President Obama to Announce ‘Historic’ Fuel Efficiency and Carbon Emission Standards for U.S.-Sold Vehicles Tomorrow

Can we please increase domestic oil production, as well? That would be a huge boost to the economy (jobs for those that like to work) as well as make us energy independent.

Thank you President Obama thank you for Addresing the Change we Despertley Need!

Didn’t his own office call the plant food causes global warming a hoax?
I doubt the Chrusyler/GM coffins on wheels will be big sellers…
Ever read the IIHS crash tests? If so you will find anything under 3500 pounds is a risk to life. Especially with the roads filled with illegals. It’s not what you do, it’s what happens to you that matters.

“Our goal is not to further burden an already struggling industry; it is to help America’s automakers prepare for the future.”
I thought Obama said he wasn’t interesting in running car companies? In other industries, the marketplace determines what products are sold and at what price.
“That 40 percent increase in fuel efficiency for our cars and trucks could save over 2 million barrels of oil every day: nearly the amount of oil that we import from the Persian Gulf.”"
What is not stated very often is that due to geography (flat desert) and chemical properties, the oil that comes from the Persian Gulf is among the least costly to produce relative to other geographies/sources (e.g., offshore, tar sands, etc.). Therefore, even if demand for oil were to decrease considerably across the world, oil from the Persian Gulf region would still dominate world markets due to cost advantages as higher-cost sources exit the market.
It’s unfathomable why we do not drill more oil in the USA. Less reliance on foreign sources and great, high paying jobs. California could dig itself out of its current economic mess just by setting up some rigs offshore…

This is one of those thing I like to hear POTUS say: new energy.. at the same time he talks about miles per gallon of fossil fuel.. what is the new energy? I hope that my Chevy Volt never loses it’s charge while I’m going over a light rail crossing.

tjp612:”It’s unfathomable why we do not drill more oil in the USA. Less reliance on foreign sources and great, high paying jobs. California could dig itself out of its current economic mess just by setting up some rigs offshore…”
Really? You can’t fathom how the oil spill off of Santa Monica from offshore oil drilling (yes, CA has had offshore drilling) cost more in lost tourism dollars than that rig will ever pay back to the state? Or perhaps you fault the liberal ‘ol US Air Force for not wanting to completely revamp Vandenberg Air Force Base to allow oil exploration? And all this for production fields that by the most optimistic estimates might someday yield a quarter of what Alaska pumps.
It is estimated that over the ENTIRE life of the fields, it could bring in $1-$2 billion for the CA government. Is that what you mean by dig CA out of their current mess? Over the entire life of the rigs it might provide revenue equal to 1-2% of a single years budget?

“Make us energy independent? You are woefully misinformed as to the quantity of recoverable oil on US territory. I suppose you buy into the shale oil myth or something.”
10-15 bbl in the North Slope/ANWR
12bbl in the Inner Continental Shelf
90bbl in the Outer Continental Shelf
The US has plenty of proven reserves, yet we (our government) have chosen not to drill our own oil, and then complain about being dependent upon foreign oil. We claim we want to be energy independent, yet we won’t build new power plants and the Greens block almost every new energy project — from solar farms in California to nuclear waste storage to consolidate waste in one safe place to we can build more clean nuclear power plants. Until we address this schizophrenia in policy, guess we’ll keep sputtering along until we the lights go out.

THANK GOD!!! If we had the same “CAFE STANDARDS ” as Europe does we could tell the Middle East Oil Producing Nations to go stick it!!!!

How could Israel have found a spot without oil?

Skip..
I may have been joking.

The party of No.
No drilling.
No nukes.
No coal.
No significant wind or solar in Democratic states.
No significant upgrade to the grid.
Yes to ethanol which has been exposed as a fraud.
Yes to cap and trade which promises to do for CO2 emissions what Obama’s line by line review of the budget did for the national debt.

it’s a much better idea if Obama announces that by 2011 we would produce only electric cars. then and only then, we wouldn’t worry about Middle East and Oil industries. if he keeps his words on going green, then promote only green energy and do something with solar, wind and 100% electric cars.

OK.. we all have a ‘Volt’ or Korean Volt.. we can go as far and as fast as we want.. with the new batteries and motors..
.. what fuel are we using to generate the electricity .. ??

