OT- Decks - World Economy - American way of Life - Oil Prices
- From: "Old Man River" <omr@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007 13:32:40 -0700
Hello All,
Hmmmmmmmm, where to start. Girlfriend wanted me to replace the material on
the covered deck area this year. So we went to the local lumber store and
purchased some of that fake wood stuff in boards 12' long and 6" wide. Have
to install it with screws, stainless screws. Purchased a box of them which
costs 50+ dollars. The screws are made in Japan. My "screw failure rate"
is somewhere in the 20% range. Failure rate means the screws head strips
out prior to being fully seated. The head is a Jacobson type head. Well I
figure it's one of three things. Technique, quality of the screw, hardness
of the material. I am predrilling out the Timber Treks material, and
counter sinking the head area, so I don't think it's that. I have good
screw technique, so I don't think it's that. I have changed the bit once
and will go purchase a couple more of them later today. My feeling is it's
the quality of the screws, which leads me to the main topic.
World Economy - this is undermining America, it's people, and our future
workforce - read - good paying jobs for your children's children, and their
kids. Business runs American, the government thinks they do, but in reality
it's business that does, and because they do, and real real greedy people
run those business, it's in their best profit margin studies to export all
the high paying jobs overseas, put peons to work making 20 cents a day, and
lay off the expensive workers here. Now, yes it is happing, and catch this,
it's been happening since the late 50's, and started slowly at first, and in
the last 20 years has made large inroads into all our way of life. A
related thing is political correctness, and the belief that your personal
freedoms are greater than mine.
Oil Prices toped 81 dollars a barrel this past week. Price of gas and
diesel fuel is going to hit 3.50 gal before the winter is over, and once oil
hits 90, over 4 dollars a gallon next year. Two reasons for this, greed and
greed. You want the price of gas/diesel to come down, stop buying anything
made in China, put their economy in the tank, so businesses brings back
those high paying jobs to America. You want the oil price to come down, buy
stock in oil companies, and demand they keep all the refined
gas/diesel/other petroleum distillates here. Currently, all the oil
companies export refined products to the United Kingdom, because the UK does
not have enough refineries, consequently, those products do not find their
way into our distribution channel, the price goes up. Write your senator
and representative to stop that practice. We also don't have enough
refineries, so the ones we do have work at above 95% utilization, when one
goes down, it immediately raises the price at the pump. Remember the
Phoenix issue a few years ago, when the pipeline broke, the price of
gasoline went to 4.50 a gallon, and we paid it. Biggest mistake we could
have made as consumers, because that was a "TEST", to see how far the price
could go up and people pay it, we proved we will pay for gas at that rate,
so there is no reason for it to not make that price, and brother it's headed
there. Gas boycotts won't work, we have to live, singling out one oil
company to target also wont work, because they don't operate in all areas we
live. Clear signals sent to the operating boards of the oil companies is
the answer, first lower your payroll by cutting the managements salary's,
stop exporting refined products overseas, keep those products here.
Building up a reserve of refined and bulk products to a six year strategic
reserve will send clear signals to the oil companies and producing nations,
we are not going to stand for it much longer.
High fuel prices will cripple the economy, as more of the GNP is spent on
fuel, not food, not medicine, not housing. I believe we are headed into a
serious recession period, which will significantly lead to major job losses,
and a housing downturn 50% worse than presently seen.
If the US Government does attack Iran, it could be one nail in the coffin of
the prelude to a limited low yield nuclear exchange, if one report I read is
correct. Now, I don't think President Bush is nuts enough to do it, but
with Cheney on his back, and Saudi Arabia, paranoid about Iran, I think it's
a possibility. If this happens, you won't be able to afford gas at the pump
unless you have the resources of Bill Gates. Are we that stupid as a
people. I believe we are. In the late 1800's there was a theory that
postulated different races/intellects were inferior to others, well educated
world and American industrialists believed in this theory. I cannot
remember it's name, but it is mentioned in several recent literary fiction
works. It lead to World War I, and since that conflict was not settled, to
WW-II, (Hitler was a broad supporter of it-see where that lead) and the
deaths of 60 million people. Are we headed for WW-III? It's possible, but
I only give it a 20% chance now of happening. But it's out there, trying to
rear it's ugly head, because as race, "mankind" we seem to not have learned
how to progress toward getting along with each other. Believe it or not,
it's also in business's interest for a war to happen on a more global scale,
so they can play both sides of the fence as they did in WW-II. There are
many articles about this concerning GM, Ford and other business who kept
dealings with Germany after the onset of WW-II. It was replayed out in
Korea, Vietnam, and today in Iraq and other places.
These are just my thoughts, you can and I am sure will take them apart,
which is why I am writing this in the first place. One factor I have left
out is religion, because it's the biggest instigator of war their is, but it
won't have a bearing on this discussion.
Old Man River
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