DISPATCHES FROM THE GHOST MOOSE

a little time on my hands, so here are a couple stories that underscore the rantings I have beem making.  the first is about the Chicago Mercantile Exchange evaluating their move to a new state - because the tax situation makes them consider that move.  Gov. Fudd - prepare for many thousands of companies to follow, you pantload.  http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-cme-group-says-tax-situation-is-untenable-may-exit-state-20110728,0,6322503.story here is a second story about the oil companies and their record profits....of course, they are going to plow some of those profits back into exploration to reduce prices in the future....how about just reducing the price of oil now, and not ass raping us into your next record quarterly profit.  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Big-Oil-reaps-big-profit-in-apf-3778164863.html?x=0 today, we swirl yet a bit lower in the toilet.

really speeding into August.  July is passing in the blink of an eye. I was off today and had a lot of running around to do.  I passed a gas station this morning, where gas was $3.86, and figured I would stop later in the day..so, I just passed the same station, and gas had gone to $4.06 per gallon - a 20 cent increase in the span of a few hours...now, I had posted the link yesterday that read that BP had made record profits while selling less gas...and Shell also posted record profits today...so, if you have achieved record profits by ass raping those who buy your product, and achieved record profits because of said ass raping, the only way to maintain a record of consecutive record profits is by ass raping on the highest order... funny - when Bush was president, he was ridiculed because the price of gas was out of control..but our messiah obama - he can do no wrong.  The press makes nary a mention of inability to keep gas affordable, negotiate a solution to the deficit debate, ma

I missed a few days of posting.  and life goes on...the debate on the deficit....the mess in Illinois....the economy in freefall....the price of gas. speaking of which, check out this story.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2018827/Petrol-prices-hit-record-high-BP-makes-profit-3bn-just-3-months.html Infuriating.  with significantly less output, BP has posted record profits.  and we are paying record prices for gas.  they mention the loss last year due to the cost of the cleanup of the gulf oil spill...so they come here, shit all over our pristine fishing grounds and we let them ass rape us on the price of gas. and of  course, we, as Americans, get to pay the excessive taxes that fund the military that keeps the flow of oil going so the oil can be refined and sold to us at a huge profit and BP can make record profits by refining and selling less.  really a good situation for them, isn't it?  at least our deficit problems have all been solved, right?

the rain continues....we drove to the golf course at 5:30 am yesterday, only to decide not to play since the weather looked like the weather that would not be fun to golf in.  so we drove home.  probably a good decision - but I always say that I don't stop fishing or golfing due to weather.  As I get older, I can see the folly in that logic - I have been stuck in some nasty lightening storms on the golf course and out in a boat.  If I want to golf and fish more in the future, I need to respect the weather and take cover when it gets dicey outside.  we talked about maybe golfing today, but from the looks of things, today is a washout too.  so, from the insignificance of my personal world to the tragedy in Norway....what unimaginable horror...over 90 innocent people killed by a lunatic.  God Bless those who were affected.  the real pity is that the gunman is still alive.  as long as that turd draws a breath, the world is a worse place.  and if you had Amy Winehouse in your dead

Finally Friday.  A little rain overnight - but everything is still pretty burnt.  Happens every summer.  Hard to believe we are in the last week of July already.  Back to school sales right around the corner...then raking leaves...then gassing up the snowblower...then...... check out this story regarding an interview with Rahm Emanuel sending his kids to a public school.  this is the guy that was elected mayor....I guess public schools are not good enough for the person who is ultimately in charge of public schools.  Look at the thug that was elected.  Liberals know what is best for everyone else - but then refuse to live by the laws they set down.  Laws are for everyone else. http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/When-Rahms-Temper-Made-a-Comeback-125919838.html tgif

the heat continues....and we'll all be happy as pigs in slop (or at least I will, because I love the heat) until the electric bill comes.  I am guessing at least $300 - and the house never really cools off in this heat.  I had the news on this morning, and the topic of the heat took at least 15 of the 45 minutes I was watching it.  Plenty of tips on what to do, where to go, what to drink, what not to drink, what not to do...we get it - it's summer and it's hot.  enough already. the topic of the debt ceiling and the ongoing meetings to address the issue kind of fell off the news radar.  the fact remains, the current problem has roots that go back years, if not decades.  there is no fixing it.  any action taken is a temporary band aid that will have to be addressed - but what exactly will fix the fact that we are in debt by an amount we cannot comprehend.  we owe more than the entire world owns.  kind of a difficult concept to wrap ones mind around.  but the poop will hit t

