Propaganda

There are five newspapers in a town. One is different.

Here are headlines on an incident from four of those newspapers:

FIREFIGHTERS LATE--THREE DIE.

In two of the newspapers, this appears on the front page:

At 2059 W. 47th, a boarding house owned by John Doe caught fire, apparantly when a tenant fell asleep smoking. At 2:45 am on 10/5, the first of several 911 calls was taken (story continued)

One of the four newspapers reported the rest of the story, on the third to last page. That is, the page that nobody has the time or interest to read.

The fifth newspaper's headline read: "Heroic Rescue of Eight Costs firefighters Their Lives".

ON THAT PAGE, it tells you that the firetruck was stopped cold four blocks away by a traffic jam. That the crew jumped off and hauled what equipment they could carry the rest of the way on foot. That eight people were rescued, and that two firefighters were killed along with the person they were attempting to rescue.

It seems that the Safety Director isn't a favorite of any of the newspapers.

Anyway, a day later a lynch-mob shows up at City Hall demanding the Safety Director's head...and the fire chief's, too.

WHAT WAS THE TRUTH, AND WHO TOLD IT?

OK so why isn't anybody listening?

Because the fifth newspaper was FoxNews...

Which is biased.

Bullshit. Go back and watch some more.

Wow

• My clutch went out in Joplin. Had to get towed. Thanks to E-Trade having restricted my account due to rubber checks TO it in amounts less than my cash balance, I couldn't pay the towtruck and got it rolled into the repair bill for an extra fifteen percent.
• Got called about eleven times by dispatch and drivers asking me about loads I never heard of and info I didn't have.
• Asked repair place for a DOT inspection since it was there. They found bad brakes, leaking seals, and a bunch of other stuff. They just kept finding it and calling me at the hotel, so between them, dispatch, and drivers, I got experience as a switchboard operator.
• When the truck was finally done, the bill was over five Gs, and I didn't even have it. I was 400 short and had to get Ben the dispatcher to advance me that much. He's not supposed to since I'm an owner-op, but it was either that or make me sit with my truck held hostage.
• Despite this, I had to get my credit limit increased by a whole 300 bucks to get the 2800 left in my account out of it. E-Trade tortured me about as much as they could, making it a gruelling, painful ordeal.
• OK finally I get out and a load back. I deliver that load 5 hours early and make a desperate break for Canton in an effort to get my damned APU from hell fixed. I'd been trying for three weeks.
• I took a load picking up at 2100 and got to the APU repair place ten hours before that.
• Naturally, that wasn't enough time. Fate arranged to make sure that my deadline was passed and so was my secret safety margin before the A/C was getting recharged in the APU. Then it was done. And there was ANOTHER DAMN LEAK.
• I had to pull it out. I have to go back. That's right--ten hours, and I have to go back. I'll probably take the Albuquerque load that picks up at one a.m., be there for my APU at 0800, 19 hours early, and somehow, some way, get to the pickup at 1:15--stressed out and sleepless.
• SO, now I'm broke, owe money, must be working on an ulcer or heart attack or something, and got this damn piece of crap APU and it's co-conspirators perpetually torturing me. (I could have predicted that OTHER, additional damn leak after it all the other assorted repeat problems were allegedly fixed.)
• On the plus side, those seal leaks could have cost me my rear end, and my clutch should last over 600,000 miles. Now let's see if I can find a silver lining for the Cleveland Browns....
• Shoot me.

A Special Week

Part 1: Got a load from Albuquerque to southern California. Had a bad tire on my trailer which I had to replaceright away, thanks to the shithead who had got lucky and was able to leave it for me with tire unpopped. A rude, thinkshe'sabully almost got his ass kicked dude, by the way...

Anyway, that took three hours, so I had to bust it. Delivered ontime, of course. Then I was going for a truckstop. Made a wrong turn in Van Nuys and had to turn around. I saw another truck turning off of US1 onto Oregon street, and followed him--making a right turn.

Ever see the signs on the back of truck trailers: "This vehicle makes wide right turns", with a little picture of a dumbass stupid car getting crunched between a curb and trailer? Well, guess what happened. The driver of a city vehicle ignored my turn signal and tried to SQUEEZE past me.

Now dammit, you guys are like spastic little kids in go-carts, racing around slamming into people's legs. You need to take a damn pill. Why can't I blink? Why must you fill every available space as soon as possible? Why do I need eyes in the back of my head to look out for you? CALM DOWN dammit!!!

