Let Them Eat Cake (and Corn)

Is healthy and sustainable food only for the privileged?

BATAVIA, Ill.—In the food deserts of America, the place to shop for groceries isn’t the local supermarket (there aren’t any); it’s the corner liquor store.

There’s a two-tiered, class-based food supply in the United States, and access to food that is healthy for both body and environment is far from democratic.

In most areas, a mother can use food stamps to buy a bag of Cheetos for her children but not a bag of apples from a farmers’ market. Thanks to our nation’s agricultural policies and generous subsidies for corn, a heavily processed, health-busting, environment-destroying meal of burger-fries-and-soda is now plentiful and cheap—cheaper oftentimes than a pint of simple, pesticide-free berries (if you can find them). Even in areas where fresh produce and organic options are available, how many have the luxury of choosing, say, a $6 quart of organic strawberries at a place like Whole Foods?

Those were some of the barriers to the sustainable food movement discussed in a lecture given by Chicago Tribune food and investigative reporter Monica Eng at the Batavia Public Library earlier this month.

“Who is looking out for some of the sickest, who are also the poorest, among us to make sure that this isn’t just a movement for the well-off? Eng asked. “How do we make it a movement for everyone to help create a healthier nation in general—healthier soil, healthier air, healthier kids?”

That’s one of the biggest themes emerging in a sustainable food movement centered around foods that are healthy for consumers, animals and the environment, Eng says. Only 1-3 percent of the U.S. food supply is organic, and the premium for organic can be steep: anywhere from 20 to 40 percent more (or even six times more, Eng has found). For those without the access or means to buy organic, the main option available is food produced by conventional, mostly industrial, agriculture—what Maria Rodale, author of the book “Organic Manifesto,” calls “chemical agriculture.”

Industrial agriculture yields a supply of food that’s plentiful and cheap, but loaded with hidden costs and ticking hazards. Not just for the poor, but for us all.

A Tale of Two Chimps: Part 1

What a traumatic news-cycle this week has been for our nearest living relations within the animal kingdom. I keep thinking of all those baby chimps out there, in their wittle diapers and parked in front of some TV somewhere, maybe an ice cream cone in hand... and maybe at this very moment one of them is watching that endlessly looped clip of the gunned-down Crazed Chimp of Connecticut... the lifeless chimp body being dragged away by his police executioners... Heartrending, just heartrending.

The Bailout Booth

Apparently there's a new site out there called bailoutbooth.com. And to generate some media buzz for their site they set up a booth in Times Square in NYC and just, like, handed out crisp $50 bills to anyone and everyone who stood on line--even more, in some cases, if one's tale of economic woe managed to so move the mystery man in the booth.

But if you missed out, no worries. Plans are already in the works for booths in other major cities such as Boston and Philly, among others. So start crafting and honing your tale of woe, folks... I know I am. Then I'm going to blow all $50 on booze, invite over some friends, turn on the CNN, and play a little drinking game: whenever some talking-head utters the word "Bailout" everyone has to chug a shot. Because if we really are facing "the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression" I think a bit of binge drinking is in order--wouldn't you say?

The Bailout Booth: coming soon to a city near you...

Obama's Book Club

Move over Oprah--there's a new book club in town... But for the smart & wonky set. Same literary windfall for the "chosen" few. But without the hankie-wringers. And everything is pretty much snark-proof (Jonathan Franzen would not dis this endorsement). As Publishers once spoke of "The Oprah Effect", they will soon speak of "The Obama Effect." And here are the latest two beneficiaries of a plug by Obama:

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It's about Lincoln's presidency, and how he packed his Cabinet with his rivals (not literally, of course. Lincoln didn't chop up his rivals and store them in the chifforobe, if that's where your sick mind was headed, Rahm Emanuel). Every politico and pundit is racing to the bookstore for this one, thinking it will be the key to unlocking Obama's nefarious plans for his administration... or at least explain why Obama would ever choose Hillary for Secretary of State (I'm still trying to figure that one out... but then I keep getting sidetracked by the thought of "Where's Willy?", a game I do not want to play--does anyone? Personally, I got enough of that old game during my days as a White House Intern... (not really)).

