Thrust and Parry - The Blog

September 23, 2010

Speaking of Democrats driving cars

President Obama is fond of his keys to the car analogy mocking Republicans for wanting the keys back. He might want to look in the rear view mirror at this winning ad the Republicans ran in 1980 showing a Tip O'Neill (then Speaker of the House) look alike driving the Democratic car:

And who can resist it. Has anyone contemplated another possible MADD - Mothers Against Democrats Driving? (Sincere apologies to the real MADD - Mothers Against Drunk Driving.)

May 29, 2010

Thoughts on the Sestak-Clinton affair

Mark Levin covers the Sestak-Clinton affair better than anyone. Levin tells why it is an issue that should matter. Here is the May 28 audio archive (free). Segment is first of the show.

Christian apologist Greg Koukl has a favorite technigue when engaging in talk with non-believers that he calls taking the lid off. It involves taking the lid off an argument and seeing where it logically leads. In the Sestak-Clinton affair one could do the same.

If, as some say, the offer of an appointment or a position in exchange for getting out of a race is done all the time, then why was the law written and what was it written to prevent? Should an open repeal of the law be proposed by the Republicans to see if the Democrats will go along with permitting bribery?

April 28, 2010

Glenn Reynolds has a post up about the Ford Fusion Hybrid being the hybrid which returns one's investment the quickest. The basis is that the hybrid version of a model costs more than the traditional version and that the gas savings takes x amount of years to pay off the premium.

Kudos to Glenn for always putting the hybrid out front. But, in this case, as a Prius owner, I take exception to the methodology used by the researchers. Firstly, the researchers compare the Prius to the Yaris as there is no gas only Prius. That is not a fair comparison in quality and the researchers allow for that.

A cursory look at the San Francisco Chronicle article which Mr. Reynold's post is based on shows average yearly gasoline purchases of $1587. At $3 a gallon, this breaks down to 529 gallons. At 20 mpg this would give a driver 10,580 miles per year.

For many California drivers, where there are the most Priuses, 10,580 miles per year seems on the low side. I own a business that requires a lot of driving so my mileage of 50,000 miles per year, sometimes more, makes my investment pay off quicker. I would be curious to know what the average Prius or other hybrid owner drives a year. My guess is it would be much greater than 10,580.

April 12, 2010

Mitt Romney - Dragon Slayer?

It is being bandied about that Mitt Romney is having a bit of an uphill battle with certain conservatives due to his promotion and leadership in getting RomneyCare established in Massachusetts. Powerline has an account; as does the DailyCaller.

The solution is simple. Rather than talk about a "prescription for repeal" of ObamaCare, former Governor Romney needs to go back to his home state and repeal and replace RomneyCare. His backing of Scott Brown, the anti-ObamaCare candidate, is well known. What better strategy for gaining credibility than to take into the 2012 presidential campaign that he first was able to slay the lesser dragon of RomneyCare before taking on the larger and fiercer dragon of ObamaCare.

Imagine the story that could be generated by an announcement by Romney that he, with some help from Senator Brown, will first clean their own house before going out to clean others'. Imagine the message this would send to Tea Partiers and conservatives.