July marches on.  and the heat is really here.  High 90s....but, it is summer, so the fact that the hot weather is the lead story on all the news means there is no news.  other than it being summer and hot weather.  The Trib had an editorial on Tuesday regarding the severance packages for outgoing superintendents.  Well written - but it is just the opinion of a newspaper.  We can't mistake this for any actual action taken on the matter.  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-superintendent-20110719,0,4469222.story again - this all begs the question:  When do we say enough is enough?  Or property tax bills are already unaffordable, due largely to corruption like this.  When do we commoners, those not getting fat from the public dole, stop enabling this behavior? Speaking of which, did you see the tollway authority has a one billion dollar gap between its project list and its assets?  so, obviously, they will scale back their project list, you say?  of

Here is a link to a very good sequence of stories about how we all got screwed by the big bank bailout, among other things.  The entitled attitude of those in the stories is galling.  In some cases, we gave them billions OF OUR MONEY to keep them in business so they could foreclose on our homes.  And the money that we stole from our grandchildren was handed to them as bonuses to reward themselves for failing, getting a handout, and not going to jail.  if you aren't infuriated by the end of the article, something is wrong with you.  make sure to read all 10 vignettes.  Out of touch douchebags, all of them.  it's as though they are all working hard to emulate Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life.... read and enjoy - it will be worth your time. http://www.salon.com/news/david_sirota/2011/07/13/great_recession_elitism_slideshow/slideshow.html?slide=4 here's another article you may find interesting about the bank's roles in the foreclosure mess.  The banks have been

That was a warm weekend.  and more heat to follow all week.  Bring it on - for as much as I hate winter, it can't be too hot for me.  and this time of year goes by too fast, while the cold and snow linger endlessly. here is a link to a story that underscores everything I rant about regarding governmemt arrogance: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-bc-il--educatorseverance,0,3794699.story the story details how school superintendents walk away with huge severance packages - even when they resign on their own.  and who funds those ridiculous severance packages?  why, we do, of course.  so when your property tax bill comes, take a look and remember the louts that your hard earned dollars are going to.  No matter what the story, it is obvious that all elements of government - local, city, state, federal, are so riddled with corruption and waste.  I have posted links in the past about how political appointments are seen as a ticket on the gravy train.  Big salaries

Friday sure flew by.  I noticed that gas has gone up 20 cents a gallon.  this while the price of a barrel of oil has gone down to $95.  we continue to get fleeced.  at this point, you don't read much about it - we are just conditioned to accept it. after the storm on Monday, 800,000 homes were left without power.  On Thursday, the Com Ed execs are quoted as saying the rate increase they want to build the smartgrid would have reduced the outages...sure.  just start charging us more.  we believe you.  what a crock.  no solution to the deficit issue (no surprise given we have an idiot for president)....no action whatsoever on the 100 billion dollar pension issue in Illinois....no surprise given we have an idiot for governor.  one must conclude we have idiots calling the shots on most issues.

Leaders lead.....a simple yet very true statememt.  We elect leaders because they have the ability to plan/prepare/execute.  They build consensus, seek solutions.  Good leaders do that....look at the trainwreck we have in our country now.  Where has Obama led us?  He had no plan to address any of the issues he said he would address while campaigning in 2008.  He has led us to the brink of disaster - if we aren't there already.  His skill has proven to be convincingly pointing at the camera and starting his statement with "LOOK..." followed by some scripted, vague answer.  What a colossal failure.  Do you know anyone that is better off than they were before he took office?  I sure don't.  His statement about jobs not being as "shovel ready" as he thought????? wtf????  and the sheep in the press giggle at his clever answers...."time to eat our peas"??????  this is the answer from the leader of what was once the most powerful, prestigeous country in t

the cleanup from the storm continues.  the traffic lights by the high school are out and there were cops directing traffic there this morning, so it made it much better than just an unmonitored intersection. here's a link to a story about another woman guilty of flying while white. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110713/NEWS01/307130115/Police-charge-mother-Nashville-airport-altercation the implication is that we are supposed to let our kids be groped by the TSA mopes.  We should all wear burkhas in the security line, because as we all know, it is unacceptable to offend muslims....the very group of people responsible for the creation of the TSA to begin with.  Another day, another freedom taken away. the budget mess continues.  I wonder where it will end up - we are already in a real mess, so any agreement reached will just be a speed bump on the way to the depression we are headed to.  and now Obama is saying the social security payments may not go out on Aug. 3....sure -