The Defining Moment: F D R’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope, by Jonathan Alter. The lucky author who got a plug from Obama on 60 Minutes last Sunday. The New York Times has an (unintentionally) funny piece about how three different writers/publishers of a soon-to-be-released book on FDR almost wet themselves watching 60 Minutes, wondering if theirs was the book Obama was reading and about to name before a nationwide televised audience...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/books/18book.html?em

Clearly, the man reads... and a lot. And publishers obviously send Obama advance copies of books all the time. But I'm a little worried about this Obama Effect... Is the desk in the Oval Office going to be buried under unsolicited manuscripts? Did we just trade in a President who doesn't read at all for a President who maybe reads too much? Will Obama be nose-deep in the latest by Ken Follet while Putin invades Alaska? Is this why some evangelicals suspect Obama is really the Antichrist? Because a black man who reads lots of really smart books... well, he must be the Antichrist. Clearly.

And if there is an "Obama Effect," might there also be a "Reverse-Obama Effect"? The evidence suggests there is:

Das Kapital by Karl Marx. Joe the Plumber, you have nooo idea what you did for Karl Marx's book sales... and how amused Karl Marx is, wherever he is. Because your thoughtless use of the word "Socialist" has led to a worldwide surge in book sales (not to mention tons of "capital") for that old German socialist... communist... whatever. For real. (I know it's hard to tell with me, sometimes.) But not to be outdone, Joe has written(!) a new book, Joe The Plumber: Fighting For The American Dream, available "exclusively" through his incredibly stupid new website: http://www.secureourdream.com/html/store.php?content_id=9&nav_id=7&

Book of Collected Wisdom of Sarah Palin, by Russell Blackstone. Apparently, Sarah Palin is about to sign a $7 million book deal (WTF?!!). In the meantime, though, there's this 120-page book... which, um, does have 100 blank pages in it, just so you know. You can buy it here: http://books.cafepress.com/item/book-of-collected-wisdom-of-sarah-palin/304373749

Overheard Between Putin and Sarkozy

This real exchange between Vladimir Putin and Nicolas Sarkozy is too funny not to share. It happened last August when Sarkozy flew to Moscow to convince Putin not to overthrow Saakashvili, the President of Georgia:

PUTIN:

I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls.

SARKOZY:

Hang him?

PUTIN:
Why not? The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.

SARKOZY:
Yes but do you want to end up like Bush?

(a beat)

PUTIN:
Ah, you have scored a point there.

Hehe... Diplomatic relations between world leaders can be so funny/stupid... Who knew?

Here's my source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5147422.ece

Fast Times At Global High

Jae C. Hong/AP

Oh. my. dorkiness. This is why the French should stick to being French, rather than try to pull off American "cool" (or the French idea of American cool, anyway--um, Nicolas, no one in America thinks Fonzie is cool anymore. Aaaayhh!). No wonder Sarkozy's opponents in France snarkily refer to him as "Sarkozy the American." And is Sarkozy trying to, like, hold Obama's hand, there?!

The way Sarkozy keeps tripping all over himself to get closer to "my buddy, Obama"... So High School, isn't it? It's like, Obama's the cool new kid, and Sarkozy is the geek who tries waay too hard, and is desperate to get Obama to sit at his table during Lunch. Oh Nicolas...

When "Pitbulls" Turn Whiny...

So now it's the bloggers' fault, eh? Well, according to Sarah Palin, all her woes are due to us "bloggers in their parents' basement, just talking garbage." Wow--Look who's being "nasty" and "mean-spirited" now... (But don't worry, Matt Drudge, she didn't mean you--your garbage is exempt, clearly.)

Actually, I wish my parents had a basement (as if they'd ever let me stay there, even if they did). It would certainly take me back to those wood-panelled scenes-of-seduction from my high school days... when Led Zeppelin played on the stereo, and the lava-lamps were all aglow...

