Auto Thoughts

One small part of my perfect world (actually my perfect country, but hey, we Americans think of this country as being the world) would be to make an automobile an entitlement to all citizens "in good standing". This free car would be available to people starting at age 18. The government would pay for this via a slight increase in taxes, which if the cars were contracted for 5 grand the increase would be 100 smackers per month... a very reasonable sum. Uncle Sam should make a deal with only American based companies to manufacture these cars.
These cars would be replaced every 5 years, again for free. The Gov. could and should place certain requirements on the automakers which should include but not be limited to: total cost $5,000 big buckaroonies. Cars must get 50 MPG. Cars must seat 4 adults, or 2 adults and X amount of cargo (i.e. groceries). Cars must meet strict safety and pollution standards. Cars must have a minimum top speed of 75 MPH. Cars would have a security system to prevent theft. Cars would be turned in every 5 years for a new one etc, etc.
Automakers could still make more expensive cars available and I'm sure people would still buy them. Those qualified but deciding not to buy the Eco car would not have their taxes increased. These cars could not be sold by their owners, but would have to be turned in to the dealer for recycling when the five years are up. They would also receive free factory repairs for any mechanical problems (does not include accidents or abuse). There should also be a stipulation that any manufacturer's car that has too many problems (perhaps more than 1%) could not participate in the program.
This would create a lot of jobs and make NEW cars available to a great many people who couldn't otherwise afford it.
Lastly, these cars could be designed to be part of a future mass personal transit system. More on that another time. Do it for the PEOPLE!!!!

I'm Baccccccckkkkkkkk!

Ok, ok, so I haven't blogged in a month or so. I haven't had a big sense of urgency since it seems like only my wife reads this stuff, and she has to listen to me bellyache all the time anyway hehehe.

Before I elaborate further on my personal idea of utopia, and the way things SHOULD be, I want to talk a little bit about a couple of observations. First, I REALLY do not like going to the grocery store and having to say No, I don't want to buy any tamales from the back of some guy's van. While I applaude a person's spirit of enterprise, I will not buy them because A) it's strickly a cash transaction and they pay no taxes on their income, which isn't fair and B) who the hell knows what's in these things. They certainly aren't ANY health inspections going on here. In conclusion, PLEASE do not buy food from people selling from the back of their van, pickup, or trunks.

My second thought of the day involves familes and how white people (of which I am included) don't really take care of family nor do we take advantage of what should be a built-in support system that the family has to offer. I know, or know of, several hispanic families that pool their resources for the overall betterment of the family. Easy enough to do if selfishness is absent, and it seems to me that, at least up to a point, it would be great for the whole family. I'll leave it up to the reader to think about the details
Oh, and just to be fair, I do know one white family in Texas that has this kind of situation. They call it the "Family Business" and conduct meetings, etc. Maybe a lot of families in Texas do it, I don't know. I don't mess with Texas, and they don't mess with me.

In my next blog I'll try to get back to the serious task of explaining my perfect world, and maybe even how we can save the world by eating beans. Oh, wait... maybe it's not beans... hell, I don't remember.

