Posted on 10/04/2005 11:39:23 AM PDT by Dick Bachert
As George Bush continues to make multiple, largely PR driven trips in and out of the Gulf coast in a fuel guzzling Air Force 1 and choppers and ground vehicles specially flown to the area for his comfort and safety, I’d like to launch a little informal survey.
As I write this, I’m watching a bevy of gummint bureaucrats parade across C-SPAN urging those of us living out here in “flyover country” to conserve energy. As if $3.00+ a gallon gasoline and a 50%+ spike in natural gas prices weren’t sufficient motivation. These bureaucrats have – so far – stopped short of the ridiculous Carter era suggestion that we cut eyeholes in paper grocery sacks and wear over our heads to stay warm indoors this winter.
The thermostats in our home are ALWAYS set at 78 degrees (with set ups to 79+ at night) in the summer and 68 degrees – or lower – (with set backs to 64 or so at night) in the winter. The whining you may hear in the background is my wife. We largely live in our first-floor great room, which has two high-speed ceiling fans, and a very efficient wood-burning fan powered fireplace insert in which we burn wood cut here on the property. Two small logs will heat the entire first floor for an hour or so.
We drive a rice burning mini-van, which averages around 25 MPG.
Since I have a well-deserved reputation for being cheaper than Clark Howard (Clark and I prefer the term “parsimonious”), we’ve been running our lives like this for over 30 years.
OK, now that you know what ecologically good stewards we are of the planet, here’s why I said all of that: My wife returned from a recent trip to the LOCAL POST OFFICE to report that, on an 86 degree day, it was cold enough inside to HANG MEAT IN THE LOBBY.
Which leads me to my proposed survey: Many of you good Freepers periodically visit local, state and federal OFFICE BUILDINGS. What would be good for all the rest of us to know – as we make these necessary PERSONAL COMFORT SACRIFICES – is IF OUR PUBLIC SERVANTS ARE JOINING US. Get yourself an inexpensive little thermometer, stuff it in a pocket before visiting the local/state/federal courthouse, library, post office or other government facility and report here where THEY have THEIR thermostat set.
And every time I walked into one of those 70 degree government buildings this summer, I thought about the American troopers lugging 80 pounds of weapon, ammo, body armor (which, it turns out, many have had to buy themselves) and gear in 115 degree sand storms in Al Sucksbigtime, Iraq and similar places.
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to take the temperatures of these government facilities and report them here. So we can get a fix on exactly what’s what, also report the estimated OUTSIDE temperature at the time.
If it turns out they’re NOT doing their part, we can – depending on the season -- either put some heat on them or turn it off to get them with the program.
After all, if we all ARE in this together, let’s ALL be in it together.
I'm in. Will let you know.
Great idea!
I basically do as you do, but in summer the thermostat goes down to 74 at night. Can't sleep in the heat. Higher during the day though both summer and winter.
Useless vanity #4,000.
LOL Your tagline! I love it! Wooo hoo!
Turn UP the air conditioning in the Ed Sullivan theater (Dabid Letterman Show) too
Excellent rant!! Time to -itch slap a few city/state/fed slugs : )
Useless comment about an otherwise beneficial vanity #20,653.
And how long HAVE you worked for the government?
Like I said in another thread this week, I better start seeing some bulletproof Priuses rolling out of the Whitehouse in the next couple of weeks or I'm calling b.s.
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