It Just Doesn't Stop

Would somebody please tell me this is not happening. I cannot believe the level of corruption that is so endemic throughout this administration. This kind of corruption is one of the reasons why President Obama is so loathed by the right. His progressive-stacked National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has just recently mandated that unions can basically form in a work place without the consent of the workers. Yes, you heard that right. The unions, who supposedly are for the "working man", are going to shaft the working man and woman by negotiating directly with the employer, leaving out the employees.

American's didn't want it, Congress wasn't going to pass it, and he wouldn't dare do it by executive order. So what happens? The NLRB does Obama's and union's bidding. Now a union can form in a work place without the consent of the workers.

A few years ago, as it was looking like Obama was going to be the democrat nominee and more than likely the next president, I got into an e-mail discussion with the editor of a prominent conservative web site. He was actually pulling for Obama to win, not because he liked Obama's politics, quite the opposite in fact. But his feeling was that a term with a progressive in the White House would reawaken the conservative majority in this country the same way that four years of Carter ushered in Reagan. My argument back to him, while agreeing with his points in principle, was the concern I had about the amount of damage Obama and Pelosi could do to this country during that period of time. I was also concerned there was not another Reagan-like individual out there.

Union Goons at Their Finest

You have to wonder how long it will be before a union thug actually kills someone. This was a case of luck. Twelve inches down or to the right and this doesn’t get interviewed.

See the interview here.

Someone form the pro union side might ask why don’t I ask the same question regarding the folks on the rights. Well, I guess what you’ll have to do is point out to me some ACTUAL cases of violence from right. There is plenty of talk about how violent and racist the Tea Party is, but there are no actual provable cases.

You are always hearing from the left about how the right is violent and that we use heated rhetoric. The last I saw, nobody from the Tea Party has been actually accused of beating someone who didn’t agree with a Tea Party stance. I have never heard of people who were not union shooting at the owners of a union-run shop. Have you ever heard about people from the Tea Party threatening a school superintendent as he tries to save the school district money? You never hear about a conservative politician saying “you’re f------g dead” to a member of the opposition. Somebody needs to point out to me the last time a Republican politician called for blood in the streets.

Now we have graduated from threats of deadly violence to an actual attempt on someone’s life. At what point in time will President Obama step in and tell his supporters that enough is enough? Mr. Obama, does somebody actually have to die for you to say something to your supporters about the hateful rhetoric they spew? What is it going to take for you to show some leadership and take those people to the woodshed for the ass-chewing they deserve?

Gore at it Again

OwlGore is an idiot. Now he is equating anyone who does not believe in man-caused global warming with the anti-civil rights people of the 1950’s and 60’s.

“I remember, again going back to my early years in the South, when the Civil rights revolution was unfolding, there were two things that really made an impression on me,” Gore said. “My generation watched Bull Conner turning the hose on civil rights demonstrators and we went ‘Whoa! How gross and evil is that?’ My generation asked old people, ‘Explain to me again why it is okay to discriminate against people because their skin color is different?’ And when they couldn’t really answer that question with integrity, the change really started.” (Source: The Daily Caller)

First of all, Gore has to provide me with some sort of bona-fides regarding his civil rights records before he can speak to me like this. To the best of my recollection, his civil right portfolio is pretty skimpy. His father’s record on this matter certainly doesn’t give OwlGore any street-cred. I am in no way saying the “little” Gore is a racist. Heck, he’s a democrat and everyone knows that democrats are not racist. But his name isn’t one of those names that pops up when the discussion of civil rights leaders (or even important followers) comes up. In comparison, Charlton Heston, one-time NRA president, was a staunch and very visible civil rights supporter (and he was Republican).

EU Shaking Down US Airlines

Early this year the European Union passed a requirement that all airlines that land or takeoff from European airports must pay a carbon tax.

Starting Jan. 1, the union intends to expand its emission trading system to cover emissions from most flights that touch down in, or take off from, European airports. That means even foreign airlines will have to buy some of the carbon permits from traders and European governments. (Source: NY Times)

I am not sure which is the saddest about this. That the European Union is still hitching their horses to the global warming bandwagon, or that no one will call bullcrap on this blatant attempt by the EU to get money from US airlines any way they can.

Some of the US-based carriers are pushing back, filing suit in the European Court of Justice.

The Gloves are Still On

About a week ago I blogged about how the leftist media is going to treat John Huntsman with kid gloves over the next several months as the quest for the nomination for the GOP presidential candidate heats up. Huntsman has many of the traits that liberal love. He is an avowed global warming alarmist, he supports gays marriage (or at the very least, civil unions), plus a few other positions that are palatable to the left. In many ways, he is just like Mitt Romney. Basically, these guys are GOPers liberal love.

Over the course of the next few months you are going to hear that Huntsman and/or Romney are the only two GOP candidates that are even remotely electable. Who is going to tell you this? Why the oh so much smarter that you media of course. They will waste countless hours telling you how evil Sarah Palin or Michelle Bachmann is. They will point out that Palin has a family that might be a little less than perfect. Or that Bachmann’s husband might be a little weird. But you will be hard pressed to find much from the liberal media about Romney’s failed socialist medicine in has adopted home state of Mass. They will also be sure to bury Huntsman whole global warming beliefs.

