Gee, I Wonder Why?

For the second time this year GM has stopped production of the Chevy Volt. A GM spokesman noted that:

"Volt demand has picked up this year, after sales last year fell short of GM's goals. GM sold 10,666 Volts through July, more than triple the 2,870 sold during the same period a year earlier."

Wow, triple the 2,870 units sold last year! In a country of 310 million people. I wonder why?

www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120827/OEM01/120829919/1448/gm-to-idle-volt-plant-for-4-weeks-sources-say

Vitamin B to the Rescue!

I have been a big fan of B-complex vitamins for some time because they help me feel better and more alert. Now a new study says that B3 can also increase the body's ability by 1000 times in fighting staph aureus, an omnipresent and dangerous bacteria. If you are feeling tired and rundown try some B-complex for awhile and see what you think.
www.kgw.com/lifestyle/health/OSU-study-Uses-vitamen-B3-on-superbugs-167610265.html

Honoring Neil Armstrong

To honor the passing of Neil Armstrong, President Obama posted a picture of guess who? That's right - himself! Oyvez! What's next - Got Milk and Wheaties boxes?

www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/08/26/to-honor-neil-armstrong-obama-posts-a-picture-of-himself

What's Behind the Curtain

2016: Obama's America is a movie by conservative author Dinesh D'Souza that takes a close look at President Obama's roots and what this country is likely to look like if he is given four more years in the White House, much of it in Obama's own words. It is also the movie that has thus far grossed more than Sylvester Stallone's new movie, The Expendables 2, much to Hollywood's surprise.  2016themovie.com/

In terms of how D'Souza approaches his subject, a reviewer in Powerline notes:

" In a nutshell, his theory is that Obama’s world-view can best be understood by reading his memoir, Dreams From My Father, and taking it seriously. Barack Obama Jr., Dinesh argues, has assumed the anti-colonialist, anti-Western, anti-American, anti-free enterprise perspective of his father, which explains much of his otherwise-puzzling conduct as president."

He goes on to say that D'Souza:

"...is on to something here, and his premise helps explain, for example, why Obama returned Churchill’s bust, backs Argentina in the conflict over the Falklands, and tilts toward the Palestinians."
www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/08/2016-the-movie.php

As the television ads say, though, "But wait, there's more!" And there is which is why you should go see the movie currently playing at the Regal Santiam 11 or your local theaters and take an uncommitted friend with you.

Observation Point

We just put our middle daughter, Jenny, and our grandson Henry on a plane to Mississippi. Jenny's husband Mark is already there teaching at Millsaps College, his first fulltime university professorship. This is a good thing, but a hard thing. Goodbyes are always hard. Sure, we know we can jump on a jet and be there in less than a day, but it's a bit farther than Eugene where they have spent the last six years, which made sharing life together a bit easier. 

Sharing life together - a thought that makes me think of heaven where we will have all the time in the world. No more hurried or half-said conversations with family and friends. No more looking at a watch to make sure that we leave early enough to get wherever we are going. No more distractions or interruptions. No more goodbyes. Just time to share life together eternally with God and each other, and I'm very okay with that.

An American Hero

I was working at the Maui airport on the day in 1969 when the first men to land on the moon arrived. I remember the airport pretty much stopping and being almost completely quiet as people stopped and stared at television monitors as the lunar module gingerly touched down on the moon's surface. And I remember everyone holding their breath as Neil Armstrong climbed down from the module and stepped on to the grey dust saying, "That's one small step for a man; and one giant leap for mankind." The airport then erupted with cheers, my own included. Neil Armstrong died today - a true American hero. You have my cheers as you have made an even larger step today. Well done. Houston out.

kgw.com/news/Astronaut-Neil-Armstrong-first-man-to-walk-on-moon-dies-at-age-82-167431495.html

Let the Man Talk

I keep reading opinion pieces about the Presidential election and the strengths/weaknesses of the candidates and almost without exception, whether written by a liberal or a conservative, they always list the "formidable rhetorical skills" of President Obama. I dissent. If I were a Republican strategist I would want the President to speak off the cuff as much as possible because he makes gaffe after gaffe. 

