Author Archives: the editor

It is time that credit card companies faced some real competition…

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From an AP story about gas station owners who are refusing to accept credit cards (h/t Crunchy Con)….

His complaints target the so-called interchange fee — a percentage of the sale price paid to credit card companies on every transaction. The percentage is fixed — usually at just under 2 percent — but the dollar amount of the fee rises with the price of the goods or services.

As gas tops $4 a gallon, that pushes fees toward 10 cents a gallon. Now stations, which typically mark up gasoline by 11 to 12 cents a gallon, are seeing profits shrink or even reverse.

I don’t understand why credit card companies charge a percentage of all sales instead of a flat fee. Does it really cost them more money to process a transaction for $4 then $100?

There are real benefits to both the gas station owners and the customers to be able to pay at the pump. When you pay at the pump the gas station has less labor costs because you never have to deal with a live person. Furthermore, they don’t have to face the risk that you will drive off with out paying for your gas. For customer the benefits are even more numerous.

So I think gas stations should band to together and mandate the use of their own card instead of refusing to accept them all together. The bigger convenience store chains already have their own card so it should not be too hard for them to tell the credit card companies to shove it.

Heil Canada

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From the AFP….

A Canadian court has lifted a 12-year-old girl’s grounding, overturning her father’s punishment for disobeying his orders to stay off the Internet, his lawyer said Wednesday.

The girl had taken her father to Quebec Superior Court after he refused to allow her to go on a school trip for chatting on websites he tried to block, and then posting “inappropriate” pictures of herself online using a friend’s computer.

The father’s lawyer Kim Beaudoin said the disciplinary measures were for the girl’s “own protection” and is appealing the ruling.

H/T Crunchy Con

If you think Gas prices are high now….

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From SPIEGEL……

This is why Riedel sees an Israeli military strike, with the US government’s consent, as the most likely attack scenario. But the consequences, according to Riedel, would not differ from those of an American attack. “An Israeli attack will be seen as a US attack. Iran will retaliate against both Israel and the US.” The consequences, says Riedel, would be fatal. “We will see a Middle East in flames.”

Nevertheless, in Israel it is no longer a matter of whether there will be a military strike, but when. It is clear that the attack would be exclusively an aerial strike. Jerusalem recently received approval from Washington for a purchase of F-22 stealth bombers. The centrifuges used to enrich uranium at the Natanz nuclear facility are apparently the main target. According to Israeli information, the centrifuges are kept above ground and are thus easier to destroy. The reactor in Bushehr is seen as another possible target.

And the Iranian air defenses? “We know that Iran’s air defenses are not among the world’s best,” says former Mossad chief Yatom. “They can be overcome.” Nevertheless, many Israelis still hope that the Americans will do the job for them. “It could still be the case,” says Yatom, “that George W. Bush wants to guarantee himself a place in the history books with this last act.”

I have always argued that Israel could not strike Iran without US help because their plans just did not have the range. But F-22’s have a longer range then the F-16’s that Israel has used for past strikes. So if Israel takes delivery of the F-22s they may indeed be able to strike Iran themselves. But that is by no means a done deal as far as I know.

The Bad News Just Does Not Stop

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From the New York Times….

At a moment when corn should be almost waist-high here in Iowa, the country’s top-producing corn state, more than a million acres have been washed out and destroyed.

Beyond that, agriculture experts estimate that 2 million acres of soy beans have been lost to water, putting the state’s total grain loss at 20 percent so far, with the threat of more rain to come.

Watch out for cars with bumper stickers

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From the Washington Post….

Watch out for cars with bumper stickers.

That’s the surprising conclusion of a recent study by Colorado State University social psychologist William Szlemko. Drivers of cars with bumper stickers, window decals, personalized license plates and other “territorial markers” not only get mad when someone cuts in their lane or is slow to respond to a changed traffic light, but they are far more likely than those who do not personalize their cars to use their vehicles to express rage — by honking, tailgating and other aggressive behavior.

It does not seem to matter whether the messages on the stickers are about peace and love — “Visualize World Peace,” “My Kid Is an Honor Student” — or angry and in your face — “Don’t Mess With Texas,” “My Kid Beat Up Your Honor Student.”

H/T Marginal Revolution

Rant of the Week: 6/15/08-6/21/08

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As Spengler points out in this rant, the coming economic problems are going to be a rude awaking for America’s slacker generation. Most of the slackers have never experience a serious economic downturn in their lives and have had their every whim catered to by their wealthy (by historical standards) parents.

But will they respond by saying sir and putting on a tie as Spengler seems to think, or will they respond with the rage of revolutionaries?

More flooding….

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The Midwest is getting soaked…..

At 90, Mary McMahon is old enough to remember the record-setting floods of 1929, when the Cedar River crested at 20 feet. Thursday morning, she came downtown with her son to compare the flood of her childhood with the flood of 2008.

“I just can’t believe it,” she said, as she stood in front of U.S. Bank on Second Avenue and watched dirty brown river water flowing up the street in front of her. “It was bad then, but it was nothing like this… This is worse, a lot worse.”

Infrastructure is failing….

Engineers and National Guard teams examined dams across this storm-deluged state Tuesday looking for signs of damage from the high water that led to the major collapse that nearly emptied Lake Delton.

The huge breach in an embankment holding back Lake Delton released a torrent that washed away three houses and a stretch of highway. The weekend’s storm also displaced thousands of Indiana residents and was blamed for 15 deaths in the Midwest and elsewhere.

And cities are being evacuated……

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines River has punched a 100-foot wide hole in a levee, allowing water to gush into an area near the downtown of Iowa’s capital and largest city early this morning.

A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for 270 homes in Des Moines. Many residents have already left the area under a voluntary evacuation request issued yesterday.