snoopydad24's doghouse

Just finished reading in StlToday.com that Tony Snow lost his battle with colon cancer at age 53. For more on the story go to: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/natio
n/story/B1F2664ED8E3EB16862574840067013F?OpenDocument

It is July and time for the

This year's tour has many changes and lots of surprises. After the completion of the first week Team Columbia ( is one of two American sponsored bicycle teams) has the Yellow Jersey - first overall with the best time, the Green Jersey - leader in the most points, and the White Jersey  - the best young rider.
Not bad considering this is Team Columbia's first year.

FIRST… do you know what ANWR is? 

ANWR = Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Now…  A comparison

And some perspective…

NOTE where the proposed development area is…

(it’s in the “ANWR Coastal Plain”)

THIS IS WHAT THE DEMOCRATS, LIBERALS AND “GREENS” SHOW YOU WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT ANWR

…and they are right… these ARE photographs of ANWR

AWW, isn't ANWR beautiful?  WHY should we drill here and (supposedly) destroy this beautiful place?

WELL… THAT’S NOT EXACTLY THE TRUTH

Do you remember the map?

The map showed that the proposed drilling area is in the ANWR Coastal Plain.

Do those photographs look like a coastal plain to you?

WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?

••••••

THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE…

*The Prudhoe bay area accounts for 17% of U.S. domestic oil production

NOW, why do you think the DEMOCRATS are LYING about ANWR?

Remember when AL GORE SAID: "GOVERNMENT should work to ARTIFICIALLY raise gas prices

TO $5.00 A GALLON?"

WELL…

AL GORE AND HIS FELLOW DEMOCRATS HAVE ALMOST REACHED THEIR GOAL!

NOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT THE DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN LYING,
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

Oil Crisis Explained by Senator Larry Craig

Thanks to the environmentalist lobby and its influence on Democrat legislators in Congress it has for decades prohibited companies from drilling for oil in places that we know contain billions of barrells of proven reserves. Check out this map:

All of the "NO" zones are places where the U.S., thanks to the Democrat Party is prohibited from drilling for oil.

But wait . It gets better.
***China, Cuba, Canada and others continue to drill off our shores where US companies are not allowed to drill because of Democrat policies!***

Yes, that's right. China and Cuba are actively exploring oil fields 50 miles from Key West, Florida while U.S. Companies are barred from working in this area because of U.S. Policy. So, instead of allowing the most environmentally responsible companies to operate there and increase our domestic supply, China, who has a dismal environmental record, is preparing to suck our close, lucrative oil reserves dry.

Unbelievable..

Investor's Business Daily recently explained how irresponsible the Democrats have been on the energy crisis. They lay into what they consider to be the worst Congress ever for

~ Failing to allow drilling in ANWR. We have, as President Bush noted, estimated capacity of a million barrels of oil a day from this source alone -- enough for 27 million gallons of gas and diesel. But Congress won't touch it, fearful of the clout of the environmental lobby! As a result, you pay through the nose at the pump so your representative can raise campaign cash.

~ Refusing to build new refineries. The U.S. hasn't built a refinery since 1976, yet the EPA requires at least 15 unique "boutique" fuel blends that can be sold in different areas around the nation. This means that U.S. Refinery capacity is stretched so tight that even the slightest problem at a refinery causes enormous supply problems and price spikes. Congress has done nothing about this.

~ Turning its back on nuclear power. It's safe and with advances in nuclear reprocessing technology, waste problems have been minimized. Still, we have just 104 nuclear plants -- the same as a decade ago -- producing just 19% of our total energy. (Many European nations produce 40% or more of their power with nuclear.) Granted, nuclear power plants are expensive -- about $3 billion each. But they produce energy at $1.72/kilowatt-hour vs. $2.37 for coal and $6.35 for natural gas.

~ Raising taxes on energy producers! This is where a basic understanding of economics would help: Higher taxes and needless regulation lead to less production of a commodity. So by proposing "windfall" and other taxes on energy companies plus tough new rules, Congress only makes our energy situation worse.

These are just a few of Congress' sins of omission -- all while India, China, Eastern Europe and the Middle East are adding more than a million barrels of new demand each and every year. New Energy Department forecasts see world oil demand growing 40% by 2030, including a 28% increase in the U.S.

