Day long One Liners

1-Does anyone else think that it looks like Chris Dodd has been treated with Botox?

2-Strange fact: In Sweden, the land of high taxes, one half of their largest companies were started before World War I and only two started after 1970. This the cradle to grave approach.

3-Al Gore says it is time for civil disobedience with reference to any new coal plants being constructed. Wonder how far he means to go.

We'll continue these tomorrow

Fundamentals of Economy

I just have to add this after the bailout vote. Nancy Pelosi is going to trip over that Pinocchio nose of hers-it just boggles the mind how everything is the Republican's fault. She has no concept that anyone in this country has a triple digit IQ and thinks she can say anything and get away with it. If she and Harry Reid were so adamant about the original bill or today's effort, they have the majority and could pass anything they want. Nancy, what is the old saw? 'tis better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and prove it.

And on top of that, she doesn't even know better than to call herself an ardent Catholic who has studied an issue for a long time and then come up with a definition of when life begins that is so "out there" that the bishops were forced to make a statement and they are generous to a fault and let most politicians get away with anything short of murder. Oops--that's what abortion is and there are some in the church who are not quite sure about that. Oh, well. The Ultimate Judge, not Nancy, gets my love, respect and vote.

Original post started here:
This week's Off the Record show featured economist Patrick Anderson, a fella I've always considered extremely credible. Lost in the shuffle of name calling and ridicule by the Obama camp over McCain's statement that our economy is fundamentally sound are the actual facts such as: this country still makes things that people both here and abroad buy, interest rates are low, inflation is low, and unemployment (except in Michigan) is at acceptable levels.

So over 90% of the population is working albeit sometimes at 2 jobs and those same people are making their mortgage payments on time. Consider that illegal immigrants and folks with income too low to have saved their down payments have been given mortgages and keys to their new homes without having met loan requirements. This makes everyone look bad, but we need to look at the true rather than the big picture.

Within the next few days we want to address the immigration issue as it has affected our economic picture plus other issues having been eclipsed by the economic bailout.

See you later

ps-Absentee ballots will be going out within the next few days. REMEMBER! In Michigan you have not finished voting until you vote for the Supreme Court nominee
Cliff Taylor.

Hit Me on the Head with a Two By Four!

Yes, I'm like the proverbial donkey who needs a 2 x 4 to get his attention. And what follows is that I'm also guilty of using prayer as a last resort rather the first place I turn as it should be. And now you're wondering what I'm talking about--

Well, here it is: I don't know what gospel you read in your church or the subject of the homily this morning, but in mine we were reminded of the fella who asked his sons to go work in the vineyard with one saying okay and then not following through while the other said he wouldn't go but later thought better of it and went out to work. The message according to our homilist is that God doesn't keep the kind of scorecard that we do and a long, generally good life capped off with some really bad behavior won't be rewarded the same as a long, pretty bad life followed by some good years even though the balance appears nearly equal. It's sorta like "what have you done for me lately?" So this forgiving God keeps giving us chances to reform.

And what does that have to do with politics? Well, I was thinking yesterday that there was no way I could reach all of the so-called practicing Catholic politicians with reason, discussion or argument and that perhaps prayer was the answer. And then along comes the message this morning. I will pray for all of those pro-abortion Democrats (plus Collins and Snowe) and I will let them know about it. I will pop for the postage to send them a note explaining that they still have time to do the right thing.

Whaddya think? Will you join me? Let me know............

See ya tomorrow

Debate - Same old, same old

I watched the tape today to be sure I remembered correctly and frankly, it was as much ado about nothing as it was last evening. I'm as sure as I can be that nothing that was said would change anyone's mind had they already favored one candidate. And since most of us don't know how Independent's minds work, how can we be sure how it would affect them?

So we're back where we started, just a few days later. We'll just wait and see how the gamesmanship over the economic problem shakes out. No change in Obama's non-proliferation position except that he now acknowledges there may be some "loose" weapons available to rogue nations and Russia may be a problem but he's sure he can charm Putin out of more violence. He also says we need to worry not about what can come from the skies, but what might come in via a suitcase. (Then there was a little backtrack about danger from missiles?) We need to go to Afghanistan as he has said before and before and before, but we really should be using the money wasted in Iraq on pre-school education. What????

