San Francisco — Last week, the Ford Motor Company joined the parade of stunningly hypocritical auto manufacturers by announcing that it was abandoning its goal of selling 250,000 hybrid vehicles per year by the end of the decade. Instead, Ford joined other automakers in promising to make 2 million flexible fuel vehicles. “In a joint letter sent Wednesday to members of Congress, General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler AG announced a new promise to double annual production of vehicles that run on alternative fuels, to 2 million per year.” Congress promptly responded to the announcement by refusing, once again, to increase fuel economy standards.
But the auto industry knows that making two million “flexible-fuelled vehicles” won’t dent our dependence on oil. First, the “alternative fuel” they are touting is a mix of gasoline and ethanol called E85, because it is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Regular cars can, and often do, burn ethanol-gasoline mixes that are up to 10 percent ethanol already — so the real difference with E85 sounds like it might be an impressive 75 percent.
But the reality is far different. First, it takes a fair amount of fossil fuels to make ethanol — diesel fuel for tractors to grow the corn and transport it, natural gas to make fertilizer for it, and gas or (worse) coal to distill it. But this doesn’t matter so much, because 99 percent of these flexible fuel vehicles never see a drop of E85 but run on gas instead. That’s according to a March 2002 study by the Bush Administration.
Since there are fewer than 700 gas stations selling E85, out of 176,000 stations in the U.S., these flexible fuel vehicles will mainly burn the same gasoline that the rest of the fleet does. For example, within 25 miles of my home there are NO gas stations selling E85 to the public! So, the actual savings from this big new auto industry commitment will certainly be trivial at best. Unfortunately, it gets worse.
The auto industry gets bogus fuel economy “credits” for selling flexible fuel vehicles, as if these vehicles were actually all burning ethanol-based fuel. As a result, U.S. gas consumption is actually going to go UP as a result of the auto industry’s latest maneuver. The Bush Administration’s study estimated that the combination of the fuel economy loophole and failure of 99 percent of the flexible fuel vehicles to use E85 would result in an increase in U.S. oil dependence of 17 billion gallons by 2008. On the other hand, we could easily reduce consumption by 50 percent by using more-efficient vehicle technology, the solution that Congress — and the auto industry — just rejected. ed. note: Did you notice the recent spike in food prices? These are connected folks.
Again, William Clay Ford and the rest of the auto know these numbers. This is not something someone just dug out. They don’t care.
If we really want to kick our oil addiction, we’re going to have to do it from the grass-roots up. That’s why the Sierra Club has just launched “Smart Energy Summer” — a campaign to connect Americans with the real solutions to our energy and global warming problems — ones that our leaders know about, but just won’t embrace.
I was at the RNC in New York in 2004 and do your know the NYC police, at the behest of the Secret Service and the laughably titled Dept. of Homeland Security, had the exact same set up down on the docks. Chain link w/barbed wire. Yet one more thing the Obamanation has copied from their patrons the Republican Party.
What do you care about? Your health? Your family? Your children? How about something that is affecting all those and in a decidedly negative way? Let’s watch the third ranking Democrat in the Senate the Senator from North Dakota Byron Dorgan talk about how your government is doing.
Let’s listen to him talk about the American worker:
The Employee Free Choice Act:
Notice how he points out that the fat corrupt toads who have historically, and continue to do so it would seem, sat in the chamber of ‘The Greatest Deliberative Body in the World….’ had zip to do with helping workers?
Here’s ‘The Money Pit Part I:’
Anyone really think some of that 18 Billion never left the States…or just made a quick round trip to to some selected Solons…18 Billion in cash….no accounting. No wonder Bush can wear $7,000.00 boots, eh? Maybe the continuous, unrestrained voting for more unaudited, off the books spending is starting to seem a little…er, understandable?
Anyone really think some of that 18 Billion never left the States…or just made a quick round trip to to some selected Solons…18 Billion in cash….no accounting. No wonder Bush can wear $7,000.00 boots, eh?
Let’s wrap this up with the Senator speaking at length on slave labor Immigration.
If any of this got ya going here are some phone numbers:
Madame Speaker of the House the Honorable Nancy Pelosi: (202) 225-0100
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: 202-224-3542
And most importantly call Senator Dorgan here: (202) 224-2551 and thank him for his work. He surely deserves some praise.
‘…administration and military officials say it’s not that easy to distribute the money. They contend that Iraq’s lack of spending isn’t due to laziness or corruption, but rather Baghdad’s inability to determine where its money is needed most and how to allocate it efficiently.’
In other words they’ve got so much money they can’t figure out what to spend it on first. Thanks Madame Speaker, thanks Harry, thanks especially to ‘The One’ who has voted for every ‘emergency appropriation…’ for Iraq. And they are all, every one ‘….emergency appropriations..’ and not included in the nation’s budget. Budget…hah, what a concept.
