Scenes from the tea parties

[Pandora]

Amusingly, I didn't realize this until I did some research into the history of automobiles. I know that sounds like an odd place to realize the dangers of bad policy.... but I just happen to be looking through the development of cars during my automotive technology studies in college, when I noticed there was this massive gap in innovation that happened in the early 80s.

It was almost like everyone everywhere just canceled all real development, and for a near 10 year period, produced nothing but absolute crap. Although I didn't have this at the time, I got a book of America's Greatest Cars, which ironically, illustrates this perfectly. The book is divided up into 10 year periods.

Up until the 1970s, there are dozens on dozens of cars listed for each decade. The decade of 1960 to 1969 is 88 cars. Not one is a duplicate. The decade of 1980 to 1989 is 10 cars, two were Mustangs, one was the 88 Thunder bird, and amusingly the 83 Cavalier.

From the 70s, went from Olds F85 Rallyes, Plymouth Road Runners, Hemi Cudas and Superbirds, Dodge Chargers and Demons, Ford Mach 1 and Mercury Cougars...

To a Cavalier, a Mustang listed twice (something not done in any other time frame), and the most plain looking Thunderbird to ever exist. Again, I asked the most basic question... why?

The answer is Carter. He passed massive pollution and fuel mileage requirements, as well as styling restrictions. No more fins, no pointed hoods. More controls on exactly where lights have to be, and how many there can be. Endless controls and restrictions hit our domestic auto industry very hard. And they produced junk.

Interestingly, the worst one hit, was the one that got a Federal bailout, and produced the K-car. Not one single car from Chrysler was listed as America's greatest for the 1980s. I wonder if we'll see a repeat of that with GM.

So that's how I started looking at Carters record. I ask, how could he have gotten all this support to pass all these horrible industry destroying regulations? Answer, the invented 'energy crisis'. Carter knowingly passed price caps on oil, specifically to cause the crisis he used to pass all this legislation.

Then I looked at all the other crap he did, and clearly he truly is the worst American president of all time, unless Obama unseats him... which he's working on it big time.

Bravo!! Great post Andy,

Another reason to hate that stupid ***** Jimmy Carter. I don’t know much about cars, but I wish I had that info in written form... what ever book it is you got it from. I would add it to my pocket constitution for when arguments come up.

Yesterday my pocket constitution came in handy. I was at my daughter’s soccer game and one of the mothers said she used to like Charlton Hesston till he got on that gun kick. I said to her he was defending your rights with that gun kick. Its one of our constitutional rights!

She said to me, you better read that constitution again, so I got out my pocket constitution and with the entire field laughing at me, the lady and I went over the second amendment. After reading "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State" we debated what a militia is and isn’t we came to an agreement it was not the army or the police. Then I pointed out to her the second half "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." and I asked her who we the people were if not the individual. I also asked her to consider all of the other constitutional rights we have and are they not written for the individual and if so why would just the second amendment be written for a group when all the others are for the individual..She finally agreed to that too then said but I just don’t like all those guns. Then I asked her ifs he liked the other constitutional rights we enjoyed as Americans? She said yes she did and I asked her if she thought if the government could infringe on one of our rights does it not stand to reason they could infringe on all of our rights? Again she agreed and left the soccer game a supporter of the second amendment.

Your car book might help me with Carter arguments too

 

[Andy]

Bravo!! Great post Andy,

Another reason to hate that stupid ***** Jimmy Carter. I don’t know much about cars, but I wish I had that info in written form... what ever book it is you got it from. I would add it to my pocket constitution for when arguments come up.

Yesterday my pocket constitution came in handy. I was at my daughter’s soccer game and one of the mothers said she used to like Charlton Hesston till he got on that gun kick. I said to her he was defending your rights with that gun kick. Its one of our constitutional rights!

