Chevy Volt - A Reprise

I keep returning to the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf because they are such colossal boondoggles. Patrick Michaels of The Cato Institute has dug further into the facts of this rolling disaster and uncovered a lot. For instance, didja know that:

• The battery for the VOLT is made in China and is expensive to dispose of and has a 4 year life cycle. For some of us who may keep a car past 4 years - it costs $5,000.00 to replace the battery.

•  Sales are anemic: 326 in December, 321 in January, and 281 in February. This increased to 3,071 by June 30, 2011. GM has announced a production run of 100,000 in the first two years, but who is going to buy all these cars? Great question!

• Jeffrey Immelt, that's who. GE will buy a buttload of those uneconomic GM cars. Recently, President Obama selected General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt to chair his Economic Advisory Board. GE is also awash in windmills waiting to be subsidized so they can provide unreliable, expensive power. Soon after his appointment, Immelt announced that GE will buy 50,000 VOLTs in the next two years or half the total produced.  As Michaels notes,"Assuming the corporation qualifies for the same tax credit, we (you and I) just shelled out $375,000,000 to a company to buy cars that no one else wants so that GM will not tank and produce even more cars that no one wants. (Ed. note - GE also has sent much of its so-called green manufacturing and its x-ray division to China too.) I'm sure glad this guy is the chair of Obama's Economic Advisory Board!

• To preserve battery power, the heater is exceedingly weak. Consumer Reports tests averaged a paltry 25 miles of electric-only running, in part because it was testing in cold Connecticut. GM engineers said that cold weather would have little effect.  It will be interesting to see what the range is on a hot, traffic-jammed summer day, when the air conditioner will really tax the batteries. 

• When the gas engine came on, Consumer Reports got about 30 miles to the gallon of premium fuel; which, in terms of additional cost of high-test gas, drives the effective mileage closer to 27 mpg. A conventional Honda Accord, which seats 5 (instead of the VOLT's4), gets 34 mpg on the highway, and costs less than half of what CR paid, even with the tax break.

It would be more humorous if this wasn't our money.  Moral of the story: if you are a Friend of Obama you do just fine. If not, well, unemployment has been extended again. November 6, 2012 is just over a year away. Amen.

www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=12892  

(Tip o' the hat to George McGreer for this article!)

When We Need It

Is there waste at the Pentagon? You betcha! But when even Democrats Leon Panetta (SecDef) and Hillary Clinton (SecState) warn against more than the $350 billion in cuts targeted over the next 10 years, we ignore it at our peril. One example is a major weapon system that helped tilt the balance in Libya.

The USS Florida is a ballistic missile sub that has been converted into a cruise missile carrier. It carries 160 cruise missiles anywhere in the world, silent and undetected, and then launches this devastating payload when the order is given. When the U.S. joined the fray to depose Gaddafi (oops - to protect his persecuted people under the new nomenclature!) Florida got the call and launched 100 cruise missiles that in short order gutted the Gaddafi military as any kind of a strategic threat.

Developing and operating these lethal systems is not cheap. Missile subs take a decade to design and build. Other weapons that proved very effective in Libya were A-10 ground attack aircraft, AC-130 gunships, and Predator drones. The first two are getting very long in the tooth and there is nothing in the pipeline to replace them.  The world is not getting to be a safer place. If we turn our back, we are likely to get mugged from behind. One of the unarguable obligations of the President and Congress is to provide for the national defense. The Pentagon can shed some fat, but muscle and bone should be clearly off limits. We need to get on with modernizing our forces so that when the time comes that we send our people in harm's way and they need the big stick, it is there and ready.

www.weeklystandard.com/articles/shores-tripoli_591420.html 

Deja' Vu All Over Again

Back in the day when we led youth groups at church, we would occasionally make reference to the difference between Christianity and Churchianity. The former was a personal relationship with Christ lived out in the context of the church and the latter was a commitment to the institution. While a commitment to the institution of the church is good as far as it goes (as opposed to a commitment to a drinking society, poker group, or porn) it does not go far enough. It is the dynamic of a relationship with God that renews our inner being while the world does its best to constantly erode it away.

