Category: News Vault

An internal memo from the Obama administration (Office of Management and Budget ) may put a lid on “cap & trade” legislation for a while. “Cap and Trade” is a regulation method which forces additional costs onto businesses and power generation facilities for their emissions beyond a set point. Those additional costs (taxes) would then be shuffled by the Federal Government into other areas, specifically, the research of so-called “renewable” energy sources.

Never mind that many of these “renewable” energy sources are already being explored by the private sector and many of the power and fuel companies that would be targeted are deeply involved in the research. Never mind that “cap and Trade” costs would be passed onto the consumer, raising energy and fuel costs at the retail end placing an even higher burden on a struggling economy. Never mind that the entire process is being driven by a government that has swallowed steroids for regulatory growth and expanded government dependency.

Now, an internal memo about CO2, the EPA and the questionable science behind it has surfaced. This memo mentions politically driven motives above science, questions the premise of hazardous CO2 and lifts the hood on the entire debate of CO2, human-caused climate change and political power grabs. Face it. If there is a viable question about the validity of CO2 hazards put forth by a government with an agenda, then it only follows that many of the “facts” we’re being subjected to by the “green” government and a media sympathetic to those goals is also suspect.

A great read on this memo, video from the government committee meeting which references it and more “caught in the headlights” fun is online here: wattsupwiththat

pontiac_logoThe Pontiac brand is being put out by General Motors. Is this a move of logic by General Motors or is this a pressure move from the Federal Government which stands to take over more than 50% of GM stock in cancelling a chunk of bailout debt? Pontiac is a “performance” brand name with a history of muscle cars, sports cars and racing heritage. The current administration is certainly waist deep in “green” cohorts and may not want to have a controlling interest in a brand known for burning rubber and turning fast laps. Is Pontiac really losing money or is it a show of “green” power? Currently, Pontiac power plants and car models are running and winning on the track. Just recently at Virginia International Raceway, a Pontiac powered Daytona Prototype won the class in the Bosch Engineering 250. On the same track running with the DP class, a Pontiac GXP.R won the GT class. Pontiacs are selling. They are out on the road with their split grills and diamond point logos. So the question remains…  are they really losing so much on the showroom floor? More so than other brands…?  Really?

1969 Pontiac GTO "The Judge"
1969 Pontiac GTO "The Judge"

The historic Pontiac GTO has been a staple of muscle cars since it was introduced. Now, General Motors is ready to throw it in the ditch and keep Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Buick. Buick!? Are you kidding? Think… Can you remember the last time you saw a Buick on the road? What is it that says keeping Buick and dropping Pontiac makes sense? Is the bottom line on Buick really so fantastic? Is the bottom line on Pontiac really so dismal? Is this a “business” decision or is this a mandate from a government being lead by a man who was driving a Chrysler 300 up to the point he announced a campaign and politically embraced “climate change” verbage with the purchase of a hybrid to show how “green” he could appear to be?

2009 Pontiac G8 GXP
2009 Pontiac G8 GXP

Pontiac is not the only brand in line with the scrap yard. Hummer is on the list. Why anyone wanted one of these toned-down military knock-offs in the first place was amazing. They make Pontiac look “green” as country meadow! Saturn is on the list to go. Really? Saturns have a pretty good reputation for dependability and economy so why would they be out there on a limb? Saab is GM owned but they don’t want it any longer. Saab has always been a niche luxury sports car with a loyal, but smaller, following. Saab has, however, made some good moves with styling and performance but perhaps was too little, too late.

The questions concerning Pontiac just scratch the surface. The economic turn down has made the magnifying glass turn on every aspect of modern business. Larger questions remain. Right now, as things stand to continue to go downhill or could swing towards growth, a large question concerns trust. How much do we trust those that are telling us things are bad and drastic measures must be taken? How much do we know about the coincidence of chopping performance cars off just as those that push the “green” agenda gain access to those in power? How much is real and how much is manufactured? Time will tell. When it does will we realize we’ve been duped or saved?

smile_earthIt is coming. Faster than ever before and with more mass behind it than could ever be imagined by thousands of Birkenstock wearing, self-proclaimed hippies. Of Course we’re talking about “Earth Day”.

Even before the calendar flips to “day of”, ordinary intelligent people are doing stupid things in the name of Earth, “climate change” and drowning polar bears. Turning off lights for an hour to make an impact…? Give me a break! How about turning off lights for an hour to make everybody feel all warm and fuzzy while the power company churns out the same amount of power regardless of how many lights are out…? Yes.

That is a perfect example of emotion over substance. It is a perfect example of people jumping onto a bandwagon without checking the direction it is heading. Look at us! Buying into “green credits” and “carbon offsets” and for what? To satisfy some feeling of guilt laid upon our feet by some bunch of greendiots using any means necessary to force us to live the way they feel we need to? To force us to buy the product they are selling? To force us to give them more political power?

Ask yourselves this question, “Who first told me about global warming?”. Was it a climatologist? Was it a geological historian? Was it a scientist? Perhaps, and more likely, it was a politician. Or a movie star. Or some nut that is a member of club that has looked down on human progress since the first Model-T rolled off the assembly line.

We’ve been herded by fear into a mindset of “our fault” and “we must do something or die” while the people orchestrating it all are doing nothing but talking. “We” have to drive hybrids. “We” have to buy expensive, twisty light bulbs. “We” have to turn off lights, eat less meat, ride public, grow a garden, fly less, do “staycations” and never buy packaged products….  Come on! The very people telling us to “cut back” live in a world of such excess that our day to day lives are alien to them.

Look. It is this simple. We can all do things to be more responsible when it comes to the world we live in. It is also important to do so for many reasons. However, those reasons do NOT include making someone else rich by purchasing their “green credits”. Those reasons do NOT include making some movie star feel intellectually validated by saying something about “global warming” on Oprah. Those reasons do NOT include satisfying an agenda that calls for us to back away from our dreams, our future or our progress.

If you want to buy a hybrid or electric because it fits your needs and you want to save money on fuel, have at it. However, if you are buying one so you can feel you are doing some great thing to save the planet from human damage because you were told it was fact by some talking head that has the scientific background of a bag of hammers, you are simply buying an agenda and helping nobody but the spinners of the myth.

Before you decide use your brain. Just once, instead of looking up “global warming” or “climate change” on Google, look up “facts about climate change”. You will find a wealth of information allowing you to decide for yourself. You want a starting point? Have a look at this website: http://www.climatechangefacts.info/  Read. Educate yourself. Act in accordance of fact, not fear.

Oh… One other thing. Have a nice “Earth Day”. Maybe you could go for a nice drive in the country…..

2009 Detroit Auto Show
2009 Detroit Auto Show

January not only turns the calendar forward, it also opens the doors on what is on the horizon for the automotive industry. Of course, Detroit is weighing heavily on it’s own existence and needs to outsell by a large margin the European and Japanese vehicles also available within our borders. Nevermind that the largess of their profits go to employee subsidees becuase the unions have practically bargained their employers to the table of bankruptcy… Oh… Sorry… Did that already.

So, how does the future look for the “Big 3″…? It looks good… Not THAT good. But good. Will they pull enough numbers from the imports to turn a profit? The short answer is “no”. Will their workforce capitulate to reality and accept some concessions so they have a company to work for in three years? Damn… Sorry… …read more… (more…)