This week, two stories regarding trade economies caught my eye.

Exports to part of the “evil empire” of Iran increased tenfold since President Bush took office.  While the administration rants against the nuclear ambitions of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have stirred calls to block imports, over half a billion dollars worth of products have been shipped to Iran since 2001, with nearly $146 million shipped in 2007 alone.  
The good news is that the US shipped $158 million worth of cigarettes to Iran, more than any other product.  How appropriate to send the country something that could kill them so slowly!
The ...<< MORE >>

Kudos to the Ausra company, which brought jobs to Las Vegas this week in the opening of it's reflector production line of its first North American manufacturing and distribution center in Las Vegas.  Quoting the company's press release,“The 130,000-square-foot, highly automated manufacturing and distribution center will supply the reflectors, absorber tubes, and other key components of the company's solar thermal power plants to the rapidly growing Southwestern solar power industry”.
Among those attending Monday's ceremony was Senator Harry Reid, who had kind words for the alternative energy facility.  "Nevada is poised to be a leader in the clean ...<< MORE >>

Human nature is a truly scary thing.  Sometimes people do things you never really thought them capable.  
Part of what I really detest about Las Vegas (and why I plan on moving to northern Nevada real soon now) is the total con-man nature of this town.  Everyone's got damage, and the ones that aren't evil, mean, and nasty to you are patting you on the back with one hand while trying to find the spot for the knife with the other.
I had an experience this week with someone who seemed alright but seemed to have issues.  They always struck me as being forthright and honorable.
They just lost their job.  For stealing.  On camera, yet.  

I guess I shouldn't be too terribly surprised, though.  My life has been full of disreputable people and people who weren't even honest to themselves.  My first wife left me for another woman.  My last relationship prior to my current marriage was little more than a platform for her to find her latest mark.  She started fishing on line for an overseas husband she could pull an immigration scam with and make some money. In the process I got stuck for several hundred in long distance bills.  Well, the money's gone and she hung the poor guy out to dry.  He's been spinning in the wind for some time.  You can read that whole debacle on our website at wyattcox.net.  
Even with my wife, who came to rely too much on her best friend that totally screwed us out of several hundred dollars and ran up huge phone bills.  She even stole the money for Bubba's crib.

That's why I was so happy that we spent a good two days in Ely.  
It renewed my faith in people.    Everyone there was so nice and treated us like family.  Not a single grumpy person bothered us.  The people who cleaned our hotel room were kind, the lifeguards at the old swimmin' hole were tremendous, and even the big-wigs were a pleasant surprise!
The weather was amazing.  Twenty degrees cooler than Las Vegas in the daytime and forty degrees cooler at night.  And we could breathe!  Since coming back we've all been wheezing and coughing.  Two days of clean air sure get your body used to expecting it.  
So now we're back in the hot nasty weather with the hard to breathe air and the people looking to rip us off.
We're packing now.  Come visit us if you want to really live.

The death of George Carlin was expected, but it took a lot of us by surprise.
I knew he wasn't doing well, but to go so fast was scary.  Carlin had a reputation of being absolutely filthy on stage but before he became known for those "seven words", Carlin won acclaim for the spaced out "Al Sleet, the Hippy-Dippy weatherman". It was so wacky that one of the local weathermen back in Kansas lip-synced the routine on local television!  
In his memory on Tuesday, I played the ultimate Top-40 Radio tribute, "Wonderful WINO".  His parting shots reflect much of what Radio is about today.
"We've got the old tunes, the new tunes, the show tunes, the blue tunes, the greatest music in town. But we never play it!"

Sorry, ran out of time to write a Penny Press column this week...

My wife's family and I spent three wonderful days in Ely Nevada and are planning our relocation to this pretty little town in the immediate future.

Come on up and ride the train!

The Arizona Daily Star out of Tucson recently published the most distasteful and dishonest editorialI have ever seen this week in what I can only classify as an attack against law abiding citizens and in support of criminal activity.

The unsigned opinion piece supported a DC based Hispanic organization’s boycott of CNN for allowing Lou Dobbs to be on their schedule.

The paper went further, to encourage a boycott of a local Tucson host, a direct competitor of the paper.

