Tag: Fox News

Thinking of Trading Cars for Better Gas Mileage? Visit this Site First

Trish

Buck’s post on his family’s decision about which car to drive highlighted a question many people are asking. He and his wife chose wisely, according to an amazing web site everyone should use: www.fueleconomy.gov. Among other things, the site allows you to compare two vehicles side by side and see how much you can expect to spend on fuel.

To use Buck’s example, he will probably get 31 mpg city and 39 highway with his 1994 Suzuki Swift, for a combined total of 34 mpg — exactly what he reported. His 1999 Isuzu Rodeo, on the other hand, will likely only get 18 mpg in city driving and 22 on the road, for an average of 20 mpg. But the comparisons don’t stop there.

It will cost Buck & Co. $3 to drive the Suzuki 25 miles because it will use .74 gallons of gas. That will add up to an annual fuel cost of $1,799, based on average miles. The Isuzu, however, will cost $5.10 to drive 25 miles and will burn 1.25 gallons of gas, for an annual cost of $3,060. Huge difference!

We’re not done yet. At the end of 12 months, the Suzuki will have used 10.1 barrels of oil while the Isuzu will burn up 17.1 barrels. Finally, the carbon footprint on the Suzuki, on a scale of 3.5 to 16.2, is only 5.4. The Isuzu? A much bigger 9.2.

If you’re trying to figure out whether trading your gas guzzler will make sense, use this site. You’ll keep from miscalculating something that could cost you mucho dinero down the line.

And Buck, one more thing. No matter which car you choose, install a K&N air filter. I did, and I’m now getting one extra trip to Jacksonville on a tank of gas. And while I’m sure you wouldn’t want a trip to J-ville, period, it’s a big help to me.

Is Your Car Gaining Value? Mine Is

Buck Banks

I don’t drive much. I either ride a bike or walk to work, and confine my driving mostly to one day on the weekend when we run errands, do the grocery shopping and go to brunch at Burger Bob’s.

But we are a two-car family, though my wife also mostly walks or rides to work. The car that we use for getting around and hauling everything from furniture to garden supplies and kayaks is a white 1999 Isuzu Rodeo. The other is a white 1994 Suzuki Swift, which has fallen into disrepair due to neglect and disuse.
swift.jpg
Although we were considering buying a new hybrid, with a kid in college and one about to start, it seemed prudent to rehabilitate Swifty and use it as our main vehicle for getting around town. The thing only has 48,000 miles on it, but the exterior is looking pretty bad from the ravages of the South Florida climate, falling mangoes and hurricanes. The interior, however, is like new.

So we took it down to the corner gas station to have it fixed up, and Kathy went online to try and locate some parts we need, like the antenna that was lost in Hurricane Wilma. Fixing Swifty up ain’t cheap — it cost us about $900 to put on new tires, belts, brake pads, change all the filters, etc. And we’re going to have it painted so we’re not embarrassed to drive it.

It’s fun to drive, with its zippy little four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission. And it gets more than 30 miles per gallon around town, 35 on the highway.

The interesting thing is we have come to find that Swifty has gained value while we couldn’t give the Rodeo away if we wanted to. Indeed, the guy at the gas station put it inside the bay and locked it up at night, leaving much higher-priced SUVs parked in the unfenced lot, because, he said, Swifty was more likely to get stolen.

In searching for parts online, we came across an advert for the same car, same year, but with 150,000 miles on it listed for $2,195. That may not sound like much, but when I bought the car 14 years ago, it only cost $7,400, and the Blue Book value is just $700. I found another listing for $10,000, but those were Australian dollars and the car had been “customized” by someone with more money than taste or sense.

Kathy’s co-worker wants to buy it. Our pizza delivery guy wants to buy it. Our Haitian mechanic wants to buy it and send it to Haiti where he says it’s the preferred vehicle of car dealers.

But I think we’re going to keep old Swifty. I have a feeling that as the price of gas rises, so will the value of our 14-year-old subcompact hatchback.

McFlipflop: McCain Reverses Stand on Offshore Drilling in Just 18 Days

Jon Ponder

On May 29, McCain said offshore drilling would have no effect in the short term. Just 18 days later, he said it would:

John McCain, June 16, 2008: Providing additional incentives for states to permit exploration off their coasts would be very helpful in the short term in resolving our energy crisis.

