The fall of Troy

Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. Apollo (the Greek god of the sun, truth and prophecy) fell in love with Cassandra. However, when she did not return his love, Apollo placed a curse on her so that no one would ever believe her predictions.




Cassandra foresees the destruction of Troy (she warns the Trojans about the Trojan Horse, the death of Agamemnon, and even her own demise). Despite this foresight, she is unable to do anything about these events.

In January of this year I predicted that there was a looming problem of rising oil prices. At that time, Nymex crude oil was at $100.00 a barrel.

This past week, it broke through the $140.00 mark.

I tried to point out that if the price of sweet crude oil continued higher, the cost of everyday consumer goods would rise alongside it. This would then, in turn, spark wide spread inflation in the United States.




In its infinite wisdom, Ben Shalom Bernanke and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington DC has cut interest rates time and again over the past couple years to "stimulate" the stock market and “help” the nationwide real estate crisis.




These shortsighted actions have caused serious weakness in the US dollar. When the Canadian Loonie, for the first time in its history became more valuable than the US dollar, I made a point to mention it on this blog.

As you can see from this chart (pictured below), the Dow Jones Industrial Average is now well below the 11,722 mark it held in January of 2000.



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One might kindly say that we have simply made no economic progress in the eight years that George Bush has been in the White House.

However, if you adjust those market levels for even modest year-to-year inflation you really get a sense of what a complete cluster fuck this administration has been.

Start Praying to God

If one takes the time to read something, other than the Sunday comics or the OTB racing form, it is difficult not to stumble along a detailed account of the Bush family history with the oil business. The network of family friends, business contacts and political supporters who have a vested interest in the price of oil stretch out like the tentacles of an octopus.

Now. Take a look at the price of oil over the last eight years under the Presidency of George W. Bush.




Does this not strike you as suspicious?

The only thing that this graph leaves out, is the last 10% move that oil has recently made to $100 a barrel.

If the price of peanuts had gone up 600% during the Presidency of Jimmy Carter, do you think there would have been scathing accusations from the Republican Party?




Now, you might ask, "Why should I care about this"?

I know that for many of you the most important thing in life is who will be in the next batch of celebrities on Dancing with the Stars.

Rest assured, the price of oil will not have any effect on that.

What is does have an effect on is the price of EVERYTHING.

Almost everything you can think of is affected by the price of oil.

The gas you pump into your car ... your bloated heating bill … airline tickets ... clothes you buy ... groceries that you need to supply to your family ... the price of a Big Mac sandwich ... and the list goes on and on and on.

Everything in this country needs to be transported to its place of purchase. When the price of gas goes up like this, every single product must absorb that added cost into its retail price.

Have you not noticed the higher prices of almost everything?

My family runs a bakery in Michigan. In the past few years, the price for a bag of artisan baking flour has gone from under $10 a bag to close to $20. What do you think that does to profit margins? That cost must eventually be passed down to the consumer.

Who is the consumer?

You are.




So, let's follow the bouncing ball.

-Oil companies get the price of their oil to be inflated.
-They make money
-The prices of goods go up at a disproportionate level to your income.
-You lose money.

Now read between the lines.

The very rich don’t care if the price of everyday things goes up. They are making so much more money under Bush’s capital gain tax cuts, that they can easily afford it. Bush family members are not cutting Kroger coupons and tracking the price of a gallon of milk



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Now I will get to the title of this post.

I have a message to all the lower income Christian whites, Latinos and blacks that voted for George Bush in the last election. The very same voters who felt it was essential to have a President who would rid them of homosexuals and single parent families.



Start praying to your God and start cutting coupons.


I don't know if I am more amazed by the hypocrisy of the "moral" right wing stance, or the stupidity of the lower income Christians to buy into it time and again ... hook, line and sinker.



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Frankly, I really miss a president who was concerned about the price of a Big Mac.