Levy County Journal EDITORIAL June 5, 2008 5 Sometimes Hollywood just does not get it By Rick Burnham Editor Actress Susan Sarandon told the New York Post last week that if John McCain gets elected president, she will move out of the country, to Canada or Italy. That and other interesting tidbits highlighted yet another rousing week in the world of politics. And it's only the first week of June. Sarandon is only the latest in a long list of Hollywood celebrities who threatened (or promised, depending on which side of the issue you fall on) to hit the road if the results of an upcoming election did not meet their wishes. Alex Baldwin did so, as did Sarandon's own husband, Tim Robbins. Here's the thing though. Those elections resulted in George W. Bush moving into the White House, obviously not what Hollywood had in mind. Still, both Baldwin and Robbins, and Whoopi Goldberg and Martin Sheen stayed put anyway. Guess at the end of the day, America is not such a horrible place after all, as they would have you believe. Or maybe they realized, as virtually everyone on the planet living outside LA realizes, the world does not revolve around Hollywood. If John McCain gets elected, Susan, you won't go anywhere. And if by chance you do, no one is going to notice anyway. Didn't hear about Susan? Well, surely you heard about Barak Obama's decision to resign from his church. Most everyone agrees that Obama made the right decision in resigning from the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Politically, his timing in doing so was right on. Morally, ethically, he was a bit off the mark. Here's the thing. If you believe the recent inflammatory "sermons" were the first such circus acts that have ever taken place at Trinity United, then maybe Obama can be free from criticism. But if you surmise that somewhere along the line a pastor - perhaps Jeremiah Wright, perhaps the moron Catholic priest who mocked Hillary Clinton went off the deep end, Obama should still have questions to answer. Clearly, this is not the first time Trinity has heard controversial commentary in the past 20 or so years, since Barak Obama began attending. So why did Obama wait until his political welfare was on the line to resign from the church? And more importantly, don't his comments ("I'm not denouncing the church and I'm not interested in people who want me to denounce the church.") signal that there is still perhaps a problem here? And one last thought: how exactly did Christ fit into these well-publicized sermons? Just thinking out loud. Speaking of resignation, it is humorous to see the once mighty Hillary Clinton resigned to defeat. She was once a cocky shoe-in for the Oval Office. Now, when the election is over and she heads back to the Senate floor, they will be snickering behind her back. Heartbreaking. And humorous. Conspiracy theories about high gas prices may gain strength By Terry Witt Staff Writer Conspiracy theorists abound in our society and I must confess that occasionally I dabble in speculation about what may be taking place in American government. Take gas prices for example. We have no shortage of gasoline, yet prices continue to rise as though tethered to some type of helium balloon that never bursts. Backtrack a few years to the raging debates about whether to drill for oil in the remaining wilderness areas of Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico. Environmental groups managed to hold off the drilling. But did the government types and oil industry execs win in the end? Has "someone" in power decided to allow oil and gas prices to rise until the American public screams to allow drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaskan wilderness? Mind you, it's speculation. But it's not mindless speculation. We all know all about supply and demand. We know China's exploding economy is a factor in rising demand. We know demand continues to rise in this country. We know all of that. We know our refinery capacity probably needs to increase. But most of those factors were in plaqe yqars, agq when g4s, prices were a, buck, fi ft and I could filfi"n'tank for less than $20. I don't believe increasing demand is' the sole reason for the sk) rocketing price of gasoline at the ump. I've floated an idea in recent weeks to make people think outside the box about gasoline prices. What if the United States Congress declared that oil and gas are national security assets vital to the economic and political survival of the American public? The government would set the price for these commodities, much like it used to do for peanuts, and oil company creeps, er, executives could charge no more than what was allowed. Let's say a buck fifty per gallon. I don't doubt some would cry out that we must have unfettered industry. People must be able to make zillions of dollars on their oil company stocks. Oil company billionaires must have cash reserves to invest in oil exploration, like in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. I buy into some of those arguments. We don't need to destroy free enterprise. At the same time, I don't think it's socialism to try to stop the economic bleeding in this country. We're being bled dry by high gas prices. It's gas price inflation. Everything we buy is more costly because of high gas and diesel prices. Many businesses that use fossil fuels to deliver and receive products are being driven out of business. There's no end in sight. There's