Reader Response

Dear reader,
I know my absence has been long, but I will make a commitment to you that Stop Partisan will update at least weekly! I will also be making a few changes to this site, as to how, and what stories are talked about.

1. If their is a political story you would like to hear about, e-mail me at stop.partisan@gmail.com

2. I will also be accepting other peoples articles, and re-posting them in full (with their permission of course). Just e-mail me your article to the e-mail address above.

3. Have you gotten active in the political community? Have you participated in a political demonstration, written a senator, or are you even considering RUNNING FOR OFFICE? Just drop in a line and Stop Partisan will have a feature article each week about those of you who are getting involved with their political community.

A reader posts:

So you think that taxing something is bad, but yet we should take away buyers' option of owning an SUV because they drive up gas prices? So what do YOU think would fix the problem? Also, have you noticed gas prices going down for almost a month now?

Virginia Stephen

Dear reader,
I don't think that taxing something is bad. However, part of the reason our founding fathers penned the Declaration of independence was to end what we believed was unfair taxation (from the English), or "taxation without representation." Adding an additional tax on a new widget, especially one that people are still skeptical about can unintentionally/intentionally stop its progress dead in the water. Reagan understood this concept, and even I will give him credit for giving the tax breaks, and subsidies to leading technology companies that would have had stalled success without. What makes a hybrid vehicle attractive to the buyer, along with it being more environmentally friendly, is the potential to save money. Adding a tax that will take that incentive away makes it moot to buy a gas-conserving car.

As for falling gas prices, price ISN'T THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM. Simply lowering prices is like attacking the leaves and ignoring the trunk. What we are experiencing is a rise in consumption that will soon exceed the rate at which refined oil can be produced. With China expecting to double it's driving population (and believe me, it's no small number) within the next five years, if we don't start conserving our resources now, the U.S., as well as all other world oil markets will be in a real gas shortage. And if you think the difference between driving an SUV, and a more fuel efficient car (like say a Prius) makes little difference, just do the math. I would suspect that gas prices will jump back up again by this summer, and most likely will reach three dollars a gallon by the end of this year. And in-case you weren't paying attention, gas prices did not start to fall until a senate committee was charging U.S. fuel companies with price gouging. If I can find ONE element of Reaganomics that was functional, then certainly you can see that there was a definite correlation between falling prices, and a senate investigation. (Which has miraculously disappeared since gas prices have fallen.)

Finlay, I do not believe that a persons right to buy an SUV, or any vehicle for that matter, should be restricted. However, I do think that it is morally responsible to provide incentives to get people to conserve fuel. As for what I suggest should be done about this issue, just refer to my previous post, GAS CRISIS, and I lay out a detailed solution.

Cody Hobbs

Gas Crisis 2

While fishing the news pipe-lines, I found a story that I could not resist commenting on. Read the Full Story here! The US Chamber of Commerce has suggested taxing hybrid and fuel efficient cars to make up the difference they would be paying with the gas tax (to pay for highways, pot holes, etc). You don't have to pull out your cereal-box decoder ring to decode the sub-text of this article. With more and more people (Article In October 10 issue of Time) switching to hybrid, and other more fuel-efficient vehicles to help curb the cost by inflated gas prices, those record profits declared by such corps. as Exon begin to deflate themselves in a hurry.. Meanwhile, gas execs have been fighting allegations of price gouging on capital hill in the past few weeks, and being asked to explain RECORD PROFITS!! (Exon more than doubled it's yearly earnings)

While both price-gouging, and shortages are evident, attacking people who are driving more fuel efficient vehicles is disturbing.

How is a tax increase going to raise Gas Companies profits?

The answer to this question is two fold. 1) It will encourage people to stop buying econamy cars, and 2) Congress has granted tax breaks to gas companies - The money has to come from somewhere!

Reading this article has me so seething with anger, I don't know quite what else to say. I will let you dear reader read the article for your self, and come to whatever conclusion you will come to.

Laid off for Christmas

How the west was Lost?

GM announced Monday that it will be lying off 30,000 employees to recuperate from this years profit losses, and already the mud-slinging has begun. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1333188&page=1 Those on the left have accused GM of using this maneuver to fatten its execs wallets, while those on the right have retorted that GM doesn't have any responsibility to provide indefinite employment. So who has more ground in this argument? I'll give you a hint; it's not the left or the right.

Yes, GM is experiencing lower demand for their vehicles, and yes again, reducing the number of vehicles produced does mean that you will need to reduce the number of people making said vehicles. However, this is not an anomaly, and laying off workers and eventually moving your operations “over seas” have become the number one business trend in the U.S. And it's no longer just affecting the manufacturing sector; it's spreading like plague into higher paying jobs, such as computer programming, too.

Return tomorrow for what this trend spells for U.S. economy, and what I propose as a solution. (It may just be my opinion, but at least I don't just complain endlessly about it.)

Under construction

To my one faithful reader, I apologize for my long absence from the world of "blogging". I have been busy with work, school, and, well, that's about it. There is so much news, and so much to say. However, I am again writing on the run. So, until next time, here is a 9/11 link for you all to chew on. Call it liberal propaganda if it makes you sleep better, but at the end of the day the proof is there for those who have the stomach to believe that not everything is as the press has illuminated it.

Watch 9/11 video, then proceed.

The difficult thing about believing you have been lied to for the last five years, is accepting that you were fool enough to believe in it. For many of us, it is easier to continue defending what we have previously stood for, despite the facts. We will see a new breed of both conservative and liberal, one more fueled with passion than truth. For now, the battle is lost. It is lost until we can start fighting passionately about, and for, the truth again.

Cody Hobbs