Tuesday, July 18, 2006

300 Hundred Million in Population Events

In a little more than 3 months, the population of the United States of America will reach 300 million people. The pupose of this blog was to celebrate the population reaching 300 million and talk up the issues and learn from each hundred million in population milestone and to look forward about 30 more years if trends remain the same when we reach another 100 million in population gain to 400 million people.

It is sad, but President Johnson only made a brief mention when the nation reached 200 million people in 1968 in a speech. I wanted to bring a little more fanfare to reaching 300 million mark in the first week of November this year, 2006.

We are running out of time, because parades, fireworks, concerts, school lesson plans, print articles, academic papers, tv magazine shows, public broadcasting shows, and all take time to plan and develop. Guess what? If we dont do it soon, we will have nothing.

Are you interested in celebrating reaching 300 million in population for the first time? What are you planning to do and what organizations can you invite to participate.

Do you want you child's school to include some material for discussion to learn about reaching 300 million in population and maybe the issues in the nation and the solutions at the time during each 100 million mark of population. Do you want the child to cover some of the nations issues reaching another 100 million milestone in about 30 more years? Can you talk to the school administration and teachers to develop at least a brief program?

Can you write to your elected officials about providing a national holiday and some events to celebrate reaching 300 million in population?

Can you write to the editors to provide articles about reaching 300 million?

I wrote this blog hoping to stir up some discussion and to recognize the rapid population growth of America by having some sort of celebration. Now is the time.

Movie review: Who Killed the Electric Car?

Tonight Monday, July 17, 2006, I saw this movie, Who Killed the Electric Car? at the Clearview Claridge Cinemas, 486 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, New Jersey.

The movie was an eye opener about corporate greed and mismanagement of the oil companies and the auto companies, and the bad decisions of the current Bush administration.

This movie should be shown to all middle and high school students across America. This will help them understand why they and their parents are suffering paying high gasoline prices today and even higher home heating oil prices this winter.

The greatest point made was that America's dependence on foreign oil has almost doubled since we had the gas rationing lines during Jimmy Carter's administration. I would have been angry to learn we remain at the same level of foreign oil dependency as during the Carter administration, but no...It has almost doubled.

California has bad smog, with many people falling to lung problems and legislated to the car manufacturers to develop basically an electric car. The car was developed and ran unexpectedly well for the few years it was available. The electric cars built during the initial 2 years used Delco batteries and had limitations of about 60 miles battery between charges. But since the third year, newer technology was used and the distance was doubled. The primary car was developed by GM Saturn as the EV1, but other manufacturers had their models, too. 90% of the daily driving is for distances of less than 60 miles per day. The cars were seen as a success.

But the Saturn EV1 production was limited to 4 cars per day, and GM never attempted to roll it out on a mass production line. They lobbied the California to lower the state's mandates which the state did. GM did not promote the vehicle in a productive manner. GM never sold but leased all of the vehicles and they crushed the cars when returned at the end of the lease (except for a few in museums). They performed to obey the law, but also to get out of the electric car business.

The oil companies spent millions in public relations to get California to elliminate the electric car laws in their own best interest to sell more oil.

President Bush's administration went to court to stop the electric car legislation in California on the side of the auto manufacturer's and big oil interests.

President Bush's alternative was the hydrogen fuel vehicle which was several years ago and still at least 10 more years from production, if ever (remember if it is not good for the oil lobby it is not good for the country?).

There are no more electric vehicles. If I was a GM stockholder I should want to sue the executives and directors for crushing or shredding millions of dollars worth of valuable corporate assets.

The cardinal sin is that America could have had hundreds of thousands of electric cars on the road today, using clean alternative fuel. A month after the electric cars were sabotaged, GM came out with the Hummer. The brains at GM thought America needed a gas hog rather than an electric car. If they were honest, maybe they would be a more viable company, today.

For Iraq's future, check Lebanon's past

The article was written by "The Star-Ledger's national political correspondent, John Farmer.

With Israel fighting on two fronts, the American battles in Iraq and Afghanistan, the irrationality of Iran, the bombings in Bombay, 9/11, and the rest of the terrorist problem, the article is sobering. Other reporters argue that this can be the beginning of World War III.

Most people agree that the American invasion and occupation of Iraq was a mistake. Bush's advisors never understood anything about the middle east people and their issues and never had a plan for peace. The American military represents our National Defense. But they were flatfooted after the war was won, leading to the initial anarchy in Iraq and it went downhill from there. Anyone taking any ROTC classes learns that the military is not just about fighting, but you have to take care of all of the issues of a defeated enemy such as Iraq, such as food, utilities, communication, shelter, sanitation, garbage, jobs, the peace, and all. These jobs were handled by General Macarthur in Japan and General Patton in Germany. If there was such a General in charge in Iraq, he or she was thoroughly trained like Macarthur and Patton and if not given the mandate or resources necessary to be successful, should have tried to correct President Bush and if not then successful, retired. Everyone in America should know who the pipsqueak is who was to manage the peace in Iraq after the war.

First of all it is already proven that Bush needs fresh blood advisors. Where is all of the American expertise? He has probably listened to the individuals he feels comfortable with and ignored the rest of the information available. The President wants American policy to remain the same for the next president to handle the problem.

It is too long a period of time for the President and Congress to stand still like a deer in headlights and do nothing but keep the course until a new president shows up in more than 2 years from now. We all have seen this President sit like a deer in headlights when he was told in the classroom on 9/11 that jets crashed into the World Trade Center by terrorists, and it was not a pretty picture.

Global terrorism is spreading and the Bush cure is not working. Bush and Congress should speak and learn from other experts and maybe the world can be saved before it gets even worse. Bush should speak to his father and learn how to build a coalition, gain better advisors, and to win more friends with better more honest diplomacy. He should learn to care for everyone in America, not just the super rich and illegal aliens. This president has been criticized for making too many unilateral decisions and not bringing in Congress or the courts. He should open up more dialogues with Congress and obtain feedback. He may learn others may have better ideas, and may also learn freshman sociology that if people feel like they are part of a team they will usually act as a team and not be bitter. Today, the history books will be terribly unkind to President Bush, but he still has more than 2 years to improve. I hope he will make the better choice this time.