Sometimes when I'm working out I'll tune in a religious broadcasting station or a conservative talk show. Never fails to get my blood pressure up, makes things easier. And every once in a while I hear something good.

I'm aware there is NOTHING which will take away their Cadillacs and SUVs. When gas prices rise, or there's a proposed limitation of emissions, there is wailing and gnashing which would put the NRA to shame. Those conservatives have worked all their lives for those cars, the kids are gone, and now what they've worked for is going to be taken away, life will have NO meaning. I don't know if it's more humorous or pathetic.

I used to have a retired, fundamental Christian USA (Armor) colonel for a neighbor until he died. He and his wife had older Cadillacs, bigger Cadillacs, and when he needed a new car, he found a big, older Cadillac. The new ones were too small. The keys had to be pried from his cold, dead hand. Typical. (His wife promptly sold them both, bought a Mercedes.)

The freeway system was subsidized and build by Eisenhower as a civil defense measure. The overpasses were to be a minimum height to accommodate truck carrying missiles.

As far as the price of gas goes, oil prices will be allowed to rise under Bush, may not under other administrations. As a matter of fact, gas prices were skyrocketing, and Bush was saying there was nothing to do - "designer" gas, lack of refining capacity, lack of oil were all conspiring to drive the prices up, and there was no relief in sight. None. Not for the foreseeable future.

Then Jeffers became an independent. The Senate was able to convene an investigation, and miraculously gas prices dropped. A lot. Refining capacity was found, somewhere, oil somehow arrived at the refineries. Imagine that.

At the same time the Senate was able to start investigations into power prices, and they dropped. It developed the producers were gouging California, and all at once there was plenty of power. And then Enron went under. Some us know that GWBs assistance to Kenny-boy was the Cheney energy policy and not doing anything about the gouging, and even that couldn't do it.

Just after Jeffers left the Republican party and the Senate could convene an investigation. Not, as I said, coincidence.

But I don't think most regimes will let that happen. Bush the First went to war to keep oil prices down, despite the statement "it's not about oil, it's about preserving democracy in Kuwait". So help me, that's what he said. On national TV. Equivalent to "I did not have sexual relations with that woman". (He also said that, would not answer questions about a female aide. He'd talk about Clinton, in clucking, oblique terms, but got irate and chose the high moral ground for himself.)

I think other administrations will keep the price down if they have to subsidize it. Not even guns gets Americans going like the price of gas.

Bicycles in a rich nation would do a fantastic good. Overweight is a problem, and all the stuff which comes from it. And that will never happen. I just threw that out as a thought.

As a bike rider, I wouldn't particularly like it. There are too many on the road now.

Arf