Friday, October 24, 2008
nice, Freep
the hometown paper came up with this little widget. kinda neat. for me, six of one, half dozen of the other. but the way i see it, its not my wallet, its the nation's. like ive said before, were all in this together. if every one out there is doing well, so am i. if the economy tanks, were all fucked.
Monday, October 20, 2008
big 2?
Chrysler and GM are seriously talking merger. i wonder if im the only one who is scared by this. the two are direct competitors in a number of classes. both of their strong suits are trucks and SUVs. if this goes through, you can say good bye to most of the Chrysler models and makes with the exception of Jeep, the Town and Country, and see cars like the 300 and Charger phased out or merged into the Impala. essentially this amounts to lowering costs by cutting jobs and production facilities and cutting choices that consumers have.
at this point, saying that the US auto industry is on the ropes is like saying that record sales are down a bit. someone needs to call up Lee Iacoca. he saved Chrysler once, maybe he can do it again. i had the pleasure of owning an Iacoca era Dodge, and the car was amazing. it wieghed about 17 tons, felt like driving a plush couch, had respectable performance(it was a sedan, made for comfort) and still somehow managed to regularly push the 30 MPG bar. my new VW Rabbit does about as good on gas, but has to weigh roughly half of my old 89 Dynasty(RIP).
the things is, Detroit really only has itself to blame. in the SUV craze, they made some kick ass trucks, but totaly neglected smaller and cheaper cars that suddenly look good as people try to save money and the pump and on payments with the economy slowing and belts tightening. so now companies like Toyota, Honda, VW, and Mazda(which incredibly, Ford is trying to spin off) who know how to make attractive small cars have taken over. both Ford and GM have successful lines in Europe, but have failed to bring them here. GM is bringing the Astra, about 5 years later than they should have, but are dropping the ball once again, and not offering the popular deisel engine, that happens to get something like 45MPG on paper.
the domestics have totally forfeited the small car market to Europe and Asia, and are years behind in passesnger deisel and hybrids. and these days, when trucks are increasingly moving to their work roots, GM, Ford, and maybe Chrysler, have big problems. it is said that out of hardship comes opportunity. what doesnt kill you makes you stronger. when a door closes a window opens. i beleive that we still have the best and brightest here in the US, and they will have to be the saviors of their own jobs. the question is this: can management get out of the way of producing tomorrow's cars? for the sake of the homeland, i hope so.
at this point, saying that the US auto industry is on the ropes is like saying that record sales are down a bit. someone needs to call up Lee Iacoca. he saved Chrysler once, maybe he can do it again. i had the pleasure of owning an Iacoca era Dodge, and the car was amazing. it wieghed about 17 tons, felt like driving a plush couch, had respectable performance(it was a sedan, made for comfort) and still somehow managed to regularly push the 30 MPG bar. my new VW Rabbit does about as good on gas, but has to weigh roughly half of my old 89 Dynasty(RIP).
the things is, Detroit really only has itself to blame. in the SUV craze, they made some kick ass trucks, but totaly neglected smaller and cheaper cars that suddenly look good as people try to save money and the pump and on payments with the economy slowing and belts tightening. so now companies like Toyota, Honda, VW, and Mazda(which incredibly, Ford is trying to spin off) who know how to make attractive small cars have taken over. both Ford and GM have successful lines in Europe, but have failed to bring them here. GM is bringing the Astra, about 5 years later than they should have, but are dropping the ball once again, and not offering the popular deisel engine, that happens to get something like 45MPG on paper.
the domestics have totally forfeited the small car market to Europe and Asia, and are years behind in passesnger deisel and hybrids. and these days, when trucks are increasingly moving to their work roots, GM, Ford, and maybe Chrysler, have big problems. it is said that out of hardship comes opportunity. what doesnt kill you makes you stronger. when a door closes a window opens. i beleive that we still have the best and brightest here in the US, and they will have to be the saviors of their own jobs. the question is this: can management get out of the way of producing tomorrow's cars? for the sake of the homeland, i hope so.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
debate impressions
Evidently the most important thing is Joe the Plumber. At least for John McCain. That's great for Joe, but what about dan? I find it odd that candidates try to bring things home by referencing some guy in Ohio. What bearing does Joe have on my life? None. What does have an influence on my life are things like taxes, health care, the economy, inflation, home ownership, etc.
The reason why i think last night's debate went to Obama was that he actually addressed those issues, while McCain made juvenile jabs at Obama. At times Obama stooped to his level, but overall Obama was more presidential than McCain, who seemed to want to pick fights and make Obama look bad, rather than telling the people what he can do for them.
