Two years of the Obama/Tester team

In about a week we'll be at the halfway point of the Obama presidency.

Unless you're not from Montana, you'll recognize the picture above is of US Senator Jon Tester exchanging a warm embrace with The Great Leader, President Obama.

Tester has wholeheartedly supported The Great Leader, and the President has been able to count on Tester for his vote, especially on Obamacare where Tester cast the deciding vote.

So how has the President done so far?

Here are a few of his quotes;

"We will act not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth"

Well, no new jobs have been created, only the contrary. Obama campaigned on raising taxes, and being anti-business, and the business world took him at his word, and have shedded jobs since his election. I guess the new foundation is a legacy of national debt that he takes pride in?

"On this day, we come to proclaim and end to the petty grievances and false-promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogma that for far too long have strangles our politics"

How's that post-partisanship working out?

"We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together"

But none of that happened, and though he touted shovel-ready jobs when he had Jon Tester and the Dems pass his stimulus (spending) bill, he later admitted that there actually were none.

"We will restore science to it's rightful place ans weild technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower it's costs."

Has anybody seen health care costs start dropping? I notice that some prescriptions have tripled in out-of-pocket costs over the last two years.

"What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed them for so long, no longer apply."

That's one he was actually correct on. HE IS THE MESSIAH, and he had both legislative bodies under his control, and he was going to do whatever he willed, and the American people would take it - up the wazzoo.

"Those of us who manage the public dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and so our business in the light of day."

Transparency? From this administration, who passed bills that they admitted not even reading?
That they passed in the dead of night?

"With old friends, and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet."

Where to even begin with that quote - because the nuclear threat from North Korea and Iran have done nothing but increase, and the religion of man-made global warming has been thoroughly proven wrong. Have you noticed the absence of Al Gore? As I think about our former Vice-President, I keep hearing lyrics from an old Steve Miller Band song....
come on, take the money and run.....come on take the money and run...

This post is getting too long-winded, I'll expound a little more next week.

Happy New Year!

Blast from the past (Traditional Cars part 3)

So how does an aged design stack up in 2010?

I'll give it a mixed review.

(1) Modern FWD/4WD/AWD cars have better traction control that the 'old' cars. I picked up the Crown Vic over at Archie Cochrane Ford, after they did some warranty work on it, drove out their back gate, and headed left to WalMart on Monday morning, with lots of packed ice.
I couldn't get up that little hill, thanks to hard tires, and no weight in the back of the car.
So I got a set of Winterforce snow tires, a couple of bags of tube sand, and a traction-loc for the differential, and it's a world better. But still not as good on ice as the Windstar.

(2) I had forgotten what a pleasure it is to drive a traditional car. You get in, and the seat is soft, and there is elbow room. You can drive down the road, and you get quiet operation, and a smooth ride. Handling is smooth, and effortless. I could crank out 1000 miles in this car without discomfort. Want to pass somebody? Just step on the gas. If you ever have the urge to try to outrun a Highway Patrol car, I advise you not to try it.

(3) The mechanical part. This 2008 Crown Victoria is far superior to the 'old' cars. In my 1965 Ford Galaxie, if it was cold there was a starting procedure. You would get in, step the pedal all the way down to the floor, to set the choke, take your foot away from the pedal and hit the key. Assuming it started, you sat there and listened, and when it started choking out, you would ever so gently hit the gas pedal, and it would go to half choke. Then you drove gently for a while so it wouldn't stall. With he Crown Vic, you reach in the window and turn the key and it starts and runs. It's glass smooth, and except for the slight rumbling from the dual exhaust it's quiet.
It's engine is a 4.6 liter (281 inch) engine, that makes 250 horsepower at the rear wheel.
To put it in perspective, a 1998 Ford F250 pickup, with a gas-guzzling 460 made 250 hp too.
Amazing. So mechanically, it's far superior to any of the old cars. Comparing it to other modern vehicles, it's the same, because they are also vastly improved.

So what's the verdict?

I love the car.

The say you can't go home again, which is true, since my 1965 Galaxie has been in the junkyard for many years, but getting into the Crown Victoria feels right.

There are a few downsides;

(1) Since so few of these newer Crown Victorias are not Police Cars, people keep seeing me and hitting their brakes. I was coming down Main Street, in the center lane, and traffic started backing up behind me - like I was a pace car. I hope nobody was killed when I turned off and everybody floored their cars - LOL.

(2) Mileage - the 4.6 uses a little more fuel around town than the 3.8 Windstar.

(3) Costs. Everything is expensive for this car. It has 17" x 7.5" steel wheels, and the tires it comes with cost over $200.00 each. The truck lock cylinder (mines stuck) is $63.00, plus labor to replace if you're not mechanically inclined.

So - that's it on traditional cars - the saga is over.

It's back to being a conservative blog.

Traditional Cars - part 2

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You see two contrasting pictures above - a full-sized American Sedan from 1965, and a full-sized American sedan from 2008.

Both weigh about 4000 lbs, have V8 engines, and rear wheel drive.

So, what have we gained/lost in 45 years?

And how does the concept fare against more refined competition?

Well, as I said in my previous post, the 'old' 1996 Ford Windstar is scheduled to become my work car, the 1987 S-10 Blazer is leaving, and the wife is getting a newer car.

The newer car is the 2008 Crown Victoria shown above.

I had to look long and hard to find one, because Ford stopped selling these to the general public after the 2007 year, and made them fleet-sales only.

But I found this one, a low-mileage (38,900) example.

It was a fleet vehicle for the State of Connecticut.

It's got the 'P71' package, and is designated as a CVPI, or Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.

That basically means it's got a few more heavy-duty parts than the standard base model, and is tuned for a little more high-speed power, but it's basically the same car as a standard model.

It's a flex-fuel car, so if they put in E85 fuel somewhere in town, I can burn it.

It's taking a little getting used to, after 14 years in the Windstar, expecially on snow and ice.

It seems to want to do nothing but spin a tire.

So snow tires, and a traction lock differential (posi rearend) are on my Xmas list.

Can you 'go home' again? In 2010 can I be happy with a traditional car?

I'll keep you posted.