The Illusion of Miles Per Gallon – Wheels – Autos – New York Times Blog
Have ypou noticed that the MPG listed on most cars are highway miles? That is because it is the better one to list and most people drive in stop and go traffice and the MPG are lower.
Another Monday, another quiz–Prepare yourselves.
These were the radicals within the Democratic Party in the 1840’s?
Simple and to the point–you may begin.
George Carlin, 71, the much-honored American stand-up comedian whose long career was distinguished by pointed social commentary that placed him on the cultural cutting edge, died last night in Santa Monica, Calif.
Over a career of half a century, Carlin placed himself in the forefront of comic commentators on the American scene. He was particularly known for an album that referred to what he described as the seven words that could not be used on television.
His wit and humor will be sorely missed. As a social commentator, he was one of the best. He will go down with the masters such as Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl , just to mention a few that I recall vividly.
I know wherever his soul winds up, he will be giving somebody hell.
America’s labour unions are limbering up for a fight. They see a rare opportunity for Democrats to control the White House and both arms of Congress, and are determined not to let it slip by. They want universal health care and decent pensions, and protection against callous managers and foreign competition. With union membership tumbling in the private sector, they want an end to the rule that obliges workers to hold a secret ballot before unionising.
Overall, unions are catching up with business in the amount they spend on electioneering. In 2000, firms and their employees spent three times as much as unions. By 2006, it was only twice as much. And the unions’ money probably goes further. The AFL-CIO aims to deploy 250,000 campaign volunteers this year. And whereas other groups sometimes ring doorbells at random, unions know where their members live and have a good idea what each one cares about.
Thanks to years of diligent data-collection and a host of local volunteers, they can put someone on your doorstep who not only knows what is going on at your workplace, but can also give you a leaflet on the candidates’ positions on, say, health care, if that is your chief concern. Undecided voters in union households can expect as many as 30 visits, phone calls or fliers by November 4th.
Many union members are culturally conservative whites who might be expected to vote Republican, especially now that Mr Obama, rather than Hillary Clinton, is the Democratic nominee. But if suitably educated, they tend to vote with their pocketbooks, reckons Karen Ackerman, the AFL–CIO‘s political director. In 2006, three-quarters of those of its members who actually voted backed the candidate their union endorsed. “I think my gun rights are pretty secure,” says Bill Cowette, an electrician protesting against Mr McCain in New Hampshire. He worries more about the rising price of petrol and “companies going overseas”.
But the question is: Can the unions bring enough to the table to get voters to see issues their way? Or will the traditional white voters in unions just vote for the old white guy?
The short answer is YES.
Like the Democratic party primary, the November election gives American voters another historic choice — electing the first African American president in Barack Obama, or the oldest first-term president in John McCain.
Age and race, polls show both have a lot of work to do to convince skeptical voters.
While most Americans say the nation is ready for a black president, past experience shows that white voters don’t always reveal their true feelings to pollsters — something called the Bradley effect.
“The Bradley effect is named after former Mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley who in his California gubernatorial run was leading substantially in the polls going into the weekend of the race and lost,” said Michael Fauntroy, an assistant professor of public policy at George Mason University.
n a recent CBS poll, among white voters who say race is a factor in their presidential choice, McCain leads Obama by nearly 20 points.
It’s a major problem for Obama, with no easy solution.
Again Americans vote for a person, not an ideal. Who has the best positions on what is best for ALL Americans is secondary to personality. One of many reasons why there has been little improvement in the lives of Americans in recent years.
With the stinging comment that he is just another elitist, Obama and his Boyz are trying to re-introduce him to the voters.
Obama’s early maneuvers suggest a clear understanding within the campaign of his strengths and weaknesses. He bought air time in 18 states, a sure sign that he hopes to expand Democrats’ traditional electoral map. He opted out of the public campaign-financing system — revealing his determination to press his financial advantage, even at the cost of handing his Republican opponent the opportunity to raise questions about the sincerity of his rhetoric on reform.
And with a first ad that delves into his biography, Obama acknowledged ongoing concerns among his advisers that voters do not know whether he shares the values and beliefs of ordinary Americans, a potentially critical vulnerability. The ad speaks to the reality that enough questions were raised about Obama through the long nomination battle that he needs to address them. The campaign’s concerns include both taking on misinformation — such as the persistent claim that he is Muslim when he is in fact a Christian — and framing a biography unlike that of any nominee in the modern era.
Even as the campaign seeks to take control of Obama’s image, hammering home the message that his is a thoroughly American story, the decision last week to opt out of the public financing system — and forgoing more than $84 million in campaign funds — added a new dimension to his profile as a politician. And it appeared to immediately cut both ways. Sen. John McCain pounced on the decision, questioning Obama’s character. “He has completely reversed himself and gone back, not on his word to me, but the commitment he made to the American people,” McCain told reporters Thursday, citing Obama’s initial pledge to stay within the existing campaign finance rules.
Actually, Obama is just making sure that everyone knows who he is and is desperately trying to head off any “business as usual” tags that may come along. This shows that you can “sell” a candidate to the people, regardless of issues.
Bob Barr’s Libertarian Party bid for the White House is the longest of long shots, but political experts say he may be able to exploit the unease some die-hard conservatives still feel about Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting. Combined with the surge in turnout among Democrats during the primaries and a difficult political climate for Republicans, they see what could be a recipe for trouble for the GOP.
“Bob could be the Ralph Nader of 2008,” said Dan Schnur, a GOP consultant in California who worked on McCain’s 2000 campaign but is not involved in this year’s contest. Consumer advocate Nader is the third-party candidate many Democrats blame for helping George W. Bush narrowly win in 2000.
Barr also hopes to tap into the zealous grass-roots network of Rep. Ron Paul, who recently dropped his bid for the GOP presidential nomination and pledged to support “Libertarian-leaning Republicans.” Paul, a Texas Republican who ran for president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 1988, drew hefty campaign contributions online, but did not win any primaries.
With Barr in the race and if McCain loses to Obama, then Barr will be the reason. He will be a convenient scapegoat for the loss. That way the Repubs could save face for having a candidate that is thin on issues and can still keep a grasp on the money machine.