At this point with Nov. 4th looming ever nearer, we vacillate between thinking there is nothing more we can do at the grassroots and getting charged up and spending time at the Victory Centers making those Get Out the Vote phone calls. All we can do is ask that all of us seriously think about the fact that just one more contact in each precinct in the country (as has happened before) may spell the difference between living under the Constitution or sliding into socialism and less and less personal freedom.

See you tomorrow

Late Debate Night

No comment on the debate--not going to stay up that late.

So will leave you with this note from Saul Anuzis, Michigan Party Chair.

Saul brought to our attention that our senior Senator, Carl Levin, who incidentally is on the Armed Services Committee, is allied with Harry Reid in not supporting our troops and declaring the Surge a success. This guy comes back to Michigan for maybe 6 months on an intermittent basis every six years when he wants to be re-elected.

See ya tomorrow

Paraphrasing not Plagiarizing

I couldn't have put this any better. An Economics professor at Duquesne wrote in a letter to the editor of a financial newspaper in reference to Joe Biden's interpretation of Jesus' admonition to give to the poor. His take is that this is not the same as taking in the name of the poor.

He goes on to mention that the "poor" are mentioned in the four Gospels 21 times.
They are mentioned in "fact" 4 times, called blessed 6 times and receiving the good news as a group, and 11 times instructed to give to the poor. Not once was instruction given to take in the name of the poor.

He then indicates that the Gospels actually tell Joe Biden to give more than 0.2% of his income to the poor. He is not giving Joe Biden or anyone else license to steal from others.

See ya tomorrow

Out of the Mouths of Babes

This could become a family effort. How? Because I take liberty with the term "babes" meaning my kids. Of course they are grown up people now and know things their mom doesn't or look at things a bit differently from me and each other and that's a good thing. It's truly gratifying.

Evidence: #1 son made a comment to the Racism column with information I was not aware of. (You can take a second and go check it out--the comment was under the
Patriotism column.)
#4 son pointed out that in order to be prepared for the next level job we have to do the job we have now. So John McCain made the right move in deciding to prioritize his job as Senator, take care of the problem at hand and then go back to the next job without distractions.

Thanks guys.

See you tomorrow

Knee Jerk Reaction

This economic problem is big. No doubt about it. So is the new economic rule "the bigger the problem the quicker the reaction?" Wouldn't you think that all the experts and the media plus the man on the street would think it prudent to take even a few minutes, let alone a few days, to sit back and ponder the potential of acting so quickly that unintended consequences become the answer and compound the problem?

And buried amidst all the rhetoric is the news that shortly before the Wall Street thing exploded we heard that Barack Obama was in favor of writing a check for just about half a hundred billion dollars to the UN to help the poor of the world. At least there is the high potential for the mortgages to be paid back and we'll break even over a period of time. Money given to the UN goes directly to the despots who govern the poorest countries in the world and the population sees little, if any, benefit. And we, as well as the world, have lost in the process.

Nary a peep was heard from the likes of Carl Levin who was just on the radio bemoaning the fact that there is no oversight. Sen. Levin is in Washington to serve, right? Doesn't he hear or see some of the stuff going on? Oh, well, he must be focusing all his efforts on his military responsibilities. It seems he is just interested enough to criticize. Where was he when toilet seats were going for $700 and screws for $11 each?

Patriotism? Taxes?

Did I hear this right? It's patriotic to pay taxes? How about it's even more patriotic to voluntarily give money to help the poor that Biden talks about learning during his parochial school days? This coming from a guy whose tax returns show around the 1% mark for charitable deductions and his running mate around 2% or is it the other way around? No matter. It's indicative of a fairly selfish attitude and should be an area of concern for people who want to run on the love and generosity platform. (And don't give me the old Gore line when he was brought up short on the same topic. He said he wanted to remain anonymous. Well, guys, wouldn't you think that if you were in the highest tax bracket you would want to take the deduction so you would have just that much more to give? This makes their business sense suspect as well as their generosity.)

