Make-A-Statement Commentary Blog

Currently there is a commercial running on television that shows how this country has become dependent upon foreign oil to keep us going. The man behind the scene advocates us using more natural gas as well as wind power. He goes on to show how our dependence has grown over the past thirty or forty years.

I’m getting various statistics ranging from 60% to 70% of all of our oil is imported from other countries. The records show that we imported 24% in 1970.

The statistics run all over the map. It’s hard to know which one is correct.

I do know whatever the number is, it’s entirely too much.

I well remember the oil embargo of the early seventies. It wasn’t pretty. Long lines, frustrated motorists…lots of businesses failed. We should have learned our lesson then.

But we didn’t.

No, we just kept on driving as if the oil would never stop flowing. And it’s going to kill us if we don’t fix it. The politicians all talk about something called an ‘energy policy’. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen or heard of one. I cannot think of any presidential administration that has publicly announced that … “This is our energy policy…”.

We’ve all heard words bantered around by various politicians over these past thirty or forty years, but nothing with any amount of substance. Certainly nothing that would indicate our desire to wean ourselves off of imported oil, especially from countries that do not like us.


I’ve said this many times that I truthfully believe that there are probably ten or fifteen people in the entire world who have the ability to control the economic destiny of our country. I believe that’s the number of oil ministers in different countries who can make decisions as to how much oil we receive and what it will cost us.

Think about this. The Ford Model ‘T” got better gas mileage than most of the cars and trucks on the road today. Until a few years ago, we had been the world leaders of the automotive industry, why haven’t we been requiring better fuel efficiencies all these years since Henry Ford first made automobiles available to the general public?

The oil companies support the Republican party and the auto industry supports the Democratic party.  How can the ordinary folks come out ahead?  Only in the past year or so has the term… ‘Fuel efficient’ even been mentioned in automobile sales and advertising. Notice the ads on television this evening….some tell you that you can get four hundred miles on one tank of gas. Of course they fail to tell you how big the gas tank is.   Four hundred miles on ten gallons is one thing and quite another on a tank holding thirty gallons.

Why haven’t we as a nation been exploring alternate sources of energy all of these years? The wind farm and solar energy people bounce from pillar to post when their tax credits get reduced or expire altogether. Who wants to be in a business where you aren’t sure if you can pay for the project and are at the whim of a fickle congress? Why haven’t we been promoting better and more efficient energy sources as the years wore on and our oil imports were rising? It appears to me that someone was asleep at the switch.

It doesn’t take a Rhodes Scholar to see that our nation runs on energy and if that energy disappears or is priced out of our reach our entire economy will collapse. When I was in Europe a few weeks ago, I paid about $165 to fill up a rent car. When someone says to me… well, then four dollar a gallon gas isn’t so bad….I tell them the reason the Europeans pay so much is because they don’t have any oil of their own.

We do.

The current hype of the day is to force the oil companies to drill on land they already have leased. That’s wonderful in theory, but who wants to sink fifteen or twenty million bucks (or more) into a lease that can’t produce enough to make it worthwhile? Meanwhile we have proven resources in areas throughout our nation where it is economically feasible to drill.

Why have bans on drilling off the coast of Florida, when the Chinese are punching holes in the ocean like crazy? If we are so concerned over the possibility of an environmental disaster, which country do you think is more progressive when it comes to the environment….China or the United States?

In case you don’t know the answer to this one, watch the news today about what the air looks like at the upcoming Olympics.

There are a lot of people out here a lot smarter than I am, but when the solution to something as important as the need for a firm energy policy is obvious to all of us, shouldn’t the people we elect be able to see the same thing?

Or is this wishful thinking?

Comments go to pperry@austin.rr.com

Posted by hillpehle at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

To: Queen Elizabeth, Queen of England

Re: Household repairs

Dear Queen:

By all current accounts, I know you are in dire straits and in need of some advice on how to come up with the moola (American for dollars) necessary to keep you living in the style you have become accustomed to as well as giving you enough to make some long overdue repairs to your palaces.

We’ve been reading about the fact that some of your residences haven’t been updated in over fifty years. The reports I’ve read say the wiring is bad, the roofs leak and a lot of the rooms need painting and redecorating. One report says that your rooms haven’t been redecorated since your father died, which was sometimes back in the fifties, if I recall correctly.

I am appalled. I am shocked.

Even though you are currently receiving over eighty three million a year to keep up your current lifestyle, in today’s troubled economic times, that just won’t cut it will it? I mean, eighty three million a year just isn’t what it used to be, is it? I was also outraged to find that your annual maintenance budget of thirty million dollars hasn’t been changed in over fifteen years. Obviously the people who oversee your spending haven’t priced yard men lately.

