Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

I arrived in North Bay Ontario in the late afternoon. Small factory in a somewhat residential neighborhood. Lots of trees and definitely working middle class. I could park in their driveway overnight. Another company truck later parked along side me until the morning. That night though, a terrestrial downpour with pellet sized hail pounded the truck. The night before, just south of Detroit, similar weather. Thank goodness my tarps don’t have any holes. I woke up at 12:45 AM thinking it was already morning.

The crossing into Canada was easy. PARS bar code sticker on the bill of lading along with the necessary copies of the commercial invoice, my passport and drivers license and the rather attractive female customs agent told me to have a nice day. Too bad our US customs agents don’t take the same efficiency and courtesy course. My company had, the day before, faxed the paperwork to the wrong office. Always confirm with the broker that they have received the fax and have cleared you through. After correcting the error the broker expedited my clearance within an hour.

For those who haven’t been truck’n in Canada, it’s no big deal. From the Ambassador Bridge crossing from Detroit into Windsor – $22.50 toll – you’re probably going to have to get on the 401 to go where you have to go. The 401 is quite similar to California’s I5, just worse. The traffic and the backups are terrible. Everywhere I went, Canadians talk about the 401. We certainly have our share of bad roads in the US, but the 401, as far as I’m concerned, is a Provincial (national) disgrace. You will sit there for what seems like forever and for no apparent reason the traffic moves again. I’m sure our Canadian driver colleagues say the same thing trying to go through Nashville or crossing the GW Bridge in NY.

Get caught in the express portion of the 401 and you will surely miss your exit. Most of the time I don’t how I ever got on the express side. There is a Flying J at exit 346 in Mississauga just west of Toronto, that is next to impossible to get to. If you’re in the express lanes you cannot get off. And for that reason, I elected to keep going to try out instead the Fifth Wheel truck stop in Milton at exit 320. In Canada you must keep your mind on what you’re doing or you will drive past your exit as the number is only given once. And when you do get off – know which way to turn before hand. Unfortunately my GPS doesn’t work in Canada, so I’m doing it the old fashioned way – referring to a map.

At first glance the Fifth Wheel is a dump. The large parking lot is unpaved sandy gravel and after a heavy rain it is a lake. Make sure you have boots and an umbrella. Under typical circumstances I would have gone elsewhere, but I was exhausted. I had just received a preplan to pick up a steel load in Cambridge along with the court ordered instructions on how to cross the picket line when I got there. That’s just what I feel like dealing with on a Monday morning in another country. So until then I have nowhere to go for the next two days. And there is no way in hell I’m getting back on the 401.

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reporting from North Bay, Ontario – and what a mess it is. The way things are going I’m going to have to drive this damn truck until I die. Hopefully it won’t be at the Flying J in Houston or somewhere equally horrible. The state of America can pretty much be summed up by a commercial that Pizza Hut is now running on television. It’s for their pasta product. They take a family, supposedly out to dinner, to some eye-talian restaurant somewhere to enjoy the pasta. They’re blindfolded. Oooo – this pasta is sooo good. Oooo – it’s sooo nice to be at a real eye-talian restaurant. NO YOU MORONS – TAKE OFF YOUR BLINDFOLDS – YOU’RE AT HOME!!! Ha, ha, ha – we fooled ya! You didn’t fool them – they’re idiots. How dumb can you be? Just like the rest of America.

Mr. Presidente Obama is making a classic dumb mistake. He has joined the ranks of the smart-stupid. Harvard, Yale, Princeton – whatever – MBA, law degree, Ph.D. in Economics???? Doesn’t matter. You got the education and the contacts, but you’re still dumb as a stick – no common sense. And while we’re at it, let’s throw in all the Senate and House members on both sides of the isle – that’s the Congress if you don’t know it yet – if we can tear them away from those absurd town hall meetings – - and of course, the pasta is soo good at this eye-talian restaurant crowd – that’s about 85% of Americans – and from what I can hear – 99% of our fellow truck drivers. A whole lotsa no smarts.

And the cherry on top is the Obama administration with their 1000 page – let’s keep it really complicated and confusing – “health care reform” fiasco. Mr. President – you big dummy! – with all due respect – what are you doing? Are you nuts? KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID! KISS baby!! A, B, C – 1,2,3 – bla, bla, bla. How about 25 pages! How about 5! How about 1!!!  Health care reform – we will do #1 this, health care reform – we will do that #2 and so forth and so on. Remember me? Because if I lose my job I HAVE NO HEALTH CARE! And the mandatory participation thing? Why? If some dumb ooo I love this eye-talian pasta doesn’t want health care, that’s one less idiot we have to worry about. Worry about me who pays taxes! What ever happened to everyone having the same health care plan as the members of Congress?

