Dead in a Year

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What would you do if you knew you had only one year left to live? Would you muster up the guts to tell the girl (or guy) of your dreams how you felt? Would you tell your boss to shove it? Would you tell your false friends to find someone else to leech off of? Would you travel the world, do things you always wanted to do, but couldn't because you were afraid to or couldn't afford to?

Well now's your chance to find out what you'd do because in one year it will be December 21st, 2012, the day the world ends. Watch out, because there will probably be a lot of other people with less moral restraint than you or I doing all kinds of crazy things. Just in case one of them keeps you from seeing the end of the world, allow me to share with you how it might end.


As far as I know, I was the first to start talking about the "zombie apocalypse" which will strike when the Mayan calendar ends in one year, but the term has become pretty popular lately. You probably thought it was a joke, or that there's no such thing as zombies, but it was NOT a joke and there ARE zombies, and these zombies ARE going to destroy the world in a year's time.

At least, they're going to try.

How could this possibly happen? Well first we need to know a tiny bit of history and the factors which created the current zombie breeding environment.

1. In recent years, the people of America have become incredibly complacent. The end of the Cold War gave us a feeling of invulnerability; we were the sole remaining superpower and the greatest force in Human history, so who would dare piss us off? Add to that the wild success of the first Iraq war, and we started to believe we were infallible. You can see the effects of this in the second Iraq war when the whole world labeled us a rogue nation and we still went into Iraq. We just didn't care what the world said, because we KNEW Iraq was giving WMDs to terrorists.

2. TV programming has gotten steadily dumber. More and more, we celebrate those who are stupid and superficial and of horrid moral character and those who have NO character. Since when does a Kardashian matter? Never. Since when do a bunch of fakes on Jersey Shore matter? Never. Whose life is so lame that Brad Pitt's wishy-washiness matters? No one's. But these are the things being put on our TVs, and even our so-called learning channels are infested with dreck "reality" shows.

3. Mainstream news sources have denounced all journalistic ethics. The result is that when they're not fabricating the news, they're "reporting" on things which don't matter and ignoring things which do matter. A lot of hot air is blown about the "liberal media" and the "conservative media", but that's not what's really going on. The only time a rich person gets in trouble on the news is when another rich person wants them to be in trouble, and the only time a worthy cause gets coverage is when a rich person will profit from it. The OWS "coverage" is merely the latest and greatest example of misreporting and non-reporting. The only way to get actual news is through the internet.

4. The internet is being shackled and soon we will not have access to the only remaining source of truth and unedited information. That's not to say the internet isn't still a wild land full of disinformation, but at least it's POSSIBLE to get ACTUAL news from the internet if you're willing to look for it. You CAN'T do it on the TV, nor in the newspaper, because those are ALL owned by 3 men who have the same agenda: enslaving you. Once they've regained control of the internet, they will again have 100% control over the information you have access to. Good luck making informed decisions!

5. One political party is unabashedly abusing God's word to push its agenda. They make all the noises that a Christian does, and do all the things a Christian does... at least in public. Privately, they commit every crime imaginable, from adultery to drunken driving to stealing from the poor to advocating violence against Americans to bald-faced lying when they get caught red handed. And because they profess so strongly to be believers in Christ, too many believe their lies and they get away with murder. (Literally, in many cases.)

6. Education has become criminal. It used to be illegal to educate a woman. It used to be illegal to educate a negro. We can already see the beginnings of making it illegal to educate the poor. High-quality public education is what made this country great and helped it stay great for so long, but that's going away. First there was a backlash against certain subjects, like Evolution, and trying to replace it with nonscience nonsense. Then there was a complete lack of quality public education, and our children are becoming dumber by the minute. Now there's a movement to eliminate public education altogether and completely privatize the education industry, which will completely deny education to the poor and middle class. Education is the cornerstone of freedom. Without it, you are either a slave or a dead slave.