Well, I am the answer to your problems. I am here to help you through these trying times and to get you back on the track to health, wealth and financial stability.


Before I get into how we can pay for all of your much needed repairs, I want to give you a few words of advice.

Warranties.

Since you folks live in those big old houses of yours for centuries at a time, I’d recommend you not even look at any contractor who doesn’t offer you a lifetime warranty. I don’t know who built Buckingham Palace, but if one of your ancestors had gotten a lifetime warranty, you wouldn’t be having this problem with the roof. Same goes for the plumbing. The wiring is a little different since it didn’t come with the house in the first place. Still I would look into some type of extended warranty package, if I were you. Oh, and be sure you get them to install internet service and wireless, the next King will thank you for doing so.

Now about raising money. Take a look at how we get corporate sponsors for racecars in this country. Virtually every inch of their cars have some sort of logo or corporate emblem plastered onto them. The driver as well as the pit crews (the guys who change the tires and put gas in the race car) wear uniforms that have advertising on them as well.

Think about this. How many people look at those guards you have in front of your place every day of the year? All of those tourists from all over the world take pictures and videos and send them back to their friends. I’d slap some internet or dot.com sites on the front of those red jackets or those bearskin helmets and you could be raking in some serious money. I bet Google.com or GoDaddy.com would grab those spots up the day you offered them. Same goes for those mounted cavalry horses. Plenty of places for advertising on those horse blankets. I know you haven’t ever thought of using that big old gold carriage of yours as a way to advertise, but I’d be willing to bet some beer company would pay a pretty penny to have their logo on the doors. Companies like Budweiser and Coca-Cola are constantly looking for ways to get their names out in front of the public. The cars you drive as well as those carriages are a perfect place for their corporate logos.

Think about it.

You’d want to stick with something nice and tasteful such as Nike. I’d shy away from Cialis or Viagra.

Another way for you to bring in some bucks would be to auction off some of your clothes. I’ve never seen you in the same outfit twice and you always wear a hat. You could put those things up for sale on E-Bay and they would fly out the door faster than you could say something like….. “Good golly, King Henry” or something else that rhymes.

I realize you are going on eighty three and probably set in your ways, but why not rent those tennis courts and swimming pools out by the hour? I’d bet there are a lot of folks close to where some of your places are that would love to have a nice quiet place to swim a few laps and lob a few balls. I bet you hardly ever use them anymore yourself.

Well, that’s about all I’ve got at this time, but I’ll write more when I think of some other options. Oh, one more before I forget…..cell phone antennas, big money…put them on your roofs, hardly ever notice them, they bring in lots of cash.

I hope these few words are of service to you. Let me know if you want the names of some good contractors. I can fix you up. They do lifetime warranties.

Comments go to pperry@austin.rr.com

Posted by hillpehle at 07:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Several weeks ago, I wrote an article about the practice of our state legislature using so called ‘ghost’ employees. These, as you may remember, were employees who were carried on the states payroll as full time but actually performed little or no work at all. By having them classified as full time, they were able to receive medical insurance as well as retirement credits.

Well, now we have a new twist coming along to contend with…..ghost voting.

That’s right, ghost voting. Now that doesn’t mean that we have ghosts voting in the legislature of this state, it means that absent members get other members to vote for them. In other words, if I’m out in the lobby or down the hall in the cafeteria when a vote comes up, just reach over and press my button for me…thanks I’ll do the same for you next time you want to be gone.


It seems some enterprising news reporter videoed this taking place and posted the site on You-Tube where it has been seen over a million times. I’d bet that reporter isn’t allowed back in the chambers at any time in the near future. After the video came out several of the lawmakers were interviewed and said that “obviously the public didn’t understand how the legislators actually worked.”

You’re correct, we don’t. We thought when you got elected to office, you sat in either the house or senate and actually listened to what was going on and then made a decision as to which way you wanted to vote. Obviously we were wrong, it doesn’t work like that.

Dumb old us.

An option was proposed to have fingerprint recording devices in several of the common areas so that the lawmakers could be in the lounge or restrooms and still be able to vote. One female lawmaker says even that would be onerous since she wears pantyhose and petticoats and having to vote from a bathroom stall would be inconvenient. Another lawmaker lamented that giving extra time to vote might reduce the legislative workload by as much as one fourth.

Now, we’re talking. I’m for that…..

Of course, once a new solution such as the fingerprint reader gets mentioned, all kinds of objections get thrown up in rebuttal. One was from a member who was concerned if the fingerprint reader would work if they cut their finger. They made the comment that they might cut their finger while cutting onions and that might prevent them from making an important vote. This is probably from one of the legislative members who haven’t cooked anything since TV dinners came out.