no way to adjust. We're not the federal government. We can't rev up the printing presses when we need more money. I don't think my conspiratorial theories are that far off. I watched oil company executives testify before Congress recently that they have a right to earn tens of billions in profits in the free market every year. It's the American way. Members of Congress threw out softball questions that third graders could have answered. I wonder when the interests of the American public will enter into the discussion about rising gas prices. Do the politicians plan to give people living on Social Security a hefty benefit increase to compensate for what they are losing to gas price inflation. I am talking about higher food costs, higher costs at the pump, and higher electricity costs. Higher everything. I don't accept the premise that gaswill evyetaly ise to $5 .a gallon and the only way tQ0tPrikis to leorpljo paniges drillio rin(4gees. areas. Repetyn p ritnc tells me that when oil companies are permitted to drill in the Alaskan wilderness and Gulf of Mexico, gas prices may stabilize for a while if we're lucky, but they won't go down. In a worst-case scenario, prices at the pump will continue to rise along with oil company profits. But I am willing to compromise. If oil companies can promise that drilling in the Alaskan wilderness and Gulf of Mexico will bring gas prices at the pump back down to a $1.50 per gallon for the next two decades, and that a meaningful national energy plan is undertaken in the meantime to reduce our use of oil by 80 percent, I'll stop harping. I may even give up my conspiracy theories. Did you know that just 50% of adult Americans are satisfied with their own smile? An array of options are available from the AACD member dentists to give you the smile you have always desired. For your smile consultation, contact: Robert E. Mount, Jr., DDS PA Offering Cosmetic cDentistry that WMavs You qProudof'our Smile! TMJ Evaluation & Treatment Zoom Bleaching * One Appointment Crowns Preventive Dentistry Most Insurance Accepted New Patients Welcome! 11o E. Park Avenue, Chiefland 352-493-1416 W- 7110 111 l =711M Southern Nostalgia Gift Baskets Nationwideve (A Wonderful Alternative to Flowers) shipping Anyone would love to receive one of our beautiful Custom Baskets, brimming with a bountiful selection of. their very favorite things! To learn more please visit our Website: sonogiftbaskets.com for additional information: E-mail us at: sonobaskets@aol.com S or Telephone: 352-463-6442 / LEVY COUNTY FIRST PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE Levy County is considering applying to the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for a Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) of up to $750,000.00. These funds must be used for one of the following purposes: 1. To benefit low and moderate-income persons; or 2. To aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight; or 3. To meet other community development needs of recent origin having a particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community and where other financial resources are not available to meet such needs. The categories of activities for which these funds may be used are in.the areas of housing, neighborhood revitalization, commercial revitalization, or economic development and include such improvement activities as acquisition of real property, loans to private-for-profit business, purchase of machinery and equipment, construction of infrastructure, rehabilitation of houses and commercial buildings, and energy conservation. Additional information regarding the range of activities that may be undertaken will be provided at the public hearing. For each activity that is proposed, at least 51% of the funds must benefit low and moderate-income persons. In developing an application for submission to DCA, Levy County must plan to minimize displacement of persons as a result of planned CDBG activities. In addition, Levy County is required to develop a plan to assist displaced persons. The public hearing to receive citizen views concerning the community's economic and community development needs will be held at the Levy County Board of County Commissioners Boardroom, 355 South Court Street, Bronson, FL 32621, on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 9:00 a.m. For information concerning the public hearing, contact Dick Tummond; Assistant to County Coordinator, (904) 486-5598. The public hearing is being conducted in a handicapped accessible location. Any handicapped person requiring an interpreter for the hearing impaired or the visually impaired should contact Dick Tummond at least five calendar days prior to the meeting and an interpreter will be provided. Any non-English speaking person wishing to attend the public hearing should contact Dick Tummond at least five calendar days prior to the meeting and a language interpreter will be provided. To access a Telecommunication Device for Deaf Persons (TDD); please call (800) 955-8771. Any handicapped person requiring special accommodation at this meeting should contact Dick Tummond at least five calendar days prior to the meeting. A Fair Housing Workshop will be held immediately following the First Public Hearing on the same date at the same location. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT,. HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE AND FAIR HOUSING JURISDICTION