It’s so much fun being a writer these days. Everywhere I look I see potential subject material. Perhaps the hardest part is just making up my mind what to write about.

One thing I’ve noticed lately is that Americans tend to miss the obvious. Not just the rank file like you and me, but the elites also seem to have developed a tendency to stumble into trees even though they’re fully aware of being in the forest. So, please bear with me while I point out a few obvious facts.

Factoid #1
Cynthia McKinney ran past a Capitol check point and then slugged a police officer. These facts are not in dispute. Ms. McKinney is guilty of assaulting a police officer and is possibly guilty of a national security violation as well. Ms. McKinney should be held without bail until her criminal trial, and should for the time being be relieved from her duties as an elected representative.

Factoid #2
It is the height of ignorance to blame only the oil companies for high gasoline prices. Keep in mind that the much-publicized price of oil per barrel is the price that the oil companies have to pay. At the time of this writing, crude oil is selling for $75 per barrel. That means that the oil companies are paying $1.78 per gallon for raw crude. The national average for fuel tax at the pump is about forty-six cents. So, a three-dollar gallon of gas costs $2.54 without the tax.

That leaves a difference of seventy-six cents per gallon. That seventy-six cents covers refining, transporting and retailing your motor fuel. Oil companies are averaging a profit margin of around 10 percent, which is far lower than many other industries. Pharmaceutical companies, for example, average around sixteen percent. Even after a rough year abroad, McDonalds still had a 14.9 percent profit margin in 2005.

Factoid #3
The so-called “Global Warming Crisis” has increased the planetary average temperature by a whopping one degree Celsius in the last 100 or so years. NASA has a long and detailed article on Global Warming, which attempts to lead the reader to believe that science has without doubt determined that we are all going to be deep-fried unless we go back to riding horses and using wood for heat.

The second to last sentence in the article, dealing with NASA’s extensive Climate Modeling technology, debunks just about everything else in the article. It reads thusly:

As a result, current day computer models can only provide an estimation of how climate might change, given particular starting conditions.

In other words, they have no idea. Current figures estimate that the carbon content in the atmosphere will double within 100 years, largely due to man’s dependence upon fossil fuels. NASA fails to mention, however, that we have been developing technologies that emit less carbons. As this trend continues, the ratio of solar radiation absorbed versus radiation expelled will return to normal, and the Left will have to find something else to blame mankind for. Not to worry – I’m sure they’ll find something. Maybe global cooling?

Factoid #4
It’s illegal to enter the United States of America via wading across the Rio Grande. People who enter the US illegally are breaking the law just by being here. So… isn’t it a bit odd that some folks think we should give them driver’s licenses, welfare benefits and discounted college tuition?

It’s also worth noting that Mexico does not offer similar benefits to people who enter that country illegally.

Factoid #5
As most of my regular readers know, I’m a cross-country trucker. Now friends, I don’t want to hurt your feelings… but would you please watch where the Hell you’re going?!

How is it that I can gab on the CB radio all day long without missing an exit or flattening an automobile, but you folks can’t simultaneously use your cell phones and drive your itsy-bitsy Honda Civics? Folks, I really don’t want to kill anyone. But when you swerve across 4 lanes of traffic just to beat me to an exit ramp and then slam on the brakes 10 feet in front of me… it’s just a matter of time. Please keep in mind that I can’t stop as quickly as you can. And, keep in mind that no Volkswagen in recorded history has ever “won” a confrontation with a Freightliner, okay?

I don’t need your death on my conscience, and if 80,000 pounds of 18-wheeler ends up on top of you, your prospects of being at work on time will decrease significantly. Better late than dead.

Speaking of cell phones - at this moment, my cellular provider’s network is down in most of Virginia, and parts of Kentucky and Tennessee. So while I don’t have a cell signal, at least I’ll feel a bit safer while driving. Customer Service, which recorded my call “for quality assurance” has assured me that they have no clue when service will be restored. See you on the road.

Related Reading…

NASA Global Warming Article (Shockwave 10.1, QuickTime and ActiveX Required)
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Laboratory/PlanetEarthScience/GlobalWarming/GW_Movie2.html

Fuel Taxes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_tax#United_States_of_America

McDonald’s
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/02/28/D8G25FFG1.html


Alan Burkhart is a freelance political writer, cross-country trucker, and proud citizen of the reddest of the Red States - Mississippi. You can reach him via e-mail at: alan@alanburkhart.com or by visiting his website: www.alanburkhart.com