DISPATCHES FROM THE GHOST MOOSE

Where did August go?  I was in Canada fishing on the first day of the month...seems like a long time ago, but again, the month flew by in a heartbeat.  My son's second football game is this Friday.  That season will fly by as well.  there was a story on the news that a proposal to raise electric rates was being sent to Gov. Elmer Fudd Quinn for approval.  The electric companies are strongarming us - saying that the grid is outdated and the increase in rates is necessary to prevent future outages.  Let's sit back and take a look: - the state income tax on individuals was raised 66% - the state income tax on corporations was raised by more than 66%, causing a stampede of companies leaving the state. - tolls are being raised by 87% so - what do you think our incompetant governor will do??? why, approve the rate increase, of course.  In these economic times, everyone has so much extra money, we won't feel the pinch at all, will we. oh, and Gov. Fudd Quinn, how are you

Now, I hate to beat a dead horse (actually I have trouble getting away from things that annoy the piss out of me) but take a read on this article.  It is about the price of oil vs the price of a gallon of gas. http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/30/markets/gas-prices/index.htm?source=cnn_bin&hpt=hp_bn3 what kind of oil company schilling is this?  for every statement about the price of oil falling, there is a justification for the price of gas not falling.  but if the price of oil was on the rise, we would expected to accept a large jump in the price of gas at the pump...and for that price to be enacted the very day that oil went up...unlike when oil goes down and it takes months to show up at the pump. ass rapin...I'll reference this post next quarter when each of the oil companies post record profits despite selling less gas. my ass be painin.....

Can we be at the end of August already?  We played golf on Saturday - we had the first tee time at 6:17 and it was barely sunrise.  The first time now moves ahead 8 minutes a week.  the days are shortening noticibly.  We'll be raking leaves soon, and shoveling snow too soon. I guess I am really old - all that MTV VMA awards hoopla is lost on me...much like the Beatles arrival in the 60s, the Stones heyday in the 70s, the heavy metal AC/DC type music that was popular in the 80s...all the 50 year olds shook their heads at that noise...like I do now.  Way back when, I sold T shirts at the Rosemont Horizon from the time it opened in 1980 to sometime after 2000.  When I was in my 20s, it was really funny to see someone whose head was busted open, or someone so whacked out they couldn't walk straight...in my 30s it was not funny anymore, and in my 40s it made me worry about the future of the county.  like I said, I am at that age.  Like the Dana Carvey, angry old man character that

I am sitting here watching the news.  Seems like the Hurricane Irene preparation was overblown - lots of rain but apparently the storm has moved north of New York at this point.  Looks like damage was not too bad, not too much loss of life - or is it.  The coverage is not really too clear.  I did see Obama returned a day early from his vacation to lead the disaster planning.  Of course, we should all remember the words of his chief of staff, now Chicago mayor, Rahm Emanual "don't let a good crisis go to waste".  Did Obama bring his family back with him, or are we as taxpayers on the hook for another duplicate flight costing us hundreds of thousands of dollars?  I see that gas prices are expected to spike because an east coast refinery may have to close due to the storm....hmmm...didn't prices spike in Chicago last week because a sensor at the Whiting refinery say THERE MAY BE A LEAK..not that there was actually a leak....and, due to the storm, not many people out ea

What a beautiful day out there.  Not enough days like this left... so, our state leaders, in their infinite wisdom, decide that doubling the cost of tolls is the appropriate thing to do in this economy.  According to Gov. Elmer Fudd Quinn, raising the price of tolls will allow massive tollway projects and create jobs.  and, oh - he says the public is in favor of doubling the cost of tolls.  http://dailyherald.com/article/20110825/news/708259848/ so, if his intent is to create jobs, why did this pantload raise the corporate income tax to the point where companies are fleeing the state in alarming numbers?  the tollway is known for its mismanagment and questionable operations.  giving them billions more to throw around must be a good idea, right?  I have an idea - why not make every highway in Illinois a tollway?  why charge only the chicago area drivers to drive on highways?  let's rip off all Illinois citizens.  also - I heard this morning the price of gas in the area had j

Another hot day.  One more month of summer.  Then fall....then the suck. here is a link to a story that should come as no surprise to anyone but Gov. Fudd Quinn. http://www.illinoispolicy.org/news/article.asp?ArticleSource=4362 Illinois has lost more jobs than any other state, and the job losses coincide with the monumentally stupid decision to raise corporate state taxes to a ridiculously high level.  Any corporate business leader would be remiss if they did not move their operations out of Illinois.  I could see if there were compelling reasons to not move out of Illinois - but there are not.  So, any CFO would have to identify the opportunity to immediately improve their bottom line by 2% (or more) and move to a more business friendly state - that is the duty they have to the shareholders.  Before long, the frustrated taxpayer will follow in order to avoid the "temporary" 6% state income tax (temporary until it becomes 8%). funny how Chicago is going after business

