Posts Tagged “Gas prices”
- The slumping economy has slowed down another industry–divorces, which are declining as couples looking to split up find that selling their home is far from easy or profitable. It could spawn a new version of a ’70’s hit–"Equity Will Keep Us Together"…
- The search for Barack Obama’s vice-presidential nominee will reportedly extend to the military as well as current and former elected officials. I wonder if Hillary Clinton is scrambling to get herself an emergency Navy commission…
- Senate Republicans managed to block a bill that would have imposed a windfall profits tax on oil companies, claiming that it would have no effect on gas prices. That may be true, but it certainly would have shrunk a figure or maybe two off some executives’ eight-figure earnings…
- John McCain’s campaign is refuting rumors that they declined to meet with evangelist Billy Graham, with both sides insisting that no invitation had even been extended. I’m wondering when evangelist Pat Robertson will insist McCain would have known if he hadn’t let God’s call go straight to voicemail…
- Weekend storms in Wisonsin that brought torrents of rain flooded a popular lake so badly that it burst its banks and emptied into a nearby river, leaving it nearly empty. On the upside, it’s become a great fishing spot…
- Truckers protesting Spain’s skyrocketing fuel prices by blocking highways there yesterday disrupted shipments of many staples, causing shortages among many food vendors. It’s even affected their traditional "running of the bulls"–it’s really become more of a meander…
Tags: Barack Obama, economy, Gas prices, John McCain, Republican, Senate, Spain, Vice presidential nomination
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- The national average for gas hit $4 a gallon for the first time ever over the weekend. I don’t see anything at all that’s average about it…
- First Lady Laura Bush surprised troops in Afghanistan with a one-day visit yesterday before joining President Bush for his final US-Eurpoean Union summit. The troops really enjoyed it–especially trading their favorite "Dubya" jokes…
- Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama both passed on an offer from New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and ABC News to host a town hall meeting, saying they don’t want it limited to just one network. They also didn’t want to preempt Dancing With The Stars…
- Discovery’s crew completed their final spacewalk at the International Space Station yesterday and are scheduled to return to Earth on Wednesday. I understand they’ll spend the remaining time there trying to get the ISS crew free satellite TV…
- Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs is expected to unveil the second incarnation of the iPhone at their developer’s conference today. I’ve been told it does everything the original one does, only it also makes you want to drop your Windows PC off a roof…
- The world’s fastest supercomputer, just completed for the military and named Roadrunner, uses chip technology first developed for Sony’s Playstation 3 video game console. It not only calcuates complex problems in a fraction of the typical time, but it can play Guitar Hero like you can’t believe…
Tags: Barack Obama, Discovery, Gas prices, International Space Station, iPhone, John McCain, NASA, President Bush, space shuttle, town hall meeting
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- Barack Obama last night became the first African-American to win the Democratic nomination, just as Hillary Clinton lost her bid to be the first woman to do the same. However, Clinton didn’t sound like much of a loser in a speech to supporters last night–that’s because she believes Obama won’t be much of a winner without her…
- GM announced they would close four truck and SUV plants and shed 8,350 jobs in an effort to compete in a world of four-dollar-plus-a-gallon gas, which their CEO acknowledges isn’t "a spike or a temporary shift". I have no doubt those soon-to-be-unemployed will feel the spike…
- Crews from both space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station worked during a 6-plus-hour space walk to attach to the station a billion-dollar Japanese-built laboratory named Kibo–which means "hope". Hmm–I could have sworn that was what they named their new lavatory…
- United Airlines says they will reduce its fleet by 100 planes by next year in an effort cut losses suffered by rising fuel prices. The skies may no longer be friendly, but at least they’ll be less crowded…
- Over two dozen people were injured–but none seriously–when a Greyhound bus tipped over on an Indiana interstate yesterday after the driver apparently fell asleep. They should have retired this guy right along with their old slogan, "Leave the driving to us"…
- Hundreds of fishermen demonstrated in London yesterday to demand help with their own soaring fuel prices, which are at least twice as high as those in the US. Could be before long, Brits will be enjoying a lovely basket of "nothing and chips"…
Tags: Barack Obama, Gas prices, Hillary Clinton, International Space Station, NASA, space shuttle, United Airlines
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- The Bush administration is asking Congress for $600 million to aid police in Iraq, while pushing for deep cuts in popular crime-fighting programs in the US. I’m guessing their logic is that the criminals over there hate the US way more than criminals here do…
- Police around the country are getting reports of a new kind of auto theft–vehicles whose gas tanks are punctured to siphon out the gasoline inside. I’ve heard that some people want us to be drilling for petroleum here, but this is not what I thought they meant…
- Meteorologists say they are unable to provide an answer as to why the US has suffered so many tornadoes in 2008–already the deadliest year for them in a decade. The problem is that tornadoes themselves are so difficult to predict–you’d have more luck guessing which party Joe Lieberman will be in next year…
- The Supreme Court ruled that employees can sue an employer when they can prove they were subject to retaliation for complaints about discrimination–which given the less literal interpretation of laws required makes it a surprising decision that doesn’t really track with today’s more conservative-leaning court. I wonder how many of tham have tried those "brownies" the new clerk’s been bringing in…
- A new study suggests that childhood obesity may have finally leveled off after 25 years of increases. So–those laxatives in the Happy Meals really are working…
- Toyota announced it will build a third battery-producing plant in Japan for its hugely popular Prius hybrid–just a week after they shared news of a second plant being built. Not surprisingly, there’s a four-month wait for most new orders in the US–after all, it will actually cost more to buy the car than it will to keep gas in it…
Tags: Bush administration, Gas prices, hybrid vehicle, Iraq, obesity, Supreme Court, tornadoes, Toyota
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- Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain has defended his opposition to a bill providing additional financial aid for veterans serving as little as 3 years, saying it will discourage soldiers from becoming non-comissioned officers. McCain makes a valid argument, only I’m guessing that 3 years in Iraq or Afghanistan is probably worth 20 anyplace else…
- NASA’s Phoenix Lander successfully completed America’s first-ever landing of a probe on the north pole of Mars Sunday, and has begun sending photos of the planet’s surface to help scientists determine if and when there might have been life on the planet. How long do you think it will be before we get some nice shots of Bugs Bunny’s Marvin The Martian?
- With diesel fuel prices rising faster than gasoline, trucking firms are adapting with lighter, more aerodynamic vehicles, using computer programs to map out the most efficient routes–and encouraging drivers to drive slower to increase fuel efficiency. But truckers’ biggest speed problem could be the kind that goes in their nose instead of the tank…
- Canada’s foreign minister, the US equivalent of Secretary Of State, has resigned after leaving classified documents in a non-secure location. This breach of security has led to revealing the nation’s most closely-guarded secret–it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ExxonMobil…
- Researchers are at work on the next generation of mosquito repellants that could work several times longer than the current standard. However, they’re having a few problems finding a safe setting for the Porto-Flame Thrower…
- Hollywood is mourning the passing yesterday of Sydney Pollack, who not only produced and acted in Oscar-winner Michael Clayton last year, but directed The Way We Were, Absence Of Malice, Tootsie, The Firm and Out Of Africa, where he won Best Director and Best Movie Oscars. Having worked with Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise and countless others, Pollack’s funeral may have more stars than the Oscars…
Tags: Canada, Gas prices, Hollywood, Iraq, John McCain, Mars, NASA, Oscars, veterans
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