Yesterday, Charles Krauthammer chimed in.

Isn't Justice Supposed to be Blind?

I don’t often blog about what is happening on American college campuses. Mostly I don’t because I don’t currently have a dog in this fight. I haven’t attended college in many years, and don’t yet have children of college age.

But this link here caught my attention. Apparently last spring the Education Department of the Obama administration issued new guidelines on how to go about dealing with sexual assault on the college campus. Before I go any further, I do want to say that sexual assault in any form, whether it be forcible rape or of the “date-rape variety” taking advantage of woman in a violent manner is beyond despicable and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

But the new guidelines issued last spring are eliminating due process for the accused.

OCR’s new interpretation of Title IX “strongly discourages” universities from permitting the accused “to question or cross examine the accuser” during the hearing. In addition, if universities provide an appeals process, it must be available to both parties – which subjects the accused to double jeopardy.

Most egregiously, OCR requires universities to render judgment using “a preponderance of the evidence” standard. This means that in a rape case, a campus disciplinary board of faculty, administrator and perhaps students serves as both judge and jury. Few if any of these judges are likely to have professional competence in fact-gathering, evidence analysis or judicial procedure. Yet to deliver a verdict of guilty, they need only to believe that the accused is more likely than not to have committed the crime. (Source: Tigerhawk Blog)

According to the linked post and the supporting article, the feds have threatened to cut off federal money to colleges if they do not implement these rules. So of course, the colleges are scrambling to put them into effect.

I can certainly understand why sexual assault on college campuses is an important issue and if there is a trend (there is support for that trend), then something must be done. But in the quest for justice for the victim, the Obama administration is throwing out justice for the accused. Justice is supposed to be blind. However, the Obama administration, in their quest for votes, have removed the blindfold and have now hamstrung Lady Justice.

Slow Blogging

Sorry about the slow blogging. I have been busier that a rooster in a hen house.

Finally, Proof that the Tea Party is A Bunch of Terrorists

Great video!



One thing: Isn't Maxine Waters supposed to represent all of her constituents? The Tea Party folks included?

New EPA Rules to Cost Jobs, Tax Revenue

Living in the PACNW we have a unique advantage over most of the nation when it comes to energy generation. The vast majority (60%) of the electricity produced in our region comes from hydro-power. The rest comes from nuclear, coal, and fire-fired producers. In fact, the region generates so much power, that we can sell it to other parts of the country, like California and Nevada.

So when the idiots at the EPA pass rules that will impact electrical generation, we are not going to see the same degradation in service that much of the nation will see.

New Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules governing pollutants will certainly have an impact on power generation capability. The new rules propose that energy producers reduce certain pollutants by as much a 73% within the next year and half. Under these strict guidelines, may energy producers will not be able to met the deadlines or the requirements, forcing them to shut down operations. This is going to drive up energy prices, create blackout or brownout problems, and more than likely eliminate jobs.

Libya to Have Sharia Law Constitution

Now that the battle for Libya appears to be nearly over, the attention turns to how they are going to govern themselves. Of course, as a sovereign nation, they are entitled to make their own decisions on what form of government they desire. If they wish to install another dictator they may do so. If they want to have a constitutional republic, that is their choice. And if they wish to have a government that is based on religion, while probably not good for western interests, they can do that too.

It is beginning to look like the Libyan rebels, now that they are in charge (or nearly so), are going to base their constitution, at least in part, on Sharia Law.

But despite the Lockean tenor of much of the constitution, the inescapable clause lies right in Part 1, Article 1: “Islam is the Religion of the State, and the principal source of legislation is Islamic Jurisprudence (Sharia).” Under this constitution, in other words, islam is law. That other phrases such as “there shall be no crime or penalty except by virtue of the law” and “Judges shall be independent, subject to no other authority by law and conscience” a bit more ominous. (Source: Heritage Blog)

Costco Removing Charging Stations

Want another example of how the whole electric vehicle (EV) fad has run its course? Take a look at this article.  Seems that Costco is removing charging stations from their parking lots due to lack of use.

“We were early supporters of electric cars, going back as far as 15 years. But nobody ever uses them,” said Dennis Hoover, the general manager for Costco in northern California, in a telephone interview. “At our Flosm store, the manager said he hadn’t seen anybody use the E.V. charging in a full year. At our store in Vacaville, where we had six chargers, one person plugged in once a week.” (Source: New York Times)

So how about that demand for green technology? I keep saying it and will keep on saying it; until the technology catches up with the needs of the driving public (distance, charging times, etc.), these are going to be nothing more than fashion statements by greenies who have money to burn.

A Liberal's Favorite GOP

So, do you want to know why John Huntsman and Mitt Romney get good reviews from the press? How about this one here? Apparently Huntsman has taken a hearty swig from the same pitcher of Kool-Aid that OwlGore has sipped from. Maybe they even shared a glass.

On Thursday Huntsman, a GOP candidate for the presidential nomination, tweeted “To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.”

OK, you are crazy. Global warming is NOT scientific fact. There is NOT a consensus among scientist that global warming is occurring.