So for a ticket that felt they had to defend their patriotism they would be more careful than to compound the problem. This sets them back a bit, doesn't it?

See you tomorrow

ps-when speaking of racism a day ago, I should have made it clear that the racism labels were started by the Obama campaign during the primary and they are carrying it through to the general. They manufactured it as an issue--I think it's called reverse psychology. No racism intended but if they accuse someone of being racist they have put someone the defensive. Heard today there was a study which indicated the Obama campaign was the dirtier.

Schauer Stipulations

Delusions of grandeur or what? The regional AARP which covers the 7th district in Michigan some time ago invited Mark Schauer, challenger to Congressman Tim Walberg, and the Congressman to participate in a political forum.

Tim Walberg quickly responded that he would be glad to take part while the Schauer campaign played a delaying game which included the really strange stipulation that they would like to have some forums take place in Grand Rapids and Toledo, Ohio, among others which are about 75 miles outside the district. Why? Then just recently they said they would participate if the AARP could guarantee national press coverage, certainly an impossible assignment. Does this sound like they really want to take part in any forum, panel or debate?

The University Women of Battle Creek, also in the 7th district, received an affirmative response. Do you suppose they have guaranteed national media coverage?

This just seems weird. Can anyone think of even one remote reason why this would make sense?

See you tomorrow

Racism

I just want to say one thing to end this week.

It is my prayerful hope that all of the racists who vote against Obama because of his color cancel out all the blacks or liberals who vote for him just because of his color.

Then we can all study the issues, see what it's going to cost us and look to the future of our country and do what is right.

God bless us all
and
see you tomorrow

Anecdotes

I accessed the PBS website today and watched a video of Drew Western, a clinical psychologist, who has written a book "The Political Brain" during which he indicated that Obama should use the term 'a doctor for every family' rather than 'universal health care.' Remember the other day when we spoke about the AARP bemoaning the shortage of doctors and how they really wanted a national (Hillarycare) health system? This is just a continuation of that topic so we need to be aware that it is now coming at us from all sides.

Please always remember that socialized medicine is rationed care.

A couple of other stories which are uplifting rather than the reverse. Today at a McCain campaign stop a grieving mother who had just lost her son in Afghanistan spoke to him as did an injured military man back from Iraq who had lost three of his friends. It's amazing to me that in those trying circumstances they felt it important to attend a political rally and approach a politician. It certainly speaks to how heroes find common ground.

And last, a pretty simple story of common sense and American ideals. I was in the barber chair this afternoon and a young fellow came in to wait his turn. He got up and left to go outdoors to answer his cell phone. When he returned I noted, loudly enough for him to hear, that his parents must have taught him good manners and that I'm not sure that my kids who are scattered over the country do the same thing. One thing led to another and I learned he was a firefighter. I thanked him for his service and must say left feeling that the future is in some pretty good hands.

See you tomorrow

7th District, Michigan

I hope you never hear his name again, but we have a challenger of our 7th District Congressman known as Mark Schauer. He's your old school political machine type who knows how to take big PAC dollars, put it in his own "educational" PAC and then re-distribute it to other Dems so he has paid for their allegiance and they do his bidding.

Right now he is defending one of his many votes for increasing taxes by saying it wasn't his vote, but the Democrat Lt. Governor who broke the tie who is guilty. Does he really think his constituents are so stupid they can't figure out that had he not voted for the increase, there would have been no reason for a tie breaker? Duh!

This is a guy who does nothing but attend meetings, schmooze and then take credit for the work that the locals have spent months and months putting together for the development of plans for jobs, education, roads and any other effort you might think of.

This is a dangerous man when you put him in the machine with Obama, Pelosi and all the others in Washington. He never met a tax he didn't like, votes for late term abortions--you know, all the liberal ideas in the box.

See you tomorrow

Saturday Night Live???