Far be it from me to need to support CNN, but in this case they are an inappropriate target.

The paper’s claims are false. Dobbs, Beck, O’Reilly and others, including myself, are not anti-immigrant. We are anti-illegal immigrant. Those who follow the script, follow the policies and the laws are welcome. Those who do not, regardless of their ethnicity, are not welcome.

A good friend of mine is such an immigrant. His father came here from Ecuador legally in the 60’s. He saved for years until he had the money put aside to bring the rest of the family here legally. It wasn’t cheap and it wasn’t easy. He’s now a citizen and furious. If they had been able to just waltz over the border and save the expense, it wouldn’t be right or legal!

America is a land of opportunity, but it is governed by the rule of law.

Honor it and respect it. Do the right thing and go home until you can move here legally like others have.

Speaking of the rule of law...

I was getting off a bus on Tuesday morning about 1:30 when I saw at the corner that I crossed at what appeared to be an active crime scene. Rather than walk through an active crime scene with someone splayed out on the sidewalk I crossed the street three car lengths form the corner. The officer had a conniption and threatened to arrest me. I told the officer I was just trying to avoid his crime scene. He said next time walk two blocks out of my way.

Right. Get over yourself. Next time I’ll just pull out the camera and walk through the scene taking pictures. Could be interesting.

The tomato crisis, while serious, amuses me.

The salmonella-tainted tomatoes came from "either" Florida or Mexico?

A no-brainer to me. Given the safety record of Mexican Agriculture(remember the strawberries and the tainted cheese) I would say the culprit is obvious.

Meanwhile, the huge delay deals yet another punishing blow to American Agriculture. If this keeps up, the only way to get domestic produce will be to grow your own...

I had a true blast from the past this week!

The annual meeting of the Cauliflower Alley Clubtook place at the Riviera, and I loved seeing all those people from my past. "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, Terry Funk, Paul and Luna Vachon, JJ Dillon and many more along with newer performers including Chris Masters.

It was wonderful to see these old friends getting together to remember old times. Many of the performers I was seeing in person for the first time in nearly forty years. I felt like a kid again.

Too bad many of today’s top stars won’t make it to the age of these classic performers.

Sad.

WYATT COX

Wyatt Cox loves his wrassling. Lock up with him at rant.wyattcox.net

In past columns I’ve referenced a semi-natural event back in 1996 that blacked out ten western states and my own reaction to it. This last Sunday the Review-Journal published a piece by John Solomon entitled Americans Are Unprepared for natural disasters. (note:Link takes you to the original Washington Post piece.) In that piece Solomon quotes a Red Cross survey that 93 percent of Americans are unprepared for a natural disaster, a pandemic, or a terrorist attack.

I think that number, believe it or not, is low.

I believe that to be low because of the reaction to the 1996 power failure.

FLASHBACK: I was heading down Main Street on my way home (which now is the site of Steve Wynn’s employee parking garage) when I noticed radio stations dropping off the air...including mine! I hotfooted it to the station to find that I had left a disc in a drive and the on-air control computer wouldn’t boot. We also had satellite receiver failures, so I had to quickly assess the situation and throw on what programming I could find. Finally, I saw the first story trickle in over Bloomburg and (get this) the Xinhua news agency (that’s China, folks!) that there was a major power failure affecting the western US.

Not knowing the impact as to what was happening, and getting intermittent phone calls from people wanting to know as well, I went on the air and started taking phone calls, drawing on my years of experience in the Midwest on how to handle power failures due to tornadoes, floods, ice storms and the like. I stayed on the air talking with people and helping them through the failures.

It was hours later that the station owner, our esteemed publisher (who had been on a plane to Tulsa), called to find out what the new kid was doing to his station. Listeners were calling his toll free line and writing the station to thank us for what we did.

But really, it was no big deal. I was prepared.

Honestly, none of the other stations in Las Vegas knew what to tell people to do.

People were afraid for their food, their animals, their personal well being, and didn’t know to shut off their air conditioning and unplug their appliances until after the power came back on, lest all the neighborhood’s start up power at once blowing another transformer and keeping your neighborhood dark hours longer.

