From the Your Tax Dollars Hard At Work Files comes yet another example of bad accounting when it comes to the government - especially the New York State government.

The New York Racing Association announced this week it’s closer to emerging from bankruptcy. NYRA holds the state’s franchise to run thoroughbred racing at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga. The group said a federal judge approved its amended plan to pay back creditors. Just how will they pay the creditors back? Through a $150 million dollar state bailout! That’s right folks, the horse gambling industry in New York State was having money problems, so the New York State government decided to kick in $150 million dollars of taxpayers money to bail out an organization that encourages those with gambling addictions.

Did they have nothing better to do with the money? Hey, lets not forget this is the same state government that doesn’t even know how to balance a budget. When will the madness stop? When will someone step up and question such stupid spending. Of course this announcement comes at the same time New York State government is pondering suspending the gas tax in order to bring the price of gas down. But, some in this same government that so freely hands out money to help bail out a gambling organization are worried that suspending the fuel tax could create a hole in state finances.

I’ve got news for those in Albany, suspending the gas tax is the least of your worries when it comes to creating holes in your spending plan.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Once again Kyle Busch, the driver of the 18 M&M’s car in NASCAR, has proven he does not know how to race. Everyone thinks he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, but reality is this. He does not know how to race. He’s a wreck waiting to happen everytime he climbs into the seat of a race car. It doesn’t matter if it’s a car, or a truck, he’s always one stupid move away from taking out half the field. Which, by the way, he has done many times.

Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 in Talladega serves as yet another example of the fact Kyle Busch does not know how to drive. There’s a saying in racing — Rubbins’ racing. In other words, many racers rub up against one another with their cars to move the other guy out of the way. But, for Kyle Busch, all he knows how to do is block. In other words, he erratically swerves all over the race track blocking people behind him who are trying to make a pass. That’s not racing, that’s an accident waiting to happen. On Sunday, true to form, Jeff Gordon and others were coming up behind Busch, who happened to be in the lead at the time, going 200 miles an hour. It was obvious they were going faster than Busch. But, what does Busch do, He decides to swerve all over the track blocking those behind him, causing them to slam on their brakes to avoid a major crash.

Again, that’s not racing. It’s simply stupid driving by a young kid who needs to be parked before he kills someone on the track. Making matters even worse, his owner, Joe Gibbs, thinks it’s great. That’s sad, I thought Joe Gibbs knew better.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

So, just how does one turn $40 into $400,000? The answer — do business with the City of Rochester, New York.

In the continuing saga known as the Fast Ferry business venture, which went down about as fast as the Titanic on open water, Maplestar, the company that ran the business into the ground and cost Rochester and New York State taxpayers millions of dollars, made yet another sweetheart of a deal with Rochester this week. Initially when the failed ferry service between Rochester, New York and Toronto, Ontario Canada got underway, Maplestar signed what everyone called a sweetheart of a deal with the city of Rochester. Take possession of the terminal at the Port of Rochester, have no costs for upkeep as Rochester will take care of all of that, and pay just a dollar a year, for 40 years. Wow! What a deal! A brand new building, no upkeep costs, and pay just a buck a year. Oh yes, Maplestar also collected any and all income from the terminal. In other words, Rochester reaped absolutly no financial benefit from the terminal!

When the ferry service went under, Maplestar held onto the lease. Once again, that’s pretty cool. Be the company that cost the City of Rochester millions of dollars, lose the fast ferry, but still keep the terminal for just a buck a year. This week that all changed though as the City of Rochester has taken possession of the terminal. How did they do this? They agreed to pay out the lease agreement with Maplestar. Now it doesn’t take a math genius to figure out if you’re going to buy out a lease deal that’s set at a dollar a year for 40 years, that means the buyout should be around $40. Right? Isn’t that how the math works?

Apparently not in Rochester!

Instead, the City of Rochester, which means the taxpayers of Rochester, will pay Maplestar $400,000 to get the lease and the building back. Wow! $40 dollars has turned into $400 thousand dollars!