7. Surge of non-issues and cultivating of irrational hatreds. We spend so much time and energy on insignificant "issues" that we can't see the real problems which are CAUSING all those problems. Is it REALLY the end of the world if we give equal pay for equal work? Is it REALLY the end of the world if we collectively pay for a highway and then some of us use it more than others? Is it REALLY the end of the world if we keep government OUT of the bedroom? Is it REALLY the end of the world if someone uses the word "tar-baby" as a synonym for "quagmire"? Do we REALLY have to threaten violence to all who disagree with us? And because we make no headway in any of these issues, when faced with REAL issues, like the pandemic levels of corruption and treason our elected officials and corporate leaders display, we feel completely powerless to do anything about it, and so we let them continue to get away with it. We barely even notice the rape any more.

8. False Christians confuse and incite Christians to commit acts of violence and hate against each other. We complain a lot about how corrupt and violent Islam and Judeaism are, but they don't hold a candle to what an entire political party has done to foster its unholy agenda. It boggles my mind the evil being committed against our fellow Americans under the guise of Christianity when the Bible very clearly states we should love one another. The New Testament - Jesus' teachings - are the most important part of the Bible. Jesus taught forgiveness and peace and doing what is right. He did NOT teach that we should be slaves, or lie, or shoot Congresswomen for the convenience of whores from Alaska. Really, folks, if you believed in the Bible, I'm pretty sure you'd be noticing that the Anti-Christ is here.

9. There is very little will to protest unfairness. America was FOUNDED upon protesting unfairness. It's in our blood to fight against oppression. And yet, we've been subjugated from within. No one wants to rock the boat. No one wants to risk the ire of the Republican party because they'll take away your job and your home and your health care and your social security. Guess what? They're doing that anyway. You literally have NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE. And yet you still let them rape you.

10. There are entirely too many secret laws and laws which invalidate the Constitution's protection of civil rights. And if you think a lawyer can still protect you, think again. "Justice" is available only to the rich now.

Combine together these factors and many more I didn't have space to mention and you have a breeding ground for mindless zombies who can't think for themselves and who will simply do what their masters tell them to do through the TV news and "reality" shows.

You don't believe me? Then you've been turned into a zombie.

With the unprecedented levels of greed exhibited by the 1%, not only are the poor being robbed, but that's not enough and they're robbing the middle class too. Regular, hard-working Americans, who were doing everything they were told that a good American should do to be successful, are having their livelihoods stolen from them. They worked harder and got less at the end of the day. When you've had your house repossessed and you're living on the street, you don't have the TV or the lamestream media clouding your judgment. You snap out of the zombification process and you start protesting what was done to you.

As the numbers of de-zombified people grows, so too do the protests around the country and around the world. Those in power are getting more and more nervous that the free ride is over and all their illusions will come crashing down. But they're not going to give up without a fight. Evil NEVER lays down and quits.

Instead of realizing they've overstepped their bounds and apologizing like a proper, honorable person would do, they're telling their hoards of zombies to attack the people who have escaped their programming. You see it on the "news" all the time. The talking heads first ignored the OWS movement, then when that didn't work they told obvious lies about it, and when that didn't work they've ordered the police to start physically assaulting them without provocation or justification.

As the election cycle begins, it promises to shatter all previous records of corruption - BILLIONS of dollars have already been spent to buy the elections this year, and BILLIONS MORE will be spent next year. Why exactly are we allowing our "free" elections to be bought? Remember that, it's important.

Over the course of next year, tensions between the still-powerful zombies and the growing de-zombified will increase, and the only thing which will hold them back will be the completely irrational belief that come election time in November, something useful will happen and the treasonous ones will be voted out and honest people will be voted in. In the next six weeks, as America realizes not only that they have AGAIN had their elections stolen and AGAIN put more traitors in office, and that these new people will REFUSE to correct the real problems facing this country because they are afraid to go against the people who bought their office for them, the dam will burst and the oppressed people will do what oppressed people have always done when they have nothing left to lose.

The puppet masters won't stand for that, and will cause blood to flow.