Now comes a study from Duke University that makes it official that Churchianity is fading out in the U.S.  The researcher:

"...recently plotted survey data over the last 25 years recording what Americans say about the importance of religion in their lives. Those who say it's extremely important have grown slightly, along with those who say it's not at all important. But the number of people who said it was "somewhat" important dropped from 36 percent to 22 percent in about 20 years."

I'm only surprised that it has taken this long. If you are lukewarm at best about your faith, and you have bought into "It's all about me!", then is it more enjoyable to go to church on Sunday or watch the NFL, go to the coast, or any one of a number of other things? Pretty soon the religion "habit" begins to fade away and the Good Life moves front and center. Too bad one's soul leaks out in the process. 

The U.S. is beginning to see the consequences of these "leaking souls" in society. At least with Churchianity, there was some consensus about what was good and it was sufficient to reach agreement about what was best for American society and to motivate the sacrifice required to achieve it. It is hard to find the wherewithal, though, to do what is best for the country when it's all about me. Thus, Wall Street happily steals away with a big bailout, unions and the Detroit automakers divvy up their cut of TARP dollars and the rest of us get 9.3% unemployment, inflation on the price of basic goods, and a lower standard of living for our children and grandchildren as far as the eye can see.  The current operative philosophy in this country is Woody Allen's - take the money and run! Even hearing JFK's admonition of "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!" is hard on modern ears. Hearing it requires at least some residual moral fiber and we're not in that business any more.


Western Europe is in the advanced stages of this process: huge and empty cathedrals, little discernible moral fiber, populations that are perplexed by the rise of increasingly militant Islamists and seem unable to meet their moral challenge. The breakup of the EU has begun and the probable rise of Eurabia in the not too distant future is looming. Well, eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we ... I don't want to think about it. Pass the wine and cheese, please.

hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_REL_RELIGION_TODAY?SITE=NCAGW&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Semper Fi!

I'm all for trying to work with allies - and I am using the word loosely here - but here is a case where some headquarters weenie has gone beyond the pale with political correctness. The edict: Marines shall not break wind in Afghanistan. Good luck with that.
 
militarytimes.com/blogs/battle-rattle/2011/08/23/for-marines-in-afghanistan-be-careful-where-you-fart/

The Center Will Hold

As I write this post, the stock market is down 422 points. I have also just started reading Mark Steyn's new book After America; Get Ready for Armageddon. Not surprisingly, at the moment it looks like the center cannot hold. But that begs the question, what or who is the center? The answer to that question requires reading something very different.

Pastor John Soper writes in Alliance Life magazine that the world has always been a scary place. To the extent that we have not lived in scary times in this country, it's a historical anomaly. He poses three questions to ask ourselves each morning to address living in these uncertain times:

1. Today, will I live for myself or others?  As Christians, we are called to live for Christ and He lives for others. Will we?

2. Will I live for time or eternity?  He quotes St. Paul's challenge to focus on things not seen and act accordingly, rather than the things that bring short term satisfaction in this world. More succinctly, will we live today to store up treasures in heaven or on earth? The people who have made a lasting impact on this world are the ones who have done the former.

3. Will I live my life by fear or by faith?  Fear is crippling. It distorts our emotions and relationships and even our bodies. Jesus came to set us free: perfect love casts out fear. I John 4:18. But we have to chose which way on a daily, sometimes minute-to-minute basis.

Doing the above every day isn't easy - it certainly isn't for me. It is the way of faith, however, and when we decided to do it His way on a daily basis, no matter how dire the circumstances around us, the center will hold, because Christ is the Center of this wildly turning world.

www.alliancelife.org/article.php?id=622

The Oregon Economic Climate

The Oregonian reports that not only was unemployment up slightly in Oregon, but the real numbers were even worse than that. The real unemployment rate in Oregon is 19.6% if you include people who are in fact unemployed but who do not meet the official definition. Yikes!

