Happy Holiday

Yes, the following is tongue-in-cheek, but it shows one of many great double standards.

We recently completed the Christmas season.

However, we were told that saying, “Merry Christmas” is divisive because some people believe that there are other holidays more worthy of being celebrated than the birth of Jesus Christ.  Therefore, to keep from offending those who choose celebrate a different holiday, we must never refer to the season that surrounds Christ’s birth as having anything to do with Christmas, even though everybody knows what the season really is.

We must not elevate Christmas over other holidays, as some people believe that there are holidays more important (e.g. solstice, the recent Kwanza, sometimes Hanukkah, or the fictional Festivus), or do not celebrate any holiday at all.

We must celebrate our diversity. “Peace on earth, good will toward men” is bigoted, and anything to do with the message of Christ violates the separation of church and state.

We now reach the holiday that marks the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

However, following the same logic, wishing folks a Happy MLK Day is divisive, because some people believe that there are other great Americans as worthy or more worthy than King of having their birthday celebrated.  Therefore , to keep from offending those who choose to celebrate the life of a different great American, we must never refer to the season that surrounds King’s birth as having anything to do with Dr. King, even though everybody knows what the season really is.

We must not elevate King over other great and worthy Americans, as some people believe that there are other Americans who were more important  (e.g. Franklin, Jefferson, Edison, Gehrig, Ruth, Disney, Lindbergh, Patton, Bell, Wayne, Skelton, Washington, Anthony, Einstein, Ford, Wright, Earhart, Lincoln, Douglass, Hamilton, Hope, Robinson, Aaron, Salk, Tesla, Tubman, Walton, Carnegie, Lewis, Clark, Ross, Ball, Carver, Dunbar, Whitney, Fulton, Owen, Sinatra, White, Grissom, Chaffee, Shepherd, Jackson, Houston, Crockett, Boone, Lombardi, Reagan, the recent Obama or Palin, sometimes Lee, Stonewall & Davis, or the fictional Clark Kent), or don’t wish to celebrate the life of any American at all.

We must celebrate our diversity. “I have dream where people will be judged not on the color of their skin, but on the content of their character” is bigoted, and anything to do with the message from a Christian minister violates the separation of church and state.

Furthermore, even the staunchest of followers of Dr. King (a Christian) would admit that he was an insignificant speck in history compared to Jesus Christ.

Happy Holiday.

Toyota Recall – A Double Standard?

I have watched with a certain amount of amazement the recent recall of Toyota automobiles due to a “sticky” accelerator problem. The press has crucified Toyota over this matter. Today, due to one consumer’s experience, the press is questioning whether the problem could be electronic or due to software, rather than simply the mechanical cause to which Toyota is now admitting. US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood even announced today that people should not drive their affected Toyotas until fixed, sending Toyota stock into a further downward spiral. He later recanted that position.

This is a serious problem, and it needs to be fixed. However, uncommon intermittent problems do take time to identify and resolve. Toyota, in my opinion, took the high moral ground by admitting there was a problem, and very publically proceeded to stop sales until the issue was identified and solved.

Toyota is known for quality, not perfection. Man-made machines will always have problems, including those made by Toyota and Rolls Royce. My confidence in Toyota is not shaken, because when they identified a problem they were willing to put the company at significant financial risk to resolve it. In public. I admire that.

Compare this to Ford.

I own a 1994 Econoline E150 Club Wagon van. On Thanksgiving weekend of 2008, with 165,000 miles, it had a catastrophic failure of the frame and steering box. My family, six of us plus the dog, were driving on a steep narrow winding icy mountain road at Mount Baker, in Washington state. As we prepared to park near the ski lodge, something in the steering went snap. At that point the steering wheel turned freely, without the corresponding turning of the tires. The bolts that attach the steering box to the frame completely sheared off, rendering the steering completely useless. Had this happened moments sooner or later than it did, we would all be dead. The good Lord must have paid His guardian angels overtime on that day.

Investigation showed that the frame was full of cracks, especially around the bolt holes, and the structural failure of the frame led to increased pressure and torque on the steering box; eventually the bolts failed.

