So – the Bailout of the Big Three didn’t pass muster with Congress. Good. Looks like UAW didn’t want to take a well-deserved pay-cut to put their members on par with Toyota factory workers, who seem to be able to put out economical models in a lean and mean manufacturing process.

Bush and Co. are trying to work a run-around so the Big Three can be put back into lean, mean, economical running again. Uh, yeah.

Now, for the “No, There’s no Connection” item:

From the Arizona Republic (no guarantee as to how long the link will last):

Chandler taxpayers paid $32,000 to buy Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn a 2009 Toyota Camry hybrid, The Arizona Republic has learned.

The car replaces the mayor’s 2004 Chevy Malibu with about 70,000 miles about two months ago, city spokeswoman Nachie Marquez confirmed Friday.

Well, gee – with only 70,000 miles on it, that seems like a waste of a perfectly good Malibu, wouldn’t you say? I wonder why they would dump an American Icon-Made automobile for one of those darned Japanese cars (which, by the way, really are made in America, not assembled in Mexico and shipped here)? Let’s read on, shall we?

Assistant City Manager Pat McDermott said the city opted to buy the new car because the Malibu was having some repetitive maintenance problems and becoming unreliable. It’s not immediately known how much in repairs the city has spent on the vehicle.
[snip]
“I think it was appropriate. He has a car that was breaking down. We saw the repair record and it was way more than it should be for a car with 70,000 miles. Partly because it was a pain-in-the-butt car, we started looking at an alternative.”

The city is keeping the Malibu despite its mechanical problems. It will remain in the city’s fleet.

Presumably, the vehicle won’t be used much and is sitting out it’s time until it is fully depreciated before the city sells it.

But, let’s take a look there – an American Made car, with an unacceptable level of repairs, being removed from the Mayor’s use in exchange for a car that (from personal experience) won’t even be fully broken in until it hits the 150,000 mile mark. Plus, it’s a hybrid vehicle, which means that it won’t be idling at all the ill-timed stop lights in town (thanks to the new and wonderful streetcar light rail that is due to come on line on December 27) when the Mayor does drive from Chandler to Phoenix. I don’t see any problems here.

The only problem I do see is the fact that the city is hanging on to the Malibu, even though it’s a piece of junk. I say, sell the rattle trap and get it off the city’s books. That would be the economical and environmentally sound decision.

Oh, wait – they did make the sound decision to trade up to a Camry, so I guess we should hold on to that thought. Can’t expect them to make a whole lot of changes at once, ya know…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Sometimes, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is very short, ar at least seems that way. Like this year.

Yesterday, after church, the Praise and Worship leader asked those of us who sing what we wanted to do for the Christmas program. After all, we only have one day a week when everyone is available for rehearsal (Sunday evening) and there are only two more of those before Christmas… so we decided to brush up on Carol of the Bells along with the traditional songs.

With that in mind, and the closeness of Christmas getting more prounounced every day, I offer these two messages:

First, to my friends on the right, who adhere to the mantra “Common Sense, Please”:

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

And, to those who wander in here from the left-leaning areas of the world, where common sense isn’t:

Best wishes for a stress-free, non-addictive, gender-neutral, socially responsible and environmentally conscious winter solstice holiday. These wishes are sent without regard to race, gender, religion, creed, color or economic strata. The wish granting party, hereinafter referred to as “I” does grant the wish receiver, hereinafter referred to as “you” the freedom to accept or reject these wishes as determined by you on your own terms; that is, with regard to how you practice your religious or non-religious traditions of this time of year with the proviso that your practices are not to interfere with or abrogate the traditions of those around you who may or may not share the same traditions as you. Also, it is understood that these wishes are not an implicit permission to force others to share your religion, nor is it permission to allow others to share their religion (or lack thereof) with you. Additionally, these wishes are extended insofar that a fiscally successful, medically uncomplicated and personally fulfilling recognition of the generally accepted calendar year of 2009 would be enjoyed by you, but not without realizing that not all people recognize the same calendar and certainly not without recognizing the contributions of other cultures and societies as they have contributed to the time-measurement device known as the “Judeao-Christian Calendar System” which generally accounts for a one-year term involving twelve individual and inherently different months grouped in a repeating pattern for traditional reasons. (Disclaimer to note: This greeting and the additional wishes are subject to clarification or withdrawal, depending on the recipients’ attitude. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes, nor does it require the wish recipient to actively engage in the fulfillment of said wishes. The wisher assumes no responsibility for any unintended emotional stress these greetings and/or wishes may or may not have incurred upon those who are not caught up in the spirit of the holiday or, for whatever reason, simply do not celebrate this time, other than to tell you to put a band-aid on your owie and call a waaaahmbulance. Losers.)

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Before heading out this morning, I thought I would take a quick peek at the ol’ blogroll, and my first stop was over at BlackFive. Down the page a bit was a link to a NewYorkSlimes piece whining about the common sense that prevailed over the king’s ransom being handed out to failures. Story here.

This part of the story is what caught my eye, and is triggering a bit of a common sense rant:

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., appearing at the White House late Monday afternoon, warned that the failure of the rescue plan could dry up credit for businesses big and small, making them unable to make payrolls or buy inventory.

Maybe I’ve been going about this “business owner” thing all wrong – I thought you bought inventory and paid wages out of the money you made from the service and/or product you provided? You know, collect on the invoice, turn around and pay your employees, buy more inventory, pay the utilities, and the leftover goes in the owner’s pocket or, if he’s smart, into a CONTINGENCY FUND for when someone doesn’t pay the invoice right away…

Obviously, I need to rethink my business model. I need to start “leveraging” my “receivables” and “monetizing” my “books” so I, too, can show false profits and qualify for a government handout.

It is obvious that I am involved in the wrong end of the business world. I need to get into the money supplying end of it, instead of the money using end of it.

Then again, what do I know? I’m just a red necked, bog dwelling hick with no formal ed-uh-muh-cay-shun. The fact that my business runs without a debt probably disqualifies me from belonging to the great herd at the public trough, anyway.

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

219

I have a few new members of my blogroll, whom you will be meeting more in-depth tomorrow, but I wanted to point out this member’s thoughts.

From Autorotate’s Flying Circus (who I met through Texas Fred) comes this piece, truly extending a hand across the aisle:

At about 9:35 PM EST last night, it became crystal clear that the heads and powers to be in the Democrat party made a huge mistake in turning its back on Hillary Clinton and her followers. It may be a sign that the apocalypse may be upon us when I find myself rooting for Hillary and her supporters, but more than likely, it is a representation of how far left and how for lunatic-fringe the Obama camp that has hijacked the Democrat party has become.

Hillary gave the speech she had to give last night, but it was a speech that endorsed a Democrat in the White House much more so than Obama, and rightfully so. Earlier in the day, her husband, former President Bill Clinton questioned in a speech whether it “Is better to vote for a candidate who you agree with on every issue, but can’t deliver on his promises (Obama) or to vote for a candidate who you disagree with on some, but will get the job done (McCain).”

I never thought I would hear myself saying this, but when it comes down to it, the better of the two candidates in the Democrat party didn’t win. To make matters worse, she wasn’t even paid her due respect in the VP selection process and the real losers out of all of this are the blue-collar Democrats who make up the majority of her base.

Many of us now in the Republican party were born into blue-collar families and still fit into that category. Many are the sons and daughters of steel workers, coal miners, meat packers, foundry workers, truck drivers, laborers and seamstresses. Good, wholesome, hard-working, God fearing Americans, just like many of those who represent the blue-collar sector today. We weren’t all born with silver spoons in our mouths as the fringe elements of the left would like you to believe. We didn’t have it all handed to us. Most of us, like you, are still working hard, day in and day out to reach for the aspirations and dreams that have made this country what it is today.

