One American's View

Automakers Victims of their own complacency and judge of markets

I have been watching the continuing saga of the Big Three automakers in the news here of late, and I listen to the their optimistic views of how to turn the tide of market share losses back to their favor. I listened to the experts spout off about the fact that these major US Corporations are on their last gasp for air, if they don't make the correct changes, they'll be belly up.

Then, the report disclosed the most shocking part of the problems faced by these companies: a health care bill totalling $12 Billion a year for their current and retired employees.  What these numbers say to me is that the health care industry has these companies in over the barrel and as a result, they are now in a life and death struggle for the very survival of the businesses.

I would suggest that it may be cheaper for the auto makers to build their own hospitals, hire their own doctors and staff and manage the facility themselves. Another part of these health care costs that should be examined is the portion that is collected by the Unions. I found in some cases that the Union charges the employers for the health care benefit and that charge was two or more times higher than the health care policies being sold by the insurance companies on the street.  The Unions were also getting the lower priced policy and then they would pocket the difference to help them with their operations.

That practice is not illegal or even considered unusual.  After all, Unions are businesses too at the end of the day, and they have to make money to operate just like everyone else.  But, when it becomes evident that the lifeline for your business, your family and your coworkers has reached a point of such duress that the business could collaspe, it become incumbent upon everyone at every level to make whatever sacrifices can be made so that the entire extended family will survive to build another day.

WE CAN DO IT IF WE ONLY WANTED TO BAD ENOUGH

This brings me to the issue of what the Big Three are manufacturing.  Frankly, they have been setting the stage for this disaster for many years by refusing to accept the fact that one day, gas is going to run out, or it will reach $5 to $7 a gallon within the next 5 years and that American consumers would rather get their teeth pulled than pay $200 to fill up their land barges, regardless of how comfy the seats are.

It would be a refreshing change to see Detroit leading the pack in technological advances that will eliminate the need for fossil fuels altogther while producing a car that doesn't cost more than my grandparents first and second homes did! 

Cleveland Doctor Slays Dog to make a Sales Pitch

My favorite television host is Bill Maher.  He hosts Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO and is a member of PETA and an outspoken critic of the cruel treatment of animals.  Bob Barker of Price is Right fame is also a well known critic of animal cruelty.  Well, now I am adding myself, Bryan Galt to this list.

Today it was reported that in a presentation to other doctors at the Cleveland Clinic, a nationally accredited medical facility, an unnamed neurosurgeon induced a brain aneurysm in a dog to demonstrate some type of medical equipment that he was peddling.  Once he finished his demonstration, he killed the poor animal.

The hospital uses animals for medical research but this demonstration was unauthorized, a hospital statement said. The clinic has reported the incident to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates animal testing.

"As an academic medical center, Cleveland Clinic does not allow procedures with animals for the sole purpose of sales training," the statement said

The surgeon, who was not immediately identified, was presenting a device used to treat aneurysms Wednesday to a group of people who sell it, the statement read.

It was not clear Thursday whether the aneurysm was induced in the dog solely for the sales demonstration. An aneurysm is when arteries or blood vessels bulge and eventually burst, which can cause severe damage or death.

What is clear is the wanton disrespect for the life of living being simply because this doctor considers himself to be superior to that being.  Of course, this is not a news flash to the hundreds of millions of people in this world that abuse, neglect or torture animals as a part of their daily routine. After all, didn't GOD give Mankind dominion over the animals of the Earth? 

Well, I can't imagine any GOD I would have love or respect for condoning the actions of this doctor or the actions of any person who would treat life, any life, with such disrespect just so that they can make an extra bonus this sales quarter.  If GOD isn't truly disappointed in our attitude in this matter and in our appalling stewardship of this planet, which includes the horrific treatment of virtually every species on Earth through reckless killing and destruction of their habitats, then I would be shocked.

How can we even begin to proclaim our intelligence when we can't even manage our own affairs and care for species that we consider to be lesser than ourselves?  I wonder what kind of outcry would have occurred if this same procedure took place with the use of an aborted fetus or with a comotose patient who was guaranteed to never recover.  I'd bet the farm that the Republicans would be storming around the Starbucks the next day denouncing this appalling use of human beings for the profit of the doctor.

I want to share some important and even life-critical information with all of you, and I can guarantee that some of you out there will not believe what I am about to say: Humans are animals too.  I know that this flies in the face of every myth you may hold dear, but the facts are undeniable, unless of course you live in Washington DC or Kansas.  In these two regions, Denial is the policy of the body politic.  As animals who inhabit this tiny speck of sanctuary in a galaxy so large and a Universe so incomprehensible, its in our best interests for the survival of our species to stop pretending we are Angels on holiday from Heaven and get a reality check.  What we do to all animals on this planet, including the human ones, reflects more on our true characters than any written masterpieces of literature, any symphony or any artworks we can ever create. Our sheer indifference when we destroy life without a second thought takes away something from all of us, man and beast.

Prior to Man, I have never even heard a theory of another species that has created such a natural imbalance in their ecosystems that it was literally choking the planet and every organism on it to death.  Well, if this is the pinnacle of Nature's development on this trip down evolutions path, Mother will have to head back to the drawing board.  We still have a long way to go before we can call ourselves civilized, intelligent beings worthy of respect from alien races, GOD or our humble and forgiving best friends, the dogs.

As for the doctor, I think that some jail time would be in order for his unauthorized actions against a defenseless animal.  In California, his actions would be a felony with three years in prison coming his way.  That shouldn't be overlooked simply because this person made it through med school!

[picture top: Boo age 3; bottom: Baby, age 3]

American Car Companies Resist Change

Recently, the State of California has filed a lawsuit against six of the world's largest automakers to force them to use green technologies in the vehicles they sell inside the State.  State Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who filed the suit in September, claims that automakers are violating public nuisance laws by producing high-emission vehicles and should pay damages for polluting.

