Posse Incitatus

As I Was Saying....

A couple weeks ago I blogged about young people's tendency to text frequently with cell phones and Instant Messaging, and their penchant for posting tons of inane, trivial details on FaceBook, MySpace or Twitter.  I noted that nonverbal communication such as eye contact, body language, and tone of voice is lost when people rely so much on text messaging, and that the substance of messages has been severely downgraded by overuse of electronic communication and a lack of self-restraint or modesty.

In the past couple days I came across two good articles — both from the Wall Street Journal — reaffirming what I said.  This piece discusses how an entire generation is utterly devoid of appreciation for the "silent language" of mannerisms, gestures, body language, etc., and also can exhibit rude behavior by obsessing over electronic gadgets during business meetings.  HINT: Don't be texting or checking text messages in the conference room while the boss is talking. It won't go over well!

The second piece adds a new twist: Facebook (and probably other social network sites) can adversely affect friendships and relationships.  I hadn't thought of that aspect, but it makes sense. People often post things on web pages that they wouldn't share with someone in person, or make statements that they would not have the guts to say to someone's face.

To those who are interested in this topic, I encourage you to follow the links and read these two worthwhile columns.

A German holiday

On Friday I returned from a delightful sojourn in the Federal Republic of Germany, courtesy of the U.S. Air Force. 

And what a change has come over the homeland in those five weeks!

When I left, Barack Obama was still flying high.  His administration was confidently insisting that Congress pass a sweeping nationalization of health care and do it within a week - or else.

Now, on that front and many others, the president finds himself stymied.  Listening to the news on Armed Forces Radio is a surreal experience - often they go with A.P. Radio News or CBS, which means it's highly partisan and usually suspect.

When Obama went on his week-long vacation to Martha's Vineyard, I was amused to hear how there would be no, repeat, no media events all week.

Of course this pledge, like all others, promptly was rendered moot with the oddly-timed announcement that Ben Bernake - who's term expires but a short four months from now - will be renominated as the Federal Reserve chairman.  This from an administration that is fighting two wars without a permanent Secretary of the Army. 

It will be interesting to see if his administration will continue to thrash about.  I doubt it - eventually even George W. Bush's ratings found a bottom despite his equally inept press relations.  To be fair, of course, Bush had the entire press corps out to get him.  

On the other hand, Obama clearly overerestimates that ability (if not the willingness) of his followers in the media to carry water for him.

Finally, thanks to T.Mo for keeping this site going in my absence.  It is much appreciated.

Lingering Limbo

We're coming up on my favorite time of the year: Beautiful fall weather, the beginning of the football season, and the baseball pennant races, soon to be followed by the playoffs and World Series. So far so good for my Tigers.

My friend and co-poster, K.N. McBride, just returned from an overseas assignment. (He can fill you in on it.) Within a few days I will need to meet with him to fill him in on my job-hunting news and hear about his experience.  But for a couple days anyway, I want to give him the chance to reacquaint himself with his family and decompress a bit.

September will be a busy month, but I am not sure how it will unfold.  As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I underwent training for a contract position with the Michigan Attorney General's office.  My sporadic, part-time work on that job is slated to start sometime in mid-September.

But on August 27 I also had an interview for a full-time position with the AG's office, and believe I have a pretty good shot at being offered the job.  So for the next few days, I will be on pins and needles.  I won't beat around the bush: I really need a full-time job with regular benefits, as my finances have been battered in 2009 and the high property taxes where I live do not fluctuate depending on one's personal financial fortunes.

A couple other notable events are coming up in September: My 17-year-old son talked me into going to the U2 concert at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sept. 13 (I was reluctant, but he made an offer I couldn't refuse: He bought my ticket.) We will crash in a hotel since it will end late on a Sunday night and I don't want to attempt driving the 4 hours and 226 miles home in the middle of the night following a long day.

I don't go to many concerts anymore, in part because they are so expensive.  But I have long regarded U2 as one of the most talented and exciting bands around.  Their versatility, musical depth and breadth, and often stellar lyrics never disappoint.  Lead guitarist Dave "The Edge" Evans is a dynamic virtuoso. Yes, Bono can be annoying at times with his preachy attitude, but I think he's toned that down somewhat since the 1980s. Anyway, there's that. 

