This song was played in the late 90's I believe
Monday, September 10, 2012
Monday Music
This is a continuation of my "Monday Music" Wirecutter and Irish do Milfy Monday's But I do music. The babes that Kenny and Irish use are smoking...and I like looking, but my blog is "G" and "PG" rated...so I use music.
This song was played in the late 90's I believe
This song was played in the late 90's I believe
Sunday, September 9, 2012
600+ reasons for defeating President Barack Obama
(Roman Genn)
1. Because he was not the one we were waiting for.
2. “Forward.”
3. Because Julia needs to get off her
lazy, federally subsidized butt, get a real job, and pay for her own
damned birth-control pills.
4. Because lots of people fail at their first real job.
5. Because “Winning the Future” was not a very good slogan back in 2005 when it was Newt’s.
6. Because the country is ready for its first African-American former president.
7. To give him the free time to write his third memoir.
8. Because he’ll have even more “flexibility” after November if he’s back in Chicago.
9. Joe Biden.
10. So that dissent will once again be the highest form of patriotism.
11. Because he didn’t quite get the message in 2010.
12. For claiming that he would cut the deficit in half.
13. And then adding more than $5 trillion in new debt.
14. To remind him that debt used to be, in his own words, “unpatriotic.”
15. Because the buck never stops.
16. For blaming President Bush.
17. For blaming headwinds.
18. For blaming Japanese earthquakes.
19. For blaming ATMs.
20. He can’t get the vice president to stop calling him “Barack” in public.
21. Gabby Giffords shooting commemorative T-shirts and pep rally.
22. Because he listened to the Reverend Wright’s crackpot racist diatribes for years and then gave us a lecture on racism.
23. For ignoring his own deficit commission.
24. Because of an $800 billion stimulus bill.
25. “Shovel-ready” projects.
26. The non-existence of shovel-ready projects.
27. For joking about the non-existence of shovel-ready projects.
28. Because “jobs created or saved” is Enron accounting.
29. Because there were stimulus grants in imaginary ZIP codes.
30. For proposing a $53 billion high-speed-rail project while Amtrak is still losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
31. For repeatedly citing the 2007
Minnesota bridge collapse as evidence of the need for expanded
infrastructure spending when federal investigators ruled that bad
design, not disrepair, caused the collapse.
32. For 613 new federal regulations in the first 33 months of his presidency.
33. And because 129 of those regulations will each cost the economy more than $100 million a year.
34. Because the Small Business
Administration estimates the price of current regulations at $1.75
trillion annually — a bigger burden than the corporate income tax.
35. Because his neck must be hurting from keeping his chin up in the air for nearly four years.
36. Because Cass Sunstein boasted about
an “unprecedentedly ambitious government-wide review” of regulation
that saved only $2 billion per year, or 0.1 percent of the cost of
regulatory compliance.
37. “The private sector is doing fine.”
38. Because the private sector isn’t doing fine.
39. Because his administration predicted the stimulus would keep unemployment below 8 percent.
40. February 9, 2009: “If we get things
right, then starting next year, we can start seeing some significant
improvement” on the employment front.
41. Because now we have a 24 percent unemployment rate for people 16 to 19 years old.
42. Because the lowest the unemployment rate was during the Obama administration was 8.1 percent.
43. Because the current unemployment rate is 8.3 percent.
44. Because 4 million Americans have been out of work for more than a year.
45. Because the black unemployment rate is 14.4 percent.
46. And the Hispanic unemployment rate is 10.3 percent.
47. And because the real unemployment rate — including those who have abandoned the job hunt — is even higher.
48. Because the percentage of working-age Americans who are employed has dropped from 61 percent to 58 percent — and stayed there.
49. Because, in his own words, his
“first job is to make sure the economy is growing, that we’re creating
jobs out there.” You said it, not us.
50. Because he spent all of 2007 and
2008 imploring us to send him to Washington and, now that he has the
job, he can’t stop whining about how much he hates it there.
51. Because Nicholas Thompson, the vice
president of polling firm The Tarrance Group, while discussing public
views of Obama, said that “there’s a lot of people who feel sorry for
him.” We should help them out.
52. Because when unemployment hit 10.2 percent, he extolled the economy’s “core strengths.”
53. Because in a fundraising e-mail of
September 1, 2011, he demanded that Republicans “take action on” a jobs
plan that he had not yet released.
54. Revising his tune on the recovery
in December 2011, he said: “It’s going to take more than two years. It’s
going to take more than one term. It probably takes more than one
president.” We agree with that last part.
55. Because he promised to “ban all earmarks.”
56. But he didn’t ban earmarks.
57. And he promised to go “line by line” through legislation.
58. But of course he didn’t go line by
line through legislation, and in the case of Obamacare apparently didn’t
go through it at all.
59. “Let me be perfectly clear.”
60. Because corpsmen deserve a president who can pronounce “corpsman.”
61. Because Jay Carney is the least
credible press secretary since Dee Dee Myers had to stand there
pretending that she didn’t know what she knew about Bill Clinton.
62. Because Americans deserve the opportunity to see which White House pet will ride atop the Romney presidential limousine.
