When everyone is mad, only madmen are respectable. The sharp collapse of automobile sales in America is supposed to be a dire omen of economic failure, and pressure is mounting on the government to “save” the US auto industry. But on closer inspection, the US auto industry has been encouraging wildly wasteful and environmentally destructive behavior for decades, and “saving” it is the last thing we should do. This industry should be shut down and rebuilt from the ground up. Here is why:

1. Automobiles are ecologically and socially destructive. Producing, fueling, and disposing of them consumes vast amounts of precious resources. Yet their impact on world society has been to spread unsustainable living patterns and isolate individuals from contact with their neighbors.

2. Automobiles have been sold as disposable fashion merchandise, an extremely wasteful practice. There is no reason an automobile cannot be designed to last 20 years, like a refrigerator, stove, or washing machine. (The billionaire founder of IKEA drives a 20 year old Volvo.)

3. Automobiles generate a huge number of deaths and injuries and inflict enormous insurance costs on their owners. Actively selling “high performance” cars and encouraging drivers to drive them as fast as possible contributes to this mayhem.

4. The toxic wastes produced by automobiles are substantial. Discarded tires alone account for a huge problem, since no efficient recycling system has been developed for them. Similarly, vast amounts of plastics and toxic fluids are dumped into the ecosystem because of artificially stimulated junking of cars to permit the frequent replacement that is vital to the current industry model of selling cars as fashion statements.

We need to stop this madness. The world auto industry should be producing only about 1/3 of its current output of cars, and these cars should be engineered to last indefinitely, with a minimal negative environmental impact. GM, Ford, and Chrysler should be shut down, because they are unlikely to reinvent themselves as “green” vehicle manufacturers. New organizations should replace them, and the US government should provide appropriate research and development subsidies to help these newcomers rebuild the US auto industry.

The future of the world automotive industry should be grounded in sustainability, not disposability. We literally cannot afford to keep making and buying cars as we have for the last 60 years.

Have you heard about Obama’s Antie Zeituni?  Been a last minute flurry of rightwing vituperation over the leaked story that she is here illegally, as her request for sanctuary was denied.

Except the ICE has known this for a long time, yet didn’t decide to do anything about it until now, right before the election.  Oh those rascals!

Duke, over at the Sanctuary has this story down:

Obama’s Aunt is emblematic of everything wrong with immigration, both systemically and as a political issue.

Without knowing the specifics of her case it’s hard to say why in fact her status is what it is, but we do know that:

1. The authorities have know about her status for some time

2. DHS was ordered not to deport until after election

3.  The second person to leak the story came out of the Administration

4.  The timing of the story was orchestrated by Murdoch/Rove for maximum political effect.

Basically, the authorities have kept her under wraps until they could use her as a pawn for political gain.  

And here is where I see her as symbol for the whole immigration debate.  

The right wing has used 12 mil people as political pawns from the start of this current debate. If we look at everything they’ve done from passing HR4437, which they knew would never get through the Senate, to the failed CIR attempts, to the current fascists crackdowns…it’s all been nothing more than political theater. played against the backdrop of real human suffering.  

And now they wheel out Obama’s Aunt.  

They could have finished her case and deported her ages ago if that was in fact their intent. But it wasn’t. They’re intent was to keep her around to use as a pawn to whip up the base, and peel off independents.  

And is that really any different from anything else that’s been going on for the last few years to the rest of the migrant population?  

Of course not.

Thread away at will!

Well, there are other places where you may feel constrained from expressing last minute doubts that our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over.

Not here!

New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Indiana- McCain runs the table.  Heck, even Stars Hollow turns to the experienced maverick and his oh so cute and smart successor, our very own Caribou Barbie!

Sackcloth and ashes for progressive hopes and dreams.

Ah well, it’s the fight I’ve always hoped for- to the death against impossible odds.

1. The NY Times reports the Pentagon expects cuts in military spending.

   After years of unfettered growth in military budgets, Defense Department planners, top commanders and weapons manufacturers now say they are almost certain that the financial meltdown will have a serious impact on future Pentagon spending.

   Across the military services, deep apprehension has led to closed-door meetings and detailed calculations in anticipation of potential cuts. Civilian and military budget planners concede that they are already analyzing worst-case contingency spending plans that would freeze or slash their overall budgets.

   The obvious targets for savings would be expensive new arms programs, which have racked up cost overruns of at least $300 billion for the top 75 weapons systems, according to the Government Accountability Office.

   The $500 billion annual base budget for the Pentagon is at the highest level since World War II. In addition, the Pentagon gets $100 billion each year to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

   Some critics, citing the increase in military spending since Sept. 11, 2001, say it would be much easier to cut military spending than programs like Social Security and Medicare at a time when most people’s retirement savings are dwindling because of the financial crisis. Representative Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has raised the idea of reducing military spending by one-quarter.

Four at Four continues with Bush still “hopeful” for a McCain victory, the global water crisis, and Mayan kites.

Here is just one example of some of the stuff that’s gone on and there’s plenty more.

Obama Attorney Says Voters Don’t Want to Hear About Election Fraud

Submitted by davidswanson on Mon, 2008-11-03 02:03. Elections

Sadly, this is not a joke:

Democrats Continue to Defend Their Indefensible Election Protection Efforts; Still in Denial, Obama’s Attorney Describes Serious Concerns About Voting Machines and More as ‘Hyperbole’

Never mind this:

And, of course, BradBlog has more on the voting issues!

So, just on the offhand chance . . . . . . ! I can’t even say it!

Please go to AfrerDowningStreet  — if you are not registered, please register (there’s no wait, as I recall), Log In, then go to DO NOT CONCEDE

To add your name, register, log in, and sign the petition.

An Open Letter to Senator Obama and the Democratic Leadership:

On Election Night, DO NOT CONCEDE!

“Eight years is too much” is how Barack Obama explained why we must win the coming election and begin to restore America. But, even if we receive the most votes, will we win the election?

DO NOT CONCEDE!

Both of the last two elections were conceded by the Democratic presidential candidate. The 2004 election was handed to George Bush while votes were still being counted in closely-fought Ohio. While the 2000 election was contested to the Supreme Court, it too was ultimately conceded to Bush “for the good of the country.”

Some good.

Numerous politicians, investigators and authors, including Robert Kennedy, Jr., agree the 2004 election was stolen, not only in Ohio but in several other battleground states. Tactics included purging of legitimate voters and the use of nefarious voting software–but when even these actions did not yield the required numbers, Republican election officials simply changed the vote tallies in several states, all without a peep from the Democratic Party. . . .

A good idea, too, would be to send these links to everyone you know.  Get this populated!