Corn Ethanol could be the way to go
Yesterday's USA Today is sitting in front of me. The top headline says, "Gas costs a record $1.74 a gallon." $1.74? I paid $1.91 yesterday, but, I digress because it gets better. Under that, it says, "Adjusted for inflation, not so bad."

Not so bad?! Sure, against the worst gas prices of all time, the prices aren't "so bad". However, for those of us living with shitty jobs under Bush's economy, it sucks. I guess the editor over at USA Today forgot to add, "Bend over." And as far as I'm concerned, $1.74 may be the national average, but it's still a lowball estimate.

In today's USA Today, the Money section has an article about a study done by the auto industry which claims that gas guzzlers (SUVs and the like) will still sell no matter how high gas prices climb. Appearently, gas prices just aren't an object for those who are rich enough to afford them. I still think these prices will make those of us who are not so well off think twice.

One would figure that with all this bad news about gas, alternatives would be explored. Then one remembers that this is the American media we are talking about, and our necks ache after we shake our heads. So, lemmie throw a couple fuel alternatives out on the table that our country can produce and use immediately as an alternative to gasoline, without doing any modifications on cars: corn and hemp ethanol.

Our smart neighbors up in the Great White North already have the option to fill up their tanks with corn ethanol. The last time I was in Canada, I filled up my ride with a tank of corn, and it ran better than it did with gasoline. (Matt was with me and he can back me up, he also took this photo of the pump I used.)

Illinois is already using corn ethanol in their fuel, here's a picture I took of a gas pump I used when recently passing through that state.

And did you hear about the Hempcar that made a transamerican tour a couple years back? A diesel wagon powered completely by hemp oil that can be easily converted to hemp ethanol and used in your car. You'll get the same gas milage.

Fact is that in America, we have the resources to produce, distribute, and use these biomass fuels. This would reduce the cost of gasoline, reduce our economy's dependence on foreign oil, and be healthier for the environment. A win/win/win situation that any clear minded Republican, Democrat, or common nutcase can agree with.

Why isn't this being discussed in the media?

Dean's growing popularity
The Providence Journal's lead story today was about presidential candidate Howard Dean and his 4 day, 10 city "Sleepless Summer" tour. A recent tour stop in Falls Church, VA, brought in 4000 supporters. One paragraph from the article makes me think of a few questions:

"Kerry aides have acknowledged that Dean is drawing impressive crowds -- larger than those of any other candidate including Mr. Bush -- but they question whether the Democratic anger that Dean has enunciated will translate into Democratic votes during the primary season."

Dean is drawing larger crowds than Bush? That doesn't even take into account the protesters holding stage at Bush fundraisers, like recent ones in San Diego and Los Angeles. Of course, this can't be taken into account by the mainstream media since they are not reporting it.

I'm 25 years young, and my elders might suggest that I am still a political neophyte. But does anyone find it odd, and exciting, that Dean's campaign is building so much strength? We're still months away from the primaries with a supposedly popular president in the White House, yet Dean is outdrawing Bush (with, I assume, no protests) and his campaign is making millions.

In fact, if Bush is so popular, how come the nine Democratic candidates for president continues to be a huge, frontpage newsmaker? If Bush was as popular as the Republicans would like us to believe, it would be logical to assume that people wouldn't pay attention to the nine presidential "wannanbes", as the right wishes to call them. But, given the fact that they are a huge story, especially Dean, then it's only logical to assume that Bush is in trouble.

Maybe I have a short memory, but I don't recall the 2000 campaign heating up in August, 1999. If anything, all if this interest in the opposition proves that Bush is not a lock for reelection. Especially if more people are coming out to see Dean.

Random stuff...
I'm hoping for the DSL fairy to soon bless me with a high speed internet connection at home. In the meantime, I have half an hours worth of 28.8 computer time to snuggle upto. Luck for you, dear reader, I can still find some time to be diisgusted.