63. So you’ll be able to criticize the president again without being called a racist.
64. Because there are 46 million people on food stamps.
65. And spending on food stamps doubled from $39 billion in 2008 to $81 billion in 2012.
66. For the existence of food-stamp parties.
67. And the proliferation of food-stamp advertisements.
68. Because he launched the most harebrained foreclosure scheme imaginable.
69. And because there were a record 2.8 million foreclosures in 2009.
70. And then a record 2.9 million foreclosures in 2010.
71. Recovery Summer.
72. Recovery Summer II.
73. Recovery Summer III.
74. Because America cannot handle any more Recovery Summer sequels.
75. To affirm that 50 states are enough.
76. Because he values Jon Corzine’s advice.
77. Because he values Joe Biden’s advice.
78. The fact that the stimulus spent $9.38 million to renovate a train depot that has been closed for 30 years.
79. And $762,000 to develop YouTube–like dance software.
80. And invested $2.5 million in dead people.
81. And sent $11 million to Microsoft to build a bridge at its campus.
82. Not to mention millions of stimulus dollars spent advertising the stimulus.
83. And $300,000 to study yoga’s impact on menopause.
84. As well as $30 million to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies to build a training complex.
85. And $200,000 to help Siberians lobby their legislators.
86. And $700,000 to help crab fishermen to recover their crab pots.
87. And more to get monkeys high on cocaine.
88. For that vice-presidential salute to “the people building smart toasters . . . this is real stuff.”
89. Because the stimulus included an earmark for a Los Angeles–Las Vegas Maglev railway.
90. And there is not going to be a Los Angeles–Las Vegas Maglev railway.
91. Because he didn’t let a crisis go to waste.
92. Because he demonizes Wall Street bankers.
93. Except his first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel of Wasserstein Perella.
94. And his successor, Bill Daley of JP Morgan.
95. And his successor, Jacob Lew of Citigroup.
96. Because we wouldn’t mind seeing Goldman Sachs take a loss on this particular investment.
97. Because since he took office, real median household income is down $4,300.
98. Because he can’t distinguish between conservatism and anarchism.
99. Because his “jobs czar” praised Germany for the fact that “government and business [work] as a pack.”
Are entitlements corrupting us...?
My Friend Shelldude posted this on Facebook and I am a firm believer of "If I like it..I will shamelessly "borrow" it and pass along the props to the author."
Friday, September 7, 2012
THe DNC in a nutshell....The Vagina monologues
I was reading all the stuff from the 4 days of the DNC in Charlotte N.C. After trying to figure out the total summation of the activities, It occurred to me what the underlying theme was, Sandra Fluke set the tone for the convention, it became all about the reproductive rights and free contraceptives. More free stuff for more people. There was nothing said about the dismal economy, nothing said about the horrendous debt that Obama and crew have wracked up since the inauguration. Nothing about the unemployment rate, nothing about the underemployed, nothing about people that have just given up. There was no plan offered...just the vague promise of more of the same and of course free contraceptives and reproductive rights. But of course they removed God and Jerusalem from their platform, before putting both back in in a messy voice vote. Bill Clinton gave a great speech, but I think it was more to pump up the chances of Hillery in 2016. The 2012 Democratic convention is now in the history books as a party that has gone on too long and the bill is fixing to come due and I wonder of Obama and crew will duck out of the building through the kitchen to avoid the coming reckoning from the reckless spending and living large on other peoples money.
I saw this on Sultan Knish
If a convenient time machine were to deposit a Roman citizen, circa 140 or so, in Charlotte, he would have no trouble understanding what was going on. Our Roman might not understand a word of what was being said, but he would be able to take one look at the garish costumes, the hysterical air of self-congratulation worn by men and women who have accomplished absolutely nothing in life, and the clownish theatrics and realize exactly what was going on. "Oh no, not again," would be the last thing he would think just before being lobotomized by a loose heel from Nancy Pelosi.
If bankrupting the country, destroying its economy and using its legal
documents to roll joints wasn't bad enough, the people responsible for
all this thought it would be a fine idea to make their national
convention about abortion and gay marriage. It was either that or any
other random thing that will hit the right buttons on the sort of people
who leave their buttons exposed to the air.
The old Democratic convention looked like some music video director's idea of Olympus. The new one looks like the stage for a concert, something popular, noisy and lip-synched. Any minute now some musician who used to be a waiter two weeks ago before going professionally viral will slink out on stage and begin making mouth movements to recorded music while digital fireworks go off in the background.
This is MTV politics designed by those who don't understand that MTV is over and that they're over. Their fifteen minutes are up and so are their four years. Cinderella won't marry the prince and spend another four years bankrupting the country. The trend that swept this mob into office is headed the other way and their desperate attempts to stay cool are as pathetic as they are hopeless.
The Democratic National Convention is swarming with rabidly enthusiastic people who are hyped up about things in the way that only the professionally cheerful are. The message is that everyone is happy to be here, repeated at decibel volumes and with simultaneous sign language translation, which is the surest sign that no one is happy to be here at all.
There's a moment in every party when no one knows anymore why they are at the party or what the point of the party is. The party is just there and they're there and they're doing their best to pretend to be having fun, but worryingly they're not sure what fun is anymore. There's just noise, balloons and lots of bright colors. Someone makes a speech and everyone applauds because it's the thing to do. And everyone stays because that's also the thing to do. That's the Convention in a nutshell.
Garish, loud and out of sync with the country. That's not just Pelosi or Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, it's the entire ridiculous affair full of pols who manage to look sweaty and haggard at the same time trying to remember their lines. While a nation of unemployed and barely employed watch hoping for economic solutions, they are treated to bizarre costumes and even more bizarre speeches by a party that is so deep inside its statistical bubble that it will run an abortion convention if it wins it another one tenth of one percent in a crucial swing state.
But none of this is really for the hoi polloi sighing wearily while thinking of the long day waiting for them tomorrow. This is for the money men and women, for the grass roots activists in 600 dollar shoes who want to be reassured that this party deserves their money and their inappropriate use of public resources for get out the vote operations. And what they want is abortion and gay rights, not because they really believe in either one, but because they like trendy things.
Obama may be a Marxist, but he isn't the kind who owns two suits like
Vlad Lenin. He's the kind that people with more money than taste like.
And the entire convention is a tribute to that vulgarity of the spirit
and the senses, an aesthetic armageddon in which every element,
including the people, seems designed for mass seizures and mass
suicides.
The common man will get Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton and Barry delivering the best speeches that the best money can buy. But this party isn't really for them, it's the last hurrah of people who expect to lose because they have chosen losers to lead them. This isn't a winner's convention, it's Custer's Last Stand with balloons and lifelike politician puppets. It's the blowout that will rid the Democrats of some of their dead weight, like Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, while keeping them competitive enough with target groups that they can blame their defeat on discrimination, rather than a popular revolt against their failed economic policies.
What the Democratic National Convention, 2012 edition, is really meant to accomplish is create a narrative where Obama lost, not because of the economy, but because he committed to liberal values, because he went all out on gay marriage, abortion and illegal immigration, and liberals failed to back him up. The story will not be that the election was a referendum on economics, but a way for the white majority to disenfranchise the voices of feminists, gays and minorities. It is the story that they will carry into their battle to retake Congress in 2014 and their attack on the White House in 2016.
