What, Me Worry?

(Due to popular demand, the following post, originally published on September 15, 2008 in an alternate universe, proudly makes an encore appearance.)



Welcome to Black Monday.
The Dow Jones lost 500 points today. Reports state that gasoline will soon be back over $4.00/gal and is headed for $5.00. A five-pound bag of potatoes costs $5.00, and a single tomato is going for $2.00 apiece! While there are no bread lines, yet, there soon will be.

Former head of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, stated today that we are headed for a world-wide recession, and things  will get worse before they get better. Mortgage foreclosures are so bad that some of the nation's largest banks have gone bankrupt, while others avoided bankruptcy by being bought by bigger banks.

Who will come to rescue us from this plight?

Well, Heaven knows it won't be President Bush. He just spent the last eight years putting us in this mess. Someone at work today said that the Federal government should do  something to regulate gas prices. DUH! I replied to him, "Well, when you elected an oil-baron president, what did you expect?" Bush has about 100 days left in office, and he will spend every last one of them trying to wring every last penny he can (for himself and his cronies) out of the American people.

I tried to warn people eight years ago about the danger of electing an oil-baron president but they were more concerned about abortion, the danger of same-sex marriages, swearing on TV and radio, and other right-wing conservative problems.

Heaven forbid we let women decide for themselves about issues concerning their own bodies.
Heaven forbid two consenting adults want to be a family.
Heaven forbid someone should SAY something blue on the radio.

If the American people spent half the time worrying about the American people as they do listening to hell-fire-and-damnation lectures from conservative preachers, we probably would not be in this mess. I am not, by nature a political person, but if you want to know my true feelings about American democracy, read "Eeney, Meeney, Miney, Moe".

As for me, I am not worried. I passed Boy Scout survival training 40 years ago. I'm ready at a moment's notice to start digging for grubs, and eating bugs (here in Florida I'll be eating well).

Hope you fare as well.

Ain't That Peculiar

Its kind of funny how life is now a days. One day you are told one thing, then the next day, they tell you something different. Who they are I'm not quite sure, but whoever they are, they can't seem to be able to make up their minds.

I remember when I was young, growing up a Catholic, the nuns told us that it was a mortal sin to eat meat on Friday. This meant that if you deliberately ate meat on a Friday, and knew that it was a mortal sin, and did not confess that sin to the nice priest, (who then had you say fifty "Hail Marys", twenty "Our Fathers", and fifteen "Act of Contritions",) and died; you would spend all of eternity being one of Satan's minions.

Around 1971, the Church did an about face on the eating meat on Friday thing; now it was no longer a sin at all, to eat meat on a Friday. I always wondered about the poor souls burning in hell for eating a lousy baloney sandwich on a Friday. Did St. Peter take the elevator down to hell, and proclaim, "Hey, all you guys down here on the eating meat on Friday rap, come on up!" The nuns I questioned about this denied that they ever said it was a mortal sin to eat meat on a Friday. Hmmmmmm.

Last October (one whole year ago!), gasoline was averaging $4.00/gal. We were being told that oil, being a fossil fuel, was limited in supply; and that the cost to explore, drill, import, etc. etc. was the reason for the ever increasing prices. Then the doo doo hit the fan with the economy; people couldn't afford to pay exorbitant prices for gas. The oil companies weren't selling enough gas to keep their profit margins up. Now gasoline is averaging $2.70/gal! Maybe oil wasn't so scarce after all. Hmmmmmm.

Maybe I am too skeptical, but it seems to me that we are being told whatever lie is convenient, to persuade us to do what they want. Want to talk about the bailout for the banks? Hmmmmm. How about the erosion of personal freedoms to keep America safe? Hmmmmm. It seems to me, that the next time they tell us the truth about anything, it will be the first time.