Hummer fans rally at Southern Cali. dealership. They didn't take to kindly to their gas-guuzzling, completely needless beasts being vandalized. Here's a great quote from the article: "'We don't disagree with the need to improve fuel efficiency,' said West Covina City Councilman Mike Miller. 'But vandalism doesn't get the message across.'" Well Mike, if you are so for fuel efficency, STOP BUYING HUMMERS! If Loaded Mouth still had an asshole of the week award, this asshole would get it.

I dunno about you, but I couldn't give a fuck that a child molesting priest was murdered in prison. The murderer, in the pokey for life because he had killed before, was molested by a priest as a child. I guess you tend to meet those kind of people in prison if you are an inmate. This could have been avoided if the prirest just didn't diddle little boys, so I cannot feel sorry for the guy. All I want to know is if there's any way for the murderer to be placed in the same room with Cardinal Law.

I saw this on the news this morning, but haven't heard much about it since then: Bombing in India kills over 40.

Interested in engaging in cyber sex? TechTV has some tips.

This week, I'm not too fond of Leukemia
In what's probably old news that i just found out about since I have had limited computer access, Wesley Willis passed away thursday. He had Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. I knew that Wesley was sick, but this news just sucks.

This week, I have one other leukemia case to report that, unfortunately, ends badly. Thursday night, my roommate called me outside. She found a stray cat outside of our house. Very friendly, but very sickly looking. She was very emaciated, you could feel her spine and ribs when you pet her. Her fur was matted and a mess, and she was also collarless, so I assume that somebody kicked the poor thing out of their house. We had to take her in and take care of her, there was no other choice in the matter.

After a quick trip to Walmart, she got her own litter box and was climbing up the counter trying to get at the food being poured into a bowl for her. We gave her a name, too: Yassa Aracat. ( My tongue is still planted firmly in cheek with that one.. Yes, it was my idea.) Little Yassa had a great attitude and even more superior temperament. When our rottie puppy tried jumping on her, she simply tried to get away from him, sitting in a window or on the coffee table. She only hissed at him once, and that's when she was on the floor and didn't have a chance to get away from him.

Yassa took to the house immediately like she had been here a million times before. Even with guests over and a dog chasing after her, she would sit in the living room, undaunted and not trying to hide.

When I got up friday morning, I couldn't find Yassa before I went to work because she was sleeeping on my roommate's chest, I found out later. While I was at work, she took Yassa to the vet. They also thought she had a funny name.

An hour after dropping her off, my roommate told me the vet called. Vets never call this quickly, and since this cat was a stray, she instantly knew that something was wrong. She found out that Yassa, at 4 pounds, was a full grown cat in the late stages of being affected by leukemia. Putting her down now would end her suffering.

What choice was there? There was no choice when we took her in, and she had no choice now. I found out after I got home from work.

It's just sad, but it's also a humane death. There was nothing else that could be done unless we wanted to see Yassa suffer before dying.

At least little Yassa spent her last night alive with new, loving owners. I was able to brush her and get her fur a little unmatted, and she loved that, rubbing up against the brush. The vet told my roommate that Yassa hadn't had a meal in a week before we got her, so at least she was put down when she wasn't starving, with some of her suffering eased.

I hope that Wesley didn't have to suffer. Nobody deserves to when they die, whether they are a human or another animal. I went to a Wesley Willis show once a couple years back, and quite honestly, I thought he looked terrible and I was worried...

Wesley was unique. Wesley also wasn't a quitter. No matter how much the voices in his head tried to put him down, he fought back with his music. What he composed was simultaneously simple and complex because of that, not to mention hilarious.

My favorite Wesley moment has to be listening to, "I whupped Batman's ass" during my brother-in-law's bachelor party. Me and 8 other guys were riding around Providence in a 15 passenger van, shouting the chorus at the top of our lungs, playing the song over and over again while speeding the van over that huge speed bump behind the RI state house in the wee hours of the morning. Wesley's music helped make that night one of the best of my life.

I already miss the guy. And I never took a chance to get a headbutt....

I don't want to hearing anything else about leukemia for a while.