Well….if you look down, there is a completed placeholder that you may have not noticed…and it was some work at this time in the day so take a look….now back to today…it was a fun day yesterday as it always is when I get to have lunch with T…I am a little concerned with the injury to her foot from yesterday, though, and I will worry about that all day…..then it was out to have a couple with G and that went smoothly so that was a plus…no cocktails when I got home so I feel okay but I think the time change is still having an effect since I am still a little worn out….didn’t get to ride the bike with the off and on rain all day but I will struggle with the guilt until I get back on it today…yep, I’m crazy but you know that….not much to do today…no cooking since it will be a leftover day and I do miss that….and not much else to do…so I’ll be fighting boredom to the best of my ability which has not been all that great lately…more later…and I mean it this time….
Monthly Archives: March 2012
Either you are for capitalism or not…
This is a placeholder of the idea that the repubs can’t have it both ways…you can’t tout capitalism on one hand and then want the president to intervene in the economy to bring down gas prices….
Okay..it’s really early in the morning but I feel obligated to finish this one since placeholders guilt me pretty well…first…we have the repubs actually making the case in the press and on fox news that the president can intervene to lower oil and gas prices…the clips on Keith’s show last night from 2008 were just hilarious where we had the usual suspects at fox falling all over themselves protecting ole GW from gas prices that were higher than they are now….going on and on how the market will correct the prices and that the president couldn’t and shouldn’t intervene….then the cut comes to all of the repub candidates repudiating the free market by saying they would all promote more drilling, etc. etc…..to bring prices down…and that the president now has the magical powers to lower prices…..let’s get few things straight first….the oil companies are wallowing in profits with things just the way they are….why would they drill more, even in the leases that are open and they hold, that are not being used if to do so would increase supply and lower prices? How would approving the Keystone pipeline lower prices when all of it’s output would be sold into the world market? How would approving more refinery construction lower prices of gas when two of them have been closed in the past year by the oil companies to “support prices”? Short of nationalizing the oil companies holdings here in the US, there is just not much that any sitting president can do on oil or gas prices in the increasingly globalized market….any repub that says anything different is either ignorant or a liar…you choose which…geez…
Organized labor wakes up…
Well…I was really surprised and interested reading the latest developments in the war on labor being perpetrated by the repubs here in Michigan…and while I do applaud Gov. Snyder’s telegraphing to his repub cohorts that he doesn’t want a right to work law to get to his desk…I have no faith that he will veto the bill if it does get there…in fact, he was asked if he would and he ignored the question. So, when I heard that there is a coalition of labor organizations that is putting together a petition drive to change the state constitution ensuring that no party can take the rights of labor away, I was heartened somewhat but saddened as well that we that oppose restriction of the rights of you and me to bargain with our employers had to resort to the nuclear option. One of the things that I find troubling with this entire issue is the fact that the repubs are leading a race to the bottom for workers that will only benefit the rich…if wages drop in right to work states, where does the profit go that used to go to middle class wages? Straight to the top 1% in the form of bonuses that will further decrease purchasing power that used to drive the economy…this increased concentration is what has caused this recovery to be so weak since middle class wages and consumption are more than 70% of economic activity. I ask the same question of the rich that I always ask in this situation: “how much is enough?”…geez…
March 12th
Well….it was a Sunday much like all the rest of them but it was a no cocktail night so I feel okay this morning..other than the time change which really screws up my sleep…okay…my sleep is always screwed up and I’m sure you don’t want to hear about it anymore….and there were no dreams to offset the crappy sleep…oh, well…I do have lunch with T today so that is something to look forward to but it is raining like crazy so I may not be able to get to the ride today and it looks like it will be wet most of the day…okay….I’ve been up since 5:20 and this is not going well so I am going to go back to the couch for a few minutes and let the brain start functioning again….
How about a part two?
Well….it’s been another Sunday and I did get a long bike ride in in just shorts and a t-shirt and came back sweating through everything which was more like it…cooked some chicken for lunch and forgot to turn the oven off for a few hours after it….couldn’t figure out why it was so warm in here even with the slider open….I still can’t believe that it’s early March and it is 65 degrees…it was nice to have a long text conversation with T today and that kept me from the total, crushing boredom that usually comes with it being Sunday….I did have some political stuff to talk about but I forgot what it was so I guess I’ll have to go back to the paper and see if that will trigger it…who knows?
March 11th
Well….it was a nice day yesterday with getting out to see K and J for a while but it got me started on the cocktails a little early so I feel a little slow today…and, as you’ve noticed, there was no political one yesterday but you should expect that on the weekends….and the Wings lost so that just adds to my malaise this morning that I am trying hard to fight…not really…just thought I’d say that as a way to show that I’m not a total slacker on the weekends…which I am. really….it’s almost 10 but 9 really with the time change and I am already out of things to do other than ride the bike…oh, and Man U is on this morning…in a few minutes so I’m going to go back to the couch and get ready for it….more later….okay, I laughed at that, too…
March 10th
Well…another long day and night but the Wings won so that helped….and Michigan and State won in the tournament so there will be two games to watch today and something to do…and the Wings play again tonight…plus, there is soccer on starting at 7:30 this morning….not sure what any of that means…I think I’m grasping at straws to keep myself from going crazy…or I already have and sports is the manifestation of it..who knows? I still have that grinding pop in my right thigh when I stand up but the pain is not too great so I think I can live with it…we’ll see when I get out on the bike today…at least it’s not numb anymore…that was kind of freaking me out….not much to do today…I will probably just sports out the day and veg…there is still a spider alert on so I should do something about that, too….more later…
Number 1,500….
Well…it’s been almost two years I’ve been doing this thing and this one is number 1,500 and, as always, I don’t know what to think if it….on one level, I’m proud that I’ve had the tenacity and discipline to write an average of more than two of these a day, and some of them have even been pretty good….but on another level, the question has to be asked: “What’s the point?”. I’m not sure I can answer that one…I do know that it has helped keep my skills at writing at least warmed up and the old adage that “if you don’t use it, you lose it” always runs through my mind when I get up in the morning and don’t feel like even trying. Does everything have to have a point? Or, is it enough to just do it for me? It may be that I am doing this just for me…haven’t looked at the stats lately to see how many people are still coming…there were periods when there were thousands of you every day and I guess I don’t look because I don’t need another reason to be depressed, and who else cares but me? So, I will say thanks to those of you that keep coming back and listening to this overqualified and unemployed old guy try to make sense of things….and, I’ll continue to try to get better and do better every day…if you’ve been here before, you know how big of a struggle that is at times….
March 9th
Well…it was another day yesterday with more boredom but I did make corned beef and cabbage that came out great so that helped a little…I’m still feeling a little off and my right thigh has this burning sensation in it that is a little disconcerting…it may be connected to the lower back pain that I’m feeling on that side….okay….going to wimp out and go back to the couch….back later for more…and the next one will be number 1500…so I really should think of something profound to say but I’m not sure if I’m up to it…I may be later but not now…it will be a no bike ride day today since it is going to be around 35 for a high and I don’t want to thermasuit up again…I do need to go out to Meijers this morning and I am going to try to keep the shorts thing going even though I’m 6 weeks or so ahead of my earliest start…
Another short one on tax cuts…
Well…while cruising my online papers for the second time today, a thought came to me that should put the “tax cuts make tax revenues grow” nonsense that is still a staple of all of the economic plans of the repubs across the country to rest. If that is the case, why did the Bush tax cuts take the economy from the surplus that he was handed when “elected”, to the huge deficits that we now see? Shouldn’t those cuts have driven tax revenues so high that even today there would be no deficits? Just asking….