LUBE isn't a petroleum product, right?

Have Republicans and their friends in Big Oil actually lost their minds? Or is it just that they know how complacent (see also "lazy," "stupid") Americans tend to be?

GOP lawmakers are currently upset with Democrats for blocking Big Oil's attempts to grab more federal land for off-shore drilling. Doing so may well lower the price of oil--in the very, very long run--but since when are oil companies interested in bringing down the price of oil? Please stop being so stupid, America. Big Oil doesn't want lower prices at the pump. And neither do Republicans.

Allowing off-shore drilling is upsetting to many people for many reasons, not the least of which are environmental concerns, but even more so because the oil companies don't even need another land grab. Big Oil already has over 40 million acres of federal waters in which they could be drilling--but aren't. FORTY MILLION ACRES! They've simply made no attempt to develop the existing properties.

Now why do you think Republicans are trying to hand Big Oil more places to drill--places closer to our shores--when the companies already have 40 million acres they're not even using? Especially at this point in the history of our world, when lawmakers should be convincing companies to come up with alternate, cleaner energy sources? Think about it, America.

And while GOP lawmakers are complaining about Democrats holding up passage of this obnoxious plan, Republicans have been busy stopping Democrats from passing bills that would do useful things that are actually in the best interest of Americans. Things like making gas pump price-gouging a federal offense and taxing the record-breaking windfall profits Big Oil has been earning during this "crisis."

How exactly is it in the best interest of US citizens--not to mention US law--to allow price-gouging to be legal? Republicans actually expect us to believe they think price-gouging isn't as prevalent as it obviously is. Just in case any of us are bright enough to realize that can't possibly be right, Republicans also say it would be difficult to enforce such a law. But there is no legitimate defense. They simply don't want Big Oil getting pissed at them, especially considering the huge chunks of those windfall profits that somehow end up in Republican coffers. And how does it not make sense to tax the profits--profits which have increased in an almost unbelievable way--of these oil companies who are obviously, clearly, unquestionably, inarguably ripping us off?

I'm sick of Americans being so stupid. And I'm sick of Republican lawmakers being such sleazy scumbags. But you know what else really pisses me off? That Democratic lawmakers just repeatedly bend over and allow themselves--and us--to get fucked. DO SOMETHING!

Gotta make a move to a town that's right for me

Next weekend my life is going to change in a very drastic way and it's kinda starting to freak me out. For years, I've moved almost annually from one apartment to another and I've almost always had more space than any one person could ever require. During those years, rents in my area of South Jersey have exploded to the point where none of the apartments are worth it. No basic one-bedroom apartment in South Jersey is worth $900. There's no justification other than the fact that people are forced to pay it because they can't get mortgages. I wouldn't have a problem getting a mortgage...but I certainly don't want one. So I'm moving to South Philly with a roommate in a small apartment with no washer, no dryer, no dishwasher, and no parking space.

This is a lot to get used to. I'll be sharing a bathroom for one thing, which is just something I never can quite wrap my brain around. After years of needing to do my laundry in machines being used by only me, I will be figuring out the ins and outs of schlepping everything to and from a laundromat. (I still have no idea how people do t-shirts, which obviously need to be ripped from the dryer after ten minutes and hung immediately.) And with my worse-than-garbage sense of direction, I can't believe I'll be looking for parking spaces every night and expecting to remember where my car is when I wake up the next day.

My bedroom is a good size which is important because it's where I'm going to be living for the most part. The rest of the apartment consists of a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room--and the living room has been converted to the second bedroom! Even though my room is big, I have been standing in my current living room, staring at the boxes I've packed and wondering just where in the hell I think it's all going to go.

Still, this is exciting. Living with my new roommate is certainly part of the adventure because I've known him for years but not that well and I'd never even considered what it might be like to live with him. I'll be incurring some new costs (tolls coming over the bridge from work every day, a laundromat, almost-certainly-higher auto insurance, and the occasional cab) but they should be more-than-outweighed by what I'm saving in rent, which is going from $825 to $325. Yeah, that's $500 a month back into my budget. Can you even imagine? It's like getting a $6,000 raise.

Even more exciting, however, is that I love South Philly. I mean, I fucking love it. And all my friends suddenly live there. Amy & Paul, Sandy, Vince, Todd, Dane... The list goes on and on. Plus, my favorite restaurant is, like, two minutes away.

So it's going to be an adventure in that it'll be a totally different way of life...but it's also going to save me a ton of money...and it's going to be a blast because I'll be in a place I love and surrounded by people I love. Who could ask for anything more?