So, Mr. President, you big dummy – again with all due respect – Iraq is still a mess and you have not gotten us out. Afghanistan is, well, Afghanistan. Who cares? If one of your daughters was of age, would you send her over “there” to be blown up by the Taliban – excuse me – Ta-lee-ban? No, of course you wouldn’t! What happened to getting Osama Bin Laden? Do you need 1000 pages to figure out how to get that slimy SOB?. And what about Mexico, Iran, Israel, North Korea, China and every other freak’n place we Americans don’t care about, but you seem to want us involved with. I say kick ‘em to the curb. American all the way baby!

Mr. President – it’s time to punt. Take a time-out. Run the commercial. You and you alone are blowing this health care “thang” big time. Regroup. Deep six the 1000 pages. You’re scaring the bee-jesus out of just about everyone. Slow down. Fix what needs to be fixed first. Do health care next summer. People need jobs. I need freight. I have health care now – I can stay in my dumb job another year more until you get it right. You hear me Mr. President? I sure hope so. Change course because the ship is in stormy dark waters and that majority you now enjoy ain’t gonna be there after the next election.

“What is this land America so many travel there – I’m going now while I’m still young my darling meet me there – wish me luck my lovely I’ll send for you when I can – and we’ll make our home in the American land – There’s diamonds in the sidewalk – the gutters lined in song – dear I hear that beer flows through the faucets all night long – there’s treasure for the taking, for any hard working man who will make his home in the American Land” ***

I have been fortunate in my 54 years to have traveled to many places throughout the world – France, England, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Mexico and of course, all the States, but Alaska. I just posted a brief piece on Freeport & Nassau in the Bahamas. The hard working folks that were on board the cruise ship hailed from Russia, Serbia, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam and many other places.

And there was one consistent theme in my conversations with all of them – their love of America and their desire to live here. My wife asked a waiter from the Philippines what place he liked the most – Cozumel? Puerto Rico? He answered – New York City – America. He would like to eventually make enough money to relocate his entire family there.

These beautiful amazing people that I’ve met overseas are no different than us. In their country they’re truck drivers, dock workers, salespeople, waiters and waitresses and office workers. They all want to be free to earn a decent living and live peacefully. They want to worship the religion of their choice without prejudice. And they all share in the ultimate desire to live and work in the United States.

We Americans are too caught up in the small stuff. Unless you travel outside of our great country, you will never understand the yearning of the rest of the world to come here. In the Bahamas, for example, there are posters and newspaper clippings everywhere of Barack Obama being elected President. A cabbie in Nassau, who paid $40,000 for his SUV – which is cheap there – had great admiration for what to him is an almost magical place that elected a Black man President. You have to go there to experience this. And no, I never saw any pictures of George Bush other than on a military base.

So if you haven’t been – Europe, Mexico, Canada – wherever – please go. And just listen to the people there. They don’t hear the garbage from Rush, Hannity or Ann Coulter – their opinion of America is broader and more basic. It is part and parcel of the human need embedded in the dreams that America offers its immigrants. Just as they have since the birth of the country. And thank God for that. God bless America.

*** The words from the song “America Land” performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Photo credits are: www.bakemeawish.com/blog/?tag=4th-of-july, http://academics.utep.edu/Portals/532/Immigration%20Family%20004.jpg, joylandblog.wordpress.com/2009/02/, https:/…/International_Adoption_Info.html

Waxman-Markey, the energy tax bill that would have not passed the House except for eight Republican traitors, is one of the WORST things that can happen to the United States.  Or is it?

I’ve been thinking about it.

Many years ago, before I was born even, the Catholic Church is supposed to have had  it’s own version of Waxman-Markey.  They called it “Indulgences” back then.  According to some the Catholic Church of the time, when it found a need for some extra cash, would sell indulgences.  What that ment was that if a person wanted to do something that was frowned upon normally then that person could buy a “permit” to do so.

From what I’ve heard the Church of that time got oodles of money from the practice.  Enough to finance great projects.  Cathedrals even.

What I’m thinking is that if selling “sin permits” was good enough for the Church in times gone by and is deemed good enough for us in the case of the Energy Tax, then why not expand upon the concept.

For Truckers, imagine a “speed credit”.  Suppose you’re in a hurry and don’t have TIME to fool around with silly things like speed laws.  The solution?  Dial `1-800-=CAP-NTRADE to purchase a speeding credit.  The price would depend on how fast and how far you needed it.  I can imagine a dash mounted transponder (similar to those used for toll roads) that automatically sends a signal to any bear that catches you on radar.   When the transponder returned the correct signal they’d leave you alone.

