A smart person once said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." The speech in its entirety can be found here: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Take away the man who spoke those words. Take away his amazing oratory skill. Take away the man's color and the fact that he's a man. Take away the fact that he was a Baptist minister. Take away the backdrop of the speech. Take away the times in which he spoke. Is the text any more or less true and timeless? Shouldn't this be everyone's dream?
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in today. Congratulations go out to her. She attained the second highest office her career offers, the highest being Chief Justice.
The Supreme Court is made up of 9 people. There are now 7 men and 2 women. I don't care. There are 7 "whites", 1 "black", and 1 "hispanic." I don't care. There are 6 Roman Catholics, 2 Jews, and 1 Protestant in a majority Protestant country. I don't care. http://www.adherents.com/adh_sc.html. Some major US religious groups have never been represented on the Supreme Court. I don't care. There are 3 justices in their 50s, 1 in his 60s, 4 in their 70s, and 1 in his 80s. I don't care and none of this should matter.
Justice is supposed to be blind. The statue of Lady Justice holding the scale and a sword is blindfolded for a reason.
Here are the oaths taken by Supreme Court Justices: (http://www.supremecourtus.gov/about/textoftheoathsofoffice2009.pdf)
“I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
“I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as _________ under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God.”
I hope our new Supreme Court Justice lives up to these oaths and administers the law as written, not what she thinks the law should be. I have a dream that all our courts act that way.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Cash for Clunkers... Are You Kidding Me?
I'll give you $4,500 I don't really have for your paid-for asset. Then, you can take out a loan you may or may not be able to afford for something to replace it. Didn't we do this with houses just a few years ago?
What's worse is the genius government is destroying these vehicles. Most of them work just fine. What does the destruction & dumping cost? Is the government really shelling out $6000 per vehicle?
Why aren't we taking these vehicles to the third world and dumping them on the market for $1500 each? We'd at least pay for the shipping and make a little money back. Those places would benefit by having more affordable transportation... for a while anyhow. Transportation would be more available too. Our car parts makers would get more orders for years, making us more money. The European mob figured this one out. Read this: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090807/wl_time/08599191525000
The other problem is inventory. Dealers and car makers have a high inventory right now. This program will, no doubt, ease that burden and save some jobs right now. What happens in two or three years when many of the Cash for Clunkers people were going to replace their cars anyhow? They won't need a new car and we'll be back in the same boat.
Cash for Clunkers will slightly upgrade the fuel efficiency of the cars on our roads, and I'm all for keeping the environment a little cleaner, but there must be a better way.
I don't blame people for taking advantage. If I were in the market for a new car, I'd take advantage of the government "acting stupidly" too.
What's worse is the genius government is destroying these vehicles. Most of them work just fine. What does the destruction & dumping cost? Is the government really shelling out $6000 per vehicle?
Why aren't we taking these vehicles to the third world and dumping them on the market for $1500 each? We'd at least pay for the shipping and make a little money back. Those places would benefit by having more affordable transportation... for a while anyhow. Transportation would be more available too. Our car parts makers would get more orders for years, making us more money. The European mob figured this one out. Read this: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090807/wl_time/08599191525000
The other problem is inventory. Dealers and car makers have a high inventory right now. This program will, no doubt, ease that burden and save some jobs right now. What happens in two or three years when many of the Cash for Clunkers people were going to replace their cars anyhow? They won't need a new car and we'll be back in the same boat.
Cash for Clunkers will slightly upgrade the fuel efficiency of the cars on our roads, and I'm all for keeping the environment a little cleaner, but there must be a better way.
I don't blame people for taking advantage. If I were in the market for a new car, I'd take advantage of the government "acting stupidly" too.
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