It must be that new math.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

It is no secret that gas prices keep going up, and up, and up, and up. Of course many government officials are trying to figure out how to bring the gas prices down and I’ve already addressed that issue in earlier blogs. Today I want to applaud some lawmakers, and also point out some flawed thinking of others.

First, lets give a round of applause to lawmakers who are trying to bring the prices down. Many are suggesting a suspension of gas taxes on both the federal and state levels. In New York State, Senator Joe Robach is the latest to call for such a suspension. The Senator is calling on New York State Governor David Patterson to suspend the state gas tax from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Senator Robach said such a suspension would take 33 cents off the current price of gas. Then, you link that with the seven cents of sales tax that’s already capped, consumers would instantly see a 40 cent savings at the pump. The Senator went on to say, “It will be immediate relief as the average car with an 18 gallon gas tank would save $7.20 on each fill up.”

I say, bring it on! That extra 7 bucks will be better spent by me than by the government.

Now, lets address some flawed thinking here.

Some are concerned that cutting the government tax portion of gas sales will effect how the government balances their books. They fear cutting taxes will mean less money for the government, and then they won’t be able to make ends meet. First off, when was the last time the government made ends meet? If normal people balanced their household budgets like the government balances their budget, power would be cut off, cars taken back and homes foreclosed on. Isn’t it amazing how that’s already going on, but even though the government has no clue on how to balance their books, no one puts them out of their homes.

Secondly, the only way cutting the gas tax could effect expected government revenue to make a budget work, is if government leaders were already in bed with the oil companies when making a budget. (Of course that may not be too far off the mark.) Lets think this through for a moment. The government sets the budget on projected income. However, unless they were in on the recent record breaking gas price mark up, there’s no way they could have planned for an unexpected winfall of income from gas tax money. In other words, unless government officials worked the budget with a projected gas tax on a $4 dollar, (or more) gallon of gas, they’re not losing out and do not have to fear a cut of the tax, cutting into their expected income.

Is the government effecting the high gas prices we’re seeing right now? To a certain extent yes, but it has nothing to do with the thought of lost revenue to make their budgets work. For some time now the federal government has stockpiled oil for future shortages. As a result, as they buy up oil to put away for a rainy day, the price of oil continues to go up because suddenly there’s a stockpile that’s not on the market. Could it be this line of thinking needs to head back to the drawing board? Maybe.

Whatever the case may be, we the consumer, are feeling the pinch at the pumps each and every day. But now the pinch is not only felt at the pumps, now we’re feeling it at the grocery store and pretty much every other aspect of life we can think of. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, it’s time to regulate the monopoly known as big oil companies and realize the only ones laughing all the way to the bank, are those lining their pockets at the top of the big oil companies. Could this be likened to an Enron scandal? Just a thought to make you say…”Hmmmmmm…”

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

A couple interesting news stories rise to the top of the pile for today I thought I would comment on here.

1) Senator Clinton Threatens to “Obliterate” Iran
In a recent interview on ABC’s Good Morning America Senator Hillary Clinton said she would do whatever is necessary as President to prevent Iran from threatening Israel with nuclear weapons. Leaving no doubt how she would react, the Presidential hopeful said - quote - “In the next 10 years, during which Iran might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them.”

Ouch! Obliterate is a pretty strong word don’t you think. This comes from one of the Democratic Senators who’s been all over President Bush for having U.S. troops in Iraq as we fight terrorism. Let’s not forget, the terrorists attacked New York City on 9-11. Isn’t New York State the very state the good Senator Clinton represents? Hmmmm, I guess she’s more concerned about Israel’s safety than the safety of her own people here in the United States.

2) Gas Prices High - Government Takes Aim At Automakers
It’s no secret that gas prices hit new record high prices pretty much everyday. Something needs to be done. Congress had a sit down with the rich oil company execs who are making money left right and center, but still say gas prices need to keep going up. I guess they want more money in their pockets.

