Will a Prius Free Us, or Doom Us

Here we are. The 5^th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Iraq. And we still have lots of liberals saying that the battle, indeed the entire war on terror is nothing more than a war to control oil. It's all about the oil they tell us over and over.

They keep telling us we need to cut our dependency on oil that comes form the Middle East and elsewhere. They won't let us explore our own country for our own oil reserves even in areas in which countries like Mexico and Brazil are exploring. Yes I am talking about the Gulf of Mexico among other places.

They have convinced many people to downsize their cars and SUV's and they have even convinced many people to buy and drive the Toyota Prius. In fact they have screamed the praises of the Prius so much that they are now calling for the government to mandate that the rest of us begin to drive these “earth saving” cars.

They, the environmentalist, tell us that the Prius is a revolution in the storied history of the automobile. They praised this car. Told us how little fuel it used and that a person could get up to 60 mpg. People began buying these cars. So many bought them that there was a back order on them for the first 2 years of their production.

This changed the course of the mighty Toyota Corporation. They changed their goals for the Prius. Toyota has said they planned to have 1 million of these hybrid cars on the worlds road within the next few years.

Now I say hold a minute. What do we really know about this car? We know it doesn't get 60 mpg. In fact what is really happening on the road to the dismay of many is the Prius is getting about 40 mpg. Not a huge difference from some larger and better gas cars. In the Toyota line up, one can spend about half the price of a Prius and get a Corolla and get a consumer reported 35 mpg.

I know that one of my cars, the Scion tC gets me an average of 32 mpg and it has a 160 horse power engine. And it cost less than 18 thousand dollars. Not bad at all. But what is the total cost of this Prius that these loud wackos want the government to force us to drive. Well according to a number of reports (and growing) this thing is far from being environmentally friendly.

Environment NC is reporting that a Prius produces 44% MORE global warming green house gases over its life than a Toyota Avalon. And if you don't know what a Toyota Avalon is, it's the biggest car from Toyota without going SUV.

The Belmont Club reported just how bad the Prius is for the environment. And they have plenty of reports and listed documents to back up their article. In fact here is an excerpt from this article:

As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.

Now what do you Prius owners think? You have help create an area on our own planet that NASA uses to train for roving on the Moon and Mars. That sounds like its a huge environmental friend, doesn't it.

Your Finances are the Nations Problem

Did someone say the economy is in the toilet?  It looks like the Fed moved today to prevent a recession.  They cut one of the benchmark interest rates by .75%.  That is three quarters of a percent to those of you who like to think of it in those terms.

What does this have to do with your freedom and liberty?  Everything.  It means that the government is really concerned about the economy slipping into a recession.  But doing this will cause energy prices to stay high.

Look at it this way.  When our money is plentiful and easy to get, or cheap to get, then it is not worth as much on the world market.  The world market determines what the price of goods and services are, not the USA.  

And since our money is no longer backed by gold but by the government itself, then when we print more or make it easier to get, the less valuable it becomes.  Right now, those low interest rates make our dollar less valuable and thus nobody wants to own our dollars.

It has gotten so bad that now the Canadian dollar is worth more than the US Dollar.  I cannot remember the last time this was the case.  

It will mean a few things.  Notice how the housing market is still in the toilet.  Why is that when interest rates are supposed to be coming down.  They are not coming down.  In fact people are losing their homes because the adjustable rates are still going up.

Why else do you think the Democrats are talking a freeze on interest rates on mortgages.  The value of the dollar is also making the cost of oil go through the roof.  Of course you have to pay for that as well.  You pay higher gas prices and higher home heating prices.

So lets see, you make our dollar worth less.  You cause the price of fuel to skyrocket and that in turn causes the price at the pump to go up.  This takes more cash out of your pocket.  All the while your investments do not do as well.  Lower interest rates also mean you don't earn as much on your investments.

You have less cash in your pocket and you have to pay more to keep the home you probably should not have bought in the first place.  Now can you begin to see how this is starting to look like the perfect storm of economic doom for many people?

Even if we avert a full recession the damage is already done and it will take the USA a long time to dig out from under this mess.  Part of the blame rest with the American people.  We have to much debt, which means most Americans work for the credit card companies and cannot save or invest in their own futures let alone invest in the future of the nation.

You have high debt, you get low returns on simple investments, you pay more for your home and energy and food, you have less money to do the things you want to do and you add the fact that the media is scaring the hell out of every body and you should now know how and why this affects your freedom and liberty.

If we go down as a nation, you can only blame the individual for our government is only reacting to our own greed and stupidity.  

Food Police in the land of the Free

The food police are out in full force now. It is official. Boston is going to become the next city in a nation of “free” people to ban the use of trans-fats in food. Of course some of you think there is nothing wrong with that.

Boston joins New York City and Philadelphia (the city of Brotherly Love and one of the cradle cities of our nations birth) to ban this heart stopping kind of bad fat. But wait, I thought we lived in the land of freedom. I thought we lived in the land where you have the freedom and the right to chose. I guess some people think they know whats best for you and will chose for you.

Come, on now. Did you honestly think these liberal wackos would stop at cigerettes? It has gotten so bad with those things now, that some cities and towns won't even let you smoke them in public parks. Some states are considering banning them from cars, your car, if it has your kids in it.

The nanny state is going too far and each and ever one of you is letting it happen. Most of us don't remember the time of prohibition. That is a time when our illustrious leaders sought to put a ban on alcohol in the constitution. It was a total disaster and a true attack on personal freedom.

This is getting way out of control. We are bringing homosexual sex out into the open but forcing people who like to smoke and eat into the closet. If you think for one instant that the food and society police are going to stop at this level, then you are stupid. Let me be blunt. You are stupid and probably deserve to have your freedom taken away.

You are now being told what you can and cannot eat. Sure smoking may be bad for your health. But are they so sure that eating trans fats in moderation is bad? No they are not. We seem to find on a daily basis, some culture around the world that eats more of a particular bad food than we do yet they have a much lower heart disease rate than we do. They have lower diabetes rates than we do. They have lower disease rates in nearly everything that we do. And they have no universal health care.

Maybe its just the fact that these people have learned how to live their own lives without the government telling them how to. They have lived their lives and their way of life for centuries without the interference of some busy body government official trying to tell them what to put into their mouths.

Our government can't even get the food pyramid right and you will give them the power to tell you what to eat and how to live? This makes no sense. There should be outrage and loud voices of opposition to this sort of thing.

But no, our governments enact legislation that restricts your freedom and you barely make a peep. So when they come for your favorite pastime or food, when they take away your right to do what you want and should be able to do in your own home, in your own car, you will have only yourself to blame.