John McCain, May 29, 2008: But I also have to tell you that with those resources, which would take years to develop, it would only postpone or temporarily relieve our dependency on fossil fuels.

McCain’s statement in May is correct.According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), it would take five years to get production started off shore, and in the offshore drills would increase domestic supply by 7 percent — in 22 years. The EIA describes the effect of offshore drilling, in both the short term and the long term, as “insignificant.”

So, on June 16, it appears McCain bent the truth to score a political point. If so, there really is no difference between him and George W. Bush.

McCain Calls Jimmy Carter a “Lousy President”

Trish

Don’t care what you say — this is not how a potential president talks about a former president. From the transcript of the interview in the Las Vegas Sun.

McCain’s action plan on the economy: “I don’t know, but we may have to do more…The housing crisis continues to deepen.”

(On nuclear waste)

If Yucca Mountain passes all of those tests that need to be passed…but reprocessing is vital, reprocessing has got to be part of it…Senator Obama is against reprocessing, against offshore drilling….he’s against everything. The status quo is fine? No.

(But what about what your ally, Lindsey Graham says about more plants: “If you close Yucca, where do you put the waste?” Isn’t that a good question?)

Reprocessing. Isn’t that a good answer? That’s what the Europeans are doing? Have you seen that? Yeah, flash—that’s what the Europeans are doing. Hello?

(But Carter gave up on reprocessing, you know why he did that then?)

Yes, because Carter was a lousy president….This is the same guy who kissed Brezhnev…

O.K., now he’s pissing me off. Carter was the first president I could vote for, but not until he was up for re-election. Carter is brave, principled, almost unerringly right about everything, and…not a hot-head.

(What about [Harry] Reid saying you are temperamentally unsuited to be president and have an explosive temper and everyone knows it?)

That’s not unexpected for Senator Reid….He comes up to me all the time and wants to work with me. On the floor, he doesn’t seem to be that concerned about it. You cannot make a record like I have accomplished legislatively…and get things done if you have some kind of a problem…..Harry didn’t mind asking me to go to dinner with him and to a a fight a couple of years ago. The only difference is I paid for my tickets; he didn’t pay for his…That was rich.

Note to McCain: Any response to inquiries about whether you are really an asshole that begins with smearing the person who suggested it, and ends with the phrase, “That’s rich” is ill-advised. But then, so is being clueless on one of the greatest problems in our country.

(On the foreclosure bill in Congress)

It is imperfect but I am also saying, and I may not have said this a month ago, we may have to do more.

(Like what?)

I don’t know, but we may have to do more…The housing crisis continues to deepen…

Can I get a “duh” someone? Amen.

10 Things to Know about Charlie Black

Jon Ponder

Charlie Black, John McCain’s senior adviser, made news earlier this week when Fortune Magazine editor David Whitford reported that Black told him “with startling candor” when asked how a terrorist attack inside the United States would affect the campaign,”Certainly it would be a big advantage to [McCain].”
“He’s very folksy, but he’s tough. Charlie will pat you on the back one moment, stab you in the back the next.”
— An anonymous friend of Charlie Black
Keith Olbermann has been reporting on this story all week on his MSNBC news hour, in part to make that point that if a Democrat had made a similar gaffe, the Beltway punditocracy would have been in high dudgeon, demanding the adviser’s head on a pike and lambasting the candidate for associating himself with such scum.

Longtime political junkies know that Charlie Black was among a handful of angry young rightwingers who remade the Republican Party after the debacle of Richard Nixon’s resignation. Along with Roger Stone, Terry Dolan, Lee Atwater, Karl Rove and George Bush Jr., he is one of the inventors of today’s GOP attack machine, a style of media-driven slash and burn politics that can be traced to the establishment by Black, Stone and Dolan in 1975 of a political action committee that raised millions from conservatives using deceptive direct-mail advertising and spent the money on TV ads that slimed Democrats.

Black, one of the most successful lobbyists and political strategists of the Reagan and Bush eras, has backed his share of losers over the years, too. But even when he has bet on the wrong horse, he has always landed on his feet — which may explain why John McCain needs Charlie Black this year much more than Black needs McCain.