As an aside I don’t know any republicans who oppose the development of more energy efficient, electric or gas, vehicles.
It benefits all of us.
The problem is that this kind of legislation is so expensive for the auto industry that the timing baffles the senses.
Just as Obama gave 100 billion tax dollars to the auto industry, single handedly seized the companies from their rightful owners and gave them to the unions who gave him dollars and votes in the past and will in the future, giving them GM and Chrysler, wrapped in a bow,
Only now THE UNION RECIPIENTS OF OBAMAS LARGESSE, ARE SENDING those jobs to Mexico and China and they are planning on closing the facilities in Michigan altogether.
So you have to ask yourself what the heck is Obama up to now. The jobs are gone, 100 billion in taxpayer dollars given to campaign supporters, and now he worries about setting rules for this.
THIS OBAMA CORRUPT CHICAGO THUG NEEDS TO GO TO JAIL.. NOW

“The problem is that this kind of legislation is so expensive for the auto industry that the timing baffles the senses.”
I think it will turn out to be a lot more expensive after we clean up the disaster to have let foolish executives gear up the entire auto industry to try and sell us a giant fleet of Hummers, huge SUVs and pickup trucks.

Some of these comments are laughable.
You do realize the current European and Japanese standards are well above the US.?.? US cars (some you can’t even buy here!) are all over Europe so to suggest US automakers don’t have or understand the technology is a a complete joke.
The U.S. auto industry is in trouble because it chose to reject those new, more efficient technologies and continue to earn a fast buck with gas guzzling cars instead of investing in the future.
Even China has better Cafe standards than we do.

“I think it will turn out to be a lot more expensive after we clean up the disaster to have let foolish executives gear up the entire auto industry to try and sell us a giant fleet of Hummers, huge SUVs and pickup trucks.”
Shame on the Big 3 for designing, manufacturing, and marketing profitable vehicles that Amerians want to buy!
Thank goodness Mr. Obama is now in charge – he’ll put an end to this foolishness. /sarc.

Except… fewer and fewer people here will be buying any new cars for quite a while because of the ever increasing rate of unemployment. On the other hand, there’ll be a lot less commuters on the roads, so that should really help decrease our use of petroleum. I guess it will all work out.

“As an aside I don’t know any republicans who oppose the development of more energy efficient, electric or gas, vehicles.
It benefits all of us.”
What most intelligent people from BOTH sides of the aisle understand is that there is no car ready to fully run on “alternative” energy that is practical and affordable. The people promoting all this like its ready to go yesterday seem to forget that the vast majority of Americanas are not in a position right now to spend that kind of $$$ on a new car to begin with. Just go look at the used car prices, that is where the current market is for people who need a vehicle.
Also, the infrastructure for these new “alternative cars” is not even clsoe to being ready for the masses to use.
Most intelligent people understand that we are STILL years from these new vehicles being the dominate cars on the roadways and we need tokeep the cars of today going strong to help us transition to the “new world”.

So much about Obama running the country.. Don’t get me wrong, I like that he is a take charge kinda guy… but do we still have a functioning Congress???
Are our voices being muffled… thorugh non-transparency?

Whats the point of what Obama is going to do? Not many people can afford to buy overpriced new cars as it is? Now we will have to buy overpriced watered-down cars? Does anyone remember when speedometers only went to 85 MPH and how popular that standard was? So now all the companies that cant meet these standards will fail and cause further unemployment to meet the new cost of CAFE standards. It seems like Obama almost wants the car industry in the USA to fail doesnt he?

Mike_C
We’re talking about 2016 and 2020 here. Hardly a draconian time crunch. I think American ingenuity ought to be able to come up with some improvements by then, and the economies of scale can do the rest. You are right – it may take awhile, which is precisely why we need to start pushing for it NOW.

Why does Obama say everything he does is “historic”…
And how much money are these cars going to cost us?
I don’t hear him saying or giving more detail on this.

Electric cars dont hold a charge for as long as one can hold a tank of gas. Thats why they arent being mass produced. What about the recycling of millions of used up batteries that such a car would need? Wouldnt that create more pollution too?

DRILL, DRILL, DRILL until its gone. dont you guys understand that pelosi gore and obama need gas at 4.50 a gallon to make their BS work?

Anything that Obama says is “historic” ends up costing the taxpayers money.

oooh its so coool to be like europe…the same europe that routinely calls on us to protect them, the same europe who never helps us with anything. euoropeans will always pay more for gas and always will because their they are a second tier customer…we are the big consumer on the block. get used to it liberals we really do run the world.

