and its existing inventory.
I need at least 5,000 gallons of regular at a cost of $2.65/gal, and 3,500 gallons of plus and and 3,000 gallons of premium now costing $2.85/gal and $3.05/gal respectively.
Based on my actual purchase cost for the gasoline plus my 25% overhead and profit, the new costs will be $3.31, $3.48, and $3.71. This means that my new selling price for gas will go up by an average of $0.72 per gallon. We post the new numbers on our sign, and the uproar starts.
PRICE GOUGING SCREAM THE CUSTOMERS!!
A satellite news truck pulls up out front and the reporter asks me to come on camera and explain myself to the American people.
“Look,” I say, “I’m just a small business man and I don’t make the gasoline, I just sell it.”
“But what about all of that gas you already had in your tank that you bought last week for a lower cost?” they ask.
“If I sell my existing inventory at the old prices, I won’t make enough money to be able to fill the tank back up paying the new costs--don’t you see?” “I’ll have to borrow the money else operate with less than a full tank--I’ll risk running out.”
Here's the details. If I sell the existing 11,500 gallon inventory at the old prices, regardless of the initial cost, the store would net $33,785.00. That would be $4,490.00 less that the $38,275.00 cost to purchase equal quantities of new products.
By selling the gas already in the tank at a price based on the new product costs, the store will net $39,750, a whole $1,700 more than needed to replace the existing inventory at the increased costs.
Can you honestly call an extra $1,700 on a nearly $40,000 transaction PRICE GOUGING?
No?
Then how about everybody thinking before they holler next time? I know that the rising prices hurt in the ole' wallet and are a hardship for many people, but the details bear out the fact that everyone in the gas business isn't a thief and does not deserve to be villified the way they are.
The bottom line here is that gasoline sales is a business, not a charity, and you have a choice to pay what the asking price is or stay the heck at home.
It’s just that simple…
A Herd Mentality--Part II
Most people have no idea how the gasoline they rely on to transport them to work, school, and the grocery store each week actually gets to their local gas stations.
Believe me, it doesn’t arrive straight from the oil well in a tanker truck and it isn’t magically “beamed” Star Trek style from the refinery to the local Quick Trip or Gas & Go in the blink of an eye.
Those of us here on the gulf coast and most the Atlantic coast enjoy the delivery of our petroleum products using the services of The Colonial Pipeline Company. The 5,500 mile long Colonial Pipeline was constructed beginning in 1962 and now extends from Houston, Texas to the port of Long Island, NY, with branches running to major cities in Tennessee, Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Virginia. A short feeder branch runs from the port of New Orleans into the pipeline.
The pipeline is actually two 30” lines running parallel to each other through a network of pumping stations, terminal tank farms, and re-refining stations located along the length of the pipeline. Gasoline and other petroleum products are distributed locally via rail car and tanker truck--tanker trucks always being the end delivery vehicle.
The pipeline is a very cheep, efficient means of making petroleum product deliveries, but beleive me when I say that the tree huggers and enviro-fascists raised a bunch of hell when the pipeline was being permitted and constructed, and they continue to fight its’ expansion tooth and nail today. It seems to me that a big pipe full of oil buried in the ground presents a lower risk than a 75,000 pound tanker truck full of gasoline rolling down the road with the idiots I normally see driving around, in front of, and underneath it.
The thing about the pipeline is that it still takes an average of 18-½ days for product to move from Texas to the other end of the pipeline in NY. The pipeline norally moves an average of 100,000,000 gallons (yes, that's 100 MILLION gallons) of petroleum products each day, but it has been shut down since last Sunday, just resuming partial operation at 6:00 PM CST on Wednesday 8/31 and it is up to about 38% right now according to their latest press release.
The problem has not been physical damage, it has been rather a lack of electricity in Louisiana and Mississippi to power the mid-line pumping stations located along the length of the pipeline. They expect to be back to 74% capacity by Sunday and into the mid 80% capacity by next week.
So my advice to everyone is to sit back, marinade some ribs, pop open a cold beer, and stay close to home this Labor Day weekend. Chill out, you don’t HAVE to drive cross country this holiday--regardless of your prior plans.
The gas is on the way, and the price will go back down once things settle down a little. All you are doing by panicking and paying the current prices is guaranteeing high costs for yourself. I’m personally waiting to buy my next gas because I PLANNED ahead.
And besides, it could be worse--we all could be sweating and hiding from the terorists in the Big Easy, ya’ know what I mean?
Believe me, it doesn’t arrive straight from the oil well in a tanker truck and it isn’t magically “beamed” Star Trek style from the refinery to the local Quick Trip or Gas & Go in the blink of an eye.
