5000 Miles In Nine Days

We made it home last night. Our whirlwind trip looked something like Idaho-Utah-Colorado-New Mexico-Texas-Louisiana-Mississippi-Arkansas-Missouri-Iowa-South Dakota-Wyoming-Montana- and home.

The cheapest gas along the way was Roswell, New Mexico at 3.34. It was 3.59 virtually everywhere else.

I used to have a hard and fast travel rule. If I could drive there in one day- I would not fly. I can break that rule now that I am retired and I have time. Driving to Louisiana was made possible by the comfortable 40 MPG Hyundai Elantra which is still covered with bugs and road slime as it sits in my driveway.

Beating the airlines out of 1300 bucks and the TSA tax is always nice.

Local governments discovered a way to screw non residents years ago. Since tax weary and vigilant citizens were tired of being taxed to death- politicians came up with local taxes primarily targeting hotels and rentals cars. This way they can gouge the shit out of non citizens- tax payers who don't have the ability to vote because they are non residents. Taxing tourists is the quintessential definition of "taxation without representation." http://www.crcmich.org/Almanac/Taxes/Lodging.htm

Just for shits and giggles- I'm gonna throw in this rental car tax table. http://www.crcmich.org/Almanac/Taxes/carrental.html

State and local taxes are truly out of control. We did not stay any where- where taxes on our hotel room were less than double digits, except Butte, Mt. which checked in at 7%. The high hotel was 16.75% in San Antonio. http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2010/09/20/texas-hotels-more-progressive-san-franciscos Three nights in New Orleans at the Ambassador was supposed to be 267.00. After taxes it was 301.00. (Parking was an extra 28 bucks a day) New Orleans levies a 9.75 tax on everything else. With the items we bought (meals, groceries, and souvenirs) we easily paid over 100 dollars in taxes just in New Orleans.

All of those taxes- oddly enough- cannot be written off on the taxes we file each year. Like gas taxes.

Traveling during this time of the year is gorgeous. Fall colors are beautiful. But it's good to be back home where I can at least avoid paying hotel taxes in lieu of property taxes and sleep in my own bed. Driving 5000 miles in 9 days was probably a little bit more than I care to do anymore. I am sore after being cramped up in a car for all of that time.

I gotta get the car serviced again today. I laugh when the technicians change my oil and rotate the tires two weeks apart. Didn't we just do this car?

Of Course Ryan Won, He Used Reasoning and Facts

Once again, the liberal attack gets personal. Ridicule is the only tactic they have left. I expect more of that modus operandi in Obama v Romney II. It will make Obama look even more desperate.
I stole this from Bob's blog. http://bobagard.blogspot.com/

What Manny Doesn't Know

Wow.

Today I took a cab ride from the Fairgrounds all the way back to Tchoupitolous and Poydras. My cab driver was black which is hardly newsworthy. What is newsworthy is the absolute polarization among voters in this country, especially minorities.

The cabbie, named Manny, hated Romney. But what Manny didn't say- was that Romney was an old, rich, white guy. In New Orleans, the blacks don't really care for old, rich white guys.

I kept my mouth shut. Eventually when Manny questioned me directly- I told the him what I tell everyone. Both candidates suck. I won't vote for either.

Minorities in this country are not colorblind. And no matter how much Obama lies, plays golf, vacations, pays off his cronies with taxpayer funds (green energy concerns gone bankrupt) and ignores the rule of law- minorities will still vote for this man.

That causes conservatives anguish. They don't get it.

Why? It's about mistaken perception. It doesn't matter how big a screw up Obama is- and he is all of that- no black cabbie in New Orleans ever benefitted one little bit from a guy like Romney. Romney is everything they will never be. They resent the class struggle and always being on the losing end. That's the perception guys like Manny, his wife, and his kids have.

How would you like to spend your life kissing some privileged ass?

And if you don't think this election is about class warfare- you have been living under a rock. That's all this election is about. Both sides are gonna square off. Unfortunately, the elite rigged this election long ago. The elite do two things better than any other class of people. They privatize profits and they socialize losses. And they rig elections by selecting your choices. They could care less who gets elected because both candidates were selected by them.

All the elite have to do is create the illusion of choice in elections. That way the entire voting class is co-opted. The voters have no win- but they still believe that they do.

The blacks think this election is about color or more precisely- voting against old whitey. Guys like Manny the cabdriver don't understand. And so here we are, in 2012, still engaged in class warfare and divided by color because Manny thinks Romney is the bigger evil. In fact, he said that  today.