On Saturday, Sept. 26, K.N.'s bride Sithkitten and I will be hosting the first annual Lansing Fall FIlm Exhibition for amateur filmmakers and short films (6 to 20 minutes).  Celebration Cinema has given us a deal and will handle ticket sales.  This will be an opportunity for local actors, filmmakers, and scriptwriters to see their work on the big screen, and maybe catch a break en route to bigger and better things.

We did find a primary underwriter, Lansing Community College's The LInk TV, but it's been difficult to get anyone else to open their wallets during these tough economic times.  So we hope ticket sales will be strong, anyway, and that prospective sponsors will observe a successful event and decide to climb aboard next year.

On top of all this, I am taking 6 credits at Lansing Community College. My first Photoshop class was last week. (Hey, there's no law against middle-aged people going back to school!) So, as K.N. would say, "Things are getting pretty busy around the ranch."

I am hoping K.N. can resume regular posting, and I may scale back to 3 times a week or so depending on how much news is out there.

I'll give an update in a few days; meantime, thanks to everyone who reads Posse Incitatus. We appreciate your patronage!

Friday Followup

Knew I was forgetting something...

A few sentences near the end of yesterday's Washington Post piece, "Five Myths About Health Care Around the World," need to be addressed. First, this sentence:  "In many ways, foreign health-care models are not really "foreign" to America, because our crazy-quilt health-care system uses elements of all of them. For Native Americans or veterans, we're Britain: The government provides health care, funding it through general taxes, and patients get no bills."

In fact, the Veterans Administration does charge copays and deductibles to veterans who are able to pay them. I'm surprised this one got past the Post's fact checkers and copy editors.

And then there was this sentence: "For the tens of millions without insurance coverage, we're Burundi or Burma: In the world's poor nations, sick people pay out of pocket for medical care; those who can't pay stay sick or die."

It is really a stretch to compare health care the poorest Americans receive here in the United States, to the third world health care conditions one would find in much of Burundi or Burma.  As for sick people paying out of pocket, usually our poor are covered by Medicaid, Medicare, or some other program such as the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

And in the United States, if someone lacks insurance, has no money AND is not covered by a program such as Medicaid or Medicare, he or she still can get free care at many clinics or emergency rooms.  Indeed, the writeoffs by hospitals from nonpaying patients (many of them illegal immigrants) are partly to blame for high medical costs.  The cost is passed along to others in the form of higher prices for services.

Look, no one denies the American health system could use some fine tuning.  But the notion that we need to blow up the whole thing and create a massive new federal entitlement monitored and controlled by Uncle Sam just doesn't sit well with millions of Americans, many of whom are satisfied with their current health insurance and coverage, and most of whom have far more common sense than the clowns in Washington.

Apples to Oranges

I hesitated to post on health care, because it's such a can of worms with tentacles extending everywhere.  But this Washington Post article served as an impetus.

To his credit, the author wrote with a measured tone, as opposed to slipping into bomb-throwing mode, which often happens in the health care debate.  But I think the reporter's analysis was remiss in failing to mention a few things that help explain disparities in health care between the U.S. and other countries.

Here are a few of them:

- Most of the countries that brag about universal health care have much higher tax rates than does the United States.  For a year I held a contract job that involved working in Windsor, Ontario a couple days a week.  I got to know a lot of Canadians (I also have relatives in Toronto and other parts of Ontario), and often discussed taxation and health care with them. Bottom line: There's no free lunch.  We could have "universal insurance," but it might mean that folks will have to give up a few hundred dollars more per paycheck than they are accustomed to.

- Great Britain, and I'm sure many other western countries, must import scores of doctors and nurses from Asian and other countries because the salaries they offer make it difficult to attract natives to the health care field. I am not against foreigners having an opportunity to live and work in North America or western European nations.  But interaction and the building of relationships through language and cultural barriers is more difficult with people from halfway across the globe.

- Conditions can be sub-par when universal healthcare is guaranteed.  Check out this piece from the London Telegraph regarding the performance of England's National Health Service.

