I received a fantastic response to my previous complaint to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority.  Bravo.

[Clarification:  Those are links, above.  Click here to see the response.]

On the BBC World Service today, a Libyan rebel plead for the establishment of a no-fly zone, tactical air strikes, and “everything short of having foot soldiers on our land, because we can do [that]“.  He continued, “as Libyan people we shall not forget any good deed that will come from any country in the world. We as a country are quite rich with resources: oil, and everything. And we will remember who our friends are!  And will definitely reward them greatly.”

His plea shows how much of a national security and energy independence issue this is, beyond being a humanitarian and human rights crisis.  If you have isolationist tendencies, or know those who do, please consider this and pass it on.  If you won’t do it for the blood, do it for the oil.

This is what I said to my Senators when I called them:

This is Joshua McGee in El Monte, California.  I am calling to ask the Senator to support intervention in Libya through the establishment of a no-fly zone.

I am a longtime supporter of the Senator’s.  I realize that this could face opposition from isolationists.  A Libyan protester on the BBC pleaded today that they, quote, “shall not forget any good deed that will come from ANY country in the world. We as a country are quite rich with resources: oil, and everything. And we will REMEMBER who our friends are!”

I believe that this is not just a human rights issue but a national security and energy independence issue.  If we don’t step up to the plate and another country does, this could drastically affect energy and, therefore, security balance in the world.

Americans: please contact your Senators.

Timeline for ordering pizza from Pizza Hut tonight:

18:10  Place order at pizzahut.com for pizza delivery at 19:00.

18:50  Friend Nathan arrives, hungry.

19:00  Pizza fails to show up.

19:15  Pizza continues to fail to show up.

19:30  Call pizza restaurant.  Have the following exchange:

Employee:  “Hi, thank you for calling Pizza Hut.  This is Krysdgasdl (phonetically).  Will this order be for delivery or carryout?

Me:  “Actually I’m checking on an order status.  This is Joshua at [address].”

Krysdgasdl:  “Oh, that order’s out already.”

Me:  “That means that the pizza’s been made, has left the store, and the delivery guy is on his way?”  (Yes, I honestly asked the question just like this.)

Krysdgasdl:  “Yes, it should be there soon.”

19:45  No pizza.

20:00  No.  Fucking.  Pizza.  For real.

20:15  Call pizza restaurant.  Have the following exchange:

Krysdgasdl:  “Hi, thank you for calling Pizza Hut.  This is Krysdgasdl.  Will this order be for delivery or carryout?”

Me:  “I’m checking on the status of an order.  This is Joshua at [address] again.”

Krysdgasdl:  “What?”

Me:  “This is Joshua McGee at [full address].  I called before?”

Krysdgasdl:  “Oh, yeah.  You’re Josh?”

Me:  “Yes.”

Krysdgasdl:  “Umm … that order was cancelled.”

Me:  “Excuse me?”

Krysdgasdl:  “It’s showing here as cancelled.”

Me:  “…”

Krysdgasdl:  “Oh, I think I know what happened!”

Me:  “Yes?”

Krysdgasdl:  “We ran out of pan crust, so we cancelled your order.  Would you like to place an order with another kind of crust?”

Me:  “Well … you … you could have called me!”

Krysdgasdl:  “I’m really sorry.  We could discount the pizza.”

Me:  “No, cancel it.  We’re going out.”

Krysdgasdl:  “Is there anything else I can do?”

Me:  “No, you’ve been very helpful.  Thank you.”