So, what does the government decide to do in the midst of all of this? Instead of taking on the price gouging oil companies, they instead take aim at car manufacturers. That’s right. Instead of telling the oil execs to cut it out, the government has told car manufacturers they need to start producing cars that get 36 miles to the gallon and trucks that get 29 miles to the gallon by the year 2015. Now first off I want to say I’m not against more gas efficient vehicles. But, this seems a little silly as government officials say they demanding the car manufacturers to make the changes because of high gas prices.

What a minute. Here’s an idea, lets go after the people who are driving the cost of gas up, not the people who are making the cars.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

From time to time there are huge benefits of getting up at 3:30 in the morning. When the nice weather arrives, I get to enjoy some wonderful afternoons since I finish work at 12noon. Of course I also see some great sunrise moments too. But, today was especially nice.

While watching the evening news last night Meteorologist Scott Hetsko from WROC in Rochester, New York mentioned the Lyrid Meteor shower. Every year around this time Earth passes through the tail of Comet Thatcher resulting in a meteor shower, known as the Lyrids. This year the best time to view the shower was this morning, April 22nd, between about 3:30 to 5:30am. Guess what? I happen to arrive at the radio station weekday mornings around 4am!

When I arrived at the station I decided to lean against my car for a few moments and look toward the moon to see if I might catch a glimpse of any Lyrids. My time was not wasted as I soon caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a shooting star, but it was like no other shooting star I’ve ever seen before. Instead I saw what looked like a ball of fire with a long sparkling tail. What an amazing sight! I couldn’t believe my eyes and I must admit it took me back to my college Astronomy class when I looked toward the sky to identify various star clusters. The star people said 3 to 10 meteors per hour were expected during this years Lyrid Meteor Shower. I’m glad I took a few moments out of my morning to pause and look toward the sky to catch the glimpse of one of those Lyrids flying through the sky.

In the words of Spock — Fascinating.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Another weekend has come and gone and that means it’s time to look over some weekend sports blunders.

1) NBC Hockey
When will these guys get it right! Okay, they’ve figured out how to fix the white balance so you’re no longer blinded by the bright white ice. You can actually see the players and you can also see the lines on the ice. However, for whatever reason, the NBC control room audio guys must all be deaf. Once again I tried watching the Red Wings game, but had to turn it off because the noise of the crowd drowned out the announcers calling the game. Come on guys, it’s the play-offs and now they’re almost done. Hello NBC execs — do you think you can get your sound guys to figure out the play-by-play announcers are more important than the roar of the crowd?

2) Danica Patrick
Okay, so it took her 50 races, but she finally made it to Victory Circle. Danica Patrick won her first IRL race over the weekend in Japan. But, while Tom Hanks declared — “There’s no crying in baseball” — someone should tell Danica — “There’s no crying in racing!”

3) NASCAR Should Have “Parked” Kyle Busch
The new wonder-boy of NASCAR is at it again. For years I’ve said Kyle Busch is not a good driver. Everyone thinks he is, but in reality, he’s nothing more than a pimpled-face kid who knows how to mash the gas, but that’s about it. Why am I picking on him today? It’s because of something he said during the Nationwide race in Mexico. Scott Pruett led most of the race and in the closing laps Kyle Busch was in second. Busch, who doesn’t know how to race clean keyed his radio and told his crew — “I’m getting tired of Pruett. I’m going to spin him out into the wall so I can take the lead and win.” At that point NASCAR officials should have keyed their radio and said — “Okay Kyle Busch, it’s time to park your car.” But, they didn’t. They just let their wonder-boy drive. Come on NASCAR. When a driver says he’s going to use his car as a weapon, it’s time to park him.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Late for work? Looking for a good excuse? Then read on, maybe you’ll find something here that will work for you. CareerBuilder.com did a survey and they found nearly one in four U.S. workers have made up fake excuses for arriving late to work.