I filed a report with Ford and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).  A search for similar events found many occurrences of the same identical failure have been reported to the NHTSA. Some included serious injury. Yet there is no recall. In fact, neither the NHTSA nor Ford will even acknowledge that there was/is a problem.  My report is found here.

It is my guess that such failures have happened without this cause being identified. Assume that such a steering failure leads to a high speed front-end or head-on crash. Such a crash would normally rip the steering box away from the frame. How many of these have been ruled a result of a crash rather than the cause? How many people may have died, and the accident report has mistakenly assumed that the driver fell asleep or failed to pay proper attention?

All I want is for Ford to acknowledge my problem, and launch an inspection of similar vehicles. So far, they have only tried to sell me a new vehicle. At this point, I will never own another Ford again.

I wonder what Toyota would have done in my case?

The umpire laments the end of the season

From behind home plate, the full moon could be seen rising over left field, and Mt Rainier glistened majestically in right-center field as dusk approached; only the top of the mountain reached up into the rapidly fading sunlight. The impending night was crisp and clear, and the cold dense air allowed for movement on the ball in a way that will never be seen in the hot Arizona sun. As the night grew darker and the final innings drew near, the brightest stars could be seen twinkling above the field lights. It was a spectacular last game of the season.

Then came the low fastball.

It skipped underneath the catcher and bounded up to score a perfect bullseye.

I thank the Lord for http://www.nuttybuddy.com !

Barack Obama – The Wall Drug of Politics

If you have ever traveled Interstate 90 across South Dakota, you are dreadfully aware of Wall Drug. Located in the little town of Wall, SD, Wall Drug epitomizes the art of self-promotion. From Chicago to Coeur d’Alene, an un-ending string of road signs tell you just how far it is to that free drink of ice water at Wall Drug. By the time you reach Wall, you just absolutely have to stop to see what all that hoopla was about. In the end, Wall Drug is a place that you go to simply say you were at Wall Drug. It is a tourist trap that excites you into stopping, and attempts to relieve you from some of your hard-earned coin. It created something out of nothing, even if that something is really still nothing. And, it is that nothing that makes it something. It is marketing brilliance.

That, my friends, is Barack Obama.

Barack Obama is a nothing who knows how to market himself as a something.

I don’t write this to disparage Wall Drug. Wall Drug can be a nice stop for the weary traveler. It offers a gift store, cafe, restrooms, and museum. But you can get all of those things at the near-by Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The difference, however, is that Mt. Rushmore is a place with true grandeur. A souvenir from Mt. Rushmore says that you have been to a place that has meaning and is a source of national pride; a souvenir from Wall Drug says that you have been to Wall Drug. It is an interesting commentary on our society that from Miami to Seattle, and from Boston to San Diego, I have seen many more bumper stickers from Wall Drug than I have from Mt. Rushmore.

Barack Obama is the person to whom the bumper stickers and yard signs point. But, like Wall Drug, he is an end only to himself. He has no history of leadership, his ideas are not unique, he cannot communicate well without his teleprompter, and his political associations show us that he is really no different than any other partisan, self-centered, power hungry, special-interest pandering politician of our time. He epitomizes the art of self-promotion and is a marketing genius. But he is not the grand savior that his disciples are looking for. If you think that Bush is a puppet, you haven’t begun to see the strings that will be pulled by Obama’s radical handlers.

I understand that many people like the idea that Barack Obama represents: a youthful leader, fit, articulate (with notes, anyway), progressive, clean (per Joe Biden), minority, and not overly rich (or so he’d have us believe). But if Barack Obama is elected, people will soon discover that the person of Barack Obama cannot hold a candle to the representation and idea that is now Barack Obama. I know Barack Obama, and Barack Obama [the man] is no Barack Obama [the idea].

Just as people walk out of Wall Drug scratching their heads and asking, “Why did I stop here?”, people will be scratching their heads and asking, “Why did I vote for him?” That, my friends, is why Barack Obama is the Wall Drug of politics.

Originally Posted by Seabecker at Soundpolitics.com on August 27, 2008