Those of us here on the gulf coast and most the Atlantic coast enjoy the delivery of our petroleum products using the services of The Colonial Pipeline Company. The 5,500 mile long Colonial Pipeline was constructed beginning in 1962 and now extends from Houston, Texas to the port of Long Island, NY, with branches running to major cities in Tennessee, Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Virginia. A short feeder branch runs from the port of New Orleans into the pipeline.
The pipeline is actually two 30” lines running parallel to each other through a network of pumping stations, terminal tank farms, and re-refining stations located along the length of the pipeline. Gasoline and other petroleum products are distributed locally via rail car and tanker truck--tanker trucks always being the end delivery vehicle.
The pipeline is a very cheep, efficient means of making petroleum product deliveries, but beleive me when I say that the tree huggers and enviro-fascists raised a bunch of hell when the pipeline was being permitted and constructed, and they continue to fight its’ expansion tooth and nail today. It seems to me that a big pipe full of oil buried in the ground presents a lower risk than a 75,000 pound tanker truck full of gasoline rolling down the road with the idiots I normally see driving around, in front of, and underneath it.
The thing about the pipeline is that it still takes an average of 18-½ days for product to move from Texas to the other end of the pipeline in NY. The pipeline norally moves an average of 100,000,000 gallons (yes, that's 100 MILLION gallons) of petroleum products each day, but it has been shut down since last Sunday, just resuming partial operation at 6:00 PM CST on Wednesday 8/31 and it is up to about 38% right now according to their latest press release.
The problem has not been physical damage, it has been rather a lack of electricity in Louisiana and Mississippi to power the mid-line pumping stations located along the length of the pipeline. They expect to be back to 74% capacity by Sunday and into the mid 80% capacity by next week.
So my advice to everyone is to sit back, marinade some ribs, pop open a cold beer, and stay close to home this Labor Day weekend. Chill out, you don’t HAVE to drive cross country this holiday--regardless of your prior plans.
The gas is on the way, and the price will go back down once things settle down a little. All you are doing by panicking and paying the current prices is guaranteeing high costs for yourself. I’m personally waiting to buy my next gas because I PLANNED ahead.
And besides, it could be worse--we all could be sweating and hiding from the terorists in the Big Easy, ya’ know what I mean?
A Herd Mentality
Gas on St. Simons Island has always been ten or twenty cents more expensive than the same product purchased eight miles away on the mainland. Island residents like us always plan our trips so we can take advantage of the savings.
Back in July when gas prices on the mainland fell down to below $2.40 a gallon I drove my Suburban across the causeway and pumped it slap damn overflowing full of gas. Over eighty dollars worth in the form of about 35 gallons (it holds 42 gallons) of regular unleaded. I still have probably 35 gallons worth in the tank because we drive Pat’s Mustang most of the time unless we’re hauling lumber or furniture and the Mustang‘s 18 MPG beats the heck out of the 9 MPG I‘ve been getting over the past year or so.
Since I’ve been recently living in a hospital room and on my mom’s sofa, I haven’t bought much gasoline in the past month. Maybe that is why I find it easy to want to poke fun at people in Atlanta and other parts of the country that are running around screaming about the price of gasoline and more recently--
GASOLINE AVAILABILITY. But hold the presses--the plague is spreading!
My mom just got home from shopping and had to go to two different gas stations to fill the tank on her car up. One place she went here in Elba was limiting people to $15 worth and the second in another nearby town had a $20 limit. Remember that $20 worth at $3 per gallon is only a little over 6-½ gallons--60 miles worth of driving in my Suburban.
The good news is that the present prices are as predictable as is the current short term shortages are. The bad news is that consumers are exasperating the situation by running out filling up every car, boat, lawnmower, and gas can in anticipation of higher prices and in the process--artificially forcing demand up and thereby increasing prices and CREATING many of the shortages being experienced on a local basis.
Now enter the politicians--those miserable panderers to the stupid low brow mentality and lowest common denominators in human nature--envy and greed. Most politicians aren’t really stupid--they just let their desire to stay in office and get re-elected override their own education and knowledge of free market economics.
The politicians can’t resist jumping in front of any available microphone or TV camera and uttering the words--PRICE GOUGING and the masses bow down at their feet and run to the polls to voice their approval.
I’m sorry, but a station owner or manager has the absolute right to raise their gas prices as much as they damn well please and it’s neither your nor my nor the government’s business how the numbers are determined.
Are you mad at me now, or just think that I’m crazy or stupid?