It might even reach John Titor proportions, which is to say a civil war will break out and we will ask Russia to nuke some of our cities to end the war. It'll be like Wierd Al Yankovick's song, Christmas at Ground Zero, except it won't be funny, it won't be accidental, and it won't happen on Christmas, it will happen four days before: December 21st.

And all this because the super-rich thought they needed 100% of the money instead of only their fair share.

It doesn't have to be that way, of course. There are many ways to stop it, though counting on the greedy to do what's ultimately in their best interests - treat people with respect - doesn't seem to be one of them. And relying on Congress to stop sucking at the teats of the rich for five seconds to represent their ACTUAL constituents doesn't seem to be in the cards either. The best option other than a Tea Party-esque armed assault on Washington DC to head off a far worse apocalypse would be to create a Constitutional Convention in each of the 50 states (not 57, Mr. Prez) in which we create an Amendment stating some rather important things that must be changed.

1. Corporations are tools, no different than hammers and cars, and as such their owners and the people entrusted to running them are responsible for their crimes. Like cars and hammers, corporations are not people and are not allowed to be used to influence politics in any way.

2. Money is not speech. No individual may donate more than $100 to a political campaign. No organization may donate value to one campaign without also donating equal value to all campaigns. (Frex, a TV station cannot pick and choose whose ads it runs, it must run everyone's or no one's.)

3. Any candidate who can gather signatures from at least 1% of the voters in a voting district is hereby an official candidate. In multiple-district elections (such as for President), a candidate who gets his 1% in at least 50% of the districts (states) is automatically to be added to all others upon his request of that district (state). All official candidates are to be allotted equal time/money/value in televised debates and campaigning. This is to be part of the charter of a TV station or network.

4. At no time will a candidate be allowed to receive a contribution anonymously. All contributions must be documented. The entire process must be above board and transparent to public scrutiny. No contributions can come from foreign sources.

5. If Congress plays chicken with the budget or the economy, all members who had any part in it will immediately be tried for treason.

6. All special benefits Congress voted for themselves, such as their retirement fund, their health care, and their exemption from the law, are null and void. All Congress members past and present who voted for such things without the express consent of a majority of their constituents shall be tried for treason.

7. Congress shall be forbidden from owning stock in any company or corporation because they are in a position to conduct insider trading and don't seem to have the self-restraint required not to do it. Any Congress member who has profited from the laws they have made any more than the average American is to be tried for treason.

8. No elected official shall be exempt from laws pertaining to drunken driving, drug use, murder, or any other serious crime. Any official trying to coerce law enforcement from arresting or prosecuting them shall be tried for treason. (This seems to be a big problem with governors too.)

9. The President shall have a line-item veto power so that the absurd riders which get tacked on to most bills shall be kept from becoming law.

10. Judges shall not be appointed for life. Lifespans are much too long. No judicial appointment shall last longer than 20 years and no judge shall serve longer than 20 years.

11. Elected officials shall be subject to recall if more than 75% of their voters want it. (Passons do flare from time to time, and recalls shouldn't be subject to whims.)

12. Above all, elected officials are expected to act in a responsible manner toward the country and their office. Those who put anything besides their country first - including political party, corporation, or themselves - shall be tried for treason. We expect our military to be willing to die in service, the least an elected official can do is make a comparable sacrifice. Additionally, all large corporations are required to have as part of their charter the same basic requirements for responsibility toward the country which made you. We don't mind you being rich and influential, we mind you abusing that power. With great power comes great responsibility, and great punishments for not living up to it.


These are the kinds of changes America needs to avoid the coming zombie apocalypse. Will we have the guts to implement them before disaster strikes, or will be have to destroy everything we have first? One thing is for sure: if we don't overcome the slavery the super-rich are trying to impose on us now, we will never have the chance again.