The Hippocratic oath for doctors is "Do no harm." The same should be required of politicians. For Oregon and most of the rest of the country the economic policies of the Obama Administration have been very harmful. It isn't "bad luck" as the President tried to lamely argue yesterday; it isn't Bush; it isn't the stinky Republicans in the House - it is fundamentally bad policy that has increased the damage.

To a lesser degree Oregon's own Democrats are implicated too. Although Oregon historically has gotten a cold when the rest of the country only sneezes economically, it is possible for states to run counter to an economic recession, as Texas, North Dakota, and even New Jersey have shown. Cuddling up to expensive electric charging stations for electric cars, building windmills, and insulating schools all make good PR shots but from a substantive standpoint, they mean nothing. Knowing how business works and removing government-made obstacles is crucial to starting on the road to recovery, but that would mean giving up taxes and reducing spending.

The bottom line is that Democrats in power make sure in a recession that their union buddies are protected as much as possible because that's their power base. For the rest of us it's just smoke and mirrors while the cold economic winds blow. Bundle up - we've got another year to go.

www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/08/think_oregons_95_percent_unemp.html

Warren Buffett - Bite Me!

Warren Buffett said he doesn't pay enough in taxes. Well Ex-cuuuuse me Warren! Here's a thought: give it to the Feds! Trust me - nobody is stopping you. Financial gifts can be made by check or money order payable to the United States Treasury and mailed to the address below:

Gifts to the United States
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Credit Accounting Branch
3700 East-West Highway, Room 622D
Hyattsville, MD 20782

You know what's really bogus, though? Regardless of what Congress does, your army of tax lawyers and CPAs will make sure that you continue to pay a low rate while the rest of us (the 50% who pay any income tax at all) get hit with another increase. So spare me the phoney baloney and either pay up or shut up!

news.yahoo.com/stop-coddling-super-rich-buffett-084140678.html

Warning: Mother Nature Bites

"I'm the king of the world!" shouted Leonardo DiCaprio from the bow of the Titanic as it swept across the Atlantic. Apparently this is the attitude of many people when it comes to encountering risks in nature.  The Sacramento Bee reports that despite 3 people being swept over the falls at Yosemite a few weeks ago, children are now playing in the shallows just 50 yards upstream with their parents looking on. Amazing. Similarly, warnings are broadcast all the time about sneaker waves at the coast and yet every year kids are swept away in the surf or flattened by a log thrown ashore by the wave.

People have either become inured to risks like these or have watched too many video games. You do not get a "do-over." Mother Nature has a dark side that you ignore at your peril! If you are going out into the real world, it can be dangerous and you are responsible for you and yours. Yosemite and the Pacific Ocean have not been tamed for your risk-free enjoyment. Pay attention - don't be a statistic or a blip on the 6 o'clock news!

www.sacbee.com/2011/08/13/3835136/yosemite-deaths-americans-may.html

Snail Mail

This week the Statesman Journal ran an article about small post offices closing in some Oregon towns. These closings are just the tip of the iceberg. The Post Office, America's second largest employer, is going broke. In a hurry. This article contains more about the Post Office than you probably ever wanted to know. Since it's about to go banko, though, you may want to take a gander.

The GAO completed a study on the Post Office 18 months before its due date (the problems are that bad!) and made some very interesting findings. The first problem is declining revenue and centers around the decline in first class mail volume.

Since 2005 first class mail has declined by 20% due to the recession and the rapid ascendancy of electronic delivery of time-sensitive communications and the trend is continuing. FedEx and UPS have taken over the market for high value documents and packages and in the last several years have moved even more aggressively into the mid-value area of parcel post with FedEx Ground and UPS trailers hauled on fast-moving dedicated freight trains across the U.S. Neither of these companies has any compunction about playing hardball with the unions. Alas, the same is not true of the Post Office and that's the second part of the problem.