They always say that if candidates can't face up to some of the small events, how will they face up to the big ones? Such as Barak sitting down for one on ones with world leaders whose propensity to kill Americans is well known.

The sketch last Saturday with "Hillary" and "Sarah" must have hit too close to home for Hill. If she can't be on the same platform as Sarah for what should be a common goal, she will never be able to stand up when times get tough, right? Wouldn't it be amusing if she lost the support of her New York friends and lost her "home" state while running next time whether it be for Senate or President?

This had to be such an easy decision if she had not reneged. She would have shown her support against Iran and at the same time shown how strong and open-minded she could be when bi-partisanship would enhance the world's view of America.

Don't put words in my mouth. Frankly, it doesn't matter to me whether Europeans and others think highly of us when we know we are on the good and righteous side of any issue. Appeasement is never the answer.

See you tomorrow

Running out of Daylight

This post is for Michigan readers and is actually just a teaser since I don't have the answers but plan to do some research in the next couple of days about:

The tax on services!!!

I know I would never make a good witness since unless there is a good reason given me in advance I am not a detail person. It should come as no surprise then that I just noticed the state tax on my Consumer's bill this week. Wow! No one wrote about this one. Now I'm wondering just how much money it raises since if industrial and commercial businesses also pay the full tax, it must be astronomical! And guess what--as might be expected it is a pass through to the customer. Duh!

Will let you know what I find out or if you happen to have some insight into this tax or the service tax in general, we'd appreciate hearing about it.

See you tomorrow

UAW + Democrats = Problems for Michigan

I really don't want to paint with too broad a brush, but don't know how to differentiate between those inherently responsible for our unhealthy business climate especially in the automotive sector. Whatever the percentages are, my beef is with the leadership of the union and their political connections with the left. So, if you're an Independent and can look at the situation objectively, you are NOT part of the problem.

So many things have come together at this particular time. Such as: why is it that the foreign auto makers who have plants in this country can be healthy and profitable but Ford, GM and American parts of Chrysler are going to Washington hat in hand looking for assistance? Could it be that they aren't held hostage by the union?

Now, don't give me a history lesson-I realize how necessary unions were and some of the advantages to all workers gained through their activities, but they have long since superseded their general usefulness. The leadership is much like a tail wagging a dog so they can maintain their 6 figure salaries and the teachers and public employees have gone to school on their methods so that the general membership really has little influence or options.

Just as some years ago I drove through a couple of automaker parking lots and was horrified to see nearly as many, and in some cases more, foreign made cars than American made I'm now wondering what the count is at the parking lot of the UAW head-quarters.....or the MEA lot...........or the various service sector lots.

And as an aside that probably not too many people know: when Lee Iacocca got government money, took his $1 a year salary and made a big show of paying back the government on time, there just wasn't enough interest in the fact that Hotshot Lee put many small Chrysler suppliers out of business because they couldn't wait for 90 to 120 days and more for payment of their invoices.

So there's enough blame to go around (yes, perhaps the automakers should have taken strikes through the years rather than capitulate for things like GM having folks go to "work" which includes sitting in a room reading newspapers, doing crossword puzzles or just shooting the breeze) but one character is missing.

While the UAW and the Democrats are still working hand in hand and support Obama's "economic justice" (his euphemism for redistribution of wealth)concept while trying to change the State Constitution via a ballot proposal, they just can't seem to get enough power to satisfy themselves.

The one place which is pretty much blameless in this scenario is the Republican Party. If Independents can't see what is happening and work to stop this conspiracy, Michigan will be hard pressed to recover.

See ya tomorrow

The Dog Ate my Homework or The Power Went Out

Yes, I need an excuse as to why there was nothing on yesterday. Maybe I should change my schedule and put blogging in earlier in the day. Power went out for about 3hours last evening so we just went to bed. It's not easy reading by candlelight and impossible to post a blog.

So today I have a few more random thoughts......

My question for those who will vote for Obama because of charisma or skin color: knowing that any liberal abortion legislation will pass, how many babies are you willing to forfeit for having a "cool" president or one of color?

