Chelsea's High Dollar Wedding - $8.7 Billion Missing Money, State Department Dead silent on the Matter

by Rev. Ron Rowe

Sept. 2010, VIEW Issue 29: Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet, With charm of earliest birds; pleasant the sun, John Milton wrote. This Article: http://bit.ly/2jmFXJE

When first on this delightful Ojai he spreads his orient beams on herb tree fruit and flower. Henry Thoreau wrote, "In August, the large masses of berries, which, when in flower, had attracted many wild bees, gradually assumed their bright velvety crimson hue, and by their weight again bent down and broke their tender limbs."

With so much media attention on British Petroleum (BP) oil spill, it’s interesting to know oil production is among the most heavily subsidize businesses with tax breaks available at every stage of the exploration and extraction process. Three out of every four lobbyist who represent oil and gas companies previously worked for the government; more than twice the revolving door rate. The oil industry lobbying roster includes 18 former congressmen. BP was getting a tax deduction of $225,000 a day for renting the Deepwater Horizon and drilling rig; that’s the one that exploded!

Is there really global warming? The average worldwide temperature for the first six months of the year, 57.5°F, was the highest since record keeping began in 1880. The previous record was set last year.

Want to know where your tax money goes? About one quarter of the swine flu vaccine purchased by the government during last year’s “outbreak”, 40 million doses at a cost of $260 million, has expired and is now being destroyed.

Incidentally, does anyone in government know what happened to the $8.7 billion missing last year in the Iraq spending frenzy. I noticed the State Department is very silent about the missing money.

A man dressed as Darth Vader, complete with helmet and cape, robbed a bank on Long Island, New York and got away with thousands of dollars. Police warned that he was armed with an automatic pistol, not a light saber.

Speaking of money, not all of us are tightening our wallets. Chelsea Clinton’s wedding last week cost over $5 million, I guess Bill and Hillary paid, oh, and Chelsea’s ring cost $1 million.

Not all good news for the wealthy. The biggest defaulters on mortgages are wealthy people who took out huge loans to buy mansions. Take a drive through Montecito and you will see loads of Sotheby’s “For Sale” signs. They assumed they could sell at a profit alas; it didn’t work out that way. More than one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of $1 million are seriously delinquent.

China is moving up. The U.S., which has been the world’s biggest energy consumer for over 100 years, has been replaced by China. As recently as 2000, U.S. consumption was double that of China, and four of the world’s 10 biggest banks are Chinese. In 2000 none of the top 10 banks were Chinese. To fuel its economic growth for electricity China will mine and burn 50 percent of the coal produced throughout the world.

If you are taking a trip on an airplane, watch out for the extras charged by the airlines. American passenger airlines collected over $1.86 billion in extra fees in the first quarter of 2010.

Movie attendance is at its highest level in years. Many movie houses have raised ticket prices over 5 percent. The ticket price for 3D movies is now $20, even higher in LA and New York; yet movie studios are using inflatable dolls instead of paid extras for crowd scenes. Five hundred dolls were used to simulate a crowd in a scene from Angela Jolie’s movie, Salt.

Last year was the worst ever for newspapers; advertising revenues fell 28 percent, or more than $10 billion from 2008, which at the time was billed as the worst year for newspapers since the great depression.

I noticed the e-book revolution has reached a tipping point. Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos said his company sells more electronic books than hard covers, “It’s astonishing” Bezos said “when you consider we have been selling hard cover books for 15 years, and Kindle book for 33 months.” I still prefer the comfort and joy of sitting back and enjoying a good hard cover book myself.

Hey Freddie Wild, you are an ex. Marine, I thought you chaps were all tough and gung ho? Zachary Snow, a Marine recruit is suing the Marine Corps claiming he suffered heat stroke because he was forced to exercise on a hot summer day. He claims he wasn’t provided with an adequate amount of cool fresh water... any comment?

A German man, Daniele Eberhardt, age 33, loved his girlfriend and wanted to be with her every night. Alas, she was in jail serving a six year sentence for armed robbery. That didn’t deter tomcat Daniele; he broke into the jail to have sex with her. Scaling a 10-foot fence, dodging surveillance cameras he used a skeleton key, made from a spoon, to break into the prison in the town of Bielefeld. He did this every night for four months. He was only caught because other inmates snitched and informed the wardens. They claimed the noise coming from the cell made them jealous. One inmate said it sounded like a bad porno movie. Daniele is now in jail, a different one. I wonder if he can break out as easily as he broke in?

There is Facebook and now for nudist there is a skin book; membership is free. Skinbook.ning.com is a UK-based website that touts itself as the only genuine nudist website. It uses Facebook style member profiles, messages and groups, but unlike Facebook every member is naked. No, I am not a member. If you join please let me know how you like it.

Summer is the time for good chilled white wine’s. Try Rodney Strong 2007 Reserve Chardonnay, $35, it’s big and buttery, aromatic with notes of vanilla, caramel and ripe peaches. Also, Willakenzie Estate Pinot Gris, 2008, about $20. This wine has apple and peach flavors, excellent aftertaste. Inama Vin Soave Classico, 2008, cost $14. This is a deep gold Italian wine, caramel and peach nose plus a big bone structure and a rich toasty flavor.

Time for me to be away and to enjoy a good cool glass of Chardonnay. 

Peace to all living beings on earth

- Rev. Ron Rowe, Ojai

This Story: http://bit.ly/2jmFXJE

SOURCE: Sept. 2010, VIEW Issue 29

RELATED ARTICLE: Wine And Roses, Feb 2010, #23
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