Why would Wild George even think about actually attacking Iran when it will drive the price of oil higher and hurt the poor worldwide?

Well, who won in Iraq if not Bush-Cheney cronies in Big Oil and War “Construction”? And who stands to truck away big windfalls if oil goes over $200 a barrel?

Footnote: Of course, I exaggerate. In Iraq, Haliburton and oil profiteers aren’t the only big winners. The Kurds did better, as did the Shiites. Also, anyone riding the wave of anti-American sentiment got a huge boost, and Iran is going to own (in some sense) southern Iraq.

Thanks to teacher

I’ve neglected to praise a teacher, Mr. Kelvin Caulkins, for the great job I’ve repeatedly heard he has done.

He thoroughly created a good student out of my son, who went through hell at a portion in May Street where the teacher ripped up his story that, in his own mind, he had put his heartfelt effort into.

He was tested for learning disability, among other things, there; really wasn’t doing well there that year with that teacher.

I thought it was going to be a miserable go for him through the institution of school. However, Mr. Caulkins created a new, ambitious boy out of that dust, and I thank you so very much, Mr. Caulkins.

STOP means stop

When I was a boy of about 12, I learned a very important lesson that present-day bicyclers don’t seem to understand: When you see red octagon signs, with white letters, STOP on them, it means to stop.

Don’t just ignore it, or slow down, or ride up on the sidewalk, go around cars that have stopped. Stop means you don’t have the right of way. No matter how macho you may feel, when a bicycle and automobile collide, the cycle and rider sustain the most damage, and it hurts a lot when you are riding to the hospital.

If you want to ride a bicycle in the streets and highways, follow the traffic rules and laws of the road. Otherwise, you can be hurt, possibly quite badly, and your bicycle totaled.

Bicyclers don’t have the right of way all the time. Remember, the automobile driver has rights, too.

Beautiful Idlewilde

It was a pleasure to go to Idlewilde Cemetery before Memorial Day to find that Bob Huskey has done so much to improve the grounds where our loved ones are.

The day we were there he was around to assist, help and chat and it was great to see his smiling face. The music playing was also appreciated.

Continue, Bob, to do what you are doing — it is looking great.

Fuel prices

Nightmare? I was relieved to read the letter of Mr. Davis in the June 4 issue. He would have us believe the entire country’s oil crisis and economic woes are the result of environmentalists applying a “chokehold” on American oil companies. Our newest technology, Mr. Davis, may make drilling easier, safer and more cost-effective (you infer?).

I cannot refute or agree with this, not being an expert in the field you seem to know a lot about. It will certainly not prevent Exxon Valdez and other tankers from regularly spilling upwards of millions of gallons of crude into waterways. Nor will it prevent the corporations from gouging the American people. Talk about Un-American...

Using simple math, let’s see how the gas prices are crunched: A few years ago crude oil was $30-$40/barrel, gas prices were around $2.50 per gallon and American oil companies like Exxon made excellent profits. Now crude is $120 per barrel, gas is $4.15 per gallon and Exxon/Mobil has record profits while they “struggle” to get us our gasoline. How much more can we expect them to make when a 400 percent increase in raw product results in a 60 percent increase in gas price per gallon while profits soar?

The definition of an environmentalist is someone who cares about the quality of the environment. It has nothing to do with making ill-informed decisions, which result in huge impacts to the planet and its people to avoid living a “nightmare.” The nightmare, Mr. Davis, is that many highly educated scientists worldwide have been screaming about the energy issues for decades and we have been too stupid, lazy, egocentric and short-sighted to listen.