Lawyers love hostile witnesses who like to talk when their deposition is being taken - they inevitably sink themselves. The witness who thinks he is smarter than the lawyer is especially useful because their arrogance trips them up every time. The President is no different. His recent blooper about businessman "didn't build that" when referring to their successful businesses is a classic example. Steve Jobs didn't build Apple. Right. There are many others. Formidable rhetorical skills my patoot. When Obama is off Teleprompter he is Bidenesque - just let the man talk! 

Why Can't We Be More Like China?

This is a common lament among intellectuals. Thomas Friedman thinks that a dictatorship would be great, at least for a little while, to really get some things done. Elizabeth Warren, the Cherokee princess running for a Senate seat in Massachusetts, recently said:

"Why aren't we rebuilding America? Our competitors are putting people to work building the future. China invests 9% of its in infrastructure. America? We're just 2.4%"--Elizabeth Warrencampaign ad, July 30

As the Wall Street Journal noted, though, there have been a few problems with Chinese construction:

"One of the longest bridges in northern China collapsed on Friday, just nine months after it opened, setting off a storm of criticism from Chinese Internet users and underscoring questions about the quality of construction in the country's rapid expansion of its infrastructure. A nearly 330-foot-long section of a ramp of the eight-lane Yangmingtan Bridge in the city of Harbin dropped 100 feet to the ground. Four trucks plummeted with it, resulting in three deaths and five injuries."--New York Times website, Aug. 24

online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444358404577609343602510960.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion

Do these folks also not remember the crap that China was sending into this country just a few years ago ( and may be even now): poison children's toys, defective wallboard, etc.? Even if they do, they seem unable to connect the dots, as was the case with the Soviet Union, Castro's Cuba, etc., etc. Moths to the flame. 

Is the Fat Lady Warming Up?

Here's an interesting story from Colorado. The University of Colorado Political Science Department has modelled presidential races since 1980 and has not missed a winner in all that time. Right now the model is predicting a win by Romney/Ryan on the order of 320 electoral votes to Obama/Biden's 218. The popular vote would be 53% to 47% - a healthy margin. It ain't over til' the fat lady sings, but here's hoping!

www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2012/08/22/analysis-election-factors-points-romney-win-university-colorado-study-says

The Real Face of Hate

"Hate" is a term that for some time has been used pretty loosely, usually to score cheap political points. We have "hateful" Republicans who "hate" President Obama because they will not give him carte blanche to pursue his vision of remaking the U.S. We have people who "hate" gays because they will not agree that gays should have the same right to marry as heterosexuals. We have "hate" this and "hate" that. In short, "hate" is becoming a very devalued term. An occasional reminder of what hate really is may be useful.

This is the real face of hate - Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 kids at a summer camp in Norway and would dearly have loved to kill even more. He is a neo-Nazi. The prosecution tried to portray him as insane. The judge did not agree. He was just evil. And for doing this his sentence was a grand total of 21 years. That in itself is a tragedy.

A society that does not recognize evil when it sees it is a society that undervalues life and it will be unable to effectively confront evil when it arises. It starts with bad thinking as reflected in a society's words. Breivik was not mad - he is evil. In this country, political opponents may be misinformed, misguided, self-dealing or just wrong, but rarely are they "hateful." Hate is a strong word and we need to keep it that way so that when the real thing comes along, in the form of an Anders Breivik, we recognize it and respond appropriately. This is the real face of hate.

news.yahoo.com/court-finds-norwegian-mass-killer-breivik-sane-082140655.html

The Current State of the Democratic Party

Forward!

There Ya Go Again, Joe.

