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Jan. 30th, 2006
Money, Money, Money
Jan. 30th, 2006 11:17 amSo oil and power companies are making record profits while 2.3 million people in this country can't afford to heat their homes this winter. The price-jacking has got to stop. It's ridiculous; the steep climb in prices was blamed on shortage from problems associated with Rita, Katrina, the war with Iraq and the fire in Hemel Hempstead. And yet some people who already have more money than they could spend in a lifetime are getting even richer (watch the bonuses fly in Exxon Mobil and the others) while others freeze to death in their own homes. I'm not exactly a communist, but there comes a point at which "take what you can and screw the rest" just doesn't work anymore. Older people on insufficient public pensions are going to die this winter for the crime of believing that the country they served so well would take care of them, and because some bods in the oil industry want to make hay while the sun shines.
Speaking of things that many of us pay one-tenth of our income towards, let's talk about public transport. The prices have been jacked there too, again and again and again. Yet I read in the paper that they want to shut down a lot of outlying rural-ish train stations due to insufficient funding to support those stations. BULLSHIT! I have yet to see any reasonable state of improvement in any public transport system since last year's triple price-jack, so that's not where the money's going. Transport bods won't negotiate with the Tube drivers, so the money's not going there either. They won't fix anything on the Tube or train (signal failure, weakening tracks, you name it) unless it looks like fatalities may soon be involved, and sometimes not even then. Honestly, the Central Line blacked out completely on Thursday, for no given reason; the Northern Line went entirely to hell for two consecutive days over the weekend, the Piccadilly Line's been having serious problems, and it all keeps adding up. The trains, buses and Underground are, as a unit, becoming increasingly more fucked, and it can't be for lack of money; a 4% increase in fares belies the whole damn thing. And yet they're talking about closing down train stations upon which people in more isolated communities really rely because they want to divert the money to places it's needed more. Like London. With its Congestion Charge, hiked bus fares, hiked Tube fares, hiked train fares and civic subsidies. Watch the LU and other public transport bods get even bigger bonuses this year.
And Mr Hughes is pretty well out of the running for Lib Dem leadership because he lied to the press about being bi. If he'd lied in court about being bi, I'd understand the public's reaction a little better. I mean, that whole Zippergate mess Clinton got himself into a few years back wouldn't have bothered me if it hadn't been for the whole perjury thing. I don't care who or even what politicians are screwing in their spare time. And I certainly don't care if they lie to the media about it. I don't need to know whether Hughes prefers cheeks or fur or a little of each for his bedroom fun and games. It doesn't have any bearing on how he does his job. It's actually none of my business. If he wants to lie to the press about his sex life, let him. It's when he gets caught in a lie about his platform and campaign promises that people should worry. I don't think one equates to the other because one's his personal life and one's not. But I suppose it's not an issue anymore because all of a sudden, people are withdrawing their support. What the hell kind of message is that to send out to your politicians and your community? That it's okay to be gay, just don't admit it? That telling a truth that others might not approve of while running for office is a bad idea? That dishonesty is the best policy? That the media deserve to know everything about people, including things that are nobody's business but the individual's? Why does anyone even care? He turned around and gave the people honesty; he faced the music, and all that's happening is that he's getting slapped for it. That's nice, England. Real nice.
And someone needs to strap George Galloway to the Millennium Eyesore wearing nothing but a fluffy hot pink thong. He'd probably enjoy the attention.
Speaking of things that many of us pay one-tenth of our income towards, let's talk about public transport. The prices have been jacked there too, again and again and again. Yet I read in the paper that they want to shut down a lot of outlying rural-ish train stations due to insufficient funding to support those stations. BULLSHIT! I have yet to see any reasonable state of improvement in any public transport system since last year's triple price-jack, so that's not where the money's going. Transport bods won't negotiate with the Tube drivers, so the money's not going there either. They won't fix anything on the Tube or train (signal failure, weakening tracks, you name it) unless it looks like fatalities may soon be involved, and sometimes not even then. Honestly, the Central Line blacked out completely on Thursday, for no given reason; the Northern Line went entirely to hell for two consecutive days over the weekend, the Piccadilly Line's been having serious problems, and it all keeps adding up. The trains, buses and Underground are, as a unit, becoming increasingly more fucked, and it can't be for lack of money; a 4% increase in fares belies the whole damn thing. And yet they're talking about closing down train stations upon which people in more isolated communities really rely because they want to divert the money to places it's needed more. Like London. With its Congestion Charge, hiked bus fares, hiked Tube fares, hiked train fares and civic subsidies. Watch the LU and other public transport bods get even bigger bonuses this year.
And Mr Hughes is pretty well out of the running for Lib Dem leadership because he lied to the press about being bi. If he'd lied in court about being bi, I'd understand the public's reaction a little better. I mean, that whole Zippergate mess Clinton got himself into a few years back wouldn't have bothered me if it hadn't been for the whole perjury thing. I don't care who or even what politicians are screwing in their spare time. And I certainly don't care if they lie to the media about it. I don't need to know whether Hughes prefers cheeks or fur or a little of each for his bedroom fun and games. It doesn't have any bearing on how he does his job. It's actually none of my business. If he wants to lie to the press about his sex life, let him. It's when he gets caught in a lie about his platform and campaign promises that people should worry. I don't think one equates to the other because one's his personal life and one's not. But I suppose it's not an issue anymore because all of a sudden, people are withdrawing their support. What the hell kind of message is that to send out to your politicians and your community? That it's okay to be gay, just don't admit it? That telling a truth that others might not approve of while running for office is a bad idea? That dishonesty is the best policy? That the media deserve to know everything about people, including things that are nobody's business but the individual's? Why does anyone even care? He turned around and gave the people honesty; he faced the music, and all that's happening is that he's getting slapped for it. That's nice, England. Real nice.
And someone needs to strap George Galloway to the Millennium Eyesore wearing nothing but a fluffy hot pink thong. He'd probably enjoy the attention.