Tuesday, May 26, 2009

 

For What It's Worth

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse sics FBI teaparty protester, claims protester is "endangering the government and should be investigated as a suspected terrorist." Again, one of the most protected men in the country trying to intimidate citizens practicing their constitutional rights.

Some are finding a trend in Chrysler dealership closings, many more owners seem to be supporters of Republicans. I looked up a several from Ohio at opensecrets.org. Most hadn't donated either way, at least not directly. I found two that had donated Republican, Robert C. Reichart, owner of University Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Jay Park, owner of Crestmont Chrysler.

Looking past donations, I would assume it would be easy for anyone to search each states voter registration records for party affiliation. I regularly receive mail from whichever party I happen to be registered with at the moment. I hope this story doesn't pan out. But, from what I've learned of politicians on both sides of the fence, I wouldn't be too surprised if it did.
There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
Another thought regarding Chrysler, purportedly one of the reasons for cutting back on dealerships was to decrease competition and raise prices. The problem with this line of reasoning lies in that the competition Chrysler needs to worry about comes from Toyota, Honda, Hyundia, Kia, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, Ford, etc. Fewer dealerships make it more difficult for consumers to shop for your product. More thoughts here. The other day in the comments to my post we discussed the "If the only tool you have is a hammer..." quote. Via synchronicity, the quote comes up in the first paragraph of this article.

Responding to North Korea's nuclear test and missile tests, Obama released a statement, part of which says, "Such provocations will only serve to deepen North Korea's isolation. It will not find international acceptance unless it abandons its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery." Were there ever more wasted words? It's quite apparent that North Korea cares neither about isolation nor international acceptance. Of course, no one has had any luck dealing with North Korea although I believe China could bring effective pressure if it wished.

Obama's auto mandates will do very little to improve the problem he claims to be fighting. By 2100, the regulations are predicted to "reduce the sea-level rise by six hundredths of a centimeter. That’s 0.6 millimeters." The predicted temperature increase under Bush's plan would have been 2.955 by 2100, under Obama's plan, 2.952.

Frankly, I'm not sure what to make of all the global warming climate change hysteria. Having studies a little geology in college, I realize CO2 levels have been much higher at other times in the Earth's history when mankind was just a twinkle in God's eye.
...long-term reconstructions of atmospheric CO2 levels going back in time show that 500 million years ago atmospheric CO2 was some 20 times higher than present values. It dropped, then rose again some 200 million years ago to 4-5 times present levels--a period that saw the rise of giant fern forests--and then continued a slow decline until recent pre-industrial time.
I've always been environmentally conscious but believe in reasonable actions. I believe we can make much more efficient and cleaner cars. I keep hoping for some good entrepreneurs to come up with a break through. Right now it appears "decisions based upon fear rather than foresight" are being made.

Sometimes, I wonder if we are in a post-modern middle ages. Scientific debate on climate change is being squelched much like science was suppressed a thousand years ago. Virtually any course of inquiry that challenges today's politically correct positions meets harsh opposition, not on terms of science, but on grounds of compatibility with the accepted ideology. I suppose time will tell but that time may come long after I'm gone.

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