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The Church of the Almighty Dollar

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Lately you've heard a lot about the Occupy Wall Street Movement. The first thing you may have heard was that it was being suppressed by the major media outlets, who have zero obligation to report facts no matter how important they are. Then you started to hear that the protesters were a bunch of hippies who didn't know what they wanted, except to tax the rich into oblivion. But when the Movement reached your city, you found that you couldn't dismiss them so easily because not only were there a LOT of regular people among them, but they were coherent and made a whole lot more sense than the major media wanted you to believe.

What Americans want is simple: True separation of Church from State. We want the Church of the Almighty Dollar to be expelled from the process of law-making and law-enforcement.


The way things are now, our politicians and police only listen to whoever pays them the most. And because the top 1% of "Americans" are making more money than the rest of America combined, that means only the super-rich get their way and the other 99% are forced into slavery. And because all the major media outlets are owned by the super-rich, that means the 99% get brainwashed and fed lies to keep them from figuring out that they've been robbed. They are now enacting programs to destroy the public education system to make this state of affairs permanent.

We called bullshit on the royalty about 230 years ago for treating us exactly the same way, and now that it's happening again, the royalty is all aflutter, trying desperately to wield their armies of reality-TV drones against the few clear-thinking Americans who see what's happening and want the wholesale rape of their country to stop.

As things currently stand, a politician's loyalties, in order from most important to least, are:

1. Money
2. Party
3. Constituents
4. Nation

This is completely the opposite of what it should be, and hence is no surprise why we're going to hell in a handbasket. In fact, to put something above the good of your country is the very definition of treason, isn't it?

I'm no big fan of Obama, but when Congress intentionally sits on its hands all day to make the President look bad so he won't get reelected, is that putting your country first, or your party? It sure isn't putting the best interests of the people first, I can tell you that much.

The top corporations like GE, which make HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS in profit, pay ZERO taxes, receive BILLIONS in subsidies and stimulus money for the purpose of creating jobs for Americans, and then ship jobs overseas and complain that it's too expensive to hire an American, spend MILLIONS of dollars wining and dining politicians, popularize the obscure ones who accept bribes, and suppress anyone who tells the truth about how we got into this mess. It's those corporations who should not be allowed to run the government. They should not be allowed to buy the justice that the other 99% of Americans can't.

America is a government OF the people, BY the people, FOR THE PEOPLE. Corporations are NOT people, and should NOT be heard any more than should the voice of a car. A corporation is a tool, in the same way a car is a tool. It has a function and a purpose, and can be used for good or ill. Right now, they are being used so that only the top 1% - the royalty - have their voices heard. It's time the voice of the PEOPLE is heard.

There is one thing which ties together all the major problems in this country and the "free" world at large, and one natural solution:

Take the corporations out of the government. When our elected officials stop getting the free rides and have to actually answer to the public who voted for them, the other problems will clear up pretty darn quick, because Americans will rightly believe that they actually are being represented again, and they will work to make this country great again.

The love of money is the root of all evil, and it's the root of all the problems which are overwhelming us right now. Hold our officials accountable.

Who's with me on this?

Anyone?

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Is Change Good?

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Change for the sake of change is rarely good. It may be how Evolution works, but we as a society can't afford such luxuries. However, times change, and if we don't keep up with those changes, we stagnate and crumble. Even a brick wall needs to be remortared every once in a while to maintain its integrity.

When it comes to politics, there are two broad philosophies: keeping things as they are - Conservatism - and changing things - which goes by many names, such as Liberalism and Progressivism.

Historically speaking, the Conservatives are a more cohesive force than those wishing for change. So long as enough people are willing to put up with whatever the current circumstance is, change isn't needed. But circumstances change of their own accord, no matter how we might want to keep them the same, if for no other reason than because as we age, our needs change, and when they do, the number of people satisfied with the current situation decreases until change happens.


You'll notice when this happens, though, that there have to be a LOT of dissatisfied people. The Conservatives are much more cohesive, and can retain power even when 1/3, even 1/4 of the people want to keep things the same. Why is this so? Why is it that those who want change can't seem to stick together long enough to take control and make those changes?