Joe Biden is at it again. Campaigning in Detroit Ol' Joe said that the gubmint could re-fi 12 million homeowner loans that are underwater and it wouldn't cost a thing. Not a penny. The Money Fairy refused comment. 

www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/08/22/Biden-Won-t-Cost-Government-A-Penny-To-Refinance-12-Million-Mortgages

Why Is Obama Even in the Race?

You Know It's a Bad Day When...

You swerve to avoid a moose and hit a bear instead. The poor Norwegian driver who did so probably had less damage  done to his car by the bear than if he had hit the moose, but a wrecked car and a p.o.'d brown bear aren't my idea of a good time! I bet the driver had an extra aquavit when he finally made it home.

now.msn.com/driver-avoids-a-moose-but-hits-a-bear-instead

Much Obliged. Not

On January 11, 2012 I blogged that Governor Cowboy's (Kitzhaber) vaunted economic plan had produced the fourth consecutive month of decline in the state's economic indicators. BTW, two months of consecutive decline = recession. Well, some things just don't change. 

Oregon's unemployment rate went up in July. I'm shocked! I'll let the Statesman Journal tell the news:

"Oregon’s jobless rate increased slightly in July to 8.7 percent, as the private sector posted anemic job growth.

The state’s private sector added only 100 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis in July, Oregon Employment Department officials said Tuesday. Meanwhile, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose two-tenths of a point from June.

Nick Beleiciks, a state employment economist, said strong job gains in professional and business services and the construction sector were offset by losses in other industries. The largest job losses were in educational and health services, manufacturing, and a category called “other services.”
Government employment experienced a seasonally adjusted increase of 1,700 jobs. Those jobs were broadly spread across federal, state, and local government employment.

Beleiciks said he couldn’t identify a trend to explain the recent gain in government employment."

www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20120815/BUSINESS/308150070/Oregon-s-unemployment-rate-up-despite-new-jobs?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Mr. Beleiciks may not know why government employment gained, but I've got a pretty good idea. Which of these things is not like the other? That's right kids - government employment goes up up and away and the private sector goes down, down, down. Perhaps there is an inverse relationship that has something to do with employers having to pay surcharges for unemployment taxes and taxes on gross income, not net, and all the other taxes to pay for the government spending.  On the other hand, this is Oregon and nobody cares as demonstrated by electing a hack politician to the governorship for a third term when he previously said the state was ungovernable. At least his folks get government jobs or in the case of his squeeze, government contracts. Some things never change.

Just to Make It Clear

Obama took $716 billion out of Medicare to finance Obamacare; Romney and Ryan aren't taking anything out for people 55+. Obama's cuts will immediately affect anyone on Medicare; the Romney/Ryan plan will not. Can you hear me now?

Democrats' Mediscare

Well here we go with the standard Democrat booga-booga treatment, this time for Paul Ryan. The target audience is seniors and the theme is "Paul Ryan will end Medicare as we know it." Booga booga! Of course the dirty little secret that the Dems aren't telling seniors is that Medicare costs are out of control and pretty soon there won't be Medicare for anybody because the system is flat broke. Ryan, on the other hand, respects seniors by being honest with them and proposing changes designed to keep senior health care available. Let's take a look at some facts.

Ryan and Democratic Senator Ron Wyden have proposed an overhaul of the Medicare system designed to keep it solvent and provide the maximum benefits possible. Some particulars:

• People over age 55 continue under the current system. NO CHANGES!
• People under 55 will have the option of a public option or a private option. 
• Right now Medicare pays for services. Because there is no way to predict the services needed in a given year, the system is going broke. Under the Ryan plan, the government will instead pay premium support at an estimated level of $9,300/person/year, which will be indexed. Because the payout is capped the system's costs are predictable. Insurance companies will bid to provide services. People are free to pay higher premiums for plans with more benefits if they wish, but everyone will get a base level of care. In other words, seniors get to choose their own care level. Under the Obama Plan, 15 faceless bureaucrats in Washington will decide who gets what level of care. Which respects seniors more? 

