Well Here We Are, a Year Later,

and no one seems to have learned anything from Hurricane Katrina. The Army Corps of Engineers says that the New Orleans levees are back to pre-Katrina levels (able to withstand a category 3 hurricane). Ray 'Chocolate' Nagin is still in power... Huh? How did that happen? Definitely one of those 'get what you deserve' sort of things, agreed?

People are still moaning and pissing about the Federal Government's response to Katrina- why aren't there more blank checks from Congress?

Several newspeople today still spoke of Katrina's "wrath," as if the storm had the capacity to think! Don't forget the global warming, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

The bottom line- New Orleans is no better prepared for a category 3+ storm than it was a year ago. The only difference is that there are now fewer residents to get caught up in the floods if it happens again. As I said in previous posts, no one took the time to consider any bold new ideas for New Orleans. So New Orleans remains a very susceptible town to hurricanes, not to mention any terrorists who have designs on the levees. I hope that the people who have the desire to recover and relocate can get it done before this tragedy inevitably repeats itself.

Motorcycle Trends

I believe that the height of the popularity of the motorcycle 'cruiser' has been, or is very close to being, reached in this country. SO many custom choppers/etc.

Recently, custom sport bikes are all the rage. 'Adventure' riding is also becoming popular, and should be so for the next several years. The next trend will be the restoration of old classic motorcycles... Mark my words. Competition on ebay is already starting to heat up for old bikes and parts. Better scoop up that great fixer-upper while you can!

Israel / Hezbollah Cease Fire

Uh- yeah. A big opportunity wasted by the Israelis...

I Think it Would be Interesting

if one of the U.S. oil companies would sell gasoline derived solely from North American oil sources. (I realize that the majority of our crude oil comes from Mexico and Canada) They could call it 'Certified North American Gasoline'. This would be interesting because we would learn how much more some people would be willing to pay per gallon for gasoline to know that they are not funding Middle Eastern or Islamofascist countries...

It Seems

That Bill O'Reilly is on a Big Oil Jihad, the likes of which haven't been seen since Lou Dobbs and globalization... He thinks that BP is shutting down their Alaskan operation to shock the markets and line their pockets even further with higher oil prices. He spoke on the Radio Factor today about how preventative maintenance could have prevented this shut-down. Bill- this shut-down IS the preventative maintenance! Would you have BP keep pumping oil through that system without shutting it down to replace the pipelines? Come on! There is no sense in rolling the dice on what could potentially be a big oil spill.

I've said it before- the government makes more than double what the average oil company makes on a gallon of gasoline. Until it's the other way around, I don't care to hear about your Big Oil conspiracy, Bill.

Off to the Lake

This weekend for some family time and scuba diving. Can't wait! Gotta put some new (to me) scuba equipment through its paces. If I keep up all my expensive hobbies, I'll have to move my retirement age back a few years. Oh well, it's worth it...

I Think I'll Vote Libertarian

Well, I would have anyway, but here is a Democrat contender for Congress (vs. Jo Ann Emerson) in Missouri's 8th District:


In case it's hard to read, E. Earl says that a Democratic Congress will:

Create Jobs *
Raise Minimum Wage **
Close the Border
Bring Down Gas Prices ***
Revive Lost Industries ***
Level Global Trade Field +
Balance the Budget
Lower the Trade Defecit ***
Re-Energize the Family Farm +
Re-Direct Government to the People +

* not the function of government
** destroyer of entry-level jobs
*** impossible in the long term, due to economic forces beyond the government's control
+ total B.S., feel-good political rhetoric

Clearly, E. Earl was no economics major. A Congress of any political makeup can really only accomplish three of these goals. Raising the minimum wage is easy enough for Congress to do. Closing the Border, a different story. We better get to work on the Great Wall of the Southwest soon... Maybe E. Earl will lend a hand in its construction! Last, but not least, E. Earl and friends could balance the budget... While I recognize that in E. Earl's world, that's a code phrase for "raise your taxes to balance the budget," it could actually be done with radical spending reduction as well. That would take a tremendous amount of leadership...

Kudos to E. Earl for not race-baiting or playing a class-warfare card in his ad. Classy, indeed.