Let’s backtrack a bit to the first part of his tweet. He is a believer in evolution. Not a real big deal in my opinion. I am a born-again Christian who really doesn’t have a dog in this fight. Whether we were created as the Bible says we were (man from the mud and woman from a rib), or if we descended from a single cell organisms it is not tripping point for me. However man and the universe were created (the Big Band 4+ billion years ago or 6,000+ years ago over six days), God was the Creator. Of this I have no doubt. So if a GOP candidate is not stuck on one creation path or another is not one of those minus marks I would give to a candidate.

July Home Sales Off

It is starting to look more likely that a double dip in the recession could be at hand. Home sales for the month of July took a dive, tumbling more than 3% from June sales. Tough lending policies and appraisals coming in under offers are reasons cited.

I think it is pretty clear to most folks that as long as home sales continue to lag, so will the economy. The crash in the housing market brought us in to this mess, and it will either bring us out, or it will keep us down. Right now, it is doing it’s dangest to keep the economy down.

I wonder if any the experts are willing to say that people are afraid of purchasing a home right now with the economy in turmoil. Consumer confidence, although up in recent weeks, is down pretty significantly over the past year.

Electric Vehicle Dynamics Changing

Could it be that all my blogging (and of course Mike at Confederate Yankee) about the Chevy Volt has had an impact? Of course I josh a little. There have been many bloggers, both big (Like Mike’s) and small (Like mine), who have taken on electric vehicles (EV) like the Chevy Volt and to a lesser degree the Nissan Leaf. All of that press pointing out the pros and cons (mostly cons) looks like it is having an impact.

According to a story from The Detroit Bureau (through Yahoo News) interest in the Chevy Volt and other electric-type vehicles is waning.

Through the end of July, Chevy has sold about 3,200 of the plug-in hybrids compared to 4,500 Nissan Leafs. But both makers have begun ramping up production, General Motors forecasting sales of around 16,000 for the year as a whole – including a small number of Volt clone Opel Amperas targeted at markets abroad.

But a new study by CNW marketing raises a red flag, finding that the potential buyers GM is most counting on are rapidly losing interest in the Volt. In March, 21% of so-called Early Adapters said they were “very likely” to consider buying a Volt, while 38.1% said they were “likely” to do the same. That slipped to 14.6% saying “very likely” and 31.1% “likely.”  Among EV enthusiasts, reports the CNW study, the number of those likely or very likely to consider Volt fell from a combined 71% to 51% during the same four-month period. (Source: Yahoo News)

ACORN Gets Clobbered

Last week I put up two posts on voter fraud and ACORN here and here. Looks like the state of Nevada doesn’t appreciate ACORN trying to circumvent their voter registration laws.

Obama and Holder Going After S&P

The first time I read the headline in this linked story, I actually laughed. Eric Holder and the Justice Department are going after Standard and Poor, looking into possible misconduct related to mortgage securities. Raise your hand if you think this is in retaliation for S&P down-grading the US for AAA to AA+.

It is laughable that this administration would go after a group that rated mortgage securities, when Obama, as a Senator, backed continuing down the path of destruction when then-President Bush wanted to reign in Fannie and Freddie. It was democrats, led by Clinton, while he was president, and continually backed by Barney Frank, who should be the ones under investigation. This group of liberal politicians wanted everyone to be able to purchase a house. These risky mortgages were backed by Fannie and Freddie under the direction of Frank’s boyfriend. When banks and mortgage companies wanted to bring back and little sanity to the lending process, they were threatened by progressives and liberals with charges of racism.

Seattle to Move Forward with Tunnel

Over the years the Seattle-Tacoma area has consistently been ranked in or near the top ten in metropolitan areas with the worst traffic. In 2010 the Chicago Tribune and Forbes Magazine put Seattle in the ninth position.

One of the worst areas is the waterfront area and the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Not only is this elevated stretch of Highway 99 congested at nearly anytime during the day, it is also a potential death trap should an earthquake of any significance hit the area.

Seattle and the state of Washington have been trying to solve this problem for several years. In 2008 public officials released a list of possible alternatives to replace the viaduct.  These included:

1. A four-lane viaduct from South King Street to Bell Street, then connecting to the currently under the north end of the downtown area.

2. A shorter four-lane viaduct but this one would have traffic only on one level, with a park on the top level.

Mr Buffet, Put Your Money Where You Mouth Is

target="_blank"Ok, really? Warren, when you decide to write a big fat check to the government, then maybe we can sit down and have a conversation about raising taxes. You really need to put your money where your mouth is. That goes for you too Bill (as in Gates). If you really feel that the rich in America are under taxed, then maybe you should just pony up a few of your bucks and hand them over to Obama.

But first, let me ask you guys a question. Do you really feel that the federal government, currently run by the progressive-in-chief, could spend your money in a better fashion than you could? Do you really think that they could take you millions and create more jobs than you could? Do you believe that if you were forced to give them a few extras million dollars each year that they could do a better job at creating wealth and prosperity? If you believe this, then you guys have you heads buried in the sand.

While you are at it, why don’t you start asking the 48% who currently pay no taxes to give up their so-called fair share. Don’t they use the same roads you do? Don’t they go to the same National Parks that you do? Don’t they fund Social Security the same as you do? And don’t they depend on the US military to defend them, just the same as you do?