Nice try, Sarah. But it can't be everyone else's fault, all the time... can it? Don't they teach you in the Pentecostal Church to, um, look within? Like, ever?

I Hope Obama Doesn't Get Mad At Me...

But from what I've read, Obama wants to make Washington more "wired" for the express purpose of making our Government the transparent one it purports to be. Towards that end, let me point out the conflicts-of-interest inherent in the proposed Bailout for the Big Three Auto-Makers:

The unions are one of the core constituencies of the Democratic Party. The UAW (United Auto Workers) does not want the Big Three to crash or file for bankruptcy. Because if that happened, the Big Three wouldn't be able to make good on the wages, pensions, and other benefits the UAW has negotiated for its workers. I'm sure the UAW is lobbying hard right now for this proposed bailout...

And some Democrats may be tempted to back this proposed bailout mainly to curry favor with the voters of manufacturing-heavy, blue-collar states like Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania--all of which went Blue this past election. If the elected representatives from those states want to fight for this proposed bailout on behalf of their electorate, that's fine with me. What's not fine with me, however, is if the Democratic Party as a whole backs this bailout because it's more concerned about protecting its position in future elections than with the overall financial health of this nation.

I'm not saying that's necessarily what's happening here. But I just want everyone to factor in these conflicts-of-interest when forming their own opinions on this proposed bailout. Because this isn't just our current financial well-being at stake, here--in reality, we are paying for these bailouts using the credit cards of our children, so to speak. We can't keep doing that--we just can't. Let those kids get into their own credit card debt, if they do--because that's the American way...

A Man of Mixed Metaphors

Penny for your thoughts, Rahm?

Or... maybe I could just, um, tuck this crisp $20 into your--

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but the new White House Chief of Staff is starting to look reeeally sexy to me... I know, I know--he's short, and funny looking, and missing a finger... and he's not even the good-looking brother (supposedly that's his younger, taller brother Ari, the Hollywood agent). But Rahm... he's got a little sumthin'-sumthin'... And would you look at those eyes? Those devilish, devilish eyes? And that's a stripper-smile, if ever I've seen one...

But maybe the hottest thing of all (for me, anyway), he's famous for mangling the English language with the most mixed-up mix of mixed-metaphors, and at a rapid-fire pace--see, he's even, like, my linguistic soul mate! "Rahmbonics" is the term coined by his friends and colleagues to describe Rahm's "creative" use of language. Here are some examples:

"He'd say something like you can't kick a field goal in the ninth inning," recalls Jake Siewert, a longtime friend and former Clinton press secretary.

"We have to slam shut the revolving door between drugs and crime."--Rahm Emanuel

To Bob Schieffer on "Face the Nation": "We had a crisis, we kicked it down the can. These are – just taking those two examples, these are crises you can no longer afford to kick down the can. The crisis we have here, the American people know we have one and they are ready and willing to start to tackle those problems. You cannot afford now to kick those down the can any longer."

To "This Week" host, George Stephanopoulos: "So this provides an opportunity to finally tackle the issues that for too long have been postponed, kicked down the road – kicked down the road, basically."

OK, so he's a little "Rainman" in his use of language, as well as rather "Rambo" in personality and style... But it works (growl)--for this weirdo blogger anyway...

Obama may be the Cary Grant of The West Wing... but this salt-n-peppa unlikely hottie just may be the Jon-Stewart-esque sleeper in that getting-sexier-by-the-day Wing...

Here's my source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15510.html

Sometimes A Bankruptcy Is Better Than A Bailout

Every family has one: that perpetual-screw-up relative who incessantly asks for a Bailout (then blows the money on Lottery tickets, or the latest get-rich-quick scheme, or whatever). And as long as you keep giving it to them, they'll keep asking... and never learn how to make it on their own.

