Posts Made By: Rod Kaufman

So Delay is claiming the Dems didn't win but the Republicans lost it and, in essence, beat themselves. Well, there's some evidence for that belief since a CNN exit poll showed corruption to be the major factor in a voter's decision to vote democratic. However, I believe the pundits were correct in stating the war in Iraq was(is)the determining factor.
Nevertheless, I am pleased to know Barrons magazine was wrong and the republican money chest didn't become the deciding factor in the congressional elections.
I heard Karl Rove had to call Bush to inform him the Republicans lost the house. (What, Bush couldn't figure that out for himself?) Bush was described as being "deeply disappointed" by the results. I hope it hurts, right up the kazoo.
Likewise, I'm pleased to see the anti-abortion proposition in conservative South Dakota went down to defeat by a good margin. Maybe the evangelicals will go back into their caves where they belong...

CNN reported a few days ago that Bush stated, in essence, "it's the oil, stupid" by claiming the terrorists will have it all if we fail in Iraq. Bush claimed the price of a barrel of oil would go to $100.00/barrel if Iraq falls to the terrorists. Industry experts dispute Bush on this figure since Iraqi oil production/delivery is less than it used to be. Of course, the Bush team has always maintained it was never about the oil when we invaded Iraq. I guess Bush's recent pre-election statement to the contrary speakes for itself and vindicates Dwight Bogen.
Anyhow, the immediate run-up in oil to $72.00/barrel isn't supported by facts, only speculation. The news reports stated oil traders feared tension in Iran, etc, etc even though the situation over there is the same as it always has been. It's the same old BS we've heard time after time. Get ready to be reamed again...

It's time again for "market forces" to rapidly escalate the cost of oil and gasoline. I know they just gone way up and it's only a coincidence that they dropped before the election and now they've rebounded immediately.
Gotta love those "market forces"...

Paul,
That would, indeed, be a cool and refreshing breeze in the stifling climate of the prevailing environment of the status quo.
It appears the dems will move on issues likely to gain approval in rapid fashion: minimum wage increases/tax relief for the middle class/an exit strategy for Iraq(Bush now says he's "open" for new ideas)and another attempt at an immigration compromise.
The dems have the momentum and it's their move...

One of the first acts by the dems will likely be to reinstitute the subcommittee on oversight and investigations. It was disbanded when the Republicans seized power in 1994. It will now be used to probe pentagon spending and the Bush administration's prosecution of the war in Iraq. In addition, it will likely probe warrantless surveillance, environmental policies, drug companies and medicare, and big business such as the energy/oil company policies of the Cheney/oil company executives behind-closed doors deals.
It is said in the LA Times, "it will make the Bush administration and its business allies sweat."
It's about time...

Giuliani would make perfect candidate to split the ultra-conservatives away from the Republican party and help the Democrats in '08. He's pro-choice and pro-gun control.
I can't wait to see him shoot it out with McCain...

Charles Rangel, the incoming Democratic leader of the House Ways and Means Committee, is proposing conscription of men and women beginning at age 18 as a way to "avoid future wars." The rational appears odd, in my opinion. Rangel and Republican Lindsay Graham apparently believe the likelihood of going to war is less when the sons and daughters of elected officials are placed in "harms way" so going to war will mandate more evidence than what the US had when we invaded Iraq.
Hmm...
In addition, the current drain on our armed forces in Iraq is, of course, a initiator for more troops, given other potential hot spots on the globe.
Who would have guessed the call today for a resumption of the draft would have come from a Democrat...

All through the period of markedly elevated gasoline prices during the summer, the oil companies steadfastly maintained they were merely passing along the increased costs of a barrel of oil and that, coupled with increased demand, accounted for the lion's share of the cost of gasoline.
A simple case of supply and demand...
Now the reverse has occurred and we have a relative glut of oil along with diminished cost for a barrel of crude. Analysts were looking for 600,000 barrels but the EIF administration states the supply "ballooned to 5.1 million barrels." The EIA also stated gasoline supplies rose by 1.4 million barrels.
"The last time there was this much crude was in 1999, when oil prices were $16 a barrel", according to Tom Kioza, chief analyst with a publisher of industry reports.
So we've got decreased costs of a barrel of oil, increased supplies and escalating costs for gasoline at the pump. And not a peep from the oil companies as to why.
Gasoline prices at station after station in my neck of the woods at Santa Clarita California are all pegged at $2.50/gallon, probably as a result of "zoning" where more affluent areas are charged morethan less affluent areas such as La Habra California where prices are pegged at $2.29/gallon. Basically, "zoning" is a legal means of price fixing that continues unchecked.
So the oil companies will maintain their record profiteering, oops, I mean profits, at the expense of the rest of us.
You gotta love those market forces...

Would you like to have the government or your vehicle's manufacturer as a permanent ride-along in your car, truck or SUV? A ride-along that monitors how fast you are going? Or, how many passengers you have on board your own vehicle? Or, what position your transmission shifter is in? Or, what position your driver seat is in? Or, whether or not the driver and front passenger wore their seat belts? Or, whether a brake pedal was applied Or, your front passenger's occupant classification?
Would you like to go to jail for years or even life if you get into a serious accident and the above information is used against you in a court of law?
That's exactly what's happened to drivers who unkowingly had EDRs installed in their vehicles before they bought them. EDRs are event data recorders and they are similar to "black boxes" installed in airplanes. They record all sorts of data before and after a crash. For those unfortunate drivers who were involved in accidents that resulted in death or serious injuries, EDRs in their own vehicles became key pieces of evidence against them at their trials. One such case involved a woman who was driving her friend home when she hit an ice patch and lost control of her SUV. The driver's friend was killed and the driver is in prison because the EDR showed a higher rate of speed than the posted limit. Another driver got life in prison after being involved in a fatal fatal accident based upon speeding as recorded by an EDR.
How do you know if you have a EDR installed in your vehicle? If your vehicle is a 2004 or later model, there's a 75% chance it has one. Look in your owner's manual and it will tell you if one is present and what data it records. I was surprised to find I've got one in my '05 Toyota Highlander and it records the data described above. I never knew I had a 24 7 ride-along until now...

Dick Cheney must have gotten some advice from Kissinger on "shuttle diplomacy."
He arrived in Saudi Arabia for a few hours of talks with King Abdullah.
Seems he discussed the entire mess of Iraq, Iran, Lebannon, Syria and everything in between, in two hours.
What, the same thing couldn't have been accomplished by a video conference? Cheney and the King have to use interpreters anyway.
It appears Cheney deftly stepped in. To it.
Both Cheney and King Abdullah are reported to see things, "eye to eye." I wonder if that includes the reports of the Saudis planning to cut oil production to increase the cost of crude oil. But, given the fact that Cheney discusses the nation's energy policy in private with VPs of energy companies, we'll probably never know, except when we continue to get the oil shaft at the pumps.
Anyhow, just how much could Cheney have accomplished in his few hours of talks with the Saudi King? Afterall, the ethnic and sectarian violence that's helped fan the civil war in Iraq goes back historically for decades so what could Cheney's visit really accomplish to stop it?
The Bush administration won't acknowledge the reality of civil war in Iraq and this BS meeting with Cheney and King Abdullah is simply more of the same...