Friday, May 25, 2007 Got a question? Get an answer. Send an e-mail to Dear Mr. Mullings Dear Mr. Mullings: Why are gas prices going up again with Democrats in control of both houses? I thought they were supposed to fix all of that. Jennifer Flower Mound, TX This is yet another example of the limits of Nancy Pelosi's powers. She, I think, really believed she was Wonder Woman and could click her magic bracelets together and fix stuff. The problem the Congressional Democrats - House Democrats, really - have is they are spending so much time, and expending so much energy on trying to make George W. Bush's life miserable, that they are ignoring the fact that they are doing nothing to work with the White House to make OUR lives less miserable. Gas prices are way high - partially due to OPEC, partially due to there being no alternative to buying gas to make your vehicle move forward, and partially due to the number of new refineries being built in the US in the past three decades totalling exactly ... zero. If you think Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are going to be able to do anything on any of those fronts, you are mistaken. Add to that, the Mean Greenies - led by Al Gore - are actually happy that gasoline prices are so high because they believe that will lead to a decrease in use and thereby a decrease in emissions and ... blah, blah, blah you can see that there is no one except for you and me that want gas prices to come down. I certainly hope someone is tracking big oil's contributions to Democratic candidates and entities. Dear Mr. Mullings: What is a NeoCon? I've been hearing this term tossed around but I, apparently, missed the definition so I don't know if it's good, or bad; something I would want my children to aspire to be or something I should, vigorously, rail against. Lonnie First of all the construct "neocon" is typical of our age. We are sooooo busy we can't say entire syllables. Neocon is shorthand, of course, for "neo Conservative." Rather than spending all the time necessary to say the name: Alex Rodriquez we call him "A-Rod." Similarly it takes WAY more time than we have available to say "Jennifer Lopez" so we call her "J-Lo." Lest you think this is limited to persons of Hispanic origin, my nickname in the hotter spots in New York and LA is the "Mull-Man," and I barely got through Spanish I at Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio 45750. According to Merriam-Webster's Third Unabridged "neo" is from (those who have seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding will not be surprised) the Greek meaning "new." According to NeoCon theology the godfather of Neocons is Irving Kristol (father of Bill) who described himself as a "liberal mugged by reality" which is bound in the (again) Meriam-Webster definition as "a former liberal espousing political conservatism." According to one source, the term stems from a quote from Arther M. Schlesinger, Jr. who wrote, "The neo-conservatism of the 1980s is a replay of the New Conservatism of the 1950s, which was itself a replay of the New Era philosophy of the 1920s." I'm not certain what that means, but I was not alive in the 1920's and I was too poor through the 1980's to espouse any political philosphy, and I was never a Liberal so, I suspect I don't qualify as a neoconservative. Or a neo anything. Dear Mr. Mullings: Recently I read that Newt will be throwing his hat in the ring. If and when this happens, who do you think will be his chief of staff? In the event that�s you, will you still have time to continue your blog? I�ve grown used to it. Howard New Jersey First of all, Howard and I went to High School together at West Orange Mountain High School. Having said that, I do think Newt will throw his hat into the ring... SIDEBAR I believe the phrase "throw his hat into the ring" comes from the early days of prize fighting when boxers (fighters) would go from town-to-town challenging the local toughs. The way one signaled his intention to accept the challenge was to throw one's hat into the ring, hence ... According to a citation from "Take Our Word For It" Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt used it in 1912:"My hat's in the ring", he said, meaning that he had entered the presidential race. END SIDEBAR Where was I? Oh, yes, Newt. Newt will not offer me a position in his campaign so whether I would accept same is moot. Newt and I have, as they say, a history. A colorful history. Part of the color is we are two very opinionated men, one with a PhD and one with a BA. I'm the one with the BA - barely. I wish Newt well and I think he will add a depth to the campaign which will be missing without him, but his campaign will be missing me. Last one Dear Mr. Mullings: On the news we hear/read a barrage of statements about the poor state of the economy and how bad off we are. If we are in such bad shape - how do we (or the other party) account for all of the predictions that this Memorial Day will break all records for travel? Randy Maryland A couple of things. First, with regard to travel this weekend there was an article in the Wall Street Journal which told us that even staying home is going to be expensive: Outdoor feasts this weekend will also be pricey. Steak prices are up 5.5% from a year ago, and whole chickens are up 7.7%, according to the Labor Department. Costly energy is partly to blame. The push to ramp up ethanol as a gasoline substitute has caused the price of corn -- a primary ethanol ingredient -- to nearly double, boosting feed costs for many farm animals. What ever happened to "let them eat cake?" On the macro front, there is increasing evidence that in spite of the Dow Jones Industrials hitting records about every 36 hours and unemployment rates stubbernly sticking in the mid-four-percent range, people are nervous about the economy. This is why: For many - perhaps most - Americans they are mortgaged up to their eyeballs. Between mortgage payments on a house which was too expensive; two cars which are too expensive; college loans which are too expensive; and credit card payments which are way too expensive, many of us know we are not more than one missed paycheck away from going deeply under water. We have moved to a payment society. When was the last time you saw a car ad telling you the price of the car? Not for a long time. You are told the monthly payment. Your mortgage? It had nothing to do with how much the house cost, it had to do with whether you could make the monthly payments. A WSJ piece this week pointed out that even shopping at Target sends many of us to the priciest article in the section - whether a toaster or a DVD player. We put it on our credit card and pay the minimum 1,574 years later ... it's paid for! Me? I'm driving the Mullmobile (a 1999 Landrover Discovery with 114,000 miles on it) until one of us dies. See you next week. Rich Got a question? Get an answer. Send an e-mail to Dear Mr. Mullings                                     Click here to return to the Secret Decoder Ring page Copyright © 2007 Barrington Worldwide, LLC