Stay tuned and read my next couple of postings and see if you still think the same way...
Back in July when gas prices on the mainland fell down to below $2.40 a gallon I drove my Suburban across the causeway and pumped it slap damn overflowing full of gas. Over eighty dollars worth in the form of about 35 gallons (it holds 42 gallons) of regular unleaded. I still have probably 35 gallons worth in the tank because we drive Pat’s Mustang most of the time unless we’re hauling lumber or furniture and the Mustang‘s 18 MPG beats the heck out of the 9 MPG I‘ve been getting over the past year or so.
Since I’ve been recently living in a hospital room and on my mom’s sofa, I haven’t bought much gasoline in the past month. Maybe that is why I find it easy to want to poke fun at people in Atlanta and other parts of the country that are running around screaming about the price of gasoline and more recently--
GASOLINE AVAILABILITY. But hold the presses--the plague is spreading!
My mom just got home from shopping and had to go to two different gas stations to fill the tank on her car up. One place she went here in Elba was limiting people to $15 worth and the second in another nearby town had a $20 limit. Remember that $20 worth at $3 per gallon is only a little over 6-½ gallons--60 miles worth of driving in my Suburban.
The good news is that the present prices are as predictable as is the current short term shortages are. The bad news is that consumers are exasperating the situation by running out filling up every car, boat, lawnmower, and gas can in anticipation of higher prices and in the process--artificially forcing demand up and thereby increasing prices and CREATING many of the shortages being experienced on a local basis.
Now enter the politicians--those miserable panderers to the stupid low brow mentality and lowest common denominators in human nature--envy and greed. Most politicians aren’t really stupid--they just let their desire to stay in office and get re-elected override their own education and knowledge of free market economics.
The politicians can’t resist jumping in front of any available microphone or TV camera and uttering the words--PRICE GOUGING and the masses bow down at their feet and run to the polls to voice their approval.
I’m sorry, but a station owner or manager has the absolute right to raise their gas prices as much as they damn well please and it’s neither your nor my nor the government’s business how the numbers are determined.
Are you mad at me now, or just think that I’m crazy or stupid?
Stay tuned and read my next couple of postings and see if you still think the same way...
A Thin, Thin Line...
Anybody who has spent any time wondering how things could go so wrong in Iraq after the US removed Sadam from power need look no further than what is happening in New Orleans this week for an answer.
See the thin, thin line that exists in this country between civilization and anarchy? That line is virtually non-existent in most of the third world and is frighteningly fragile in the so-called developed countries.
Blame human nature and culture (or the lack thereof), not politics--it‘s not Bush‘s fault that the idiot black thugs being housed for free in the Superdome and staging for relocation to Houston are now stuck indefinitely in the hot, humid, rancid cesspool that New Orleans has become.
Why has the evacuation been cancelled or at least delayed?
Because some idiots started shooting at military helicopters before daylight this morning and the military said as a result:
“Sit there and sweat it out and deal with the consequences of your actions”
Of course the bleeding hearts will all say "but it isn't FAIR to penalize everybody."
Well, until "everybody" (or at least somebody) gives up the names or otherwise identifies the terorist thugs living in their midst in the Superdome refugee population, I say that I agree whole heartedly with the current decision to let them sit where they are.
See the thin, thin line that exists in this country between civilization and anarchy? That line is virtually non-existent in most of the third world and is frighteningly fragile in the so-called developed countries.
Blame human nature and culture (or the lack thereof), not politics--it‘s not Bush‘s fault that the idiot black thugs being housed for free in the Superdome and staging for relocation to Houston are now stuck indefinitely in the hot, humid, rancid cesspool that New Orleans has become.
Why has the evacuation been cancelled or at least delayed?
Because some idiots started shooting at military helicopters before daylight this morning and the military said as a result:
“Sit there and sweat it out and deal with the consequences of your actions”
Of course the bleeding hearts will all say "but it isn't FAIR to penalize everybody."
Well, until "everybody" (or at least somebody) gives up the names or otherwise identifies the terorist thugs living in their midst in the Superdome refugee population, I say that I agree whole heartedly with the current decision to let them sit where they are.
Live Blogging From New Orleans
The Interdictor is live blogging the situation in New Orleans from an office building in the middle of the chaos downtown.
He and his co-workers are guarding and operating their building and harboring police officers at night and trying to stay away from the looters.
Stop over at the site or some interesting reading that you won't see on FOX News.
He and his co-workers are guarding and operating their building and harboring police officers at night and trying to stay away from the looters.
Stop over at the site or some interesting reading that you won't see on FOX News.