Obama is too stupid to understand that the convention isn't there for him, it's there for the one woman who didn't show up. Hillary Clinton. It's why Bill Clinton will get up there and cheerfully tell everyone to win one for the zipper, because he has already won. And the guy who should have been carrying his bags and getting him his coffee has lost. This is Hillary's convention. Her empty chair is the one that sets the stage for her comeback. And in 2016, when Obama walks out on the stage on the second day to tell everyone that Hillary will continue his work, he finally will be carrying their bags.
In his dressing room, Obama is still dancing around to "Eye of the Tiger" on his Zune, psyching himself up for the clash of egos. But Romney isn't playing that game, neither is anyone else. Obama's idea of achievement is that of a man who has never achieved anything. The answer is always to push harder, so long as someone else is doing the pushing. Walking egos don't believe in the forces of history and don't understand that before people vote, they don't check commercials, they check their wallets. Walking egos don't understand that people, even people who work for the government, who are proud to wear the scarlet D, see politicians as employees selected to do a job. And that in the privacy of the booth, they will vote for change.
No campaign is inevitable, but people are not tools in the hands of politicians, politicians are tools in the hands of people. That is a dangerous truth that the big men and women are partying to escape in Charlotte. This is their masque of the red death where the radicals party like it's 2009 and the shift against their policies hadn't happened yet. And some of them understand that they have reached the end of their political journey. After this the culling will begin and just as after Kerry's loss, it will not be pretty.
The Obamas were never anything but tools in the hands of men and women
who were also tools in someone else's hands. This isn't a matter of
conspiracy theories, it's a matter of politics. Obama was a tool that
some people and organizations used to get things that they wanted done.
They burned through him and burned him in the last year because they
knew that his usefulness was nearing its end. They aren't done, but they
are moving on and it's only the chumps still putting money in the
Hopier and Changier tin. It's the chumps partying on television and
having an enforced good time.
There are two types of trends. Capital T Trends and small case trends. The Obamas thought that their mastery of the small case trend had also made them masters of capital T Trends. They were wrong. The capital T Trend is not about what people are manipulated into doing, it's the larger forces of history driven by survival instinct and necessity. It's the ocean that swamps the wave.
The Party is over but the party is just beginning.
I saw this on Sultan Knish
If a convenient time machine were to deposit a Roman citizen, circa 140 or so, in Charlotte, he would have no trouble understanding what was going on. Our Roman might not understand a word of what was being said, but he would be able to take one look at the garish costumes, the hysterical air of self-congratulation worn by men and women who have accomplished absolutely nothing in life, and the clownish theatrics and realize exactly what was going on. "Oh no, not again," would be the last thing he would think just before being lobotomized by a loose heel from Nancy Pelosi.
The old Democratic convention looked like some music video director's idea of Olympus. The new one looks like the stage for a concert, something popular, noisy and lip-synched. Any minute now some musician who used to be a waiter two weeks ago before going professionally viral will slink out on stage and begin making mouth movements to recorded music while digital fireworks go off in the background.
This is MTV politics designed by those who don't understand that MTV is over and that they're over. Their fifteen minutes are up and so are their four years. Cinderella won't marry the prince and spend another four years bankrupting the country. The trend that swept this mob into office is headed the other way and their desperate attempts to stay cool are as pathetic as they are hopeless.
The Democratic National Convention is swarming with rabidly enthusiastic people who are hyped up about things in the way that only the professionally cheerful are. The message is that everyone is happy to be here, repeated at decibel volumes and with simultaneous sign language translation, which is the surest sign that no one is happy to be here at all.
There's a moment in every party when no one knows anymore why they are at the party or what the point of the party is. The party is just there and they're there and they're doing their best to pretend to be having fun, but worryingly they're not sure what fun is anymore. There's just noise, balloons and lots of bright colors. Someone makes a speech and everyone applauds because it's the thing to do. And everyone stays because that's also the thing to do. That's the Convention in a nutshell.
Garish, loud and out of sync with the country. That's not just Pelosi or Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, it's the entire ridiculous affair full of pols who manage to look sweaty and haggard at the same time trying to remember their lines. While a nation of unemployed and barely employed watch hoping for economic solutions, they are treated to bizarre costumes and even more bizarre speeches by a party that is so deep inside its statistical bubble that it will run an abortion convention if it wins it another one tenth of one percent in a crucial swing state.
But none of this is really for the hoi polloi sighing wearily while thinking of the long day waiting for them tomorrow. This is for the money men and women, for the grass roots activists in 600 dollar shoes who want to be reassured that this party deserves their money and their inappropriate use of public resources for get out the vote operations. And what they want is abortion and gay rights, not because they really believe in either one, but because they like trendy things.
The common man will get Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton and Barry delivering the best speeches that the best money can buy. But this party isn't really for them, it's the last hurrah of people who expect to lose because they have chosen losers to lead them. This isn't a winner's convention, it's Custer's Last Stand with balloons and lifelike politician puppets. It's the blowout that will rid the Democrats of some of their dead weight, like Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, while keeping them competitive enough with target groups that they can blame their defeat on discrimination, rather than a popular revolt against their failed economic policies.
What the Democratic National Convention, 2012 edition, is really meant to accomplish is create a narrative where Obama lost, not because of the economy, but because he committed to liberal values, because he went all out on gay marriage, abortion and illegal immigration, and liberals failed to back him up. The story will not be that the election was a referendum on economics, but a way for the white majority to disenfranchise the voices of feminists, gays and minorities. It is the story that they will carry into their battle to retake Congress in 2014 and their attack on the White House in 2016.
Obama is too stupid to understand that the convention isn't there for him, it's there for the one woman who didn't show up. Hillary Clinton. It's why Bill Clinton will get up there and cheerfully tell everyone to win one for the zipper, because he has already won. And the guy who should have been carrying his bags and getting him his coffee has lost. This is Hillary's convention. Her empty chair is the one that sets the stage for her comeback. And in 2016, when Obama walks out on the stage on the second day to tell everyone that Hillary will continue his work, he finally will be carrying their bags.