Some of the more inventive excuses include;

1. While rowing across the river to work, I got lost in the fog.
2. Someone stole all my daffodils.
3. I had to go audition for American Idol.
4. My ex-husband stole my car so I couldn’t drive to work.
5. My route was shut down by a presidential motorcade.
6. I wasn’t thinking and accidentally went to my old job.
7. I was indicted for securities fraud this morning.
8. The line was too long at Starbucks.
9. I was trying to get my gun back from the police.
10. I didn’t have money for gas because all of the pawn shops were closed.

Have a great day at work!
Dr. Rus

Have you noticed how many words are going through a transformation of definitions which have no connection with the original definition at all? In this PC world we live in, it seems people randomly redefine words so the meaning is twisted to fit a situation which has no connection to the definition of the word at all. In the end, this is nothing more than another example of situation ethics. If you don’t like the situation you’re in, simply use a word and twist the meaning so it fits your situation.

Over the past week I’ve noticed such a transformation with the word prejudice. It started with a casual conversation with my son who’s working on a high school paper. He said he’s writing about prejudice. I of course thought he was going to look at a civil rights issue. But no, such is not the case. Instead, he went on to spin out his thesis for the paper saying he’s writing about the prejudice people with body piercing face. Umm, excuse? Body pierced people facing prejudice? What a minute. That’s a choice people make and if they don’t want to be presentable in the world, then it’s their choice to look like some kind of pin cushion full of holes and hunks of metal. My son went on to say people with body piercings face prejudicial situations when they’re denied jobs and other things like that. No, that’s not prejudice. That’s common sense, and again, it’s their choice to look like what they look like.

Now some of the people involved in the polygamy colony are claiming prejudice in the way they’re being dealt with. Hold it! Prejudice? No I don’t think so. Of course the people are complaining about the way they’re being treated. They don’t like the fact they’re being treated like criminals. Instead, they’re saying it’s because the world is prejudice toward them and don’t understand them. Umm, no, that’s not the case at all. The fact of the matter is, polygamy is against the law, and therefore you are criminals. There’s no prejudicial mindset there.

Let’s recap for a moment here. Just what does the word prejudice mean? Webster’s defines the word as; 1: Injury or damage resulting from some judgment or action of another in disregard of one’s rights; especially, detriment to one’s legal rights or claims; 2a1: Preconceived judgment or opinion; 2: An adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before suffcient knowledge; b: An instance of such judgment or opinion; c: An irrational attitude of hostility directed against an indivual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics.

Again, let’s recap here; Those with body-piercing have made a concious choice of their own to make their bodies pin cushions. To say people are prejudice toward them because of a choice they made, does not fit the definition. Secondly, the polygamist have broken the law. It is against the law to have more than one wife. So, for those in the polygamist colony to now say they’re not criminals, and instead are facing a prejudicial mindset from others, is simply not the case. You broke the law, there’s no prejudice mindset at all.

It’s time to stop the situational ethics mindset, and discover what words really mean before we toss them around just to make people feel sorry for us.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

So, how will he back out of this one? Just who will he throw under the bus as he does another one of his political two-step dances trying to explain away his own lack of faith basis?

If you haven’t heard yet, Senator Obama is back at it again as controversy swirls around yet another religion comment. First it was his connection with a man he calls his mentor, Rev. Wright. Now the Senator said over the weekend that the only thing the bitter people in Smalltown USA have is faith and religion. In other words, the only people who need religion and faith, are bitter people. Of course Senator Obama was quickly called to task on this. Then he tried to explain it away by saying what he meant to say is the only people who need faith are people facing hard times and are bitter.

In other words, it appears in Senator Obama’s world, religion and faith is nothing more than a crutch. He went on to say that “religion is a bullwork and foundation only needed when things aren’t going well.”

Hmmmm, isn’t that interesting. Maybe the Senator, who does claim to be a religious man, needs to spend some time in Jeremiah where we’re told “God has plans to prosper us, not harm us, giving us hope for the future.” Or how about Paul who tells us time and time again that “hope does not disappoint.” But wait a minute, I thought Senator Obama was running on a platform of hope. Maybe in his world he’s the only one with hope.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus