And it came to pass in the Age of Insanity that the
people of the land called America, having lost their
morals, their work initiative, and their will to defend
their liberties, chose as their Supreme Leader that person
known as “The One”. He emerged from the vapors
with a message that had no meaning; but He hypnotized the
people telling them, “I am sent to save you. My lack of
experience, my questionable ethics, my monstrous ego, and my
association with evil doers are of no consequence. For I
shall save you with Hope and Change. Go, therefore, and
proclaim throughout the land that he who preceded me is
evil, that he has defiled the nation, and that all he has
built must be destroyed.”
And the people rejoiced, for even though they knew not
what “The One” would do, he had promised that he
would bring change, and they proclaimed “Yes We
Can”.
And “The One” said “We live in the
greatest country in the world. Help me change everything
about it!”
And the people said, “Hallelujah!! Change is
good!”
Then He said, “We are going to tax the rich
fat-cats,"---- And the people said “Sock it to
them!” “---- and “Redistribute their
wealth.”
(continued in next comment)

And then He said, “Redistribution of wealth is
good for everybody”
And the people said, “Show us the money!”
And Joe the plumber asked, “Are you kidding me?
You’re going to steal my money and give it to the
deadbeats??”
And “The One” ridiculed and taunted him, and
Joe’s personal records were hacked, publicized, and
ridiculed; though no crime could be found.
One lone reporter asked, “That shouldn’t be,
isn’t that Marxist policy?”
And she was banished from the kingdom!
Then a citizen asked, “With no foreign relations
experience and having zero military experience or knowledge,
how will you deal with radical terrorists?”
And “The One” said, “Simple. I shall
sit with them and talk kindly to them and show them how nice
we really are; and they will forget that they ever wanted to
kill us all!”
And the people said, “Hallelujah!! We are safe
at last, and we can beat our weapons into free cars for the
people!”
Then “The One” said, “I shall give 95%
of you lower taxes.”
And one, lone voice said, “But 40% of us
don’t pay ANY taxes.”
So “The One” said, “Then I shall give
you some of the taxes the fat-cats pay!”
And the people said, “Hallelujah!! Show us the
money!”
Then “The One” said, “I shall tax your
Capital Gains when you sell your homes!”
And the people yawned and the already slumping housing
market fully collapsed.
And He said, “I shall mandate employer-funded
health care for EVERY worker and raise the minimum wage, and
lower the white collar wage. And I shall also give every
person unlimited healthcare and medicine and even
transportation to the free clinics.”
And the people said, “Give me some of that!”
Then he said, “I shall penalize employers who
ship jobs overseas.”
And the people said, “Where’s my rebate
check?”
(continued in next comment)

Then “The One” said, “I shall bankrupt
the coal industry, and perhaps even the oil industry (Cap
& Trade/Carbon Tax) and though electricity rates will
skyrocket, we shall soon build wind farms and solar power
stations and drive green cars that I shall mandate in
Detroit!”
And the people said, “Coal is dirty, coal is
evil, no more coal! But we don’t care for that part
about higher electric rates.”
So “The One” said, “Not to worry. If
your rebate ($10/week) isn’t enough to cover your extra
expenses ($3,000/year), we shall bail you out. Just sign up
with ACORN and your troubles are over!” “Only
the fat cats will have to pay.”
Then He said, “Illegal immigrants feel scorned
and slighted. Let’s grant them amnesty, Social Security,
free education, free lunches, free medical care, bi-lingual
signs and guaranteed housing...”
And the people said, “Hallelujah!!” And they
made him King!
And so it came to pass that employers, facing
spiraling costs and ever-higher taxes, raised their prices
and laid off workers; though they sold much less of their
products. Others simply gave up and went out of business,
and the economy sank like unto a rock dropped from a cliff.
The banking industry was destroyed. Manufacturing slowed to
a crawl. And more of the people were without a means of
support.
So “The One” again blamed the prior
administration, extended unemployment benefits to a year,
bailed out his favorite banks, and then took over the banks
and auto industries. “The One” said, “I am
the “The One” - The Messiah - and I’m here to
save you! We shall just print more money so the government
will have enough!” “Surely one trillion dollars
will make everyone happy.” And immediately the Fed
complied and the money presses roared.
And China reconsidered their one trillion dollars of
loans to the US ,, and threatened to call in their debts.
Other foreign trading partners said unto “The
One”, “Wait a minute. Your dollar is not worth a
pile of camel dung! You will have to pay more.. for
everything.. as your dollar becomes worth less.”
And the people said, “Wait a minute.. That is
unfair!!”
And the world said, “Neither are these other
idiotic programs you have embraced. Lo, you have become a
Socialist state and a second-rate power. What factories are
not owned by your government are owned by us. Now you shall
play by our rules!”
And “The One” said “Americans are
arrogant, divisive, and derisive!” “We will
listen.”
And the people cried out, “Alas, alas!! What have
we done?”
But yea verily, it was too late. The people eventually
set upon “The One” and spat upon him and stoned
him, and his name was dung. But the once mighty nation was
no more; and the once proud people were without sustenance
or shelter or hope. And the Change that “The One”
had given them was as like unto a poison that had destroyed
them from within, and like a whirlwind that consumed all
that they had built.
And the people beat their chests in despair and cried
out in anguish, “Give us back our nation and our pride
and our hope!!”
But it was too late, and the once-glorious “Home
of the Brave and Land of the Free” was no more..

