Michaelangelo's David Returns to Italy

Sometimes one picture is worth a thousand pounds! Sphere: Related Content

Gas Lines in New Jersey? - Only At COSTCO

I have been to CostCo for gas and other things coast to coast. One of the things I always enjoyed was the exclusivity of going there; quite simply put, I paid to be a member, so I paid for the enjoyment of the discount. Sounds smug right; good it is supposed to.

Apparently the legislature in New Jersey does not think along the same lines. The discount clubs in this particular state are not permitted by law, to discount gasoline to members only, despite the fact that you are paying for that privilege. The gasoline must be sold to everyone at the same price, regardless of membership status.

A recent trip down Rt70 in Brick Township showed a small mob at the local CostCo. Regular gas was selling for $3.62 per gallon. Holy vapors Batman, we better get on line before it's gone!

You have to keep in mind that gas was selling down the road about a mile, in both directions, for $3.71 per gallon. A whopping 9 cents a gallon difference. One dollar and thirty-five cents on an average 15 gallon fill.

Now, you may say, why did I pick 15 gallons as the average. I was curious and decided to ask the gas jockey. Yes, in New Jersey (Oregon also) citizens are thought of as being too stupid to fill up their own tank. But I digress. The gas jockey says a great majority of the people filling up here, are waiting ten to fifteen minutes to gas up depending on the size of the line (that is queue for you Brits). Once at the pump the average sale is about 15 gallons of gas.

Okay... here's the bottom line of the story. You go to this CostCo gas station because you think you are saving money. You pull in and wait the 10-15 minutes. Waiting with the engine running and the air conditioning on, burns approximately 1/4 to 1/2 gallon of gas depending on the gas guzzler you own. At the $3.62 per gasllon you are about to spend, you just spent approximately $1.80 waiting to buy the gas. You could have driven, or maybe it was on the way, to the other station and paid the $3.71 a gallon. Sphere: Related Content

Mexican Military Invades Arizona - Again?

The US Border in Arizona was transgressed today by soldiers from the Mexican military. This in and of itself happens more than our government will share with us, and more than the mainstream media is willing to put in their newspapers. Especially, those newspapers close to the border.

The San Diego Union-Tribune, sitting about 15 miles from the border, posted the most minimal story it could report. ~ see Union-Tribune story here

On the other hand The Washington Times (D.C.) seems to be have reporters that can write more than five paragraphs before going for a latte and a burrito. ~ see The Washington Times story here

The San Diego Union-Tribune was recently rumored to be up for sale by the Crowley's. Let us hope that this rumor turns to fact real soon. With any luck the people of San Diego will have a newspaper again that actually brings the news to the people, not the owners opinions. Sphere: Related Content

Have An Accident? - Pay For The Response

Accident in Howell Twp. - Route 33 & Colts Neck Road


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The accident that is played out in the video shown above, courtesy of the Asbury Park Press, is a common occurrence in any region of the USA. There are dozens of accidents nationally everyday, sometimes dozens just in one municipality. In this time of budget crunches in most of these municipalities, the following may prove to be a cash cow.

The time has finally come to have motorists pay directly for the emergency response to an accident. Yep, that's right, bill them directly. No insurance company, bill directly. If the motorist does not pay, garnish wages, or place a lean on their house if they own one.

Emergency service organizations and municipalities need to put a price tag on the cost of police, fire, EMS, and road crews, responding to the scene of an accident. Let's peg those costs directly to the drivers of the vehicles involved. If it's a three car accident, divide the cost of the response by three.

Let the insurance companies sort it out between them. I'm sure that the insurance industry will welcome this on two fronts. One, they may be able to sell optional Response Insurance to motorists. Secondly, this could actually have a significant impact on the accident rate. Maybe, just maybe, drivers may slow down, they may actually stop at a stop sign, they may actually signal a turn, they may actually yield to traffic, they may actually retract that middle finger and smile. Sphere: Related Content

Navajos Losing Net Access

The Washington Post ran a story today about the Navajo Nation losing Internet access due to some bureaucratic screw-up at the FCC and the Navajo's own internal policies. This has been going on for months and still no resolution. They have already lost most of the access at their libraries and municipal office. Now this is the final death kneel, as they will lose access at the police and fire station, kissing good-by communications to the outside world as well. Cell phone service in some of these remote areas is non-existent.

I remember reading some time ago that Navajo students trying to complete online courses were parking outside those municipal locations that still had service using WiFi to finish their studies.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know that many of you will reason that they should be off the government teat by now. Well, you know some of that is true. However, they didn't put themselves on the reservation, we (the collective we - read: government) did that when we stole their land and herded them like buffalo onto remote lands and hoped that they would die off eventually. Little did anyone know that they were not about to let that happen.

I suppose the Navajos are not trendy enough of a cause for the likes of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, or Oprah, or Pitt & Jolie. They would rather pour their money into foreign countries instead of helping to take care of American Indian Nations here at home. What's the matter, not a big enough tax deduction? Sphere: Related Content