Oil Profits

I see how higher oil prices mean higher gas prices, but I still don't understand why higher oil prices mean higher and higher profits for the oil refining companies like Chevron and Exxon. If someone had a lemonade stand, and all of a sudden the price of lemons went through the roof, wouldn't you figure that their margin would go down? Usually raw materials being expensive is a bad thing, right? Someone will have to explain this to me.

While you're at it, explain to me why these same oil companies enjoying record profits need multi-billion dollar government subsidies to go look for oil. I wouldn't want to see any special tax on ultra-high profits (as if profits can get too high), but I can see no good reason at all why Joe Sixpack working 10 hours a day should be forced to make donations to the most profitable industry on earth.

If R & D is too expensive, well golly gee maybe we should give that ol' capitalism thing a try and see what alternatives emerge. Maybe use some of those billions to build some subways in some of our major cities. You know, get people out of their cars, reducing demand for gas, and (presto!!!) lowering the price of oil.

Round 2

Much has been made of the latest Sy Hersh piece warning of imminent war in Iran. Scary stuff. But it's all President this, White House official that, Pentagon this, military planners that. But going to war with Iran is not a choice that the President has the authority to make. We don't have to sit here wondering whether or not the President will do this or that. Congress still has to approve that sort of thing, right? We haven't completely discarded our constitution have we? Or will we soon be hearing that the War on Terror allows the president to direct our military as he sees fit?

Google Love

I am slowly edging up the list. The current Google search of Dodecahedron has me in seventh place. My great blogging goal is to come in first one glorious day.

Memory Bowl

I'm sure the pro-"thriving criminal underworld" fanatics will slip this news into their collect back pockets as yet more evidence that "drugs are bad."

In a study of long-term and shorter-term marijuana users, researchers in Greece found that both groups performed more poorly on tests of memory, attention and other cognitive abilities than a comparison group who'd only occasionally used the drug.

Long-term users—who'd smoked four or more joints per week for at least 10 years—showed the greatest deficits.

In other news, people who ate fast food every day for 10 years are grossly obese, people who drink too much have liver problems, and too much sugar can cause adult-onset diabetes in children.

Go Birds!

Birds and frogs triumph over sprawl.

Give money to conservation groups. Sometimes they win.

No Thanks

ESPN.com has a poll question up that nearly made my head explode. In the end, I couldn't even choose. Every time the mouse cursor hovered too near to either option, the dry heaving became too much for me. The question was this: If given a choice (and ironically enough, you are), which player would you cheer for - Barry Bonds or Terrell Owens. Yuk!

Healthy Hillary

As I often do, I was perusing the blog of the award-winning goddess, Her Slitheressness, and read a predictably excellent post about the last couple first ladies. Within the post were a few quotes where the various speakers dared to dig up the incredibly sexist and insulting memes "Hillary playing assistant president" and "who is Hillary to foist healthcare policy on us, 'cause the little (first) lady wasn't elected to anything."

The question that comes immediately to mind, of course, when confronted with such idiocy is "Who the heck elected Karl Rove to anything, and exactly what is he playing at?" Something tells me this is a query the Joe Scarboroughs of the world (who says things which are alternately encouraging and infuriating) would not know how to answer.