This is why, today, I am making and emphatic push, and drive of the utmost importance, to welcome those blue-collar Democrats, those disillusioned and disenfranchised, those misled and misrepresented, to our party.

It is a sad commentary that the party of Kennedy that asked us to think not of what our country could do for us, but we could do of our country, has been hijacked by those who believe it is the government’s sole purpose to create a womb to tomb free-ride for those with no desire to work, courtesy of those same hard working men and women who make up the blue-collar component of the Democratic party’s tax dollars.

It is a sad day that the party of Roosevelt, who rose up and fought steadfastly against Nazi fascism and Japanese religiously fueled extremism to defend this great nation and protect democracy and freedom around the world has been taken over by fringe groups who resorted to encouraging cowardice is in the face of the greatest threat to this civilization since Hitler rolled into Poland.

And lastly, we should all weep that a party that once truly stood for the little guy, the working man and woman, has succumb to elitists with hidden agendas and activists of groups whose agendas are far from the moral and spiritual integrity of the common church going and American proud Democrat. This is truly not the same Democrat part, the party that many of us in the Republican parties fathers and mother’s believed in.

Zell Miller recognized this in 2004, a life-long Democrat statesman. Sen Joe Lieberman recognized this during primary election, where the party who he gave a career of lifelong support and service to, who reached across the aisle to accomplish the goals of the American people, turned their back on him, because he wasn’t far enough left, or didn’t cater to the fringe elements of the party. Despite of that, Liebermen went on to win election as an Independant, and will likely announce his affiliation to the Republican party next week during the RNC.

Yes, to this my friends, I welcome you.

Now many of you have heard that the Republican party only cares about giving tax breaks to the rich. This is partially true, but only because the Republican party believes that all tax payers in America deserve to pay less taxes, poor and rich alike. We cannot continue to punish who those in the extreme left considers to be rich, for we will end up killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

On health care, you’ve heard that Obama can provide you with free health care. But, I ask you this, is it any better have a health care program that is substandard in quality and takes months if not years to receive critical treatment, and costs the working man and woman more money in taxes than if they had bought a plan on their own? Is it fair that the family who is struggling to make ends meet on their own pay tax dollars not only for their own health care but for those who have no interest in working and contributing at all?

And on national defense, can we trust that Obama has the experience to deal with crisis of grand scale, not if, but when they occur? There is no better testament to the success of our men in women in uniform that we have not had another attack on American soil since 2001, and for extremists to sabotage and undermine many of the blue-collar Democrats own sons and daughters, serving in the ranks today, is criminal.

No, America, this is not the same Democrat Party. This truly is a party where the will of a few is carried out in the name of the many.

Let us on reach across the aisle again, just as Sen. John McCain has done so many times during his many years in the Senate, to come together, to work for the common good and safety of the great country. A country not for the fringe, the or the extremists, or the anarchists, or the socialists, or the elitists, but a country of the people, a country for the people and a country by the people.

Welcome to the blogroll, Autorotate, and keep up the great writing!

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

A little later than normal, but that’s the way Friday goes sometimes.

Good show this morning, on The O Word – go listen to the archive (forgive the voice, it’s still recovering) and rate the show! Subjects touched on were the Olympic Medal Count, Telegraphing Your Punches, Typo Vigilantes, Building 7 (WTC), Cindy’s House, and a word about a possible Tiebreaker at the Elections.

Big thanks to prying1 (his book listings can be found here), mdconservative, Mrs. CP(AnnieB) and of course my favorite squid Gawfer for joining me in the chat room.

prying1 has a scanned copy of a poetry booklet from the “Lost Battalion” circa WW1 and has a post up about it on his regular blog, Digging a Little Deeper. He has also made it available to any who are interested to download it, and you would be free to print it out if you so desire.

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, Time, Inc. is a bunch of weasels, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!