Change I CAN Believe In… Finally we have somone moving America in the right direction. Soooo happy to have Obama as President!!!

The President is so intent on changing everything in this country at once – and to get credit for it – that he endangers us all. The auto industry is going bankrupt as we speak, and the President is trying to pile on more legislation?
So we will have a President who is credited with changing our energy priorities in the 21st century – but had to sacrifice American produced autos to do it. These companies are in dire straits. Why not help them into profitability before we put another nail into their coffin.
Is all of this about Obama, or is there anything relevant left for the American people? It seems lately that we have been standing upside down to satisfy this man’s ego – all while we either spend ourselves into the toilet, or go in every direction imaginable to produce change – without stopping to think whether this is Obama’s agenda or America’s agenda. There is a difference.

NMM: LOL not all European countries have an unemployment rate of 10%. Perhaps France and Germany…and taxes aren’t 70% closer to 40%. And hate to burst your bubble…but the Scandinavian countries have low unemployment rates and a better standard of living than we do…also as far as I can tell none of the European nations want our health care system…they seem to fare better under socialized medicine…and the tiny country of Sweden has the highest innovation rate in medical science and they have socialized medicine…

Personal use autos aren’t the leading contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Are not.
The President doesn’t like coal or nuclear, solar and wind may be viable some day.. but we have never looked at the downside of mass usage.
The auto industry made inefficient gas guzzlers because of us.. they made cars that we wanted to buy.. we are to blame for that. We want to go fast, haul a soccer team and make an aggressive driving statement..as well as being able to absorb a lot of energy in a collision.

John:”90bbl in the Outer Continental Shelf
The US has plenty of proven reserves, yet we (our government) have chosen not to drill our own oil, ”
That’s hilarious. You can’t just make up numbers you know. 90 billion barrels in the Outer Continental Shelf? Sure, maybe at $200/barrel recovery costs. That is only three times the total actual proved reserves in the US – maybe while you’re making up numbers you should just go for ten times. Heck, maybe they’ll find diamonds out there too!

I wonder if there are oil industry people being sent to this message board … hmm
Anyway, thank you Obama for siding with the common person over the interests of the oil companies who don’t give a hoot about the changes being brought against the earth. America is founded on innovation, so now we need to put our heads together and stop burning that black stuff coming out of the ground.

Does anyone want to take a shot at my earlier question?
“Q: Why should the government set mileage standards in the first place? What is the reasoning behind this?”
I’m particularly interested in the perspectives of those who support this action by the federal government.

The “common person” is not going to be able to afford the automobiles or the fuel to run them, if their jobs go away due to these suicidal new standards.

As long as I can still get an SUV with a good towing weight as a second vwehicle I will be happy. I’d like to see a whole bunch of small commuter cars buzzing along the freeways during rush hour. Something low and wide and sporty to get to and from work in style at very little cost.

Now is not the time to turn your back on US Auto Companies. I sure hope you or your family are never impacted by the higher ups in your company. I would hope the American public would have some compasion for a US worker at a US Company than what I am seeing on this blog. I just don’t understand the judgements of these posts. If you want to continue to buy Toyotas, Honda and Nissans, go right ahead, but remember even though some of these cars are built in the US, the money still goes overseas to foreign companies. The US auto workers built SUVs because the customer demanded them, now you critize them for supplying what was asked of them. I just don’t get it. The customer is now demanding alternative, so the companies are trying to meet that demand, and seems to un-American to me to turn your back on them now. I hate bail out money like everyone else, but I think it is the US auto worker that is getting it put to them, not the higher ups that put them there and I think we all need to remember that.

“Why should the government set mileage standards in the first place? What is the reasoning behind this?”
Oil is a non-renewable resource.
To protect the environment for future generations.
National Security.

reason…it takes fossil fuel to build solar panels…and solar and wind farms do more damage to the enviorment then drilling for oil.if there becomes a better alrternative i will support it. it take fossil fuel to trnsport every element of solar and wind. who is fooling who.

BIG BROTHER DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST PARTY AND THE REPUBLICAN SOCIALIST PARTY are destroying America. As Ronald Reagan said, the most feared words are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

Posted by: tjp612 | May 18, 2009 5:05:03 PM
You asked. I answered. You can research. Read the interview w/former CIA director Woosley in Scientific American to get you started.