Today, an overwhelming majority of people believe change must come. Between the corruption of politicians, corporations, and news agencies, a country which produces more than any other country in history is going broke and in danger of a civil war.

The United States created nearly 15 TRILLION dollars of wealth in 2010. That's $15 million million! ($15,000,000,000,000) Can you imagine how much money that is? That's enough to give every man, woman, and child on Earth $2000, and still have a trillion left over to give to me as a birthday present so I can buy a couple of Switzerlands. How is it conceivable that we could possibly be broke? It's not, of course, unless you've got a bunch of leeches stealing whatever they can. And so, change is coming.

But even though this has been building for several years - I recall when I was in grade school studying the Civil War, I saw a quote from someone who said the next civil war wouldn't be between the states and the federal government - no useful changes have happened before now. In fact, the Conservatives have only cemented their power further with impressive con jobs on the American people, which I won't go into right now.

Why has this gone on so long?

Because, although the vast majority of Americans want change, they can't decide which change to make. Even when a question has only two possible choices, there are still a lot of questions and choices to make. Which issue is most important to you? There are so many to choose from, and tons of distracting questions asked of us.

Change is coming, that's for sure.Those in power may have created a lot of anti-protester weapons, and that may put down some of the complaining, but as they continue to take more and more from us, we have less and less to lose. I think we all know what happens to someone when they have nothing left to lose.

The road we took to get here was a crafty one, well-disguised and full of distractions to keep us from noticing we're not in the shallow end of the pool any more and being expected to keep an anvil above water, but people are starting to wake up, and the media disinformation campaign against the brave souls lining Wall Street is faltering under the continuing barrage of real journalists who do NOT bow to the dollar.

I pray justice will be done for those brave enough to stand up for what's right, and that it will be done to those who have tried so vigorously to rob us of our future. To do that, we have to have something to agree on. Something to unite behind. Simply "Take back our country" isn't good enough. We need the problem defined and a specific goal. THAT is something we can unite behind. THAT is what we can use to take the country back from those who have stolen it from We The People.

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A Few Small Changes

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Now that we've had a month of rememberance, it's time to get back into the swing of things.

Over the past few months, I've been a little sparse. Part of this is due to Facebook sucking up some of my time (it seems even more well-designed at helping people get the word out to the masses than Google's blogging system), part of it is due to getting some writing done on three different books, and part of it is that I was focusing a lot on some personal issues, such as my weight-loss efforts (going well; I'm down 60 pounds from my peak). I also spent a lot of time with friends.

Last weekend, I took a trip up to Jackson to see my favorite niece graduate from college, and then got whooped up on by her little boys at putt-putt, who are 5 and 3 (and don't really like to putt). Good to get to spend the day with them and to hook up with some other friends whilest up there.

Riding in the car, I had a few hours available, and most importantly, the inspiration, to crank out a handful of articles, and in the past week since getting home, I've been doing a lot of reading. So basically, I've got some things to say over the next few weeks/months to keep you entertained. I've also got a slightly different direction to take the site in, a new angle to see things from.

Be here first thing Monday morning.

(And while I'm thinking of it: happy birthday to my lady-friends in Mississippi: one turned 17 yesterday and another turned 29 today.)

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Never Forgetting

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It was a Tuesday like any other. I had just gone on Terminal Leave from 6 years in the Navy - I was technically still in the military, but about 3 weeks before, I'd taken my first and only helicopter flight off the Bataan (LHD-5) to get on my way back home to Northwest Indiana. I had a total of 6 weeks of Leave stocked up, and I was ready for some major decompression before getting into a new job. I'd spent the past 3 weeks having some fun, and that morning was in my room, doing some writing when, at 9:00, I received a phone call from my Aunt Kitty.

2000

"Are you watching TV?" she asked.

Both buildings struck

"Naw, I pretty much lost interest in it while I was in the Navy," I answered, thinking maybe she was going to ask me to spend the day with her.

"Turn it on. Any channel."

