I fail to see the problem

Sentenced to die for raping, murdering two women, Ohio inmate says his weight could make lethal injection too painful.

Two peas in a pod

Rosie O'Donnell defended Rev. Jeremiah Wright on the "Today" show on Monday, saying Barack Obama's former pastor "made sense to me."

And I think that is all that really needs to be said about that.

Make Algore cry for New Years

Go here and calculate your *cough* "carbon footprint." Calculate for only yourself, come back here and post your "score." Highest score wins! But I must warn you, I scored 36!

Update: Y'all are making feel like I'm not doing my fair share to make Algore cry :(

Chuck Norris--'nough said Part 2

I've never heard of Mike Huckabee, but he's got my vote!

Is this terrorism?

Has anyone else noticed a pattern here?

March 2007 pet food companies begin recalling products containing contaminated Chinese vegetable proteins.

June 2007 customers are advised to avoid using toothpaste made in China because it may contain a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze.

June 2007 the FDA imposed import restrictions on five types of Chinese-raised fish, because many have been found to contain chemicals that pose health risks, including long-term cancer risks.

August 2007 toys made in China are recalled because they contain paint with high levels of lead.

So in the last 6 months the Chinese poisoned our pets, then the hygienic and ichthophagic (ok, I made that word up) and now they are trying to poison our kids. Acts of terrorism, you tell me.

Define: liberal

U-J and I were watching part of an interview with Michael Moore on 20/20 tonight. The idiocy that MM was spouting made me remember something my father has always said:

The definition of a liberal (you may substitute democrat here) is someone who has never been affected by the problem.

Just for Terrorists?

Where do you get Just For Men when you live in a mountain cave?

Subprime mortages = Darwinism at work

U-J and I bought a house a little less than a year ago. Before we started looking seriously at houses, we sat down and did a little math. We took what we both made, subtracted out monthly expenses, looked at what was left over, and decided how much of that we wanted to spend a month on a house. We took that number, plugged it into a mortgage calculator and determined what maximum price house we could afford. We only looked at houses that were at or below that price. Simple, no?

Could we have purchased a bigger, fancier house than the one we have? Sure. It's called a subprime mortgage. For the same monthly payment we make now ,we could have a house that cost twice what our costs. Problem is that the low payment only lasts for a few years and then the payment skyrockets.

Poor owners of subprime mortgages, they were tricked! Why were they "tricked"? Because they were greedy, stupid, wanted to keep up with the Joneses--take your pick. Again, it goes back to the need for instant gratification.

Who wants to work and save for years to buy a $500,000 home when you can get one now for the low monthly mortgage of $1000 a month? Sure, the payment is going to quadruple in 2 years, but that is 2 years from now. In the meantime, we can use all that extra money to buy 65" plasma TVs and new furniture, go to Disney World--life is good!

Then when the 2 years of living high is up, subprime mortgage owners face foreclosure. And I'm supposed to feel sorry for them and want the government to help them out. Sorry, that is as likely to happen as me stopping a lion from preying on the slowest, weakest gazelle in the herd.

Want another Dan story?

One fine Saturday Dan was late to work. Of course we couldn't call his house to find out what was up 'cuz he didn't have a phone. So, we went about our work and waited.

Several hours after Dan was due to arrive at work he walks into the shop looking a little frazzled.

"Where ya been?"

"I had car trouble."

Knowing that about every 2 weeks he had a flat tire which he replaced with yet another $20 retread, I didn't probe further.

"Well we're glad you are okay."

"Did you know that you have to change the oil in a car?"

"Wha....?"

"My car caught on fire. When I got it into the shop the guy said it was because I didn't have any oil in the car. He wanted to know how long it had been since I had checked or changed the oil."

You know I had to ask.

"So you have never checked or changed the oil in your car?"

"No."

"How long have you owned the car?"

"Ten years."

"I'm sorry, let me get this straight. You have had the car for 1o years and never changed the oil? Never, ever?"

"No one ever told me you had to do that...."

Apparently a Chrysler can run for 10 years on the same oil if there is an idiot behind the wheel.

George Strait had it right

North Korea Agrees To Disable All Nuclear Facilities By End of Year.

If you believe that, I've got some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you.

Economics of being poor

Unix-Jedi sent me this article: The Poverty Business: Inside U.S. companies' audacious drive to extract more profits from the nation's working poor. In reading it I was reminded of a guy I worked with while I was in college. I'll call him Dan.

I was 21 and working in a flower shop while I was going to a major university to get a degree in Horticulture. (I have a bachelor's degree in Horticulture, too.) One slow Saturday those of us working were talking about movies. Dan starting talking about the new VCR he had just gotten from a Rent-to-Own store. Yes, I said VCR, I'm old.

"Why would you rent-to-own a VCR?"

"Well, my wife is home all day with the baby and she wanted something to do, and we can't afford to buy a VCR. So I went to the place where we are renting all our furniture and got one."

"So, how much are you paying for the VCR?"

"Oh, only $7 a week."

"For how long?"

"Only a year."

"So, at the end of a year you will have paid $364 for a $100 VCR. Why don't you just save the $7 a week for 3 and a half months and go to Wallyworld and buy a VCR?"

"Well, we need one now. Plus, if my wife finds out I'm saving money she'll spend it."

Another conversation later that day:

"Did you get the phone turned back on at your house?"

"No, I decided not to have it turned back on because if I do the wife just talks to her mom all day long distance and then I can't afford to pay the bill."

"Have you explained to her that she can only use the phone for local calls and the occasional call to her mom?"

"Yes, but if the phone is on she'll just call her mom anyway."

"So, your wife and kid are at home all day in a house without a way to call 911 if there is an emergency because your wife can't understand that she can't call long distance and run the bill up?"

"Yep."

I just shook my head and went back to work.

These people aren't poor because companies are taking advantage of them. They are poor because they have a need for instant gratification, consequences be damned.