- RE: Administrative costs.  We've often heard that Medicare's administrative costs are a much smaller percentage of overall costs than is the case with private insurers.  And the above Washington Post piece says administrative costs for countries guaranteeing universal health care are much lower than those in the United States.  I believe it's a question of economies of scale.  Medicare, Canada, and European nations each cover far more people than a single private sector insurance company insures.  There are more than 1,000 health care insurers in the United States, so each insures relatively small numbers of customers.  Also, the United States traditionally allows a certain amount of autonomy to state governments.  This is a blessing and a curse.  The states have enacted a gamut of regulations on which types of physical and psychological maladies must be covered by health insurance companies.  The patchwork regulations make it difficult or impossible for insurance companies to compete across state lines.

- Because we have such a high standard of living, such plentiful food and resources, and so much individual freedom, Americans are susceptible to the maladies of overindulgence — in food, alcohol, tobacco, and sex, among other things.  Not to mention the temptation to be couch potatoes rather than get regular exercise.  Consequently, obesity, alcoholism/drug abuse, nicotine addicition, and AIDs as well as other sexually transmitted diseases, are plagues upon our society.  Just as excessive wealth can corrupt the soul and body, so can too much freedom and hedonism, if a person doesn't exercise restraint and self-discipline.

Budget Leviathan

At what point will the American people wake up and realize that our budget situation is grave — so serious that it threatens our very existence as a free republic?

Many of us were unhappy about the Bush administration’s big spending ways, as the national debt doubled from about $5 trillion to $10 trillion in only eight years.

But few if any dreamed that only a few months into the Obama administration, we would be routinely talking about annual deficits exceeding $1 trillion, and maybe reaching $2 trillion.  Frankly, it wasn’t that long ago (FY 2002) when $2 trillion was the size of the entire annual budget.

Now there's talk about the national debt increasing by another $9 trillion over the next decade.  The interest on our mountain of debt is close to $500 billion per year — much more than most of the annual deficits used to be.

A certain amount of expenditures are in "black budgets" (top-secret military or intelligence spending).  Too, budget gimmickry disguises the actual revenue & expenditure figures since Uncle Sam is constantly dipping into the Social Security till, thus masking the severity of current deficits while worsening unfunded liabilities. (Hey, if IOUs were stocks, they would have skyrocketed off the charts by now!)

China may decide to stop financing so much of our debt, but then again, China does not want to completely pull the rug out from under us, or they will not be able to collect what's owed them should our economy crash and burn.

I don't know what it will take for Americans to recognize how severe and dangerous this problem is.  Do we need hyperinflation, or a total collapse of the dollar? Who knows.  But the fact that millions of Americans actually support a budget-busting universal health care scheme demonstrates they just don't get it.  We are on extremely thin ice; economic catastrophe is not far fetched.  Please, Americans: Turn off the American Idle and wake up!

R.I.P., TED KENNEDY — Sen. Ted Kennedy has succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 77.  Although I disagreed adamantly with his ideology, I will credit him for being a dedicated public servant and steadfast in his beliefs.  Love him or hate him, you always knew where Sen. Kennedy stood on the issues. And he fought hard for the people of Massachusetts; no one can ever accuse him of being a slacker.

It would be nice if so-called conservatives, many of whom spent recklessly during the Bush years, would adhere to conservative principles as well as Kennedy adhered to the tenets of liberalism.

It is notable that many of Sen. Kennedy's political foes — lawmakers who were at the opposite end of the political spectrum — are mourning the loss of a friend, someone many people liked personally.

The Kennedy family has suffered more than its share of heartache.  My thoughts and prayers are with Sen. Kennedy and his loved ones during this difficult time.

Juxtaposition

A few days ago, convicted terrorist Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, who was responsible for killing 270 people in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jetliner above Lockerbie, Scotland, was given a hero's welcome in Libya.  Because he has terminal cancer and is only expected to live another three months or so, the Scottish government released him from prison for humanitarian reasons.

The fact that violence and murder against Christians, Jews, and westerners in general is so widely applauded in the muslim world (remember the Palestinians dancing in the streets on 9/11?) ought to make us realize just what we are up against. 

Indeed, the late Samuel P. Huntington, in his best seller "The Clash of Civilizations," observed that "the twentieth century conflict between liberal democracy and Marxist-Leninism is only a fleeting and superficial historical phenomenon compared to the continuing and deeply conflictual relation between Islam and Christianity." Periods of peaceful coexistence have occurred, but conflict has been more common over the past 14 centuries, according to the renowned historian.

Yet what has Attorney General Eric Holder done (not coincidentally while the President is on vacation and not taking questions)? He has announced the Justice Department will probe alleged abuses by CIA interrogators against suspected terrorist detainees going back to the early years of the Bush administration.