Has anyone done the arithmetic on using all the money being "wasted" in Iraq and which should be spent domestically? Now, factor in how much he needs to spend to accomplish his goals in Afghanistan.

Where are the details????? The Obama need for change includes education, socialized health care, energy, and those are his top three. What about his tax cuts? The redistribution of wealth from the top 5% who pay the high tax rate to the 40% who pay nothing at all and will in effect receive a stipend or subsidy makes one wonder who is really going to end up paying the cost of all the other programs it takes to run a socialist state. During the primary, before all the totals were in, it was estimated that the Obama programs would cost over $750 million and if the rich were taxed at a high rate it would cover about $250 million of it. So where would you think the remainder would come from?

For a good many years the Democrats have talked the talk to blacks and women, but they aren't treated any differently ie., walking the walk. Promises, Promises. I suppose it is a matter of pride not to have to admit that you were wrong so you keep hoping that they will finally keep a promise. Visualize this: shaking my head in disbelief.

In talking with a friend this morning we decided that some young people who haven't started families as yet and have always been on the taking end of a relationship are the ones who can continue to be idealistic with no reservations. But those who have married and/or have children have come to realize that there is something much more than self-gratification at stake here. This group truly has put themselves in the position of sacrificing anything from a new pair of shoes to their very lives for the betterment of another person. (There is another group of givers who somehow have learned early on that they might be called on to sacrifice for someone else. These are the young people who have signed up for the military, law enforcement and public protection such as firefighters. God bless them all.)

We have a little over 7 weeks to separate the wheat from the chaff what with all the "stuff" being thrown at us over the radio, TV, YouTube, plus all our internet sources and distill it down to the basics and help anyone else we can to make the most important decision of our lives thus far. I know it's difficult, but please just go for the facts and their effects on our country's future. Emotions can be ugly or beautiful, uplifting or depressing, but we all need to try to exercise our intellect as well as our sympathy.

See ya tomorrow

AARP/Socialized Medicine

Rec'd my AARP monthly bulletin this week and of course they are bemoaning the fact that there are not enough general practitioners available to those of us who need medical attention. I haven't read the entire piece, but I don't have to in order to make the point that they need to take some of the responsibility such as: don't they remember when Hillarycare was attempted early in the first Clinton term? AARP couldn't get on board fast enough, but guess what. Their "membership" caused such a ruckus that they backed off. They figured if they lost many of the threatened memberships it would hurt their bottom line. So, they lived to fight another day and this is that day.

I'm not sure what the exact amount is at this date, but generally AARP is the recipient of nearly $100 million per year from the government, yes, your tax dollars at work. They apparently do just enough research to justify this as a government service. Right.

Don't get me wrong. AARP actually does a good job on their primary business: insurance. But how is it that they are still considered a non-profit? And how is it that they can spend the kind of money they do in advertising and lobbying efforts? Any other business would consider much of what AARP does as co-mingling. Not a flattering description of their business practices.

So those of you who are entering that phase of life where you are looking forward to getting senior discounts should be looking at any organization you join with a clear view of their goals and what you will get for your money.

See you tomorrow.

ps-wondering why I belong to the organization? I'm as mercenary as many. The company from which I retired pays a portion of my medical program, but the company they deal with is AARP and I need to belong to AARP to have their insurance. That's also how I know that the insurance program is good.

Nine Eleven

At my age the "big" memory is December 7, 1941. For many of you, especially the first of the baby boomers and those close to them it's JFK's assassination. And for all of us 9-11-01 is a cataclysmic event which has changed not only the way we live, but the way we think and our total worldview. Coupled with the increase in longevity and the decrease in affordable energy (not to mention other problems--these are enough) we have neither the time nor the resources to spend either, without coming to some agreement on how our nation is going to proceed. Partisan politics is the battleground and it looks to me as though the first thing we have to decide is whether we continue with our present form of constitutional government or do we continue the slide into socialism and even further cradle to the grave lifestyles.

