WTF Walmart?

Normally I like Walmart a lot. They have what I'm looking for at a decent price. I know there are lots of folks out there that can't stand them, and that's ok, I can see your reasoning. But damn, they pissed me off today.

About lunch time, my Bride called and said her car wouldn't start. She was at a grocery store near her work picking up lunch. Her boss came over and jumped the car and it started fine. When she got back to work, wouldn't start. He gave her another jump after work and she made it home.

I braved the 105 degree heat and yanked the battery. We purchased it two years ago at Walmart. So off we go to town, simple battery exchange, in and out in 10 minutes. Nope. They have to test it. Ok, I'm good with that. They guy walks off with the battery. We sit down on the bench in the automotive department. 20 minutes later still no word. They guy behind the counter goes out to check on it. The asshole out in the service bay said he needed some information from us and couldn't find us. What bullshit. We were sitting on the same exact spot on the bench as when he left with the battery. Ok, no biggie. The guy from behind the counter gets us fixed up. He then proceeds to do the exchange at the register, he needs a manager to approve the transaction. He calls, and calls, and calls. He finally gets some lady who says she will be right there. Wrong. 20 minutes later I go to the front of the store and find a manager. Of course, by the time I got back with the manager the automotive guy had already snagged some manager walking by.

So a simple battery exchange turned into an hour and a half of my life that I will never get back. Thanks Walmart, eat shit.

Your tax dollars at work...

Read the headline below...

NIH-Backed Study Examined Effects of Penis Size in Gay Community

There is an article over at FoxNews that talks about how our tax dollars were used to study the size of gay men's penis's and how it affects their sex life. This has really got to fall into the WTF category. Who exactly is this study for? Did the national institutes of health really think this was a study that should be funded by taxpayers? Don't you think this is information that fags already have? And who the hell else cares?

Shit like this is exactly what put our Country into borderline bankruptcy. The people that we entrust to spend our money wisely DO NOT GIVE A FLYING FUCK. They will spend our money on the most idiotic things and then wonder where it all went.

Imagine a 10 year old with a credit card. Take his little ass to the mall first thing in the morning and before lunch he will have charged up ten thousand dollars worth of nintendo games, bubble gum and rap cd's. This is our government, a ten year old with OUR credit card.

If you want to read the article,  here it is.

Coal Regs Would Kill Jobs, Boost Energy Bills

In tough economic times, there is no better way to jump start things than by increasing people's electric bills by almost 25%. The epa and the obama administration are 100% clueless. These assholes will not be happy until we are all living in caves.

My gasoline bill has increased by twice, if my electric bill goes way up I might as well quit my job and sit at home collecting welfare. Maybe that is their plan, break us all and force us onto the welfare rolls. The only thing wrong with that stupid plan is this, when everyone is on welfare, whos gonna pay for it?

By Paul Bedard - US News and World Report

Two new EPA pollution regulations will slam the coal industry so hard that hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost, and electric rates will skyrocket 11 percent to over 23 percent, according to a new study based on government data.

Overall, the rules aimed at making the air cleaner could cost the coal-fired power plant industry $180 billion, warns a trade group.

“Many of these severe impacts would hit families living in states already facing serious economic challenges,” said Steve Miller, president of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. “Because of these impacts, EPA should make major changes to the proposed regulations before they are finalized,” he said.

Read the rest at the link above...

After U.S. Postal Service Complaint, Burger King Agrees to Modify Ad

Have you ever seen that show where the boss of a company goes undercover as an average worker to see what really goes on day to day in his business? Maybe some of the head guys in charge of the postal service should do that. They think that a Burger King ad shows postal employees in a "less than favorable light" because an employee is distracted by his breakfast. They might be surprised by how "less than favorable of a light" their employees are in when they make people wait in line forever. Or when they treat customers in a rude manner at the counter.

Most letter carriers I have met in my life have been great people, very hard working. The same can't be said of the people in the post office. I have had some nasty experiences there and know many others who will say the same thing.

Also, the total misuse of tax dollars by the post office doesn't sit to well with a lot of people either. I think this Burger King ad might be the least of their worries...

From FoxNews

The U.S. Postal Service wants Americans to know that even the temptation of French toast sticks and a Double Crossain'wich wouldn't stop its letter carriers from delivering the mail on time.

After unleashing its lawyers, USPS has struck a settlement with Burger King over an ad campaign launched last year that featured a letter carrier getting distracted from his job by delicious Burger King breakfast food.

Apparently, the Postal Service did not appreciate the portrayal. In the ad, a letter carrier in a uniform resembling that of a Postal Service employee sang about the joys of Burger King's new breakfast menu. The offending verse was: "With pancakes and eggs on my plate, the mail has to wait."

According to a Postal Service statement issued Friday, the agency asked the fast food giant to stop airing the ad, arguing that Burger King used its logo and uniform without permission while portraying a letter carrier in a "less than favorable light."

