CHANGE is a joke on the Democratic Party

Obama campaigned on a CHANGE ticket, but we got the first inkling that he was not really dedicated to CHANGE when he chose Washington insider, Joe Biden (aka 'Loose Change'), as his vice presidential candidate.

Now that he is our President-Elect, Obama is assembling a Cabinet that is a duplicate of the Clinton Administration. Heck, he's even embraced Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State! That is going to be an interesting juxtaposition as she is mightily power hungry. Obama is not giving any concessions to those who campaigned so hard for CHANGE.

The names he has chosen for his cabinet so far are surprisingly stale, as these people have failed in various moral and legal ways in the recent past.

Hillary Clinton has her own very visible skeletons and heavy baggage with Whitewater and a litany of dodgy choices.

Tom Daschle's represents humiliating defeat in his own state because of his failure to connect with his own party and people while Senate Majority Leader.

The possible choice of Bill Richardson, who leads the worst education system in the nation - better than only Puerto Rico in most areas of government service - speaks for itself.

Eric Holder, who oversaw the egregious Clinton pardons (Need I say more?) begs the question of his values.

Rahm Emmanuel, Chief of Staff and Democratic hatchet man who sends dead fish to people who disagree with him, does not represent positive change. He's a bully.

YEAH, THAT'S THE CHANGE WE NEED!!!!

Can we destroy the Democratic Party Dream by making the same mistakes over and over? "YES, WE CAN!!"

Don't take me wrong! We have dear friends in the Democratic Party. We want to have compassion on the poor, and we believe in stewardship of the environment and alternative energy sources. We believe in 'green' jobs. We believe that working people should not have to pay $500 - 1000 per month for medical insurance - of which probably half of that is lawyer fees. We don't understand why India can sell fuel cell vehicles for $5000 (here is more information of the REVA )when the Chevy Volt base price is going to be $40,000. We don't believe that American Car companies can do much right, and they should be run by the government until responsible leadership can take over - not by those inflated childish fat cats in their Lear Jets coming to Washington to beg for money so they can produce more cars we don't need and can't afford, like the Hummer, the Escalade, the ugly Ford Flex, and the hideous crossovers as well as other SUV types.

But will Obama's 'Back to the Future" cabinet bring about CHANGE? I doubt it and the joke is on the Democrats who elected him.

A Side Note on Religious Freedom

Religious Freedom is one of the many blessings and benefits of being a citizen of this great country, the United States of America. Even those who come here to visit from countries that do not experience the freedoms we have benefit from those freedoms while in the United States.

Part of religious freedom is the right to choose employment in a field that accommodates your religious persuasion. If a certain day is holy or special to a person, they can choose employment that lets them have that day off. Perhaps a certain food is to be avoided by the adherents of a certain religion - not a problem! There are plenty of jobs where one can avoid the forbidden food item. Is one a teetotaler? There is abundant employment that does not require a person to see, taste or handle alcohol.

Suppose a person's employment is a service to people, and occasionally places them in indirect contact with items that are "forbidden." For example - taxi drivers. These people are paid to transport persons from one location to another for a fee. Sometimes these people have had too much to drink and need a safe ride home. Sometimes a vision impaired person will have a guide dog. If a Taxi Driver's religion prohibits them from even casual contact with booze and dogs, should that person remain in that particular job? They have a choice, don't they?

In the Minneapolis-St Paul area, this issue has again come to the forefront. Many of the predominantly Muslim cab drivers are refusing to take passengers who carry alcohol. Some refuse to assist the blind who need a guide dog to negotiate the roads. This may be a cultural clash issue, but those cab drivers should enjoy and respect the religious freedom we have here and either adapt and assimilate, or maybe find a different job.

Have a look at Little Green Footballs' comments on this article. It gives a more accurate "infidel rejection count" than Reuters did.

Indulge me. I must mention Ron Paul in this blog so his minions will continue to believe he is the most popular Republican presidential candidate when, in fact, they are spamming polls to inflate Paul's popularity and are sorely deceived. The poll that really matters, that one on the primary election day, will be a disappointment for them.

Advice for American Automakers

Here's what you can do to correct your problems:

Take emergency action to save your jobs and your companies now.

1. Cut your prices to competitive levels. That means Toyota pricing *gasp* or something even better - beat their prices.

2. Roll a Camry into your design engineer's workshop and tell them simply this "If you don't beat this design in one year you are fired"

3. Reduce the size of your vehicles. Make them lighter. Make them easier to handle. We don't want the Tank.

4. Consider hybrid technology as a stopgap solution and work toward the completion of plug in electric technology. Then quickly accelerate to plug in technology. Do not put your hybrid technology in heavy SUVs and Trucks. It's counterproductive unless you intend to make this technology as an option fleet-wide.

5. Consider a little humility in your customer sales department. Perhaps publicly admitting that you have made design mistakes in the past. Do take polls. Stop listening to your own propaganda. Build cars that people need. People need fuel efficient, highly reliable, maintenance free vehicles. They would also like them to be safe and they would like them to be comfortable and fun to drive.

6. Please, Please, PLEASE stop building ugly cars!!!! The crossover phenomenon has created a bastardization between a truck and a car, and it is hideous.

7. Please stop trying to make retro cars that look like a '67 Volvo. They look stupid.

8. Work with labor in good faith to empower the worker. Perhaps stock sharing, or a company worker/ownership plan so that the worker feels an investment in the company. If you do these things that the Japanese have already been doing, you just might survive.

9. Consider firing anybody that says "We just can't do it". You don't have the time or money to tolerate naysayers at any level of management, and your jobs and the integrity of the American Auto industry is on the line.

10. In your dealerships, make sure that you really serve your customers, and that you meet or exceed their expectations. Eventually Customer loyalty will return.

11. Drop the pandering to the special interest groups. You are an American companies, not political action committees.

New Mexico Spaceport

There is a measure on the ballot here in Dona Ana County that asks whether or not tax money should be used to fund a Spaceport in Southern New Mexico. While there are some nay-sayers, I believe the Spaceport will be a positive thing for this area. It will provide high tech, higher paying jobs for this area, and will benefit this state economically. It will encourage schools to produce a better product in the children that are taught so they will be prepared for the new jobs that are coming. It will benefit New Mexico State University with more research grants, and raise the status of the university as they train many more engineers to work in the subsidiary businesses that are attached to the Spaceport. The site is very remote, and noise would not be a major problem. As far as the Camino Real trail, it is possible for it to co-exist with the Spaceport.

New Mexico has been one of the lowest producing states for many years. The Spaceport gives the "Land of Enchantment" a way to thrust itself into higher orbit among the states of our nation.