The greatest evil is a corrupt two party system completely controlled and monopolized by the ruling elite. They don't give a shit which one of their two candidates you vote for because they both represent business as usual, status quo. The preservation of wealth, power, and status. That is what this is really all about and both candidates will make sure that continues. It ain't about choices, the economy, resolving the debt, abortion, or any of that other happy horse shit that they will talk about in campaign commercials. That's what guys like Manny don't understand.

Brainiac Robs Bank For One Dollar

You cannot make this shit up.

Here's a guy, for reasons unexplained, that wanted to go to a Federal prison. So he robbed a bank for one dollar. Next time, go in and shoot the shit out of the place like a man. Wussy.

http://news.yahoo.com/police-man-tries-rob-bank-1-prison-bid-154959534.html

I Haven't Had One Good Suicidal Thought In Five Years

That's five years+2 leap days+today. 1828 days ago.

October 9, 2007 started off like so many other days for me. It finished like so many other days too. I went to bed that night having consumed about 1/2 of a bottle of Irish whiskey (Bushmills) and 7 beers. I woke up like I had so many other days that next morning. I was hungover, my eyes burned, and I had one of those headaches in the back of my head that I could feel with every beat of my heart. If you drink like I did- you'll know what I am talking about.

Anger, depression, and a suicidal thought here and there- were working their emotional charms on me. I didn't see a happy ending there. I needed a solution. I found what I needed to find- in New Orleans.

That is why I am here.  I just came to say thanks.

I spent a lot of time writing on Magazine Street back in 2007. Near here. I kind of giggle when I see a bar named after a saint. It conjures up thoughts of naming a bar something like, "Catholic Tavern." If you click on the photo you will also note the anti-Walgreen's sentiment. If I still drank, I could see myself patronizing a place like St. Joe's. 

Right across the street is a Whole Foods. We had lunch there. Kathleen was ecstatic when she found a pizza with a soy based cheese and she modeled a slice.

This looks really good, not sure about the pizza though

  

I catch and eat all of my own food. Here's a fish I caught after I leaped from the pier, grabbed this fish by the tail, and slammed it's head into the dock while a horrified bunch of children watched. I then took it to Whole Foods where I had them preserve it for me until I was ready to eat it. Honest.

Then I ate some of these things. I call them donuts with powdered sugar, the french call them beignets...pronounced ben Yay...I drank some vegetable juice earlier which cancelled out the effects of eating these.

After eating all of this healthy food we went shopping. Here's a hoodie I found at the WalMart in Metairie. It fit me like a glove. Here I am striking an action pose just like I did in my crime fighting days.

In 2007, I could not see my life with or without alcohol. Booze had been my lifelong companion and I had used alcohol to cope with just about everything life threw my way. The funny thing about booze is that if you drink enough of it- sooner or later it has a funny way of turning on you. That's when you need a solution.

I haven't had one good suicidal thought since then.

Finding A Good *Gaurd Dog Ain't As Easy As It Used To Be

Texas has the most beautiful rest area in the world...it ought to be in architectural digest. That is not a mannequin, that was a real woman near the front door.

Check out this interior view of the men's room. What a great place! I wanted to just hang out here for a few hours. It even smelled nice. Maybe Texas will let me put in a shoe shine stand. They are very pro-business.

After leaving Texas we made our assault into Lousyanna... Years ago, I spent a week drinking, smoking, and gambling at Delta Downs Racetrack. Back then DD was just a little racetrack with a few slot machines. After dropping about a million five that week, DD was able to make some vast improvements to their property including building a hotel. I think they recognized me even with my shades on. Shortly after this picture was taken, I went inside and knocked off the casino for 15 bucks. They were watching me like a hawk.

We sped away from the track with all of our loot. I kept an eye on the rearview. About a mile from the racetrack, I saw this sign on some guy's property. I stopped and we got this picture. I've been looking for a good gaurd dog. They are getting hard to find. Maybe this guy raises them. It was good to be back in Louisiana. 

Whew! New Orleans Gets Off the Schnide

We left for New Orleans Saturday. By car.

We made it as far as Santa Fe which was 15 hours in the car. Yesterday we made it to San Antonio.

Texas speed limits on eastern I-10 were 80 MPH. This ain't Oregon. Of course we found some idiot who screwed around with us for about 100 miles. He would pull along side of us, block us when we tried to get around him, speed off and then slow down. About 100 miles worth of that.

I miss being a cop at times. Instant gratification. There is no shortage of assholes in the world and yesterday was a reminder of that.

We should be in New Orleans this afternoon. I scanned the headlines this morning and saw some interesting things but alas, we must get moving.

Thankfully, New Orleans beat San Diego last night and got off the schnide. I am gonna sport some fleur de lis' today and I'll be writing tonite. Maybe some photos of Bourbon Street..