Rumbles from below

OFWHITES STORE

Concerning the latest publicized TVA screw-up; the ash spill is a tragedy, and should have been expected. With years of drought lowering underground water levels and leaving immense dry caves that are sometimes close to the surface, a sinkhole can happen anywhere in our area. With all the rain we've had this month, and with the added weight of wet soil and the ash atop that, it wouldn't surprise me if the aquifers gave way, causing the events. It wouldn't take much of a drop in land level to do the trick. There was no long range planning for such an event, which is poor foresight, but not expected from a large corporation such as they. The TVA is a government corporation, owned by you.

Do you know the Tennessee Valley Authority has power of eminent domain throughout its seven state jurisdiction, and a lot more of the same rights that states have?

Do you know that the TVA hires lobbyists to get favorable laws passed and unfavorable regulations overlooked just like a private corporations?

Do you know that the TVA furnishes tritium—which is used in nuclear weapons—to the US government National Nuclear Security Administration? The TVA is a major corporate entity in the United States of America.
----
Not much going on on the home front. It is still winter!
----
A printing company that has been a reliable employer in this town for 25 years is closing its doors and putting 180 people out of work. They were told not to expect to receive their final paychecks. Happy New Year, George W. Bush!
----
I see where General Motors received $6,000,000,000 in relief money from us, and turned it over to its financial arm, GMAC. Very little of it will trickle down to Joe carbuyer! GMAC also produces mortgages, so you can figure where the money went.

The car companies are pushing tv ads saying they are selling cars at up to $2k below "factory suggested retail" pricing. No one in his right mind pays the sticker price anyway. Carolyn's 2006 model van had a sticker price of nearly $24k, but she bought it for well less than $19k. Had we haggled another few hours, we probably could have saved a few hundred dollars more. There are always factory incentives from which dealers can reap a profit.