money money Money MONEY

I believe that capitalism is a large part of what's wrong with this land of ours. I believe that if, as a people, we can move beyond lust for the almighty dollar we can become the country that our founding fathers envisioned. A democracy with a social conscience and a goal to improve the lives of ALL of it's citizens could truly be a land of milk and honey.
There is a great deal of talk and political dealing concerning the economy lately. It's almost certain that a recession is on the horizon. News from Washington today about tax rebates and temporary tax relief for business may give some small amount of comfort for a time, but will not be a cure for the financial woes this country faces.
We need to redirect our efforts on the home front on economic matters, how we do business, and WHY we do business. The "why" should be, as I said before, to improve the lives of ALL our citizens. The "how" seems to me to be a lot simpler than most people think, IF we remember the "why".
The United States is said to be the wealthiest in the world, and yet we have approximately 10% of our people living below the poverty level. Current unemployment is about 7% nationwide. With a population of around 300 million, this translates into 30 million poor people and 21 million without a job. With those kinds of numbers is it any wonder why we have a drug problem? A crime problem? A depression problem? How can we tolerate the poverty, crime, etc.? And why should we?
I feel in my heart that many of the country's problems would be cured if we ran it for the benefit of it's citizens instead of for businesses, although the businesses would benefit from it also. Drug use stem from a feeling of hopelessness and/or a desire to escape. This would be greatly reduced if a person has a job, has hope, has the belief that their life is and will continue to get better. Poverty is nothing more than the absence of a job with a comfortable wage.
During the Great Depression of the thirties many public works projects were created as a way to get people working again... and it made for a better country in the process... with happier citizens. We should do this again, on a continuing basis, with a MUCH broader scope and with a goal of eliminating poverty and unemployment in this country. This could and should be paid for with taxes. I'm not talking about the taxes we pay now, that are spread out and pay for little more than the bureaucracy that runs them (kind of like highway toll collections, which pretty much just pay for the salaries of those who collect and maintain the toll systems). Right now we pay a variety of taxes, Federal, State, Local, excise tax, luxury tax, sales tax, use tax, gas tax, energy tax.... the list seems endless.. and this doesn't includes licenses... for your car, business, dog... another endless list. The government should A) calculate how much it would cost to take care of it's citizens basic needs (food, water, clothes, housing, transportation, etc) and then B) design a tax that would cover those costs using a sliding scale. The tax would be high, no doubt about it, but the people would be getting their needs taken care of in a way that NEEDS to be guaranteed to be complete, fair, honest and inclusive of all. (Remember my comment in an earlier blog about an 80% tax?)
The creation of an economical, efficient, ecologically safe automobile... paid for by the government... built by the big three (or more) automakers.... free to each qualified citizen, would create thousands of jobs, reducing unemployment and poverty. A complete redesign and rebuilding of the nations highway system, using the latest technology to blend personal and public transportation to all corners of the country.... with free usage, would create thousands of jobs, reducing unemployment and poverty. Building comfortable, efficient and effective housing for citizens to own.... for free, would create thousands (oh, you get the idea). These are just a few of the hundreds of civil projects that would eventually eliminate poverty, unemployment, possibly drug and gang problems, and have a positive effect on the standard of living in this country.
Think just maybe it's worth a try?

I'd Rather be in Philadelphia

My wife shared the following with me and I thought it would be a good thing to pass along. We men use to have something like this too, it was called Brotherhood... but I think it got lost. Maybe it still lives in Philadelphia (?)



A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day,
drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As
they talked about life, about marriage, about the
responsibilities of life and the obligations of
adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her
glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance
upon her daughter

'Don't forget your Sisters,' she advised, swirling
the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll
be more important as you get older. No matter how
much you love your husband, no matter how much you
love the children you may have, you are still going
to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now
and then; do things with them.'

'Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women...
your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other
women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women
always do.'

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman
thought. Haven't I just gotten married?
Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a
married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely
my husband and the family we may start will be all I
need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact
with her Sisters and made more women friends each
year. As the years tumbled by, one after another,
she gradually came to understand that her Mom really
knew what she was talking about. As time and nature
work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman,
Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world,
here is what I've learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT.........

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how
many miles are
between you. A girl friend is never farther away
than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you
have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life
will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,
praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on
your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the
valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk
beside you...Or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters,
daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers,
Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended
family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and
neither would I. When we began this adventure called
womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or
sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we
would need each other.

Every day, we need each other still. Pass this on
to all the women who help make your life meaningful.
I just did. Short and very sweet:

There are more than twenty angels in this world.
Ten are peacefully sleeping on clouds. Nine are
playing. And one is reading her email at this
moment.

Talkin' Trash

About 10 days ago I spoke in my blog about creating a national recycling clearinghouse. I was thinking today that, while the clearinghouse would reduce some trash and save some resources, there is more we could and should do in this area. Living out in the boonies, I don't have trash service. I take a trip to the dump about once a month to dispose of household trash. I do my best to recycle most everything that I can, but it still piles up. Every time I go I see people getting rid of things that can either be repaired or at least recycled, and they DO have an area for recycling. There is an employee working at the dump site, directing traffic and watching that nobody picks anything up to take back home (stupid rule). I believe that people should be REQUIRED to separate their recyclables. Then add one more employee at each site to inspect the loads when they are first weighed in. It wouldn't take long, just a minute or two, and it would seriously reduce the amount of trash going into the landfill. For pick-up service, have the employee check the trash and reject it if it is not separated. Gee, they would have to go back to actually getting out of their trucks. Then again, there use to be TWO workers per truck, and should be again.... wow, this would help the employment situation too!
I do NOT believe that we should have to pay a deposit when we purchase merchandise that is in recyclable containers, feeling that it is just another means for the state to get money for nothing as less than 50% voluntarily return the containers so the unclaimed deposits become state money. RIP-OFF