We had people listening for hours that night, and it sure gave me a good feeling knowing my information was appreciated.

I wasn’t surprised at all about the ignorance of the public, but had to really think as to where to send you to learn more about preparedness.

The fed’s ready.govis a good start, but I strongly suggest the Red Cross website for more detailed emergency information. They’ve been in the disaster recovery business a lot longer (and performed far better) than the gubmint.

One of the things you’ll need is a good source of self-powered lighting and communication. Battery operated equipment is OK, but batteries can become scarce in a severe situation and can deplete rapidly.

I first saw the Freeplayline of gear at the Consumer Electronics Show in 1997 and became a believer. Unlike other "crank" devices which use a Dynamo to charge a battery, the crank on a Freeplay device winds a spring which, as it unwinds, turns a small generator that creates immediate power.

I have two of the original units that I bought on eBay and would never part with them.

The Freeplay websiteoffers not only radios, but flashlights, lanterns, and alternative power sources for charging portable electronics.

In addition to the Freeplay sources, consider getting some of those flashlights you see on TV that you shake to charge.

Of course keeping some easy to prepare emergency foodon hand is a good idea, but how do you prepare it? Perhaps it might be a good excuse to buy a new propane gas grill– and don’t forget a manual can opener!

Do some research now, stock up now, and the next time the lights go

out, you’ll be prepared.

WYATT COX

Wyatt Cox wasn’t much of a Boy Scout, but he tries to be prepared. Check

out his writings at rant.wyattcox.net

Out of context quotes, incomplete sentences hurt campaigns, help media

As much as some people would like me to, I could never run for political office.
With 33 years of broadcasting and three years of writing these columns for the Penny Press, there's just too much fodder out there for the jackals to grab onto and take out of the context of the entire program or column and attempt a hack job.
Witness the ministerial flaps in the presidential race. 
I suspect that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is a decent enough man, probably a fun person to break bread with.  His misstatements, which he claims were taken out of the context of a sermon, certainly have done their damage to the Obama campaign.  I can see, though, how in the context of a sermon, he could use the phrase, "God Damn America".  Some of his other statements are a little harder to forgive.
The same could be said for Pastor Hagee, who has been accused of being virulently anti-Catholic.  Some were offended by his comments from the pulpit that God used Hitler as a tool to deliver Jews to the promised land.  Ignored by many is that this view is actually shared by some Jewish scholars.
Also consider endorser pastor Rod Parsley, whom ABC News reported he called Islam an "anti-Christ" religion and the Prophet Muhammad "the mouthpiece of a conspiracy of evil."  A number of Christian pastors may actually back that view, but don't make a big deal out of it, lest their church come under assault from the Council on American Islamic Relations, who hammers anyone who shows any opposition to their religion.
But the flap doesn't end with pastors. 
Take Geraldine Ferraro, the former vice-presidential candidate under presidential candidate Walter Mon-dull.  At first she said that Obama was getting a lot of traction with statements and policies he was making simply because he was Black.  Many people took offence to that statement in the Obama camp.  Several African-Americans, including the founder of BET, agreed with Ferraro.  To take the heat off of Clinton, she took herself out of the presidential campaign scene, but not before saying she wouldn't vote for Obama because she thought he was "sexist." 
The bottom line is that we could sift through all the supporters of either candidate and find utterances that would offend someone.
But why?
Supporters don't make the candidate.  The candidate does.
And all any of the major candidates make me want to do is sleep.

Watch out now, the mainstream media is in full swing to discredit the third parties.
First Ralph Nader's renewed candidacy that Liberals say will siphon off votes from the Democratic campaign.
Now Bob Barr is stepping up for the Libertarians in a move that Conservatives claim will take votes form John McCain.
They're both wrong.
The people who vote for both of these candidates would likely have NOT voted for either major party candidate.  I know I wouldn't. 
With both Barr and Nader in the race, I'll have a difficult decision to make.  Both are better than our current crop of Republicrats. 
And given the mainstream media bias against change, neither one will get anything approaching a fair shake.
And that's just wrong.  Because that's not the true, honest American way. 
If Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter can get elected, these two sure should be able to.
But then, I guess faux integrity is better than the real thing.