So give them the money already and start walking the walk.

Green Jobs Fail

One of the big promises from the Obama campaign back in aught-eight was his green jobs initiative. Using stimulus money and other programs, Obama was going to create millions and millions of good paying jobs, pulling us out of the recession. In general terms, while we may not officially be in a recession any longer, the green jobs boom certainly has not happened.

Speaking in specifics, here in Seattle, a $20 million grant was provided by the federal government to invest in weatherization. The goal was to weatherize 2,000 low-income homes and create 2,000 “living wage jobs.” That has been an absolute bust.

…more than a year later, Seattle’s numbers are lackluster. As of last week, only trhee homes had been retrofitted and just 14 new jobs have emerged from the program. Many of the jobs are administrative, and not the entry-level pathways once dreamed of for low-income workers. Some people wonder if the original goals are now achievable.

“The jobs haven’t surfaced yet,” says Michael Woo, director of Got Green, a Seattle community organizing group focused on the environment and social justice.

Still Lots of Snow in Them Thar Hills

Anyone care to guess where 907 inches of global warming fell this past winter? So much fell, that visitor days to Mt Rainer National Park are down 30 percent this summer.

The winter of 2010-2011 was an epic snow year. So much so that ski resorts in California stayed open into June and the highway to Artist Point is covered with 30 feet of snow.

Mt Rainer at Night

This is just cool. Mt Rainer at night with the stars. This is a time-lapse video. Well worth your time.

Will Voter Fraud Be An Issue Next Year?

Earlier this week I posted a short note about the possibility of voter fraud in the upcoming 2012 Presidential elections. In this post, I provided you with a few links that shows how deeply rooted voter fraud has taken place in certain areas of the country. In the center of this has been President Obama’s old employer, ACORN.

Judicial Watch has done a fairly extensive expose on just how deep this problem goes. And as I am they are very concerned that voter fraud could have an impact on the next election cycle. In their article, they focus on voter registration issues that occurred in Colorado in 2009 and 2010.

As a result of this collaboration between ACORN, Project vote and Colorado officials, the number of voters registrations at Colorado public assistance agencies rose from 3,340 in 2007 to almost 44,000 in 2010. (in a February 15, 2011, email to Project Vote, Christi Heppard, Special Projects Coordinator for the Elections Division of the Colorado Department of State, wrote, “…I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the numbers.”)

GOP Front Runners

The way I see this race for the Republican nomination is that is comes down to four people. Michelle Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, and Thad Perry. As we get a little deeper into the race, I plan on doing an in depth on each candidate, but for now, just want to give you some thoughts.

Mitt Romney: Not a fan, as most of you already know. There is just something too slick about him to make me feel comfortable. He is very polished. Does well in front of crowds. Has all kinds of money filling the coffers. Kind of a Republican version of Barack Obama. Topping it off, he has made some decisions in the past that I am completely against. First and foremost is his support of a universal health care system while he was governor of Mass. I am not sure we can trust him to overturn Obama care once he is in office. We have one shot at getting rid of Obama care, and 2012 is it. Once the genie is out of the bottle, it will be hard to put it back. On the plus side, he is very experienced in both politics and business. If he is still running when the Washington State caucuses come around, I will NOT vote for him, but will if he in the Republican nominee.

Michelle Bachmann: I do like her although she might be even more to the right than I am. My mom, who has been a mainstream democrat all her life probably, thinks Bachmann is an extremist. Although her record is a little on the scant side, she does have experience. Certainly more than the dude currently sitting in the White House. She is going to have a little trouble with the main stream press, ah la the Sarah Palin treatment. Conservative women don’t have any friends in the main stream press.

Rick Perry: He is going to make the race interesting. He has a proven track record. He certainly has the state of Texas locked up, both in the primaries and in the national race. That he could push Romney to second place with some effort is a very real possibility. He placed sixth in the Iowa straw vote today despite not even being on the ballot.

Thad McCotter: Does the rock and roll Representative from Detroit stand a chance? If he is able to get his message out and can get that message out ahead of the press’ attempts to bring him down, he has a chance. I think he has a lot of what folks on the right are looking for. He has traditional values, but doesn’t really beat you over the head. He has some smarts, which can be both a plus and minus. Obama is supposedly smart, but tell me how that has worked out for us. He also has experience, unlike a certain democrat candidate back in 2012.

The other declared candidates really don’t stand a snowball’s chance in a hot place. Some have the message but not the means in which to deliver it. Others don’t have a message, but have the means to deliver, well, umm, basically nothing.

Perry Is In

In probably what has been the worst kept secret, Texas Governor Rick Perry has announced this AM that he is enter the race for the Republican presidential nomination. It is August so things must be heating up!

In the presidential race, there are four candidates that I think have a real outstanding chance of bringing down the House of Obama. McCotter, Romney, Perry, and Bachmann. I’ll blog a little more on this latter today.

PACNW Righty is Back

BTW: PACNW Righty is back in the saddle. I didn’t blog last night after returning from the fishing trip because I was a little tired. The fishing wasn’t all that great, in fact, we got skunked. But it isn’t always about catching fish. It’s about the time spent with my boys. We had a good time and that was all that mattered.

