Termyn8or
Posts: 18681
Joined: 11/12/2005 Status: offline
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Don't be bashing SUVs. Some of them have four cylinders. What is happening here is that all of Bush's buddies are cleaning up, but he says he is on our side, that he encourages them to do research to find ways to make less money. What a crock. These MFs are pumping oil out of Iraq at an alarming rate. There is no accountability. The DFI (Development Fund for Iraq) makes disbursments to Haliburton and other companies, yet a couple years ago there was no health care for Iraqis. I don't mean Iraqis had to pay hospital bills, I mean the hospitals that did not get bombed did not have the resources. Remember the Mafia ? Yes the one that didn't really exist (snicker). Well there were good guys and bad guys. The good guys you could deal with, deal some drugs, some stolen shit etc., and then there were the bad guys. the ones who wanted to simply take everything. Well the latter crowd did not get busted like John Gotti, they got elected. The old saying "One for the money, two for the show" takes on a whole new meaning these days. Perhaps we should have one day everybody can agree to not buy gas. If you think it'll hurt their wallets you are wrong. What it will do is jam them up. There is almost a contiuous flow of oil from the wells to the refineries, and then to the gas pump. To have a whole day with absolutely no gas sales would impact them in different ways, not the least of which would be the show of solidarity. That kind of thing can worry public servants. It might get them thinking we might get a third party candidate elected eventually, even though they have taken steps to inhibit that possibility. (campaign finance reform, read about it, it is nasty and accomplishes nothing for the People) Actually if we could even get, say 40% of the US population to take their vacations on a certain week, but NOT go driving or flying around, just buy no gas, simply do not travel. Forty percent for a week is quite a show of solidarity. All this shit is perfectly legal, even the mayor of NYC ordering the cab drivers back to work didn't solve that problem. Perhaps it is time for the truck drivers to get together. There are two misconceptions in the world. For one, people don't realize that 99% of what you need, what you buy comes to you on a truck, even a new truck. Another problem is that people thing of heating oil and gasoline when they think of oil. Look at the monitor on your PC, see the plastic ? It is made from petroleum. Yes, petroleum not only fuels (pun) the oil companies and allows us to drive around and heat homes, it also allows us to live in the throw away society where nothing needs to be fixed. Just buy a new one. This, in turn, "fuels" the Chinese economy. Well, the Chinese economy has been fueled plenty in the last few decades. So much in fact that they could cash in their US securities and cause about 40% inflation overnight. Mass production of consumer goods depends on oil alot more than most people think, and as long as we fill the landfills with our useless plastic junk we make ourselves dependent. My TV is eighteen years old, my car is nineteen years old. I could get a brand new car on my credit card, but I don't. I do not want it. Even in a 1987 high end Buick, there is alot of plastic, so the petroleum does not only go in the gas tank and crankcase. There is an upside to all this believe it or not. People will be forced to learn to conserve. Too bad it didn't happen sooner. Carpooling is good, getting something fixed instead of buying a new one is good, but none of this goes far enough. In Ohio, Eastlake and Westlake are about 50 miles apart, I have mused, and told people "Why is it that a bricklayer from Eastlake drives to Westlake to do the exact same job as a bricklayer from Eastlake does in Westlake ?". Indeed. We need to think up new ways to get along, yes you heard it here first. When something gets out of your economic reach, you must do this radical thing they used to do in the old days. Without. So for three bucks less an hour I drive about 19 miles round trip. This is much better than the 46 I used to have to drive. This is significant. No, I did not change jobs for that reason but it's still good. There is only so much that can be done on this end. A show force with a boycott might send a message, but it's not a real solution, they know we can't keep it up. A general decrease in consumption is all that can do anything for us. They have the gas, they know we need it. It's not just that either. Petroleum is used in bicycle tires as well, as well as your tennis shoes. They still get your money one way or the other, it's just a matter of making it so they get less. Any (remember how much I am against big government) business that gouges the American public should be subject to nationalisation, that is to take it away from them. Unfortunately in our current predicament this will not do us any good. Now I will go to the store and get beer, one of the things that takes very little petroleum to make. Unfortunately I have to drive there. T
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