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Times Is Hard ... Right?
Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 02:44PM NOTE: I'm going to be incommunicado for a few days, y'all. Here's my post ... please read and do not hesitate to leave comments both pithy and insightful, but realize I will be unable to approve or respond to them until Sunday night.
That said, we return to our regularly scheduled blogging.
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^ Famous Economist
^ Not An Economist, Famous Or Otherwise ...
... however.
Last night TG and I were out and about, tooling along in our American-made automobile, when a courteous bell tone combined with a polite digital message informed us that we needed to refuel.
The hour it was late-ish and from home we were far-ish. Potentially not good!
We turned in at three gas stations before finding one without blanks where prices ought to be on their signs, or plastic bags where free-flowing nozzles ought to be on their pumps.
I willwhine aboutaddress a few issues, though. You knew I would.
Disconcerting, to say the least. As if the gas prices aren't high enough, where I live it's difficult to find a station that has it to sell at any price. How's that for reverse psychology?
(At some stations the pump islands are swathed in yellow crime-scene tape, as though it is now a federal offense to even want to buy gasoline.)
In due time we found a station in business and cozied up to a working pump. TG cadged a twenty-dollar bill off me (Yes! I keep him.) and loped into the C-store to pay. He was gone several minutes, then reemerged and trotted towards our car with the twenty still flapping from his long, elegant fingers. He got back behind the wheel of our still-parched chariot.
Turns out that, after driving to four different gas stations before finding one with actual petroleum products to sell, my darling was unwilling to wait in line behind at least a half-dozen other folks who impatiently waited in line ... all of whom were stalled behind an individual who couldn't seem to decide upon the type and number of lottery tickets he wanted to purchase.
We found another station. (TG often claims to "run out of gas" when we're driving around at night, but he knows I'm onto his thinly-veiled ploy to get me to turn down a dark road, park, and talk politics.)
Call me crazy (I'll wear it as a badge of honor) but all the yowling about our "terrible" economy rings false when folks are still driving (which they certainly are in my neck of the woods ... traffic seems to be worse every time I get on the road), buying stuff like beer, smokes, and lottery tickets (which they are, in abundance), and frequenting restaurants where food costs five times what it's worth (which they are if the stuffed-to-the-gills parking lots of said establishments are any indication).
I refuse to whine about the economy. I have a good job and so does my husband. We are able-bodied and industrious, as were our parents before us. We consider ourselves fortunate to be fiscal and social conservatives**. We are patriotic Americans and that doesn't make us blind, deaf, addlepated or behind the times. Quite the contrary.
Stuff costs a bit more of late, but a certain amount of inflation is to be expected. I don't even mind paying through the nose for postage as long as I am given the full range of price choices without having to guess or beg.
I will whine about address a few issues, though. You knew I would.
For the record, I am against an eight-hundred-billion-dollar government bailout of gargantuan companies that -- just for starters -- have made millions of ill-advised loans, and in some cases cooked the books into the bargain.
In my opinion the "leaders" of these companies ought to go to jail. Let AIG, Fannie, Freddie, and Lehman Brothers fail royally and bear the consequences of their malfeasance.
Like, maybe some rich folks who got rich in a wrong way, ought to go broke.
When is the last time the likes of Dick Fuld, Bob Willumstad, Frank Raines, or their wives (and ex-wives) shopped at Wal-Mart?
Wally World is fun! Starting with the vivacious greeters, continuing as you wend your way through the aisles stuffed with ... stuff ... and ending with a fifteen-minute wait on line to settle up with the ebullient cashiers! Watch out you don't get run over by a pickup in the hundred-acre parking lot!
Might not want to wear Armani or Chanel Couture for this particular retail experience ... and you may want to arrive at the venue by other means than a chauffeured limo ... but as human problems go, I'd say those are relatively small ones.
Carol ... Wendy ... Kathy ... c'mere and I'll show you where all the good deals are. If y'all stay within your grocery budget we'll swing by the magazine rack and pick up the latest Town & Country ... but you gals have to share, 'k?
In a country on the brink of economic disaster, the least we can save is a tree.
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**GLENN BECK'S CONSERVATIVE CREED
A conservative believes that our inalienable rights do not include housing, healthcare or Hummers.
A conservative believes that our inalienable rights DO include the pursuit of happiness. That means it is guaranteed to no one.
A conservative believes that those who pursue happiness and find it have a right to not be penalized for that success.
A conservative believes that there are no protections against the hardship and heartache of failure. We believe that the right to fail is just as important as the chance to succeed and that those who do fail learn essential lessons that will help them the next time around.
A conservative believes in personal responsibility and accepts the consequences for his or her words and actions.
