One person can’t control gas prices

I’m hoping Barack Obama is a one-term President for a variety of reasons that I won’t regurgitate in this post. Defeating him is important, but I’m hoping the Republican nominee won’t use pie-in-the-sky predictions to gain favor with voters. Eventually, such tall tales will catch-up to him and undermine his credibility. The first potential pitfall to come to mind are promises to lower gas prices.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has often said that gas prices would fall below $2.49 per gallon if he were elected. He points out that such a fall would put money into the pockets of consumers, which would be pumped into the economy, corporate profits would be increased, fueling growth, and tax receipts would climb. These positive events would likely follow lower gas prices. The problem is that Gingrich thinks he can single-handedly bring down prices in the span of a single administration. This isn’t likely.
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If the TSA wants to fondle passengers, consumers should boycott the airlines

Just when you think the government couldn’t get more intrusive, they come up with another way to violate its citizens. First, we had body scanners that give a somewhat revealing picture of those who pass through it. Now, we have “security checks” that border on sexual assault.

In this video, a woman recounts her experience going through security at a U.S. airport with her children. She decided to opt-out of the full body scan because of fears about radiation and the images that would be produced. Instead, the male security officer groped her body, including her genitals and breasts. After he was finished with her, he wanted to move on to her daughters. Please check out this video. Should this be happening in the United States?

My only solution is to boycott the airlines. If the government is going to continue this sort of intrusive search, then consumers should find an alternate means of transportation.

New fuel efficiency standards are important for national security

A very rare thing happened this week: Barack Obama did something I agree with. The administration raised fuel efficiency standards on automobiles and SUV’s to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon. I know that many fellow conservatives are up in arms about this decision, but I think it’s a good decision which is long overdue.

There are already complaints about the new regulation relating to the increased cost of new automobiles and the reluctance to do anything to improve global warming, since many find the science inconclusive. As for the cost, it could be substantial. New car prices may rise up to $1,000. That’s certainly nothing to sneeze at, but this extra cost will certainly pay for itself in reduced fuel costs. Besides, once the car companies begin making more fuel efficient cars on a large scale, the economies of scale will likely kick in and bring this upfront increase down. » read more

We need whole body imaging scanners

It’s hard to believe there are still some who believe we don’t need whole body imaging scanners. You would think that the attempted terrorist attack that nearly killed 300 passengers would have been enough to convince people. I know that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano believes “the sytem worked,” but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The terrorist who attempted the latest attack was allowed to fly, despite being on a terrorist watch list, and he had displayed some questionable behavior. There was more than enough reason to be suspicious, but “the system” failed. The only things that saved the 300 passengers on that plane were a poorly trained terrorist and a brave passenger. » read more