There's more, of course, but these are some easily understood key points. Get the facts and tell seniors the truth - don't let them fall for the fraudulent scare tactics of the Dems.

Good Choosing

My Mitt's VP app on my iPhone waited patiently to relay the news of his vice presidential choice. When I awoke on Saturday morning my wife said that the newspapers had it 9 hours before my app went off. Oh well. The important point, though, was that it was Paul Ryan and not just another gray suit and it signalled that we really were going to have a campaign down the stretch that deals with ideas and not vapid slogans. 

Late this week Charles Krauthammer called for Romney to take the gloves off and run a campaign that clearly exposes Democratic ideology for what it is (Socialist) and compares it with how Republicans see the world. His column ends with this summary:

"Ideas matter. The 2010 election, the most ideological since 1980, saw the voters resoundingly reject a Democratic Party that was relentlessly expanding the power, spending, scope and reach of government.

It’s worse now. Those who have struggled to create a family business, a corner restaurant, a medical practice won’t take kindly to being told that their success is a result of government-built roads and bridges.

In 1988, Michael Dukakis famously said, “This election is not about ideology; it’s about competence.” He lost. If Republicans want to win, Obama’s you-didn’t-build-that needs to be hung around his neck until Election Day. The third consecutive summer-of-recovery-that-never-came is attributable not just to Obama being in over his head but to what’s in his head: a government-centered vision of the economy and society, and the policies that flow from it.

Four years of that and this is what you get. Make the case and you win the White House."
www.tennessean.com/article/20120812/COLUMNIST0150/308120016/Charles-Krauthammer-Romney-should-disprove-Obama-s-ideologies

Krauthammer is right and Paul Ryan is just the guy to make this argument.

It isn't well known, but President Obama will not debate Ryan one-on-one because he has tried twice and lost. Ryan knows the budget inside and out and can explain in simple terms what will happen if we continue our current policies and the ruinous spending that goes with them. 

Those who know him also know that he is more interested in policies and what really is best for America than playing politics. He and Oregon's Ron Wyden, for example, co-sponsored an overhaul of Medicare that really might work to scale down costs and that offered both public and private choices to participants. It is that type of person that this country needs for such a time as this because we are in serious, serious trouble. 

My personal choice for VP was Marco Rubio. I think he would have sent a message that the Republican Party is the party of Abraham Lincoln even today. His time will come, though, and I am sure that he will be out supporting the Romney/Ryan ticket as one of its main surrogates. That Obama is even in this race at all shows the power of demagoguery and confusion. With Paul Ryan on board, this is going to rapidly end. Let the games begin.

Some Thumbs-Downs

• President Obama telling successful business owners that they didn't build their businesses. How could so many of us forget the government's help?
• President Obama saying he wants to do for other industries what he did for GM. GM's stock price is about half of what it was before he "helped" and sales last month were off 11%. It's like a doctor giving flu shots that give the flu. Great. 
• Pedestrian bulbs on Salem city streets. A colossal waste of scarce dollars. 
• Planned Parenthood teaching sex ed in Salem schools. 

Some Attaboys

• Ashton Eaton from Bend for his gold in the Olympic Decathlon.
• Willamette U. grad Nick Symmonds for his fifth place in the 800m finals. Any other year and his time would have won him a gold medal. Not this year when all 5 top finishers broke the previous Olympic record. 
• Weathers Music for being a Salem icon in music for years. Many kids, including our own, bought or rented instruments from Weathers. They will be missed. 
• Summer. It finally made it. Enjoy the great weather while you can.

Marvin Hamlisch R.I.P.

