Author: Rev. Joe Dirt

Posted on

Rolling Stone Article: U.S. Fossil Fuel Subsidies Exceed Pentagon Spending

From the article:

“The United States has spent more subsidizing fossil fuels in recent years than it has on defense spending, according to a new report from the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF found that direct and indirect subsidies for coal, oil and gas in the U.S. reached $649 billion in 2015. Pentagon spending that same year was $599 billion.”

We do so many things wrong headed.  And why are the Republicans NOT willing to trust market forces on this one?

Click link below for full Rolling Stone article.

Study: U.S. Fossil Fuel Subsidies Exceed Pentagon Spending

Posted on

Plumbing 101

I had a minor plumbing repair to do in our bathroom under the sink and within the vanity.  For part of the operation I needed a second pair of hands so I enlisted my wife, the esteemed Señora Robin.   She came into the bathroom and sees tools scattered around, the contents of the vanity stacked untidily in a corner, and me with my head stuck under the sink.

With barely a pause as she walks in she says, “You cannot possibly know what you are doing.”

This brings me out of the depths of my plumbing cave with a quizzical look on my ruggedly handsome face.

She continues, “I see no butt crack.  It is a job requirement.”

I worked for some plumbers one summer in college. They told me there were only three things that I really must know: water does not run up hill; you get paid on Friday; and never chew your nails after a job.  Apparently there are four.

Posted on

Mother Nature had the last laugh

We own three vehicles between the two of us.  My wife drives a Subaru Outback.  I have a Toyota Tacoma as my primary vehicle, and a Mazda MX-5 Miata that I just drive when the weather is nice.  It is generally the car I take to the golf course.

I generally do a good cleaning of my vehicles twice a year.  I do one cleaning in the spring after winter, and another sometime in the autumn before we go into the yucky months of winter.  This year with my wife’s health problems combined with the abnormally frequent rains we have had this spring; my spring cleaning has been delayed.  Here it is the end of June and I am now just doing it.

I do need to mention that I retired at the end of January.  This means that I am not driving my Tacoma as a daily commuter.  Typically when we go somewhere as couple we take the Outback.  We occasionally will take the Miata if the weather is nice and there will not be any imbibing of alcohol.  My wife refuses to learn how to drive a stick shift, and I have no desire to receive a DWI.   When I take out the Miata I have to move the Tacoma. I keep the convertible in the garage and the truck in the driveway.  I mention this to say that the Tacoma is not sitting idle even when I am driving the Miata frequently.  All of which brings me to my surprise of the other day.

Part of my cleaning regime is to pop the hood and give the engine a good wash down, check the fluids, etc.  When I did so, I discovered this amazing nest in the corner of the engine compartment next to the brake fluid reservoir.

If you look closely at the picture you will see Continue reading “Mother Nature had the last laugh”

Posted on

Shades of Lloyd Bentsen to Dan Quayle

So I have been talking Spanish lessons via Skype via iTalki.com. Currently I am working with a young man from Guatemala named Manolo who is the bee’s knees. A few times in the conversation portion of the class we have talked about my wife, Robin.

The other night he was trying to remember my wife’s name so I reminded him. A few minutes later he needed reminding again so I wrote “Robin” in the text portion of Skype. I then told him it was Robin, just like Batman and Robin.

His reply to me in Spanish was, “You’re no Batman.”

Talk about shades of Lloyd Bentsen to Dan Quayle during the Vice-Presidential debates of 1988, “You’re no Jack Kennedy.”

Next he will be telling me, “You can’t handle the truth!”