Just as I blogged about President Death and the Treason of Rove & Co. I’m gonna keep on blogging about those threats I see to our way of life, fat and wasteful as we are, I believe the American way of life has much more good in it than bad.
But you out there.
You had better start doing more than just pay attention, although that will do for nice start. Jane, spine of steel that woman has to be posting these clips in this atmosphere, shows us a variety of opinions on yesterday’s actions by the Democratic Party to ‘fix’ what is now being called ‘The ClusterFuck’. This first clip is pretty much were I am at at the moment. Be sure, absolutely sure you watch the last one.
Indeed, I have personally witnessed this. Bloggers I know, both local and national, are under the delusion that the MSM now wants their input. Bloggers I know, both local and national, have in my opinion and from the threads and their behavior been paid by Obama’s campaign. The ‘blogging’ phenomena started as a citizen’s based movement to provide a forum for open and free discussion. This it no longer is. I have been booted off several sites, not because I talked about slitting Hillary’s throat or lynching Obama which comments abound today on many A-List sites or should I say O-List sites, and I might be booted off several more. Doesn’t matter as I made clear to Kid Oakland yesterday if he had a problem with what I was saying on his thread then come out in the open and debate the issues I raised. Threats, made off thread, promising to boot me from the thread if I did not change my approach or tone, in other words ‘Shut Up!’ are the order of the day from folks like him Bowers, Kos and Marshall. These guys have gotten such an inflated ego now, ala Barry, that anyone who disagrees with them is due for the chop.
Well as I posted in: ‘Censorship, The Committee of Three and a Warning from the Past.’ I’ve seen this before and it gets worse folks. Your progressive blogosphere is going totalitarian. With oodles of cash sloshing thought it courtesy of Mr. ‘Yes we can!’ an outbreak of egomania we are ripe for the ‘Big Disillusionment’ which will come as the millions of new users of the ‘sphere find that the only difference between Kos, Marshall, Bowers and KO is that they make a lot less money than Tweety and PumpkinHaid. The ‘sphere remains a very big place and is still self-policing. dKos’ reach and traffic fell off the cliff last month. That site still has a long way to fall but I believe it is going away. The utility of it is gone. If you don’t agree with the mob there they will lynch you and that, in the long run, hardly makes the place appealing to visitors new or old.
I will be looking for more sites like Anglachel’s Journal or The Confluence where new voices may be heard.. In the long run Darwin’s evolutionary meme will winnow the field. Whether we are left with a few packs of howler monkeys or move on to a truly civilized ‘sphere depends on whether Robert Wright was correct in his seminal book: Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny. I think he is and will continue to blog as if that is true. I think that when historians look back upon this summer they will be writing about how once again the Left revealed itself just as intolerant and tending to the Fascist in the mass as the Right has always been in it’s internal politics. 1968 is repeating itself in a lot of disturbing ways one of the most being the ‘Progressive’ movements thirst for conservative blood blinding it’s leaders to the fact that they, in reality, have no real agenda apart from, ‘Get the Republicans’.
It will be fascinating to see how this plays in the GE.
My prediction is that, ‘Git ‘em, get them dang ReThugs.’ isn’t going to be as successful as Miss Nancy and her pal Senator SnakeOil think it is. But then, what do I know?
Flash Alert: Today is a big day in the Dem Primary cage-match-from-hell, by the way I want to thank Howard Dean for fucking this up so gotdamn much, and you should tune in to The Confluence, FDL and Anglachel’s Journal. If you want some Obaman input MyDD is still okay although I would not let the kids read the threads. They are not good example of how to ‘make nice’. Have a good weekend and remember what the Yogi said, Berra that is, ‘It ain’t over ’til it’s over.’
Clik on the banner about to help rid the nation of
Democrats who don't know what the word
'Democrat' means.
Are you Good Enough for Obama?
Barack is very disappointed with me!
I only scored 31 on the Obama Test
For a Blue Majority Now!
I, A.Citizen, believe candidates with strong, sound progressive stances deserve our support, particularly in primary races where they are opposed by folks who have been proven to be the opposite of progressive. Your early dollars can make the difference. Please make a contribution to this critical cause.
Check out the list of candidates we support and make a contribution here.
Activist Central!
This widget will contain links to folks who are organizing together to Fight Back!
Folks determined to take charge of the Alameda County Democratic Party Central Committee as a first step to the State and the the whole enchilada!
Drinking Liberally
Drinking Liberally Oakland is a political social group which meets on the 2nd & 4th Wednesday each month at Luka's Taproom & Lounge, 2221 Broadway @ Grand Ave in Oakland (6-9pm).
Posted by A.Citizen 
