Ongoing Observations from the Lower Class
I didn't vote for Exxon to run this country...
I have said for years that the Oil Industry is the true ruling entity in this country. Today the Associated Press released a news story that not only reaffirmed it, but also offered its own proof in reinforcing it.
When the turmoil in the Middle East and Africa began, we started seeing gas prices rise slightly, but it wasn't the violent overthrow of oil-rich countries that threatened the flow of oil. Oil fields weren't set afire, pipelines weren't destroyed, nor tankers transporting crude being hijacked by "Petrol-Pirates." The only place where any of our oil was being affected was in Libya. Being that Libya only provides 2% of our oil, it wasn't enough to warrant the usual price-gouging that accompanies any risk of an oil shortage. Actually, an April 12th New York Times article reported that "Oil fell 3.3 percent, to $106.25 a barrel in New York trading."
Yet somehow the price of gasoline has been rising steadily since March. It doesn't take anything more than someone at Goldman Sachs to issue a press release that there is going to be (even if there isn't) maybe possibly if-all-the-stars-align-correctly a slight chance that there might be an oil shortage to send Wall Street into a frenzy. Somehow that removes any expectation of common sense and allows the Oil Industry to go nuts and charge whatever they want. We, as citizens, not having our own private oil reserve of 570 million barrels of oil, have no choice but to pay what they ask.
At least this time it caught the attention of the President, who created a special team in the Justice Department to "
investigate possible fraud in oil markets." Not prevent it from happening, mind you, or to punish those who do; but simply investigate it. Nice. Well, it's obviously happening now, but by the time any Government-appointed "team" gets around to discovering and/or reporting it, they will have been tainted by Industry lobbyists and the crisis will most likely be ended, allowing it to simply be swept under the proverbial rug.
The reason the current situation is so reminiscent of what happened in 2008 is because it directly relates to the last time the Oil Industry was not only allowed to "name their own price," but was assisted in doing so by the White House.
Remember Bush's Economic Stimulus Package, in which he so graciously handed $168 billion to the citizens of this country under the guise of stimulating his struggling economy? No sooner did we have the checks in hand that the Oil Industry started jacking up the price of gas until it had absorbed the so-called "stimulus." Exxon itself posted a then-record $45 billion for 2008. Dubya basically gave the industry $168 billion of taxpayer money, completely laundered by We The People. The only difference then was that George W. Bush kept no secrets about being a
puppet of the Oil Industry. Obama, while
not immune to taking contributions from it, knows he can't push too hard because next year is an election year, and he'll need all the help he can get.
But if he wants
my vote again, he'd better do something about these gas prices or no one but the wealthy will be able to afford to drive to the polls!
Labels: Bush, Dubya, Exxon, Gas prices, George W. Bush, Obama, Oil industry
Success!
Well, yesterday I spoke at the Brown Bag Lunch Book Review at the
Princeton Public Library, and all in all I think it went over fairly well. There were around 20 in attendance, so for my first outing, I'd say that's not bad. Granted, 1/4 of them were my relatives who were only there because I asked them to come, but it took the pressure off a bit and helped loosen up the rest of the group; encouraging them that it was ok to laugh at things from which they otherwise would have refrained.
I was amazed at how at ease I was speaking in front of people, even though it had been since college that I had spoken before a group. I was also aghast at the way I looked! My wife videotaped the entire thing - parts of which I had intended on posting - but when I saw myself and the condition I have let myself get to? No way, no how!
Ever seen those fat, bald preachers on television? Well, that's precisely what I look like now! I had no idea either, honestly. I guess I always see myself from only one angle in a mirror, and while it's not ideal, it's not horrible, per se.
Now that I've seen what I actually look like, and what other people see me as, I realize something has got to be done!
I have my 25th year
high school reunion coming up this summer, and I can't possibly go looking like
THIS! I figure I've got 4 months, so I'm going to give this a shot as soon as I catch up from doing taxes and preparing for this thing at the library.
Heck, I might even post my before pictures and use this as motivation. Soon...
Labels: family, fat, insanity, library, Princeton
Can't believe it isn't an official holiday yet!
So, today is the NASCAR New Year once again; that of course being the Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing, the Daytona 500.
This year is a special year indeed, in that it is the 10-year anniversary of the death of what was arguably the greatest driver of all-time, the Intimidator, the pilot of the #3 car, the late, great, Dale Earnhardt.
Moments away from solidifying his place in the NASCAR history books, he was seeking his second win at Daytona; in first place, leading the pack on the final lap of the race; when
disaster struck, changing the racing world - no, the ENTIRE world - in an instant. A crash that would be remembered not as the most spectacular, or firery, or destructive crash in automotive history, but the one the would affect the world as no other crash ever had before, or would again.
Anyone who has read my
book (if you haven't yet, WHY?) knows that I hate NASCAR. I hate everything that has to do with it, and I hate that it is taken so seriously as a sport. It's a bunch of guys driving around in a circle - again and again and again.
At the time of the THE accident, my family was living in
Moorefield, WV, and I was working as a Computer Operations Specialist at the
Summit Financial Group. Like most of Appalachia, it was filled with NASCAR fans, and the news of the fate the Number Three was met with the cries of horror equal to that of the news of the 9/11 attacks I would witness from them a few months later (I'm not joking.)