She said to me, you better read that constitution again, so I got out my pocket constitution and with the entire field laughing at me, the lady and I went over the second amendment. After reading "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State" we debated what a militia is and isn’t we came to an agreement it was not the army or the police. Then I pointed out to her the second half "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." and I asked her who we the people were if not the individual. I also asked her to consider all of the other constitutional rights we have and are they not written for the individual and if so why would just the second amendment be written for a group when all the others are for the individual..She finally agreed to that too then said but I just don’t like all those guns. Then I asked her ifs he liked the other constitutional rights we enjoyed as Americans? She said yes she did and I asked her if she thought if the government could infringe on one of our rights does it not stand to reason they could infringe on all of our rights? Again she agreed and left the soccer game a supporter of the second amendment.

Your car book might help me with Carter arguments too

HAH! I LOVE IT! That's classic. "You better read the consitution!" No problemo! *whips out consistution* Ok, let's read! LOL! TOO FUNNY!

Well, this book is larger than the average university physics text book, with 748 pages, and roughly the dimensions of an encyclopedia. I don't think you'll be whipping it out to debate car nuts with it.

I'll give you a couple of examples of bad cars produced by bad policy. Do you remember the old GM diesels? Loud clapping noisy, break prone diesels? The reason they sucked so bad was because GM tried to take a normal gas engine, and just make it into a diesel. This doesn't work, so they were all junk. Why did GM do this? Because they didn't have time under federal regulations to design a whole new car, so they just tried to 'duct tape together' a diesel. (diesels get better mileage)

Another example was Cadillac's 4100 Engine. It was simply too small to for large heavy Caddys. They broke down constantly, they were way under powered. Caddy's with them felt like over grown slugs. Everyone hated them. Even to this day, you can find dozens of completely intact 4100 engines from the 80s, in junk yards in like new condition. No one wants them. Why? Because GM had to meet Carter air pollution and fuel standards, and cut down the engine size to do it. It was an instant fix, because they didn't have time to design a good engine.

Meanwhile, the imports which were already the size of peanuts, didn't have to worry about all these regulations. Not because they were so far advanced, but because they already met the standard simply because they were tiny cars. Cars like the CRV and Honda 600, and other micro sized cars.

That's a Honda 600. Looks like a clown car doesn't it? It actually had a small lawn mower engine in it. Of course when your that small, it's easy to meet federal standards.

The result was exactly what GM and Ford said would happen. Due to them hack jobbing their cars to meet these federal controls, they produced crap. Meanwhile the imports changed nothing, and we ended up with the classic reputation that imports are more reliable than domestic cars, a theory they still can't shake to this day.

We can trace it all back to that lovable government fuzz ball, Carter

 

[Pandora]

HAH! I LOVE IT! That's classic. "You better read the consitution!" No problemo! *whips out consistution* Ok, let's read! LOL! TOO FUNNY!

Well, this book is larger than the average university physics text book, with 748 pages, and roughly the dimensions of an encyclopedia. I don't think you'll be whipping it out to debate car nuts with it.

I'll give you a couple of examples of bad cars produced by bad policy. Do you remember the old GM diesels? Loud clapping noisy, break prone diesels? The reason they sucked so bad was because GM tried to take a normal gas engine, and just make it into a diesel. This doesn't work, so they were all junk. Why did GM do this? Because they didn't have time under federal regulations to design a whole new car, so they just tried to 'duct tape together' a diesel. (diesels get better mileage)

Another example was Cadillac's 4100 Engine. It was simply too small to for large heavy Caddys. They broke down constantly, they were way under powered. Caddy's with them felt like over grown slugs. Everyone hated them. Even to this day, you can find dozens of completely intact 4100 engines from the 80s, in junk yards in like new condition. No one wants them. Why? Because GM had to meet Carter air pollution and fuel standards, and cut down the engine size to do it. It was an instant fix, because they didn't have time to design a good engine.

Meanwhile, the imports which were already the size of peanuts, didn't have to worry about all these regulations. Not because they were so far advanced, but because they already met the standard simply because they were tiny cars. Cars like the CRV and Honda 600, and other micro sized cars.

That's a Honda 600. Looks like a clown car doesn't it? It actually had a small lawn mower engine in it. Of course when your that small, it's easy to meet federal standards.