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The president came to see us yesterday. . .he came to give a speech at Macomb Community College. It was termed a Town Hall, but Town Hall indicates a two-way give-and-take. This guy doesn’t want an opposing viewpoint from anyone! The Mayor of Warren didn’t attend – he said although he was invited, he wasn’t ‘approved’ until Monday so he made other plans.

The main gist of  Obama’s speech was to tell us our jobs aren’t coming back. Michigan already knows this, as we’ve seen a concerted effort over many years to remove all of our manufacturing jobs via some of the highest business taxes and most stringent environmental regulation in the country.  McCain sure didn’t get a very good reception for saying that same thing but somehow, Obama seems to think we should all accept it from him? Wall Street tries to convince us that unions have made this an unfriendly business environment – but the vast majority of Michigan workers AREN’T unionized and their jobs are gone, too. Our illustrious Governor Granholm tells us she’s bringing new ‘green jobs’ to Michigan and she’s all into windmills. Wonder if she’s talked to T Boone Pickens about that? Personally, I think they want to turn Michigan into the world’s largest uninhabited nature preserve!

Stimulus money paid for a new jobs program for 18-24-yr-olds up around Lansing. The statement was that these people ‘deserve jobs’. The rest of us don’t? How about the families under whose roof these 18-24-yr-olds are living? Food stamps? Talk about a crap-sandwich! Can ya buy one of those with food stamps? Personally, I think everyone needs to experience the full weight of this recession together. Time to find out that reality is a hard teacher. Experience helps you learn not to make the same mistakes twice. They need to learn that – yes, even my kids and grand-kids! They need to experience the results of bad policy decisions first-hand so they don’t fall for the rhetoric again in their lifetime.

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Pay attention Virginia.

You say you have a budget crisis?  You say that closing rest stops on the interstates will free up much needed cash to help with the budget crisis?

What have you been smoking?  What ever it is stop California from smoking the same stuff, or Michigan, or.other states.

I swear.  A two year old with a bag of marbles and a handful of gumdrops knows more about finance than some states. It appears so anyway.

Listen up.  I have a suggestion that will provide an increase in state revenue AND improve safety on the highways, for the general public and truckers.

The only problem is that it’s going to seriously annoy some lobbyists.  SERIOUSLY annoy.  I don’t know for a fact but I assume there’s an association of truck stops which lobbies congress to support their best interests.  Doesn’t any business now days have such an organization?  These people are going to hate my suggestion.

The suggestion?  Open Interstate Rest Areas to Commercialization.  Furthermore.  Auction off the rights to the highest bidder. Read the rest of this entry »

While the inaccurately called “news” media saturated their programming bemoaning the death of a twice accused child molestor and while President Obama sided with Venezuelan socialist Chavez and the tyrant Castro of Cuba in opposition to the legal ousting of a Marxist from the Honduras government, the democrats in congress, aided by eight  republicans, voted in favor of a bill that they hadn’t even bothered to read. Twelve hundred pages and they hadn’t even read it.

Little noticed by the “news” media the House of Representatives voted in favor of Waxman-Markey.  The so called Climate Bill, favorably reviewed by the left, is the solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.  An internal study by the EPA on C02 confirmed it’s inconsequential effect on climate.  Unfortunately the EPA suppressed the report.

Were Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse-tung, Pol Pot or other noted elder statesmen of the socialist persuasion  still alive they would be awed by the power grab that the Democrats are in the process of completing.  The Waxman-Markey Climate Bill will not only adversely affect  every aspect of American life, totally destroy any chance of economic recovery, increase the cost of living on every American, it will also give government powers beyond that dreamt of any other than Dystropian Science Fiction authors.  So much so in fact that Aldos Huxley of Brave New World fame or George Orwell, author of “1984″would be green with envy.  Not even they, in all their imagining, could come up with a plan to so totally control a population.

Waxman-Markey regulates CO2.

Initially  the demoncrats claimed that the proposed legislation would be used to control big business.  Oil Companies, Car Manufactures, Home Builders, Appliance Manufactures.

Big Business.  We all hate Big Business.  Right?  So that’s OK.

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Here comes Sara..if you have not heard – Palin – the former Republican VP nominee, resigned today as Governor of Alaska effective July 25th. What an interesting day to make the announcement as the mainstream media and many Americans were “out of the office” preparing to enjoy the 4th. I, of course, as a dedicated professional OTR trucker, am working this “holiday” weekend – headed to Long Island NY with a load of steel for a new Baptist church – as well as bringing you this breaking news.

According to The New York Times: “Ms. Palin’s announcement was another unusual marker in what has been a tumultuous year for this first-term governor since Senator McCain turned her into a national figure over night by shocking his own party and naming her his running mate. It also underscored the instability within the Republican Party as it tries to find a strategy and voice in the wake of losses in 2008.”