closing in on the midpoint of July.  We had some damage from the storm yesterday and are waiting for the insurance adjuster to come assess.  We still have power, so that's a good thing. the meetings on the budget deficit are a real joke.  the Obama administration shows what a colossal failure it is on a daily basis.  Obama is quick with some trite saying to show us how clever he is: "time to take the pain" and "time to eat our peas"...wtf...why didn't he say that before he irresponsibly printed and spent money we didn't have?  He ruined the economy, and is now reading from the teleprompter what we all have to do to reverse his idiotic course of action.  note to self....if another community organizer runs for any office, he or she is ill equipped to make any educated decision....unless that decision involves some element of community organization.  I would think the currrent economic crisis will not reduce the number of very expensive exotic vacations t

Back to work after a 3 day weekend.  Nice and hot.  Summer weather, although the storm this morning was a bit much. since my last posting, I have flown back from CA, and also wasted a few hours at the Secretary of State, getting my son his driving permit.  Both situations show just how poorly we are treated.   I flew to CA on United, and returned on Continental.  United and Continental merged a few months ago, but try to get some help on switching a flight from one to the other.  Those mopes could not be less interested in helping a paying customer.  Each one of them offering the same "the merger isn't complete, so I can't help you" excuse.  There was a story yesterday about a guy that had logged 10 million miles on United.  Get a life, dude.  There was a story yesterday about a family traveling with a 6 year old - and the young boy was patted down twice before being allowed to board the flight...his crime?  flying while white.  http://www.king5.com/video/feature

At least I think it is Thursday.  Started yesterday with a 3 am wakeup for a 6 am flight to San Francisco.  I hate that flight to the west coast...of course I got stuck in the middle seat.  all 245 lbs of me.  I never can adjust to the time change, so I got up today (Thursday, I think) at my usual  5 am, but it is really 3 am out here.  San Fran and Oakland are much different than the midwest.  Nice places though, and the business I came out to do is going well.  The whole travel thing is such a mess. I got to the security line yesterday at 5 am - when I had never seen a line before in my travels, only to be in a line 100 yds long.  I made it to my flight on time, but it was closer than I thought it would be when the cab picked me up at 4:30.  Now we see stories that the terrorists are surgically implanting bombs in bodies, so we need a new way to scan for those. so, be prepared for a new round of indignities, folks.  where does it end?  how many new fees will travelers pay to develop

Well, that weekend sure flew by.  Very nice summer weather.  We did the usual 4th of July things - grill, Frontier Days, parade....more grilling, more beer.  and back to work today. I was going to write about the 2 hours I wasted at the DMV on Friday....my son had his SS card, his school id, my id, but they wouldn't accept his hospital issued birth certificate.  so, we now have to get the county issued birth certificate and make a second trip to that bastion of seat warmers.  Maybe if he was an illegal, the birth certificate requirement would have been waived...and judging by the fact that English speaking people were in the minority there, I can pretty much assume not all of them had a county issued birth certificate...those are probably just a requirement for white Americans.  just like valid boarding passes are for an airline. We went to a party at our next door neighbors yesterday.  they are a VietNamese couple and had their extended family over.  I was talking to one guy abo

Nice and hot outside - and it's only 9 am.  Nice 3 day weekend of nothing.  well, golf, bbq, laying around.  so, plenty to do, or not do. Interesting story about the guy who had boarded international flights several times with expired tickets, boarding passes that did not match his id, invalid passport, and other issues that should have been caught by the morons of the TSA...now, contrast that with the story of the 95 year old woman that had to remove her diaper to be searched for a flight from FL to MI....what was the difference, you ask??? well, the guy was black, with an african name, and the woman was white.  we certainly can't risk offending the africans - like the one that tried to blow up the plane to Detroilet last year..no - even if it means letting them board planes and traveling illegally.  but, if you are guiltly of traveling while white, you are subject to all sorts of indignities.  we've all seen the video of the 6 year old white girl getting patted down, the

We blinked and June passed us by.  Where did that month go? On the brink of a 3 day weekend.  should be a good one.  Here is a link to a story that underscores just how screwed up our state is http://dailyherald.com/article/20110630/news/110639966/ in the story, they mention that Gov. Fudd Quinn has cut $376 million from the budget submitted to him...great job; that is less than 4 tenths of one percent of the $100 billion pension hole we are in.  AND YET THERE HAS BEEN NO ACTION ON THIS MESS.  well, at least that temporary income tax increase will expire in a few years, right?  just like the tollways would become freeways in 1976. pay up, suckers.