American, Cutting Back, Plans $15 Bag Fee - New York Times

American, Cutting Back, Plans $15 Bag Fee - New York Times

I fail to understand the surprise evinced by many people. Higher oil prices and its concomitant impact on the airline industry in particular has been predicted for years. Dr. Alex Kuhlman, an airline pilot holding a PhD in economics spoke two years ago and wrote an article in Airways magazine in 2006 predicting dire consequences of increased consumption on fuel prices. The failure of Congress and the Bush and Clinton administrations to develop a rational energy policy that would build a public transportation infrastructure, coupled with the rampant over-building of the suburbs will come back to haunt us. It's probably already too late to do anything. The bag and meal charges are just temporary band-aids for a very sick industry.

Four-dollar-per-gallon gas is cheap! - By Robert Bryce - Slate Magazine

Four-dollar-per-gallon gas is cheap! - By Robert Bryce - Slate Magazine

Definition of a News Anchor

Definition of a News Anchor: "Well-coiffed slug with a microphone." * How true.

I am soooo tired of the pundits and anchors - especially the pompous asses on CNN desperately trying to fill air time (I guess the disasters in China and Myanmar weren't enough) and not making a distinction between a primary and the general election. Somehow they translate a win by one candidate or another in a primary as somehow meaning the candidate will have dire times in the general election because they have somehow lost a particular set of voters. What a crock. There's a huge difference in determining preference between two Democrats and then assuming that difference will translate in a difference between a Democrat and a Republican. For heaven's sake people.

*From Free Fall by Kyle Mills (a fun novel set in the world of politics.)

Mortgage mess

The big problem with the mortgage mess is that Americans, at the behest of brokers and middle men, no longer see homes as a place to live, but as an investment, the profit from which needs to be realized as soon as possible. If houses were thought of as a place to reside for the long term, we would not be in this mess.

Michigan and Florida

To imply, as has been done by the media over and over again, that Michigan and Florida voters will somehow desert the Democratic party simply because their delegates might or might not be seated at the convention is a huge insult to our intelligence. We are certainly bright enough to understand the dynamics of the DNC's penalties and to suggest that we confuse a primary battle with a general election is ridiculous and demeaning. It's something the news media keeps harping on. Stop it. We're not that dumb.