I think the Patriot Act almost scares me more than anything else going on right now. The potential there is horrifying.

milk, poultry, beef - everything seems to be ramping up. The CPI is only creeping so slowly because of Saudi oil prices, which are finally responding to inflationary pressures. The jobs we're adding to our economy are primarily non-production (service) and often are not permanent (contract jobs, project work). More of us have less, with which to pay for things that are starting to cost more and more.

My only hope is that things continue to deteriorate for long enough to effect a regieme change. There are still hell of a lot of people in this country who don't think we're on the wrong track.

Ahhh, the Capitol spin makes me hurl every time.

Just got a raise, which will just barely cover my mortgage increase and my electricity increase. Oh joy.

$2.06??? We're paying $2.30 on this coast! (Which explains why I don't stray very far from home.) I heard on the news yesterday that the price of gas has gone up 30% since Bush took office.

Please can you suffer at least until the 19th June? You see its like this Bill. In ZA we cannot buy foreign currency without an airticket which indicates that we actually NEED the currency for travel. We cannot buy foreign currency before 2 months before departure which means I can only start buying foreign currency on the 19th June. And our currency is doing fairly well at the moment and if the dollar improves and things get better for you, it could mean a rather sh*t holiday for me as I have less money to spend. So would you be so kind as to grin and bear your unhappiness over the state of your economy for a wee bit longer? Please? Pretty please? Pretty, pretty please?

Which reminds me - on the news today, I believe major airlines are now raising an extra levy which will help subsidise them in respect of the increase in jet fuel. Thank dog my airticket has been bought.

I heard one that made me laugh today... a mechanical problem at a local refinery is causing it to reduce gasoline production for about the next two weeks. "It's unclear to what extent production has decreased at the refinery and how the decreased production could effect already high gas prices." It will likely be about two weeks before the refinery is back to full production... this is Marathon Ashland Petroleum.

I find their timing interesting... two weeks will take it, oh, right about through Memorial Day weekend won't it? Yeah, that should be about right for them to bring prices back down to the already elevated levels...