September 08th, 2017

I see by my calendar that this will actually run the day after April first.  Well, so be it.  This is an article about foolishness anyway.  These are some "April Fool Jokes" being played on the American population, and they continue well beyond the first day of April every year.

For instance, I see TV ads for Luxury Hybrid Vehicles.  The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid SUV weights over 6,000 pounds, is loaded with all kinds of goodies and actually gets less gas mileage than my standard 2008 Trailblazer SUV!  I get a lousy 13 mpg around town and 21 on the highway, and most  of these Luxury Hybrids don't do that well!   What is the point?  For rich people to massage their consciences about their effect on the world without pain?  Not at all!  Options are VERY profitable to the manufacturers, and these vehicles make LOTS of profit.  This is a case where the buyers are fools!  Obviously, being rich doesn't necessarily mean you have common sense.  After all, thousands of pro athletes and state lottery winners prove that.

But not only is a Luxury SUV moronic, so is trying to push Global Warming during the fourth coldest February in history!   World wide record keeping of the weather began in 1883, so the February of 2015 is quite a record.  But beyond that, core sampling by geologists and studied by Climatologists show that there is no evidence that humans cause the Earth to warm or cool, and these cycles have been going on long before humans were even supposed to be on the planet.   The April Fools are the pseudo-scientists and tree huggers who organized a meeting in Boston in mid-February and couldn't get there because of cancelled airline flights.

While at Cardio rehab three mornings a week, they have TV's on for us to watch while we're on the treadmill or other equipment.  I'm amazed at all the fluff on the Today Show, that was always a "News" show before.  I'm also amazed at how many of our population are influenced by the opinions of actors and other entertainers.  Does no one realize that actors and News anchors are just "talking heads?"  They spout what someone else has written for them, because most have the brain power and common sense of a frog!  And you're going to make important decisions such as who to vote for or what to buy just because THEY told you too?  You'd have had a better chance of getting intelligence from watching "The Muppet Show!"

I see that the trend to legalize drug sales is growing, with more states making marijuana sales legal "for medicinal purposes."  As we've seen in these states, there are suddenly "doctors" coming out of the woodwork who will write "weed prescriptions" and stores who will sell it.  Not only are these states reaping the benefits of a shot in the arm of sales taxes collected, but there is talk of legalizing other drugs.  Has no one been watching the crime rates in those states?   Ask the police.  Sure the "grass" is legal, but the users have to come up with money to buy it just as before, so burglaries and other crime rates are inching up.  And illegal drug activity remains at the same rate anyway.  Tax dollars ARE coming in, but law enforcement costs are going up too.  Isn't a net loss foolish?

I shop at Kroger stores, one of the larger grocery chains in this country.  These days most large retail chains are constantly running discounts, handing out coupons and posting them online.  But what nobody thinks about is that there are NO real "deals" when these outfits promote coupons and such.  If they were really giving you great deals, they would go broke, and they sure aren't doing that!   Only small businesses ever come close to losing money on discounts and coupons.

These promotions are all about separating you from more of your money!  The closest you will get to large retailers giving you a real discount is when they sell something just above their cost, such as grocery goods whose due date is about to expire.  Or when they are closing out a certain low grade item and discount it.  Of course there is always a "hook" of some kind.  Generally the coupon or discount is only offered if you buy a product or combination of products in larger quantities than you normally would.  In those cases YOU are suckered into stock piling items that you don't need, some of which you will likely throw away before you use them.  But THEY still made money selling it to you because you never questioned "do I really need six tubs of cottage cheese that expires in two days."  Only fools think they "got a deal" because NOBODY gives you "something for nothing."

I was watching TV  back when gasoline hit bottom at two bucks a gallon and one TV "sage" said that the days of high gas prices were over.  This guy obviously doesn't understand the oil industry or didn't bother to research why the price of gas went down after the rip off prices we've been paying for the last seven years. 

The King of Saudi Arabia was cutting oil prices and pumping as much oil as he could in order to gain back their share of the American market being lost as America uses more of it's own energy.  He was selling oil for $20. a barrel, well below even the OPEC negotiated price of $44. and the commodities market falsely inflated price of $80.  When he died suddenly, his greedy brother took over and went right back to playing the Big Oil game.  Prices started to climb and will continue to do so until we're right back where we started.  It might take longer to get the prices back up because the economy is so sluggish, but only a fool who has no clue about the history of the oil industry believes the rip off is over!

I'm interested in trains and cars, as well as a lot of other things.  But recently, I have been watching the coverage of network News of the many railroad crossing accidents.  Not since the heyday of railroads have rail accidents gotten so much coverage.  Heck, until recently, it seemed that the media didn't know railroads still existed!  But now they are suddenly "appalled at the slaughter at rail crossings."  And they appear to be quietly be blaming the railroads involved!

I'm debating with myself if the bigger fool is the person who drives onto the tracks and is surprised that a train comes along, or the people reporting on the accident are so lacking in common sense as to think that trains don't have the right of way.  Most of the railroads were there LONG before automobiles were invented, are far heavier and harder to stop, and that is why people with the number of functioning brain cells above those of Forrest Gump stay out of their way.

Talking on your cell phone, texting, reading a book, or putting on make up while sitting on a train track is moronic.  Many crossings have signs that say "Do Not Stop On Tracks."  The fact that YOU are an idiot does not make the train at fault!

What is wrong with the News media?  Do they also phone, text, and apply make up on the road too and are looking for excuses to make such moronacy acceptable?  Obviously, anyone who is an attentive and competent driver of a motor vehicle sees enough stupidity in a day's time to at least slightly fear for their lives on the road today.  But "playing chicken" with a speeding train might just be the ultimate foolishness.

But it gets worse.  Let me give you this final bit of twisted thinking:

The other day I saw an article on a fairly well known website that claimed that the top three United States Presidents in history would eventually be recognized as Barrack Obama, George W. Bush, and Andrew Johnson.  This should have been run on April Fool's Day because Andrew Johnson is generally considered by all Historians to be the worst President in U.S. history.  He followed the assassinated Abe Lincoln into the White House and is generally known for his wandering between ineffectiveness and rampant corruption!  However, Johnson is in good company with these two modern bozos, both of which might unseat him for worst ever.  Johnson will then be a "third stringer" as well. 

As was said about a Shakespearian character; "He doth not suffer fools gladly."  I often feel as if I'm becoming that character because I find it hard to believe the people of this nation lack common sense and have become so foolish.  It's as if every day is April First!