The Bloomberg article notes that:

"The USPS has historically placed the interests of its unions first. That hasn't changed. In March it reached a four-and-a-half-year agreement with the 250,000-member American Postal Workers Union, which represents mail clerks, drivers, mechanics, and custodians. The pact extends the no-layoff provision and provides a 3.5 percent raise for APWU members over the period of the contract, along with seven upcapped cost-of-living increases. The union is happy."

Indeed they should be. Faced with declining revenues and high fuel costs like everybody else for its enormous fleet of vehicles, the Post Office gives away the farm. Great. It's all about the kids, right? Oops - wrong venue.

Then there are the post offices themselves. Did you know that in Sweden only 12% of the post office buildings are owned by the post office? In Germany it's only 2%. How can this be? Well, they rent the space they need in places like gas stations and convenience stores and it works just fine. With this approach, the U.S. Post Office could even sell a large number of its 31,000 + structures and still get the job done. As John Lennon used to say, "Imagine!"

Then there's the final frontier. In semi-socialized Sweden and Germany the post office is privately owned and operates at a - shhhh! - profit. C'mon John, say it - Imagine! And they are offering all kinds of new digital services to customers to expedite communications.

In contrast, in the U.S., the Post Office trudges along as it has for a long time while morphing into a government-subsidized purveyor of mostly junk mail and a sanctuary for featherbedding labor. Despite being relieved of pension obligations of $27 billion in 2005, the agency is still tanking. Getting rid of pension obligations and closing a few post offices here and there isn't the answer:

"I really believe that the USPS is going to get to a point where, regardless of what it does with the prefunding [of retiree health care], it is going to implode," says R. Richard Geddes, an associate professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University. "It is either going to default on those obligations to its retirees or we are going to have to give it a direct bailout from the United States taxpayers."

It doesn't have to be this way. Like so many other issues that are gridlocked in Washington, it's a matter of political will. In this case, the Democrats are wedded to the post office model circa 1901. Of course it may have something to do with the fact that about 99.9% of the political contributions from the humungous postal employee unions go to Democrats. Surprise, surprise! But the needs of the nation for efficient communications transcends the wants of the unions and their political cronies. It's time for a change. Imagine.

www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_23/b4231060885070.htm

Obamacare Takes One Where It Counts

Obamacare took a torpedo amidships today when the Federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the individual mandate, centerpiece of the legislation, is unconstitutional. The effect of this is to tee up the issue for the Supreme Court because the 6th Circuit had previously ruled that the provision was constitutional. The same issue is being considered by the 4th Circuit and my best guess is that circuit will line up with today's 11th Circuit ruling.

If the Supreme Court finds the individual mandate to be unconstitutional, it will tear the heart out of Obamacare. A better result would be for a new Republican majority in 2012 to repeal the monstrosity and start over with a whole new plan that actually goes to public hearings and is read by our elected representatives. In the absence of such a happening, though, the Supremes driving the stake home will do.

news.yahoo.com/appeals-court-rules-against-obama-healthcare-law-171829777.html

Mark Hatfield, R.I.P.

Mark Hatfield was an icon of Oregon politics. Senator Hatfield was a Christian throughout his career and while I disagreed with some of his positions, I did not doubt the sincerity of his faith. Cal Thomas has a nice tribute today to him that is worth reading.

Some say that a "Christian politician" is an oxymoron. I disagree, although they are perhaps few and far between. The lot of a Christian politician is not easy. They are lambasted by the Left because they are insufficiently secular and their motives are therefore always suspect. They are lambasted from the Right if they take a position that is informed by their faith but contrary to prevailing conservative orthodoxy, particularly on economic or foreign policy issues. Finally, they are often kicked to the curb by fellow Christians because they aren't perfect saints at all times.

Thomas quotes Hatfield as saying that the Kingdoms of God and Man occasionally intersect, but more often they do not. This is true, but Christians are called to be salt and light in this world and that even includes politics. Trying to navigate the byways of both worlds is difficult, especially remaining true to the Kingdom of God in the process. Thus it is no great surprise that Hatfield occasionally took a wrong turn - we are all human. By and large, though, he successfully navigated this difficult field of human endeavor and brought both the salt and light of Christ to an area that is darker than most. The country and Oregon are better for his service. I hope that more Christian men and women will follow in his stead for that reason, even if they too occasionally stub their toes. Rest in peace Senator Hatfield.

townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/2011/08/11/the_death_of_a_principled_moderate

Chinese to Go?