There was little work done that day in the Item Processing department, as none of the ladies had their hearts truly invested. They had, after all, just been crushed earlier in the day. There was a lot of keyboard action, though; expressing emotions and trading stories and memories with other grieving fans across the world via the internet.
I remember a particular conversation I had with one of my co-workers before we left at the end of the night.
"There is already a movement under way to have Dale Earnhardt sainted!"
"Sainted? Are you kidding me?"
"No, he needs to be sainted, so he can be recognized for everything he's done."
"Mother Theresa hasn't even been sainted yet, and she touched millions of lives and did wonderful things for humanity! You're comparing HIM to HER?!?"
"Millions of people go to NASCAR races every year, lots of 'em just to see HIM! You've never been to a race, so you don't know how wonderful it is!
"Yeah, but to actually be
sainted, a person has to perform some kind of
miracle."
"MIRACLE?!?! Did you ever see him
DRIVE?!?!"Labels: Moorefield, NASCAR, Summit Financial Group
Just thought this was cool...
According to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig, huh?
Ok, Mr. Smarty Geico lizard: Now what?!?!
So, today two important rites-of-passage were reached. The first is that I became officially old. I have attempted to stay relatively "young at heart," as they say. I don't always participate in all the latest cultural trends, but I try to stay abreast of them, and I haven't yet gotten to the point where I will go to the store dressed in whatever I have on because it's the most comfortable (i.e. bathrobe, house shoes, Family Guy lounge pants, etc.) I attend all of my son's band's "metalcore" shows, I can play WII Sports with my daughter(and win sometimes!), and I know how to pirate MP3s off the internet. I'd say for being in my '40s I'm still fairly hip (other than I would use the word "hip".)
But, it's the second of the two rites-of-passage which resulted in my sudden old-agedness.
My 16-year-old son received his driving permit today.
Yes, although he is required by state law to be accompanied by a licensed driver of at least 18 years of age seated next to him in the front seat at all times, my little boy - of whom I changed diapers, spoon fed, potty trained, taught to tie his shoes, help to ride a bike, went with on his first day of Kindergarten, played catch with in the yard, traded his lost teeth for Tooth Fairy money while he slept, and tied his necktie on his first school dance - is now legally allowed to crawl behind the wheel of a three-ton vehicle, capable of crushing entire families in an instant, and driving freely on the same public streets as I do; his only limitation that he be co-piloted by someone three years shy of beer-buying age.
I took him to the DMV today to take his written test (I guess the third time really
is a charm) and he confessed that he was one question away from failing it again, but luckily he guessed correctly on it. Then, after a couple other stops, he says, "Hand me the keys; I'm driving home!"
We were only three turns and two stoplight away from the house, so I proudly handed him the keys, made sure my daughter had her seatbelt fastened tightly in the backseat, and away we went. It wasn't the first he'd driven the car, but it was the first time in the city with other cars in motion on both sides. It took about three minutes to get home, and by the time he had backed into the driveway, I felt about three years older.
He had completed Driver's Ed class at school, but he explained that they never taught the kids to parallel park or drive using their mirrors. He said in all he was only behind the wheel about 4 hours in total.
After he got his permit, he told me all that.
It's going to be hard now trying to run out to grab something from the store without hearing, "Can I drive?"
Sure, it's your mom's car.
Labels: driving, son
What happened to the apple-a-day?
For those of you who are unaware of the fact, I have suffered from Multiple Sclerosis since 1995. Upon my diagnosis, I was fortunate enough to coincide with the indroduction of the first round of pharmaceuticals used to actually treat MS. Not to reverse anything, or relieve anything, but merely to slow the progression.
Seems like a good thing, right?
Well, it all depends on what you consider to be a "good" thing. See these meds, called Interferons, have a wonderful side effect of flu-like symptoms. For some people, they subside after a while. For others, one of which am so lucky to be, they continue for the duration of usage.
So not only to I have to self administer the injections thrice weekly, I get to have the flu after each dose. Basically, three days per week I have the flu. Three days per week I'm
recovering from the flu, and one day I get to feel relatively normal. Of course, my disease has progressed very slowly since I was diagnosed, but there's no guarantee that the medicine is resposible for that. So it's a constant battle inside my head; "Why put yourself through this year after year when it might all be pointless?" vs. "Are you willing to risk it by
not taking the shots?" Then I think about the unfortunate ones who were crippled overnight; or that are unable to sit in a chair unassisted and even type a blog. I think being able to walk far outweighs the discomfort of tri-weekly bouts of flu.
The crazy thing that makes interferons work is that it's basically a poison. It contains something that shouldn't be in your body, so the antibodies attack that foreign substance, as opposed to the myelin sheath that protects the nerves.
My medicine gets delivered in a cooler via USP, and one side of the box is always covered with the huge pharmacy information sticker. Recently I saw what has been hidden under that sticker.
Chinese hamster ovary cells?!? Really?!? Is it any wonder I feel like crap?!?
And the insurance pays almost $1500 per month for this. Seems like it would be cheaper just to eat a hamster every month.
Labels: MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Rebif