High-Speed Rail Issues in China

As most of you know, I am not a big fan of high-speed rail, at least not the huge taxpayer dollar investments that have President Obama all a-twitter. You can see my previous posts by click on “high Speed Rail” under the categories section on the left side of the blog.

I have pointed out that if these grand plans go forward, there is a better than good chance that much if not most of the equipment that will run on these rails will be built in China. Recently, there was a crash on the showcase Beijing – Shanghai line that killed 40 people. Now the manufacturer of the high-speed rail equipment is planning on recalling 54 bullet trains for safety reasons. I wonder if anyone is asking whether or not the plans should continue to move forward in light of the recent events in China?

Gone Fishin'

PACNW Righty and his boys are headed up to the lake for a day or so of fishing and just hanging out. See you on the other side, most likely tomorrow evening.

Wisconsin Republicans Hold Majority

Good news from Wisconsin as the Republicans were able to hold onto the majority in the state legislature. Democrats were able to take two of the six seats up for recall, one short of what was needed to switch the majority.

By-the-by, here is a flow-chart from the MacIver Institute showing where the liberal/progressive/democrat money came from to support these recall elections. BTW, the MacIver Institute did an absolutely bang-up job of covering the whoe Wisconsin public unions meltdown last winter. If you want to review, you should spend some time there. They also do a pretty good job of showing the savings that have occurred since Gov Walker was able to get the bill passed.



Click for Larger Image

(h/t: Michelle Malkin).

There are some estimates that as much as $30 million was spent by democrat supporters.

The Civility Continues

Not sure where this occurred but it certainly shows the difference between how the right likes to present their message and how the left goes about it. I’d be willing to guess that the guy on the right is an Obama supporter.

The civility continues

Recall Elections in Wisconsin

These recall elections bear watching. There are six Republican seats in the Wisconsin Legislature that are up for a recall election. The recalls were initiated after Governor Walker implemented new rules for state employee unions. The reasoning behind Gov Walker’s actions were to curb spending and gain a little control of the state budget. The state employee unions responded with massive protests over a two week period last winter. Once the budget was approved, several democrat activist organizations initiated recall proceedings.

It is estimated that $25 million has been poured into these recall elections from out of state advocacy groups. The largest share, possibly as much as $20 million, has been for democrat candidates.

Hopefully, the people of Wisconsin will not let the austerity measures that were necessary influence their decisions. Wisconsin and many other state governments are in a very tight spot as spending has been out of control for many years at all levels of government. If the good folks of Wisconsin reject Walker’s initiatives to curb spending, I don’t know what direction the state is going to move.

The saddest part of all this was that the progressives and democrats were able to grab the narrative in large part due to the sympathetic coverage from the media. Outside those immediately impacted (i.e. public unions), reigning in the public sector union’s power really should be a no-brainer. If people were really able to sit back a study the situation, I think there is no way they would support the public unions. On average, most public sector employees have significantly better pay and benefit programs than those who work in the private sector.

Public sector employees should have never been allowed to organize in the first place. When your employer is the public, there is no way a group of people should be able to hold the taxpayer hostage in their desire for more power and money.

Emote Your Greenieness

Ok, so now that we have pointed out logically the issues with electric vehicles (EV) let’s move over to the emotional side of the argument. We’ll still use facts and logic, but we are going to throw in some touchy-feely stuff so the liberals and progressives can feel at home here on PACNW Righty.

I will never argue that doing the right by the environment is a bad thing, unless doing the right thing for the environment is wrong in every other aspect of our lives. Recycling is a GREAT thing. There is little to no impact on the individual and it just makes sense to recycle. We are a planet with finite resources; why not use things over and over again? Cleaner air and water are also good goals to pursue. The impact on an individual’s health is positive. And the economic impacts, while there, are not always felt directly.

This push for greener cars is going to have a direct impact on the individual. It is going to years (maybe decades) before the EV is affordable for most. $43K to $50K for what is essentially a subcompact hatchback is not affordable. At this price range we are talking about vehicles such as Cadillac’s and well equipped trucks and SUVs. In other words; family cars and entry-level luxury models. When young people are starting out, they are looking at cars priced in the $10K to $15K range. Not many of these cars could be considered good for a family much larger than a toddler or two. Want to fit two teenage boys in the back? Forget about it!

Another Reason Green Technology Isn't Ready

Over the past several months I have blogged a lot about the Chevy Volt, the “electric” (actually a Hybrid) vehicle (EV) made by Government Motors. (Mike at Confederate Yankee has also been taking this on) There is also another EV being pushed by the environmentalists as the solution to all of our fossil fuel woes (drive an EV, but don’t exact our own resources). I have focused on the Volt because this vehicle is made in the US, by a US company, and is also a favorite of the environmental crowd. There is one significant difference between the Volt and the Leaf: The Leaf is a pure EV with no gas engine “backup” as with the Volt. Today, I am going to focus a bit on the Nissan Leaf.