I'm really sick of all the mud slinging. Obama is not a terrorist. He sat on a board with Bill Ayers, but is not his best friend. McCain was involved in the Keating Five, but was only reprimanded for what happened. Neither of things really matters now, other than that Keating Five scandal doesnt seem to have influenced McCain's financial view points and you might hope it would.
What continues to push me away from McCain is the choices he makes. He chose to be combative and juvenile in the debate. He wanted to take the fight to Obama. Fine, take the fight to him. Just do it by attacking his plans and his positions, not by trying to associate him with tenuous assosiations. McCain's judement is just as bad as Obama's if not worse: he's been Bush's buddy for the past 4 years. He also picked Palin to be his running mate. There is no way i want her in charge of the country. If i was on the fence, that would push me into Obama's court. Her rhetoric is scary. She sounds worse than Bush and she doesnt know what she is doing.
Holy crap. I just got myself all sideways. Point is, McCain has nothing more to say, so he is just hurling insults at Obama, which is about as effective at winning my vote as insulting me. Say something, damnit.
Anyway, you knew how i was voting months ago. I hope you come to a similar conclusion.
The reason why i think last night's debate went to Obama was that he actually addressed those issues, while McCain made juvenile jabs at Obama. At times Obama stooped to his level, but overall Obama was more presidential than McCain, who seemed to want to pick fights and make Obama look bad, rather than telling the people what he can do for them.
I'm really sick of all the mud slinging. Obama is not a terrorist. He sat on a board with Bill Ayers, but is not his best friend. McCain was involved in the Keating Five, but was only reprimanded for what happened. Neither of things really matters now, other than that Keating Five scandal doesnt seem to have influenced McCain's financial view points and you might hope it would.
What continues to push me away from McCain is the choices he makes. He chose to be combative and juvenile in the debate. He wanted to take the fight to Obama. Fine, take the fight to him. Just do it by attacking his plans and his positions, not by trying to associate him with tenuous assosiations. McCain's judement is just as bad as Obama's if not worse: he's been Bush's buddy for the past 4 years. He also picked Palin to be his running mate. There is no way i want her in charge of the country. If i was on the fence, that would push me into Obama's court. Her rhetoric is scary. She sounds worse than Bush and she doesnt know what she is doing.
Holy crap. I just got myself all sideways. Point is, McCain has nothing more to say, so he is just hurling insults at Obama, which is about as effective at winning my vote as insulting me. Say something, damnit.
Anyway, you knew how i was voting months ago. I hope you come to a similar conclusion.
Friday, October 10, 2008
ugly end game
sorry about the drought, folks. but im back to respond to another Charles Krauthammer rant. this guy seems to inspire me. not as Gandhi might inspire you to do good, but as the Joker might inspire you to fight evil.
anyway, i just read this article in which he dredges up Obama's supposedly suspicious associations. i have addressed this issue before with Reverend Wright. my point then and now is that it is possible to come away from an association seeing the person as they are: both good and bad. and seeing who they are and what they do and have done, to filter the bad and see the good.
i worked with a superintendent who is great with architects, clients, plans, and will build a great project in the end, but he has a temper and can be a total prick to subcontractors. i watched him and saw him at his best with our cliet and architect, then, ten minutes later, berate a subcontractor. i saw what he was doing in that case was wrong. but i also saw what he did that was good. the good outweighed the bad, and i, being somewhat intelligent, was able to come away from that experience with a great idea how to deal with clients, and a great idea how not to deal with subcontractors.
is it not possible that Obama can take away frome Ayers his commitment to education, and leave behind his radicalism? or take from Reverend Wright the community service, and leave the racial rhetoric? and as far as Rezko goes, he made a mistake, and then donated all that money to charity. look, people make mistakes. the important thing is that you learn from them and move on.
look, if we want to start dredging up people's associations, im sure Senator McCain has some skeletons in his closet. we already know about his involvement in the Keating Five scandal that earned him a repremand. now i hope that John McCain, being a smart man, has learned from that experience. from it he evidently didnt learn that deregulation of banking can lead to economic catastrophe.