Sorry. Anyway that will no doubt go down as MY fault because...well I'm not sure why but that's just how it works.

At least the trailer was okay and I was able to go get my next load.

Got another flat tire immediately. Then my fuel filter got clogged in the mountains of Colorado, and I spent most of 120 miles creeping along at 15 mph. Oh yeah--and with another flat tire. Yeah--the third one.

Got to Denver and got my fuel and (overdue) oil filters replaced, plus my leaking airbag...and the trailer tire replaced. Meanwhile, E-trade had restricted my account due to a couple rubber checks TO me FOR DEPOSIT, despite the fact that I had plenty of cash in there without those checks.

I'd thought I had this fixed, so that I could pay for these repairs to my truck. WRONG. I had to sort of force the night dispatcher to stick his neck out and give me a biggger cash advance than he's supposed to. I appreciate that, and doubt that he'd get in trouble, since if I can't pay that bill I stay in Denver and can't deliver.

Oh--and E-trade that night promised me that as soon as these other guys got around to reading the email they'd sent that only a few hours after that then next day there was a pretty good chance that I would be able to use my debit card and checkbook to get at MY MONEY. Gee thanks.

Anyway, I can't go into detail, but my creativity and endurance is factoring in here.....

OK so the next morning I bust it, and pop another tire. Yeah that's right. So I limp 45 miles and get that and another one replaced...finding that the rest of them all got stuff wrong with them too....

Anyway this is the special part:

While they were working on it, I was wandering around killing time. Mostly I was on the other side of the building. I happened to be wandering through an empty bay when I looked up and saw the nose of my truck appear. It was moving.

Before I knew it I was running as fast as I ever had, hearing excited shouts and seeing a little guy in front of my truck actually trying to impede it's progress downhill towards a line of other trucks parked facing the garage.

Thank God I wear a retractable keychain so that my key was already in my hand as I came alongside the door--the bastard was just about to outrun me, but I got it unlocked and was able to get on the rail and hit the brake.

During this, I was seeing my carreer flash before my eyes. My truck and at least one other would have been totalled, and if the truck it hit was occupied the person(s) in it could have been badly injured or killed.

But today I am joyful. I mean, can you believe the LUCK? I mean, that I was right there when it happened, in time to stop it? 90% of the time I was anywhere but there, and the first clue I would have had would have been the noise of the crash (and oh yeah...I would have heard it.)

I am grateful. My company won't torture or terminate me over the Van Nuys accident. In a damn near miracle, I dodged a truck/carreer-ending smashup...life doesn't suck, ya know?

Small Pleasures

To get my Haz-Mat endorsement back, I had to apply online to get registered, then go to a designated location where my prints were taken, then wait for mail notification that I was eligable for the test.

To study for the test, I disregarded the websites that wanted to charge me money, and found some FREE sample tests I could take, and took them over and over and over again until I aced them all.

Then I had to go to one of a few BMV HazMat test sites and take it. I still blew some answers, but passed. As soon as I told dispatch, they put me on this one from Norwalk Oh. to here (I refuse to spell this name again). This time, I was flammable and dangerous.

I was exhausted when I got here. Let's just say I had insomnia...yeah that's the ticket...anyway I checked into this hotel after dropping my trailer. (By the way, the appointment time and oversleeping on the dock had me really running hard. When I got here, nobody was home, and they won't be until monday. I could have taken all weekend. Dammit.)

Anyway, then I notice that my left mudflap and it's frame are missing. They'd just snapped right off. I went across the street to the T/A to get that fixed. The new one doesn't match--I don't care. Guys who care about that stuff on their commercial trucks...never mind.

Well (to back-track): My truck's cassette player started screwing up, so my audio books and Sirius Radio wouldn't play right. I got a new one at Wal-Mart, and the wires didn't match my truck's plug. So I'd been driving around with little headphones and my new radio in a box, hoping to get a CB guy to fix it when I had time.

But the service writer at the T/A just so happened to have done stuff like this for a living! he came over after work and put the thing in for me. Did a fine job too, using professional connectors that sort of shrink-wrap around the wires. Didn't set a price so I paid him 40 bucks and he was very happy. Worth every penny.

While he was at it, I hit the T/A and got a Sirius antenna bypass and had him put that in, so I could have the radio perma-wired and would have to keep switching the plug back and forth between my laptop (from which I listen to audiobooks) and Sirius Radio. Except that sonofabitch SIRIUS plug was the wrong one for my damn radio. (No wonder it had been re-packaged and was being re-sold.)