Here are 10 things to know about Charlie Black:

[…]

More Lame ‘Green’ News from Miami

Buck Banks


Er, make that “snooze room.” Although I’m not able to attend the Serve to Preserve climate summit, Gov. Charlie Crist’s PR people are keeping my inbox full of the most up-to-date press releases about all the important, meaningful stuff that’s happening at the Hotel Inter-Continental.

Gosh, it’s almost like being there, but without having to pay $30 for a box lunch!

For instance, here’s Crist’s keynote address — titled “Green Technology Drives Green Economies” from this morning’s opening ceremony, or at least a few of the good bits, translated for your convenience:

Just as last year’s summit launched Florida into a new era of action to address climate change, this year’s summit will define our next steps forward. We recognize the undeniable link between our state’s environment and our economy. And this year, we want to gain a better understanding of that link. We must consider all of the possibilities, including those within our reach, and those we can only envision at this point in time.

Translation: It’s been an entire year, and we haven’t done jack, but we’re fixing to get ready to do something soon. The link between the environment and our economy lies in oil reserves off our beaches. Nobody can envision what I’m going to do next because they don’t know what pharmaceuticals I have taken.

Yesterday, I had the honor of officially witnessing the first steps of what will be a historic strategy to save America’s Everglades. It was a moment as significant to our environment as the creation of our nation’s first national park, or the creation of Everglades National Park itself. The South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Sugar Corporation signed a Statement of Principles to begin dialog that — in my humble opinion — can lead to reviving the River of Grass. If all goes as anticipated, we will acquire nearly 300 square miles of the Everglades — and within this historic acquisition, we will once and for all be able to move, store and clean water to re-connect Lake Okeechobee to Everglades National Park. The famed River of Grass is one of the most unique landscapes in our country — and on earth — and it is within our grasp to ensure her protection for generations to come.

Translation: This probably won’t save the Everglades, but it will give Big Sugar a sweetheart deal for the next six years, and lookee — there’s your “green and gold” connection again. Of course, the deal will screw all the farmers and fishermen who live in small, poor communities around Lake Okeechobee, but that’s just the cost of saving our environment.

While tremendous challenges stand before us, we can rise to face them. Americans — and especially Floridians — are capable of extraordinary innovation when we marshal our resources and focus on a common goal.

Translation: As long as that goal isn’t free and fair elections in which every vote is counted, that is.

As I stated last week, only when we are able to do so far enough from Florida’s coast, safe enough for our people and clean enough for our beaches, should we consider increasing our oil supply by drilling off Florida’s shores. Let me repeat that’s far enough, safe enough and clean enough.

Translation: See, I didn’t flip-flop, I was misunderstood.

And there are other industries where Floridians have the potential to reach new heights. This Saturday, the State of Florida will break ground on our newest veterans’ nursing home in St. Johns County. Expected to open its doors in December 2009, it will be the first nursing home in Florida to be LEED-certified. It will be a “green” facility. Its design, construction and operation will meet national standards as a high-performance, sustainable building. Recycled materials will be used, and it is designed to use less water and less energy than conventionally built facilities. Congratulations, Admiral Collins, on your leadership — not only in answering the call to serve your nation and our veterans, but in answering the call of conservation and energy efficiency.

Translation: With two wars under way, veterans needing ongoing hospital treatment is a growth industry. We should build more energy-efficient veterans care centers in Florida.

This legislation protects our natural resources, stimulates our economy and reduces our dependence on foreign oil. We will increase our energy efficiency, support the development of renewable energy, and allow businesses flexibility in meeting our goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ethanol will make up 10 percent of Florida’s total fuel supply by 2010. The Public Service Commission will develop a renewable portfolio standard to increase the use of wind, solar and other renewable energy. Based on the unanimous vote in both chambers of the Florida Legislature, our state is now a leader within the Southeast in advancing the development of a cap-and-trade program. New buildings will be up to 50 percent more efficient by 2019 — like the veteran’s nursing home that breaks ground on Saturday. A Florida Energy Systems Consortium among our state universities will leverage the expertise of Florida’s research community to grow Florida’s green tech industry.

Translation: The drugs are really starting to kick in now.

