Random Nuclear Strikes

Last week, the Senate passed a bill containing new CAFE standards for US vehicles. The main force behind this bill was Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, who himself inserted legislation that would mandate that all cars, trucks and SUVs meet a 35mpg standard by 2020.

But I would like to break away from that discussion for a moment though and talk about your dirty laundry. Yes, those clothes you’ve worn this weekend but haven’t yet gotten clean (or, if you’re a bachelor, the ones that are probably on the floor right now).

The reason I want to do this is so that I may point you towards this article at the Competitive Enterprise Institute about standards passed in 2002 on the subject of household appliances..

Top-loading laundry machines have long been a low-priced, dependable home appliance. But no more—the federal government has wrecked them with its energy-efficiency regulations.

That’s the finding of the June 2007 issue of Consumer Reports. In its words: “Not so long ago you could count on most washers to get your clothes very clean. Not anymore. …What happened? As of January, the U.S. Department of Energy has required washers to use 21 percent less energy, a goal we wholeheartedly support. But our tests have found that traditional top-loaders … are having a tough time wringing out those savings without sacrificing cleaning ability, the main reason you buy a washer.”

Some of the top-loaders tested had “the lowest scores we’ve seen in years.”

In fact, out of the 21 new top-loader models that Consumer Reports tested, it couldn’t pick a single one as a “Best Buy”: “[F]or the first time in years we can’t call any washer a Best Buy because models that did a very good job getting laundry clean cost $1,000 or more.”

Just as they would have you contaminate your home with mercury by forcing you to buy flourescent light bulbs, the Democrats and their policy wonks would have you washing the shit stains out of your shorts on rocks. For Mother Gaia of course.

Hit the CEI link and find how you can “Send your underwear to the Undersecretary” of the Department of Energy. They say shit rolls downhill, but let’s see if we can make it go the opposite direction for a change. Also included at that link are a few of the instances where groups such as CEI warned those in Congress what the new standards would do to the efficiency of appliances, and how they were and still are being ignored.

Now, back to cars. The automakers will find ways to manufacture their vehicles so that they meet these standards, even if it means having to build the cars lighter. Also known as “less safe”. In fact, the National Academy of Sciences published a report in 2002 that discovered approximately 2000 needless auto accident deaths per year were because of the implementation of CAFE standards. A report, I might add, that was given to Congess for your elected Senators and Representatives to read.

Let’s see, we can add preventable deaths to the mercury and dirty clothes in your home. Again, all for Mother Gaia, of course. See how it is somewhat of an altar sacrifice?

Not that any of these rules apply to said Senators or Representatives. The day of the vote on CAFE standards, Reid was chauffeured from his offices in the Senate building to a press conference across the street, in a Chevrolet Suburban. I’m sure that his clothes were professionally cleaned the day before as well.

Lastly, I’d like to include this link to one of the new models of cars made in China that should be hitting US shores in the very near future.

It is called the Brilliance BS6 and it is placed to compete with other mid-size luxury sedans. Though, according to the tests done in Germany, where the car is currently for sale, those who purchase the BS6 will be making a “killer deal” in only one way when they buy it.

The BS6, as currently constructed, appears to a complete piece of crap. The horrifying 40 mph offset frontal crash test video shows damage that can be described as catastrophic at best.

The A-pillar collapses and folds up like a cheap suitcase, forcing the driver’s door to pop largely out of its frame, while the lower portion of the car buckles like it’s made of recycled pop cans. We wouldn’t want to be the driver’s legs…or any other part of him for that matter.

To open the mangled door afterwards, the ADAC techs needed to use a huge crowbar to get it to budge. ADAC notes that the pedals intruded a foot and a half (32 cm) into the driver’s space, while the IP moved in almost 8 inches (20 cm). Needless to say, the BS6 failed the test, garnering just 1 star.

This is the future of autos in America, thanks to the Democrat run US Senate, and the House as well if these standards get passed through there.

Just a few blocks west of Seattle’s two sports stadiums (Safeco Field, where the Seattle Mariners play ball, and Quest Field where the Seahawks toss the pigskin) sits a decrepit 10 acre lot.

This lot used to hold the Seattle Goodwill Thrift store, as well as the distribution center where they park all their trucks and collection trailers. It closed down and moved a couple years ago, much to the dismay of my Mother-in-Law who used to love shopping in the humungous building of clothes, knicknacks and other second-hand items.

The lot has been sold to a developer who has divided most of it up amongst a few large retailers; namely Target and Lowe’s. There will also be a few sections of strip malls going in there as well.

And the anti-Big-Box store folks are raving mad.

Across the country, large blocks of land in low-income communities that edge dense urban areas have been prime targets for big-box malls. Seattle’s 10-acre Goodwill Industries site, near Dearborn Street and Rainier Avenue South, is now the focus of a $300 million project that will include a Target, a Lowe’s and much more. The planned project lies in the heart of low-income cultural communities like Little Saigon, the Chinatown International District and Rainier Valley.

Commuters, traveling daily from downtown to residential neighborhoods beyond, might like having a huge, low-cost shopping mall on their way home. But what many don’t realize is that there’s a connection between big-box shopping and poverty. While this mall might save shoppers a few dollars, it will have a harmful impact on the people in surrounding communities and even on the lives of the workers employed there.

The rest of the rant goes on to demean corporate owned retail stores and how they take advantage of “the worker”. Nevermind that there is a high unemployment rate in the above named neighborhoods, the writers of this piece will never believe that any job, even if it pays just over minimum wage, is better than no job.

Also never mind that thousands of people in these neighborhoods can and do go at least ten miles north or south, or fifteen miles to the east, to get to any stores comparable to the ones going in there (with the exception of Lowe’s, which is just a couple miles south along Rainier Avenue).

You only need scroll to the bottom of the page to see who wrote this piece and their anti-development motivations.

To be fair, the Seattle Times did publish this excellent opinion piece, which takes a decidedly differing opinion of the development project and is from a resident of the local neighborhood. Although they did take over two weeks to be able to find space to squeeze it into their publication.