But it had cost ten bucks and was already in. I'd have to take stuff apart. So I'll leave it and know I can find an adapter some where to adapt my SIRIUS antenna bypass to my SIRIUS radio.........DAMMIT!

Anyway this radio has an input so I can just plug in. It's also a CD player. No more PIA cassettes.

I also found out how to take the panels off and get the radio out and stuff.

Ok now: Ted Kennedy was a marxist who did severe and irrepairable damage to this country. Every government intervention on the private sector made things worse for everybody, and every program has failed. He didn't care.

While Reagan was pushing the Soviet Union to bankruptcy, Ted Kennedy was Andropov's pen-pal, coordinating with the Soviet Premier in order to undermine the US President and his agenda. He did this because he was a fellow marxist who hates captialism.

Whene you are poisoned, the cure is more poison. You just tell the patient that it's a cure instead.

These people are evil, and their core supporters are stupid. The truth is not whatever you want to believe (as Obama once said, and every dictator before him). The truth is what you can't stand to hear or read, and why you're even crazier now that you were before you read that last part.

Ted Kennedy is dead, and the world is better off. Think with your damned brain.

Dammit

I found a great deal on drive tires and tried to replace two of them. They couldn't knock the inner rim off the axle or change the tire on it. It's like it's welded on. I had to make him put the old ones back on and will need to get somebody with special tools.

My damned APU isn't charging my batteries and is DISCHARGING them instead running A/C so I got a get THAT SON OF A BITCH fixed yet AGAIN for crissakes and my warrantee is up. God help me. What a piece of CRAP.

And of course I can't get it fixed while waiting to deliver this really really slow load since it's the weekend. No I'll have to get it done after unloading and reloading.

The end. Dammit.

Blame-Spreading

1: The housing crisis was caused by banks making home loans to people who couldn't afford them, and defaulted.

They were forced to do this. Federal mandates forced them to make loans on a quota basis. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack, which are unconstitutional government agencies, were formed to absorb these risky loans and make the taxpayers note-holders.

Banks don't like to make dumb loans, and would never have done this had the Federal government not violated the US Constitution and forced them to.

Officially, they did this to help everybody afford a home, even if they couldn't. I'm with the government. I'm here to help.

The banks had trouble meeting their bad/stupid/high-risk loan quotas, and tried a bunch of gimmicks to get more democratic voters to buy homes which they couldn't afford.

President Bush and Republicans called for additional regulation and other reforms on seventeen occasions, and Dodd/Frank laughed it off, saying there was no problem. Then the balloon popped...and Barney Frank...is here to...fix it...

Bill O'Reilly, whose definition of fair and balanced is making sure to get squarely in the middle and point fingers at both sides, says there's enough blame to go around. The FACT is that the entire cause of this collapse was government interference in the private sector. The TRUTH is fair and balanced, and does not care about appearing moderate or reasonable.

2: In Cambridge a cop was called to a residence to investigate what sounded like a break-in. He was called a racist and harangued viciously for having the audacity to call the person who had just broken into the house out to find out who he was.
This person was unstable and irate. When he wheeled around and went into the house, the officer followed to make sure he wasn't going for a GUN so he could shoot this racist Nazi cop.

The cop was calm and was doing his job, which was to protect that residence, and the very person who was now acting very much like a dangerous maniac on drugs.

NOW, I'm hearing about "two grown men who lost their tempers and just couldn't back down".

BULLSHIT. Cop: Right. Professor: Wrong. The officer never raised his voice, and followed procedure to the letter. This garbage is being spewed despite the officer having been chosen by his black police chief to teach non-profiling; who was defended by same as one of his best, and who was backed by a black and a hispanic cop who were on the scene.

Stop doing this. The truth is reality, and reality is what is, period. Regardless of what you believe or what you want, you can't be mushy about it.

The housing crisis would never have happened without the government's interference and mandates. The Professor was wrong, period. We don't need any "teaching moments"...that's Obama being the adult and the rest of us children, and should tell you something. What's to learn here, other than yet more distortions and emotional fog?

TRUTH TRUTH TRUTH.

DEAR COMRADES:

We have hit the wall.

We have done well to feign urgency in order to pass the first bail-out and Cap-and Trade before anyone including the legislature could read them. By this means, we have achieved more than we have managed for the past century--in a few months.

The media and academic sections have done an admirable job of quietly supporting our movement and of fomenting confusion and apathy. They have been an immense help. (Side-note: Comrade Cronkite's death is a sad thing. It is very possible that we owe him our people's victory in Viet Nam. Rest in peace, comrade!)

