What's In Your Wallet?

Not much anymore, as just to boil water is costing me an arm and leg. And I am not at all interested in this energy rebate welfare coming our way courtesy of the Corrupt Bastard Club mentality that continues to thrive on in Juneau. I see where another member bites the dust! Palin, if she had balls, would perform a George Bush veto on this preposterous rebate. See, nobody is going to use it for “energy”. In fact this welfare will probably cost more energy, as it wastes energy waiting in traffic to get to the malls! It is just a bandaid upon a wound that doesn’t heal without proper intervention. We need more then a rebate. I am not Bill O’s greatest of fans, but he had it right last summer when he called on a weekend boycott against the refiners. Believe me, if you want to see the price of motor fuel drop, stop buying. It is that simple! First off to get a grip on this out of control problem, we need common sense, which seems to be in short supply these days. And it is not only my tank that is running on empty while oil company profits are soaring, so is my wallet. And I would have a lot more money in my pocket instead of chump change if it weren’t for Ted and Don screwing us here, there and everywhere in between. Sure they bring home the bacon, but that bacon craving is costing me more and more the more they hang around. My natural gas bill from last year is staring at me, “historically” it totals up to 3-times the rebate amount and it was a very mild winter. And I live in a small house! So with this brother not to spare a dime, I decided to utilize the bike for transport. Hey, next time at the pump, get a receipt and mail it to George Bush. Continue this even after he leaves office and settles down in Crawford. Now bike riding is a risky proposition here in Anchorage. Not only do drivers try to scare the hell out of people on bikes, seems the bears have taken a liking to this chasing also. Anyway, I couldn’t afford a new bike, cereal is costing $4.39 a box these days, so I decided to go “cool” and modify. My bike was due for a makeover. Over at the local bike shop hangout, I engaged one of the youngsters in conversation. At first he was aloof, making mention something about my “walker”. See, modifying a multi-speed bike for a “one-speed” bike is something that the “koolies” get away with. Anyway, soon I was being given some helpful advice. My neighbor owns the shop, so that may have helped. First mentioned by the wizard of bikery was the cassette? I thought that was something that played music! I asked the kid if he ever listened to music on an 8-track. He started looking for my “walker”. Then he mentioned something about “freewheeling”. I thought that was a song by Bob Dylan. I asked him if he knew who Dylan was. So for 5-bucks to whack off the sprockets – special tool needed – and $12.50 for spaces along with a new $9.95 chain of fixed length, I was back home in my garage trying to be cheap. My wife likes a good laugh, when I go the cheap route. Now I didn’t have any fancy tool to modify a chain’s length, so I had to find a gear that fit from the old set. The guys at the shop called it the “element”. I thought that was something from chemistry. I wasn’t good with the chemistry stuff in high school, except when the LSD experimenting came about. So it meant the third element as the sprocket that would fit without modifying the chain. It worked and I am back in business. I have no idea what “gear” my one shot is engaged. But what a deal! See, this bike has lasted long enough to run down three sets of brake pads. It is basically an antique. Talk about antiques. When bike riding, and away from the maddening crowd, it gives one the opportunity for clear and concise thoughts. So why would anybody vote to re-elect Senator Ted Stevens or Congressmen Don Young in the upcoming primary? Now anybody who enjoys fishing – sportfishing that is – should consider this before casting off another vote for Ted or Don. Now there exists a bunch of credible things coming forward that indicates Ted and Don are out of fashion. Indictments for one maybe two. Age, that is another disqualifier. It is not discriminating against with the latter. We just need to back off and pass-on the heritage – with some honesty restored back into the equation. But I will present two things herein in which these two scoundrels were instrumental upon, things that cost me “extra” money. First it is the Don Young “Fishing Pole Tax”. Sure enough, in his TEA-Lu transportation bill of 2005, in which he takes credit as the designer and sponsor, you and I pay a 10% tax on all sport-fishing equipment. It is called the “Fishing Pole” tax an enacted as public law under HR 3. Now the bad and sad thing, it is a special interest tax embedded in an appropriations bill and nobody in the DOT can guarantee me how this is accomplished. See, it is a tax placed on the retailer. As you and I are well aware, that is passed on to the consumer. Now why such a tax was hidden away in an 800-page highway appropriations bill, one that goes ahead without appeals until 2010, it is proof that the corrupt will do anything to get more money for more pork even if it is again at the taxpayers’ expense. This tax even affects worm farms! So, this is one reason to give old Don that vote of NO CONFIDENCE! Now with Ted, he stole away the hen house. Really, do you realize that after you pay that 10% for fishing tackle that you are also paying a surcharge to buy that fishing license? Thank Ted for this one. Had not Ted allowed the all-out privatization of the military housing up at Elmendorf Air Force Base, a gift for his buddy, then the power plant that supplied already heated hatchery water for free would still be in operation. Not only did heated water for the fish go away, so did many good jobs. When the already energy efficient power plant was demolished, it meant the state had to purchase boilers to heat the water at the Ship Creek Hatchery. For 30-years it was provided free, as waste heat water. So through panic legislation the legislators enacted a surcharge to cover the costs. And that is why a bunch of kids went depressed here a few years ago, as without the heated water the fishing pool at the annual Sportsmen’s Show had a no show of fish for the youngsters to catch. So we have to pay a “Fishing Pole” tax and at the same time pay a surcharge to catch the fish! See, these guys know Alaskans and tourists love fishing. We may stop driving, but not fishing. So it is a way to bring in extra cash to fund their pork addiction in efforts to make them look good so we vote them in again so they can find even more ways to screw us over. My as well just send them your paycheck. What is leftover can be used to buy cereal. And believe me, there wouldn’t be anything left over and you would most likely get a bill. For services rendered. Anyway, there exist a zillion reasons why not to vote for these two guys who have been instrumental in making Alaska what it is today, the biggest welfare graving state of the Union. But when they do things behind the scenes that target my pleasures, like fishing, that cost to me has cost them my vote. Remember, that surcharge will be like a toll-booth charge and never go away. And the Fishing Pole Tax, the same, as it is so deeply embedded in legislative crap that it will be on the record books until the end of time. And I am willing to bet that if somebody did the homework, that Fishing Pole Tax money is being used by Ted and the other senators during that yearly Kenai River fishathon, courtesy you and I, when the river is off limits to those of us that continues to pay above and beyond - just to fish with our kids! Don’t vote for Ted Stevens or Don Young, unless you enjoy getting screwed over.

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