Al Sharpton's best line
In Al Sharpton's convention speech, he referred to the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision:
I suggest to you tonight that if George Bush had selected the court in '54, Clarence Thomas would have never got to law school.
Michael Moore.com : Mike's Message : Mike's Latest News
Friday, July 30, 2004
Michael Moore's Gate-crashing Speech
Filmmaker Michael Moore crashed the party the Demo's had in Boston (although he was apparently invited by Jimmy Carter), the link to the transcript of the speech he gave is below. The long paragraphs would guarantee an "F" in any English class, but I love this paragraph in particular:
A few weeks ago I was flipping around on the dial and I came across a NASCAR Race on FOX and there was NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. He said what would you do, what did you do the night before while you were getting prepared for the big race? He said, “Well, I took my crew to go see Fahrenheit 9/11.” [cheers] [laughter] And then he said, and “I think all of America should see this movie.” I fell off the couch! (applause) I said a little prayer for George W. Bush. I'm thinking oh, my God, I hope he's not watching this race now and eating pretzels! [cheers]
Michael Moore.com : Mike's Message : Mike's Latest News
Filmmaker Michael Moore crashed the party the Demo's had in Boston (although he was apparently invited by Jimmy Carter), the link to the transcript of the speech he gave is below. The long paragraphs would guarantee an "F" in any English class, but I love this paragraph in particular:
A few weeks ago I was flipping around on the dial and I came across a NASCAR Race on FOX and there was NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. He said what would you do, what did you do the night before while you were getting prepared for the big race? He said, “Well, I took my crew to go see Fahrenheit 9/11.” [cheers] [laughter] And then he said, and “I think all of America should see this movie.” I fell off the couch! (applause) I said a little prayer for George W. Bush. I'm thinking oh, my God, I hope he's not watching this race now and eating pretzels! [cheers]
Michael Moore.com : Mike's Message : Mike's Latest News
Newsflash - Medicare Drug Card Confuses Seniors
Why the heck is this surprising? Have any of the people who thought this up actually ever worked with senior citizens? I spend more than half my day speaking to Seniors, and I could have told them that having to choose between multiple cards would leave their heads spinning. This is especially true of the seniors who have multiple health problems and consume the most drugs.
USATODAY.com - Medicare drug card confuses seniors
Why the heck is this surprising? Have any of the people who thought this up actually ever worked with senior citizens? I spend more than half my day speaking to Seniors, and I could have told them that having to choose between multiple cards would leave their heads spinning. This is especially true of the seniors who have multiple health problems and consume the most drugs.
USATODAY.com - Medicare drug card confuses seniors
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Hyote terrorizes Maryland
A strange creature has been spotted in various places in Maryland. In photographs, it looks like a hyena in the front, and a coyote (albeit a bald one) in the back, so residents have come to call it a "hyote". Whatever it is, the last time anyone in Maryland saw something slink away so fast in the middle of the night, it was the Baltimore Colts.
TheWBALChannel.com - News - Mystery Creature Lurks In Baltimore County
A strange creature has been spotted in various places in Maryland. In photographs, it looks like a hyena in the front, and a coyote (albeit a bald one) in the back, so residents have come to call it a "hyote". Whatever it is, the last time anyone in Maryland saw something slink away so fast in the middle of the night, it was the Baltimore Colts.
TheWBALChannel.com - News - Mystery Creature Lurks In Baltimore County
Chrysler 300C vs. Lincoln LS V8 Sport
I always liked the Lincoln LS as a personal luxury sedan, but I always thought it was overpriced. (Actually, it makes a great used car buy.) I wanted to see how the Lincoln LS compared to the hot new Chrysler 300c (the "c" model is the "hemi" version.) Based upon the MSN Cars worksheet below, the 300c enjoys a 7,600 price advantage over the LS. The 300 is about 5% heavier and a few percent roomier, but the 300c gets 1 mpg better on the highway thanks to cylinder deactivation in its hemi engine. The Chrysler has 21% more horsepower than the already well-powered Lincoln, and the Chrysler has a whopping 36% more torque.
The bottom line: rebates alone aren't going to save the LS's market share from being savaged. Lincoln is going to have to cut the list price on the LS brutally to keep up with advances by the competition.
MSN Autos - Side By Side Compare
I always liked the Lincoln LS as a personal luxury sedan, but I always thought it was overpriced. (Actually, it makes a great used car buy.) I wanted to see how the Lincoln LS compared to the hot new Chrysler 300c (the "c" model is the "hemi" version.) Based upon the MSN Cars worksheet below, the 300c enjoys a 7,600 price advantage over the LS. The 300 is about 5% heavier and a few percent roomier, but the 300c gets 1 mpg better on the highway thanks to cylinder deactivation in its hemi engine. The Chrysler has 21% more horsepower than the already well-powered Lincoln, and the Chrysler has a whopping 36% more torque.
The bottom line: rebates alone aren't going to save the LS's market share from being savaged. Lincoln is going to have to cut the list price on the LS brutally to keep up with advances by the competition.
MSN Autos - Side By Side Compare
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Ford Focus Concept
Contrast to the 2006 Nissan Sentra below, this Ford Focus concept has some pizzaz to it.