The Road to Utopia

I can't help but feel that the common person is getting swallowed up in this country. The gap between rich and poor continues to broaden and the middle class is becoming closer and closer to joining the poor. Soon it may just be the haves and have-nots... the service sector and the give me service sector. Not at all the way a country should be run. Oh sure, the politicians (correction.. the Democrats) talk a good game and promise the moon (the Republicans don't give Jack about the people... just business and money). The Democrats hearts may be in the right place but capitalism gets in the way. Capitalism, by it's very natural demands greed... a economic system of gaining wealth by screwing the next guy. Cheat, lie, steal... everybody wants their little slice of the pie... your pie. You can't have some of anybody Else's pie though...Just try asking for a raise and see what happens. Everyone cries when there is talk of increasing taxes because in the current state of things we pay a lot of taxes on just about everything and get pretty much nothing for it... but what if we did? What if we had to pay upwards of 80% in taxes... but got most or all of our basic needs taken care of for it? The remaining 20% would be purely disposable income to improve upon the basics in the areas that you decided. Health care, transportation, housing, utilities, food, employment, clothing.. all taken care of by the higher tax so you don't have to worry about it, and neither would the poor, because their wouldn't be any.
Of course, this can't happen as long as we are still a group of states, counties and cities... each grabbing for that slice of pie... and each with it's own laws, etc.
If we got rid of the separate state's right idea, this country could have uniform laws, schools, hospitals and many other things. We COULD just become a nation.... let's call it AMERICA.

We Don't Need to Show You no Stinking Badges

I read today that the U.S. Customs Border Patrol is urgently trying to hire more agents in the Southwest, so it seems like a good time to share my views about immigration... and more specifically, ILLEGAL immigration. I don't understand at all why anyone would be in favor of amnesty or fast track citizenship for illegal immigrants. Personally, I don't want someone here who has broken the law the very first second they enter my country. I realize that the welcoming committee is REAL busy, and it takes a long time to become a citizen, but anything worth having takes effort and patience. We already have the system in place to become a citizen and while it may or may not be any good... and I would be all for making it a speedier accomplishment by boosting that departments workforce and streamlining the process, I do believe that there are certain basic requirements necessary. Establishing identity would be a good start to getting a green card. After that, require that they (with the governments help) become gainfully employed (or that a household member supports them) and set up a residence. I feel that it is also important that they learn English within a period of time and take a proficiency test. They have to show that they would be good citizens by being lawful during the probationary period, then they should be granted the privilege of becoming a citizen... and the perks that go with it... but NOT until then.
I believe in strong borders, a strict but reasonable, fair and expedient means of becoming a citizen, and removal of ILLEGAL immigrants. If we can do this, then there will be no reason to do it illegally.

The Times They are a Changin'

Change is a constant, but in my opinion the changes lately have not been for the better... at least not better for the common man. The race for president is building more and more steam and I personally don't see a candidate that would bring any REAL change to this country. Actually, I don't think there has been a president worth much since Truman. JFK perhaps could have made a big difference if he had the time, but it wasn't to be. Since then it's gotten worse with each new administration. Weak losers with no vision, no integrity. The current administration is by far the worst though. I thought his daddy was bad, but GW (I refuse to say his name) could and would drive this country into the ground if it wasn't for term limits. Bold face liars, cheaters, thieves of life and property, with total disregard for the law, for the people of this great country (well, it use to be great.. and could be again) or for humanity. I don't need to cite specifics, anyone with a brain can and has seen all too much on the news about what these evil, power mad lunatics have done.... the worst of it we probably do not and will never know. Doesn't matter, I've seen enough already to believe that GW should be impeached and take the V.P. with him. That, of course, is the problem... to get rid of all the bad apples in this bunch we'd have to dig all the way down to who knows where.
Seems to me that the phrase "of the People, by the People and for the People" is no longer a part of the government. Politicians WILL say or do ANYTHING to get and stay in office. These people are suppose to represent US, the people. Instead, they are more loyal to their party (doesn't matter which one) so that the money supply stays open. Congressional Reps falsely believe that they are elected to LEAD us... that we are too stupid to know what's best for us. The fact is that they are elected to REPRESENT us in congress... to fight tooth and nail for what is RIGHT and for what WE tell them is important to US... not for what the lobbyists are willing to pay them for.. or to follow the party platform like a bunch of lemmings. I do not see one single candidate in this election year that wouldn't buckle under to the pressure of special interests.
My views are very much different from the mainstream.. I actually BELIEVE that the government should DO things to make this a better country. We have become the world's police and that's not a good thing. It is causing us to place the betterment of this country on a lower priority. Additionally, Big Business is far too involved in the politics of this country. Those who have almost all the money want the rest of it. Not a good thing. Words like sacrifice, integrity, generosity and kindness are seldom used.
We need to get back on track. There are hard and serious issues that NEED to be not only discussed, but solved... and solved in a way that makes this a BETTER country.

