Story originally printed in the Vernon Broadcaster or online at www.vernonbroadcaster.com
Published - Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Outsider: McCain’s prize gimmick trumps big oil, Democrats
Big oil took a sucker punch on Monday as Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) called for a $300 million prize for innovation going to someone or group who can develop a battery that will "leapfrog" those available in current electric cars.
McCain has taken a Democratic issue and turned it into his pet project.
Now, nobody’s saying automakers are going to embrace this, but what if the prize led engineers and scientists to develop an economical electric fuel cell that would deliver greater power, be long lasting and recharge quickly?
It’s asking much, but it’s a great idea. Specifics of the details for earning the prize aren’t final. Some known plans were to seek a battery that would deliver a power source at 30 percent of the current cost.
McCain says if the prize is won, he’d encourage vehicles to be built with the cell and offer tax credits to buyers, making them easier to sell — that is if $4 gasoline wasn’t enough of an incentive.
Sure it’s a “gimmick” idea, but it’s a doozy, and I’d bet Democrats are kicking themselves that they didn’t come up with it.
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George Carlin was a great talent. He passed away over the weekend and will be missed.
He was a unique, ground-breaking comic, who not only made people laugh, but also made them think. And he made them think in a way that thwarted the establishment.
Carlin’s career wasn’t about dirty words, hippie weathermen or any other bit... Carlin was about waking people up to the fact that the minority with wealth have obtained omnipotence. Yet they wield it only because “free men” have not yet figured out how society can obtain balance.
“The IQ and the life expectancy of the average American recently passed each other in opposite directions,” Carlin said.
He also said, “The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it.”
Comedians are supposed to make us laugh. They also show us where society’s boundaries lie. Carlin was America’s sonar for its underlying social boundaries.
“Capitalism tries for a delicate balance: It attempts to work things out so that everyone gets just enough stuff to keep them from getting violent and trying to take other people’s stuff,” Carlin said.
Another one of his gem’s on our great society was, “Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.”
I didn’t agree with everything George Carlin said and some of the things he said made me cringe. Yet, Carlin set the standard for pushing the political envelope.
“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that,” Carlin said.
This one was his, too, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.”
George Carlin had a diverse film and television career and was among the elite of comedy’s radical think tank.
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My parental wherewithal is being tested as Derek is away from home for a multiple-night trip for the first time in his eight years.
I’ve come to discover that this is harder on me and his mother than it is on anyone. He was raring to go and didn’t look back. I had to call him back for a hug.
It’s events like this that make the parenting gig much harder than I thought. The things I thought were going to be hard have been easy. The things I never even thought would be an issue have been hard.
And I’d like to take this opportunity to sarcastically thank everyone who has said to me over the years, “As time goes by, it doesn’t get any easier.”
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We obviously have been putting a lot of thought into what makes our home “Unique and Wonderful.” This week’s special section is our second on the topic. It’s always hard to narrow down the list of stories, because there are so many that could be told.
As of Wednesday we were all interested to see the final product, and we thought all of the color advertisements and our stories on this area would be an interesting combination for our readers. We hope you enjoy it.
You can email Matt Johnson at matt.johnson@lee.net
All stories copyright 2006 Vernon Broadcaster and other attributed sources.