Memphis, TN

This time it was Christine's driver's side wiper blade assembly. It disintegrated. And my usual coolant leak...the pressure leak from hell. Once this is fixed, the air leak from hell will be back. She hasn't got around to leaking fuel or oil. YET.

...dammit.

Anyway I also really hate Freightliner--which is why I took my Freightliner truck to Kenworth. But Freightliner screws you anyway. At 3 pm friday Freightliner's parts guy told me it was "after the deadline" to get a particular part, which is why I'm stuck here til monday afternoon.

And can I have some peace? Well, here comes this black woman knocking on my door. Oh, sorry, a friend of hers was staying here. But could she please use the john? Do I have anything else to drink? Shoes off, parked in bed. Hey I just really want to be alone and not lose my ass in the internet poker game you interrupted. No I'm married. And broke. No not a blowjob either.

JEEZ!

On the plus side, I had fallen into a regular run. Now, I'm an OTR driver and like it that way. I've been all over this country and that's cool. But THIS run is a load at Longview, TX and deliver/reload at the same plant in Spring Lake, TX, and back to the same place in Longview to repeat the process.

A thousand miles each way, early delivery not a problem, surcharge paid on every mile, and because of the combinations of weights, terrains, and speeds, I got SEVEN POINT THREE mpg's.

This, of course, is why Christine threw another damn fit. I was too happy.

Ryan is going to try to get me back on it when I come back.

Meanwhile, I've checked out a couple other options. One: I might convievably buy a truck. That's a last resort: I'm afraid that because of congress not allowing drilling and obstructing refineries (in order to engineer nationalization per Marx), our economy will be a casualty of this noble cause. Incurring a 45k debt on a commercial truck is very, very risky.

There's another company in Ohio which pays 74% of the line haul--the total charges. That would translate to nearly 1.50/mile, or half again what I earn now. Since they're OTR and other specs meet my needs, this is mighty attractive.

I dunno. Lots to think about.

Ok, now to test your Objectivity:

One rule for this: We are only concerned with employment levels and revenues to the treasury here. You are not allowed to muddy the issue with memorized talking points, or to raise any other issues. Gevernment spending has nothing to do with this.

John F Kennedy promoted a tax bill which drasticly cut capital gains and corporate taxes, and reduced top marginal rates "for the rich". The results were a drop in unemployment and a big increase in revenues to the treasury, per the IRS. You should not be running your mouth yet. This is empirical fact, so shut up.

Ronald Reagan did the same thing, with the same results. Specificly, I think the revenues increased 87%.

In the 90's, Gingrich and the Republicans won congress, and the first thing they did was to undo Clinton's tax increase. After being forced to sign the tax cut, he took credit for it. I don't care. Same results. Unemployment down, t-revenues up.

Then Bush Jr. Same results.

Are we seeing a pattern here? Please admit that the Laffer curve works, or that you are an idiot. Those are your only two choices.

Now, deficits come from spending. LBJ escalated the war in Viet Nam and launched his "Peoples' Para..." I mean, "Great Society" in which he massively increased welfare in order to estblish an exponentially expanding underclass of loyal dependant democratic voters.

Reagan rebuilt the gutted military, and Tip O'Neal increased discretionary spending by over 150% in order to undermine Reagan and buy votes. Spending outraced increased revenues.

Gingrich's congress fixed welfare and reigned in spending, for which Clinton was credited. We got a surplus.

Most recently, we were hit by 911, went to war, got hit by some of the worst natural disasters in national history, earmarks went through the roof, and Bush himself never met a spending bill he didn't like (trying to be by-partisan-he's a big brown-noser), so now we have a deficit again.

So, repeat after me: Supply-side economics works. The Laffer curve has been proven. Deficits come from spending, OR punitive tax-rates--regardless of who you want to blame.

Are we thinking clearly, with our actual brains yet? I mean, about reality?

Carter "punished the rich", (and imposed a windfall tax on "big oil") and just about destroyed the economy. Obama wants to do exactly the same thing. Congresspeople are now out of the closet, talking openly about nationalizing the oil companies. For all the damage which they KNOW this will cause, they already plan to blame the Republicans, and know that you will believe them.

I told you. I predicted all this. You thought I was nuts. Well, do you see it yet? If you don't, we're about to turn into France DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

Ah! I feel much better now. God bless what's left of America (with a "c").