[Inflation]

steel prices went up 300% in 6 months (these prices will filter down to consumer products soon)....construction products up 20% to 50%...gas is $2.00 a gallon...milk prices are up...everything has shot up in the last six months...

 

Why aren't inflation topics all over the news?

Because what you're seeing is not the effect of inflation. Inflation has remained very low. Consumer prices, however, have risen... primarily due to the rise in energy prices.

 

Energy prices would be lower if we would (1) build more refineries to process crude into usable fuels, (2) start tapping our own abundant oil fields (primarily in the Gulf of Mexico), and (3) if we brought radical Islamic terrorism under control, which keeps destabilizing the very region where we do purchase most of our energy.

 

As for Bush deficits... oh, puh-leeze. Budget deficits and surpluses (ANY budget... you budget, my budget, the state budget, federal budgets, ALL budgets) are only significant when put in the context of the total gross domestic product (what you earn). If you have a $10000 dollar gross income and a $5000 budget deficit, then that means that you have spent 50% more than you make in income. If you have a $20000 dollar gross income and a $10000 deficit, you have twice as much deficit as before, but it's still only 50% of your income.

 

The country's deficit is currently 2.8% of the GDP. This is *not* historically high. 1993 (a democratic year, I might add) also had a deficit that was 2.8% of GDP. 1992 had an even higher deficit of 2.9% of GDP. 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1986 had 3%, 3.6%, 4.3%, and 5.0% each, respectively.

 

It's real easy to be lulled into towing the usual political lines by watching too much media and not actually looking into the facts and real data yourself.

 

And, remember... although the president sets a lot of the tone for fiscal policy, it is your US Representatives who really are in charge of starting all of the spending. Spending bills ONLY start in the House of Representatives. Senators nor presidents have much say on what gets spent. The president can veto a spending bill, but often times other totally unrelated and politically-charged items are added to a bill which would make vetoing it very costly politically. (Which is why the line-item veto was such a good idea).

 

Having said all of this... I am very disappointed that President Bush has not taken the heat and vetoed some of this spending. However, even though he hasn't, I am totally aware (as should all of you) that the financial state of the country is a small issue... our country's safety and the successful elimination of Islamic terrorism is a MUCH more important topic. And because John Kerry has absolutely no plan to pursue and down these punks in their own backyard, I have no choice but to vote for security and strong terrorism policy. But, that's a whole different topic.

[prowler in woods again]

So... bring it on, Mister Snoop. I'd like to introduce you to a couple of powerful friends of mine. Messrs Sturm and Ruger.

 

And, I'm an excellent shot, I might add. In South Carolina when qualifying for a concealed carry permit (yeah... in South Carolina, you have to take a written and live fire test), I scored 290 out of 300 on a regulation 30-round target test. 29 out of 30 rounds hit dead-center.

[Child abuse]

Subdivider,

 

How can you say as quoted above that testing positive for marijuana is NO BIG DEAL. Having drugs is a huge deal in front of kids. Having drugs around children has got to be one the most stupid things that a parent could do. You are telling them that it is okay for you to do it. If it's good enough for the parents then its got to be okay for the kids right????? How far fetched can that be?

 

I do grant you one though, yes, I would be upset if my neighbors got into my business. There are way too many times that DFACS is called when they shouldn't be. I have a friend that has had them called on her by her ex husbands mother several times. Everytime they come out they find nothing. She asked them how many times can she be falsely reported. They told her they have to act on every call that they get though.

Who said the drug use was in front of the kids? Personally, I don't find recreational use of marijuana a big deal (though it may surprise you that I have never even touched any illicit drug... been tempted any number of times, but for some reason I never have).

 

If the parents are doing it right out there in the open and encouraging it's abuse, then yeah, that could be a problem.

 

But, if they are doing it in their own little corner of their house (the kids are asleep, with grandma, at school... whatever), I do not consider that a big deal.

 

It's like have sexual relations with your spouse. In and of itself is not a "big deal" (and is quite enjoyable, I might add... much like recreational drug use would be, I imagine).

 

But, engaging in that activity with the kids right there front-row-center would be a "big deal".

 

So, now that we have established two behaviors which are a "big deal" in front of kids, let's think about what Subdivider said.

 

The parents smoked pot. I have sexual relations with my wife. Both are a big no-no in front of the kids. The parents test positive for marijuana. My wife tests positive for being pregnant. The parents are labelled "bad" because they do drugs. My wife is showered with gifts.

 

What's the big deal?

[Child abuse]

DFACS is truly an evil entity. One of the bad aspects of living in Georgia. Government meddling in people's business.

[Child abuse]

Absolutely... unless it was simple spanking. I understand the benefits of a good pop on the behind. But, yaking a kid around recklessly, slapping with enough force to do actual damage, or stuff like that is enough for me to draw the line and come to the defense of the child right then and there.

 

But, unless I judge the child to be in imminent danger of losing life or limb, it is none of my business.

[Child abuse]

Cussing down and hurting kids feelings like that is disgusting, and my heart hurts, too... But, to whose standards are those kids judged to be "abused"? How is it your responsibility to assert your standards on someone else?

 

I, personally, beleive it's none of my business how someone else runs their family. I tend to keep from putting my nose in their business.

 

Don't get me wrong... I would love (and would get great delight) in roughing their mom up. But, it's not right for me to assert my standards on them.

["Haunted" Places in Paulding]

I visited the Noonday Cemetary today. Didn't actually go into the cemetery, but snapped a few crude pictures of it from my phone cam.

 

Can anyone help me on how to get pix into the gallery here?

[You're Shipwrecked On An Island]

Ok... if boxsets were not counted as 1, I would eat up 8 discs the first two items in my list.

 

But, in an ideal world (where boxsets are 1):

 

1. Steely Dan - Citizen Steely Dan

2. The Police - Message In A Box

3. Dexys Midnight Runners - Too Rye Ay

4. Kiss - Alive II

5. Robert Plant - Now and Zen

6. Robert Palmer - Heavy Nova

7. Howard Jones - Things Can Only Get Better

8. Genesis - Turn It On Again (The Hits)

9. Gordon Lightfoot - Summertime Dream

10. Powerman 5000 - Tonight the Stars Revolt

 

(betcha didn't see #10 coming, did ya? )