However, we have not been as successful in silencing conservative radio, FoxNews, or the internet. These have exposed the contents of the previous bills, and of the pending Health Care bill. Too many among the masses have awakened to what we are doing, and it's too late to put them back to sleep.

Our core supporters are true believers, and will never desert us. They may turn on Comrade Obama on the rare occasions that politics force him to temporarily deviate from the real agenda, but they are ruled by emotion and cannot be persuaded intellectually away from our ethos.

But too many among the masses, while still oblivious to our violations of the US Constitution and the fact that we indeed exist as a coordinated worldwide force, retain a critical thinking ability which remains troublesome.

The bills have now been read, and details exposed. The fact that we have lied a great deal is having the most negative impact. Of course, we knew that this would happen, but had hoped that we could delay it until we had a fete accompli, and had permanently, if not utterly, destroyed the remaining vestiges of free market capitalism.

Unfortuantely, the truth is out now, and Comrades Obama and Pulosi, among others, are exposed as manipulative liars.

This is no censure. They have accomplished a great deal in a short time, and the ends justify the means. Comrade Obama will rank with FDR as a great reformer. While the creation of Social Security and Medicare, along with the premise of Public Works and Kanesian economics is diffucult to match or surpass, Comrade Obama has taken over large corporations and instituted central planning. He has secured 24 trillion taxpayer dollars for our use and political entrenchment.

He is quietly overseeing the erosion of the military and destruction of the CIA.

We cannot find fault with the President. This was inevittable, and he accomplished as much as was possible on the tide of emotion we have created.

We always knew that it would take a long time. We've been undermining and expanding for nearly a century now, and only a shadow of the Founders capitalist dream remains intact. The sleeping giant has awakened now, and we can expect the tide to turn against us.

Time to let the tide take us back to sea, and feign conservatism in order to retain power. Thanks to what Comrade Obama has accomplished in a short six months, the next wave to wash upon this shore could well be the last.

In the meanwhile, continue to label FoxNews as biased so that the masses will remain under our sway. The Fairness Doctrine probably can't work yet, but see if we can find some way of silencing conservatives on the radio. Without these outlets, the Great Society would have long since become a reality.

We still have an opportunity to ratify Cap-and-Trade. The bill in it's current form cannot survive, but some token concessions can be made, and we can probably sieze control over the entire economy, and finish off capitalism permanently.

Yes, Comrades...we just might still manage to pull this rabbit out.

The catastrophe this would cause would give Comrade Obama emergency powers, and whether or not the masses actually believe that it was caused by capitalism rather than our actions wouldn't really matter. The actions taken to "fix" the problems would kill the old form of government permanently.

Remember that global warming is a proven fact. The facts don't matter--we control the media. It is important that we maintain this illusion for Cap-and-Trade to ratify without significant reduction. If the masses do not believe this illusion, they will rebel, and boot our lesser comrades out of office.

The ends justify the means. The greatest good for the greatest number. From each according to his means, to each according to his needs. Power is everything. Patriotism is shallow and ignorant. Communism rocks. Capitalism sucks...

Shhhhhh!

Treason

1: The reason the CIA doesn't tell congress everything is that (most) democratic members serve their party and it's agenda first, and theit country last. Whenever it's useful, they will leak and expose top secret operations. REPUBLICANS NEVER DO THIS. NOT EVEN LINDSAY GRAHAM!!!

2: Pinetta found out about, and immediately informed congress about, the secret operation to assassinate Al Quaeda leaders about two weeks prior to exposing it. It was exposed because Nancy Pulosi was in trouble because she knew all about waterboarding all along. They needed a distraction, and always wanted to destroy tha CIA..

3: Why was this program shut down? Now we're NOT going to target Al Quaeda leaders any more?

4: With the exception of my audience of one and younger sibling, it should be dawning on others that this country is being destroyed from within. But it's not happening fast enough. Obama's approval rating is still 59% JUST HOW STUPID CAN YOU PEOPLE GET?

Understand that the US Constitution and Bill of Rights clearly and unambiguously LIMIT the powers of the federal government, with Article Ten for emphasis: Any powers not specificly mentioned elsewhere fall to the states.

It is ILLEGAL for the Federal government to tell businesses what to pay their people, or anything else. It is ILLEGAL to set up "safety nets" or interfere with doctors. To impose or enforce hiring quotas. Helmet/seat belt laws--all unconstitutional.