I suppose that isn’t fair since they might be able to cut their finger on the cardboard box trying to get it open.

Another house member said she was reluctant to use her fingerprint on anything in the house. She says she doesn’t trust technology. There’s a progressive thinker for you, makes you wonder if they have electricity and indoor plumbing out in her district. Probably not, let’s keep ‘em down on the farm.

Of course the problem for me is that I think the votes should be actually entered by the person making the vote, not someone else. But then, that’s me. Call me crazy, but I think most folks think the same way I do.

Here again we have another example of the classic…do as I say, not as I do…syndrome that seems to be prevalent with our esteemed elected officials. When we, the lowly citizenry, of this country have to go and sign up for our driver’s license, we have to have our fingerprints entered into a system. It has never occurred to me to ask if the system is safe or not, I just go along with the rest of the herd and do what is being asked. Obviously members of the legislature don’t feel the same. They aren’t willing to sit at their desks and be present when votes are taken, and don’t trust any type of technology which could verify their actual presence when a vote was taken. Since votes aren’t recorded by name in this state, are the legislators ashamed to defend their voting records?

Might be something there.

My wife said I was becoming too cynical with my articles. I think she’s correct, but there is so much to be cynical about and so little time. To me your votes should be like a sword…use it wisely and where it will do the most good.

Comments go to pperry@austin.rr.com

Peary Perry

Posted by hillpehle at 06:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have just returned from another trip to Germany and the Netherlands. This time, I did not want to drive myself through the countryside, so I choose to take a train. Let me tell you, those folks know how to do it. The trains are clean, fast and most of all on time. If yours is scheduled to leave at 12:02, then you had better be on the platform waiting with your luggage because the train will leave at 12:02. Not, 12:03, the train will leave at 12:02.

When you are trying to get to smaller towns, you get stuck in various stages of commuter traffic. On one run I noticed that students got on (where the school was located) and rode several miles to get to where ever they lived. I asked them about it and they told me in very good English that they rode the train both to and from school each day.

These were ordinary looking kids, clean cut for the most part, joking and having fun, but serious about their studies and eager to talk. It was evident that they were interested in obtaining a good education so that their lives would be better and they would have more opportunities as an adult.


First off, I was impressed that these kids spoke English. I do not speak German or any foreign language, so they are out in front on that score. Secondly, they did not seem to think school or learning was a bore and should be avoided at all costs. Quite the contrary, they thought an education was necessary for their future. They did not suffer from any visible forms of low self esteem. In fact these kids looked really good.

Now contrast this with our system in the states. At this time we have approximately 30 million illiterate citizens in this country. This is roughly 10% of our total population. You know a large number of them passed through our school system. My question is, how did they graduate if they could not read or write? These people cannot read a prescription, an employment application, or the instructions on how to safely use any of our everyday appliances without causing serious bodily harm to themselves. I was thinking about this being dangerous this past weekend when I was trying to fix my gas barbeque grill. I can imagine what might happen if you could not read how to properly install the propane tank and get the burners to operate correctly. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

No, what we have done to a lot of our young folks in this country is to make education a four letter word. We have bent over backwards to save the child from some form of emotional scarring that we created educational cripples. We have been telling our kids that it’s ok to believe two and two are five, if that makes you feel good about yourself. I can tell you that those kids on the train knew that two and two added up to…..and it wasn’t five.

No, we have been focused on promoting our kids through the system so they don’t have any sense of learning deficiencies and then turning them out into a world that does not tolerate stupidity. I am saddened by the ‘man on the street’ interviews which late night talk show host seem to think are funny. I think it is tragic that a large segment of our society cannot identify the leaders of this country or what the pressing political and economic issues affecting all of us are in today’s world. It isn’t funny, it’s very sad.

By not placing an emphasis on the importance of an education, we are falling further and further behind kids in other parts of the world. Trying to eliminate competition in school games by not keeping score is no way to prepare our youngsters for the rigors of the modern day business world. Not requiring someone to learn the course before being promoted to the next grade is no way to turn out a quality product that is qualified to compete in the world market. Fifty years ago, you might have been able to get by...living in a small town where it didn’t matter if you could read or write, but with today’s global economy you need to read, write and do math or you’ll be stuck with a job vocabulary that includes phrases such as … “ You want to supersize that?”

Our national do-gooders who cry out that the government should and will protect all of our innocent children from the ravages of a competitive society should get out of their ivory towers and look around the world. They aren’t going to like the view.

But then I don’t expect them to change anything, this is their idea in the first place. The dumbing down of America, start to love it, because it will be with us for a long, long time.

Comments go to pperry@austin.rr.com

Peary Perry

Posted by hillpehle at 06:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)