So for the next 7 1/2 weeks we will address the issues which will influence the future of America and your families and mine. If you post a comment which will aid the dialog, we will certainly recognize its validity, but it needs to be logical, sincere and somewhat original--or like a patent, something added to the original which will make it something new or different enough to make us think about it.

Most of us have uttered prayers today for those personally affected by 9-11 and in so doing we have prayed for the future of the country as well. In that respect we are all on the same page.

See you tomorrow

The Good Old Days

Yes, I'm yearning for the good old days when my kids were in elementary school and junior high when I could just turn them off by sending them to their rooms. That's about how I am feeling about the folks who are talking about lipstick on pigs, the South Carolina "lady" who made a scurrilous remark about Palin and later figured an apology would wipe it out, Obama saying he would give a tax cut to 95% of the populace when at last count I think about 40% don't pay any taxes anyway, Charlie Rangel acting as judge and jury on cases from which he should recuse himself, and all the other holier than thou types who think they can fool all of the people all of the time.

Didn't Lincoln say "you can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time but never all of the people all of the time" or something like that? He also said that God must have loved the common man since he made so many of us. I'm thinking he could say the same thing at the beginning of this century when we still outnumber the elite who think we are much too close to our church and the 2nd amendment, right? And one more quote: Ronald Reagan said something like: it's just amazing how much we can get done if we don't care who gets the credit. Truer words were never (my addition: or hardly ever) spoken.

Do you remember that little pocket size book "Whatever I Needed to Know in Life I Learned in Kindergarten"? (Not exact words, but close.) Anyway, I would like to change that to "whatever I needed to know in life I learned in my 12th grade Government/Econ class." Reason being, as I reminded my classmates at our 60th high school reunion this summer, Mr. Schultz taught us 3 life long lessons: be wary of what you read in the "Reader's Digest" since anytime words can be added or subtracted from the original the meaning of the author will probably be corrupted, beware of the eastern establishment press (and being from rural Minnesota we had no clue--but sure do now,) and last he said that being able to research was more important than learning answers to questions. I'm thinking he was way ahead of his time and would have really enjoyed the internet. Common sense goes a long way.

See ya tomorrow.

Confessions of a Blogger, or, Life Gets in the Way

When I started this I made myself a promise that I would post every day--it's not fair to bore anyone with repetition, but as they say, things happen. Mea Culpa.

Also, I had really looked forward to doing this since folks like us enjoy a dialog on things important in our lives which in this case is politics and government. When dozens of responses were not forthcoming the first couple of weeks I thought perhaps I'm being redundant and unnecessary, but we're going to hang in here. I should know by next week how to upload some of the videos done for this purpose.

Today let's talk about something very personal which may or may not appeal to most of you no matter whether you attend a church or not. And whether you happen to be a part of a Catholic church. In my case, I do. So you can understand why it drives me nuts to have politicians, over 90% of Democrat U.S. Senators (I haven't counted the House members but figure it's about the same) who claim to be "practicing" or "ardent" Catholics can ask others to support their pro abortion positions and platform.

My favorite analogy for describing their attitudes of not personally pro abortion, but it shouldn't be legislated: Suppose you and others stand by and watch a parent beat on a kid in the parking lot with a baseball bat. Do you really look at each other and say "Gee, I wouldn't do that to my children" or do you run, not walk, over to the guy and wrestle the bat from his/her hands?

Science has caught up to the church as to the question of the beginning of life in that we now know that a heartbeat is discernible early on and surgery is performed in utero. This is pretty basic stuff these days but this is enough for today.

It would behoove legislators such as Mark Schauer and Barak Obama, not Catholic, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden, Catholic, to use a little logic instead of power broking political reasons to vote to kill.

See ya tomorrow-Promise

T. Boone Pickens

I am so tired of hearing this self-appointed savior of the energy world telling us about his PLAN.

Here's a guy who made gazillions of dollars by being at the right place at the right time in the oil patch and now wants to tell the rest of us how to live our lives according to his PLAN. You gotta wonder why Nancy Pelosi bought stock in his new venture when she didn't even know natural gas was a fossil fuel. Wonder if anyone has corrected her yet.