The Investment Banks, the Big Three Auto-Makers, AmEx, maybe even DHL now--where's it going to end? Who'll be next to play Great-Depression-Era starving urchin before Congress, begging for a handout (or at least some more gruel...) According to the WSJ, as many as 52 companies are now on track to collect bailout money.

Well. Some experts say that a Bankruptcy Reorganization may actually be a better option in the long-run for some of these faltering institutions. AIG is one such named example. And they've already burned through their original bailout funds and are now asking for more... as though we taxpayers even had it to give. And the fact that AIG continues to engender more bad PR by hosting events/meetings at spa-like settings (except that now they instruct those spas and whatnot to keep AIG's name hush-hush)... So stoopid. It would be far better, AIG (from a PR perspective anyway), to stop with the $400 business-meals and stuff, and maybe get your ladies-who-lunch wives to throw a Potluck Fundraising Event or something... or at least pack you a brown-bag lunch. Just a thought.

And if you need a bailout, you better hurry up and stand on line... because they're going faster than tickets to Obama's Inauguration.

Here are some previous posts of mine on this topic:
http://theadventuresofwonk.blogspot.com/2008/10/bailout-for-us-auto-makers.html
http://theadventuresofwonk.blogspot.com/2008/10/calling-bullsht-on-bailout-part-1.html
http://theadventuresofwonk.blogspot.com/2008/10/treasury-department-redacts-bailout.html

How To Repair Your Image Using The Same Media You Once Shunned

I know, I know... I keep saying I'm not going to talk about Sarah Palin anymore. But she keeps invading my airwaves the way Putin supposedly invades the airspace above her front porch... So. Until Sarah Palin shuts up, I can't shut up.

Here's how to repair your badly damaged image, Sarah Palin style:

1) Make sure the cameramen get lots of shots of you cookin' up some Moose Chili and such.

2) Hide the vast stash of Mountain Dew stockpiled in your kitchen.

3) Make sure your children keep all their wild critters well hidden until Matt Lauer leaves (As well as their child-sized shotguns).

4) Dress your youngest daughter in an "I heart NY" T-shirt to show how much you actually love those snarky elitist intellectual snobs at The New York Times--Bless their hearts!

5) Remind/Correct that same daughter, on camera, that Campaign Learnin' is far more valuable than Book Learnin'--isn't it, Piper? (Grit teeth here) Because Piper didn't really mean it when she complained to Matt that she hated all those campaign rallies and all the school-days she unfortunately missed... now did you, Piper.

6) Wear the same ugly from-my-favorite-consignment-shop-in-Anchorage pink jacket you wore the day after the ShoppingGate story broke. And remind us all of how not-nearly-as-cute you were before all those gays (Bless their hearts!) and stylists got their hands on you.

7) Insist that you and John McCain actually really love each other, and still talk practically every day. (Um... we all noticed the awkward body-language between you two, Sarah. And if John calls his own wife a c*nt in public (in jest, I hope), what do you think he calls you behind closed doors, hmm?)

Latest Gallup Poll: Obama 53%, Santa Claus 46%

Another old white man is getting his ass whooped by Obama in the latest polls. "Dear Santa" letters are expected to hit an historic low this Christmas, as more and more children take their wish-lists straight to Obama this year instead of to Santa. The poor elves are trying their best to put on a happy face and keep the North Pole a bummer-free zone for Santa. But behind closed doors, an alarming number of elves are being diagnosed with depression... and morale is plummeting...

Good God, the man hasn't even taken office yet, and everyone's dumping their wishlists on Obama already. He may be the new President-Elect, but he's just a man. He can't make everyone's Christmas wishes come true. And certainly not all at once.

So everyone please stop treating Obama like he was born in a manger, or something. Go show Santa some love instead... because he really needs it this year. And if you do write to Santa, fer Chrissakes don't ask him for an Obama action-figure, or commemorative plates with Obama's face on them, etc. etc. Show some sensitivity, people. If you can't do it for Santa, then at least do it for the elves...

Why Still Photography Will Never Go Out of Style...