The result was exactly what GM and Ford said would happen. Due to them hack jobbing their cars to meet these federal controls, they produced crap. Meanwhile the imports changed nothing, and we ended up with the classic reputation that imports are more reliable than domestic cars, a theory they still can't shake to this day.

We can trace it all back to that lovable government fuzz ball, Carter

I am sure the same thing is going to happen again, do you think obama knows that is what happened under carter? I bet he does and is counting on it happening again.

 

[Pandora]

Check it out...racist redneck teabaggers..of course, what do you expect from the all white party?

Hey, what's with the spelling? Teabaggers are dumb too.. Lets see, rednecks steeped in bigotry and ignorance....all in all, the perfect definition of your average Republican and Faux News viewer.

the only one of those signs that can even slightly resemble racism is the monkey one, what about those others do you find racist?

 

[GenSeneca]

the only one of those signs that can even slightly resemble racism is the monkey one...

Right.. because its not like anyone ever compared Bush to a monkey...

www.bushorchimp.com

And it wasn't in the least bit racist for the Left to call Colon Powell, or any black conservative, a House Negro or an uncle Tom:

Of course, as soon as Powell came out for Obama...

But Pandora... You're the racist. Anyone not marching in lock step with the brown shirts of the Progressive movement must be a racist, they say so constantly and never shut up about it.

 

[MichaelB]

About the Tea Parties ... I look at it like this .... 1st it reminds me of the 60's but there's a whole different issue going on here .... what is going on here affects everyone who lives in our country .... and it affects them where it hurts the most and that's in the pocket book and one of the greatest fears out there ... lose of a job .... so .... the americans that they are ... they are going to do what other generations before have done and that is to protest .... PROTEST is a good thing ... it's lets the majority out there know that they are not alone out there .... There are those of us who really care what happens to our country .... and as a side bar FYI ... "It takes one to know one" ......

 

[Pandora]

Right.. because its not like anyone ever compared Bush to a monkey...

www.bushorchimp.com

And it wasn't in the least bit racist for the Left to call Colon Powell, or any black conservative, a House Negro or an uncle Tom:

Of course, as soon as Powell came out for Obama...

But Pandora... You're the racist. Anyone not marching in lock step with the brown shirts of the Progressive movement must be a racist, they say so constantly and never shut up about it.

People on this forum called Powell an uncle tom, I defended Powell and now that Powell thinks Dems are the way to go... I still don’t think he is an uncle tom though now I don’t think anyone on this forum will claim he is (might even deny they said it way back when)

I also don’t think the monkey thing is racist, there are tons of Bush is a monkey stuff out there, but for arguments sake I gave on that one picture even though it isn’t racist just so I could get some clarity on the others

 

[Mr. Shaman]

BTW... what does griping about people exercising their right to protest get you anyways except showing your complete hatred of the American way of life?!?!?!

Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!

***

"As far as I'm concerned, it wouldn't bother me a bit to pull the trigger on one of 'em."

​

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Obama needs more bashing in my opinion. Not really bashing, but at least some coverge of the negative things he does.

Bring it on!!

We WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Get over it.)


​

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Amusingly, my approval of Bush has actually increased since Obama got in office.

Yeah....that's pretty, damned amusing (but, not unexpected), alright!!!


​

 

[Mr. Shaman]

At this time in Bush's first term I did not like him at all. I bought one of those little guns that shoot foam balls to shoot my tv every time he came on. I really did not like him. What were his ratings before his first 100 days?

1A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mr. Shaman]

About 60%. He ended up not reaching the 50% mark until 2004. From there, due to all the bad socialist policy, he drop at a slow consistent rate until about 33% around 2007 or so...

Yeah....that's what it was.....bad socialist policy.....

​

 

[Mr. Shaman]

I thought Carter was a great president till I started reading about political things maybe 7 or 8 years ago. I thought Reagan must be the most evil man alive till the same time.

Give yourself some credit!