China does not yet have a blue water navy but it's working on it. This is China's first aircraft carrier. They bought an unfinished one from the Russians at fire sale prices and finished it to their own specifications. It will be interesting to see how long it takes them to complete training to effectively use the carrier and coordinate fleet operations to protect their new crown jewel.

The Chinese want to deny us the ability to reinforce Taiwan and even Korea and Japan. They are at odds with the Vietnamese over several island groups in the South China Sea and generally want to throw their weight around Asia. This includes intimidating India.  I think you can reasonably expect to see a series of knock-offs of this ship around the western Pacific in the next decade.

www.industryweek.com/articles/chinas_first_aircraft_carrier_makes_maiden_trip_25336.aspx?SectionID=3

Which of These is Not Like the Other?

 UO reports that Oregon's economy declined for the third consecutive month. Apparently Gov. Kitzhaber's strategy of insulating schools to create jobs and turn things around hasn't had much effect yet. Or ever. Gov. Cowboy is a Democrat.
 www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/08/university_of_oregon_economic_1.html

In contrast, Texas is reporting "robust" job growth and relatively stable housing prices. Specifically, jobs were growing at a 3% annual rate. Gov. Rick Perry is a Republican.
www.housingwire.com/2011/08/03/texas-home-prices-stable-as-economy-adds-jobs

Well look at that - North Dakota is doing fine too. Employment is up 4.2% over last year and unemployment stands at 3.2%. No, that's not a typo. Gov. Dalrymple is a Republican.
finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daniel-gross/north-dakota-spurred-energy-ag-boom-3-2-122815061.html

Of course, the last two states have significant amounts of oil, so perhaps they can be distinguished from Oregon. All righty then, how about New Jersey? Home of beautiful Secaucus and maybe Jimmy Hoffa, NJ reported its best employment numbers since 2000.  And the Governor of NJ is - wait for it - Chris Christie, a Republican!
blogs.app.com/inthemoney/2011/07/22/nj-economy-grows-moderately-speaking-of-moderates/

OK kids, which of these things is not like the other? Hmmm?

That Feeling in the Pit of Your Stomach

Negative Gs - like riding a roller coaster or a down elevator in a tall building is the feeling I am talking about. You know, like the stock market since last Thursday. Whew! What a ride! Before assuming that our economy is launching off an aircraft carrier without an airplane, let's consider some basics.

First, corporate profits have been pretty decent. This show how resilient the American economic engine is despite the best efforts of politicians to put sand in the gas tank and strip it for parts. American corporations have been selling their products to the world and the world has been buying. Corporations are not doing much hiring because of tax and healthcare uncertainties, but those can be removed when the Obama Administration departs in early 2013. The economy will perform given half a chance.

Secondly, as big a jolt as the last few days has been, it was probably necessary for the political class to snap out of its lethargy regarding reform of the entire government financial system.  The Democrats are still trying to spin things - the Tea Party for crying out loud. As I heard on the radio yesterday, that's like trying to blame Paul Revere for the American Revolution! We would not have had a conversation on our monstrous debt had it not been for the insistence of the Tea Party, which is precisely why the Democrats are so mad. They yearn for the days of old recently past where debt ceiling limitations were passed with no debate and the spending party merrily continued on its way. Sorry folks - this is the hangover part and getting rid of it is going to be a painful process.

Finally, I have faith that the American people are tougher and more disciplined than they have shown for awhile. It is undeniable that as a country we have become soft, whiny, and selfish from our long bout with consumerism. We have elected leaders who promise to "give" us more trinkets, i.e. - "free" medical care, student loans, etc. That said, the American people have reacted faster and more effectively than the government in getting their personal financial houses in order. There seems to be fairly widespread resolve that we need to do what is necessary to fix the system, even knowing that it is going to require sacrifice on everybody's part. Clearly, the people are ahead of their political leaders in this regard.