I came out to the living room and hunted for the remote. It occurred to me she wouldn't ask me to do something like that unless something was happening, but I was expecting maybe a Presidential address or something. I had no way to prepare myself for what I saw.

What I saw when I turned on the TV

The first image was a medium-shot of the twin towers, with smoke billowing out of one of them. The other was obscured by smoke or the angle. It took a moment before I realized what the news was saying, that someone had crashed a jet liner into the building. Both, in fact. And as the coverage continued, something else finally made its way into my shocked brain: the other tower wasn't obscured. It was gone.

I watched, unable to tear my eyes away. Unable to stop hoping that some of those people would be all right. I saw something fall off the building, and the newsman said it was a jumper. He said it was ANOTHER jumper. Several people had already jumped.

Immediately after second collapse

Then the unthinkable happened. The second tower started collapsing. I couldn't believe it. The other building had been hit much lower; that it fell was less of a surprise, but this one had been hit toward the top. Only a few floors should have been lost. But no, the whole thing collapsed like a house of cards. I couldn't believe it.

Two days to see the result

I don't remember how or when my phone call ended. Did we talk? Did she just hang up right away to call someone else? I don't remember. All I know is that horrible feeling of dread as they kept showing over and over the impact of the second plane, and the collapse of each tower. I remember being too overwhelmed to feel anything about the Pentagon, or the flight in Pennsylvania destined for the White House. I do remember those brave souls who decided to take back their airplane, who refused to let the terrorists accomplish their mission.

Recovering the flag

I also remember the attitude we had following that day. Before that point, in any TV show or movie, when someone gets taken hostage, they're almost always paralyzed with fear. They'd rather hang on to the microscopic hope that they would be all right, that someone would save them or that the bad guys would have enough honor to let them go. But after that point, it was like Americans realized for themselves that letting ANYONE take them hostage WAS a death sentence. How can you trust that someone who is willing to kill you WON'T kill you when he no longer needs you alive? How can you trust that your death at his hands isn't what he's planning all along, and that he'd just using you as a shield so he can kill more than just you?

Symbolic return

Before 9/11, there were a scant handful of movies which depicted hostage takers giving the police a horrible choice: kill a bus/plane load of hostages, or wait until the terrorists drove/flew their vehicle someplace to kill even more people.

2006

For a few years after 9/11, it looked like America was going to get serious on terror. Like we were going to kick the ass of ANYONE who tried to hold a gun on us. There is NO guarantee that someone demonstrating his willingness to shoot you WON'T shoot you. Better to deny him whatever he wants; you're going to die anyway. Even if he doesn't kill you, you're going to die anyway, so why help him kill others? It seemed like Americans felt that way, and they'd do what it took to rid the world of the scourge of terrorism.

2011

It seemed like they weren't afraid, that they'd accepted that someone could intrude on their lives at any moment with a gun or a bomb or an envelop of anthrax. They could die at any moment, and so they need not worry about it. They would just live their lives, and if death should come knocking, they would defiantly go down swinging and try to take their killer with them.

2011

Today, 10 years later, America has a Holy Site, no less important to us than the Great Mosque in Mecca, the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Lord Ram's birthplace in Ayodhya, or Vatican City in Rome. And today, right about now, it's being commemorated and the museum is opening. The Twin Towers site is receiving an overhaul, complete with new skyscrapers, and today the Freedom Tower has reached a height of 1000 feet out of the total, planned to be 1776 feet. The Freedom Tower is expected to be complete in 2013, and the other structures in the following years, while the museum and park are open now.

2020

I wish I could be in New York City today.


Timeline of 9/11 attacks.
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Gas Thieves

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Outrageous! Gas prices continue to skyrocket, with nothing but more bad news in sight.

When you go to the gas station, chances are you've seen a sign there warning you that gas thieves will be prosecuted and have their driver's license revoked. (Not that it's possible any more to pump gas without paying for it first.)