The automakers Chrysler Motors Corp., General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor North America Inc., American Honda Motor Co. and Nissan North America Inc. have asked a federal judge to throw out the lawsuit stating that the changes the lawsuit are asking for amount to changes in the MPG rules.  These changes, they contend, fall under the authority of the federal government.

The automakers are also attempting to dodge the requirements for cleaner cars that California and ten other states have passed which require up to a 25% reduction in emissions from new cars and SUV's beginning in 2009.  These reductions are aimed at bringing the runaway CO2 emissions under control by going after the biggest source of those emissions in California: cars and trucks.

What is difficult to understand is why the automakers are resisting the opportunity to look good in the eyes of the consumers that they serve.  The fact of the matter is many consumers in California are very concerned about air quality and global warming, both of which are contributed to by vehicular emissions.  Why wouldn't the automakers embrace this chance to turn the corner with new technologies?

If it's possible to make a hybrid car and SUV already, why not make the entire line-up hybrids?  In Korea, one small company has produced a vehicle that runs on compressed air.  Why don't we see that kind of vehicle in production here?  In fact, with economic hard times looming for the Big Three in the US, it would seem to be a good business decision to start producing "green machines" for domestic and overseas use.

It's going to come to the point where the automakers aren't going to be able to peddle their goods at all if they don't bring them into the 21st Century with as many "green" technology advances used in their production as possible.  All they need to do is look outside at the appalling air quality over virtually every city on Earth to see that the time has come to step up and do the right thing for the consumer, their companies and our Planet.

Bush, the War and America

In the movie trilogy "The Lord of the Rings-The Two Towers" the character Wormtongue had Theoden, King of Rohan so mesmerized that he was incapable of making any decisions other than the one desired by his true master, Saruman the White Wizard.  Do any of you reading this right now notice the parallel to our world?  At what point of the Bush presidency will we wake up from the long slumber that has kept us quiet for so long?

From my chair, I have noticed several alarming mechanisms of the state such as secret wiretaps, people held without trial for years on end, blatant lies sold as the truth to get us into a war that we didn't need to be in, countless billions being wasted by the Medicare subscription medical plans thanks to the "no competitive pricing" loophole written into the law, and the no-bid contracts handed out to Haliburton and other Bush confederates that have totaled into the billions of tax dollars to run the wars Bush has started.

In times gone by, just one of these egregious activities of the President would have caused the population to march into the streets to demand the heads of Bush and his top advisors.  Now-a-days, people will complain but they don't take the next step to action.  What is the reason behind this phenomenon?  What has happened to the American people?

I admit that I too find myself complaining about the way this Administration has behaved, even getting down right angry about its ineptitude.  But, when the time arrives to stop complaining and start taking a more proactive approach, I suddenly find that I have other important issues to address or that I can't seem to make the scheduling work.  What the heck!?

If we are going to survive as a great Nation, the citizen's must be prepared to call the government to the carpet for its misdeeds, and also be prepared to stand up and take their indignation to the streets to make it a clear message to the government that we recognized their wrong-doing and that we will not tolerate it.  Is this kind of action even possible today?

I have often wondered if there is something being placed into the air or the water that has changed the face of the American public.  I have read about "chem-trails" over Southwestern states, unauthorized experiments of dumping crowd control chemicals from high-flying military tankers onto the unwitting and the unwary conducted by the government.  If the story is true, it would certainly fit the bill for what has apparently gone wrong with the public's will to fight.

While the "chem-trail" theory is definitely within the realm of possibility for our government, it may be something even simpler than this that has driven the life out of the American patriot.  It could be that our society has gotten so spoiled, fat and lazy that we no longer cherish the sacrifices made to give us the gifts we all take advantage of today.  We no longer wish to make any effort to maintain the freedoms we have if this effort could potentially disrupt our fixation on video games, movie star gossip or stop a Taco Bell run at three in the morning.

In the past, the American's who stood up and shouted "No more" weren't surrounded by every conceivable luxury to comfort and pamper them.  Those Americans knew that it was their duty to be vigilant citizens, even if it meant losing something materialistic in the process.  Those Americans of bygone years weren't sure what would be the consequences of their actions, but they sure as heck knew that not taking any actions would be far worse.

The Bush Administration is filled up with advisors, pollsters and analysts who are all too familiar with this phenomenon in American society and they have exploited it ruthlessly over the past six years.  Isn't the fact that this President has no conscience whatsoever about the plight of his fellow citizens enough to make the case for the American public to become angry?  Isn't anyone in this country awake enough anymore to notice that this Administration has made the United States look foolish, imperalistic and shortsighted to the international community as well as embarrass us all as our representative in foreign affairs? Isn't the fact that this President has committed crimes against our Constitution enough to make the American public cry out for justice and demand that he be impeached and removed from the great office of the President of the United States?

I suppose I am just wasting bandwidth by trying to slay Wormtongue's grip on the American soul.  It will never be possible to wrestle control of our own government back from the special interests and corporations, who are so deeply embedded into its very fabric of its operation, as long as we are content to allow them to call all the shots on our behalf.

Dwight Eisenhower warned us about the dangers allowing large defense contractors and any special interests from becoming so entertwined with the government that the union of the two could jeopardize the freedom of our citizens.  He knew what he was talking about.  Military contractors, oil companies and drug manufacturers are running the U.S. today.  We, as spoiled, fat and lazy citizens have made it possible for them to do so without so much as a wimper coming from us over our Starbuck's Double Hazelnut Chocolate Latte.  We have found out that its easier just to roll over and show our ingratitude.  The Founding Father's would be very disappointed in us today.