Closing Enron Loophole Would Drop Oil Prices 25% – 50% Overnight

Jon Ponder

The way Republicans tell it, the minute we start drilling off the coasts of California, Florida and elsewhere, the price of gas will go down. In fact, it would take five years after the ban on offshore drilling was lifted for oil production to start, and, if it were lifted right now, in 22 years domestic oil production would have increased by only 7 percent, according to the Energy Information Administration. Even so, because oil prices are determined on the international market, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant. (Source: Center for American Progress.)
Republicans have shifted blame for high gas prices from Bush to the Democrats and their opposition to offshore drilling, and all it cost them was the credibility of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist
On the other hand, Congress and George Bush could take a step tomorrow that would create a drop in oil prices of between 25 and 50 percent overnight, simply by closing the Enron Loophole.

This is according to testimony before a Senate Committee two weeks ago by Michael Greenberger, the former director of Trading & Markets for the Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC), the government board that oversees commodities markets:

“Yes, overnight [closing the Enron Loophole] will bring down the price of crude oil to get at least a 25 percent drop in the cost of oil and a corresponding drop in the cost of gasoline. Some people estimate 50 percent.”

Greenberger’s testimony was brought to light by an investigation into the Enron Loophole by Keith Olbermann on MSNBC’s “Countdown” last week. (A transcript of Olbermann’s report follows.)

The Enron Loophole is the nickname for a provision written into the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (CFMA) of 2000 that was drafted by lobbyists for Enron and inserted in the bill by then Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) that deregulated an aspect of the market Enron sought to exploit with its “Enron On-Line” trading program, the first Internet-based commodities transaction system. Phil Gramm is now a key economic adviser for the John McCain campaign.

While it was a technical success, Enron On-Line was based on a flawed business model that drained corporate revenues — even while the company was manipulating the rates consumers paid for electricity in California. Enron On-Line eventually drove the company into bankruptcy, and the cooking of the books to hide its losses led to charges of conspiracy and fraud against Enron executives.

The Republicans’ sudden rollout of the campaign to lift the ban on offshore drilling is really meant to shift the blame from Bush and the GOP to the Democrats and their opposition to offshore drilling. To their credit, they have done a masterful job — and it has only cost them the credibility of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who broke tradition in the state and came out in favor of lifting the ban. (It also sapped whatever meager credibility Crist’s predecessor, Jeb Bush, had left. Bush opposed lifting the ban when he was in office but came out wholeheartedly in favor of lifting it this weekend.)

Update: Obama Proposes Closing the Enron Loophole:

[Barack] Obama campaign’s said today that he plans to ease the impact of rising gas prices by cracking down on excessive energy speculation through closing the so-called “Enron Loophole.”

[…]

Vocabularly Building: Today’s Word is “Biddable”

Trish

It’s fun to learn new words, kiddies. Let’s have some fun today!

biddable: an adjective describing one who is meekly ready to accept and follow instructions; docile and obedient

Let’s use our new word in a sentence, just so we’ll be sure we know it.

“John McCain has been accused by many over the years as having been quite biddable to the North Vietnamese as a prisoner of war. He is even alleged to have garnered the nickname, “Songbird” for his willingness to provide information to enemy strategists.”

Very good. How about one more?

“Although a new ad from the John McCain campaign claims he is a maverick in his positions on energy, he showed great biddability when he announced in Houston before oil executives that he supports the Bush proposal to drill along the nation’s shorelines.”

O.K., kids, I think you’ve got it. Just remember, when trying to descibe John McCain, the word to keep in mind is “biddable.”

The McCain Love Affair You Won’t See in the News

Trish

Your assignment, Pensito Reviewers, is to take a quick bathroom break, grab the beverage of your choice, and then settle in and read “Loving John McCain” by Eric Alterman and George Zornick in its entirety.

Until you do, you won’t understand the media’s treatment of McCain, and the damage this love affair could do to our country if it causes us to elect another dumb, affable, incompetent, corrupt, jellyfish puppet with malevolent advisers in the shadows.

The authors first explain the startling banal reasons reporters love McCain.

Media love for John McCain manifests itself in myriad ways; sometimes it involves inventing facts, other times simply ignoring inconvenient ones

In his book Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News, Tucker Carlson explains the source of many journalists’ attraction to the Arizona senator: “McCain ran an entire presidential campaign aimed primarily at journalists…To a greater degree than any candidate in thirty years, McCain offered reporters the three things they want most: total access all the time, an endless stream of amusing quotes, and vast quantities of free booze.” Ryan Lizza, reporting for The New Yorker from the current Straight Talk, notes the dichotomy of McCain’s press-friendly campaign style and that of his opponents: “The Democratic candidates rarely speak to the traveling press. McCain not only packs his bus with reporters (whom he often greets with an affectionate ‘Hello, jerks!’) but talks until the room is filled with the awkward silence of journalists with no more questions.”

