Just some Thoughts

I have to tell you, nothing bolstered my faith in the American people as the sights I saw on my boob tube last evening. It did my heart good to see example after example of citizens standing up in town halls across the nation and giving their representatives what for! They were shown in no uncertain terms that their constituents want nothing to do with health care reform, and cap and trade legislation. They were "mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!"

The most gratifying one had to be the Philadelphia town hall. Senator Arlen Spector, who just flipped to the Democratic ticket from the Republican party, stood with Health and Human Services director Kathleen Sebelius and took it on the chin. They were told in no uncertain terms that not reading legislation before it was voted on was unacceptable, no excuses. The crowd expressed their distrust having health care in the hands of government, and finally the disguised tax, cap and trade, wasn't something they'd stand for. This is the second time in as many weeks Ms. Sebelius has faced an angry mob resembling a deer in headlights, taking the anger of the American voter right on the chin. Apparently America is refusing to accept these policies. I wonder if Ms. Sebelius is getting the message and if she can relay the voter's disdain?

Alas no good deed goes unpunished, for all the great reporting about the town hall revolts there had to be a fly in the ointment. Daniel Weiss, a self proclaimed expert from the Center for American Progress, a liberal left wing think tank. Graced the media with his opinions of the "Cash for Clunkers" program. Here's his resume'.

Daniel J. Weiss is a Senior Fellow and the Director of Climate Strategy at American Progress, where he leads the Center's clean energy and climate advocacy campaign. Before coming to American Progress, he spent 25 years working with environmental advocacy organizations and political campaigns. Weiss is an expert in energy and environmental policy; legislative strategy and tactics; and advocacy communications. Most recently, he was a senior vice president with M+R Strategic Services, where he oversaw collaborative campaign efforts by 15 major national environmental organizations working to oppose anti-environmental legislation. This included field organizers, grassroots mobilization, earned and paid media, and opinion research.

Prior to M+R Strategic Services, Weiss served for 16 years at the Sierra Club, first as a Washington representative, then as director of the Environmental Quality Program, and for the final eight years as political director. He was chief strategist and lobbyist for legislative campaigns around the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Food Security Act, and budget bills. Weiss also designed and managed the Sierra Club's political action committee, endorsements, and $9 million Environmental Voter Education Campaign in 2000.

A graduate of the University of Michigan with both a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Policy degrees, Weiss has been involved with presidential, Senate, and House campaigns across the country since he was old enough to vote. In the 1990s, Roll Call named him one of the “Fabulous 50 Political People” and Regardie’s magazine listed him in the "Power 100: 100 Most Influential People in Private Washington."

Now correct me if I'm wrong but I see an environmental lobbyist, no? Nothing in his background qualifies him as a "expert on climate" as advertised. Anyway let me get to my problem with Mr. Weiss. He was interviewed and offered his opinion on the "Cash for Clunkers Program". Somehow he gained expertise in this field as well. His inputs were as follows........

"The program was beneficial because, it has saved a million barrels of oil." Where does that figure come from? Did he attend the Joe Biden School of Instant Statistics? We spent $1,000,000,000 to save 1,000,000 barrels of oil, that's $1,000.00 per barrel. How long does it take to make that financially feasible? Current price of a barrel of oil, $70.80. He beamed this was a win, win, win for the country as it was for the social good. WHOA! Isn't that a direct quote from "The Communist Manifesto"? Karl Marx would be proud! Once again left wingers are promoting the rights of the masses instead of focusing on individual rights.

I have a quick story related to the flawed economic theory of the "Cash for Clunkers" program. As a young man I worked at a service station on an island. It was a wealthy tourist destination and visitors were paying big money to stay there. Car trouble was nothing but an inconvenience. Because we were a remote destination parts weren't readily available, so we stocked a good sized inventory of popular items to provide quick service. The owner felt one day we needed some fresh blood and replaced the manager. The new fellow practiced the same type of economic logic as our recent trade in program. He didn't replace the inventory we sold as needed. End of the month came the profit margin was awesome! The owner was pleased, but it was short lived. The next month came and we had no parts in stock to service needy vehicles. Orders took overnight to fill so timely repair was out of the question. Come the end of the month repair income was 1/3 of the norm. Needless to say the same ecstatic owner was not quite as enthusiastic. The new manager was replaced as was the stock. One month of artificially inflated economic numbers might mislead the public short term but in the long run it's never a good idea to rob Peter to pay Paul, the result is a sore Peter.

God Bless
Capt. Bill