lonrombough

rhjunior @ 01:22 am: A fact I hadn't pondered
Thomas Sowell recently pointed out a factor in the rise of oil prices that I hadn't considered.


India and China are both growing like mad right now, economically. Between them they have eight times America's population, and that's growing as well....

Hello, "Demand."

To be fair, though, I haven't heard anyone else bring it up either. Just not as dramatic as "evil gouging oil companies," one supposes. And a little further outside our sphere of influence than taxes, legislation and NIMBY obstruction of domestic oil....

rhjunior @ 01:18 pm: For my dear Chicken Littles.....
For all the people in my response board who keep yelling "we have to do something NOW!!!"....

"Here are my questions: In 1970, when environmentalists were making
predictions of manmade global cooling and the threat of an ice age and
millions of Americans starving to death, what kind of government policy
should we have undertaken to prevent such a calamity? When Ehrlich predicted
that England would not exist in the year 2000, what steps should the British
Parliament have taken in 1970 to prevent such a dire outcome? In 1939, when
the U.S. Department of the Interior warned that we only had oil supplies for
another 13 years, what actions should President Roosevelt have taken? Finally,
what makes us think that environmental alarmism is any more correct now that
they have switched their tune to manmade global warming?" ---Walter
Williams (http://PatriotPost.US/opinion/entrylist.asp?source_id=39)

Perhaps I would listen more to the alarmists if they actually practiced what they preached and demonstrated some actual foresight in their choices. But when confronted with REAL long-term problems--- such as the tangible growing energy needs of a growing nation--- any action that takes longer than an election cycle gets voted down. Upgrade the electrical network? Build generators? Drill for oil in the Gulf or up in ANWR? "But that will take DECADES to pay off!...."
And decades have now passed, and we are STILL not tapping into our own energy reserves, and STILL not building new generators, and STILL limping along on an electricity infrastructure that threatens to keel over at any moment, and STILL hearing the same excuse-- "But that will take DECADES to pay off!...."
And it isn't nearly as flashy as making dramatic, sweeping, unconstitutional legislative decisions based on momentary panic, either.

rhjunior @ 07:28 pm: We can't get to that [perfect utopian] world because of what I call the Four Horseman of Human Havoc -- Angry, Hungry, Stupid and Wicked. Oh, we might be able to solve Hungry someday, but the other three? And that's the rub. Until there is a fundamental change in human nature, the good guys need the guns to protect themselves from the bad guys.....

It's easy, I told them, to imagine a gun-free world. It's very easy. Guns are a relatively new invention -- just go back in time a little ways. What do you get? Genghis Kahn, Attila the Hun, Julius Caesar...They wiped out entire towns, raped plundered and pillaged, all without guns. When they came to town, that's when you really needed a gun -- and not just a six shooter.

Alan Korwin

theljstaff, posting in news @ 05:49 pm: May News

This month is Mental Health Awareness Month, so the LiveJournal team is offering users a chance to support the Depression and Bipolar Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping improve the lives of those suffering from mood disorders. Proceeds from purchases of the Emerging Sun v-gift during May will be donated to the DBSA, so feel free to buy one. Or, if you really want to rack up some good karma points, get a bunch!

And don't forget: Mother's Day is this Sunday. Be a dear and check out the v-gifts shop. Send something that'll make her smile.


L to R: Emerging Sun, #1 Mom, Gift Basket, Chocolates, A Dozen Red Roses


We know how you salivate over the prospect of new themes, especially when they're designed by users with a unique handle on both form and function.


L to R: Shiny, River at Night, Live and Learn, Vector Drips.

( Winners of the HP 'What Do You Have to Say?' Theme Design Contest )


We'd like to remind you that the nomination process for LiveJournal Advisory Board user-representatives has begun. If you think you're fit for the job, now's the time to nominate yourself! After all, you're the only who can do it. In two weeks, on the 22nd, the voting process will begin; we'll remind you about it again here.

If you're interested in keeping up with the nominations, watch lj_election_en. We'll post the results and announce the winner by the end of the day on May 30th. The new user-representatives will be seated on June 1st. Further details can also be found in lj_2008.

rhjunior @ 12:38 am: In da mailbox
Part 1
In just one year. Remember the election in 2006?
Thought you might like to read the following:
A little over one year ago:
1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%.

Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we have seen:
1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon;
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate
(stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.

America voted for change in 2006, and we got it!

Remember it's Congress that makes law not the President. He has to work
with what's handed to him.


Part 2:
Taxes...Whether Democrat or a Republican you will find these statistics
enlightening and amazing.
www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html
Taxes under Clinton 1999 Taxes under Bush 2008
Single making 30K - tax $8,400 Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $14,000 Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $23,250 Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K - tax $16,800 Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $21,000 Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $38,750 Married making 125K - tax $31,250

Both democratic candidates will return to the higher tax rates
It is amazing how many people that fall into the categories above think
Bush is screwing them and Bill Clinton was the greatest President ever. If
Obama or Hillary are elected, they both say they will repeal the Bush tax
cuts and a good portion of the people that fall into the categories above
can't wait for it to happen. This is like the movie The Sting with Paul
Newman; you scam somebody out of some money and they don't even know what
happened.