Back at work today.  Got a lot done yesterday with my son to prepare for the first day of school.  Where did the summer go?  Seems like yesterday it was the last day of school and the kids had 10 weeks off...it is frightening how time flies.  Well - if only the lousy winter months would go by as quickly.  here is an article I find somewhat amusing.  In Philly, there is a curfew for teenagers...presumably, the cops are looking for those demographics that match those who flash mob, and attack innocent people minding their own business.  Not sure if you have read any of the stories from Philly, but it is frightening how bold these scumbags are.  If you read the story, you will see a community activist refers to the curfew as "illegal and racist".  which is exactly what the mob beatings have been - but have you yet seen these crimes referred to at illegal and racist?  gotta love the liberals.  http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PHILLY_TEEN_MOBS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME

nice weekend...turned 53.  played golf on Saturday - got through 16 holes before we quit due to weather.  Better to quit early than to keep playing and get struck by lightening.  The 4 of us that played had a laugh...we used to play no matter what the weather.  Now we err on the side of caution, and hopefully will live to play another day. the news continues to be the news.  as I read back on the postings I write, the recurring theme is the griping about the way things are.  I suppose that is very common among people when they reach the age I am at now.  While this situation can't be fixed, or changed to everyone's satisfaction, it seems that some temporary fix is always implememted that works until the next temporary fix is put in place.   but, I still think we are so far gone in so many areas that there ain't no fix that will preserve the status quo.  things will change, and change drastically in the next few years.  so - I am off today. My son and I have a lot of r

tgif...I will be 53 years old tomorrow...12 years to (supposed) retirement...or at least the age retirmement used to be.  I harbor no illusions that social security will be there - at least for the white taxpayers who have paid into it all their lives.  we have to make sure we give it all to illegals and others who have not paid a cent, but rather live here as parasite scumbags. speaking of which, check out this story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44198817/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/ our colossal failure of a president is proposing that we not deport young mexicans who have not committed crimes, nor are threats to national security (as we know, whites are the biggest threat to national security - just watch the video linked yesterday).  but wait, you ask....haven't they already broken the law by being here illegally?  and of course, as we know, young hispanics commit almost no crimes in this country, right??  (take a read on the Daily Herald, any day of the week).  what a

August 18???? What the H???  (I love Norm Macdonald). here's a few links to stories that just kill me.  the first is about a video that our great dept of homeland security put out...and apparently, the folks we need to fear are all white, and those reporting the white terrorists are minority.  As we well know, whites hijacked the planes on 9/11, whites have sworn to destroy America, whites are mobbing up and beating innocent minority folks just minding their own business...and as we well know, most of you are guilty of flying while white, so eff you all.  read the attached link and you will appreciate your tax dollars going to this garbage. http://www.infowars.com/big-sis-latest-terrorists-more-white-americans/ this link is a story that Michelle Bachman, when elected president, will make sure gas costs $2 a gallon.  this reminds me of when some kid was running for class president and he would say if elected, he would make sure all the drinking fountains in school were flowing

SSDD.....I am pretty much recovered from my busy day Monday, and back to normal from a work standpoint.  Late summer weather is beautiful, but the days are shortening noticibly.  My fishing trip is but a distant memory.  ahh life.... The economy is still in the crapper...but Obama said he had things under control until we had bad luck on a few key things.  so, clearly, we need to elect a president that is luckier that this one if we are to pull ourselves out of the hole we are in.  In all seriousness, I don't believe anyone that was elected would have been able to turn things around, given the sorry state of what they inherited.  However, Obama made so many grand promises, and delivered those promises to voters who were desperate to hear someone make those promises....but, in the end, Obama's ability to convincingly make promises far exceeded his ability to fix problems.  I suppose that is the MO for pretty much every person that is elected.  like with most elements of life

Busy day yesterday - a quick in and out trip to Oakland CA for a meeting.  Air travel is such a lousy experience these days.  Long ago, it was part of the excitement of a trip - you were usually treated well, got a meal on the flight, and it was generally a pleasant part of the journey.  Now you are treated with contempt from the moment you step in the security line and again at each leg of the trip.  When you check in at the kiosk, you get an offer to pay extra for the privelige of using the executive security line, you can pay extra to upgrade to first class, you can pay extra to use the admirals club, you can pay extra for a coach seat with a few more inches of room...every opportunity to separate you from your money is taken.  It now costs $75 to switch a flight.  Of course, the airline has to have a person to hit a few hundred keystrokes on the computer in order to change your flight....another example of how things have fallen into the abyss of crap. not much energy today - I l