In his dressing room, Obama is still dancing around to "Eye of the Tiger" on his Zune, psyching himself up for the clash of egos. But Romney isn't playing that game, neither is anyone else. Obama's idea of achievement is that of a man who has never achieved anything. The answer is always to push harder, so long as someone else is doing the pushing. Walking egos don't believe in the forces of history and don't understand that before people vote, they don't check commercials, they check their wallets. Walking egos don't understand that people, even people who work for the government, who are proud to wear the scarlet D, see politicians as employees selected to do a job. And that in the privacy of the booth, they will vote for change.
No campaign is inevitable, but people are not tools in the hands of politicians, politicians are tools in the hands of people. That is a dangerous truth that the big men and women are partying to escape in Charlotte. This is their masque of the red death where the radicals party like it's 2009 and the shift against their policies hadn't happened yet. And some of them understand that they have reached the end of their political journey. After this the culling will begin and just as after Kerry's loss, it will not be pretty.
There are two types of trends. Capital T Trends and small case trends. The Obamas thought that their mastery of the small case trend had also made them masters of capital T Trends. They were wrong. The capital T Trend is not about what people are manipulated into doing, it's the larger forces of history driven by survival instinct and necessity. It's the ocean that swamps the wave.
The Party is over but the party is just beginning.
The Tea Party was right....
Ran across this while surfing around and after getting a good laugh out of it..I saved it and pasted it here.
MIndset of the angry liberal
I ran across this surfing around the web. Very interesting perspective.....
I kinda want her to go back to Africa........see what it is like there...it isn't the paradise that she makes it out to be.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
DNC....Sierra Square...Delta Square
I watched the DNC last night, Queen Moochelle gave a good speech humanizing Barack , but the other stuff was the same old thing...When I was in the service, we called it "Sierra Square....Delta Square" SSDD or same sh*t different day. All the Democrats can do is roll out the same old thing..."we gotta get more rich people to pay their fair share ....and it is all Bush's fault". When we have about 50% of the households here in the states that are not paying in anything but getting free stuff from the government...this is an entitlement problem. When we have 1 out of 6 homes getting food stamps...this is a problem...when we have the average household payroll has lost about $4000 in 4 years...we have a problem. All the democrats can do is roll out the same old song and dance...they must believe that the American people are stupid....well most of them since this empty suit got elected 4 years ago on some vague promise of "Hope and Change". Well hope and change has become "Divide and Conquer" and they promise key groups certain goodies for their vote rather than talk to all Americans. This is Obama's strategy..to play the groups off each other and eck out a win. he can't run on his record...what has he done...? Oh yeah...Obamacare...the Democrats had the Presidency, and control of congress...they can do anything they wanted...and they forced Obamacare down our throats.....and the porkulus bill....it was a slush fund for the democrats. When MSNBC got $500,000 dollars to run political ads for the administration paid for stimulus funds...somebody got a payoff. Now out debt has hit 16 TRILLION dollars.....what was it when he took over...I think 10 Trillion...This is unsustainable..Our Triple AAA credit rating was downgraded to AA, and Obama tried to pursue a political witch-hunt against them rather than try to fix the problem..we are drowning in a fiscal seal of red ink and the democrats are organizing the deck chairs on the titanic while promising the same old stuff....It is unbelievable.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Winner of empty chair day......
I missed out on empty chair day, I had to work a lot of hours on the weekends...that is how my schedule works. I saw a bunch of great entries and a bunch of great chairs and I ran across this surfing around and I decided to post it. I wish I had thought of it but the credit ain't mine...somebody else had the flash of genius.
GM might be in bankruptcy again......Soon
I saw this from Forbes and I have heard rumblings about this from other financial publications. I don't want to see this again, I am a hardcore Ford Motor supporter, but to see this happen again will be bad, there are a lot of people that depend on GM to keep its act straight and there seems to be a problem. A lot of people got screwed from the last bankruptcy proceedings from the retirees to the stock and bond holders from the political settlement that Obama forced on everybody that seemed to benefit only the U.A.W.
The Pics are compliments of "google"
Opinion: General Motors Is Headed For Bankruptcy -- AgainBy Louis Woodhill; Forbes ~ Aug 15, 2012President Obama is proud of his bailout of General Motors. That’s good, because, if he wins a second term, he is probably going to have to bail GM out again. The company is once again losing market share, and it seems unable to develop products that are truly competitive in the U.S. market.Right now, the federal government owns 500,000,000 shares of GM, or about 26% of the company. It would need to get about $53.00/share for these to break even on the bailout, but the stock closed at only $20.21/share on Tuesday. This left the government holding $10.1 billion worth of stock, and sitting on an unrealized loss of $16.4 billion.Right now, the government’s GM stock is worth about 39% less than it was on November 17, 2010, when the company went public at $33.00/share. However, during the intervening time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen by almost 20%, so GM shares have lost 49% of their value relative to the Dow.It’s doubtful that the Obama administration would attempt to sell off the government’s massive position in GM while the stock price is falling. It would be too embarrassing politically. Accordingly, if GM shares continue to decline, it is likely that Obama would ride the stock down to zero.GM is unlikely to hit the wall before the election, but, given current trends, the company could easily do so again before the end of a second Obama term.In the 1960s, GM averaged a 48.3% share of the U.S. car and truck market. For the first 7 months of 2012, their market share was 18.0%, down from 20.0% for the same period in 2011. With a loss of market share comes a loss of relative cost-competitiveness. There is only so much market share that GM can lose before it would no longer have the resources to attempt to recover.To help understand why GM keeps losing market share, let’s look at the saga of the Chevy Malibu.The Malibu is GM’s entry in the automobile market’s “D-Segment”. The D-Segment comprises mid-size, popularly priced, family sedans, like the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. The D-Segment accounted for 14.7% of the total U.S. vehicle market in 2011, and 21.3% during the first 7 months of 2012.Because the D-Segment