Yeah, more or less.

I’m looking at cabins.

I’ve been cranky, and I’ve been tired of pawing over the same well-turned earth

Uh, hey, ZB, that’s my life. Get your own!

But, seriously, that’s as much a barrier to my getting the blog up again as any little financial considerations. I mean, WTF? Not sure anymore what more there is to say. So we’re (collectively) waltzing towards minor euroweenie status, and the only keeping us afloat is the enormous size of the U.S. economy. It takes a while to utterly destroy something that size, but by God, the left is determined to at least try.

So, anyways, Billllll has a TR6 with a 302 in it. Of course, no U.S. car mfr. would ever think of doing something that fun—at least not the big ones. I gave up on Chrysler and GM last year. Ford ... we’ll see. I’m not sure how they’ll compete with GM and Fiat ... err, Chrysler, if both the latter get a good portion of their union expense burden lifted, via bankruptcy. Also not sure how that’ll happen if the union owns 55% of the company stock. Still just a big mess.

Speaking of British auto concerns, and U.S. auto concerns, remember the Cosworth Vega?

Anyways, yeah, the gubbmint is going to pretty much ruin the large U.S. auto industry. I’ve already seen a few stories about emphasizing hybrid boring eco-wagon milquetoast cars. I envision the buying public, except for those who want to feel sooper-progressive, staying away in droves.

Mitra help us. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Yeah, no argument.  So, does anybody know of a job for a tech writer or periodicals editor coming open soon?

As Tip O’Neil said, all politics is local.  8-(

Doug, you should send an email to Robert (the guy two comments above you). He might know some people who can help you.

Sorry to hear it--it seems to be going around right now.

Jed. Euroweenies. Yep.

Sorry about my pessimism. I guess I just hate seeing the Nation going in a direction that I believe has no future. I too have been a bit grouchy and at that time could not help myself but respond ( I was in a particularly bad mood that day). Amen to Euroweenies.

I remember the Cosworth Vega. My neighbor had one. I had a GTO Judge. Muscle cars were a ton of fun. I helped build a MG with a 327 GM power plant (it was a blast).

And as for work I’m tired of sending 100’s resumes out with very little response and knocking on businesses doors just to hear “sorry…we are reducing our work force”. There’s hope, some old work buddies may have a gig out of state called me. This will beat being unemployed

WTF

Z-man,

You haven’t posted for a while.  Just want to make sure that you’re not out on the edge of the window sill.

Cheesy, but on-topic, self-link love: someone finally dissents.

Kestrel, actually I’m trying to talk myself back onto the ledge.

Wasn’t the auto industry pretty much already ruined BEFORE Obama was elected?

Hi,
I always hear about the deregulation of the banking industry in news articles and other web articles and blogs. They say it happened in the 90’s. What happened? How was it deregulated? How restrictive was it before?