I love the math libs use. To have a energy efficient home it will cost me around $350,000.00 This magnificent house will save me $600.00 on energy a year but my mortgage payment will be too
high for me. If I buy a standard median home it will be around $160,000.00 and I will be able to afford it. My choice is clear “to hell with the “energy” efficient c r a p !!!!

george: “So is the Defense Dept. setting an example of imposition of fuel efficiency standards within its transportation and combat fleet?” From a military point of view, the amount of oil consumption at forward operating bases in Iraq and Afghanistan has grown to 500 million gallons annually with a significant percentage (more than half) of it attributed to deployed, energy-consuming non-combatant equipment, creating fuel convoys that add substantial costs, reduce combat effectiveness, risk the overall mission, and increase casualties. So DoD actually has a huge program to combine making the bases more energy efficient plus supplementing their power generation with solar & wind power as much as possible. For every watt generated by wind or solar, there’s a lesser chance of a solder getting killed while driving or guarding a fuel convoy.

George: The government has been telling you what you can or cannot buy since before you were born. Be the utilities you use, the medicines you use, the milk you drink, the food you eat, etc. Get used to it.

Tyrone said “George. The government has been telling you what you can or cannot buy since before you were born. Be the utilities you use, the medicines you use, the milk you drink, the food you eat, etc. Get used to it.
.” JUST BECAUSE GOV’T DICTATES DOES NOT MEAN WE HAVE TO LIKE IT OR FOLLOW THEM BLINDLY. WHEN PEOPLE FEAR GOV’T THERE IS TYRANNY, WHEN GOV’T FEAR THE PEOPLE THERE IS LIBERTY. (Thomas Jefferson)

Actually the technology has been around for a while to do considerably better than 35 MPG. They should increase it to 48mpg.

Energy effecient cars .I don’t believe on the so called benefits. It is just another way to divert taxpayers money from one pocket to another. Sure the big GM mess it up good with those gas guzzler trucks but that was what America wanted, wasn’t it? Now we want energy efficient cars ok…What are we going to do with all of those used batteries that come with those energy efficient cars ?? Another waste landfill ? I feel like when this guy speaks everyone suck it as “the truth” and nod like chickens is the coop. To save a miserable 100 dollars he wants to spend 10,000.00. Not a good math in my humble view.

JUST BECAUSE GOV’T DICTATES DOES NOT MEAN WE HAVE TO LIKE IT OR FOLLOW THEM BLINDLY. WHEN PEOPLE FEAR GOV’T THERE IS TYRANNY, WHEN GOV’T FEAR THE PEOPLE THERE IS LIBERTY. (Thomas Jefferson)
Posted by: george
Since when do we have a dictator? Bush has been the closest we’ve come to one. He ignored the consitution and interpreted laws in a scewed fashion to suit his needs and agenda. That is what a dictator is. The people spoke in the last election. It was free and open to all. Just because your guy didn’t win doesn’t mean that we now have a dictator. It simply means that America was tired of what was going on before and didn’t want more of the same. Why is that hard to swallow?

I do not have much compassion for workers whose union has done it’s best to price themselves out of a job. When I heard there were going to be auto bailouts, I sat down and did some research and determined Ford was doing things right. I bought 400 shares of Ford that night at $1.90. I am up 120%. The shareholders and consumers will reward those who do right. The government will bail out those who do wrong.

devil mutt… ive worked with the solar industry….by the time you have recouped your investment, which you wont because of CAP AND TRADE, your system will have to be replaced as they have about a five year life. we are being fed bull to get votes from the lying pelosi backers.

Should Obama press for regulation on the efficiency of US Auto Workers?
Today China, India, and Mexico produce cars far more efficiently than US auto workers do.
Should Obama inact, as a matter of national security, a CAWE (Corporate Average Worker Efficiency) standard and demand that US auto workers meet this standard or ban vehicles that are made by such inefficient workers.
If even Mexico can beat our (CAWE) standards, why shouldn’t Obama step up to the plate and demand better efficiency in (cars per dollar)

All you obama lovers are going to be in for a rude awakening when you cant afford to heat you house or pay your electric bill. Wind and Solar will never work well enough to be anything but a supplement. Nuclear is the way to go…too bad it is too cost prohibited to build due to lawyers from Sierra club and a million other green groups tying up the courts and permits for decades.
A perfect example of the Democrats tactics is yucca mt nevada. We wasted billions building a storage facility for Nuclear waste…it is ready but will never see it because the dems would allow it.
They were all for it because of the construction jobs but when you go to put it in production…it is hazardous to the enviorment.
This coming from Nevada where we tested Nuclear weapons above and below ground many times….what a joke.
Drill for oil here and now…provide jobs and supply our own energy.
Talking about american ingenuity and all is fine but you cant invent something that is not possible and it is not possible to get 4000lb truck to 40 mpg now or in the near future…if we could we would you idiots.