…McCain flatters the press in other ways as well. For instance, he is particularly adept at embracing reporters’ romantic notions of themselves as tough-minded, hard-charging opponents of power, particularly conservative power.

Yes folks, it’s that easy to get reporters eating out of your hand. And well worth it, too.

[…]

Is There a Recall Election in Charlie Crist’s Future?

Trish

If the Florida governor’s election were held today, then judging by the state’s editorial writers, the winner would not be Charlie Crist.

Daytona News-Journal:

Miami Herald: “Gov. Charlie Crist’s stunning reversal of his position on drilling for oil and gas off the Florida coastline is all about politics and political ambition”

It should go down as one of the more mercenary flip-flops in the state’s history. With his eyes on John McCain’s ticket as a running mate, Gov. Charlie Crist on Wednesday fell behind McCain’s push for ending the moratorium on oil drilling along Florida’s coastline after years of favoring the ban without conditions. McCain was himself capitulating to the oil and gas industry, having backed the ban previously.

…Drilling for oil, which can’t happen for years, isn’t likely to affect consumers’ gas prices nearly as much as it will profit oil companies’ windfalls, which is what’s powering McCain’s switch. The oil and gas industry ranks 12th among his biggest donors. (The industry doesn’t appear on Barack Obama’s top-20 biggest industry donors.)

St. Petersburg Times:

Florida suddenly seems on the verge of abandoning a firm bipartisan consensus against offshore drilling that has governed this state for decades. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, says we ought to do it — citing, yes, gas prices and “energy independence.” The current president says so, too. So now Florida’s governor, Charlie Crist, has weakened his own long-term opposition, presto, change-o!

South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

Gov. Charlie Crist’s decision to abandon the once nearly universal, bipartisan opposition to oil and gas drilling in coastal waters off Florida has led some people to wonder whether he is attempting to kiss up to Sen. John McCain in hopes of landing a spot on the national ticket.

Prompting the frenzy of speculation: McCain’s proposal Tuesday to lift the ban on oil and gas production off Florida and other environmentally sensitive areas, which was immediately backed by Crist only a week after he had said he opposed coastal drilling.

“He seems to be willing to do anything to help the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain. He has shown that he’s willing to backtrack against his promises,” said Daniel Smith, associate professor of political science at the University of Florida…

Miami Herald:

Gov. Charlie Crist’s stunning reversal of his position on drilling for oil and gas off the Florida coastline is all about politics and political ambition…Gov. Crist announced his change of policy on Tuesday, fast on the heels of similar declarations by Sen. John McCain and President Bush. They now support lifting a federal ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along the U.S. coastline. Coincidence? Not a chance.

The president, governor and senator have made a political calculation that Americans are so upset about runaway gas prices and so fearful of what the future holds that they will buy into any scheme to bring some relief — no matter how unlikely the prospects are for meaningful change…

None of these valid concerns about offshore drilling has changed. What has changed now, though, is that Sen. McCain is looking for a vice-presidential running mate, Gov. Crist is more than flattered to be considered for the job, and President Bush is looking for anything to distract from a failed war, raging deficits and a collapsing economy.

Palm Beach Post:

When the choice is between doing what’s best for Florida and what’s best for John McCain/Charlie Crist, the governor on Tuesday let it be known that he’s going to make the call based on political ambition.

…soaring gasoline prices have given Republicans and their presidential candidate a severe image problem. The party, with two oil men at the top, is cozy with the oil giants who are earning record profits while the rest of America sweats it out at the pump…the Republican solution is to give the oil companies the plum they have been seeking so long, the right to drill in environmentally sensitive areas.

Orlando Sentinel:

Vice presidential candidate Charlie Crist, formerly Florida’s environmental governor, showed on Tuesday what drives him. Polls, he said, show that “people are much more favorably inclined” these days to expand offshore drilling to help ease their pain at the gas pump. Polls and an overwhelming desire to actually become presidential candidate John McCain’s running mate.