Buzzed
 Early
last week I had a nice young man knock on the door.
He was stumping for a local electric provider, looking
for
people who might want a better deal on the price of
energy. That's how we do it here in Texas.
As it so
happens I had a beef or two with my current provider
so I said,
yeah,
come
back
tomorrow
and I'll
have all the information ready.
The next day I answer the door and this time there
are two representatives of the energy provider,
a
different young man and an attractive
young woman. They say the nice young man I met yesterday
was "working another block". I understand they've sent
in the shock troops but I say "what the heck" and decide
to just get this over
with as painlessly as possible.
It was comical. The fetching young lass's only job
was to say nothing but write everything down, difficult
things like my name and phone number. She
positioned herself
so I that had to stare down her cleavage as she took
notes. Nice but fruitless.
As it turns out the big problem was that their energy
plan was the infuriating kind that actually encourages
people to use more electricity. Under their plan you
have to
pay
an extra monthly fee until you use more than 1000
kilowatts a month. But I have
never,
even
in the hottest Texas summer, used
more than 800. If anything we should pay more on a
sliding scale, especially for the use of energy resources.
But I digress.
Evidently I was supposed to be so mesmerized
by the young lady's bodacious tata's that I wouldn't
notice that little contractural detail. I did and
hastily
bid them
adieu.
I'm sure a lot of other people fall for this kind of
plan because Americans have this ludicrous idea that
the more
of one thing that we buy
the cheaper
it
should
be.
But
you know
what
that
really
gets you? A Walmart on every corner. The company uses
its massive buying power to force vendors to lower
their wholesale cost
on goods, strictly for Walmart's benefit, sometimes
even bankrupting some of these vendors (They screwed,
blued, and tattooed Rubbmaid some years ago.) Lower
prices for you and me sounds great until your local
Walmart
is the only game in your small town, then they jack
up their prices and dare you to shop elsewhere. It
happens.
Will we ever stop this practice? No. Everyone wants
a deal, even if it means screwing ourselves in the
long run.
=Lefty=
----------------
Note 1: If Trayvon
Martin had been white, and George Zimmerman were black
Note 2: This week This American
Life offered a stunning portrayal of how the lobbying
system works in practice. It's available on iTunes
now.
Note 3: I'll never forget the order
of the planets again.
Note 4: Guy bolts an electric
model airplane engine to his bike and streaks
away at 65mph. I want one!
Note 5: A small music college performs South
Park, the Musical, and total awesomeness ensues. Be
sure and watch the other sections from the show.
Note 6: Say "Hello!" to Rick
Santorum!
------------
And now our Chart of the
Day: How
much more do women pay for health insurance, before
and after the Affordable Helath Care Act? From Mother
Jones.
Slightly
more massive
version
available here.
------------
Republican Job Creation Update
 4-2-2012: The
House vacated the premises early last Friday and
won't be back in session until the 16th of April.
No jobs will be created.
------------
Fox News Lies. Dump
Fox News
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Fox News alter
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