Back in 1995, I worked as a cashier at a gas station/truck stop. (This one, in fact.) I usually worked on truck side, but there were a couple nights I was on gas side. I remember one night, someone came in, got on one of the non-prepay pumps, gassed up, and drove off as fast as he could. It really ticked me off, and not just because I got in trouble for it.

But today, when the gasoline cartels have a stranglehold on our economy, I'd bet most of you get absolutely livid, because THIS is gas thievery.

For the past few years, the petrol cartels have been crying about how expensive it is to charge a reasonable price for gasoline, and how they have no control over the price of gas, and how they can't afford to cut prices or increase supply. There's always some excuse why they have to raise prices. And then they go and make record profits. And I'm not talking about oil industry records, I'm talking history-of-capitalism records! As in, no other company in human history has made so much profit! And they have the audacity to say they can't afford to lower the price of gas? We're talking about enough profit to send $147 to every man, woman, and child in America, including the illegal aliens. If we assume a family of four, that's about $600.

Nowadays, $600 is enough to keep your car moving for over a month, or enough food to feed your family for a month, but only a few years ago, it would've bought about twice as much as that. Thanks to the rising prices of gasoline, a $20 meal used to be expensive, but now it's considered cheap.

Recently, with this flap in the Middle East, gas prices have gone up quite a bit, even though we in the United States don't get much of our oil from that region. We get most of it from Venezuela and Texas. Those companies who bring us oil from the Middle East should be the only companies increasing their prices, but ALL gas stations are going up. Whatever happened to capitalism? Whatever happened to competition keeping prices low? The oil cartel has a monopolistic position which they're using to strangle our economy!

Over the past years, there have been a number of ideas on how to break the power of the oil cartel, presumably to get cheap gas.

You've seen pledges not to buy gas on a certain day. How practical is that? Even if you could herd enough cats to actually pull it off, you've got the problem of what happens the next day: you still have to buy the gas, and even if you're successful in disrupting distribution for a day, guess what? You're going to wind up jacking up the prices to cover their losses. The only losers are us.

Another idea I saw was to "buy out evil". If we the people pool together some of our money, we can afford to buy out one of the large corporations, in this case, an oil company, and then use it the way proper capitalism demands: to provide competition by providing the lowest possible price on gasoline. However, this too has a significant flaw beyond requiring everyone to invest a few thousand dollars. You're giving your enemy a ton of money, which he'll just use to found a competing company, drive you out of business with his enormous cash reserve, and then jack the prices up even worse.

Since so many politicians are in the oil cartel's pocket, and they're as eager as all the rest of America's domestic enemies to bring us crashing down, what can really be done besides continuing to hang your head in defeat and hope they don't gouge us any more?

That's the question, folks.

Adding alcohol to gasoline isn't the answer; it only degrades fuel efficiency and raises the price of corn. And there isn't enough corn in the WORLD to power JUST the United States.

Liquid hydrogen? Dangerous stuff. Building the infrastructure to support it will take time and money, and the end result won't see cheaper fuel prices unless we're all given water-cracking stills and solar panels to power them.

Electric cars? Some of these hybrids are getting better mileage, but they're doing it by reclaiming the energy lost when you hit the brakes, or when you plug them into the wall. You've still got to buy new batteries every few years, and they cost more than you'd save in gas. An all-electric vehicle has the added problem of extremely low range. Maybe some infrastructure could hande it - build a LOT of electrical outlets - but who's going to foot the bill for it? And who's going to pay for the electricity?

There are really only two solutions.

1. Live within walking distance of everything important to you so you don't have to drive very much. This is likely to require some serious city planning, all the way to the extent of building arcologies. Japan is way ahead of us on this. Did you know that Tokyo has a higher population than all of Canada?

2. Invent useful superconductors. Power lines can be embedded in the roads to recharge electric cars as they pass by. There's little if any loss in such a system, because we're using superconductors. Ideally, the power company will start harnessing solar power too.

Either way, it costs a lot in the short term, but the long term benefits will be staggering, and in the meantime, I'm pretty sure building all this stuff will create at least a few jobs.

Get to it!

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