Words to Live By

Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid it will never begin.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

How Many Vehicles???

Today's required reading can be found here. Go ahead and read it, you'll be astounded. I know I was. Here are a few of my favorite highlights:
  • "At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, fuel consumption and inventory are down, yet overall costs have increased significantly. Officials there can't figure out why." WTF? Don't they keep records? This is our money they're spending!
  • "The Interior Department was told by its own watchdog that it should cut its inventory, but it's added hundreds of vehicles." Why bother having a watchdog if you summarily dismiss it??
  • "The VA has some cars that are barely driven. One just disappeared." WTF happened to it? Did it get lost, stolen, lost it's way on the way to the fuel pump?

More than 642,000 vehicles, and operating them cost you and me more than 3.2 billion, yes that's billion with a 'B' folks! What the hell is going on? I also find it disgusting that Transportation Secretary Mary Peters needs two drivers whose salaries totaled more than $128,000 last year! WTF? For those of you that don't know, Mary Peters rides a motorcycle. That being said, she is NOT a biker's friend. Mary wants to cut spending on motorcycle safety training and awareness programs, and divert that spending to push for mandatd helmet-use. That's right, Mary Peters is the big brother that we need to look out for! She wants to take part of our freedom away. Here's a blog about it.

And the rumor is she's planning to run for governor of Arizona in 2010. We do not need a helmet-nazi that needs two drivers! Get on your bike and ride, Mary!

Sorry, I get passionate about Mary. Can't stand the bitch.

Back to the issue at hand, gross government misconduct and spending OUR money willy-nilly. I am absolutely bewildered, and maybe I shouldn't be. I know that government spending has been handled badly since day 1, but don't people get angry? Are we that passive now, that we just sit at home, shaking our heads at the news anchor? We should be screaming and shaking our fists and doing something about it, shouldn't we?

Understand that I am not a political analyst, I really don't know too much about politics, but I do know that I'm angry and disgusted with our government. I don't have the answers...this is just food for thought.

And please note: the spending figures in the required reading article were for last year, BEFORE gas was $4-something/gallon. What the hell is our cost this year?

25 comments:

Mike said...

I think we need to hire someone to watch our government closely. Those people we elect are all criminals.

Jinjer said...

Mary sounds like a bitch and if you hate her, I hate her!

Paula said...

What disturbs me is that I'm no longer surprised to hear about these kinds of gross expenditures. I just assume all gov't spending is crazy and I'm waiting to be surprised by good one!

Paula said...

PS...noticed the Feedjit, isn't it kinda cool?!

And the new profile pic! I barely recognized you! Where ever you were, looks pretty.

Ann said...

Mike: yes they're defintely all criminals. We're in trouble.

Jinjer: She is a bitch and I'm glad you hate her, too!

Paula: that was part of my point...we're no longer surprised by this! WTF??
And, thanks for the compliment...the profile pic was taken in Parker, AZ last year on our 10th anniversary road trip. That's the Colorado River in the background.

Dean "D-Day" said...

I am extremely involved in politics and have even run for some local offices before. The state of our current government is disgraceful. Mind you, I'm not talking about Bush or any certain party. Over the years I've seen both sides become more currupt, more greedy, more power-hungry and care less about the people. It's gotten to the point where it doesn't really matter which party you vote for. Both sides have their money-backers which they have to give favors to and less is done for the common man which is the majority of us. The Constitution seems to matter less and less and keeps getting perverted into something that our founders never intended it to be.

There's a growing movement in this country of people who are fed up with this crap. Fed up with having to choose the lesser of two evils when it comes to candidates. This November may be the first time in a long time where we'll actually have a third candidate on the ballots in all 50 states.

Sorry, I know your post was about the Dept. of Transportation and the helmet-Nazi Mary Peters but I got on a roll.

Ann said...

Dean, I appreciate your comment and your thoughts. As I said, I don't know much about politics, but I'm very happy to hear there may be a third candidate on the ballot in November. Can you please email me with some information on this? I'd appreciate it.

Like I said, we can't just sit around and take it anymore...we're paying these morons to screw us!

Thanks!

Dean "D-Day" said...

Ann (and other interested fed up Americans)-

His name is Bob Barr. His website is www.bobbarr2008.com. He was a Congressman for several years until he got fed up and disgusted with the same things as the rest of us.

Ann said...

Thanks, Dean. I just took a quick look at the website and it looks very interesting. I will check it out after my job-searching for the day is complete. :)

Dean "D-Day" said...

No problem.
I know that a lot of folks will say that "he doesn't stand a chance" or "you're throwing your vote away". I think that you're throwing your vote away if you don't stand up, voice your opposition and just vote one of the usual morons into office. And yes, a third-party candidate will never stand a chance until we actually start voting for them instead of just the lesser of the two evils.