Skip and Devil_Mutt. Based on your comments and your faith in gov’t (I assume you did not have this faith in gov’t under the Bush administration but know somehow gov’t is so good :( Well if you need to gov’t to tell you what is good for you and bad for you, you are nothing more than a puppet. LET FREEDOM RING!
Posted by: George
I guess you knew smoking was bad for you before the surgeon general told you. I guess you knew that man was a contributing factor in global warming, much less what global warming was prior to the EPA shedding light on it…I can go on and on…BTW. I don’t need government in my personal life…just in the populations. The exact opposite of what you would prefer. You say let freedom ring yet you want to control the freedom of choice. Choice to have a child. Choice of who you can marry. Choice of who can and can’t serve in the military. You cry for freedom yet vote against your own argument.
And BTW…I don’t need government and much as you do…
Last thing…Schools, Police, Fire Department…all social programs. If you have ever used any of their services you are a hypocrite.

And once you made all of these improvements, no one will be able to afford buying the energy efficient home from you.
Posted by: Mary
Actually the money saved on my solar panels per month would allow me to have a mortgage of about $200 more a month. That translates in to a house worth about 40k more than the one I own now. Or from the buyers perspective, they could afford my upgraded and more expensive home because their monthly utility bill will be lower.
It’s the same arguement that Reps use taxes…They don’t want to pay extra tax for universal health care but have no problem dishing out out thousands extra a year for coverage. Just because it’s not called a tax makes it easier to swallow. If everyone paid the same exact amount as they are now in their health care towards a universal health care system…everyone would be covered and without have to raise taxes. That would lessen the burden of taxpayers who have to foot the bill of those who seek emergency room service only when they have no other options. We are the only industrial country in the world that doesn’t have universal health care. Is that because we are the greediest?

Everyone seems to support energy efficiency and reducing cost of energy.
The problem is Obama’s approach is going to hike prices and kill jobs, based on their own congressional report.
In addition when they wrap up cap and tax this week, which according to Henry Waxman (dem) they plan to, energy costs will skyrocket.
Obama is on video during the campaign admitting that electricity costs and other energy “costs will necessarily soar” although he claims otherwise now.
The congressional report is spot on, and now we hear that they will make exceptions for companies in democrat districts in order to get votes for cap and tax.
They are so corrupt it is mind boggling.
Obama gave GM and Chrysler 100 billion taxpayer dollars, stole it from the investors via threat of ruination, GAVE THE COMPANIES TO HIS CAMPAIGN SUPPORTERS the UAW, and now the union owners are planning to close the michigan plants and Chrysler is sending the jobs to Mexico and GM is sending the jobs to China.
Instead of outrage or even a comment over this massive travesty Obama moves ahead with more regulation that will kill more jobs and raise costs AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME.
We were supposed to be saving the jobs saving the companies… that is what we were told by Obama.
The only winner in all this is the UAW and Obama.
The taxpayers, the retirement plans invested in these companies and other investors simply had their money stolen from them to help Obama retain power and payback his supporters.
After all the that the jobs are gone anyway. It was just a lying ruse and Obama needs to go to jail.

Hey all my elected representatives know about solar energy is they get sunburned every summer! None of them could begin to understand the basic principles of thermodynamics! And you want this level of competence voting on energy policy!

