Hello from Montgomery, Alabama! It's...nice. I've been here for almost a week. Almost a week of American food, Starbucks, Target, and real movie theaters. It's so awesome.
I might just never go back. My friend Heather happens to be here, because she and her husband are moving here in December. So, she just got a great job and a fantastic house. I got to tour it yesterday, and it has great conveniences like an air filtration system, dishwasher, and closets. I am so envious!
We are having a good time, though, and Chris is doing well in class.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Just Say No to Bailouts!
I am so aggravated that I can't keep silent on this. On the verge of Speaker Pelosi's lame duck session to bail out the automakers, I want to speak out!
If I were a Member of Congress or the President, I would put together an emergency package that would do some real long-term good. Instead of throwing billions of dollars at companies that will, inevitably, need more to support their habit in a few years, let's take a look at what got them here in the first place.
Our interventionist (read: increasingly socialist) government has, over the decades, tried to stifle private enterprise in a number of ways. First and foremost, our congressional leaders decided to institute ever-increasing stiff CAFE standards that have only created what the environmentalist lobby wanted in the first place: a dying auto industry. After decades of this, it is time to ask an important question to our Democrat Congress: Would you prefer a healthy automotive industry or a "green" environment? Because, clearly, you will not have both.
The problem for these Democrats is that Michigan is their state, and they have to pretend that they want both, when it is not feasible to achieve this kind of utopia.
The other problem, of course, is the stranglehold that unions have on the Big 3 automakers, and the resulting inability of the industry to be agile like they need to be to head off costs.
We also can blame the leaders of these companies. I mean, really, it is your job to be profitable. The job I had in Oklahoma was a result of the previous guy being fired for not making money in our division. After all, that is the point of the company! Stressful, yes. But, if you can't handle it, you find another line of work.
So, let's tell our Congress "NO" to anymore bailouts. If they do bail these companies out, they need to attach a long list of reversals on interfering policies over the decades that have put these companies in an uncompetitive, deathlike state. If we just give them money, they will come begging for more.
Write to your congressmen to tell them not to give your money away in bailouts! After all, the Big 3 all are headquartered in Michigan, which is led by Governor Granholm, who is such an economic brain that she is on President-Elect Obama's economic team. She should be able to figure out this mess (even though her state is in a dismal way, economically), since she is smart enough to steer our country's economic policy.
If I were a Member of Congress or the President, I would put together an emergency package that would do some real long-term good. Instead of throwing billions of dollars at companies that will, inevitably, need more to support their habit in a few years, let's take a look at what got them here in the first place.
Our interventionist (read: increasingly socialist) government has, over the decades, tried to stifle private enterprise in a number of ways. First and foremost, our congressional leaders decided to institute ever-increasing stiff CAFE standards that have only created what the environmentalist lobby wanted in the first place: a dying auto industry. After decades of this, it is time to ask an important question to our Democrat Congress: Would you prefer a healthy automotive industry or a "green" environment? Because, clearly, you will not have both.
The problem for these Democrats is that Michigan is their state, and they have to pretend that they want both, when it is not feasible to achieve this kind of utopia.
The other problem, of course, is the stranglehold that unions have on the Big 3 automakers, and the resulting inability of the industry to be agile like they need to be to head off costs.
We also can blame the leaders of these companies. I mean, really, it is your job to be profitable. The job I had in Oklahoma was a result of the previous guy being fired for not making money in our division. After all, that is the point of the company! Stressful, yes. But, if you can't handle it, you find another line of work.
So, let's tell our Congress "NO" to anymore bailouts. If they do bail these companies out, they need to attach a long list of reversals on interfering policies over the decades that have put these companies in an uncompetitive, deathlike state. If we just give them money, they will come begging for more.
Write to your congressmen to tell them not to give your money away in bailouts! After all, the Big 3 all are headquartered in Michigan, which is led by Governor Granholm, who is such an economic brain that she is on President-Elect Obama's economic team. She should be able to figure out this mess (even though her state is in a dismal way, economically), since she is smart enough to steer our country's economic policy.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Cooper Updates
Things have been in complete upheaval around here lately! Chris and I spent about a week in Germany before he left for six weeks to Montgomery, Alabama for some training. I had intended to catch the rotator this past week to meet him, but, alas, nobody got on to Baltimore this week. So, I will wait until the next one.
Our trip to Germany was fantastic. We went to Munich, Rothenburg, and then spent one more night in Bavaria to see Neuschwanstein Castle.
Our favorite stop, by far, was the medieval city of Rothenburg. If you are someone who appreciates German culture, medieval history, or even just the celebration of Christmas, Rothenburg is for you. One evening, we went to a small restaurant that looked like it was straight out of the Lord of the Rings movies. It was lit only by candles, and seemed really as if the 600-year-old building had been built for hobbits.
Well, as I am very interested in politics, and that subject used to pay the bills for me, I must opine on this election. I am, naturally, not satisfied. I will leave Obama supporters with this question: For someone who campaigned solely on the unsubstantive idea of "change", why did Obama's first presidential act consist of appointing a former Clinton aide as his Chief of Staff? That is not the stuff change is made of.
Our trip to Germany was fantastic. We went to Munich, Rothenburg, and then spent one more night in Bavaria to see Neuschwanstein Castle.
Our favorite stop, by far, was the medieval city of Rothenburg. If you are someone who appreciates German culture, medieval history, or even just the celebration of Christmas, Rothenburg is for you. One evening, we went to a small restaurant that looked like it was straight out of the Lord of the Rings movies. It was lit only by candles, and seemed really as if the 600-year-old building had been built for hobbits.
Well, as I am very interested in politics, and that subject used to pay the bills for me, I must opine on this election. I am, naturally, not satisfied. I will leave Obama supporters with this question: For someone who campaigned solely on the unsubstantive idea of "change", why did Obama's first presidential act consist of appointing a former Clinton aide as his Chief of Staff? That is not the stuff change is made of.
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