Krauthammer has got one thing right: its too late in the game for this. even if his associations are dubious at times, its an ugly end game, a smear campaign. these questions should have been raised as questions, not smears, and should have been raised months ago. now the economy is the issue, if McCain tries to change the focus, he is running from the the issues, and one that he is faltering on.
the long and short is that Obama is stronger on the economy, and McCain is redirecting. and i beleive, perhaps naively, that Obama is smart enough to separate the bad from good. that he is wise enough to be able to collaborate with people that he may disagree with on some issues to make progress on other issues, like education. no one is all good, or all bad, but you can learn something from all of them.
anyway, i just read this article in which he dredges up Obama's supposedly suspicious associations. i have addressed this issue before with Reverend Wright. my point then and now is that it is possible to come away from an association seeing the person as they are: both good and bad. and seeing who they are and what they do and have done, to filter the bad and see the good.
i worked with a superintendent who is great with architects, clients, plans, and will build a great project in the end, but he has a temper and can be a total prick to subcontractors. i watched him and saw him at his best with our cliet and architect, then, ten minutes later, berate a subcontractor. i saw what he was doing in that case was wrong. but i also saw what he did that was good. the good outweighed the bad, and i, being somewhat intelligent, was able to come away from that experience with a great idea how to deal with clients, and a great idea how not to deal with subcontractors.
is it not possible that Obama can take away frome Ayers his commitment to education, and leave behind his radicalism? or take from Reverend Wright the community service, and leave the racial rhetoric? and as far as Rezko goes, he made a mistake, and then donated all that money to charity. look, people make mistakes. the important thing is that you learn from them and move on.
look, if we want to start dredging up people's associations, im sure Senator McCain has some skeletons in his closet. we already know about his involvement in the Keating Five scandal that earned him a repremand. now i hope that John McCain, being a smart man, has learned from that experience. from it he evidently didnt learn that deregulation of banking can lead to economic catastrophe.
Krauthammer has got one thing right: its too late in the game for this. even if his associations are dubious at times, its an ugly end game, a smear campaign. these questions should have been raised as questions, not smears, and should have been raised months ago. now the economy is the issue, if McCain tries to change the focus, he is running from the the issues, and one that he is faltering on.
the long and short is that Obama is stronger on the economy, and McCain is redirecting. and i beleive, perhaps naively, that Obama is smart enough to separate the bad from good. that he is wise enough to be able to collaborate with people that he may disagree with on some issues to make progress on other issues, like education. no one is all good, or all bad, but you can learn something from all of them.
Friday, October 3, 2008
McCain quits the Mitten
its all over the media. its about the only thing anyone is talking about beside the debate. whats it all mean? i know you turn to mountebank for this type of analysis.
really, it doesnt mean a whole lot for Michigan. Obama has opened up a big ole lead. but what it means for the country at large may be a whole hell of a lot. Michigan has been suffering though its own recession, depression, economic meltdown for the better part of a decade. it has become a financial catastrophe over the last few years. the economy is the issue in Michigan. McCain had hoped to make my homeland into a battle, but has given up on the state that preferred him to Bush back in 2000. this is also a state thats become bankrupt under Democratic leadership and a city that became morally bankrupt under Kwame Kirkpatrick. there is plenty of political ill will toward the Democrats, but the voters there still cant bring themselves to vote for policies that brought us to the verge of a great economic precipice.
so what this may mean for the rest of the country is that when the economy becomes the huge elephant in the room that cant be ignored, McCain may not be able to deal with it. he's been inept on the issue so far, as Biden pointed out in last night's debate. the economy already weighs heavily on the minds of most, so this is not good news for McCain.
September's job data is expected today, and folks are speculating losses in the 100k to 200k. i dont think those folks are going to be in tune with McCain's deregulation rhetoric that mimics Bush's when it was the very lack of regulation and oversight that got this snowball of doom a rollin. thats what i see. i see in Michigan what the rest of the nation might be without the changes that would bring more regulation and oversight to the market and push investment in R&D. i think thats what Michigan voters see too. i do keep in mind that Michigan is pretty firmly a Democratic state, but its not by huge margins. Obama's double digit leads there show that he has appeal with a large amount of swing voters, and really, thats where the election lies.
McCain out of Michigan is the first big chink in McCain's armour. Palin gave him a boost, briefly, but thats worn off. i must admit that she did a good job in the debate, though she did dodge some questions. i dont really think that debate is going to have much of an effect on the votes. Biden did very well and proved he is a man of experience and an asset to the campaign and an asset to the White House. Palin proved that she isnt an utter liability, but she did stumble at times and i really dont think she is ready for the national stage, and especially not to lead the nation.
the real news is McCain leaving Michigan. it was announced the night of the debates so that it would get drowned out in all the pundits espousing about the debate, but it shows weakness. it could be the beginning of another snowball rolling. weve only got about a month to see...
