Things that annoy me

I know I've been lax of late, but things have been busy. During my time off from blogging, though, I've been amassing a list of things that annoy me. Actually I had one thing I wanted to rant about, but others popped into my head as I logged in. So:

First, I hate celebrities who think their "fame" qualifies them as experts in other areas. I could write a book on this topic, but a newspaper story from last week particularly irked me. Greg Biffle, a fairly prominent NASCAR driver, was in Decatur last week on a promotional visit and he granted an interview to the Daily. [I would provide you with the link, but my local paper decided to go behind the "pay wall" a month or so ago.] They talked about the NASCAR season; the new, uniform car that all drivers use; and car racing in general -- all areas where Mr. Biffle has some expertise. Then he launched into a rant about gas prices. I don't have the actual quotes in front of me, but basically Mr. Biffle said he's pissed off about the price of gas. Gas, he said, really should only cost about $1.50 or $1.60 a gallon. Furthermore, the government has to do something to make the price go down to the "right" level. Finally he gave some tips about how to conserve gas and force them to lower the price.

There are so many things I want to comment on, I just don't know where to start. First, how did he arrive at $1.50 or $1.60 as the right price? Maybe the reporter did a poor job, but I saw no references to market analysis or anything similar that would support his sage conclusion about the "right" price. Second, does he really want the government deciding prices? That kind of leads to my final "I can't believe he said that." How cheeky is it for a NASCAR driver to offer tips on how the general public can conserve fuel?!?! First, they could stay home and not drive hours in their motor homes to NASCAR races. Second, they could urge the government to shut down auto racing and redistribute that fuel to "the people". Do you think that's what Biffle meant when he suggested the government "do something"? Me neither. Yeah I know he was just ranting on a subject that irritates everyone, but c'mon; why should we care what Greg Biffle thinks of gas prices?

Other things that annoy me: South African President, Thabo Mbeki. His inaction on Zimbabwe is despicable and morally bankrupt. I'll spare you another Zimbabwe rant today though.

The state Democratic party. I'll admit to disliking the state dems slightly more than I dislike the state repubs, but mainly that's because the dems have had the stranglehold on power in the state almost forever and that gives them more chances to do things that irritate me. I'll save my list of grievances for another time.

Finally, local political candidates really make me want to go all "Walden" and just drop out of the modern world. This morning, for instance, I heard a radio ad for a county commission candidate. After telling us what a good Christian he is, he then promised he'd be PHYSICALLY responsible with out tax dollars if elected! While I'd like someone to guarantee the safety of our tax money, I don't think we need a commish sleeping on top of money bags with his shotgun at hand. I'd be more likely to trust a vault or even an insured bank account for that. Heck, if that's the approach he's taking, he should have stressed his size and strength rather than his religion. That whole "turn the other cheek" thing might not be an asset if someone tried to take the county's money bags! C'mon, the word is FISCAL, not PHYSICAL. Geesh!

Okay that's about it. I'll try to come up with a cheerful post next time.