Ann said...

I couldn't agree more! That's why I voted for Ross Perot. How ironic that I ended up working for him all these years later.

Veronnica said...

Because it really doesn't matter. We, the little people, can't do anything about it anyway. If they won't listen to their own watchdog, you think they will listen to us? It's all crap! BTW, I need to get my voter card back from you one of these days! LOL!

Veronnica said...

36 have been accused of spousal abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad checks
117 have directly or indirectly
bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71, repeat 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
8 have been arrested for shoplifting
21 currently are defendants in lawsuits, and
84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is?

it's the 435 members of the United States House of Representatives!

FLHX_Dave said...

Hahahahah! Whew! People are just people aren't they. You know why these folks get away with all this crap? It all goes back to the age old issue, "It's somebody else's problem" mentality.

Just posting this Ann is doing more good than you know. We are so wrapped up and distracted by what we think we should be that these people run rampant all around us, in broad daylight, right in front of us and we can't even see it because we are so preoccupied running the rat wheel.

You give someone 10 million dollars and they will find a way to spend it. Give them less and they make do somehow.

Shit, I am going to have to make a friend in the Senate. That vehicle pool could use one Harley Street Glide added to it. "Driving Miss Mary". Hell, I could do that for $128,000 a year! I would save Mary a bunch of money in fuel costs and toughen her up by making her ride bitch. (Don't worry Ann, I would leave the sissy bar off the bike and punch the throttle often.)

Ann said...

Wooo-hoooooo! Thanks Dave! You totally rock!

Anonymous said...

Oh please! Your combined iq doesn't equal the rim size on one of your bikes.

Grasshopper

Dean "D-Day" said...

OOPS!! I just realized that I didn't have yours or Big D's blog listed on mine. Sorry for the oversight and you've been added.

Ann said...

Grasshopper: grow a set of balls.

Dean: Thanks.

do you think you have it? said...

way to call out grasshopper there :) ...don't you love how brave people are when they're behind that anonymous name?

as for the actual post, it seems like we're screwed no matter what with spending, since obama will surely be no help there, and even with a republican in office, it's gone through the roof.

One Harley Rider said...

Wow! Someone else who shares my passion of Stupidity in Government. They are not responsible because we keep voting the same ones back in.

"Joker" said...

If you think what you've read about is shocking, it's nothing compared to what I saw in the military. The waste of money there is beyond measure.

If any of you saw "Raiders of the Lost Ark," you may recall the scene at the end where the Ark is crated up and wheeled into an immense and seemingly "bottomless" warehouse. You know what? They weren't so far off.

I don't know if the Ark of the Covenant is in there or not, but I did two summer stints at the New Cumberland Army Depot in PA and there are dozens of warehouses like that there. They go on for miles. Going inside one of them makes you feel as if you'd been swallowed up whole. They go back so far, you can't see from one end to the other, your view just fades to a "vanishing point."

They have everything from seatbelt buckles and seat cushions for a Vietman era Huey Helicopter to olive drab skivvies stored in these places. There are also underground bunkers. Some of the warehouses are also "secure." Those are the ones with the weapons and ammo in them. Bear in mind this is only one such base. There are more all over the country, stocked with literally billions of dollars worth of crap - half of which will probably still be on shelves there when we're all long gone.

To have seen it face to face was something I'll never forget. If the Goverment held even one yard sale, there'd be no more deficit. Oh, and Ann, you're from the Cape. Ever been on Otis? Talk about a waste of prime real-estate!

Ann said...

Joker, I've heard many such stories of Military waste...Big D's family is almost all military, and he used to deliver 'classified' and 'secret' loads for the military when he was over the road. He's seen many of those warehouses and bunkers all over the country. It's a disgusting amount of waste, I agree.

And yes, I actually visit Otis every time I go home, as my Dad is buried there. And while I do agree it's a waste of great real estate, Otis has had a special place in my heart since January of '05. Every time I go, I sit by Dad's marker, and drink a beer with him. Just like the old days. :)

"Joker" said...

I'm sure you realize I was not including the Cemetery in the waste of real estate - it's the rest of the place!

That's a great way to visit your Dad! My Dad really wasn't a drinker, so I have to have 2. One for me, and one for him.

Ann said...

I knew what you meant, and I agree...

Yeah,I do miss having a beer with the old man every once in a while.

Way to go, Joker...if my Dad didn't drink, I'd have 2, too! :)

Queen B said...

holy cow, a comment or two here already! this is what I get for being a bad commenter for a week or two ;)

Yeah, this is nuts. I think our transportation officials should maybe uh, actually drive themselves? How you can be an expert on something if you don't do it?!

LOL, I think the watchdog just watches them accumulate more! what a job...