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

I'm always amazed by how talented some stills photographers are... and let's face it, Obama is a good subject. The one above was taken as Obama arrived for Tim Russert's funeral (sigh).

Here's another of Obama at a rally in Virginia, September 27, 2008.

Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty Images

You can see more campaign stills here: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-09/an-intimate-portrait/#gallery=61;page=1

Sundays with Sus--11/9

What a week. But no hanging chads! No "Bradley effect"! And Palin's back in Alaska--hurrah! So now what? The Obama Campaign awakened this, like, Activist in me... and that soapboxing genie will not be shoved back into her bottle (no matter what her Master says). So.

But every activist does need a great Cause... And here are some options I'm mulling over this Sunday:

1) Help Alaska Secede From the Union: Seriously. I used to have such warm-n-fuzzy impressions of Alaska. It started with "Northern Exposure" (remember that show?), which made Alaska seem so darn quirky and charming in its idiosyncrasies. To me, Alaska was where my parents took their cruises... Where my brother did his fishing... I had no idea what actually lurked within those borders. A governor who thinks Africa is a country! (Even my ten-year-old nephew must be laughing his ass off over that one.) A senator who may be the first convicted felon in history to be elected to the United States Senate! What the $#@*&! is going on up there?!!
So, I'm thinking of packing up my parka and joining the Alaska Secessionist Movement (but as a mole--shhh, don't tell). Except... they'll probably expect me to handle a rifle, huh, and like shoot stuff... So maybe that won't work, after all.
2) Free David Gergen! I love that man about as much as I could love any old white dude who served as an adviser to three Republican Presidents (Nixon, Ford and Reagan). But he served as an adviser to Clinton, too, and he identifies himself as an Independent (hurrah!). Plus he's got this Cat-in-the-Hat quality about him:

Isn't he just... Seussical? And he's the best, always spot-on, voice-of-reason political commentator there is... and far too good for CNN. See, CNN loves to brag about how it's the most trustworthy source in cable news... but that's mostly bull, and hidden bias. At least MSNBC is upfront about its political leanings (see Rachel Maddow and Keith Olberman). But CNN is all sneaky about it... and sometimes sloppy too.
If you don't know David Gergen yet, you should. And once again I say to CNN, Free David Gergen!--you're not worthy. And Mr. Obama, couldn't you please find a special hallowed place for him in your administration? The country would be a far better place as a result... seriously.
Oh, and I still watch CNN all the time... I just make sure to have that salt shaker nearby... just in case.
3) Gay is the New Black: Like being told to drink from the "Coloreds Only" fountain--that's what the passage of Proposition 8 here in California is to gay and lesbian citizens. (I wonder if the 7 out of 10 African American voters who voted yes on Prop 8 realize that.) "Civil Unions" are just as good as "Marriages"? Well, segregated schools in the South once argued that segregation was totally legal because, hey, the schools were separate but "equal." And um, remember those nasty little anti-miscegenation laws that were supposedly just "preserving" the centuries old institution of marriage? Well, a vote for Prop 8 was like a vote for those no-mixing-of-white-with-black-blood marriage laws. That a person could on the same ballot vote first for Obama and then vote yes on Prop 8--The hypocrisy/irony there is too much for me... It really is.

Well, here comes the next Civil Rights movement... because it seems in this country that someone has to be treated like a second-class citizen... always. From "Jim Crow" to "Jim Queer"--is that where this nation is headed? If so, I say OK--bring on the "Gays Only" fountains, and restaurants, and theaters/galleries/concert-halls, etc. etc. I may be "entitled" to the "Straights Only" venues... but hey, I'd rather go where much of the funny/talented/aesthetic are... if they'll have me. Because I wouldn't blame them for being really suspicious of all us "straights" right now...

The Wasilla Hillbillies

It helps if you sing along to the lyrics...

The Ballad of John McCain
Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named John,
The old Maverick only gained the base's frown.
Then one day he was searching for some "cool",
And down from the North came a bubbling fool...
A brunette, that is... Alaska's "gold"... Pundits' glee.

