Robbed at the gas pump

It’s time to stop the madness. Gas prices are totally out of control and there is no end in site! Gas just keeps going up and up and personally I think it’s time for a change, people are not going to stand for this much longer. Gas here in Colorado Springs is already at $3.30 per gallon and in the town of Aspen the news is reporting that gas is already at $4.00 to $4.10 per gallon. For those who work here in Colorado Springs its bad enough, but for those of us who have to commute to Denver or further, it’s almost to the point where we can’t afford to go to work. For those who commute it seems like all we are doing is going to work so we can put gas into our tanks so we can go to work.

So who’s to blame? Everyone say it’s the oil companies and some say it’s a matter of supply and demand. I personally think the biggest part of the problem is pure greed and the oil companies. So many time we here the oil companies say things like it’s a matter of supply and demand or we had trouble with one of our refineries or pipelines, or it’s the war in the middle east, or the hurricane that just came through. Yet, never once have I ever read were an oil company has ever recorded a loss or that they got less profit then they did the year before, instead we continue to hear about how they are making record billion dollar windfall profits. I would think if they had a problem with a pipeline or refinery they would show less profit then last year, yet we see nothing to support that. I think the other part of the problem is price gouging. Oil companies and gas stations know that people need gas to go to work, to buy things like groceries, and the grocery stores need the food delivered so people can buy it. So they hike the prices knowing we have no choice but to pay the price they want.

So what can we do? For those who say “Just take public transportation” All I can say is are you kidding? Our public transportation is a joke right now, we are making progress but we still have a long way to go. A friend and I ran the numbers once awhile back to see if it would be worth using our bus system and the light rail. What we found was that if you add up the time spent going from Colorado Springs to Denver and back and all the costs for getting there and back, it is still cheaper to drive yourself. This in my opinion is sad, there are a lot of places through out the United States that have a great public transportation system, so there is no reason why we can’t do the same thing here. Also if you are thinking just buy a cheaper gas saving vehicle, my question would be “how”? If we are spending so much money for gas then how can we afford to buy a new or used car? For some of us our budgets are tight enough and adding a vehicle would just bust that budget.

So what’s this all mean? Not good things for the average consumer. I am not one who believes in conspiracies or gloom & doom, but I think we are heading into a major recession, and if we are not careful it could turn into a depression. I don’t think that the economy could handle this much longer. I here so many people say that they don’t like it, but “it’s just the price we have to pay for gas”. All I can say to that is, just remember as gas prices go up so goes everything else. My wife always says they are raising the price of gas and everything else, but no one is raising our pay checks to keep up with it. I don’t know what the answer is; there are a lot of ideas floating around out there. Just remember this, if the price of gas gets to high people will stop traveling and buying thing and the economy will then start to crash because people will not be able to afford anything.

Who’s to blame? For all the guns in the schools

It seems that the news is covering more and more incidents involving guns in schools and in the hands of minors. Here in Colorado a 17 year old kid was arrested for allegedly bring a load 45cal hand gun to school after a fight over a drug debt that same day. According to the local paper here in Colorado Springs on May 3^rd a 16 year old kid told a girl that he was going to shoot her and May 7th another 16 year old kid threaten to shoot another girl and then the rest of the school, both according to the paper were arrested. Next there is the incident at Harrison High school in which according to what I read not 1 but 2 students planed to shoot up the students at a pep rally. One student was a 17 year old male and the other was a 16 year old female, both were arrested and could face several charges including felony charges. According to the news both students were looking to kill more than the Virginia Tech incident. It seems to me we are reading in the paper and seeing on the news more and more kids are getting their hands on guns and using them to solve their problems.

So who is to blame? The schools, The Gun stores, Society, The News media, Or TV shows? It is my personal belief that the parents are the biggest ones to blame for all of this. I think we need to ask ourselves a few questions like 1: Where did the kid get the gun, Did He get it from his parents or did he buy it? 2: If he got it from the parents why was the gun left where he could get it and if he bought the gun where did he get that kind of money? 3: and this is the biggest question of all, why didn't the parents know anything about it before it happened? I feel that too many parents are NOT a part of their kid’s life. We are trying so hard to be their friend when we should be trying to be their moms & dads. We are the ones as parent that need to show them what is acceptable and what is not in society. I here so many parent say”well I want to give my kids a little room, I don’t want them to feel like they are on a short leash”. I feel that kids need to be kept on a short leash for awhile until they show they can make the right decisions. So many parents are so busy with working and keeping up with the Jones that when something does happen they are shocked and then “it’s not true, not my little Johnny”. So what do I do with the two kids we have just adopted? Well first I talk to my daughter (My son is only 2, but I even give him some of my time). I find out what she is doing and what’s going on in her life with her friends and at school. Next, we eat dinner together at the dining room table with no phone or TV; while we are eating we are talking about all kinds of things, Now sometimes we can’t do that for one reason or another, but we do it more times than not. We also go to church together and we are involved in our church, and for my family we keep GOD at the center of this family. The biggest thing I do is I make time for my kids and I show them I care and that they can talk to me any time. Now is everything perfect NO! Not every kid is going listen to you and stay out of trouble, some kids are going to get into trouble no matter what you do. But just remember one thing, if you do something, that’s better than doing nothing. You can’t save every kid, but you could save at least one. Remember you as the parent have a great responsibility to raise and guide your kids in the right direction. Who knows it may even save their life.

So give it a try, talked to your kids and see what they are up too. Be a part of their lives, you may even learn something about them or better yet, yourself.

Drunk students learn lesson from peeved giraffe

1.3-ton animal attacks three Lithuanians after they climb into his cage

All I can say to this is What a bunch of stupid morons. They are really lucky to be alive, I would be a bit peeved to if someone climbed into my home while being drunk. Just think what would have happend if they had climbed in with the lions or the Bears. Below is the article from the Associated Press.

VILNIUS, Lithuania - Climbing into a giraffe's cage at the local zoo seemed a good idea after a few drinks. But the prank went wrong when the 1.3-ton animal flew into a rage and attacked the three student trespassers at a zoo in Lithuania on Monday night.

Ruta Greiciute, a 22-year-old student at Kaunas Technology University, was hospitalized with a broken collar bone and nose after the 9-year-old male giraffe, named Solut, attacked her.

The other students survived the incident unscathed.

"This was a very silly thing they did. The scared giraffe could have stomped her to death," Kaunas Zoo spokeswoman Angele Grebliauskaite said.

The zoo reported that many animals had been disturbed Monday night as students celebrated a festival in a nearby condominium.

Police have launched an investigation to find out how the intoxicated students entered the zoo at night and climbed the 10 foot high fence surrounding the giraffe cage.

So here is the one question I have, and it really doesn't have anything to do with the giraffe. The article said that "the students celebrated a festival in a near by condominium", who would want to live right next to a zoo anyway? All I can say is YUK! the smell on a warm day must be horrible.

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