A beautiful summer day...late summer...I got up at 5, and it was still pitch dark.  When we were up in Canada last week, it would not get dark until after 11 pm, and it never really got completely dark.  It was 900 miles north of here - must be the reason. There was a story out earlier this week that a petition was being circulated to have Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street get married...gee - that is the perfect message we want our little ones to take from the show, right?  A few months ago, Katy Perry recorded a song with a muppet, and there was an uproar about the low cut dress she was wearing, so the video was scrapped.  I guess it is inappropriate to have our little ones see a woman dress in a certain way, but it is ok to have to explain to them that Bert and Ernie have anal sex. oh - and by the way:  THEY'RE EFFIN PUPPETS. just shows you how screwed up the liberal press is. or is it just me?  probably some of both. the Bears start their exhibition season tonight.  finall

It's hard to believe just a week ago was my last day of fishing in Canada.  The weeks fly by...turn into months which turn into years...next year's trip is right around the corner...or so it seems. I forgot to comment on a tribune story that said "it was ok" that the debt rating of the US had been downgraded from AAA to AA.  It was ok...isn't that an acceptance that it is ok for the country to be just a little bit shittier than it used to be...that things that were once held dear are not ok to be less good than they once were???  It is ok for the flood of immigrants to overwhelm the resources of the US, and the ability of the middle class taxpayers to support these parasites...it is ok for bands of wild black youth to rampange and wantonly beat innocent whites and for authorities to fall all over themselves to say the crimes were not racially motivated...it is ok for some elite to draw unrealistic, unearned, unsustainable pensions...it is ok.  because the countr

Beautiful day today.  Sunny, not so hot or humid.  Starting to feel like the end of summer...which it will soon be. Good news for all of us...there is going to be a SUPER COMMITTEE  to deal with the deficit and economic problems.  Our president is surely a genius.  He must have known a committee would not suffice, given the magnitude of our problems, so he established a SUPER COMMITTEE.  Just genius.  Our problems will soon be a thing of the past...as will our way of life and the once greatness of America in general.  What a colossal failure we elected. more good news...the price of a barrell of oil is down about 12% in the last week....but, what is that you say???  how much has the price of a gallon of gas fallen????  well, that would be 2.5%   hmmm....well - we gotta make sure the oil companies have another quarter of record profits, right? maybe we need a SUPER DUPER COMMITTEE to address this problem.  Our brilliant president will no doubt see the light. 

It sure does not take long for the mental serenity and calm of a wilderness vacation to get crapped all over by the tidal wave of the b.s. that makes you want to go there in the first place.  I sit at my desk in front of a keyboard and 2 monitors.  I have 2 cell phones.  Never too far out of touch, self-important guy that I am.  Like most douchebags, I have my cell when I play golf....just in case there is some problem so complex that only I can solve it....ha ha.  The beauty of the wilderness is all of those devices are just dead weight. They do you no good in the wild.  Waterproof matches, birch bark, bug spray - those are what is critical to your day.  But that was last week.  My life is now more technical and my actions dictated by those who pay me to be here.  such is life.  but when I win the lottery, I will move north for an extended period, and outfit the camp with a satellite hookup so as to not deny anyone these pearls of wisdom. Hey - big news...the price of a barrel of oi

Back to work today.  after yesterday's rant, I figured I needed to give a bit more info on my trip to the Canadian wilderness..... In 1982, a group of 7 of us started canoeing in Quetico, on the Minnesota/Canada border.  We took some tough trips; the first trip was over 100 miles round trip.  None of us were really prepared back then for the rigor and physical demands of that first trip.  We had no idea of what awaited us.  But we made it.  Over the years, we would do 9 canoe trips, then we started doing fly in trips.  to date, we have taken 15 fly in trips, and now we drive to Armstrong Station, Ontario, and fly out from there to a really remote cabin.  This year, 3 of the original 7 guys went.  Although I am proud of my outdoor abilities and bushcraft skills, I am more proud of the fact that 3 old friends are still at it.  We coordinated all of the planning elemements of the trip, fished 3 to a boat all week.  No one hooked anyone, no one snapped at one another...just 3 old fri

I'm back.  Me and two friends went to Canada fishing.  We left at 3:30 am on Friday, July 29, drove 800 miles, got in a plane and flew into the wilderness to stay at a remote outpost.  One cabin on a huge lake.  Plenty of fish, wildlife - the whole experience....but....I will write more of that this week.  For now: one of the really nice technical innovations of recent history has been the satellite radio.  We bring one, and can listen to the Sox games, CNN, etc.  Stay in touch with the world.  So, we were able to hear all the news around the deficit debate, and of course the inability of our failure in chief to do anything about it.  Of course, the heartwarming story of Gabrielle Giffords....how much did it cost to fly her there, and did she really know what she was even doing there?  A tragic thing that befell her, no doubt, but what was the purpose of that silly spectacle? Anyway, I had a lot to write about once I was back in front of a computer, which I am now.  Early on Su