I travel sometimes to Europe, Germany in specific and the landscape has changed so much…What used to be beautiful fields now are nothing but energy producing windmills as far as your eyes can see.. what an ugly sight…and the locals are not happy at all……
Posted by: Frank | May 18, 2009 6:04:47 PM
——
They also have a decade of 10% unemployment, high taxes, up to 70% for everyone, high premiums and co-pays for their rationed national health care system and represent exactly the system Obama intends to duplicate here.
I am baffled by the disconnect. If Obama is so smart he must realize that these socialist, supposedly more humane ideas, have never worked well anywhere in the world.
Fabulous, high taxes, lousy -expensive (not free) national health care, a chronic depressed economy , high energy costs, reliance on foreign oil, is what Obama is moving us into.
YIP YIP YAHOO

Devil_Mutt said:”I guess you knew smoking was bad for you before the surgeon general told you…” @5:50PM. WELL IF SOMEONE WANTS TO SMOKE IT IS THEIR CHOICE. I NEVER SAID HOW I HAVE VOTED. YOU MAKE ASSUMPTIONS. POLICE, FIREMEN, AND EMERGENCY IS A GOOD THING, BUT VERY LIMITED GOV’T IS ALWAYS BETTER. BIG GOV’T IS ALWAYS BAD. LET FREEDOM RING!!

lets keep this clear. Everything that the goverment decides to run is going to cost more and become inefficient. Medicare is a good example. It was meant to help old people without resources to pay for medical care. Everyone jump in the bangwagon and now is out of control.See, this is how it works. In the past you go to see your doctor and you pay him. He was forced to take good care of you because you were the one paying the bill. Medicare comes along and now the bill payer is Uncle Sam. Results: crowded waiting rooms, short visits, poor service because for him ( the doctor ) time is money and that’s without the un neccesary additional lab works then you add fraudulent (7% – 10 % of the payments) claims >Add the lack of competent oversight and you have what we have today a broken and unsustainable healthcare. Got the picture ???

“They also have a decade of 10% unemployment, high taxes, up to 70% for everyone, high premiums and co-pays for their rationed national health care system”
So many right wing lies, but here we go.
Germany’s unemployment is currently at 8.3% in a terrible recession, before the recession German unemployment had steadily dropped for the last 3 years.
Also European countries report people actually not employed not just those who are collecting unemployment.
The tax rates in Europe tend to be personal income taxes which means businesses pay a lower rate but the highest marginal income tax rate is 45%.
Germany is actually a great example of what Obama plans to do with healthcare because although they have a national system they also allow for private insurance.
From wiki:
Premiums in the German Public healthcare system are not dependent on an individual’s heath condition but a percentage of salaried income (typically 10-15%, depending on the public health insurance company one is in, where half of that is paid by the employer)

“BUT VERY LIMITED GOV’T IS ALWAYS BETTER”
The list of failed states with a very limited government is longer that the list of the failed states that embraced communism.

“What used to be beautiful fields now are nothing but energy producing windmills as far as your eyes can see.. what an ugly sight..”
That is a drawback to wind energy, but the same cannot be said for solar. Look at any aerial photo of any urban area and it’s nothing but empty black roofs as far as you can see.

“i will not buy a bailed out car makers car. we have 11.9% unemployment in liberal california and obama is holding up 7 billion in stimulas mosney because of his ties to the unions.”
ROFLMAO!
Right winger demands stimulus money!
You guys really have nothing if you’re that desperate.

“The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska ‘s Prudhoe Bay, and has the potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion barrels.”
Old right wing spam email that tells lies. Shocking…I know.
From factcheck: The Bakken Formation touted in a chain e-mail isn’t the world’s largest oil reserve. The amount of oil it contains, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, is less than one one-hundredth of the estimate cited in the e-mail.
Snopes.com reviewed a similar mutation of this e-mail and traced the 2 trillion barrels of oil estimate to a tout sheet from the Stansberry Report Online, a group referenced in the e-mail. Snopes also noted that Stansberry is an investment newsletter trying to sell subscriptions. The Stansberry site appeared to be down when we tried to access it, but the tout sheet was reproduced here.

ryan c …democrat proposals are going down in flames in california which is a democrat run state. i dont want obama money, my point was that obama is pushing unionization of everything, even at the expense of california which pays more to the feds than it gets back. you guys need to get rid of pelosi because she is tainting your partys message….she is a liar , why would i trust her legislation…she is a liar.

The ban on offshore drilling was not reinstated! Technically, on October 1 2009, America’s coastal waters would be available for oil and gas exploration, but new leases take time to negotiate and must go through a long process at the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Honda Civic 1995, 70 HP, 40-45 MPG
Honda Civic 2000, 106 HP, 32-38 MPG
Honda Civic 2009, 140 HP, 26-34 MPG
This has to be reversed, and that’s what Obama tries to do.

Everything you need to know about the Democrats you can learn from California.