Well the next thing you know John's dream is but a blur,
Kinfolk said "John, get away from her!"
Said "Independents is the place you ought to be!"
But they loaded up the truck instead and went to Beverly...
Hills, that is... Neiman Marcus... Shopping sprees.

Well, now it's time to say goodbye to John and all his kin.
They'd like to thank you folks fer all the votes that trickled in.
You're all invited back again to this locality,
For a heapin' dose in 2012 of true Insanity...
Hillybilly style, that is... Set a spell... Take your shoes off.

Y'all come back now, y'hear?

VIDEO: The Onion covers Obama Withdrawal

Oh how I love The Onion at its best. And this "news segment" is great! I'm thinking of sending it to my family, who have been a little worried (for real) about how I'll deal with life now that the election is over. It's hilarious. Go watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3_95F5e-Ac

New White House Chief of Staff: Rahm(bo) Emanuel

“They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way!”—David Mamet, The Untouchables

We're all going to hear a lot of back-and-forth about Rahm Emanuel in the coming days... and he's a colorful old-school/new-skool Chicago-style politico, so there's a lot of material there to work with. Here are some of the most colorful bits:

-- Rahmbo once sent a rotting fish to a pollster who had angered him (better than a bloody horse's head in one's bed, I suppose).
--His brother Ari is a Hollywood agent who is said to be the model for the agent "Ari Gold" of that HBO show known as Entourage.
--He was once a ballet dancer--his mother forced him into it, apparently--and a really good one(!??) He was also an Investment Banker once who was in-and-out of Wall Street in two years, after making some serious dough.
--He lost his right middle finger to a meat slicer as a teenager (so we can all guess which finger he uses to flick the bird).
--At one of Clinton's inaugural celebratory dinners, Rahmbo got so angry at Clinton's enemies that he stood up, grabbed a steak knife, and began naming betrayers' names, shouting "Dead! . . . Dead! . . . Dead!", with one plunge of the knife into the table per every name. "When he was done, the table looked like a lunar landscape," one campaign veteran recalls. "It was like something out of The Godfather. But that's Rahm for you." [1]

The writers of SNL are so jumping up and down right now... I just know it. And hardcore Republicans are, at this very moment, sharpening their knives... Maybe some left-wing rogue-ish Democrats too, by some accounts.

But you know what, I say "Good choice, Obama." You are smart to appoint a Chief of Staff who can out-Gingrich any Newt Gingrich that's thrown at you, from either party. Someone who can get things done. Finally. That's the Chicago way...

And I remember well what I learned about Bobby Kennedy during his brother's administration: Bobby was the Hatchet Man, the Bad Cop, the fiercest and most loyal of Attack Dogs, and the one person who had JFK's back, always. Bobby got things done. Bobby took no prisoners. And it was Bobby, who may have been the one to really convince Kruschev to back down in the Cuban Missile Crisis--he told Kruschev that the military hawks were itching to invade Cuba and ready to go "rogue" at any minute... and it seems Kruschev probably believed him. It wasn't about "partisanship" for Bobby, either. It was about loyalty, to his President, and his President's vision for the nation (not his own).

Hehe... Welcome (back) to the White House, Rahmbo. I am really looking forward to SNL's take on you... And I'm glad to learn that the Obama Administration will not be entirely without a comic Achilles Heel...

Read the Rolling Stones piece on "Rahmbo the Enforcer" if you want to learn more about this colorful man: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/8091986/the_enforcer/

Even Some Republicans Are Trying To Ride Obama's Coattails

Good God, Karl Rove. Before the election, you were saying that Obama was the most liberal Leftist. After the election, well now you're saying that Obama is really a Conservative, or Center-Right Centrist. You threw me for a loop there, Karl. For about a minute. And then I realized what you're trying to do: steal some reflected glory from Obama's victory and his mandate from the people (through your usual spin), in an attempt to save your cannibalizing Republican party which is currently eating itself alive.