is the highest volume single vehicle class in the U.S., and the U.S. is GM’s home market, it is difficult to imagine how GM could survive long term unless it can profitably develop, manufacture, and market a vehicle that can hold its own in the D-Segment. This is true not only because of the revenue potential of the D-Segment, but also because of what an also-ran Malibu would say about GM’s ability to execute at this time in its history.GM is in the process of introducing a totally redesigned 2013 Chevy Malibu. It will compete in the D-Segment with, among others, the following: the Ford Fusion (totally redesigned for 2013); the Honda Accord (totally redesigned for 2013); the Hyundai Sonata (totally redesigned for 2011); the Nissan Altima (totally redesigned for 2013); the Toyota Camry (refreshed for 2013); and the Volkswagen Passat (totally redesigned for 2012).Automobile technology is progressing so fast that the best vehicle in a given segment is usually just the newest design in that segment. Accordingly, if a car company comes out with a new, completely redesigned vehicle, it had better be superior to the older models being offered by its competitors. If it is not, the company will spend the next five years (the usual time between major redesigns in this segment) losing market share and/or offering costly “incentives” to “move the metal”.Uh-oh. At this point, it appears that the 2013 Malibu is not only inferior to the 2012 Volkswagen Passat, it’s not even as good as the car it replaces, the 2012 Chevy Malibu.If you follow the automobile enthusiast press, you know that, under the leadership of then product czar Bob Lutz, GM went all out to develop a competitive D-Segment car for the 2008 model year. The result was the 2008 Chevy Malibu, which managed to get itself named by Car and Driver magazine as one of the “10 Best Cars” for 2008.However, when tested head to head against six other D-Segment sedans in the March 2008 issue of Car and Driver, the 2008 Malibu came in third, behind the Honda Accord and the Nissan Altima. Adjusted to the points scale that Car and Driver uses today, the 2008 Malibu scored 187 points, 6% lower than the winning 2008 Honda Accord’s 198 points.Still, third was a respectable showing. The previous generation of the Malibu, a darling of rental car fleets, would have come in dead last in any D-Segment comparison test.Acknowledging the importance of the D-Segment to the company’s future, GM’s CEO, Dan Akerson, ordered that the introduction of the redesigned 2013 Chevy Malibu be advanced by six months, from the fall of 2012 to the spring of 2012.In their March 2012 issue, Car and Driver published another D-Segment comparison test, pitting the 2013 Chevy Malibu Eco against five competing vehicles. This time, the Malibu came in dead last.Not only was the 2013 Malibu (183 points) crushed by the winning 2012 Volkswagen Passat (211 points), it was soundly beaten by the 2012 Honda Accord (198 points), a 5-model-year-old design due for replacement this fall. Worst of all, the 2013 Malibu scored (and placed) lower than the 2008 Malibu would have in the same test.Uh-oh.Digging deeper, the picture just gets worse. Despite its mild hybrid powertrain, which is intended to provide superior fuel economy (at the cost of a higher purchase price and reduced trunk space), the 2013 Malibu Eco delivered the same 26 MPG in Car and Driver’s comparison test as the Passat, the Accord, and the Toyota Camry.In a recent speech, Dan Akerson admitted that GM’s powertrain technology had fallen behind that of competitors in some cases. This is illustrated by the Malibu Eco’s EPA gas mileage ratings. At 25 MPG City/37 MPG Highway, the Malibu Eco is not as fuel-efficient as the conventionally-powered 2013 Nissan Altima (27 MPG City/38 MPG Highway).It might be possible for GM to give the Malibu a better powertrain during its five-year-product life cycle. Unfortunately, there is no way that they will be able to correct its biggest design flaw, which is its short wheelbase.For years, automobile companies have been trying to design cars with the longest possible wheelbase (distance between the front and rear axles) for a given overall vehicle length. A longer wheelbase provides advantages in the areas of styling, ride, and legroom.In developing the 2013 Malibu, GM decided to shorten the wheelbase by 4.5 inches from that of the previous-generation Malibu, from 112.3 inches to 107.5 inches. This gave the 2013 Malibu the shortest wheelbase in the entire D-Segment.The Car and Driver comparison-test-winning Passat has a wheelbase of 110.4 inches, which gives it a “unique selling proposition”, the roomiest back seat in the D-Segment. The Passat has combined front and rear legroom totaling 81.5 inches, 3.5 inches more than the Malibu.This may not sound like a lot, but, like baseball, automobile design is “a game of inches”.For a 6’1” tall man, sitting in the back seat of the 2012 Passat behind a similar-sized driver is like sitting in a limo. His knees will be nowhere near the back of the front seat. In contrast, the same sized man would have to struggle to get into the back seat of the 2013 Malibu, and would have to sit with his legs splayed once he did.Rear seat legroom is important in the family sedan market, not only for the comfort of adult passengers, but also for the ease of using children’s car seats. The 2013 Nissan Altima also has longer wheelbase and more rear seat legroom than does the Malibu.Chevrolet is not a premium brand, like Mercedes or BMW. Since the 1920s, Chevy’s essential market positioning has been “more car for your money”. Unfortunately, the 2012 Volkswagen Passat is more car for the money than is the 2013 Malibu. There will not be anything that GM will be able to do about this for the next five years other than to reduce the price of the Malibu by offering “incentives”. This will eat into the company’s profitability, which is already weak.As a company, General Motors peaked in 1965, when it commanded 50.7% of the U.S. market, and made a stunning-for-the-time $2.1 billion dollars in after-tax profits. Adjusted by the GDP deflator to 2011 dollars, GM made $12.1 billion in after-tax profits on $117.9 billion in revenue.In 1965, Volkswagen was tiny compared to GM. It produced only 1.6 million vehicles, about 22% of GM’s 7.3 million. VW’s total revenues were only 11% of GM’s. The most powerful engine you could get in VW’s volume family car, the Beetle, had 40 horsepower. The biggest engine you could get in GM’s equivalent, the 1965 Chevy Impala, had 425 horsepower.In the first half of 2012, Volkswagen sold almost as many vehicles as GM did, 4.6 million vs. 4.7 million. And, its total revenues were much higher, $119.2 billion vs. $75.4 billion for GM. Part of this is the result of currency exchange rates, but VW had a significantly higher operating profit margin than GM, 6.8% vs. 5.7%.Under the leadership of Ferdinand Piech, who is kind of like a German-speaking, automobile industry version of Steve Jobs, Volkswagen is determined to become the biggest and most profitable car company in the world. And, right now, they are eating GM’s lunch.Not only has Volkswagen taken an important share of the U.S. D-Segment with their new Passat, but they are pulling away from everyone in the troubled European market, where GM is losing money on its Opel subsidiary. The headline in the current edition of Automotive New Europe’s “Global Monthly” is, “Buried: VW Uses Europe’s Crisis to Crush Rivals”. In this case, GM is one of the “crushees”.Will GM be able to turn itself around, and save American taxpayers from losing $26.5 billion on Obama’s bailout?One way to answer that question is to compare the 2013 Chevy Malibu against the 2012 Volkswagen Passat, as Car and Driver did. Results: VW, first out of six; GM, dead last. However, additional insight can be obtained by looking at how GM’s CEO, Dan Akerson (63), stacks up against Professor Doctor Martin Winterkorn (65), the man handpicked by Ferdinand Piech in 2007 to be his replacement as CEO of Volkswagen AG.Akerson has an engineering degree, but he also has a Master’s Degree in Economics, and his first big job was as CFO of MCI. Akerson was CEO of General Instrument, and then of Nextel, and then of XO Communications, which went bankrupt in June 2002. He joined the private equity firm, the Carlyle Group, in 2003.Akerson got his first job in the automobile industry when he was named CEO of GM in late 2010. Recently, he has been hiring and firing top GM executives at an alarming pace, and he is understood to be working on a major reorganization of the company. Akerson recently gave a televised speech to GM employees on the need for “integrity”.Martin Winterkorn has a PhD in Metallurgical Engineering, and he has spent his entire career in the automotive industry. At the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, Winterkorn was caught on amateur video sitting in, and studying Hyundai’s newly introduced i30, a competitor to VW’s best-selling family car, the Golf. Here is an excerpt from a story about this incident published along with the video by The Truth About Cars, an auto industry blog:I-30
Obama's 2016
I plan on seeing this movie, I have heard a lot of things about it. my Dad has seen it and he tells me that it is frightening in its ramifications.
Here is the website2016. Obama's America
Here is the website2016. Obama's America
CBS Scot Paulsen on "2016: The Movie"This past week, “2016: The Movie” about President Barack Obama opened in the Chicago area, and I chose to get more of an education about Obama by seeing the movie. After the inundation of canned hype for the movie on conservative talk shows across the Chicago radio dial that sounded more like commercials than honest endorsements of the movie, I was skeptical of what I was going to see.While some talk show hosts sounded like they were genuinely impressed with the documentary and honestly endorsing the film, there were those who were obviously reading a commercial script which was not coming across as sincere to the regular listener – at least not to this often-skeptical listener. Perhaps, in future promotions of the film, it would be wise to have pre-recorded commercials done by the professional commercial-makers rather than having the likes of Mark Levin and Sean Hannity doing script after script to promote the movie. After all, the listeners aren’t stupid and resent any attempt at being conned. After many reads by the talk show hosts, the readings of the commercial script were no more enthusiastic than another Life-Lock commercial read – another commercial that ought to be professionally done.Yet, I’m glad I saw the hyped-film because it was more informative than I had thought it would be and included less propaganda than I had predicted. If anything, it was nearly too informative as there was an enormous amount of information condensed into the nearly one-hour-and-a-half documentary. Fact after fact is put forth which shows that President Obama definitely has many skeletons in the closet that have not been released prior to the nation’s trust in him with the Oval Office.To watch this movie and realize – or simply be reminded of – all that is unknown about President Obama is of concern. Much of the information has been ignored by the American media totally. When appropriately reminded as to what is still unknown about Obama to date, one has to ask: How can any logical-thinking person give a damn about Romney’s taxes while not asking any questions regarding our current President’s past? The man influences the entire globe, but liberal Americans want to know how much Mitt Romney paid in taxes in the past rather than learn about the man who they have entrusted with the country. Unbelievable.The movie undeniably links Obama to persons of suspicious-interest due to their past actions and statements, such as former radical activist and Chicago educator Bill Ayers. While the media and blinded-liberals cast such facts aside, the movie does not. No, this portion of the movie is not propaganda – it is the display of factual information about relationships between people that cannot be denied. Yet, the “left” does deny the facts that are right in front of them.Quite disturbing is the talk of the United States economy in the film. The current national debt which has increased two-fold during Obama’s presidency and the horrendous economy is suggested to be part of the plan to strip the nation of democracy – reasonable cause to make citizens totally dependent on the government. The “left” is aghast at this suggestion of the current economy. They actually believe that Obama is unintelligent enough to let this economy just happen. Ironically, it’s many of the people on the “right” who know Obama’s not stupid, and much of what has happened to the United States in the past four years is part of Obama’s plan.How could one so-highly educated and intelligent as Obama not know what he was doing when he incurred such debt? I left the movie thinking more strongly than I had in the past that the current debt and this economy was part of Obama’s plan all along. Increasingly making Americans dependent on the government is the plan. What’s more, he knew his blind followers would believe it was not the plan and, of course, was all Bush’s fault.He must be laughing at his blind followers all the way to the “new America” they’re allowing him to create. My belief is that Obama continues to prey on his die-hard followers’ stupidity to accomplish his personal goals for America.The most disturbing part of the film to me was the interview with President Obama’s half-brother George Obama from Nairobi, Kenya. How can Obama claim to want to help people when he has done absolutely nothing for his own family? It makes me wonder if he really cares about anybody if he can’t find it in his heart to help his own family.As the closing credits started to role upward across the screen, the audience applauded. Me, I just walked out – reasonably upset.Those who have already decided to vote for Obama will probably not even see the movie. It’s sad but they probably don’t want to know the truth when it is laid out so clearly for them in this documentary. The independents who are still deciding who they are going to vote for ought to see this film. I’m quite confident that any undecided voter who sees this film will know who to vote for after viewing this documentary. If you know you’re not going to support the “left” in this coming election, see the film out of interest if you like. But, fair warning, it’s disturbing – and quite frightening – to say the least.
Monday, September 3, 2012
The DNC starts today.....
I really don't want to see the various lies and half truths that will be prevalent in Charlotte. I wonder of the occupy idiots and the anarchist will show up or have they received their marching orders and stayed away.