Americans who are worried about the direction of their country, including runaway energy and food prices, should keep in mind the upcoming election isn't just about choosing a new president. We'll also pick a new Congress.

If we elect a liberal Democrat as President in the fall and keep the same Democrat-controlled Congress, nothing will change.. Except gasoline prices, which will keep going up.

I got this from a friend of mine. Here again is the political spin to blame one party in order to get their party into office. The Republicans controlled Congress (both House and Senate) for twelve years (1994-2006). Not once did they take the initiative pass legislation to grant permission to drill in the NO areas or grant permits to build a refinery. Instead the Republicans were easing trade tariffs and taxes allowing companies to leave the United States. Again it is not just the Democrats or the Republicans but every single Representative and Senator in Washington. D.C. To worried about keeping their office and funding from special interest groups that include environmentalists and oil lobbyists. Only when politicians start thinking about what is best for the country instead of themselves will we be allowed to drill for oil, continue nuclear power, and develop other economical sources of energy.

Have you ever noticed that Ameren is the only utility that has ongoing Public Relations campaigns? Even before the 2006 thunderstorms that knock out power for some up to eight weeks Ameren was running PSA’s about “Who would go out on a night like this?” Now they are running the PowerOn campaign not only on TV but also here on local websites (Fox, KMOV, and KSD). Is this all really necessary? I think for most of us we just want uninterrupted service during storms and heavy use.

Seems funny how we don’t hear or see any PSA’s from Laclede Gas, MSD, or form various water companies. For the most part we don’t hear anything until the news runs a story about them. Did you know that Laclede Gas has been changing all the copper lines to PVC? Plus did you know that Laclede moved the gas lines along Hwy 367 and now along I-64 at their expense and not the consumer. Also they moved all their gas reserves out of those big round tanks and into underground storage.

Now for MSD we mostly hear about them through the news. Water is the same only hear about a break or a boil order.

So does Ameren really need to spend money on this advertising campaign where I am sure it could be used to hire some workers to trim trees, to bury cable, or making sure its workers are monitoring important gauges?

You may have seen these two houses in an e-mail that has been going around about global warming. The top house is Al Gore’s residence and the bottom house belongs to President George W. Bush. I am not here to discuss global warming.

Al Gore's residence

President George W. Bush's residence

What I want to discuss in this blog is how much is too much? Do we really need twenty rooms? Let’s see there is a kitchen, master bedroom, two kid’s room (more if needed but the average family has 2.3 children), family room, dinning room, and two full baths as the core of the house. Now lets throw in a home office, mudroom, and what the heck a sunroom. Now if I counted right that is eight core rooms and three optional rooms. What the heck do you do with the nine or more rooms? On Monday we will sleep in this room, Tuesday we will eat supper in this room, Wednesday we will watch movies in this room, and so on. Plus most houses have basements (except in areas where the water table is high or hard to dig) that can be transformed to living areas.

My house is more like President Bush’s house minus the geothermal heating and cooling but a little smaller. Personally I would like the rooms that I currently have just be a little larger. I don’t mind the cozyness but sometimes just need a little more room. Not to mention a little more handicap accessible. Getting through some of the doors in my house since my accident have been a bit challenging.

I am not trying to redistribute the wealth but just asking do we really need twenty or more room mansions or would something smaller be just as efficient? Now if I was to redistribute housing wealth I would give all the Democratic entertainers and environmentalist a smaller house no more than 4,000 square feet – the same size as President Bush’s house.

Wish they would provide Vaseline at the gas pump. Oh wait that is another oil product.

Haven't posted a cartoon in a while thought this was appropriate.

Pretty much sums it up.