A newspaper over in England, The Telegraph, has a short article on the cost of battery replacement for Nissan Leaf. (h/t: Doug Ross at Director Blue and Soylent Green)

Nissan has admitted that owners of a Leaf, which costs £26,000 ($42,486) after the government grant, may need to replace the battery after a few years, depending on how it has been treated, The Times reported.

The battery’s capacity can decrease significantly if the owner repeatedly uses a fast-charge point.

In the latest episode of Top Gear (UK Version) Jeremy Clarkson was shown running out of power and having to be pushed into the center of Lincoln, which has no public charging points (You Tube Video here and here).

Andy Palmer, Nissan GB’s senior vice-president, told the paper that the lithium ion battery is made up of 48 modules. He said that each would cost £404 ($660) to replace, making £19,392 ($31,688) for the entire battery pack. He said that most owners would not need a new battery for at least 10 years because electric vehicles should mainly be used for short journeys. (Source: The Telegraph UK)

Voter Fraud, Time to Keep Your Eyes Open

As 2012 rapidly approaches, this is something we all need to keep our eyes on. Voter fraud has been absolutely been proven in places like Houston, Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada, and Ohio. The one common factor in all this fraud? ACORN. This is the organization that helped get President Obama elected in 2008 and was federally defunded after the scandal broken in 2009. ACORN has splintered, but is still up to its old tricks. We need to watch this.

Europe Burns, Will We?

Do you pay attention to the violence and rioting going on in Europe? Do you follow the reasons what is the most likely cause of this outpouring of unrest? Do you wonder if it can happen here?

In recent months, there has been a tremendous amount of mob related violence in countries like Greece, Spain, and Italy. Mass transportation, infrastructure and private businesses and residences have been damaged. Most of the unrest has been in response to austerity measures as governments try to reign in entitlement spending.

Over the last couple of days, this violence has spread to Great Britain. The government has had to implement strict measures to curb spending. Costs for higher education have tripled, welfare payments are going to cut dramatically and thousands of public sector jobs are going to be eliminated to cut $130 billion from spending.

As Usual, Dems Blame Someone Else

Someday, in the future, President Obama and his staff will actually take responsibility for their own actions and their own failures. From the very first day of his presidency he has sought to blame all that ails on someone else. Occasionally, he has been at least partially correct. The economic collapse did occur on George Bush’s watch. While the foundation of the trouble (housing crash) can be rightfully tied to democrat policies under Clinton, Bush had his chances to fix Fannie and Freddie. But after a year or so, the economic troubles belong to the current administration, no matter how much he tries to paint this otherwise. Obama and his spending policies have sent our national debt into the stratosphere.

Now his staff and his main stream media sycophants are attempting to place the blame for the S&P downgrade on the Tea Party. Never mind that the Tea Party and the representatives they sent to Congress tried to get a balanced budget amendment passed and also championed deeper cuts. The lack of both of these was cited by S&P officials as reasons why the downgrade occurred.

Carter Appointee Recommends Dam Removal

A federal judge in Portland, OR has ruled that efforts to protect the PACNW salmon runs have been inadequate and a new approach needs to be looked at. A possible approach might be the removal of some dams.

Could it be that US District Court Judge James Redden, a Jimmy Carter appointee, has a “green” agenda? I understand that wild salmon runs have been depleted to very low levels. In fact, there are some streams that once had salmon runs that stopped running years ago. But how can someone who probably supports green initiatives be suggesting that it would be a good thing to eliminate one of the cleanest sources of energy productions, hydro-electric power? It sometimes boggles the mind how people with left leaning tendencies continually talk out both sides of their mouths when it comes to the green movement.

Greenies support massive solar power development, yet block construction of solar plants in the California desert. Greenies support building windmill farms, yet fight the building of these farms. Greenies want clean, renewable generated power, yet support the removal of dams that generate this clean power.

Sometimes the greenies are their own worst enemy.

Funding Highway Repairs

I’d actually consider giving some thought to supporting this idea. Former Senator Trent Lott says he would support an extension for the increase of federal taxes at the gas pump. Still need to think some about an increase in the amount.

The reasons for the increase are valid. Our roads and bridges are showing serious signs of decay. But the federal government doesn’t have the money right now to do more than it is already doing. But I do have a caveat. The gas tax money taken in would have to be earmarked for highway and bridge repairs and improvements only. No stealing from the account like is being done with Social Security. An independent commission, we’ll call it the RAB commission (RAB = Roads And Bridges Commission) would be appointed by a group of congress-critters equally divided among Republicans and democrats. The sitting President would appoint three of his/her choosing from their party and the ranking member of the Senate from the opposite party would appoint three from his/her party.

Tragic Day for Navy SEALs

Words cannot express the sadness I feel for the deaths of these Navy SEALs.

I sure would not want to be a member of the Taliban right now. The guys in the SEALs are going to be looking for retribution. There are not enough rocks in Pakistan and Afghanistan for these terrorist to hide under.

Tax-Cheat to Stick Around

Just when it looked like the tax-cheat, Tim Geithner was going to call it quits, now comes the news that he indeed may stick around. Apparently, President Obama thought that Geithner hasn’t done enough damage to the economy yet and is asking the tax-dodger to remain in DC to finish the job.