Some of the supposed heinous deeds: Faking that a fellow prisoner was executed in an adjacent room by having a CIA officer fire a gunshot, and threatening to drill into a prisoner's skull with a power drill. (No drilling was done.)

Compare this with actual beheadings and countless suicide bombings by jihadists of every stripe going back decades.

Holder's action, especially if it leads to actual prosecutions, will have a devastating effect on morale at the CIA and other intelligence agencies.  It sends entirely the wrong message to terrorists and terrorist-wannabes: Hey, you've got nothing to worry about if the Americans capture and question you.  They are actually naive enough to think if they treat us right, provide prayer rugs and abstain from serving us pork, we'll be cooperative.

This would be funny if it weren't so scary.  But this is the Democratic Party in 2009.  How did we ever get to this point?

Monday Miscellany

CASH FOR CLUNKERS — You’d think that if the government plans to launch a program offering vouchers toward new car purchases, that it would set some kind of parameters.  A limit on dollars or number of vehicles sold for, say, each participating dealer.  Or perhaps limits allocated to each state, proportional to state population. But apparently, Uncle Sam had no idea how wildly popular Cash for Clunkers would be, and has left quite a few auto dealers on the hook — pinched between paying their financing companies for auto inventory and seeking reimbursement from the feds for funding the customers’ vouchers. Today's Wall Street Journal describes the administrative nightmare.

I am reminded of the parable from scripture (Luke 14:28) about a man planning on constructing a tower but not calculating in advance whether he has the money and materials to complete the job.  If he lays the foundation, then admits he has to halt construction because he underestimated the cost, he opens himself up to ridicule.

The WSJ editorial nails it with this sentence: “The politicians care mainly about getting credit for the giveaway, not if some hapless dealers are left holding worthless paper when the money runs out." Amen.

Political pundit Dick Morris hit the nail on the head when he stated many of Obama’s closest operatives were great at campaigning and playing the charisma game.  But they are downright lousy when it comes to issues and the planning/execution of details.  There’s a world of difference between campaigning and governing, and too many Americans are learning that lesson the hard way.

Now, remind me again why millions are so utterly devoid of confidence in a government-run health system?

MICHIGAN’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE — My prediction was wrong about Michigan’s July unemployment rate being higher than June’s.  The rate actually declined a bit, from 15.2 percent in June to 15 percent in July.  This could be because of the uptick in seasonal jobs related to the state’s important tourism industry.

It would be nice to think the Great Lakes State has bottomed out, but I am afraid the worst is yet to come.  In addition to the huge ripple effect of auto-related layoffs, the public sector is shedding jobs left and right.  The state government, plus many county and municipal governments, are laying off and/or leaving vacant positions unfilled.
 
What’s more, many thousands of people will soon exhaust their eligibility for unemployment insurance compensation.  The already-stressed food banks, food stamp programs, and soup kitchens may be taxed to the breaking point.  This could be a long, cold dark winter in Michigan.

ARMED PROTESTERS — Of late, the news media has carried reports about protesters showing up at presidential appearances or town hall meetings wearing a holstered pistol.  Predictably, left-wing columnists and commentators are setting off alarm bells about right-wing hate groups and a supposed growing threat to the life and safety of President Obama. (Hey, wasn’t it a LEFT-wing nut who killed JFK? You know, the creep who lived in Moscow for a while.)

I don’t know quite what to make of this.  I suppose a few gun owners feel justifiably threatened by the alarming expansion of the size and scope of government just since January, and perceive that the Second Amendment is in jeopardy.

But there’s more to this than meets the eye.  State laws vary on whether a right to carry means a weapon must be concealed (here in Michigan, we have CCW permits).  Also, there are certain zones where even those with right-to-carry permits are not allowed to carry their guns, such as schools, churches, and public venues.

Methinks the protesters photographed outside the presidential appearances were well within the law, i.e., staying a mandatory minimum distance away from the convention center, arena, or whatever the venue was.  Believe me, they’d be behind bars if they’d pushed the envelope too far.  Having attended a few presidential appearances, I am well aware of the metal detectors and tight security surrounding such events.

I cannot imagine the Secret Service would allow armed citizens to show up anywhere near where they would have a chance to cause harm to the President.

