Gas Shortages?
New York Governor Cuomo finally instituted a system of even/odds gas rationing, similar to the one that New Jersey Governor Christie implemented last week.
Many people, myself included, were wondering why this had not been instituted earlier. It seems to have worked well here in New Jersey, and perhaps that proved to be the impetus for New York to finally be swayed into following that model. In the first days following Hurricane Sandy, there were many gas stations that did not have power, and although they had plenty of gas, the lack of electricity meant that they could not actually get that gas to the people. So, there were few gas stations that either had not lost power, or had sufficient power from generators, to service people. Inevitably, there were long lines at these gas stations, although the lines probably were longer than they should have been.
Why? What happened?
There really never was any gas shortage in this region. It was all just the power of persuasion, and perhaps insinuation. It was all imagined, it was not real. There had been this kind of popular myth that graduated to a widespread rumor that there would be gas shortages following such an epic storm, and it became more or less a self-fulfilling prophecy. People thought there would be gas shortages, and began to act like there would be gas shortages, and thus, they kind of created gas shortages.
How did this happen, exactly? Well, people seem to have panicked. There was to be seen some hording behavior, and people changed their behavior in regards to obtaining gas. They would stock up, filling up their cars before they normally might, and making sure to fill up their portable gas containers, as well. Others who saw this began to believe that the shortage was real, and everyone seemed to fear that, if they waited in long lines at the gas station, there was a strong possibility that the station would run out of gas. Long lines ensued, and the situation just kept getting worse and worse.
Until, that is, the state government in New Jersey imposed the rationing, and the lines began to evaporate. It began to let up from south to north, gradually. Already, by instituting the odds/evens, which immediately cut the long lines in half, the situation improved. Of course, by then, there were gas tankers and trucks that were sent to the area from many places, to help with the gas situation. Before too long, long lines became the exception.
I spend quite a bit of my time in central New Jersey, as well as northern New Jersey. As stated earlier, the further north you get, the worse the gas situation tends to be. Already, by early on this past week, the lines in central Jersey seemed to be more a thing of the past. But that said, I saw a very long line for gas as recently as Tuesday of this past week in northern Jersey. But now, these even seem to be rare up there. It looks like the gas situation, propelled mostly by fear, has now gotten better, and is no longer a huge issue, here in New Jersey. It worked.
I know it might not be politically the most popular thing to do, as it comes with some risks and inconveniences, presumably. That said, I applaud New York and Governor Cuomo for following New Jersey's example in this case.
Occupy!
Also, let's give it up for the Occupy Movement!
Yes, this movement was best known (so far, anyway) for their political stance (We are the 99%) that they have taken, which seemed, on some level, to be the left's response to the Tea Party movement. This was a grass roots movement that, in effect, began to grow rapidly, and spread.
Mostly, it was a protest movement. They were not linked to any major political party or anything, like the Tea Party was. It was not the most organized political movement, either, and so, when it ran into problems with the police, and with bad weather, the momentum for the thing was slowed tremendously.
Still, it made an indelible mark on American politics and, it can be argued with some validity, that it still does. It certainly is not completely dead in the water, and the arguments that it made are still being voiced by a number of people, particularly on places like Facebook and Twitter, as well as on bumper stickers.
Yet, effectively, the Occupy movement itself had grown increasingly inactive, politically speaking.
Then, in the aftermath of Sandy, it reorganized itself, and went to actively help people in their hour of need! It reminded everyone of the most positive aspects and messages that initially stemmed from the movement, well before the violence that erupted (particularly in Oakland, California) marred popular perception of the movement.
I went to the rally in New York last year (I think it was either September or October, although my memory is increasingly fuzzy on it). It was nice to take part in a protest movement that voiced real concerns, and not the rehearsed concerns that the mainstream media wants you to believe reflect the realities of America today. Occupy forced America, and even the rest of the world (since there were numerous Occupy movements that could be seen around the world), to listen to the voice of common people, for once.
The Occupy movement, like it or not, is ultimately about empowering the common people, and it certainly deserves respect, whether or not you agree with it. They voiced their strong opposition to much of the excesses and abuses of Wall Street, and most Americans seemed to agree with them in principle, although nothing was actively done about it otherwise, other than a few slap on the wrist investigations and government inquiries and such. Occupy was the first really organized popular movement where regular people got to make headlines by voicing their opinions, which often reflected the common view of it.
I congratulate the ingenuity, as well as the active and heartwarming concern, that motivates the organizers of Occupy, and hope to continue to hear more from them in the future! They have earned my support!
Charles Darwin Receives 4,000 Votes In Georgia!
That's right! Famed nineteenth century scientist Charles Darwin, who essentially, and rather reluctantly, fathered the now commonly accepted (at least among the world scientific community) theory of evolution, received 4,000 write in votes in the state of Georgia earlier in this week's election.
That follows a speech by Georgia Republican Congressman Paul Braun, who is a physician and member of the United States House of Representatives Science, Space, and Technology Committee, where he called the theory of evolution and the Big Bang Theory "lies straight from the pit of hell."
Braun had no opposition in the general election, and so was going to easily pick up another term as a member of the House of Representatives, representing Georgia.
http://news.yahoo.com/evolutionist-charles-darwin-gets-4-000-write-votes-160159056.html
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