March 2, 2003
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http://www.kgmb9.com/local/show_news.php?show_n_id=776&clean=1
Apathy is my only excuse for not posting. The thought of us going into war is extremely depressing. I’m positive our politicians have NO idea what the whole world, much less the US would face in the type of war that Shrub is proposing. For example, as I’ve mentioned before, the long-term effects of using nuclear weapons! The link above is to a recent (last night) story about our neighbors from Bikini Atoll of the Marshall Islands, who STILL CANNOT GO HOME because of OUR nuke test run nearly 60 years ago!
You who think it would be ok to nuke the Middle East have NO idea what you are talking about! If we were to receive oil from that area after a nuclear detonation, we would be spreading nuclear contamination wherever that oil goes. In other words, any commodity (which Shrub so badly wants control of) would be too contaminated to utilize. So that oil would be no good.
Guess what? WE have more crude in known reservoirs in the US than the Middle East (100 BILLIN barrels more!)! Most is untapped. But of that which HAD been at one point, the oil industry has capped, without explanation. Now, they are saying it would cost too much to refit those wells to current tech standards for financial feasibility. BULLSHIT!!!!!! They just don’t want to pay royalties on the stuff!
If any of you knowledgeable of the oil industry of the 80s would check into this, you would find that horizontal drilling started up just about the time many of these wells were capped off. There were suits in regard to stealing mineral rights (guess where?… TEXAS!!!) due to the horizontal drilling. However, property owners, without the clout of the oil companies, lost out on the suits. Horizontal drilling is still practiced in South Central Texas today, extracting that same oil reserves they claim they have NO ACCESS to!
I have told a few people about some of my personal experiences with the oil industry, but they continue to believe the BS passed on by corporate CEOs, who’s primary goal is PROFIT. I spoke to an oil tanker truck driver at the time, who had hauled THOUSANDS of gallons of refined diesel into the desert, pumping it into the ground. Apparently, with the price increase of gasoline (due to an unexplained shortage), people began to buy diesel-powered vehicles (mostly Mercedez & Volkswagon Rabbits, taking money out of corporate America’s pockets again). This caused there to be less gasoline sales because those still driving gasoline-powered vehicles cut their driving habits to only necessary trips. Diesel-powered vehicles can go up to 4+ times farther per gallon than gasoline-powered engines. It only made sense to drive a diesel engine. They also DON’T have to meet emissions requirements imposed upon gasoline-powered engines.
Anyway, back to the oil tanker fiasco… The price of diesel at the time was about 1/3rd the cost of gasoline, so the oil companies were ‘losing money’ (profits). The diesel shortage that turned up then was CREATED, so that the oil companies could still enjoy the exceptionally high profit margin they wanted.
I remember buying PREMIUM gasoline for my 1968 Firebird convertible in 1974 for 35¢/gallon. After the supposed gasoline shortage (early 80s), the price of regular jumped to $1.009/gallon. (This was in Texas.) Diesel in the mid-70s was about 25¢/gallon. As a result of the ‘diesel shortage,’ that price jumped to $1.25/gallon (from about 40¢).
Does anyone have any idea how much money a gas station makes from the sales of gasoline? I do, since I managed one in Texas. As a manager, I received 5¢/per gallon sold. Off quarts of oil, I made 4¢. (I made more profit off sodas & snacks!) I’m sure the oil company I worked for made a hell of alot more than that. This was when fuel price averaged about 90¢/gallon & 10¢ went to State & Federal road taxes.
I have mentioned some of this stuff before, mostly in person to close ‘friends.’ I wasn’t believed then. “Dumb blonde female” attitude… I didn’t know what I was talking about. I’ve got news for you… I HAVE FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE OF MOST OF WHAT I SAY! If not first-hand, then second-hand, by someone (as in the trucker) who actually saw/did what I mentioned. And I don’t just ‘spread gossip’ when I mention something someone else has said. I’ve checked into it more. Example… I hate being wrong… in the position of passing on false information or mis-directing others. All I want to do is HELP!
And Dread, those numbers you look at are manipulated. Get ‘down & dirty’ with the REAL people involved with some of these issues. You might just change your tune. For example, I learned that a woman, pissed about how Jimmy Dean’s corp was treating her, took off her metal mesh glove, threw it in the sausage grinder & walked out. The metal was packaged into breakfast sausage. The woman who worked next to her (& saw her do it) told me of the incident.
Piss off the wrong person & the next cup of coffee you get might just literally be full of it (piss, that is!)! I don’t condone what these people do, but I understand WHY. If you think it’s rare, you’d better wake up. Most who have jobs would rather play games or mess around on the Internet than do what they are paid to do, so that’s just what happens. No wonder our country is so fucked-up! Look at how many even here on Xanga only browse Xanga WHILE ON THE JOB!!! SHAME ON YOU!!!! Do your fucking JOB FIRST!!!! And don’t tell me that you don’t have work to do! There’s ALWAYS something needing to be done on the job, or there wouldn’t be such a back-log of stuff!
Comments (9)
good to see you back here! ’tis a terrible situation…
“I’m positive our politicians have NO idea…”
Don’t you think our senator understands the impact of war. He’s missing an arm, so he’s reminded on a daily basis about the horrors of war.
