Monday, May 25, 2009

The People Have Spoken in California

The voters of California have finally come to their senses. How this could have happened is way beyond my mortal powers of comprehension, but they have. They defeated all but one of the six propositions that the state legislators tried to have passed on the May 19 special election, and passed just one...the proposition that says no pay raises to state politicians when they don't balance the budget. Good for you, voters!

Now how about placing a proposition on the ballot that says NO PAY AT ALL IF THE POLITICIANS DON'T PASS A BALANCED BUDGET ON TIME? Bet that would get them off their dime and political oriented butts to pass the budget in a heartbeat! Or maybe get some of the dead wood out of office once and for all.

Or, maybe, California voters are going to dump the politicians who have been draining this state so long when the next elections come around? Or will they forget how bad things are and simply vote along the same old party lines and place the same old useless politicos back in their seats for another round of what could be bankruptcy and tax hikes?

Car taxes went up, sales taxes went up, counties are complaining they don't collect enough taxes because property values plummeted, people have asked for revaluations to reduce taxes on lower valued homes; many homes have been foreclosed, and taxes are not being paid.

Employment is the worst in about 40 years so income tax revenue is way down, so they raise the income tax rate..how about that for brilliance? Tax the crap out of the remaining working people to make up some of the lost income so the state can continue to pay for welfare and Medi-Cal for the illegals and the welfare recipients and the will-not works? Cut education, teachers and services for the understandably medically needy, but still be sure to throw that money at the services for those who won't ever contribute anything to society due to a lack of work ethic and/or pure laziness? How much can the working people of California accept before they realize how bad they're getting screwed? Year after year, ad nauseum?

Time to dump the surfer dude image, folks and get involved with changing the way Sacramento does business. If you don't, your children and grandchildren will bear the huge burden that the politicians keep piling up. The fastest and best way is to vote, and tell them you're not happy with them. Get them out of office, and make them get a real job for a change. Let them see what the working class sees, a dwindling paycheck and increasing bills and taxes. It isn't a pretty sight!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day to remember the fallen warriors of our country; those who made the ultimate sacrifice to give each of us freedom and the ability to reach out for the American Dream. No, they didn't give you the American Dream, you have to work for that yourself. But they gave their lives to assure you had the freedom to reach out for it, free from oppression, tyranny and grave injustice as is the case in so many other countries.

Men and women gave all so that we might live free. They didn't do it for fame or glory or a medal to pin on their uniform. Medals usually came too late to shine in a parade; many were laid on rows of caskets at ceremonies in such places as Arlington and Fort Rosecrans. The Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Coast Guardsman, Air Forceman or Merchant Marine never saw the glint of the Silver Star or Purple Heart or other medal in the sun as it laid upon his casket. But the family knew the bravery that he or she displayed many days or weeks or months before this day came to pass.

Most of our fallen warriors did come home, to be interred in their beloved country near family and loved ones. But many didn't and are buried on foreign shores in huge cemeteries, marked by simple crosses and markers, the only remnants of fierce battles, where Americans shed their blood to give freedom to others in a foreign land. They didn't know the people, but knew freedom was as important to them as it is to us. Freedom, the one thing that is perhaps as much important as life itself.

In my humble opinion, the three most important things are life, love and freedom. Without them life is just a bleak and somewhat hopeless experience. With perseverance and luck, many find love, but it takes a very special person willing to lay it all on the line to fight for your freedom. When you realize the warrior doesn't know you, or the individuals they are fighting for in most cases, it makes it even more impressive that they are willing to sacrifice all for others, to give them a chance at a better life.

On this Memorial Day, I will remember my brothers who have fallen in Vietnam, as well as all those who have fallen before, and after, in every war and conflict. I will remember those who have been ravaged by the remnants of war, and who have died as a result of service-connected injuries and illnesses, those who never appear in casualty rolls, but who are casualties just the same.

And some special prayers to several brothers who are very close in my heart today and always will be. Rest well my brothers; we'll all be crossing the bar to join you some day.

And, just in case anyone ever forgets:

FREEDOM ISN'T FREE!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Poncho is Dead, thanks to General Motors

Many of us die-hard aficionados of Pontiac called the marque "Ponchos" as a shortened version of Pontiac. I have no idea when this started, but back in the 1950's when someone owned a "Poncho" you knew it was a Pontiac. No big long name, just a simple pseudonym for a great car. And, now Poncho is dead, thanks to the idiots at General Motors.

How could this happen? Let's take a short trip down memory land, to when the muscle car was king of the street. The American Muscle Car, that is. Yes, there was the 1950's Corvettes and the Chevy's and even the Fuel Injected 1967 Pontiac Bonneville and Chevrolet Bel Air, but the car that set the tone for all muscle cars to follow was the 1964 Pontiac GTO.