This is why "constitutional scholars" such as Comrade Obama don't teach the Constitution, but rather case law. The Supreme Court is as vulnerable to ideological corruption as any other institution, and left-leaning administrations stack it with Judges who feel ideals are more important than adherance to these documents; that they know better.

When elected bodies failed to break the law, they got activist courts to negate those laws.

The Founders were a whole lot smarter than any of these clowns, and took pains to prevent what is happening today. They spelled it out: "SHALL NOT". They went way overboard going into detail, because even then (especially in France) the forerunners of socialism were talking about People's Governments (suggested reading "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens).

But those forces have now all but killed our constitution and the underlying system it was meant to protect.

Free enterprise is what made this country the shining city on the hill. Marxists call that capitalism, and are killing it before your eyes. They're doing it in a big hurry, lest members have the time to read what's in those bills and disseminate it to their constituants. They're hammering multiple bills through at once for the same reasons: they don't want YOU to have an opportunity to find out what's in them.

It's for your own good. don't you see?

And you will NOT be informed about any of this unless you watch FoxNews or listen to Radio Free America (which they also intend to silence.)

And LISTEN TO ME: Fox News IS Fair and balanced! If you think it's biased, you are in need of deprogramming. The left wing HAS--per it's KNOWN plans- come to dominate media and acedemia.

The reason Fox dominates the ratings is the fact that they tell the truth objectively, and allow honest debates. The rest of the news you get is slanted left. Prior to FoxNews, you became accustomed to it. It became your "normal".

Now, a network which presents conservatism as well as socialism is called "biased" and you fall for it because you have been conditoned to. Baaah! Baah! (that's a sheep).

No I'm not insulting you. You're busy and you don't pay much attention to this stuff okay okay. Nor am I claiming to be a genius. I merely understand how this stuff works because I was trained to--not just as an intelligence guy but from marketing classes I took.

I'm telling you that an american car is now better than the import. But you've been buying imports and don't want to change. You don't want the best car. You just want the same car.

Wake up. Fox News.

If anything, they're getting corrupted themselves. Socialism spreads like cancer. Bill O'Reilly is another Jesse Ventura/Ross Perot. He carefully bashes both sides equally. The truth is not his target. Staying in the middle is. And yet, many call HIM a right-winger!

Because of all this, capitalism is being destroyed right before your eyes. You just won't feel it till it lands right smack on top of you.

Well SO FAR, Cap/Trade is gonna cost YOU at least 1500 bucks (and maybe your job). He said he wouldn't raise your taxes. This is why. Sucker! When the Bush tax cuts expire, your taxes WILL shoot up. Wait til you can't get medical care due to rationing, and pay higher premiums than you do now because you've got to cover twenty million illegal aliens.

Right wing bombs? WAKE UP DAMMIT--I just told you the TRUTH.

WaitTilNextYear I know you're the choir, but maybe I gave you some ammo or something.

D.O.T. Proctology

First of all, I really wish that the state of Ohio would honor prepass. You've got the scanners and stuff, but you never ever let me by, empty or loaded. WHY?

Anyway, they also love their random stops and inspections...although for me...well maybe it's the tattoos, but it's not random.

They're nice enough about it--doing their jobs the way they're ordered to, and not out to get anybody who's not actually dangerous. It's a pain to get pulled over and hung up (about one out of every ten times I get the red light on my prepass--which is every time any Ohio scale is open...and have to take my empty trailer through there...)...but at least the guys crawling through my paperwork and truck are professionals.

Hey Prepass--don't you have some reciprocal thing with these states? What's the technology worth when a state refuses to use it? I think Ohio has a deal with construction contractors, and wants to tear up weigh stations as much as possible. Why focus on heavy trucks when you can get EVERYBODY? Dammit.

But I digress. Anyway this time the officer found a leaky seal on my drive, plus located a pesky air-leak. I was grateful. Drivers inspect their wheel-seals in a walk-around. We can't crawl under the trucks all the time, so we don't see the inside of the axles.

This (new) leak might well have gone unnoticed by me and resulted in a burned out bearing or worse.

Then, when I went to get it fixed (immediately), the mechanics found a badly scored brake cylinder and stuff, which was another bullet I dodged by getting it fixed immediately.

Because E-Trade's version of "7-10 days" is 7-10 WEEKS, I of course could not pay them out of my Business account (no checks), so I estimate that I now have a zero cash balance in my personal account...and maybe owe an overdraft fee, since I had to mail a damn check in order to transfer some money from the business account to the personal account...which is another crock of...