Wyatt Cox is 100% natural, no artificial ingredients.  He is, however, unsafe for maintaining mainstream ideals.  Read more at rant.wyattcox.net

Illegal employee pressure should shift to employer

The horror stories coming from Postville, Iowa, where more than 350 employees of a kosher meat processing plant were arrested and hundreds more are in hiding from government employees, point out the failings in this administration's enforcement policies.
Affidavits from ICE, information from which was published by Spence S. Hsu in Sunday's Washington Post, reveal that Agriprocessors supervisors were not only aware of the questionable legal status of many of their employees, they actually took steps to facilitate their employment! Quoting, “The affidavit cited unnamed sources who alleged that some company supervisors employed 15-year-olds, helped cash checks for workers with fake documents, and pressured workers without documents to purchase vehicles and register them in other names.“
Agriprocessors has a lot of other problems on their plate as well.  Consider:
l    A $600k settlement with the EPA over wastewater pollution
l    $182k in fines from the state over health safety and wastewater violations
l    USDA accusations of “inhumane slaughter” after one of those hidden camera videos came out from an animal rights group.
Given these ethical problems, no one should be surprised that this company was also knowingly hiring and encouraging illegal immigrants.
No matter how high we build the wall, the illegals will continue to come as long as employers are allowed to get away with this kind of activity.
The illegals are attracted to these jobs like moths to a flame.  Put out the flame, and they'll stop coming.  Moreover, shut down the jobs, fine a couple of employers out of existence for hiring illegals and not checking them out, and those still here will start heading home. 
In my opinion, Agriprocessors deserves to be the poster child for illegal immigrant employment and should be shut down!  Perhaps their CEO should visit the graybar hotel....

I'm getting so sick and tired of people blaming the oil companies and the farmers for driving prices up so high.
Our US dollar and our sinking economy, on the downtick since the late 90's, bears most of the responsibility for the high prices. 
I spoke with my cousin two weeks ago, who is part of a farm family in South-central Kansas.  She says their input costs have tripled this year due to extreme rises in fuel and fertilizer.  The higher prices will just about cover their increased costs.  
Don't blame the farmer...

A few weeks ago I found this press release about a home fuel distiller that the manufacturer claims will make 100% pure (200 proof) ethanol for your vehicle from sugar for about a dollar a gallon!  The E-fuel 100 MicroFueler is about as large as a stackable washer-dryer, sells for just under $10k (part of which consumers could get back after gubmint incentives and tax credits) and will ship late this year. 
It got me thinking about turning production of sugar back up.  After all, Brazil has a thriving sugar ethanol industry and that country uses absolutely NO imported oil, but has year round E25 fuel (25% ethanol, 75% petroleum) mandated by the gubmint. 
Seems to me, if little Brazil can do it, why can't we.  Between Sugar Ethanol and Biodiesel, we could tell the middle east to piss up a rope and give itself a crude oil enema in no time. 
If you want a real renewable fuels education, visit the Gas 2.0 website at gas2.org and see what's really out there.  Everything from Biodiesel, Ethanol, Hybrids and yes, even wood burning vehicles! 
Americans can still innovate when they need to!

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Kennedy family after the revelation on Tuesday that the family Patriarch, Senator Ted Kennedy, has a malignant brain tumor.  The weekend seizures that were the talk of talk radio and late night monologues are suddenly not funny, as they were the keys to the diagnosis.
While the Senior senator from Massachusetts hasn't always been a friend to conservative America, we still wish him the best in this battle for his life.

Oh, two suburban Minneapolis high school students have been turned in and face charges and schoo punishment for defacing the portraits of three Minnesota governors, including Jesse Ventura.  The total damages were estimated at around $175, so the charges will likely be misdemeanors, not felonies. 
Now, in my day, the primary punishment would be determined by, and administered with, the Board of Education.  Still should be, but that's just me....

Wyatt Cox is a firm believer in firm punishment.  That's why he still watches the WWE...these days it's agonizing to watch.  Punish yourself by reading his columns at rant.wyattcox.net