Obama; he is either tapping, touting, bragging, pontificating, promising, threatening, vowing, or hoping. Who is he trying to impress?

“BUT VERY LIMITED GOV’T IS ALWAYS BETTER”
The list of failed states with a very limited government is longer that the list of the failed states that embraced communism.
Ryan C: This is the most crystal clear comment I have read of yours that you support communism. At least you admit it. Kinda. The fact is this “capitalist” country has provided the best the world has ever offered and the only time it seems to go wrong is when you have programs with a history of failure. Medicare, Medicade, Social Security. Now let’s implement Cap n Trade, Socialize the banks, autos, and insurance. Then let’s add healthcare to the mix woo whooo. For those that like to point out school systems, they are a disaster, police and fire maybe. 99% of the government run programs are money bleeders. scratch that 99.9%. I can’t wait to drive my buggie. Can you? Maybe we will share….. that’s the fair thing to do.

“This is the most crystal clear comment I have read of yours that you support communism. At least you admit it. Kinda.”
Not at all. But its nice to know that the right wing is still so paranoid about the red menace.
“The fact is this “capitalist” country has provided the best the world has ever offered and the only time it seems to go wrong is when you have programs with a history of failure. Medicare, Medicade, Social Security”
ROFLMAO!
History of failure for the 3 most popular entitlement programs in our history.
“For those that like to point out school systems, they are a disaster, police and fire maybe. 99% of the government run programs are money bleeders”
Police and fire departments are money bleeders?
The stupid, it burns.

Oh boy the righties are acting like the sky is falling
Posted by: agnosticsocialist
Not me cause I’m sure you have a government program that can save us.

“Just think, the guy that is “remaking” America, the guy that is telling auto companies what to do, changing the B of D at banks, creating a whole new healthcare system, and much more…. HAS NEVER DONE OR RAN ANYTHING IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE”
And so far he’s doing an outstanding job.
Consumer confidence and the markets are rebounding and even unemployment figures are showing some good signs.

Come on Ryan C… Your communist teachers had to have taught you better. I said that fire and police are the only ones that work. It’s EVERY other program that just bleeds and bleeds and bleeds. If you disagree pick one and lets chat. Please try again. I’ll have to take tyour comment and get to you tomorrow though, really got to go. But I can’t wait to hear your “gotcha” point to let me stew on overnight.

couldn’t help myself. Ryan you are not an economist obviously. Unemployment right now is a disaster. If it wasn’t so bad to begin with you would see huge DOW losses. The only reason you have seen any easing is due to the 60k in government jobs added. Nice work Barry. I guess if everyone is employed by the government there is no unemployment. Ryan you may believe he is doing a fantastic job, I don’t know why but I am glad you are positive. I really wish I could share all the good times with you. Frankly I am scared out of my wits.

“”I said that fire and police are the only ones that work.”
I suppose the interstate highway system is a failure.
Should we allow drug companies to claim as they wish?
or for the food industry to go with out inspection?
Or perhaps a justice system by mob?
The best thing about George Bush is he played out right wing ideas to the hilt so the world could see what failures those ideas are.

ryan c….Right-wing tax policies??? In California???? LOL You really do not have a clue do you…We have a and had a Democratic held State Assembly FOREVER…Prop 13 allowed people the ability to REMAIN HOMEOWNERS…Nothing gets passed in California without Democrat approval….VOTE NO ON PROPS A,B,C,D,E…

“.Right-wing tax policies??? In California???? LOL You really do not have a clue do you…”
Well, let’s see.
“We have a and had a Democratic held State Assembly FOREVER”
And a Republican governor who writes the budget for the last 5.
“…Prop 13 allowed people the ability to REMAIN HOMEOWNERS”
Prop 13 capped both residential and commercial property taxes.
And you called me clueless?
“…Nothing gets passed in California without Democrat approval….VOTE NO ON PROPS A,B,C,D,E.”
The proposition system of CA is not run by the legislature though they can certainly put things up for a vote.
I also say vote no on all proprs because they represent weak political will on the part of the legislature and the governor.