Anyway I guess the moral is that while the guys who set the policies for the Ohio DOT are jerks, the guys who execute them are competant pros just doing their jobs, and if you're an owner-operator they can do you favors.

WaitTilNextYear should know that the flashlight he gave me gave up the ghost after only about 2 years. I think it's the big clunky things that you slide into the tube. There were instructions but I lost them. I'm supposed to buy some more of these things, partially disassemble the thing, take the old ones out, put the new ones in, and reassemble it.

I think the companies do this on purpose, knowing that us non-technical types will never be able to figure all this out.

He should also know that my older brother has been in touch. I'll have to get caught up.

It's been rough and most of my money is in my truck. I think I've got them to stop screwing me out of loads (as badly) at the company, so I should generate some money which...in seven to ten weeks when E-Trade gets around to sending me my new debit card...I may even be able to get my hands on.

I joinded NOIDA (I think-it's the owner-operator association) because I foresee needing to get two more new tires, and the discount could save me 200 bucks. Through THEM, I'll get me a real owner-operator type truck accountant and get things transferred and shipped and rolling and stuff.

With all the losses I've taken, maybe the Comprades have accidentally included me in a bailout.

But I doubt it.

Inspector Clouseau

1: A few weeks ago, Leon Panietta shocked me by exhibitting integrity rarely found in a socialist. (OK remember--the dictionary, marxist manifesto, websites? No PC here--accuracy is important so get over your conditioning.).

Anyway, Comrade Pulosi denied having been briefed on waterboarding by the CIA.. and Panietta-director of the CIA-backed up his people and other representatives who were present at the briefing and said yes whe was.

Last week he changed his mind and said no she wasn't.

You see, in order for the CIA to be blinded, deafened, and locked in the basement, we need to close Gitmo and make sure nobody gets waterboarded. If Pulosi knew, then she was complicit, and can't prosecute anybody without prosecuting herself.

Panietta reverted to behavior I'm more accustomed to, and is selling out his country for his party. The agenda is to expose and ruin the consultants and officers who were involved; everybody who served their country.

Now they're cancelling a secret program (which they can't talk about). Shortly, the nature of this program will leak, so that even if it isn't cancelled, it will be compromised and useless--like the cellphone monitoring thing.

Terrorists from all over the middle east now go to Afghanistan to kill americans and prevent the horrors of freedom and democracy. Most are ignorant, brainwashed cannon fodder, but some are bomb-makers and tacticians.

These are the guys who have actionable, operational intelligence about stash and troop locations and pending attacks.

Now I really need you to pretend to think here, so please pretend that your son or your brother is over there, and that these guys are trying to kill HIM, ok? For convenience, we can pretend it's me, since had this happened when I served, I would have been.

Let's get into that: I email not so often, and my emails bitch about how damn hot it is and how I wish I had a beer and could look at the women and stuff--and maybe I told you about one of my pals who is now DEAD.

Got it? Ok now we can proceed: There is a list of high-profile foreign enemies who are certain to have valuable, perishable operational intelligence at all times.

Now, if these assholes are brought to detention centers, they are read their miranda rights--which include their right to an attorney and their right to remain silent. I can only assume that the capture details are preserved in a special file so that the soldiers and officers concerned can be soebpeonaed off the battlefield for courtroom appearances and depositions in a US courtroom later.

Please remember that I am over there and keep your thinking cap on. Who is this asshole? He is a citezen of a foreign country and an enemy of america and it's allies. He is committed to my death and our defeat. He is not a US citezen. He doesn't even represent a country and wears no uniform, so Geneva conventions don't even apply to him.

...an now he has the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, who will be assigned until the ACLU rushes to his defense and a billion dollars hire some mercenary.

Now, this guy knows where the people are who are going to kill me. He knows where the bombs that will kill me are made, and the weapons that will kill me are stashed, and even where and when they are going to kill me.

But we won't find out. And I am dead. And BARRACK OBAMA AND NANCY PULOSI KILLED ME. NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

The ends justify the means.

2: While you've been sleeping, the Cap/Trade bill was passed. You don't think about it, since you personally haven't been hit by it yet.

Let's try time-travel: Suddenly, you get five gallons and it costs you an extra 3.30. You go grocery shopping and what used to cost 50 bucks costs 68 bucks. Your utility bill costs an extra 75 bucks.

YOU ARE LAID OFF.

Gee! How did that happen? I mean, YOU don't work in manufacturing!

