The Constable

It's not gonna matter what kind of phone you get. You're not gonna be able to push the buttons with your stubby, mutant thumbs!

There's a community in north Georgia, not too far from where I currently live, where one of the prequalifications for home ownership is gun ownership. They have a surprisingly low crime rate.

Good one ... you're right. They should probably start carving his face on Rushmore for just that reason.

How about bringing 'change' to DC? This is hardly evidenced in his selections of Biden, Clinton, and Panetta; all long time Washington insiders. Since the election Obama has 'refined' his withdrawl committment from Iraq, he's backed off his tough talk to break the NAFTA agreement, he's become far less bold in his promises to 'unconditionally' meet with terrorist leaders, he's now contemplating corporate tax cuts. It's classic election year politics. He moved to the center, told the lemmings what they needed to hear, won the election and then changed his tune.

If by that you mean another short on content, rhetoric driven sermon then I whole heartedly agree. The way everybody has been talking about Barry O. you'd think all the world's issues will be solved by the end of the week. He's already back peddling on a good number of his campaign promises. This guy's bitten off far more than he can chew and that'll become clear once his honeymoon is over. Mark my words, history will look much more kindly on the Bush II administration after Obama's one term debacle is over in four years.

Cars are cars nowadays whether built by a North American or Japanese manufacturer. There really is little difference between them in terms of quality. All major car companies are building in North America and all are building cars for which there is or has been market demand. To suggest that Japanese automakers had some revelation that North American manufacturers didn't in embracing hybrid technology is false. Toyota and Honda continue to build huge gas guzzling SUVs and trucks just like the Big Three (see Toyota Sequoia SUV & Tundra puck up truck, Honda Pilot SUV & Ridgeline pick up truck). Steering wheels cost the same, tires cost the same, engines cost the same. On those elements the playing field is relatively level. Where the difference lies is in the Japanese automaker's avoidance of union organization. This has become their primary competitive advantage over the Big Three. Until GM, Ford and Chrysler get out from under the mountain of waste and legacy cost heaped on them by organized labour they'll never recover.

You could hold back salaries for all executives at all the Big Three automakers for the next ten years and it wouldn't make a measurable bit of difference. There's a reason GM, Ford and Chrysler are on Capital Hill begging for bailout money while companies like Toyota and Honda are poised to emerge as industry leaders once the economy rebounds. It has nothing to do with better quality vehicles or executive compensation or environmentally friendly products. The legacy of greed within labour unions and their unwaivering stance that they'll not make concessions under any circumstances is what's caused this mess. It's time to burst the union bubble. The $30 or $35 an hour a line worker gets to attach a bumper to a Ford Focus is overvalued. The full ride health care plans that follow retirees and their families to their graves have bled these companies dry. Deny the bailout request. Force the Big Three into bankruptcy and shatter existing union contracts into a million pieces. $25 billion dollars won't go far without bottom to top restructuring of labour agreements. It's easy to look at executives and place blame but the real root cause here is the union rank and file membership and their misguided representatives.

Happy B-Day Meggo!!! See you soon.

What's it gonna be Chewie???

I know some folks in the Chatham-Kent area (several kms off of Lake Erie) who've been approached about having these turbines erected on their farmland. Apparently the proposals have been pretty lucrative in terms of initial and future compensation. The upside of utilizing these gigantic turbines, aside from taking advantage of an obviously unlimited energy source, is that they take up relatively little farmland allowing the majority of space to still be used for agricultural purposes. The mechanical portion of the turbine itself is housed underground.