“Ryan you are not an economist obviously.”
Because you are?
ROFLMAO!
“Unemployment right now is a disaster.”
“If it wasn’t so bad to begin with you would see huge DOW losses.”
The DOW has been doing pretty well the past month or so.
“The only reason you have seen any easing is due to the 60k in government jobs added.”
Fresh reminders that the recession likely has passed its peak, but hasn’t ended, emerged Thursday in reports that first-time claims for jobless aid and wholesale prices rose more than expected.
Economists said the jumps, while bitter reminders of the country’s weak economy, were not cause for great concern. Jobless claims should ease after layoffs in the automobile industry are complete, while inflation remains under control.
The Labor Department said the number of new jobless claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 637,000, from a revised 605,000 the previous week. That’s above analysts’ expectations of 610,000.
Economists focused on the fact that initial claims remain below the peak reached in late March, a sign that the wave of mass layoffs announced earlier this year has crested.

“I also say vote no on all proprs because they represent weak political will on the part of the legislature and the governor.”
So you’re saying that this proposition system is a way for the state government of CA to pass the buck?

I live in California. The rest of you should have it so good. But rightwingers stay away please. We have enough of our own.

Why on earth would anyone think American-engineered clunky gas-guzzlers are a good thing? They are not selling well. The companies are going bankrupt. And the righties are saying “More of the same please.” -RalphN-
Hey, when your little 2 wheel drive Hybrid gets stuck in the snow call me to get you unstuck with my 1991 Jeep Wrangler. It even has a good ol fashioned American Ford 8.8” rear axle. Good ol fashioned American built 35” BFGoodrich Mud-Terrains. Nuff said

another stupid decision by Obama. I think he wakes up each day and decides what he can foul up each day. The country has hundred’s of years of natural gas supply and huge OIl supplies. if people wanted to run around with anemic cars, they would buy them. The government has no business interfering with our lives. The real issue is buying oil from the Middle east which is a disaster. Instead of increasing oil production and allowing compressed NG vehicles, he is pandering to the anti-oil crowd by just mandating CAFE standards instead of addressing the real issues. Obama is a dunce who needs to be removed from office.

They are flying people in from all over the world? To discuss reducing carbon emissions? This is probably the most hillarious thing I’ve read yet.

“They are flying people in from all over the world? To discuss reducing carbon emissions?”
Do you expect them to all take sailboats to set a good example?

===Do you expect them to all take sailboats to set a good example?
Posted by: Skip | May 18, 2009 8:40:34 PM===
No. I expect nothing less from them than what they are doing.

Another “historic” announcement. Whenever Obama uses the word “historic” it ends up costing the taxpayers money. LOL

See link above from Dept. of Energy. US has proven oil reserves of 21B (billion) barrels. US consumes 20.68M (million) barrels of oil per day. If we had to stop all imports, say WWIII breaks out, we have enough oil in the ground to last 1015 days. Thats 2.78 years. At our current consumption rate, even if we discovered a new Prudhoe Bay somewhere, we’d burn through the whole thing in 725 days (after it taking 5-10 years to develop it). Since Prudhoe is double the size of any US reserve found before or since, I’m not holding my breath. Never mind that we only have domestic capacity to process 5M (million) barrels a day, and it would take years to build that up. In 1973 OPEC cut production by 5% and global oil prices went up 4X. What do you think would happen to the US economy if we suddenly had a 75% shortfall in oil supply vs. demand? What if there was a major war on, and most of that small production was reserved for military use? Some people have figured out that as long as we are hooked on oil, the world owns us. Ironic that it takes a democrat to actually take action on this grave national security issue.

===Flying use the same amount of fuel per passenger per mile as driving a Prius.===
Isn’t that commercial flying?

My wife and I raised one daughter. If she drives a SUV which gets 20 mpg and drives it 20,000 miles per year she will use 1000 gallons of gas. A family with 8 kids will eventually grow up. If each of them drive a car which get 50 miles per gallon the same distance they will use 400 gallons of gas each. But there are 8 of them. That equals 3,200 gallons of gas.
As we see decreasing gas consumption while increasing population is simply (pun intended) spinning our wheels.
A family with 18 kids will use 1,600 gallons per 20,000 miles if each of them drive a car which gets 100 mpg!
Go ahead and make heros of those people if you want to. They aren’t part of the problem. They are the problem.

I also say vote no on all proprs because they represent weak political will on the part of the legislature and the governor.
Posted by: Ryan C
Look who just came out of the right wing closet. That was positively Reaganesque.

I am glad BHO is so smart. He can rewrite the laws of physics and snap his fingers and we can all see the change.

Goin’ back to Cali, Cali, Cali…