In the early 60's, most of the big engines were in big cars, such as the Ford Galaxy with a 427, a Chevy Impala or Biscayne with a 409 or later on a 427. Dodge and Plymouth as well as Chrysler offered big engines as well, including the 383 and 440 blocks as well as the 426 Hemi. But again, these were in big cars with lots of weight to pull.

So, along came the GTO, from the parts bin at Pontiac, built on the Tempest frame and body and infused with a 389 cubic inch engine and a 4 speed transmission, the "Little GTO" was just about King of the Street. Add three two barrel carburetors, or three deuces as it was known and called "Tri-Power" by Pontiac, and you had a potent street and drag machine that few cars could match. The Mustang came along later that year, but the smaller engined "Pony" car was no match for the "Goat" as the GTO was called by many. For years the GTO ruled the streets and was the cradle upon which the American Muscle Car industry was born, giving rise to the famed Olds 4-4-2, the Plymouth Road Runner and GTX, Dodge Super Bee, Shelby Mustang GT500KR, and even such unusual, yet amazing players, as American Motors with the AMX and Studebaker with the Supercharged Lark, and Studebaker-Packard with their Hawk series.

Camaro soon followed along with Firebird. The car that Grandpa drove, the Buick, gave birth to the Buick Grand National in later years, followed closely by the venerable GNX version that could whip just about anything on the drag strip with it's turbocharged V-6.

Then, for some strange reason, in the 90's GM decided that we didn't want what we wanted. That we wanted what GM would give us, and like it or not, if you wanted a GM product you had to settle. What? Settle? We were Americans and not used to settling for just any Iron. We wanted muscle and not rice burners and Japanese tuners. We wanted cubic inches and V-8's and thunderous exhausts. And GM and Chrysler let us down. Ford still produced the Mustang and thus, has survived the debacle pretty well, at least to this point.

GM dumped Oldsmobile. Remember the slogan they used during the waning years of that marque? "This isn't your father's Oldsmobile!" Hell no it wasn't. Dad's Olds had horsepower and could smoke most of the cars on the road or the track on Saturday nights. It had style. The new Oldsmobile was pathetic to say the least. No self respecting muscle car person would own one. Thank God it wasn't your father's Olds!

Buick was the consummate symbolism of a granny car. Driven by the aged and the perfect vehicle to clog the highways between the senior citizens home, and the all you can eat buffet in Senility City. Big and style less, they were avoided at all costs by the younger population. Then, someone got the idea to use the same body style as the Olds Cutlass during the early to mid 80's and create the Buick Regal. Then, why not turbocharge it. Then create the Buick Grand National. Now there was excitement on four wheels. Then, for the ultimate fun with a V-6, came the GNX, a Super Stock version of the Grand National. For once in a hot rodder's life, they actually could say YES to the jingle "Wouldn't you really rather own a Buick?"

Aah, but GM screwed this up too. Blame it on gas shortages or maybe brain shortages at GM, but the fast Buick's disappeared in favor of over sized behemoths that guzzled gas anyway, and were never going to sell to the kids and young adults who had money to spend. Buick regressed to the car driven by senior citizens and people who didn't yet have their AARP card just didn't want to see in their driveway

I am saddened to see Pontiac disappear, just as I have been by many of the names of our automobiles that once graced our streets. I have had three Pontiac's, a 1957 Bonneville, a 1966 GTO and a 2005 GTO. I bought that 2005 GTO thinking somehow it would hearken me back to the days when the GTO was king of the road. Maybe I thought, somehow, it would bring back 1964 and the excitement of the era when the GTO was the car to drive. Factually, it was faster, drove better, handled better on curves, and had a better fit and finish than my 66 Goat. But, it wasn't really a GTO at all, and it wasn't really even a Pontiac. It was a re-badged Holden Monaro, made in Australia and not in the USA. It was scary fast and fun, and had GTO emblems, but it still wasn't true American Iron like the old days. They only made the "new" GTO for three years, 2004, 2005 and 2006 and production ceased. There will never be another GTO made. Period.

Bad decisions on the part of the automakers, greed on the part of the unions and trying to force cars that we didn't want down our collective throats has brought us to the current state of affairs. Those of us who bought American for 50 years now turn to the imports for better value, better performance and mileage, and stability of the makers. It never had to come to this. But when companies forget that the consumer gets what they want, not what you want to give them, it all ends up the same.

Bottom line is that the tag line on Pontiac commercials "Pontiac...We build excitement!" has fallen on deaf ears, as it just hasn't been true. What Pontiac and GM has done is build apathy, and the motoring public has finally responded by saying we'll have someone else build something exciting for us, thank you. You had several generations to make the grade and failed, now it's someone elses' turn.