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POPSHope 'n' Change: The Obama Auto Show
Nowhere in our nation's governing document can one find a presidential power to regulate the minutiae of private business, much less take ownership of those private businesses. Yet that is how Barack Obama is wielding his ever-increasing power, despite taking an oath to "faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and ... to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." "President Barack Obama announced plans on Tuesday for a national fuel-economy and greenhouse-gas standard that would significantly increase mileage requirements for cars and trucks by 2016," Politico reports. The fuel standards will require that automakers reach an industry average of 35.5 miles per gallon within just seven years. The current average is 25 mpg. Congress is working on legislation for $25 billion in further loans to the auto industry to pay for the change, which will likely cost upwards of $100 billion.
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POPSBush: No Ideology Other than Greed This cracks me up. So: are right wingers strict-constructionists, decentralizing as much as possible and protecting states rights or big government federalists using consolidated power to engineer their ideal society? Depends on the issue: Prohibiting Abortion: Federalist unless it is a state trying to ignore Roe v Wade, in which case: State's Rights Integrating Schools: States Rights Unless it comes to Federal support for segregation: Federalists Marijuana decriminalization: Federalist Unless your state institutes ridiculously draconian and probably unconstitutional punishments: States Rights Gun Ownership: States Rights Unless unless you are Washington DC and pass restrictive gun control laws: Federalists Environmental Protection: States Rights Unless your state actually tries to protect the environment at the expense of big business: Federalist These guys believe in nothing, they just use any ideology they can to justify whatever it is the want.
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POPSFuel For Thought Yet another reason customers are so hard to please: While studies show that people love large, environmentally damaging cars, a majority also would push for increases in fuel economy standards. The New Yorker's James Surowiecki sheds some light on this weird dichotomy.