Though Burger King denied wrongdoing, they reached a settlement allowing the company to use a uniform similar to the official Postal Service garb, minus the logo. Burger King is expected to air a "revised" and "more positive" commercial -- one that presumably leaves viewers feeling better about the work ethic of their letter carriers.

Read the rest at the link above...

3 Myths About the Oil and Gas Industry

I don't like the price of gas any more than the next guy, but is there really blame to be placed? Could the price of gas be simply a product of supply and demand? Why does congress feel it is necessary to call executives from oil companies in and talk to them like naughty children? Why does congress think it is correct to deny oil companies the same tax incentives than many other large corporations get? Is it really fair to single out one industry and penalize them for making a profit?

And the oil companies do make a profit, there is no doubt. But their profit margin is less than that of many other companies, like Walmart or Apple. Oil companies pay about 40% of their revenue in taxes, much more than a lot of other industries. Take General Electric for example, last year GE actually got more money back from the government than they paid in taxes. And the oil companies are the bad guys. It sure didn't hurt GE that their ceo at the time, jeffrey immelt, is an advisor to the crooked obama administration.

The "evil" big oil companies make less on a gallon of gas than the federal government, yet they are demonized by the left at every opportunity, and have been for years.

What do you think increasing taxes on oil companies will do to gas prices? I'm no rocket scientist, but I'm betting it would make prices go up by about the same amount as the tax increase.

Maybe if oil companies were allowed to do what they do best, drill for oil, supply and demand would equal out and we wouldn't be paying 4 bucks a gallon to go back and forth to work...

By Bob Beauprez - FoxNews

As voters around the country wince at rising gas prices, panicked Democrats, in a rush to cover the failure of their all-or-nothing bet on the alternative energy industry have started singing a familiar tune – blame the oil and gas industry. Instead of facing the reality of his owned failed policies, President Obama is calling for an end to the "tax giveaways" he claims amount to $4 billion in “subsidies” to the energy industry.

This tactic isn’t surprising given the effect that rising gas prices have on the president’s approval ratings and his obsession with re-election. But, less-than-truthful innuendos and political spin hardly helps America's working families who are getting hammered at the pump.

If our leaders are going to have an honest discussion about energy, it's important to clear up a few rumors, misconceptions and outright falsehoods being perpetrated about the oil and gas industry. Let's begin with three of the more common ones:

1. The industry doesn’t receive any taxpayer funded subsides. None.

2. Rampant speculation and Wall Street tricks aren’t driving up gas prices.

3. The oil and gas industry is not dodging the taxes they owe and withholding “their fair share.”

I'll say it again; contrary to popular opinion and the president's spin, the oil and gas industries do not receive any taxpayer funded subsidies. The tax code does allow them to claim certain tax credits and deductions to encourage continued investment in an industry that is heavily front-end loaded with capital expense.

These are the same kind of incentives available to Coca-Cola, General Electric, Ford, and Microsoft and other companies doing business in the U.S. Or, for that matter, like the deduction for mortgage interest payments enjoyed by homeowners. But, importantly these are tax credits, and markedly different from direct taxpayer cash subsidies like the 45 cent per gallon payment blenders get to put ethanol in fuel mixes.

When businesses invest in America, we all benefit. The oil and gas industry plows about $300 billion into domestic projects per year – that's 75 times more than Obama's phantom "taxpayer giveaways" amount -- and employees over 9 million people. Those are real numbers; not Washington spin, and if government would allow and encourage even more domestic production there would be more jobs and more investment – and more total taxes paid, too.

Another argument that often circulates when gas prices go up is that a phantom class of “Wall Street speculators” is to blame for the increase of prices. In 2008 this school of thought was so persuasive that President Bush commissioned an exhaustive review, via the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, looking into the effect that speculators had on market prices. Their conclusion was surprising, according to The Wall Street Journal, “The agency concluded that speculators—otherwise known as traders—were putting downward pressure on prices. The liquidity they provide helps to smooth volatility.”

Not satisfied with the 2008 study, President Obama recently resurrected this school of thought, even tapping Attorney General Eric Holder to police perceived illegal activity and price gouging. Yet within the presidents’ own administration, the Federal Trade Commission found that the recent spike in oil prices is due primarily to normal market forces, including booming demand from developing economies in India and China and not because of any questionable behavior from Wall Street.

Read the rest at the link above...

Obama’s Blame Game Continues: Who’s Behind Oil Price Rise?

obama is a master of a couple of things, blame and lies. Oh, and making bullshit commissions, can't forget that. If you have no clue how to solve a problem and don't want to be stuck with having to answer for it later, vote present and then form a commission.

This asshole has no intention of doing anything about fuel prices, but his commission will draw attention away from that fact for a little while. It will take our focus away from the fact that he is completely incompetent for a brief period so he can make some campaign stops.

I am sick to death of this guy and his bullshit games. Even the liberals should be able to see through him. How is it possible that there is a single person still supporting him? Supporters are getting less and less though, his poll numbers are in the toilet...