Well, nobody can afford the products you sell or distribute, plus some of your suppliers are bankrupt of moving overseas. With shipping costs (now twice as much by the way), they can't see how they can make a dime by sending stuff all the way to you...I mean nobody can afford it anymore.

Good thing you're unemployed, though, since you can't afford anything anyway.

The ends justify the means.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

I Can't Drive 55

The state of Ohio just raised the truck speed limit to 65. Better late than never.

My weekly run is from Cleveland to Louisville with a stop in Columbus...then back to Cleveland. This week, after that I got an Indianapolis to Rutherford, NJ (where I am now...parked on the street and probably stuck without a load).

It was great. I was going in the same speed-range as the 4-wheelers, so it was much easier to let them merge and to avoid near-collisions. Stress was down--safety was up. I delivered my loads (Priority Mail and Air Freight) earlier. So if you were waiting for a package...

The Indi-to-Rutherford load is...well let's just say it was really hard to log legally before, but is now not a problem. This was an all-nighter, and I was able to take a nap this morning enroute. With the idiotic split-speed in Ohio before, I probably would have had to just drink more caffeine.

I was averaging 8.3 mpg. Now I'm averaging 8.3.

Now, I'm empty and not space-trucking on caffeine. I will be able to sleep. I will be ready for my next load sooner, and will be at peak efficiency without stimulants.

Congratulations to the State Of Ohio for doing something intelligent. Illinois, are you watching?

For that matter...Tennessee, what about you with that 55 trucks bullcrap that's spread throughout your state? I bypass you now whenever possible. Don't spend a dime if I can avoid it. Dumbasses...

I'm semi-proud to be from Ohio again. THANK YOU!

Buried in Cap-and-Trade

Taxes on liquor, cigars, cigarrettes, beer, wine; every concievable "sin" tax.

The fact that these have nothing to do with the environment is irrelevant. If you thought that was ever the real intention of this bill, you simply aren't thinking. The Democrats have all the branches, and a rare opportunity to enact their real agenda, and will do so by any means neccessary, including deception, since the ends justify the means.

The objective is the elimination of capitalism and the transfer of wealth from the US throughout the world. The United States is the principle obstacle to the insititution of a World Government...a people's paradise.

I saw on my last visit to the family that everybody is well-prepared. it's happening right in front of them. When I predicted it, they naturally felt I was Archie Bunker, despite the evidence. They didn't believe it.

Now what I predicted and they didn't believe IS happening, they've stepped back further into the fog, and I'm just overreacting?

Overreacting to massive increases in utility bills, the Federal Government running corporations, manufacturing deliberately being driven overseas (and Bush/capitalism somehow blamed), 67 cents at the pump, twelve percent unemployement and rising, their solution to the problems spending caused more spending...my God what is WRONG with you?

The point is, what I predicted only four months ago was simply too fantastic for them to even believe. Now that the fantastic is happening, do they open their eyes a little wider and say "damn! He was right?" NO!

They simply stick their heads further into the sand and adjust their credulity threshhold. I mean damn...they could be putting stars of David on neighbor's doors and taking them away, and they'd be saying the same thing: "Oh all this doom and gloom! Cheer up!"

It can't happen here. even as it's happening, in plain sight...it still can't.

Hugo Schavez says obama is farther to the left than him. Listen carefully: HE'S NOT KIDDING. Wake the fuck up--the enemy is here and is destroying this country. I told you they would and I told you why.

Lake City, FL

I delivered beer to Tampa a day early, and am now sitting at a rest area in Lake City waiting for a back-haul (load back to Ohio). I had a couple shots at nice runs, but the blood-mad pirahnnas beat me to them.

My laptop kept disconnectine my aircard. Thanks to download accellerator, in only about nine or ten attempts, I was able to download new software for it and save it this time. I re-installed and it works fine.

I got a flat down there, and while getting it fixed I ran into another old hardass O/O. I always keep a smile on my face and an open ear to these guys, because the best opportunities are NOT on the internet.

And this guy told me that his small company is still going strong and paying an average of 1.08/mile plus a .40 cent surcharge as of last week.

I told him I had DAC issues (look bad on paper), and he said they could work with me. Non-forced dispatch, and a wide range of loads, including long ones. And they haul a lot of A.F.-something-something freight, which is military base and other government stuff.

He got me a number and I called--they say just roll in and apply. They have a terminal in Dayton, which is less than 30 miles from Jamestown. After I drop my trailer, I'll bobtail on over there and take a shot.