One-outta-two ain't bad!!​

I also have come to the conclusion since he left office and started his strange love for dictators that he was then and is now anti Jewish.

Yeah.....you'd think he'd take the opportunity to sit-around, all day, totally-sloshed, in booze, like 41 & 43.

​

 

[Mr. Shaman]

So that's how I started looking at Carters record. I ask, how could he have gotten all this support to pass all these horrible industry destroying regulations? Answer, the invented 'energy crisis'. Carter knowingly passed price caps on oil, specifically to cause the crisis he used to pass all this legislation.

Yeah, Skippy.....that's what happened............

"The solar future first dawned in the fall of 1973 during the Yom Kippur War, when Arab states halted oil shipments to try to force the United States and Europe to withhold support for Israel. The 1973 and 1979 oil embargoes drove the price of a barrel of crude oil from less than $4 in 1970 to more than $22 a decade later. The crisis created an awareness of U.S. dependence on foreign oil, spurring research into alternatives. Although nuclear power received the most funding, hopes that cleaner sources of energy would power the future made the 1970s a good time to be technically adept and politically engaged in Washington. A corner of government opened itself to young idealists.

Then came Reagan. "If Jimmy Carter had been reelected president, we would now have a quarter or so of the nation's energy resources coming from renewables," Hayes says. "It was a clear, calculated campaign by the DOE in the years of the Reagan administration to crush the solar energy program of the federal government, driving many of the most talented people out of the field."​

 

[Andy]

Yeah, Skippy.....that's what happened............



​

"The solar future first dawned in the fall of 1973 during the Yom Kippur War, when Arab states halted oil shipments to try to force the United States and Europe to withhold support for Israel. The 1973 and 1979 oil embargoes drove the price of a barrel of crude oil from less than $4 in 1970 to more than $22 a decade later. The crisis created an awareness of U.S. dependence on foreign oil, spurring research into alternatives. Although nuclear power received the most funding, hopes that cleaner sources of energy would power the future made the 1970s a good time to be technically adept and politically engaged in Washington. A corner of government opened itself to young idealists.

Then came Reagan. "If Jimmy Carter had been reelected president, we would now have a quarter or so of the nation's energy resources coming from renewables," Hayes says. "It was a clear, calculated campaign by the DOE in the years of the Reagan administration to crush the solar energy program of the federal government, driving many of the most talented people out of the field."

This is how I know you do not think for yourself. How can you be this completely ignorant of history? Aside from some lame liberal blog, which is also completely ignorant of history, can you find any reference to a '79 oil embargo?

No. Why? Because there wasn't one. Go to wiki, and type in Oil Embargo. You'll come up with the 73 Embargo. The 1979 ENERGY CRISIS, is called the 'energy crisis' because it wasn't due to an oil embargo, or they would have called it the 1979 Oil Embargo.

Go to the 1979 Energy Crisis page, and do a word search for "embargo". It's no where on the entire page. Take a wild stab at why it might not be there. Hint: There was no embargo.

Flat out Shaman, there was no embargo in 1979. The gas lines and supposed "shortages" where fabricated through price caps.

I'll even give you a little hint.... the gas shortages in 1973 were not due to the Oil Embargo. What!? Yeah it's true. Those that have done research on the oil embargo in relation to the embargo, have found some interesting facts.

First, the time frame is off.... The gas lines started happening before the embargo was implemented. Further, the embargo ended months before the gas lines did.

Second, the price increases were not due to the embargo, but rather the deflation of the dollar. Nixon dismantled the gold standard for good, and the result was inflation. The middle east started raising prices for oil, before the embargo even began.

Of course Nixon knew this would happen, which is exactly why he put price controls in place to begin with. The theory was that by putting temporary price controls on the market, inflation could be controlled. Of course he was wrong, which is why there were shortages.

Third, the total amount of gasoline sold during the "shortages" was only about 1% less than at any other month.

In short, the government caused the "shortages", just like Carter did 6 years later. All this is documented in Thomas Sowell's book "Basic Economics".