The Healing Process

If you’re real quiet you may be able to hear the Palin bedtime stories interspersing death panel myths with warnings of the boogie man. You may also be able to hear the health care lies emanating from Betsy McCaughey’s hollow thoughts. Not even Søren Kierkegaard could handle all this absurdity. We may need a separate health care bill just to deal with the apparent pathological liar epidemic. Let’s try and hit the mute button on all the health care lies.

Our country’s healthcare system will continue to fail because its opponents are savvy. They didn’t like what was being said so they changed the conversation. Our healthcare system will continue to fail because its proponents are lost. And Obama hasn’t been able to get us back on track. A political red herring and a multitude of ad hominem attacks have left this administration scrambling.

My audacity is intact, but my hope is fleeting.

Republicans claim that a private enterprise could never compete against a government-run enterprise. Out of the other side of their mouth they claim that all government-run enterprises are far too inefficient to work and would fail so catastrophically that we would never be able to recover.

Well, that’s quite a conundrum, isn’t it?

Private companies will fail when in direct competition with the more effective government. But the government runs everything so poorly that they are never effective.

What happens when two and two don’t equal four?

My sympathy goes out to politicians that have to deal with these problems while raising children in this mixed-up world. They will have had to choose between public and private schools, all the way from kindergarten to college. Upon completion how will those children ever mail resumes or grad school applications? Will they use FedEx, UPS, or the USPS? How will they ever decide? What if some of those children choose to defend this great country instead of working a nine-to-five? Do they go the private Blackwater route, or the public socialist U.S. military route? How they are both even in existence is a mystery? There is no way they could work in tandem. When their children decide to buy a home they will probably opt for the FHA loans that have made normal bank loans so inconsequential. Wait a second—they may not even need a loan, why pony up the extra coin for a home in a private gated community when they could opt for Section 8 housing—Martha’s Vineyard in New England or Martha’s neighbor in Bed-Stuy? And who will their children choose to represent them in court when they default on that loan, Gloria Allred or a court-appointed lawyer? I hope those children are prepared for this lack of clarity, this uncertainty, the impossibility of private and public enterprise to coexist.

Allow me to further illuminate that light-bulb flickering above your head. The red herring is a mutually exclusive argument. Each piece of that argument is based more on fears and lies than reality.

“If we’re able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.” ~ South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint

The Republicans view the healthcare debate as a war against Obama, while Obama views it as a war against insufficient health care.

“The person who doesn’t scatter the morning dew will not comb gray hairs.” ~ Hunter S. Thompson

Let’s scatter the dew; let’s ignore the Republican attempt to maintain quo’s status. Let’s perform the will of the people and let Democracy guide. America voted to give the Democrats control of everything, so Democratic ideals are the people’s will. The hope of change got you in, gave you the opportunity to execute that change. You made promises and were elected because of our hopes, because of our desire for that very change. So far we have nothing. You are swimming against the swell of support you earned. You are not doing what you promised, what we entrusted you to do, what we hoped you would do.

The audacity of hope: yeah, now I get it.

EcoBoost to Boost Sales

Andrew Augustine

With recent increases in fuel prices and all the pressure to “go green”, it’s really no surprise that automotive manufacturers are trying to downscale vehicle size and utilize smaller engine configurations.  Ford Motor Company has devised a strategy to avoid many of these traditional methods while still delivering what the customer wants.  They have combined two technologies, turbo-charging and direct injection, which allows them to increase fuel efficiency (without decreasing vehicle size) while increasing horsepower at the same time.  Ford’s new technology comes in the form of the all-new EcoBoost engine.  It is the first North American production, twin-turbocharged, direct injection, V-6 engine—impressive, I know.   “The beauty of EcoBoost is that it enables us to downsize for fuel efficiency, yet boost for power,” claims Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president of Global Product Development.  The engine also produces fewer emissions as compared to a V-8 engine.

