Here’s a fabulous article, in  which senior transportation analyst Paul Gipe speculates as to what is going so incredibly wrong inside Toyota.

I’ve often wondered about many of the points Gipe brings up here.  A decade ago, I theorized that Toyota was resting on its laurels following its introduction of the Prius decades ago, while it profited far more greatly from its hot-selling trucks that get, on a good day, one-third of the gas mileage of the breakthrough hybrid.

But now, this is getting truly strange.  Toyota is making noise about a hydrogen-fueled vehicle that it may launch a few years down the road, a concept that has as much chance for success as a line of covered wagons.

I would be surprised to learn that there is no malicious collaboration with the auto giant and big oil.  If Toyota cared a whit for the environment, they would be in a far different place right now.

 

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U.S. Representative Ken Buck (R-CO) was elected to his congressional seat in one of the deepest red regions of the country on the basis that he is as extreme in his conservative positions as anyone could possibly be.

But even he, bless his heart, has drawn the line on Trump. As he says here, he can’t support a convicted felon.  So good to hear.

I don’t mean to be condescending.  There are plenty of people in Buck’s place, i.e., Republicans in similar parts of the country, who will support Trump long past the point that he’s sentenced to die in prison, on the basis that the criminal justice apparatus in the United States is tilted against Trump and towards the woke liberal socialists.  At least Buck has the integrity to stand up against that level of pure crap.

 

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Re: the meme here, a reader notes: Republicans, if you care as deeply about this nation as you claim you do, you’ll dismount the dead horse myth of Trump’s patriotism and Hillary’s treason—and you’ll stand on your own two feet.

To be sure, she’s owed an apology, insofar as essentially everything she warned us about Trump turned out to be completely true, and, true to form, Trump turned those accusations around immediately at aimed them at his foe.

That said, what would have been the problem with Clinton’s saying, instead of describing her opponent’s supporters as “deplorables,” If you elect me as your next president, regardless of how much or how little money you have, your government will respect you and do its best for you.  I stand for the rights of all Americans, the wealthy and the poor, the strong and the weak.  

She would have been elected in a landslide, and this whole abortion that is American politics today would have been averted.

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When I talk to  people about “investment” opportunities like this, I caution them about three things:

a) Scam/fraud.  How confident are you that these people are actually using your capital for oil/gas extraction, as opposed to luxury vacations and offshore bank accounts?

b) Loss. Even if these people are essentially honest, are they aware of the fact that Mercedes Benz built 6 million gas- and diesel-powered cars and trucks in 2022, and will build zero in 2025, as they transition their entire fleet to electric?

c) Duty.  Even neglecting a) and b) above, do you really want to be part of an industry that is ruining the planet?

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It became clear that Donald Trump was in legal jeopardy when he was first impeached near the end of 2019.  Since then, an uncountable number of lawyers have been retained to defend him, almost all of whom have quit or been fired, leaving the former president desperately scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Rightfully, most Americans are wondering why, if Trump was a great president, innocent of the charges brought against him by his political enemies, why aren’t the country’s top attorneys flocking to come to his aid? Is it possible that they know something Trump’s base doesn’t?

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When Fox News lost its defamation lawsuit to Dominion Voting Systems and was ordered to pony up close to $1 billion in damages, it appeared that perhaps the ultra-right-wing “news” sources might be reshaping itself so as to a) stay out of legal jeopardy, and b) promote itself to people who place at least some value on truth and honesty.

As we can see from the banner in the meme here, all hope is lost in that regard.  Fox has actually amped up its spread of malicious bulls*** as far and wide as possible, and now is causing tens of millions of people to believe that Trump is innocent, and that Biden is the real criminal.

If Fox is successful, there will be virtually no way to avoid mass bloodshed when Trump is convicted and sentenced to prison.

I join the others who are calling for our Federal Communications Commission to revoke Fox News’ license to broadcast. Of course, all this comes down to the First Amendment and the protection of free speech, yet the Supreme Court has consistently found that the incitement of violence (in this case, armed revolution with automatic weapons) is not protected.

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Australian Malcolm Roxburgh writes: I can’t fathom American politics. Surely, out of 300+ million, you can find someone under 60 years of age with all their facilities to be President. 

Thank you, Malcolm.  This is a thought I’ve had dozens of times.  All we need is a sane and honest progressive to lead our country forward.

Though Big Money supports right wing causes, most Americans have liberal values when it comes to women’s rights, gun control, LGBTQ issues, universal healthcare, environmental responsibility, and quality education.

Additionally, most of us are appalled at what the Republican party has becomes with its lies and criminality. Even the GOP congresspeople who realize that Trump is toast are still mincing their words, e.g, “Trump shouldn’t have stolen the documents, obstructed justice, and committed conspiracy, but the indictments are a witch-hunt orchestrated by the Deep State and woke socialists.”

I have every confidence that we will find someone for the job going forward.

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Give me a break, Mitt.  The country is in tumult, and it is because of Trump, but these documents just happen to be the subject of the most recent in a string of criminal indictments.

In particular, Trump tried to overthrow the U.S. federal government.  And astonishingly, tens of millions of hateful morons continue to support him.

The so-called tumult can only be resolved by prosecuting, trying, convicting, and sentencing Trump for treason.  Even then you’ll have people saying he was the victim of partisan politics by woke socialist homosexuals.

In the meanwhile, Mitt, you can do your country a service by calling out Trump for the breadth of his crimes.

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Let’s suppose that you follow the American right-wing media, and you think that Trump is being hounded out of office by the Deep State, or the liberal elites, or the radical socialists.

If you’ve read the indictment against the former president in the documents case, you understand that he stole classified documents that detail our nuclear capabilities and vulnerabilities, hid them from the government authorities who were trying to retrieve them, and  showed them to people without clearances, knowing all the while that he was violating the most important laws that keep our nation safe.

Astonishingly, there are people who call themselves patriots, and want a traitor re-elected to lead our country.  They’re just as deranged as Trump himself.

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No, the situation with Trump is not normal, but the meme here reminds us of what therapists implore their patients who are suffering from trauma to do: Find and accept the “new normal.”

After all, if the Republicans get their way, and the charges against Trump are dismissed as being politically motivated, it is clear our country’s history of government of, by and for the people will have been lost, and the new normal will have become autocracy.

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