We went to see The Sting in 1973 when it first came out and loved it. It was a clever plot, Paul Newman and Robert Redford did a great job, but what really made the movie was its musical score. I had grown up on ragtime music but somehow had missed Scott Joplin. Marvin Hamlisch, however, had not and he brilliantly wove Joplin throughout the movie setting exactly the right tone. Hamlisch died this week after a distinguished career. He scored movies, plays, and wrote individual songs as well, earning Emmy, Tony, Oscar and Grammy awards along the way - one of only 11 Americans in history to do so. He was only 68 when he died and it would have been nice to have him with us a while longer to share his talent. Thanks for the memories, though, Marvin Hamlisch; may you rest in peace.

He Who Laughs Last...

Among others roasting Mitt Romney for questioning whether London was ready for the Olympics (which the Brits themselves had questioned) was Hizzonor the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Well, here is Hizzonor stuck on a zip line that malfunctioned yesterday. What say ye now your Honor?

www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/08/01/London-Mayor-%20Johnson-caught-on-zip-line

Idol Worship

I do a lot of Christian mediation work and I am always amazed at the number of idols in people's lives, including my own. The understanding that idols are alive and well today was a revelation. By "idols" I don't mean the big boys on Easter Island or the talent (or sometimes not) on American Idol, but things that we think we must have for our security, happiness, or success. The problem with idols is that they require sacrifice. What does this mean? In fact, there is a typical progression.

We all have desires and a lot of them are merely good or neutral. For example, the fact that I want a clean car is not a bad desire at all. When a desire ratchets up to a demand, though, is where the trouble begins. Using the clean car example, if I take my kids to McDonald's after a soccer game and one of them dumps a bag of french fries in the back seat, I have a choice - do I ream them out or do we have a chat and then they clean the back seat up after we get home, maybe with my help? If my choice was #1, you can be pretty sure that an idol is buried in my psyche somewhere. Idols come in a million disguises. Some common ones are power, success, financial security, social standing, professional standing. They can be as mundane as wanting the perfect house or yard and as "holy" as wanting to be a Super Christian. We are, in fact, idol factories and churn them out in endless numbers. If you find yourself getting unreasonably angry or anxious about something, you can be fairly sure that an idol is hanging around somewhere in the background.

When a desire has morphed into a demand, the next stages in the progression of an idol are judgment and then punishment. The judgment part is obvious - You have transgressed my idol! So is the punishment piece - You must be punished! We then proceed to sacrifice our relationship with that person or persons on the altar of our idol. Punishment can be yelling or not talking to someone for several days, the sleep-on-the-couch gambit, a frosty atmosphere and all sorts of other punishments- we are all very creative at punishments. This whole process can take place in a few seconds, often with the other person not knowing exactly what they did.  This latter phenomena is a really insidious progression that frequently happens with married couples and it goes like this: "If you really loved me you would know that this is important to me. You violated my idol, so you deserve double punishment for not knowing and not caring!" Not a two-fer that I recommend! In any event, if a couple (or your kids, friends, etc.) goes though this cycle often enough, the relationship is left in tatters or dies altogether.

An idol is really another name for a "god." There is a reason that the real God lists having no other gods before Him as the First Commandment and part of the rationale for it is set out above. He ended up sacrificing for us and not the other way around. The road to health personally and in relationships is becoming aware that idols exist in our lives and dealing with them before we start sacrificing those closest to us on their cold stone altars.

A Man of Rare Courage

It's always interesting to get outside the bubble of American politics and see how others view things. Lech Walesa won a Nobel prize for his leadership of the Polish union Solidarity in freeing Poland from the orbit of Soviet serf states. In 2011 President Obama was touring Europe and asked for a one-on-one with Walesa. He was denied. Last week, Mitt Romney not only met with Walesa but unexpectedly received his endorsement in the Presidential race. Walesa is a man of rare courage and he knows leadership when he sees it. He also understands how important it is for America to be out in front leading the free world, not leading from behind. I hope a majority of Americans see as clearly two months hence.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1391520/Barack-Obama-snubbed-Lech-Walesa-Warsaw-trip.html