By Liz Peek - FoxNews

President Obama is at it again. Soaring gasoline prices are hitting Americans where it hurts, and threatening to undermine our fragile recovery. With oil hitting $111 today, and gasoline topping $4 a gallon in many markets, economists are beginning to ratchet down their GDP forecasts, boding ill for continued job growth. Meanwhile, and not coincidentally, the nation is souring on our elected officials, and on the president, whose approval ratings are sinking like a failed soufflé. A staggering 70% of the nation thinks we’re headed in the wrong direction. What’s Obama’s solution? Find someone to blame.

To show he’s on top of our energy crisis, the president has…created yet another commission! This one – a task force from the Justice Department - is charged with ferreting out the scoundrels behind the jump in gasoline prices – surely there must be some nefarious speculators or market manipulators who can be hauled before Congress in one of those satisfying and cathartic inquiries that, at the end, yield almost nothing. But, these hard-light investigations do provide plenty of room for posturing and prime-time sound bites.

President Obama has resorted to the blame-game throughout his presidency. GW Bush was responsible for the recession, the budget deficit, extravagant healthcare costs, the quagmire in Afghanistan, potholes, global warming and quite possibly Charlie Sheen’s meltdown. Wall Street fat cats brought on the banking crisis (not aided and abetted by Barney Frank et al), insurance miscreants are to blame for soaring healthcare expenses, oil companies are guilty of sitting on leases, pharmaceutical companies should be taken out and shot and Republicans have been mulishly resistant to even the most winning proposals. Now, rascals are at work pumping up gasoline prices; what is a president to do?

On oil prices, the president is vulnerable. First, the administration is accused by U.S. oil explorers of issuing misleading information about why offshore drilling is not moving forward. At the moment, the number of rigs operating in the Gulf of Mexico is about half the level of a year ago; the head of the Independent Petroleum Association of America has said that the government has dragged its feet in issuing the permits necessary for work to move forward.

President Obama dismisses these allegations, pointing out that domestic oil production was up last year. He didn’t mention that when oil prices move dramatically higher, production always increases, as marginally profitable wells are brought on stream. Our output would have been even higher if offshore development had moved forward as planned. Instead, the new organization charged with issuing permits is like a deer in the headlights – panicked that they will approve a drilling project that will one day go awry. No one doubts the need to buttress our safety standards, and especially in deep waters, where failed technology led to the Deepwater Horizon blowout. Still, with the impact of climbing oil prices becoming all too visible, no one should prevent us from ramping up domestic supply as quickly as possible.

Also, economists worldwide are blaming the loose monetary policies of Fed Chair Ben Bernanke for having helped unleash commodity price inflation around the globe. Though Mr. Bernanke denies that the quantitative easing programs in the U.S. are boosting the prices of gold, corn, cotton, copper and oil, to name but a few, his is quickly becoming the minority position. The U.S. dollar is sinking and excess liquidity is flowing into commodities markets. Bernanke is singularly focused on preventing deflation; that global food and raw materials prices have climbed as much as 40% to 50% over the past year and that inflation is creeping higher seems to have eluded his gaze.

Finally, Americans may connect the rise in oil prices with disruptions in the Middle East. Though no one can hold President Obama responsible for the popular uprisings in Tunisia or Egypt, our disconnected and inconsistent response has heightened uncertainty in the region. Confusion is the enemy of price stability.

Mr. Obama’s blame game is quickly losing favor. Americans are now ready to hold President Obama responsible for their problems, recognizing that he has had two years in which he and his party were in charge. He needs to channel Harry S. Truman and acknowledge: “ the buck stops here.”

Temperatures Lowest For Time Of Year Since 1940s

Can you imagine how cold it would be in Chicago if it weren't for global warming? Holy crap, it would be an ice age or something up there.

Global warming has saved Chicago. See, there is an upside...

CBSChicago

Not only has Chicago dealt with chilly rain, hail and even snow this week, but temperatures Tuesday were at their lowest for this late spring date since the 1940s.

CBS 2 Meteorologist Megan Glaros says the high Wednesday is expected only to reach 46 degrees with a peek or two of sunshine, but the chilly conditions will make it feel like winter never ended. As of 6:45 a.m., the temperature in Chicago was just 34 degrees.

Glaros says if there were precipitation Tuesday morning, some snow would likely be mixed in. Fortunately, the storm systems have moved east and conditions were just cold and overcast.

On Tuesday, the high topped out at 38 degrees in the city.

In the early evening hours, just walking a few blocks along the streets of Chicago felt like going out to sea in an open boat during a rainstorm in northern Canada. Anyone walking against the wind was blasted continuously in the face with cold droplets of rain, and given the strength of the winds, an umbrella was as good as useless.

And that was before the severe storms even hit. Lightning bolts and thunder claps soon appeared, and hail of up to 1 inch in diameter was spotted in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.

More than an inch and a half of rain fell in less than half an hour Tuesday evening, forcing the cancellation of more than 450 flights at O’Hare and Midway international airports, and leaving people sleeping on terminal floors.

Read the rest at the link above...