 The first in a wave of new Ford EcoBoost engines makes its debut in the Lincoln MKS, and MKT, as well as the Ford Flex and all new Taurus SHO next month.  The launch of the EcoBoost engine is part of Ford Motor Company’s global initiative to provide powertrains that deliver the fuel efficiency and power customers demand.  This engine technology is expected to migrate into many of Ford’s mainstream vehicle lines.

Wow- Impressive

The twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost engine delivers the performance found in a naturally aspirated performance built V-8, while maintaining the fuel economy of a V-6 engine.  “By injecting the fuel directly into the combustion chamber and under high pressure, the fuel is sent exactly where we want it to be for a given combustion cycle, which aids burning of fuel more efficiently  and effectively” said Joseph Basmaji, direct injection fuel system technical specialist.  In addition to increased fuel efficiency through direct injection, the turbos use wasted energy from the exhaust gas to help drive the turbines.   Improved transient response enabled by the direct injectors reduces “turbo lag,” while overcoming the traditional disadvantage of downsizing and boosting.  With help from the dual turbo configuration, this efficient, fire-breathing V-6 is able to reach an impressive 365 horsepower and nearly 350 foot pounds of torque. 

EcoBoost equipped vehicles should be surfacing in the next few weeks with an average of 20% better fuel economy over traditional vehicles.  The V-6 engine and six-speed SelectShift automatic transmission combination achieves an EPA-estimated 17 city/25 highway fuel economy rating.  Ford expects within the next five years, a half-million vehicles will be on the road sporting the groundbreaking technology.  Ford also plans on developing four-cylinder configurations of the engine that will likely be used in the popular Focus and Fusion models.

For the complete story of the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO and this revolutionary engine technology can be accessed on the Internet at www. Fordvehicles.com/cars/Taurus/.

A Time for Change: Remaking the Grand Old Party

Jordan Summers

The Grand Old Party is suffering from some significant credibility issues.  After being completely overwhelmed during the 2008 election, the Republican Party is facing a period of significant choice.  After getting fat and happy, the party is confronted with a landmark decision regarding the direction the party should take in its pursuit of positions of influence.  As an individual who voted Republican in the two elections, I find the immediate reaction of the conservative base alarming. 

Take a look at the current faces of the Republican Party.  Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney, and to some extent George W. Bush are among the most recognizable and vocal members of the GOP.  Even those who seemed to show significant promise have fallen. Take for example Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, whose inept response to President Obama’s address in February sent him back into relative obscurity, or Nevada Senator John Ensign, whose recent revelation of an affair doused any presidential ambitions he may have had.  The call from many within the conservative base to reemphasize the party’s alleged hypocritical and irrational “values” will only amplify the leadership’s failure to live up to those values.

Undoubtedly many in the right are immeasurably frustrated by the fact that these individuals still represent the party.  Too often Republican leaders, who have most vocally preached the morals and values, have undermined the party’s credibility by violating the same principles and values which they have demanded of others.  The acceptance of the recent failures of the Bush administration, and taking responsibility for the poor decisions of many of the party’s leaders are the first steps back to relevance.

Ultimately, the problem is that the party has lost direction. Its leaders once took a stance of great humility, and deferred to the power of the American people rather than government programs and bureaucracies.  Currently, the party seems more focused on returning to power than self-improvement. The GOP should return to being a party that emphasizes the vital role of families in our society—without placing a constraining definition of what constitutes a family.  It should be a party that works to get out of the way of the people and businesses, a party that allows the true competitive advantage of the United States to take hold.

By becoming the party that leads by example instead of preaching, and by reaching across party lines when it’s reasonable, the party can transform its public image.  In fact, there are already signs of opportunity for the Republican Party to reach out to independent voters who support many of the Democrats’ social views but express significant concern over the fiscal policies of our new administration.  It is values like fiscal conservatism and personal choice that can help bridge the gap and attain voters