I saw this at Irish's Place
I saw this at Irish's Place
Monday Music
I am adding another video to the recently restarted Monday Music.
This song is from the "streets of fire" Movie. The movie was a bit off the wall but I liked it and it had a great soundtrack. That is something about the movies during that time..they paired up with a good soundtrack. You don't see that much anymore.
This song was the most successful of the soundtrack songs on the album "Streets of fire" It is Dan Hartman "I can dream about you" It was in the top 10 in 1984.
Friday, August 31, 2012
US Versus Them.....
I will tie this in with a post I did a couple of days ago with the "Radical Muslim T-shirt" I had used this picture shortly after I had started blogging. It is in one of my folders that I keep all the pics that I use when I post.
The difference between us and them, We as Western based culture will try to save the women and children, it is on our culture. the other cultures view women and children as 2nd class citizens and how they fight reflects this.
Would a Taliban or Al-quaeda member do this?
The official Pentagon news release says he died "from injuries suffered in a noncombat related incident." But there is much more to the story. Weichel, 29, of Providence, died saving the life of a little girl.
According to the Rhode Island National Guard and the U.S. Army, Weichel was in a convoy a week ago with his unit in Laghman Province, in northeast Afghanistan. Some children were in the road in front of the convoy, and Weichel and other troops got out to move them out of the way.
Most of the children moved, but one little girl went back to pick up some brass shell casings in the road. Afghan civilians often recycle the casings, and the girl appeared to aim to do that. But a Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle was moving toward her, according to Lt. Col. Denis Riel of the Rhode Island National Guard.
MRAPs, as they are known, usually weigh more than 16 tons.
Weichel saw the massive truck bearing down on the girl and grabbed her out of the way. But in the process, the armored truck ran him over, Riel said.
The little girl is fine. Weichel died a short time later of his injuries.
"He was a big kid at heart. He always had a smile on his face, and he made everyone laugh," 1st Sgt. Nicky Peppe, who served with Weichel in Iraq, is quoted as saying in an Army story.
"But as much as Weichel was funny, he was also a professional. When it was time to go outside the wire for a combat patrol, he was all business."
Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee has ordered flags in the state lowered to half-staff until Weichel, who was posthumously promoted to sergeant, is laid to rest Monday.
Weichel is survived by his parents, his fiancee and three children. His family will be awarded a Bronze Star and other awards for his sacrifice.
U.S. soldier dies saving Afghan girl
By Larry Shaughnessy
After the news of a U.S. soldier charged with murdering Afghan
civilians, mostly women and children, the story of Spc. Dennis Weichel
of the Rhode Island National Guard bears telling.The official Pentagon news release says he died "from injuries suffered in a noncombat related incident." But there is much more to the story. Weichel, 29, of Providence, died saving the life of a little girl.
According to the Rhode Island National Guard and the U.S. Army, Weichel was in a convoy a week ago with his unit in Laghman Province, in northeast Afghanistan. Some children were in the road in front of the convoy, and Weichel and other troops got out to move them out of the way.
Most of the children moved, but one little girl went back to pick up some brass shell casings in the road. Afghan civilians often recycle the casings, and the girl appeared to aim to do that. But a Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle was moving toward her, according to Lt. Col. Denis Riel of the Rhode Island National Guard.
MRAPs, as they are known, usually weigh more than 16 tons.
Weichel saw the massive truck bearing down on the girl and grabbed her out of the way. But in the process, the armored truck ran him over, Riel said.
The little girl is fine. Weichel died a short time later of his injuries.
"He was a big kid at heart. He always had a smile on his face, and he made everyone laugh," 1st Sgt. Nicky Peppe, who served with Weichel in Iraq, is quoted as saying in an Army story.
"But as much as Weichel was funny, he was also a professional. When it was time to go outside the wire for a combat patrol, he was all business."
Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee has ordered flags in the state lowered to half-staff until Weichel, who was posthumously promoted to sergeant, is laid to rest Monday.
Weichel is survived by his parents, his fiancee and three children. His family will be awarded a Bronze Star and other awards for his sacrifice.
Democratic mispellings...and other manner issues......
I saw this while surfing the blogosphere, I am not a grammer-Nazi but I do try to use English in the proper way. I remember something my Dad told me many years ago, "The written word is how you will represent yourself, that will be other people will perceive you..." I make a point when I do a posting that the spell check doesn't find anything. It is a matter of pride especially when I see how atrocious the younger generation spell and it is ok....to them.
I also remember something else that it is a matter of courtesy that when one party is having a convention, the other party abstains from campaigning...especially in the same area. But we have the classy democrats breaking the courtesy....like when they had Vice President Biden show up in Tampa on Monday to give a speech.
Yep Democrats......Class acts.....
The Democrats hired a plane
to fly anti-Romney banners around the Republican National Convention
this weekend, but they may be inspiring more mirth than thoughtful
opposition to Republicans.
Here’s a picture of the banner being flown around today, which mistakenly uses the singular “woman” instead of the plural “women.”
Last week, while Romney was appearing in Ohio, Democrats flew another
banner around which also had an error using “then” (which relates to
time) as opposed to “than” (which is a word used in comparisons).
I work without an editor, and make my fair share of typos and
spelling/grammar mistakes, but then I’m not hooking my blog posts up to
the back of an airplane and flying them around.
I also remember something else that it is a matter of courtesy that when one party is having a convention, the other party abstains from campaigning...especially in the same area. But we have the classy democrats breaking the courtesy....like when they had Vice President Biden show up in Tampa on Monday to give a speech.
Yep Democrats......Class acts.....
Doh: Democrats Flying Grammatically Incorrect Banners Around Republican Convention
Here’s a picture of the banner being flown around today, which mistakenly uses the singular “woman” instead of the plural “women.”
Thursday, August 30, 2012
T-Shirts for radical Muslims
This is humorous in a warped way, But on a serious note when you have a culture that believes in self-destruction of the young for political gain, it goes against the my western based thought. Granted in other parts of the world, they believe differently...but I have said it more than once...On most places life is really cheap.
"YOU WATCHED THEM GROW UP...
NOW WATCH EM BLOW UP."
NOW WATCH EM BLOW UP."