From STLToday.com

May 19, 3:34 PM EDT

David McCullough urges BC grads to speak properly

NEWTON, Mass. (AP) -- Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough has a suggestion for what young people can do for their country.
"Please, please do what you can to cure the verbal virus that seems increasingly rampant among your generation," McCullough implored Boston College's class of 2008 at commencement ceremonies Monday.
He said he's particularly troubled by the "relentless, wearisome use of words" such as like, awesome and actually.
"Just imagine if in his inaugural address John F. Kennedy had said, 'Ask not what your country can, you know, do for you, but what you can, like, do for your country actually," he said.
Graduates apparently thought his speech was, like, awesome. They gave him a standing ovation.
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

Last Wednesday, May 14, I was able to have lunch with some of the retired teachers I use to teach with and this very subject came up. The Communication Arts Teachers were complaining in their last few years that they were having problems understanding some of the texting acronyms that were appearing in written paper, like you know.

However this problem starts with each generation as they form their own identity for that generation ya know. Like who can forget the Valley Girls “Oh My God!” You know everything had like before it like for surrrre, ya know. My favorite is still “Gag me with a pitchfork,” like that is so totally true. Also in the 80’s came our buddy Vern with “Ya know what I mean.” The saying is actually said faster YaknowwhatImean. Ya know. Like do I really need to explain?

Then there was the wide spread acceptance of beach speech that I mostly attribute to Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure in 1989. Then everything and everyone became a radical dude. Dude this, Dude that, like Dude ya know. Totally righteous!  

Now I hear a combination of the 80’s and 90’s along with some new words like “fire” (the only one I can think of right but I know you know what I mean) Fire now means cool, awesome, radical, or in my school nails (don’t ask to long to explain). Still hear the “Oh MY GOD” and Dude quite a bit. Ya know what I mean?

Anyway AISI over time the English language has changed and continues to change. For example read the preamble of the Constitution of the United States. As the character Ben Gates says in the National Treasure movie: “No one talks like that anymore.” I am sure two hundred years from now when scholars and students look at how we currently write will they say the same thing? Like will the peeps understand how we used keyboards to communicate our messages of intelligence or lack there of. Like ya know? Well g2g so u can text message ur response to this blog. YaknowwhatImean.

 Metro may cut service or up fares

By Ken Leiser

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

05/09/2008

ST. LOUIS, MO -- JANUARY 2, 2008 ,

MetroLink trains run smoothly as a few motorists drive by the Clayton Station in Clayton on a frigid Wednesday morning. Traffic was light amid the closing of Highway 40 for construction.

Metro may have to cut some bus and light-rail service or increase fares after Jan. 1 unless it finds a new source of funding, officials said today.

The transit agency plans to hold a series of public hearings on its options later this year. Metro's governing board will soon consider a budget for the 12-month period that begins July 1, but no service or fare changes are expected before the New Year.

Meanwhile, St. Louis County leaders appear ready to ask voters in November to approve a half-cent transit sales tax, said Mike Jones, senior policy adviser to County Executive Charlie A. Dooley.

If approved, half of those proceeds would go to fund transit operations and the other half would be used to develop new light-rail segments in the county.

Well it didn’t take long for “Money (for) Executives To (get) Rich On” more commonly known as METRO. Sure the spin will be because of rising fuel prices (fund transit operations) but remember Metro still is trying to recoup costs from its mismanaged Shrewsbury expansion project (develop new light-rail segments in the county)  and the associated failed lawsuit by the former director who considered St. Louisans a city of idiots.  Cutting back services even more will not get more public support nor will raising fares. Charge the advertisers more not the riders.

The problem is the people most affected by the rate hikes will be those within the city limits who already have a hard time making ends meet and those on fixed incomes. The rest will resort back to diving into work instead of using the commuter lots connected to Metro Stink. Seems funny how the use of the so-called mass transit is actually up because of all the road construction and the rising fuel prices. Now Metro aka Bogus State I mean Bi-State wants to raise fares thinking that people have forgotten about their mismanagement of public transportation here in the city for the last forty years.

The other problem is that not all jobs are from 9-5 some start earlier and some end later. Then there is what if you have to work pass normal working hours that many of have to do to meet “deadlines.” Waiting another hour for a train or bus just adds to an already long day when all I want to do is get home. For me, I’ll just go back to a more reliable mode of transportation that is the vehicle I own. 

Two California Highway Patrol Officers were conducting speeding enforcement on I-15, just north of the Marine Corps Air Station at Miramar. One of the officers was using a hand held radar device to check speeding vehicles approaching the crest of a hill.