Only in America

This story made me laugh when I first heard it.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080730/D9284FQ80.html

"The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to place a moratorium on new fast food restaurants in an impoverished swath of the city with a proliferation of such eateries and above average rates of obesity."

So, let me get this straight, in the poorest section of Los Angeles, the biggest problem is . . . obesity??? And the city council is solving this problem by banning new fast food restaurants? Only in America.

Old Mel

I used to work with an old engineer who had worked for an electric utility for most of his life (he has retired now). And he often repeated the statement that "You can have cheap electricity, or you can have reliable electric power, or you can protect the environment, but you can't have all three!"

The current gasoline situation is analogous:
We have a reliable source of gasoline (no shortages this time!).
We are protecting the environment (at your local gas station, at local fuel storage facilities, at the refineries, on the outer continental shelf, on federal lands, in the Arctic, in ANWR, etc.).
But we do not have cheap gasoline.

Old Mel's statement applies to gasoline -- we have our two out of three.

So here are our choices: expensive gasoline, long lines at gas pumps, or risking environmental damage at your local gas station, at local fuel storage facilities, at the refineries, on the outer continental shelf, on federal lands, in the Arctic, in ANWR, or wherever?

Judging the packed streets and freeways in the Seattle area, Americans are choosing expensive gasoline with gusto!

Miss Universe

We watched the last hour of the Miss Universe contest last night. I thought Miss South Africa had a good chance of winning it, but did not make the final five. Oddly, four of the final five were from Latin America (Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic), with Russia the only exception. No Asians, no Africans, no Europeans except Russia.

What's up with that?

Did the judges have a bias?

When they reviewed the judges, they seemed to represent a broad range of cultures. BTW, one of the judges was Nadine Velazquez, who plays Catalina on the TV show "My Name is Earl".

How did a minor TV actress get selected for that gig?

Just asking.

Let Them Eat Cake

The Democrats have long promised to use the power of government to help low-income families, but I think the Democrats, and Senator Obama in particular, are missing an opportunity to do just that when it comes to high gasoline prices. I submit that the high gasoline prices are a minor inconvenience for medium and high-income families, e.g., they stop buying expensive coffee at Starbucks. In contrast, high gasoline prices are having a severe impact on low-income families, private truckers, and small businesses that drive a lot. So it is somewhat surprising to me that there are so many Democrats who are relieved at seeing the high gasoline prices and are hoping that *finally* Americans will conserve energy as they should have all along. Obama and the Democrats are hoping that finally Americans will reduce carbon emissions, explore alternative energy, ride the mass transit systems, sell their big SUVs, and buy small cars to drive. Obama reminds me of Marie Antoinette when told that the peasants had no bread: “Let them eat cake!”

An Irish Perspective

An email from the people of Ireland to their brethren in the United States....a point to ponder despite your political affiliation:

We, in Ireland, can't figure out why people are even bothering to hold a presidential election in the United States later this year.

On one side you have a pants wearing lawyer, married to a lawyer who can't keep his pants on, who just lost a long and heated primary against a lawyer who goes to the wrong church and who is married to yet another lawyer who doesn't even like the country her husband wants to run.

Now...On the other side you have a nice old war hero whose name starts with the appropriate Mc terminology married to a good looking younger woman who owns a beer distributorship.

This is a tough decision?? What are you lads thinking over there in the colonies???

[Source unknown]