This guy has four trucks running for them. He said they have guys getting 4400 miles/week.

And this guy, I believe. After a few sentences, I know a spinner, and this guy wasn't. 1.08/mile was his own average calculated off a percentage--which I didn't bother to ask about. And when he said 4400/week, this told me something more than just the numbers.

I'm probably stuck here overnight, although I'll check in with the night shift to remind them that I'm here. Wayne surprised me by mentioning several loads they were working on--very unusual for Florida.

Whatever I get, should have a decent net for this week, and with my back-pay, some re-built savings. I've survived these hard times, and am looking foreward to coming back strong, if these guys will take me on.

Basicly, when my current company lost a key contractor and I had to start fishiing for my own loads, I took a 60%-plus pay-cut. The loads I'm able to get don't pay like the ones they were getting me, and no matter how far ahead I look, I get aced out of the best loads and end up idle too often, too long.

In a healthier environment, picking my own loads would be great, but right now I'd be happy to just tell dispatchers my 'druthers and let them do the heavy lifting.

1.08/mile plus surcharge, and easily over 3k miles/week--this is probably the most money I've made yet as a trucker.

This other company has several terminals, from Dayton east. Dayton is the newest, and has only a few drivers so far. My location favors me. I sense that they're like my present company, and just want drivers who will adapt and overcome and get it done--early.

If this is their priority, then my DAC (which we're trying to repair and clean up), won't prevent them from leasing me on.

I just remember that I didn't ask him if they charged for trailer rental and how much--and other potential costs. So I might not actually make the most money yet--but certainly more than I did with USA or any other company prior to my current one.

And actually, even when I ran strong with this company, I was stuck waiting for loads a lot. I mean, you can gross 1400 on a 2-day trip, but then if you're stuck for a day, and then have to deadhead 300 miles for a return trip which will pay for hardly more than your fuel, you're not really making that much.

I'd rather gross 1200, deadhead 130 miles, and have another load paying about the same money within 24 hours. even if there are hidden costs.

Well I'm overdue for some pokerokbye

Beat Down In Dallas

First the APU went, and I'm supposed to go someplace around here to get it fixed today.

Then I bashed my head. Then my secondary tank starved my primary and I ran out of fuel. 240 bucks. Then I got TWO flat tires and had to replace them. 420 bucks. 240 bucks for a PM (you just can't skip these). I've found no viable loads out of here (where I delivered 24 hrs early anyway).

My primary laptop spazzed out. I'll try to drop the trailer on a street here and go to a repair place I know. This laptop keeps unplugging itself, and has it's own glitches. Hell, I just spent 240 bucks on both of these--new power cords!

Here I am at the dock, constantly re-checking my email trying to beat the pihrannas to a load out--on the seventh, to make sure I can take care of all the rest of this crap...

Last night, I thought about USA. I might still be getting flats and busted laptops, but at least I wouldn't have to be struggling for low-paying loads. Freight might be slow there and I might only get 2200 miles/week or whatever, but I'd make more than I'm making now, and could let the company find my loads.

I could go anywhere-there are terminals all over the place, and a number of big accounts.

I enjoyed cooling my heels at the cheap motel (which I could use as a driver's license address), and having free lunch with my dispatcher. Could wash my clothes for free sometimes. Could save money fueling at various terminals. The trailers were pretty well-maintained, and there were usually enough of them.

I didn't have to call dispatch. They were pickier on logs and I had to send qualcom updates and stuff, but compared to having to keep calling dispatch, my pay getting bogged down and misdirected, having to eat tolls, and now spending days looking for loads, that's nothing.

So I'm trying to get back there. I emailed both of my old dispatchers and got some news from them. I can use them as references.

Sounds like I'll need it. Sounds like I still might not get back there. Freight is slow. I'm real good--but that might not matter if they've already got too many of us.

Well, I'll keep trying for a load out of here, and wait for the personnel people to get back to me.

If I can get re-leased, then I have to get back to Jamestown OH to give back my qualcom and plates. When I get to Van Buren I'll need a new driver's license (with a Hazmat endorsement, I think) because my current company is my address now, and that won't work.

Then I'll have to get a new mailing address, and change all my accounts over all over again.

At least near Van Buren there's a great laptop repair place.

Yeah, they have a lot of drivers and not much freight, but I am Mr. always-early account-protector zero refusals with strong references. I'll give it a shot.

...and get my APU and laptop fixed (I hope) and get out of here...jeez I miss just driving.