Thad McCotter Speaks

Thad McCotter is running for the Republican nomination for President. At this link he speaks with the loquacious one, Dennis Miller. Miller seems to be effusive with praise with McCotter’s platform. The interview is well worth a listen. If you are still thinking about who you would like to support in the GOP race, McCotter merits some of you time.

He is most definitely not Romney. McCotter is easy to listen to and he seems to be a very smart guy. He does seem to have many of the same values as Bachmann and Palin, but without the supposed baggage that the leftist media will take pains to expose.

Volt Selling Like Hotcakes. NOT!

Just thought you might like to know that the Chevy Volt sold 125 units last month. Yep, this is the next big thing.

And now the ranting begins

Do you suppose people out there know what a waste of time it would be to purchase this vehicle? Do you think folks are smarter enough to realize that it would take more than 15 years to recoup the cost the Chevy Volt ($45K+) vs. the cost of a comparable car ($25K) that gets 35 mpg? Not exactly a bargain. This doesn’t even include the dealer markup of about $7K that many dealers are charging.

Do you suppose folks have figured out the range of a Volt is less than 50 miles between charges? And this range is decreased when you use pesky options like headlights, radios, windshield wipers, and heaters. If the weather is cold (never mind using the heater), the range is cut to less than 25 miles.

Let's Just Phone in More Entitlement Programs

This is just plain stupid. How in the heck does anyone think that having a cell phone is some sort of Constitutional right? Do we need to go back before the years cell phones became available and put all those people “in charge” in jail for civil rights violations because they didn’t provide this service in the past?

Just another example why we cannot trust politicians with our money. They knuckleheads keep adding to the entitlement programs. Do they not see that the supply on money is finite? Is someone going to poop a bucketful of cash to pay for all of these programs? Just a few days after struggling to pass an increase in the debt ceiling because we have to borrow money to keep the government running, somebody thought spending more money on an entitlement program would be a good idea? Geesh, my head hurts.

(h/t: Simple Everyday Living)

Slight Improvement in the Unemployment Rate

Now for some good news. Unemployment actually ticked downward last month as the economy created over 117,000 jobs, which reduced the unemployment rate to 9.1%. This number is still a far cry from the 8% President Obama promised we wouldn’t cross if Stimulus Bill was passed.

We still have a long way to go. During the recession, the US lost over 8.7 million jobs, of which only 1.9 million have been recovered.

The one thing I’d like to see is a report on the under-employed. While I know a lot of people who have jobs, they are most certainly not making what they were before the recession hit. Not only does the unemployment problem need to be solved, so does the under-employment issues

DOWNGRADED!!

As predicted, Standard & Poor’s has downgraded our credit rating. As long as the “big spender” is in the White House and leftist media bow to his every move and utterance, we are going to struggle to regain the trust of those who make these decisions.

Along with being the President who incurred more debt than any President in history, Obama now has the distinction of being the President that presided over our credit downgraded, the first in almost 100 years. We didn't get downgraded during the Great Depression, During WWII, Korea, Veitnam, or after 9/11.

Obama has certainly gotten the "Change" part done.

2012 can’t come soon enough.

The Leftist Narrative Continues

During all of the discourse over the past few years, one thing has been consistent. The constant attack mode of the left towards anything remotely conservative.

The reason for attacks? The left has no possibility of winning the argument on the basis of logic and facts. So they follow Saul Alinsky’s advice from his book Rules for Radicals and attack the messenger. This is old news to you and I. All we can do is keep on keepin’ on. Articulate the message clearly and eventually it will get through to most.

The evidence of our reaching the masses through our persistence is very clear. We got the message out on Obama care. Although it passed and was signed into law, a very large majority did not support the law. And several Representatives and a few Senators paid the price. We got the message out over the budget issues. Many didn’t listen and in 2012 there will be a few more Congress-critters and hopefully a president who will be joining the ranks of the unemployed.

Through all of this, the left continues to fire at us with both barrels. The first started to call us nothing more than an Astroturf movement (note 1). When that didn’t work, next came the calls that we were violent (note 2) and racist (note 3). When that proved to be nothing more than spitting into the wind, they started to call us terrorists (note 4). All this does is to make us stand stronger. As an added benefit, people have been looking in to what we do and they are finding that we are neither racist, nor are we violent, and we are certainly not terrorists. (See Notes below)

Hijacker Case Might Be Solved

If you are a long-time resident of the PACNW then you know who D.B Cooper is.  If you are not a resident or are a youngster, you should know that D.B. Cooper is a legend in our corner of the world.

On 24 Nov 1971 a man called Dan Cooper hijacked a Northwest Orient flight by telling a stewardess that he had a bomb. At Sea-Tac, he released all the passengers, except for the pilots and a stewardess, in exchange for $200,000 and four parachutes. He demanded to be flown to Mexico. Just northeast of Portland, D.B. Cooper lowered the rear staircase over the rugged foothills of the Cascade Mountains, donned a chute, and jumped out into the cold, windy, rainy night, never to be seen again. No body has ever been found, no chute has been found, and with the exception of $20,000 in tattered bills, no money has ever been found.

Although the case has been unsolved for almost 40 years, the FBI has kept the case open and active, although many agents think Cooper died in the wilderness.

