Luba Wold, Russian Immigrant Tells It Like It Is.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28495615@N02/4601696264/

Luba Wold is a Russian immigrant who came to the U.S. 20 years ago.  While in Russia, she lived in a small Siberian village.  In this article, she tells of her experience growing up in Communist Russia, and how she feels that the U.S., if it keeps heading in the direction it is going, will end up to be much like Russia was.  Her story highlights the struggles and poverty of the Russian people and explains the reason the Russian people never fought for their freedom. 

I wish they still taught about the reality of living under a Socialist or Communist regime in public school, but according to what I've seen lately, its more the flip side that they are teaching--Social Justice.  Well, this is what your so called "Social Justice" really looks like. 

http://www.cdapress.com/columns/my_turn/article_7f73c492-83cc-5d62-a0ce-0c6969721cd4.html

I did the math last time gas was at $4.something a gallon and guess what?  It's cheaper for me to pay 4.something a gallon even living 10 miles out of town in the Cascade foothills (lots of steep hills and curves) driving a paid off Ford Expedition that gets about 13 miles to the gallon than it is for me to make the payment on a new car.  That might have something to do with why Obama's $150,000,000.00 tax payer funded hybrid battery plant in Michigan is putting workers on furlough before a single battery has been produced.  http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/10/08/lg-plant-that-got-150m-to-make-volt-batteries-in-michigan-puts-workers-on/

Everyone knows that people do get impressions of others by what kind of car they drive. One of the things that really makes me roll my eyes is when I see these greenies driving brand new Volts, Priuses, Leafs or what have you because they want to project the impression that they care about the environment.  I have news for them.  All the material that goes into making a new car is not "green".  If people really cared about the environment, they would not run out and buy new Chevy Volts or Toyota Priuses, etc.  They'd drive what they have until it fell apart.  Then they'd find a nice little very used 4 cylinder Hyundai or something similar and drive it until it absolutely wouldn't go anymore.  And then they'd put a new engine in it and drive it some more.  The real secret to protecting the environment is: use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.

If car manufacturing and importing stopped this very day and there were no new cars, I really wonder how long it would take U.S. citizens to completely use up every last mile out of every last vehicle available until there was actually a shortage of reliable vehicles in the U.S.?  I'm pretty sure there is glut of oldish cars that would get us around just fine for quite a while.  Its just that not many of us (including the greenies) want to drive old cars, for a lot of different reasons. 

As for the battery question, I was surprised to learn that they have been lasting 100,000+ miles, and I'm sure that there will be better ones that will last even longer.  I'm also sure that there will be a recycling program for them, however, until enough hybrids are purchased to drive a commercial recycling business, the recycling will most likely be mandated by onerous regulations that will further hurt car dealers and most concerning, smaller automotive repair shops.  Bad deal all 'round.  :-|