Posse readers are invited to comment on this phenomenon.  What does the law say in your state RE: concealed or open display of weapons? What about standing near a public gathering, whether a presidential town meeting or a college football game? Does whether the event is held inside an enclosed arena or an open stadium have a bearing?

I might be missing something here, but overall I believe the mainstream media and left-wing elitists are just continuing with their tired old game of trying to portray conservatives as a bunch of yahoos, bigots, dim bulbs and trigger-happy militia-types.  Oh and, by the way, these protesters are supposedly being organized and egged on by the Republican Party which, you may recall, these same elitists told us a few months ago was a feckless, dying institution and practically ready to croak.

I am reminded of the parable from scripture (Luke 14:28) about a man planning on constructing a tower but not calculating in advance whether he has the money and materials to complete the job.  If he lays the foundation, then admits he has to halt construction because he underestimated the cost, he opens himself up to ridicule.

The WSJ editorial nails it with this sentence: “The politicians care mainly about getting credit for the giveaway, not if some hapless dealers are left holding worthless paper when the money runs out." Amen.

Political pundit Dick Morris hit the nail on the head when he stated many of Obama’s closest operatives were great at campaigning and playing the charisma game.  But they are downright lousy when it comes to issues and the planning/execution of details.  There’s a world of difference between campaigning and governing, and too many Americans are learning that lesson the hard way.

Now, remind me again why millions are so utterly devoid of confidence in a government-run health system?

MICHIGAN’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE — My prediction was wrong about Michigan’s July unemployment rate being higher than June’s.  The rate actually declined a bit, from 15.2 percent in June to 15 percent in July.  This could be because of the uptick in seasonal jobs related to the state’s important tourism industry.

It would be nice to think the Great Lakes State has bottomed out, but I am afraid the worst is yet to come.  In addition to the huge ripple effect of auto-related layoffs, the public sector is shedding jobs left and right.  The state government, plus many county and municipal governments, are laying off and/or leaving vacant positions unfilled.
 
What’s more, many thousands of people will soon exhaust their eligibility for unemployment insurance compensation.  The already-stressed food banks, food stamp programs, and soup kitchens may be taxed to the breaking point.  This could be a long, cold dark winter in Michigan.

ARMED PROTESTERS — Of late, the news media has carried reports about protesters showing up at presidential appearances or town hall meetings wearing a holstered pistol.  Predictably, left-wing columnists and commentators are setting off alarm bells about right-wing hate groups and a supposed growing threat to the life and safety of President Obama. (Hey, wasn’t it a LEFT-wing nut who killed JFK? You know, the creep who lived in Moscow for a while.)

I don’t know quite what to make of this.  I suppose a few gun owners feel justifiably threatened by the alarming expansion of the size and scope of government just since January, and perceive that the Second Amendment is in jeopardy.

But there’s more to this than meets the eye.  State laws vary on whether a right to carry means a weapon must be concealed (here in Michigan, we have CCW permits).  Also, there are certain zones where even those with right-to-carry permits are not allowed to carry their guns, such as schools, churches, and public venues.

Methinks the protesters photographed outside the presidential appearances were well within the law, i.e., staying a mandatory minimum distance away from the convention center, arena, or whatever the venue was.  Believe me, they’d be behind bars if they’d pushed the envelope too far.  Having attended a few presidential appearances, I am well aware of the metal detectors and tight security surrounding such events.

I cannot imagine the Secret Service would allow armed citizens to show up anywhere near where they would have a chance to cause harm to the President.

Posse readers are invited to comment on this phenomenon.  What does the law say in your state RE: concealed or open display of weapons? What about standing near a public gathering, whether a presidential town meeting or a college football game? Does whether the event is held inside an enclosed arena or an open stadium have a bearing?

I might be missing something here, but overall I believe the mainstream media and left-wing elitists are just continuing with their tired old game of trying to portray conservatives as a bunch of yahoos, bigots, dim bulbs and trigger-happy militia-types.  Oh and, by the way, these protesters are supposedly being organized and egged on by the Republican Party which, you may recall, these same elitists told us a few months ago was a feckless, dying institution and practically ready to croak.

Old Habits are Hard to Break

Reasonable people can disagree about the extent to which human-caused CO2 emissions are messing up the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.  There's nothing wrong with differences of opinion regarding the extent to which Uncle Sam should mandate higher fuel efficiency standards and/or more alternative fuel vehicles.