really, it doesnt mean a whole lot for Michigan. Obama has opened up a big ole lead. but what it means for the country at large may be a whole hell of a lot. Michigan has been suffering though its own recession, depression, economic meltdown for the better part of a decade. it has become a financial catastrophe over the last few years. the economy is the issue in Michigan. McCain had hoped to make my homeland into a battle, but has given up on the state that preferred him to Bush back in 2000. this is also a state thats become bankrupt under Democratic leadership and a city that became morally bankrupt under Kwame Kirkpatrick. there is plenty of political ill will toward the Democrats, but the voters there still cant bring themselves to vote for policies that brought us to the verge of a great economic precipice.
so what this may mean for the rest of the country is that when the economy becomes the huge elephant in the room that cant be ignored, McCain may not be able to deal with it. he's been inept on the issue so far, as Biden pointed out in last night's debate. the economy already weighs heavily on the minds of most, so this is not good news for McCain.
September's job data is expected today, and folks are speculating losses in the 100k to 200k. i dont think those folks are going to be in tune with McCain's deregulation rhetoric that mimics Bush's when it was the very lack of regulation and oversight that got this snowball of doom a rollin. thats what i see. i see in Michigan what the rest of the nation might be without the changes that would bring more regulation and oversight to the market and push investment in R&D. i think thats what Michigan voters see too. i do keep in mind that Michigan is pretty firmly a Democratic state, but its not by huge margins. Obama's double digit leads there show that he has appeal with a large amount of swing voters, and really, thats where the election lies.
McCain out of Michigan is the first big chink in McCain's armour. Palin gave him a boost, briefly, but thats worn off. i must admit that she did a good job in the debate, though she did dodge some questions. i dont really think that debate is going to have much of an effect on the votes. Biden did very well and proved he is a man of experience and an asset to the campaign and an asset to the White House. Palin proved that she isnt an utter liability, but she did stumble at times and i really dont think she is ready for the national stage, and especially not to lead the nation.
the real news is McCain leaving Michigan. it was announced the night of the debates so that it would get drowned out in all the pundits espousing about the debate, but it shows weakness. it could be the beginning of another snowball rolling. weve only got about a month to see...
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
whats the difference between a pitbull and a vice president?
Its not lipstick.
I'm really looking forward to seeing the debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin tomorrow. I think its our best chance so far for us to get to see who the over protected Palin is. When she is on stage facing off against a guy who has been in the senate as long as i have been alive, i think the real Palin will come out. She will be forced to answer scripted questions, but she wont have a script for her rebuttals.
in recent days its become ever more evident how uneasy the campaign is with her. Even John McCain squirmed in a joint interview asking about her comments over the weekend. She has been coddled and protected to such a degree that Rochelle Riley, a Free Press reporter, called for her to quit. When she does speak she continues to say odd and just plain dumb things. In this more lengthy Couric interview she calls homosexuality a choice and when asked what news sources she uses to stay informed, she says 'all of them' and goes on to explain that Alaska has the news like the rest of the US.
This alone is suspect, not to mention her shady church affiliation, ties to the Alaska Independence Party, and total lack of any type of foreign policy experience. Like Couric, i look forward to tomorrow's debate to see how she handles the unscripted spot light withough handlers to rush reporters out of the room when the ask her anything of substance.
the real question is what is the difference between Sarah Palin and a VP? I bet its bigger than the difference between Joe Biden and a VP.
I'm really looking forward to seeing the debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin tomorrow. I think its our best chance so far for us to get to see who the over protected Palin is. When she is on stage facing off against a guy who has been in the senate as long as i have been alive, i think the real Palin will come out. She will be forced to answer scripted questions, but she wont have a script for her rebuttals.
in recent days its become ever more evident how uneasy the campaign is with her. Even John McCain squirmed in a joint interview asking about her comments over the weekend. She has been coddled and protected to such a degree that Rochelle Riley, a Free Press reporter, called for her to quit. When she does speak she continues to say odd and just plain dumb things. In this more lengthy Couric interview she calls homosexuality a choice and when asked what news sources she uses to stay informed, she says 'all of them' and goes on to explain that Alaska has the news like the rest of the US.
This alone is suspect, not to mention her shady church affiliation, ties to the Alaska Independence Party, and total lack of any type of foreign policy experience. Like Couric, i look forward to tomorrow's debate to see how she handles the unscripted spot light withough handlers to rush reporters out of the room when the ask her anything of substance.
the real question is what is the difference between Sarah Palin and a VP? I bet its bigger than the difference between Joe Biden and a VP.
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