Mark Kausler’s CatBlog

DON’T BUY BP!!

All my readers, you know what’s going on in the Gulf of Mexico right now stands to be one of the most horrible environmental catastrophes in United States history. To a large extent, the fault is with ourselves for our insatiable appetite for oil, and also to British Petroleum and our own government. BP got special dispensation from the US Government to drill in the Gulf without proper safeguards and the equipment standing by to contain any possible spills before they spread. They were excused from this by our Government, no doubt due to BP’s lobby. BP has cloaked themselves in a mantle of green, advertising that they invest heavily in solar and wind power, take care of animals in the path of oil exploration, etc. This horrible tragedy in the Gulf shows that this is all lies and propaganda. Here in Southern California, BP oil is Arco Gas. PLEASE, all my readers, DO NOT BUY ARCO GAS OR OIL! In other states, please ask your local gasoline dealers if they get oil from BP or the Gulf, and if they do, don’t buy it! This is the best and most powerful way to send a message to BP that their poor safety practices in the Gulf will not be tolerated. BP and Arco consistently undersell every other oil company. The reason they can do it is that they don’t spend money on the extra ships and equipment to contain oil spills. What seems to be “cheap” gas comes at a terrible price, poisoning of all fish, crustacean and animal life in the Gulf region, and possibly up the Eastern seaboard. Our food supply, navigation on the Mississippi river, and the lives and livelihoods of the Shrimpers, fishermen, the port of New Orleans, and so much else are in grave danger from this ongoing spill. It may cost a little more per gallon to buy elsewhere than BP, but eventually BP/Arco’s prices will spike. After all, they will want us to pay “our share” of their botched efforts to drill oil so deep undersea in the Gulf.

Remember that the oil companies buy up all real progress in electric and solar powered motor vehicles by buying all new solar battery patents! Just watch the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” the next time it’s on your PBS station. You will see the story of Stanford R. Ovshinsky, inventor of the Nickel Metal Hydride Battery trade named Ovonic. Before Mr. Ovshinksy developed his battery, electric vehicles (EVs) could only travel about 60 miles on a charge, due to inefficient batteries. The Ovonic battery expanded the cruising range to 300 miles on a charge. The automotive and oil industries deep-sixed this invention with a one-two punch, first General Motors bought a 60% stake in Ovonic Batteries, then they sold it off on Oct. 23rd, 2000 to Chevron/Texaco! It hasn’t been heard of since. When I saw that part of “Who Killed the Electric Car?”, it was a life-changing experience for me. The Oil companies want to kill us, and kill the entire planet for the last 3 or 4 trillion dollars of oil left in the ground and under the sea. The BATTERY EXISTED!!! The breakthrough that would make Solar charging of cars possible, and about the same cruising range as a gasoline powered car per charge!! But the oil companies and car manufacturers don’t want the world to have the battery, it would make them lose money. They have put profits ahead of animals, mankind, food, clean water, fish and LIFE ITSELF! And where is the outrage? Who cares if the battery that would mean clean, safe, non-polluting, low-cost transportation is now in the hands of Chevron/Texaco, who have a vested interest in never letting the public use it. How many other battery patents were made to disappear by big oil? I don’t know how much more proof is needed to show that humanity is on a suicide path if it remains wedded to the oil dynasty. Remember, DON’T BUY BP!!!

Normally, I resist the soapbox, but this incident has really touched me, so back to the comics and thanks for letting me vent: Felix this time is from 10-26 to 11-1-1936. In the dailies, Felix helps Tanglefoot the detective solve several mysteries, including a missing toupee! Felix gets little reward or respect for his crime solving, sad to say. In the Sunday, Felix accidentally blows up a bull. Big changes coming up in the Sunday page next time, wait until you see it!

In Krazy this time, from 4-15 to 4-20-1940, is mostly given over to wordplay, as only Krazy can do it. I like the 4-18, featuring Krazy’s Aunts Tabby and Minny, who wear Unkil Tom’s trousers, the “peddil”, “paddle” and “peddle” confusion in the 4-19 is quite a charmer as well.

Patrick is from 1-17 to 1-21-1966. Patrick is really good at pushing Elsa’s buttons in the 1-18 and 1-19 strips, and the coda for the week has Mommy locked in the hall closet. After all, Patrick has no choice. I’m getting a lot of good comments on the Patrick strips, more interest than I thought would be there. That’s good, but remember that this is the CATblog, so don’t fail to click on the Felix and Krazy strips to blow them up to reading size. The design in Patrick is so simple that it almost reads in thumbnail form. See you next time, and remember, DON’T BUY BP!!!