+100%

So I commute to work about 48 miles each way. Hay, I don't like it. The idea of being a commuter sickens me, but frankly, good jobs are scarce, and teaching jobs are few and far between in today's climate.
Our budget is getting hit like mad because of this. It's been angering me to see $3.15+ gas prices and I've just started to remember things form the past, like President George "fucking lying scumbag piece of shit" W. Bush telling us that his glorious war was going to find lower gas prices. Am I the only one who remembers this? I can't find a reference in a quick google search, but I swear there was at least a line or two in his war declaration (I have it recorded somewhere, I guess I should check it out) about how destroying Iraq will make gas prices go down for US citizens.

Anyway, it did make me think about how much we have been paying and finally - after weeks of meaning to do it - look up the stats. This site lets you chart the gas price trends in Vermont, but only as far back as 6 years. That, however, is not too bad. 2/24/2002 appears to be around $1.40. Today, at least $3.15 and climbing. Hmmm..... that MORE THAN DOUBLING in price in only 6 years. How fucked is that? The chart shows a nasty spike in August of 2005 and a cooling off in Q3/2006. But in the last year - a DOLLAR per gallon increase. The D.O.E. has a chart showing what I'm guessing are national averages since a long time ago. I wanted to know what it was like in 1998, before I got married. The wife and I both walked to work back then and only drove for shopping and visiting family. $1.06!

Did you miss that? $1.10! That's nearly 1/3 of what we are paying now, and certainly will be LESS than 1/3 of what we will be paying this summer I'm guessing. Their chart kindly converts the prices into "real" prices, which accounts for inflationary prices. Actual average was $1.06, according to the chart. Worst yet is that since 2001, the "real" price is lower than the "nominal". I'm no economist, but I'm pretty sure that represents the US Dollar falling into the shitter over that time. $2.59 was only really worth $2.23. Der! No one here is surprised to find that not only are we paying more for necessities, but even the value of them is dropping.

Why the fuck this fuck-tard president isn't heading to prison for shitting on the country, I don't know. This man has got to be the WORST president in our history and he's too fucking stupid to even know it.

My new gig as a teacher has luckily paid me more than I was getting after 8 years at UVM, but so much of that is getting sucked away in the nearly $5 per day fuel cost to get there, and it's killing me. Even riding my motorcycle isn't looking like the fuel saving option any longer.

During Bill Clinton's run as Commander in Chief, prices were in check. We had wars during his terms. But as soon as big oil man W got in the throne, it nearly immediately started to go up, and up and up and up. Fluctuations happened, but it was consistently more than anytime since 1985 (in "real" dollars").

Don't get me wrong. This is a good thing in that it's forcing people to re-evaluate their fuel consumption practices, but as I'm sure you see, it's not stopping asswipes from buying Hummers or other large SUVs. Not even close. This weekend I did see a news blurb about how the sales of hybrids is going up (something like by 60%) and SUV sales are going down (but only by 12% or so), but really. For every Hummer out there, you likely need to buy 10 Priuses to make up for it. When we went looking for our first new car, the Honda Civic Hybrid is really what I wanted, but at the time (forgot the year), it was $5000 more than the Civic and came with less of the things I wanted. Hell, if it had just the sun/moon roof, I'd have likely jumped at it. I have to assume the modern Prius and more are more ammenity oriented, but the last car we got was for bad weather travel fears, a Subaru. It does the job, but frankly, it's a lackluster car, even at the
high trim level. So, when our Civic EX dies - likely soon, since we just got the title from the bank - I'm hoping we look at an alternative fuel option more seriously.

Until then, just over a year until President Fuck-Up moves the fuck out of the Whitehouse and perhaps we have a chance to fix all of his fuck-ups. Personally, I hope he dies on his way out the door. Yeah, I said it.

Big O

So the news just said that Barack Obama just won the Iowa primary. Cool!

For weeks I've been struggling with my candidate support options. I almost wrote an entry here to fully support Obama, but I still struggled. At the time - about a month and a half ago - it was really between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The true struggle? They are all happily outwardly Christian. Not that I will be able to vote for a winnable candidate who isn't, but I'm really tired of the christ-pandering. That said, they are at least progressive when compared to the repugnicans running for the executive seat.

So I didn't type out my endorsement. I still like Kucinich and Richardson. I think they are more honest and likely reliable and quite more likely to be less likely to pander to religious nutters. But those are traits that don't get people elected in today's U.S.A.. I also like John Edwards. In fact, I like him more than Hillary. Don't get me wrong, I'd happily support another Bill Clinton term (hehehe) but they are really part of the problem. She's just in too deep. Edwards may be a lawyer and likely wearing snake skin, but I seem to trust him. THAT said, we've GOT to admit, it's time to have a president who isn't from the South.

I'm not officially sticking my name behind anyone specifically right this second, but I'm very happy to see that Obama has taken a big step forward. He's the one I feel will actually make a CHANGE at the top - though frankly, would it even be possible to elect another fuck-tard like George W. Bush again? Well, we the evangelical xian movement continues to prove, you can't idiot proof politics as the idiots get better and better - and not in a good way. Huckabee... you seem like a nice person, but you're still a fucking wackjob lunatic like all the wack-job lunatics who you (used to) preach to.

And if this is any indication of who's running for the top job, then in all reality, we're all screwed no matter, since Gravel and Kucinich are the only two who are operating in what I would consider the most important quadrant. For the lazy, I've included just the graphical story.For the record, I'm much more left and a little more south of Gravel (L/R: -8.25, L/A: -3.79)