Power to the People

Last night here in Southern California we were under a severe rainstorm watch. I read that about 1 million people in Orange County were without power. Well, it happened to us at about 8:45pm. We lit candles, dug out the flashlight and, at first, complained about how there was no computer, no TV and worst of all, no heat. I decided some time ago that since the cost of propane was high, as was the the cost of decent firewood, we would just go with electric heaters. At least that way I'm only paying one large bill instead of several. Evently we sat around just talking and laughing, waiting for the lights to come on. They didn't... so after a couple of hours we turned in for the night. When we still had no power the next (cold) morning we went to breakfast and basically did our standard Saturday routine. The power came back on shortly before 10:00am and things got back to normal, but it did make me realize once again just how dependent we are on electricity. It was almost as if our lives had been put on hold until power was restored. I hate that feeling and would really like to be self-sufficient in our needs. I'd love to have solar and wind power, but right now we can't afford the initial costs. Still, the idea of being self sufficient is very appealing. Growing some or all of our food, owning and using only those things that we can maintain ourselves, making our own furniture, etc. Not generally practical in this day and age because using that electric table saw is a heck of a lot easier than a hand saw, but I do feel that we should all have a backup plan of some sort. Maybe just start with some oil lamps and go from there and at least I do OWN a hand saw!

Just Throw it Away

How did we become a throw-away here in America? When something... anything... breaks we pretty much just throw it away and get another. From lighters to computers, our dumps are filling at an alarming rate with stuff that actually can be fixed IF you A) knew how or B) knew a business that knew how. Good old American know-how is a thing of the past it seems, as are the Mr. Fix-it shops of years gone by. The problem is actually very simple. We buy junk..... junk that is cheap.... cheap because we can't afford to buy the good stuff.... and we can't afford it because we have Mc-jobs that pay little and care even less. Of course, the cheap stuff is SO cheap that it's not worth fixing even if you could find a way to do it. So we just go buy another cheap piece of junk to get us by, but in our heart we don't really want to throw it away because we still believe it's worth something. I know this is true because one of my hobbies while driving is looking at all the crap in my neighbor's yards. If it's not thrown away, it's parked, stored or stuffed in a corner. Cars, RVs, trailers, dune buggies, desks, pallets, the list is endless. It's a sign of rampant consumerism. We, as a people, generally have more crap than we need and an enormous appetite to buy more still (It's brainwashed into us by the never ending ads on the Web, TV, billboards and every place else you look). It's also a sign that this is a very wealthy society (or one that's up to it's ears in debt). We are conditioned to believe that we need this stuff to be happy. How nice it would be if there were "unwanted merchandise" clearinghouses around the country where people could donate their unwanted items and others who could actually use the stuff can have it for free. Wait a minute... a free warped piece of lumber?... a FREE chair?..... FREE half bricks? Nahhh, that could never work here in America... or could it?

You'll Wonder how you ever Lived Without it!