***Available in the Gaza Strip and other fine Middle Eastern locations.
***Also
available is the new book, "Learning how to crash and burn while
screaming Allah Akbar," by I-Zheet M'Drawz. Coming soon, "Killing
innocent people in the name of Islam and How to Justify it," by Ally Ben
Fartine, and "I was a Teenage Homocide Bomber," by Apoul Madeek A-Lot.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
My opinion from the RNC
I decided to take a break from going through the stuff in the attic, and decided to catch the convention in Tampa, I turned the TV on just in time to catch Condi Rice's speech, I always like Condi Rice, she always exuded calm professionalism. For a person who stays out of the limelight, she gave a good speech about the promise of America and the unlimited opportunities of America.
She was followed by the New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez who talked about starting as a prosecutor and later switching party after realizing that they were Republicans not Democrats. She also gave a good speech.
Paul Ryan gave a stem winder speech. He was humble, gave a good oratory speech, dogged the President for lack of leadership and after 4 years...still trying to blame the past administration. And the kicker line was to the 20 something that after graduating from college, had to move back to their childhood home because they can't find a job and look at the fading poster of Candidate Obama in their room and wonder what had happened. I though that was the most telling.
It will interesting to see what happens.....
She was followed by the New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez who talked about starting as a prosecutor and later switching party after realizing that they were Republicans not Democrats. She also gave a good speech.
Paul Ryan gave a stem winder speech. He was humble, gave a good oratory speech, dogged the President for lack of leadership and after 4 years...still trying to blame the past administration. And the kicker line was to the 20 something that after graduating from college, had to move back to their childhood home because they can't find a job and look at the fading poster of Candidate Obama in their room and wonder what had happened. I though that was the most telling.
It will interesting to see what happens.....
White House raises the CAFE Standards....
I believe that this is political pandering to his base. I used to build cars and the automakers shave ounces everywhere they can to lighten the cars. Computers have helped with engine management and fuel economy. The free market tells the automakers that they need to build more fuel efficient vehicles and the automakers respond because they want to stay in business...unless they are government motors. Now they have this artificial standard that they have to meet. It will force them to cut weight along with the composites that are being used. People wonder why cars cost more and more. The cars will also become more dangerous because in a collision the lesser weight becomes a liability.
BY:
The White House finalized its new fuel efficiency standards Tuesday. The new standards are designed to double the miles-per-gallon of consumer vehicles by 2025, and will raise the average cost of a car by $2,000.
The Obama administration’s finalized Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) fuel standards rule will require cars and light trucks to achieve fuel efficiency of 54.5 mpg by model year 2025. The standards will also cost up to an estimated $157 billion and add $2,000 to the price of passenger automobiles, according to two federal agencies.
“These fuel standards represent the single most important step we’ve ever taken to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” President Obama said in a statement Tuesday. This reduction comes with a cost, however.
Republicans have panned the rule changes. Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), who chairs the House Oversight Committee, has questioned whether the rules were rushed and could jeopardize safety by reducing the weight of cars.
“The rule finalized today by the Obama Administration will hurt American consumers by forcing them to drive more expensive and less safe automobiles,” Issa said in a statement. “The Administration drafted these standards in secret, strong-arming automakers and short-circuiting the deliberative regulatory process to achieve a purely political result, abandoning sound science and objectivity to appease its political allies in the extreme environmentalist lobby. I support the goal of higher fuel efficiency, but this rule will only add to the burdens American small businesses and middle class families face under the heavy hand of the Obama Administration.”
In an analysis of the rule posted on their websites last summer, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) predicted the administration’s new CAFE standards would add an average of $2,000 to the price of each new passenger vehicle sold by 2025. The NHTSA attributed the increased costs to the price of developing new fuel-saving technology.
However, the highway agency predicted the costs of the new standards will be offset by benefits of $419 billion to $515 billion. The Obama administration also claims the rules will save consumers $8,000 in reduced gas costs over the lifetime of a vehicle by 2025, ultimately reduce oil consumption by 2 million barrels a day, and reduce carbon emissions by six billion metric tons over the course of the program.
The rules were first drafted in July 2011 with the cooperation of 13 major auto manufacturers, and will go into effect in 2017
New Rule Raises Costs
White House’s fuel rules will raise car costs by $2,000
AP Images
The White House finalized its new fuel efficiency standards Tuesday. The new standards are designed to double the miles-per-gallon of consumer vehicles by 2025, and will raise the average cost of a car by $2,000.
The Obama administration’s finalized Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) fuel standards rule will require cars and light trucks to achieve fuel efficiency of 54.5 mpg by model year 2025. The standards will also cost up to an estimated $157 billion and add $2,000 to the price of passenger automobiles, according to two federal agencies.
“These fuel standards represent the single most important step we’ve ever taken to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” President Obama said in a statement Tuesday. This reduction comes with a cost, however.
Republicans have panned the rule changes. Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), who chairs the House Oversight Committee, has questioned whether the rules were rushed and could jeopardize safety by reducing the weight of cars.
“The rule finalized today by the Obama Administration will hurt American consumers by forcing them to drive more expensive and less safe automobiles,” Issa said in a statement. “The Administration drafted these standards in secret, strong-arming automakers and short-circuiting the deliberative regulatory process to achieve a purely political result, abandoning sound science and objectivity to appease its political allies in the extreme environmentalist lobby. I support the goal of higher fuel efficiency, but this rule will only add to the burdens American small businesses and middle class families face under the heavy hand of the Obama Administration.”
In an analysis of the rule posted on their websites last summer, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) predicted the administration’s new CAFE standards would add an average of $2,000 to the price of each new passenger vehicle sold by 2025. The NHTSA attributed the increased costs to the price of developing new fuel-saving technology.
However, the highway agency predicted the costs of the new standards will be offset by benefits of $419 billion to $515 billion. The Obama administration also claims the rules will save consumers $8,000 in reduced gas costs over the lifetime of a vehicle by 2025, ultimately reduce oil consumption by 2 million barrels a day, and reduce carbon emissions by six billion metric tons over the course of the program.
The rules were first drafted in July 2011 with the cooperation of 13 major auto manufacturers, and will go into effect in 2017
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