Election Day 2008

- 11/08/2008 -

"Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it." This saying seems like a good place to start.

I recall the mid-1970s - the oil crisis and the long lines at the gas stations.... gas prices soared (in 1970s prices)... then came the 1980s and we had another oil crisis.... the 1990s had another.... and now we are in it again!

The government slowly addressed these crisis by implementing minimum mileage requirements for vehicles. But there was never a real effort to shift into some other technology. We always reverted back to V8 Trucks and ever larger SUVs. Whenever the gas crunches hit, the US car makers report huge financial losses and go to the government for a bailout -- and the government eventually does. So, these companies (mostly GM) take the money and they retool their plants, they re-engineer their vision and they bring to market the next ultra-enormous SUV. Where is the common sense?

What other companies can continually 'miss the mark' and still survive? There are efforts by some very small companies (GEM, Tesla, etc.) to develop true electric vehicles. These companies need the funding, not GM!!!!

What made me rant today was that I heard a bit of a recent Obama speech, in which he urges President Bush to extend the bailout plan to the US carmakers! How f*****g absurd!

What really needs to happen is that the CEO of GM, G. Richard Wagoner Jr., gets fired without his parachute BEFORE any bailout happens! We need to stop rewarding poor job performance -- AND THIS REALLY IS POOR JOB PERFORMANCE! What is most disheartening is that, considering GM's influence in the marketplace, they could be the overriding force to shift from low-mileage gas vehicles to a REAL alternative. But, we all know that the motivation, again, is pure greed!

- 11/04/2008 -

Mostly I want to just get this recorded to have a say in this historic day.....
The first polling place (in NH) just closed about 5 minutes ago.

I have some concerns that Obama is just too junior in politics to be the Commander in Chief. And of course, I have concerns about Biden and his real motivation to having accepted the second place award. But, one of my friends, who is not a citizen, presented an interesting perspective to me.... Basically, over the two Bush terms, the World has acquired a 'bad taste' for America. The World is looking for a dramatic change to give them a reason to accept US again. I do believe that is true.

My concerns though still stand. I do believe that McCain would be the best choice for President. His integrity and honor seem to be lost on the majority of the population.

Tomorrow will be an interesting day!
An Obama win will bring jubilation and a rebirth of sorts. A McCain win will bring lots of introspection and 'What Happened?' moments.