So don't abandon hope - we're going to come out of this hard time stronger and better for it. We do need to get serious abut things, just like our grandparents did in the Great Depression and our parents did in WWII, but let's get it done and leave a better country for our children.

finance.townhall.com/columnists/larrykudlow/2011/08/09/no_time_to_panic

Geithner: "No chance" of U.S. Credit Downgrade

In April of this year Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said that there was "no chance" the U.S. would have its credit rating downgraded. nation.foxnews.com/tim-geithner/2011/08/06/geithner-flashback-there-s-no-chance-us-will-lose-top-credit-rating  Either the politicos in D.C. are lying across the board or they are hopelessly incompetent. Neither bodes well for the next year. I would suggest prayer. Seriously.

Welcome Back Rep. Giffords

It is nice to have Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords back in the House. She survived an assassination attempt during which several others were killed and appears to have made good progress toward regaining her health. I hope that she fully recovers from this terrible act and lives a long, healthy and happy life. Welcome back.

Economy Turns Around

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Chief Motormouth for the Democratic Party, announced today that the Dems have really begun to turn the economy around. www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/08/02/debbie_wasserman_schultz_weve_really_begun_to_turn_the_economy_around.html Really? What a master of timing! Consider:

•  Today's Dow: down 512 points, the steepest decline since 2008. news.yahoo.com/dow-falls-512-steepest-decline-since-08-crisis-210736924.html
• 2nd quarter GDP growth was much slower than expected at 1.3% annualized. www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/07/29/us-2q-gdp-growth-weaker-than-expected/
• Tomorrow the job reports come out. I can hardly wait. 

The economic picture that I'm seeing is the one above. Perhaps the numbers are for Tatooine in a galaxy far, far away and the economy really is turning around here on earth. Or perhaps it is Ms. Wasserman Schultz and her Democratic colleagues who are from that galaxy far, far away.  Hmm... I wonder. That could explain a few things.

Don't Let the Door...

Yup, and the rest of us get to clean up the mess!

(Tip o' the hat to George McGreer)

Are There Aliens Among Us?

Nah, probably not, although if there are they work at convenience stores. But I digress... This is a genuinely interesting story. In June an oceanographic team looking for a shipwreck found an object 300 feet down on the bottom of the Baltic that looks amazingly like the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. Side scan sonar technology is quite good and shows shadowing around the object that indicates that it has height and depth. Some have jumped to conclusions that it is an alien spaceship, but it could be a man-made structure that was lost when a geologic subsidence occurred, or any one of a number of other things. Presumably robot subs with cameras will be sent down and we will soon know what the heck it is, but in the meantime, feel free to use your imagination.

www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390428,00.asp

Woo-Hoo! Our Creditline Was Raised!

I would like to meet the headline writer for Time magazine. The latest one that caught my eye is, "Did the nasty U.S. debt debate sour the world for good?" Where to begin? I guess I'll start with a resounding "NO!!!"

The problem is not the debate - that's just atmospherics - it's the metrics that stink. We are spending ourselves into oblivion and it is affecting the security of our once solid government bonds and notes. Would the headline writer prefer that Republicans and Democrats be buddy-buddy and continue amicably down the road to ruin? Interestingly, the text of the article illustrates that the rest of the world is looking at the metrics. Perhaps the Democrats might start doing likewise.

news.yahoo.com/did-nasty-u-debt-debate-sour-world-opinion-092000897.html

John Stott, RIP

John Stott, a quiet giant of 20th century Christianity, died last week at age 90. As much as anyone, he reinforced the importance of a Christian worldview and engaged scholarship, although he did so in a characteristically understated English manner. His thinking influenced notables like Billy Graham and Chuck Colson and moved the evangelical church to engage the culture for Christ. His voice will be missed, but his writings live on, as does he in a far better place.

www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/julyweb-only/john-stott-obit.html