But there's one idea I believe is largely untapped and would reduce not just emissions, but also aggravation and time spent commuting to and from work.  More companies need to break away from the 8-to-5 or 9-to-5 time clock mindset and allow greater flexibility in work hours.

After all, we live in an era of home computers, the Internet, Blackberrys, cell-phones, home fax machines, and many other technologies I won't even mention.  People can be just as productive at home a couple days a week, or at 6 a.m. or 7 p.m. as they can be in an office cubicle between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

It is ridiculous that most big cities have gridlock on their highways and major streets between 7-9 a.m. each weekday morning, and 3:30-7 p.m. each evening.  Why not start some workers at 6 a.m. each day and cut 'em loose at 2:30 p.m., with a half hour for lunch?  Or have them come in at 10 a.m. and work until 6:30 or 7 p.m.? This would put a stop to — or at least alleviate — the morning and afternoon road clogs.

Staggering hours also works better if, for example, West Coast employees need to speak with many East Coast clients and would not be able to reach them until 11 a.m. PST anyway.  Someone in California working a later shift could be making and receiving productive calls at 7 p.m. PST to/from colleagues in New York.

Many workers could telecommute two or three days a week, and this would further reduce congestion. It might even save some companies money because they could lease smaller office buildings and cut down on their utility bills.

When my wife and I lived in Atlanta for a few years, I often complained about the hideous traffic. It really drove me nuts.  The hot, muggy summers were wretched, too, and I was twice the victim of crime: Once when I had a car stolen from a MARTA (mass transit) parking lot; another time when I was mugged.  But the brutal congestion, reckless drivers and road rage were what soured me the most on Atlanta.

This may sound like minor stuff considering all that's going on with our economy, but it is frustrating that so many companies are stuck in their ways and unwilling to be a little innovative.  Less congestion and aggravation for daily commuters would put them in a better frame of mind at work, not to mention reduce urban smog.

Cash for Clunkers Put to Rest

Cash for Clunkers has reached a speedy conclusion following weeks of chaos and mismanagement — Uncle Sam running out of money in the first week, a mad scramble to appropriate an additional $2 billion, and many dealers having a hard time getting reimbursed from the government after providing their customers with $3,500 or $4,500 vouchers toward new vehicle purchases.

Interestingly, the George H.W. Bush administration launched a similar program back in 1992, but that initiative was geared more toward fleet vehicles owned by cities, states, and companies.

I have several problems with Cash for Clunkers: First, a lot of perfectly viable vehicles were destroyed (per the mandate) after their owners traded them in.  It would have made a lot more sense to donate the trade-ins, many of which were anything but "clunkers," to charities that could have helped struggling poor families and single mothers striving to get off welfare.

Second, I have not seen any calculations or study to this effect, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the "carbon footprint," as the liberals are so fond of calling it, generated by production of the brand new vehicles sold under this program, exceeds the reduction of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by taking the older vehicles off the road and replacing them with higher mpg models.  From extracting raw materials, to producing parts, to assembling the vehicles, running the manufacturing plants (lights, AC, water/sewer), etc., building the new vehicles consumes a considerable amount of fossil fuels.  This might have been a wash. 

After all, today's high-mileage cars are not like the ones back in the 1970s, i.e., belching out blue smoke, burning too rich a fuel mixture (carburetors were crude compared to fuel injection), and getting 9 mpg city, 15 mpg highway.  Today's older vehicles often go well over 150,000 miles without burning oil or suffering a decline in fuel efficiency.

Additionally, many people had to take on more debt to become eligible for the $3,500 or $4,500 voucher. In this economy, having consumers incur greater debt is bad news.  It simply reduces the spending they can do in other areas that would help with economic growth.

Often, the new vehicles sold under Cash for Clunkers were Hondas and Toyotas.  Granted, many of them were manufactured in the United States, but the profits will go to Asia, not Detroit.

But perhaps the biggest reason this boondoggle won't help is it artificially inflates auto sales within a four-week period in July and August 2009, which will depress sales a couple years down the road.  I seriously doubt it will result in an overall increase of unit sales.

This was just another hare-brained scheme designed by folks who think Washington knows best.  At best, it's a band-aid on our serious economic wounds.