Recently there might have been a break that will finally close this case (although skeptics remain). A woman from Oklahoma claims that her uncle may have been the long never captured hijacker.

As someone who grew up in the PACNW, this case has always fascinated me. Although I certainly do not support breaking the law, it sure would be something if Cooper was able to parachute safely from the plane and remained free all these years.

MSNBC Has Issues -- Bias Issues

I think that MSNBC correspondent Martin Bashir has finally cast off any semblance of fairness in reporting the news. Bashir had a quest on his program “who called Tea Party members aliens, cannibals, addicts, and more…”

The video over at Glenn Beck.com is well worth your time to view.

China Making A Play

Earlier this week I posted a link and an article about how we may be entering a double-dip in the recession. The article gave ten reasons why this is a very distinct possibility.  Of those 10 was one regarding the debt ceiling.

8. Debt Ceiling. Tied directly, as far as I am concerned, to the out of control budgeting and spending by the democrats. Yes, Bush was also out of control but his deficit spending can’t hold a candle to spending initiated by Obama and the democrat Congress during the first two years of his term. This has caused the deficit to reach a staggering $14T+ level, with little end to the upward spiral in sight. China, an ideological enemy of our form of governance, controls a very large portion of the debt. I am sure the only thing stopping them from calling in the marker is the knowledge that this create an economic meltdown that would make the Great Depression look like a bump in the road. It would not surprise me in the least if once our economy is humming again (after 2012), China does what it can to slow us down. (Source: 24/7WallStreet)

Looks like I might have not been correct, but hey, I am not an economist. According to this article at Big Peace, the Chinese have decided to diversify their monetary holdings by getting rid of their dollars.

Free Birth Control for Everyone

Not sure if you guys have seen this, but the department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has dictated that insurance companies must provide birth control to women free of charge. That means zero out-of-pocket dollars. A woman who wishes to be on birth control will not be required to pony up a co-pay.

In a column at The Daily Beast, writer Amanda Marcotte can’t seem to understand why those with conservative ideals would reject this. She goes on, blathering about reduced costs as pregnancies are supposedly reduced and all that. I think she either misses the point or intentionally has her head buried in the sand. I will agree there is a morality issue here but that is not part of the argument from the point of view from most on the right. It has to do with money and the federal government’s lack of it and it also has to do with the feds sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong.

SIDENOTE: Bill O’Reilly can be a knucklehead at times.

I really have no issues with women obtaining birth control in any form. I am also not so much a prude as to say that pre-marital sex is a bad thing and that it can or should be controlled. This is a personal choice. I do counsel my boys on the responsibilities of sex before marriage and do tell them the wise decision is to wait at least to a point where you are able to either get married (don’t support “shotgun” weddings) or at the very least, provide for the child. And I always counsel them that until they are married, birth control should be at the forefront of their minds. The responsibility lies with both, not just the woman.

Lefty Bias in the Media? You Bet!

We’ve talked many times on this blog about the liberal bias that has infected the media and also how it clouds their judgment. A professor at the University of California-Los Angeles has done a study that pretty much confirms what most of us already know. It is worth viewing the videos.

Great Article on Getting bin Laden

Shortly after eleven o’clock on the night of May 1st, two MH-60 Blackhawk helicopters lifted off from Jalalabad Air Field, in eastern Afghanistan, and embarked on a covert mission into Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden. Inside the aircraft were twenty-three Navy SEALs from Team 6, which is officially known as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU. A Pakistani-American translator, whom I will call Ahmed, and a dog named Cairo – a Belgian Malinois – were also aboard. It was a moonless evening, and the helicopters’ pilots, wearing night-vision goggles, flew without lights over mountains that straddled the border with Pakistan. Radio communications were kept to a minimum, and an eerie calm settled inside the aircraft (Source; The New Yorker)

So begins probably the best story I’ve read of how a Navy SEAL team executed the mission that killed Osama bin Laden. The story at the link (provided by Sister Toldjah) is a riveting (and long) account of the planning, preparations, execution of the raid that killed bin Laden. Read the full account here.

Powerline Grand Prize Winner

Here is Power Line Blogs grand prize winner. It is good, but not as good as some of the others, IMHO. This is “The Spending is Nuts.”

By the way, you should visit Power Line Blog to see the top ten, plus others they highlighted but just missed making the cut.

Powerline Contest #2

This one finished in second place and is probably my favorite. “Don’t You See?” is very catchy and would probably do well on a regular radio station if not for the subject matter. I would guess that most radio producers would consider the song a downer. They have no problems playing songs about suicide, drug use, and murder, but a song about being responsible is just too much of a downer.

Powerline Contest #3

The third place finisher, “Dawn of the Debt”, in the Power Line Blog contest was the best all around. The music was good, the narration was timely and relevant (I actually thought it was Tom Skerritt for a moment), was fun to watch. It was done professionally, that much is quite clear. Power Line recommends viewing it on You Tube and I agree.

Powerline Contest #4

This is the Power Line Blog fourth place finisher, titled “Mock the Spending”. Very interesting concept but it kind of hurt my head to follow it since I am not a fan of WOW. But it is a worthy of finishing “in the cash”.