Yeah, he is. However, looking at his budget allocations for this state for this fiscal year, he has given NOT ONE DOLLAR toward anything for Veterans. Strange, huh? http://www.senate.gov/~inouye/03ab/2003vahudab.html
I don’t think anybody actually wants war, but sometimes you’ve got to fight for what you believe in, and sometimes you have to take a stand. None of this would have happened if they hadn’t brought it here to us to begin with. Bush didn’t ask them to kill all those people in NYC. He can’t, in good conscience, just sit back and say, “Oh well, let’s just leave those poor little innocent people alone and let them blow the hell out of the rest of the country.” It’s been nothing but one problem after another with these people. With every war comes protesters, but no matter what anybody wants, we need to support our guys that are being sent over there, at least. And Bush isn’t the only one that thinks this needs to be done. There are a lot of people still behind him including those in congress.
Actually Debi, tying Al Qaida to Saddam is quite a leap. They are totally separate. This is one of the problems lots of people are making. Saddam’s Muslim sect has nothing to do with Al Qaida. As I’ve mentioned before on another’s blog, lumping ALL the Muslim groups together as one group is like lumping ALL the Catholics together, including those of Northern Ireland with the various Catholic groups of the US. Should the world attack the Catholics of the US because of the insurgency of the Catholics of Northern Ireland?
Here’s another thought along those lines… You are primarily of Irish ancestry. Because of the continual fighting going on in your ancestors’ homeland, should YOU be included as ‘One of THEM’ (IRA terrorist)?
Get real! Iraq’s population is greater than 50% CHILDREN!!! Saddam kills his own people? Not hardly. He overtly assasinated politicians who worked against him. In this country, the same thing happens, only covertly, by ‘non-existent’ agencies.
It is OUR country which has tested chemical, biological & nuclear weapons of mass destruction on its own people, NOT Iraq! Look at how many within our country suffer from dreaded illnesses, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, among many others, which can be traced back to use of these agents, although our government still has yet to own up to what it did.
Another thing is that chemical companies have been polluting our environment for years. They allow ‘spills’ to go unchecked, burying the truth… all for profit. They dispose of contaminants in inappropriate methods, the containers they are in decomposing, allowing these nasties to seep into our aquafers. They don’t care about the long-term effects of their actions. All they are looking at is the immediate profit margin. It doesn’t help that when they are caught & fined, all they do is raise the price of their products to the consumer & continue violating, since the fine is much less than the money they save by committing the violation.
Now, many of these large corporations, to continue the moral violations & make even higher profits, are moving their manufacturing processes to ‘Third-World Countries,’ where there are no environmental restrictions. They claim that it costs too much to do this part of their business in the states. They also say it is to ‘help’ these ‘Third World Nations’ improve their economy. How? By killing them with pollutants?
Technology… Just more methods to kill our own people; whether by pollutants or through accidents (like car crashes, industrial accidents such as plant fires & explosions).
Here’s a thought… Our world is overpopulated & getting worse every year. And the ‘normal’ processes of population reduction aren’t keeping up with those numbers, because of advances in medical science. Perhaps then a major war is necessary to reduce those numbers? Playing the ‘devil’s advocate’ here. Let’s just get rid of everyone who doesn’t have a family income of over $100k. That would solve all the issues that Bush is addressing, wouldn’t it?
I know there’s a difference between Saddam and Al Quaeda, and that one has nothing to do with the other. But are you telling me that Hussein isn’t a threat and is just another leader trying to do his best here? My point was that the attack was the catalyst that started it all, and brought up a situation that should’ve been taken care of long ago, brought it back to our attention, even if it was a seperate incident….and yes, by Bush Sr, but we all make mistakes, so maybe Bush Jr can rectify it. Regardless, they don’t tell us everything, but most of the military guys are right with the president. Doug still hunts with all the guys from Bullis out on Doc’s property, and they all think the president is doing the right thing. Many of them were shipped out recently, and several of our friends from Fort Hood also went. I have yet to hear one of them complaining like I hear the civilians doing, so maybe they know something we don’t? And then there are those that are retired. They’ve been saying the same thing. Not one of them will say a thing against what Bush is doing. Even the farmers and ranchers out here agree with him. I do more listening than talking, but they definitely have something to say about it.
Anyway I came over here to say something else, and now I forgot what. lol Can we not talk about this anymore, please? I do that every time, and it gets us no where.
yeah, it’s messed up. unfortunately, i have to take orders. :-
At least you’re safe in the Academy yet, podfan18. Listening to the news, I find just as many military members questioning our actions as those who are in support of it (just like the first time we went into the Persian Gulf, as well as during Vietnam!). I am guessing that since debi is in Texas, where Bush comes from & still spends alot of time at, they feel they must back up the person they elected as state governor as well as President, no matter what he does. Loyalty & patriotism, no matter what the outcome. *Sigh*
Myrene, a lot of those guys I mentioned aren’t from Texas. Rob is in Alaska. Pete is in New york. Nick is in Korea. Paul is in Arkansas (I think), and John J is in California. These guys used to be stationed at Bullis but none of them came from here originally. Doug still gets regular emails from them, since they’re all hunting buddies. They’re all wanting to come back here this summer if they’re not overseas, and hunt. lol I can just imagine what our house will be like if that happens. Some of the rest, the farmers and ranchers, are from here, of course. But I doubt they’re backing him just because he’s from here. They’re all a bunch of old rednecks and they don’t back anybody unless they believe in him. It’s not like they know him anyway.