Nice try, Karl. But now I understand this wave of articles I've been encountering lately that ask the question: Is Obama the true Conservative? Is he really Ronald Reagan, the Sequel? And so, did the Republican Party in effect "win" this election? Once you just put the proper spin on things?

Maybe y'all aren't evil (exactly). You're just hopelessly incompetent and totally inept... and 8 years wasn't long enough for y'all to even figure it out. Or maybe you just make the same mistake that Hollywood studios often do: you underestimate the intelligence of your audiences. Then scratch your heads when those movies tank.

One thing I've learned though: I will not trust labels, any of them, that others try to attach to our new President and his Administration. Conservative or Liberal, Republican or Democrat--they're just labels. And I don't care (anymore). From now on, I'll do my own homework and come to my own conclusions, thank-you-very-much.

"Drill, Baby, Drill"? No. More like, "Dumb, Baby, Dumb"

I still go a little apesh*t every time I hear that chant, "Drill, baby, drill." I've talked myself down... again. But, here's what I'd like everyone to do:

Let's all do some basic math here, of an order not even challenging enough to make it onto that show, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

If we exploited every ounce of oil within our jurisdiction through off-shore drilling, we'd be able to produce around 3% of the world's oil supply. We currently consume about 25% of the world's oil supply. So. Where's that other 22% gonna come from, people?

Currently, Scientists are not entirely sure how long it takes for the Earth to produce oil. But most believe it takes something like hundreds of thousands of years. Again, given the frightening rate at which we consume oil, let's all think about the math here. If oil is indeed so plentiful, as some still argue, why are gas prices what they are? And why do our Leaders seem willing to send in our poor exhausted troops to fight to preserve our access to that oil? I wonder...

Here's a fascinating article, though, that I found this morning, entitled Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol. Here's an excerpt:

"To be more precise: the genetic alteration of bugs – very, very small ones – so that when they feed on agricultural waste such as woodchips or wheat straw, they do something extraordinary. They excrete crude oil."

Pretty trippy, eh? Some might even say it's "radical"...

Read the article here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4133668.ece

OMG, I'm About to DEFEND Sarah Palin(!)

I am no fan of Ms. Palin. Clearly. But I, for one, am not going to stand for this media onslaught focused almost entirely on Ms. Palin, whom I see as little more than a patsy in many respects.

Whether the RNC spent too much "styling" Ms. Palin is so beside the point. The question is, is there any precedent for this kind of spending, on candidates either male or female, by either the Republicans or the Democrats? Did the DNC spend money styling Hilary? Or Geraldine Ferraro? And when We-the-People make contributions directly to the candidate of our choice, are our contributions going towards this kind of frivolous spending? If so, do We-the-People want to perpetuate this kind of politics-as-usual gamesmanship and the worship of Style to the complete exclusion of Substance?

Which is why I just fired off a rather snippy and snarky email to CNN Headline News... and I generally like their coverage of the news.

And try to watch NBC's Brian Williams' long-awaited interview (tonight?) with Palin, and McCain. Take special note of how Daddy McCain had to sit beside her, in order for Ms. Palin to face (or be allowed) to meet the press. The Republicans are treating Ms. Palin like a patsy... and I, as a woman, am more than a little peeved. Maybe if the Republicans had just let Ms. Palin sink-or-swim on her own (like Joe Biden does, for good and bad), instead of focusing on how to dress up their "Caribou Barbie" and what words to put on her teleprompter... well, maybe she would have eventually figured out how to avoid all the embarrassing gaffes she has been making. Maybe not. But still...

*************************************************
Postscript: Thank you, Keith Olberman of MSNBC, for answering some of my questions. Neither party is innocent here--Clinton was once getting $200 haircuts, apparently, on the taxpayers' dime. The irony is, McCain himself, back when he actually acted a bit like the straight-talking "maverick" he still claims to be, raised this very issue of the frivolous spending of public funds by politicians on highly personal expenses, including one's wardrobe. Once. Oh McCain... maybe I should start calling you King McLear instead...