A conservative believes that real compassion can't be found in any government program.
A conservative believes that each of us has a duty to take care of our neighbors. It was private individuals, companies and congregations that sent water, blankets and supplies to New Orleans far before the government ever set foot there.
A conservative believes that family is the cornerstone of our society and that people have a right to manage their family any way they see fit, so long as it's not criminal. We are far more attuned to our family's needs than some faceless, soulless government program.
A conservative believes that people have a right to worship the God of their understanding. We also believe that people do not have the right to jam their version of God (or no God) down anybody else's throat.
A conservative believes that people go to the movies to be entertained and to church to be preached to, not the other way around.
A conservative believes that debt creates unhealthy relationships. Everyone, from the government on down, should live within their means and strive for financial independence.
A conservative believes that a child's education is the responsibility of the parents, not the government.
A conservative believes that every human being has a right to life, from conception to death.
A conservative believes in the smallest government you can get without anarchy. We know our history: The larger a government gets, the harder it will fall.
Reader Comments (6)
All I can say is, I absolutely agree with you. The rest of us should not be forced to pay for others' stupid mistakes, some of which were/are criminal. Just because Clinton decided that food stamps and welfare checks were good enough to get someone a house loan doesn't mean it was a good thing to do, and we who are responsible, conservative people who live well within our means shouldn't be taking the fall.
You're right on with not complaining about the economy. While I don't believe it's my responsibility to have to bail out big companies with my tax dollars, I'm also not above shopping at Wal-Mart, carpooling and Craigslist.If I want to get into debt with the newest, latest whatever and then discover I can't afford it - then I crash and burn, my own fault. It's ridiculous to blame other people and expect to be bailed out.
I'd never read that Conservative Creed before - I like it. Sums it all up very nicely.
If not for the fact I mentioned you last week, this blog post would have been an excellent "Saturday Salute." Well done.
Hooray ! Jenny for President. I am totally with ya gal. My sister and I went out last night to catch the latest Richard Gere love story..Nights in Rodanthe... we left in plenty of time to eat and get to the theatre and have time to buy popcorn. How were we to know that the traffic would be so thick???? And I am not talking about jettas and minis... I am talking about suv haven and hummers and lincolns....and cadillacs ( for you jen) and a lot of non-gas-saving vehicles...so many we could not find a parking place in the acres of shopping area we were perusing. When we finally settled on the restaurant with the least amount of people waiting on the curb ( all poor I am sure)we went inside and pigged out with hundreds of other poor people and paid our large bill with MONEY and then had 30 minutes to get in the car ...squeeze threw the traffic of POOR souls and get to the movie... WAITED in line with the poverty crowd to buy tickets only to find out the movie was SOLD OUT ! Now, you might ask, who is doing all the gas buying, food buying and movie ticket buying???? that is my question... it is devastating that the banks have all failed and America is in such a hardship !!! Assuming all these people have not heard about that yet !
@ Angi ... yes girl, you've certainly got the hang of being a conservative! I couldn't agree with YOU more. Excellent summation.
@ Kev ... as always I am humbled by your praise!
@ Dixie ... YES! That's exactly what I mean! It's bogus, y'all. Get a job. Work. Pay your bills. Enjoy life. America is STILL the model capitalistic society. Too bad B. Hussein Obama and his socialist cronies hate it so much! They should leave. All of them. Together!
and take all of the Hollywood complainers with them ! I would be the first to contribute to a fund that would pay for all the America haters to board a boat to Haiti. They could bask in the sun and get beautiful and not have to worry one bit about the American Way. I have not seen ONE of them actually leave because they know there is no place better on earth than the home of the brave !
Dixie ... not only that, but Barack Saddam Hussein Osama Obama's INISISTENCE to the contrary, the United States of America is still the greatest country on the face of the Earth, because in its inception, it honored God Almighty. We will be prosperous as long as we continue to acknowledge the sovereignty of God (even with only lip service), and stand with Israel. We are DAFT if we attempt to negotiate with Iran or any of its allies who hate Israel -- and us. There is no hope in that and we should have nothing to say to them about their nuclear arms except "Don't you DARE because if you do, we will make you very sorry."
The Hollyweird types need to shut up except to fall on their knees and kiss the ground of America, thanking the God Who blesses Her that they were fortunate enough to make FORTUNES in this great society. You're right: any American who is not patriotic to the core needs to board that boat of yours and see how they like life in any other country you can name. Having experienced life in lands without our freedoms, they will be begging to get back in just like the MILLIONS of illegals who risk everything just for one chance to live here.
Don't get me started on that ... ;-)