As a continuation of my blog from yesterday about boycotting.... let's explore the area of entertainment. Is it possible for them to stick just ONE MORE commercial advertisement into my TV viewing experience? Can't I view even MORE previews before starting that movie? You better believe they can, and will..... as long as we allow it. Some DVDs now will not allow you to fast forward through the "previews" (ads) before the movie. I have found that going to the disc menu can usually bypass the ads but it's just a matter of time if nothing is done. The typical TV show has 18 minutes of programming and 12 minutes of commercials per half hour. Don't believe me? Time it yourself! They try to convince you that you can't LIVE without it (the "it" being whatever they are selling of course). So, what to do????
BOYCOTT it!!!!! Make it public knowledge which companies or stations are the worst offenders and let them know that you will NOT tolerate it anymore. Personally, I will not rent or buy a Rogue Pictures movie because they are one I know of that has too many ads before the movie and doesn't allow the viewer to fast forward to the movie. Take a stand... get fed up.... go into action!
Just a note here about Hersheys chocolate company. My wife informed me recently that they are closing a plant in Canada and one in California (at least) and starting a new facility in Mexico.
Happy for Mexico, sad for the U.S. and Canada. Sorry Hersheys, you just made my person boycott list and I urge everyone else to join me.... No more Hershey chocolate... no Kit Kat bars... no peppermint patties... or anything else by Hersheys. (Shouldn't eat that crap anyway)

Full of Gasssssss

I read today that oil futures have hit $100 a barrel for the first time. That's sure to mean even higher gas prices at the pump than the outrageous amounts we now pay (here locally the cheapest is already 3.17/Gal). Where I live there are a lot of motorhomes and other RVs on the road every weekend. I can't help but wonder how they are able to afford to drive those things, but that bothers me far less than the cost I have to pay for gas. I drive as little as possible, mostly to work and back. Even then, it costs about 60-70 bucks each week.
I've thought long and hard about what we, the people, could do about it. In this country we seem to do a fair amount of protesting (we do MORE belly-aching than protesting, but at least SOME protests occur) but we don't often use the most powerful tool we have as consumers.... BOYCOTT. I know what you think... we can't completely boycott gas... of course not. We all need to drive. In California people drive to the next door neighbor's house instead of walking (at least, that's what they say). I do believe however, there IS a way that we can use the power of boycott to lower the prices of most anything we decide. I'll use gasoline as an example, but it really could work for most things... from the price of milk to the cost of automobiles... and it's actually pretty simple. Instead of trying (and failing) to boycott ALL gas stations, we select the top half dozen or so oil companies and boycott them. First, we send (all important) letters to the major oil companies telling them that we will NOT buy THEIR gas, that we will ONLY buy gas from others until THEIR prices lower to under a set price (say, 2.50 a gallon), at which time we will buy ONLY THEIR gas until the rest lower their price to the same amount. Then it becomes automatic that anyone who charges over the set price (hmmm, maybe we should make it 2.25) would see a boycott. Sure, it would be difficult to sacrifice a bit of convenience... maybe a lot of convenience for a short time, but it's better than being at the mercy of big business and it CAN work! It's important that we write or call and let them know what we are doing, so they will understand why their profits are falling... and they surely would.... but how nice would it be to have them at OUR mercy????

I'm as MADD as Hell.....

Happy New Year!!! Seems like a very good time to talk about something that really should be a thing of the past... drunk driving. Without a doubt, there were many, many traffic fatalities and serious injuries last night and this morning. Far more than should be tolerated by the citizens of this country. According to the MADD website http://www.madd.org/ there were almost 14,000 people killed in 2006 in crashes involving drunk drivers. According to them also, there is a device called an "ignition interlock" which would go a long way towards reducing this number. Sounds like a no-brainer to me. Personally, I feel that anyone caught driving drunk should have their license suspended for two years and an ignition interlock be installed on all cars they own, at offender's expense, AND a 25% or so increase in the offender's auto insurance. Half of this increase would go to the state in which the offender lives, earmarked for some fund related to either the cost of dealing with DUI offenders or to a relief fund for victims of them. The other half goes to the insurance company (the specific percentage would be determined by law). If they do it again after their license has been reinstated, then suspend it for five years. If it happens a third time, license revoked permanently. If they are involved in an accident while drunk, suspend for five years with the other penalties. Ten years for second offense. If there is a fatality accident, the offender should have their license permanently revoked the first time with no exceptions and if they are caught driving after their license has been revoked, mandatory prison time. Sounds harsh maybe... too bad. Driving is a privledge and until we get the drunk drivers off the road, we are literally taking our lives in our hands. Now, what can we do about stupid drivers????