AutoWeek - Car News
Contrast to the 2006 Nissan Sentra below, this Ford Focus concept has some pizzaz to it.
AutoWeek - Car News
2006 Nissan Sentra will be delayed on account of Ugliness
Nissan will delay the launch of the 2006 Sentra because focus groups hate the looks. From the drawing in Autoweek, I can see why. Where were these focus groups when Pontiac was about to launch the Aztec?
AutoWeek - Car News
Nissan will delay the launch of the 2006 Sentra because focus groups hate the looks. From the drawing in Autoweek, I can see why. Where were these focus groups when Pontiac was about to launch the Aztec?
AutoWeek - Car News
Here's a City with Seven Million People that You've Probably Never Heard of:
The New York Times article below highlights Dongguan China, a city in southern China that has grown from a small town to a city with a population of seven million in 20 years. China has 166 cities with populations of over 1 million, and the United States has 9.
When it comes to national security. George W. is looking in the wrong direction. It's not al Qeda that we need to be concentrated on, it is the continuously evolving status of China. The United States economy that was the arsenal of democracy in World War II could be a hollow shell twenty years from now.
China is playing the same world power card that the United States played 100 years ago, establishing a position of world dominance not through military might, but through economic might. I'm not sure what to do about China, but I don't think the issue is getting the level of debate that it needs.
The New York Times > International > Asia Pacific > New Boomtowns Change Path of China's Growth
The New York Times article below highlights Dongguan China, a city in southern China that has grown from a small town to a city with a population of seven million in 20 years. China has 166 cities with populations of over 1 million, and the United States has 9.
When it comes to national security. George W. is looking in the wrong direction. It's not al Qeda that we need to be concentrated on, it is the continuously evolving status of China. The United States economy that was the arsenal of democracy in World War II could be a hollow shell twenty years from now.
China is playing the same world power card that the United States played 100 years ago, establishing a position of world dominance not through military might, but through economic might. I'm not sure what to do about China, but I don't think the issue is getting the level of debate that it needs.
The New York Times > International > Asia Pacific > New Boomtowns Change Path of China's Growth
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Are Hybrids really twice as trouble-prone?
According to USA Today early hybrids (2001 model) and diesel cars and trucks have up to twice as many engine problems as regular gas models. Nevertheless, the owners report better than average satisfaction. What gives?
Well look at the USA Today numbers in details. The industry average for problems per hundred vehicles is 35 per hundred. The gas-engined Toyota Corolla only had 16. The 2001 Prius, a first-generation hybrid, had 39, just a little more than average. The Honda Civic had 15 problems per hundred, and the hybrid Insight had 32. Though the Insight had twice the Civic's problems, it was less than average.
Diesel vehicles from Volkswagen and several models of Diesel pickups also had higher than average reported problems, but Diesel buyers tend to be high mileage drivers; and in the case of pick-ups, they also tend to drive heavily loaded, so they would be expected to have more problems.
Finally, keep in mind, that cars in general are much more reliable than they used to be. It wasn't long ago that 100 problems per 100 vehicles was ordinary. If you love a car, you're not going to fall out of love when the first problem hits. It's the second, third, fourth, etc. That's why the Chevrolet Corvette can repeatedly turn in more problems than average in the Consumer Reports annual survey and still rank very high in owner satisfaction.
USATODAY.com
According to USA Today early hybrids (2001 model) and diesel cars and trucks have up to twice as many engine problems as regular gas models. Nevertheless, the owners report better than average satisfaction. What gives?
Well look at the USA Today numbers in details. The industry average for problems per hundred vehicles is 35 per hundred. The gas-engined Toyota Corolla only had 16. The 2001 Prius, a first-generation hybrid, had 39, just a little more than average. The Honda Civic had 15 problems per hundred, and the hybrid Insight had 32. Though the Insight had twice the Civic's problems, it was less than average.
Diesel vehicles from Volkswagen and several models of Diesel pickups also had higher than average reported problems, but Diesel buyers tend to be high mileage drivers; and in the case of pick-ups, they also tend to drive heavily loaded, so they would be expected to have more problems.
Finally, keep in mind, that cars in general are much more reliable than they used to be. It wasn't long ago that 100 problems per 100 vehicles was ordinary. If you love a car, you're not going to fall out of love when the first problem hits. It's the second, third, fourth, etc. That's why the Chevrolet Corvette can repeatedly turn in more problems than average in the Consumer Reports annual survey and still rank very high in owner satisfaction.
USATODAY.com
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Washington Mutual cutting 2500 jobs
I get more complaints about bad loan servicing regarding Washington Mutual than any other servicer. Apparently WA-MU thinks their service is too good, because they are axing 2500 workers. Nice to know you have such high standards Wa Mu.
Forbes.com: Washington Mutual to Slash 2,500 Jobs
I get more complaints about bad loan servicing regarding Washington Mutual than any other servicer. Apparently WA-MU thinks their service is too good, because they are axing 2500 workers. Nice to know you have such high standards Wa Mu.
Forbes.com: Washington Mutual to Slash 2,500 Jobs
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