Summing Up The Season

When I was small I believed in santa claus
Though I knew it was my dad
And I would hang up my stocking at christmas
Open my presents and Id be glad

But the last time I played father christmas
I stood outside a department store
A gang of kids came over and mugged me
And knocked my reindeer to the floor

They said:
Father christmas, give us some money
Dont mess around with those silly toys.
Well beat you up if you dont hand it over
We want your bread so dont make us annoyed
Give all the toys to the little rich boys

Dont give my brother a steve austin outfit
Dont give my sister a cuddly toy
We dont want a jigsaw or monopoly money
We only want the real mccoy

Father christmas, give us some money
Well beat you up if you make us annoyed
Father christmas, give us some money
Dont mess around with those silly toys

But give my daddy a job cause he needs one
Hes got lots of mouths to feed
But if youve got one, Ill have a machine gun
So I can scare all the kids down the street

Father christmas, give us some money
We got no time for your silly toys
Well beat you up if you dont hand it over
Give all the toys to the little rich boys

Have yourself a merry merry christmas
Have yourself a good time
But remember the kids who got nothin
While youre drinkin down your wine

Father christmas, give us some money
We got no time for your silly toys
Well beat you up if you dont hand it over
We want your bread, so dont make us annoyed
Give all the toys to the little rich boys

"Father Christmas" The Kinks

Posted by The Webtoad at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)

NY Times On The Gas Issue

I don't often go in for what the New York Times editorial board has to say but this one is spot on. It's worth the read.

Pander at the Pump

Posted by The Webtoad at 12:34 AM | Comments (0)

Shameless Promotion

I have no problem pushing the products of those I know. Please check out the photography of my colleague Terry Chick. His work can be seen at Nature Pictures.

Posted by The Webtoad at 02:29 AM | Comments (0)

Hoping for $5/Gallon

I tell anyone who will listen that I am hoping for gasoline to get to $5 per gallon. Usually this evokes a perplexed look on the face of the listener and the person walks away thinking either that I am joking or that I am very strange. Only the latter could be successfully argued. Regardless, I do hope gas will get to $5 a gallon and I have two very good reasons why.

First off, it is the only way that the citizens and politicians of this great country will take a serious look at how we use energy. If gas were to get that expensive, a serious chunk would be taken out of people’s incomes. Not only would driving be more expensive but most if not all the products that we buy on a daily basis would increase in price as well. The price of oil is found in everything we need either through transportation costs or due to the use of petroleum in the making of certain products. In many cases it could be both. Faced with such an increase in prices across the economy, consumers would voluntarily change their ways. America consumes around 25% of all oil produced today. That is a staggering number given the size of our population as a percentage of global population. The time has long since past when we have needed to curb our voracious appetite for black gold.

The second reason that I hope for such high oil prices is purely political; it would reinvigorate the 50% or so of those eligible voters who do not vote when given the chance. America is a disgrace as an example of voter apathy. In short, voters will return to the polls when faced with serious economic changes and difficulties. In doing so, that 50% may take a closer look at the behavior of our elected officials and enact the term limits that are inherent in our system by choosing to throw the bums out. The change in consumerism elaborated in the first point will coincide with the necessary political change described in this second point bringing about the long overdue reform that so many of our leaders have paid so much lip service to.

Unfortunately, we will never see $5 at the pumps. Oil companies inhabit the commanding heights of the economy and for good reason: they are smart. Letting oil get to $5 would be bad business for them. The last thing the execs at BP, Shell et al want is an awakened and alert consumer/voter. Oil will only go as high as to stay just short of alarming “SUV Nation”. Quite simply, oil companies and their political lackeys will never bite the hand that feeds them. They will just nibble on it indefinitely.

(It should be noted that I drive a small car that gets excellent gas mileage. Also, my commute is very short. I can go upwards of two weeks with out filling my tank. Insert big grin here.)

Posted by The Webtoad at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)

The Fortune 500

This list can not be allowed to pass without comment. I'll point out just a few items that caught my attention and leave the reader to peruse The Fortune 500 on his/her own.

Fortune 500

1. Exxon/Mobil topped the list with $36 billion in profits. I’ll let that number sink in a bit.
2. Wal-Mart is number 2. We have only ourselves to blame.
3. General Motors came in at number 3 despite a $10 billion loss in profits which is a 477% change
from last year. Overall revenues fell by .5%. Imagine if they had a good year!
4. 3 of the top 10 are oil companies.
5. Exxon/Mobil had $36 billion in profits.

Posted by The Webtoad at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)

The Corporation

Although I believe that free markets are currently the best way to empower people in developing nations and to raise them out of poverty, I must acknowledge that it is a way that is flawed and can and must be improved upon. I suggest to those who are interested in the global community to see the documentary “The Corporation”.

This is a critical look at the dominant social, economic and political structure of our time. It contains interviews with people one would expect; Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky. It also features others that one wouldn’t expect. For instance, Ray Anderson is the CEO of Interface, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer. It is his goal that the company be 100% sustainable by the year 2020. That is quite something for a corporation of that scale.

The movie should be avoided by those who can see no fault in capitalism. Those who believe that there is something just not right with the world today will find much to consider and mull over in this film. It is not long on answers but it does a good job at expanding on John Dewey’s observation that “Government is the shadow cast by business on society”.

Posted by The Webtoad at 05:12 PM | Comments (0)