However, there has got to be more to all this than Governor Palin is letting on. Believe me. the “whole” story has yet to be told. Bottom line is that Palin is potentially worth mega-bucks, yes millions, as a nationally syndicated radio or television talk show host.

Hannity, Limbaugh, Ingraham and others have become rich as “unofficial” mouth pieces of the conservative right. In July 2008, The Drudge Report said that “Limbaugh signed a contract through 2016 that is worth over $400 million.” Howard Stern’s Sirius deal was reportedly worth $500 million! Limbaugh is not getting any younger or thinner and Stern, for now, remains on board the sinking Sirius/XM “Titanic” satellite radio ship. Palin could easily command similar numbers and potentially could have a larger audience with much more desirable demographics. Just recently, Palin signed a highly lucrative book contract rumored to be in the $7-11 million dollar neighborhood. Her salary as Governor is approximately $125,000 per year.

Again from The New York Times: “Take the words of General MacArthur,” she said. “He said, ‘We’re not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.’ ” Later in the afternoon, as questions reverberated around Republicans circles about what exactly she intended to do, she posted a notice on her Twitter site, reading: “We’ll soon attach info on decision to not seek re-election … This is in Alaska’s best interest, my family’s happy … It is good, stay tuned.”

You can read Palin’s remarks at http://gov.state.ak.us/ and The New York Times piece is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/04/us/politics/04palin.html?hp

Photo credits: http://mikeresponts.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/laurai61.jpg, lounge.cigarfamily.com, kps186media flickr.com

Quoting Saul Anuzis:

“ABC News is giving away somewhere near $50 Million dollars in airtime to President Obama to promote his government take over of your medical decisions. The producers have refused, in writing, to air the Republican or conservative point of view–they have even refused to run a paid ad during the program…”

There’s more.

You’ve been being told for a long time that the media had turned on the American public, some more than others. When someone makes the statement that ABC news is “in bed” with Barack Hussein Obama, you can take it literally. These so called members of the press, are now the “official” news source for the White House and all its twisted dealings.

I suggest that this is just one more example of the Obama administration paying off major players in the DNC’s desperate drive for the Oval Office. Its also the typical bias used by both Obama and the Main Stream Media to  “lie by omission” about things that effect us all.

As planned, Obama will present, as truth, his socialist agenda for YOUR heath care. There will be no oversite, no transparency, no opposing viewpoints will be allowed and a large part of the American public, will stand there bleating, drool dripping from their Koolaid stained lips and believe every word they hear (or don’t hear) as planned by President “Hope and Change” Mr. Transparency himself, Barack Hussein Obama.

Well OK, I doubt “he” planned it. He has “handlers”, There are people being paid to do that, he just presents it. Then he presents the next outrage, then the next.

This time we’re fighting back.

Twitter and Facebook, the big guns of social media, are being brought to bare.

Tweet-4-Truth: Fact Checking A “News” Media Run Amok

Read it, join it, promote it, defend it and when the time comes, TAKE PART in it.

Or forever, shut your mouth.

Comrade.

t

During conversation and when writing I often say “Back before the Democrats wrecked the Economy”.  That is a true statement.  It is, however, not the WHOLE truth.  To explain everything would take a vast amount of time, even if I did understand it which I don’t pretend that I do.

What I do understand, or think I do, is this.

Some while ago, back before the Democrats wrecked the economy, the democrats were WORKING on wrecking the economy.  With the best of intentions of course.  They were doing many things at once. One thing they were doing was called the Community Reinvestment Act.  This goes a long way back, maybe before Clinton , perhaps even to Carter.  What it did was to force the banks to lend money to people who were a HUGE credit risk.  The  stated purpose was to buy homes. Incidentally a lot of “officials” became wealthy..purely coincidental I’m sure.

Very upstanding and all.  People should have homes.  Should it matter that they can’t afford them?  It didn’t seem so.

While this was going on serious “stuff” happened overseas.  The Soviet Union collapsed for one.  Less publicized was China.  To make a long story short China became more capitalist and finally got it’s economy going.  Similarly so did India. We’re talking several Billion people here.

The emerging economies of China, India, Indonesia and to some extent Russia caused a demand for energy.  Over time this demand grew. It grew dramatically.

Now skip back to the United States.  Recall the term “SubPrime Lending”.  This was a carry over from the Community Investment Act.  It get’s really complicated (perhaps purposely so) and government agencies such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mack and various Politicians figure prominently.  The upshot of it is that there was all this money,in the form of mortgages,  just sitting there. Read the rest of this entry »