PART 3:
You think the war in Iraq is costing us too much? Read this:

Boy, am I confused. I have been hammered with the propaganda
that it is the Iraq war and the war on terror that is
bankrupting us. I now find that to be RIDICULOUS.

I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over
again until they are read so many times that the reader gets
sick of reading them. I have included the URL's for
verification of all the following facts.

1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to
illegal aliens each year by state governments. Verify
at: http://tinyurl.com/zob77

2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food
assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school
lunches for illegal aliens.
Verify at:
http://www.cis..org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for
illegal aliens.
Verify at:
http://www.cis..org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and
secondary school education for children here illegally and
they cannot speak a word of English!
Verify at:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html

5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for
the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor
babies.
Verify at
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

6. $3 Mi llion Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal
aliens.
Verify at:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal
aliens.
Verify at:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for
Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.
Verify at:
http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.h
tml

9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages
are caused by the illegal aliens.
Verify at:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt
.01.html

10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate
that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens.
In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime
problem in the US
Verify at:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/ 12/ldt.01.html

11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION
illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many
as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions
of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana,
crossed into the U. S from the Southern border.
Verify at: Homeland Security
Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht

12. The National Policy Institute, "estimated that the total
cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230
billion or an average
cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year
period."
Verify at:
http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf

13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in
remittances back to their countries of origin.
Verify at:
http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm

14. "The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million
Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United
States."
Verify at:
http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml

The total cost is a whopping $ 338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR....

theljstaff, posting in news @ 10:56 am: Advisory Board Nominations Open
Advisory Board Nominations Begin

This morning we are opening the nomination process for the user-representative positions on the LiveJournal Advisory Board. A full description of the process can be found here.

To get you started, here are the basic things you should know:

- You may only nominate yourself
- Each nominee will need 100 motions of support in order to be eligible to be a candidate
- We ask that you keep your comments on the nomination posts to "I support this nomination" or something to that effect; be kind to those who will need to count the "supports", please.
- Although the nominations and election poll will take place in lj_election_en, you do not need to watch the community in order to keep up with the election; we'll announce everything here as well.

Everyone here at LiveJournal is looking forward to this first-ever User-Representative election! We'd like to thank everyone who is participating. Some words from our current Advisory Board members:

danah boyd: “LiveJournal is filled with very passionate users. These users have helped shaped LJ's various communities over the last decade and it gives me great joy that LJ is recognizing and incorporating users' voices into the decision-making processes. Having user representatives from different parts of LJ on the Advisory Board will help make sure that the company is meeting the needs of its diverse constituents.”

Esther Dyson: "I'm sure we'll learn a lot from the process, and later on from the two users selected as well. Especially, I hope that the discussions before the voting will be more meaningful and more focused on policy than those in some offline campaigns."

Brad Fitzpatrick: "It's cool that SUP is getting users involved with the LiveJournal decision-making process. I look forward to seeing who the community elects and the results of our efforts working together."

Professor Lawrence Lessig: “The user elections will provide a critical check on LJ's process of maintaining a valuable and trustworthy environment for the LJ community. The mandate of the elections will give the user representatives pride of place among the members of the Advisory Board. Each of us will look to them to guide us in our judgment about how best to make LJ the community we all aspire that it will be. I look forward to welcoming the user representatives, and learning a great deal from them.”


chasethestars has also made some banners for you to use, if you'd like to show your support for the candidate of your choice!

( Banners + code for you to use! )

rhjunior @ 01:06 pm: Price gouging?
http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2008/apr/02/gas-station-owners-say-profits-slim/

Danny Foix, who has operated stations in Wichita Falls for years, said his profit margin was 10 cents per gallon when fuel was $1 a gallon and is still 10 cents per gallon now that it’s more than $3.He said credit card companies such as Visa now charge a fee of about 3 percent, which cuts into his profit....

“I used to rely on fuel profits to pay most of the bills. I can’t do that anymore,” Foix said.

Increasingly, the biggest challenge for Foix and other operators is convincing drivers to step inside the store after they gas up. Their profits rely on the soda, beer, snacks and other merchandise they offer....

(Another station operator) pointed out that at 8 percent tax, the state makes more on gasoline sales than the retailer.

...With crude oil, gasoline’s raw ingredient, soaring to records near $112 earlier this month, ...Crack spreads, the difference between what refiners pay for crude and get for the gasoline they sell, have been in negative numbers some days recently. That means refiners were losing money on those days.

Could someone explain to me why the high price of gasoline is the fault of EVERYONE--- except for the congressmen who won't let us drill for it, keeping us dependent on unstable mideastern markets, and who tax what we do get into ruination?