Anyway, I have some problems with cars running on compressed gas--somehow I can't get past the safety thing. T. Boone says it will buy us time to come up with other ideas and energy sources, but I'm not sure they have perfected the tank that will hold it yet. Doesn't it need to be like a thermos because of the extreme cold, etc?

Also, I don't know how much it will cost to retrofit a vehicle to use it and how long it will take to recover the investment. Until I see some facts and figures I think I'll just wait to climb on old T. Boone's bandwagon.

Maybe someone out there has the answers? We'd love to hear them.

See ya tomorrow.

Mean spirited bullies

Okay-

Now we know the true meaning of the term "mean spirited" which was the mantra of the liberals some time ago.

But since the leftists of the internet, the Democrat party and the liberal press pile on with a public pillory of a 17 year old girl and her mom by their actions of the last couple of days calling them bullies is probably a modest use of the language. One of my kids called a bit ago and said he could just imagine the conversations figuring out ways to "Bork" them.

Can't wait for her speech tonight.

More tomorrow.

Climate Change/Fossil Fuels

Reference S.F.Hayward, fellow at American Enterprise Institute author of "Index of Leading Environmental Indicators."

Just a few facts to get you thinking:

1-In 2006 the U.S. emitted 5.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, just under 20 tons per capita.
2-Obama and most environmentalists want to decrease emissions by 80% by 2050.
McCain wants to decrease emission by 65% by 2050.
President Bush has a goal of stopping growth by 2050.
3-There are four main areas of energy use: residential, commercial (retail and office bldgs)
industrial and transportation--measured by electricity consumption apportioned to each.
4-American residential emissions are 1.2 billion or 20% higher than the total resulting from the 80% reduction goal of Obama. Don't forget this does not factor in the increase in our population which is projected to total 420 million by then or 40 million households.
5-Average usage per household now is 10,500 kwh emitting 11.4 tons per year. To reach the magic number we would have to use no more than 1.5 tons per year or about 2500 kwh. Apparently this is enough to keep an electric water heater going. Now add lights, TVs, radios, computers and other appliances. Get the picture?
6-NOW ADD IN THE COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL AND TRANSPORTATION USAGE AND
NEEDS EVEN WITH ALL THE POTENTIAL SAVINGS METHODS.....................

It just doesn't add up, does it? Do you want to go back to 1910 when there were 92 million citizens? Good grief, Charlie Brown! Let's get some practical thinkers involved!

See ya tomorrow and give a little prayer of thanks for a weakened Gustav--and pray that the hurricanes coming down the pike will lose their punch as well.

Labor, Weather, Convention

The first thing I saw in this morning's paper was a short piece on the fact that 29% of those over 65 are still working and of course it's because the sky is falling. I beg to differ. Wouldn't you like to see a breakdown of that number? Think of all the people who: work because they enjoy their jobs and have good health; work because they want to add to their retirement savings; work because they don't have any other interests; and last, work because they didn't start saving early enough (which might be most of us?) or the market is down or -- due to whatever reason they have no savings at all and never intended to retire.

Just don't forget that in 1935 when the retirement age was put at 62/65 the average life expectancy was 63. It is now 77. Duh!

When thinking about New Orleans hurricanes why is the first picture that comes to mind the one of the fleet of school buses with water up to the wheel wells not being used by the mayor to evacuate citizens? And then, of course, the following days and weeks of agony for not only New Orleanians but those who could only watch helplessly with their only recourse being writing a check in an attempt to help. The Corps of Engineers, the politicians, the disaster teams and even those who refused to leave 3 years ago have all gone to school on the first catastrophe. Wonder who the Dems will blame this time?

The Michigan delegation to the Republican convention is organizing a blood drive as we speak. We have over 2000 activists in St. Paul this week who will all be working to make sure that the opportunity to help in the hurricane efforts will not be wasted. They had all planned to spend a few days having a good time and they certainly will--there is no better feeling than to know you have helped someone in need.

See ya tomorrow.