Ford’s EV, Xeopronouns and more lipstick
Bye, bye Ford F-150 Lightening
Not too long ago I saw a commercial for an electric Ford F-150 Lightening that offered a free charger with free installation. I guess Ford is trying to clean out its inventory since it just announced that it is discontinuing production of the electric F-150. I was wondering what they were going to do with the Blue Oval plant they built in west Tennessee to build that truck. Ford announced that it was going to be used to produce a new affordable gas pickup, whatever that means. Maybe it will a small pickup like the Ford Ranger. Ford will likely join the crowd and also produce a hybrid F-150. Hybrid is the flavor of the month. Personally, I don’t get it. It seems to me that a hybrid must be heavier than a strictly gas vehicle and hence should be poorer gas milage when the gas engine is on. The electric engine I guess would be used for short trips and commutes. But the electric motors have very limited range and usually poor performance too. What is there not to love?
The electric pickup was a vanity vehicle in the first place. Most of us (I own a diesel F-250) use a pickup for towing and hauling not just to look cool going to get the morning latte. Mine is used to tow a fifth wheel, be a work truck at the farm with four wheel drive that comes in handy on hunting trips. But the electric pickup was not particularly useful doing any of those things and has a severely limited range. However, for those wanting to feel virtuous by hauling groceries from Publix and going to and fro to No Kings rallies, the Lightening probably worked just fine.
Ford did not announce whether it will continue to produce the electric Mustang. Yet that vehicle must also have contributed to the staggering losses that Ford was incurring to leading it to take a $19 billion charge. I don’t feel sorry for the automakers and I especially don’t feel sorry for their stockholders who put up with such nonsense. Ford’s CEO Farley and GM’s Mary Barra both embraced EVs because they would require a whole lot fewer workers and could relieve their pension funds’ burdens. What I never could understand is why the auto unions didn’t resist with impending job losses. It will be interesting to see whether the next democrat administration will try to revive the green grift to further enrich Al Gore and his buddies.
Bye, bye teachers’ unions?
We all know that teachers’ unions are agenda driven and have no interest in educating our children. I have mentioned time and time again how at their meetings there are precious few sessions on teaching effectiveness. However, there are plenty of sessions on climate, gender and social justice. How come? Why should our teachers be instructed in these things having nothing to do with learning how to read, write and do arithmetic. My guess is that many of the teachers themselves have trouble reading, writing and doing arithmetic.
The latest nonsense was at a NEA minority and women’s leadership conference in Denver to “advance racial and social justice in our schools.” Why a state accreditation board would allow this is beyond me. Couldn’t the teachers’ unions (both NEA and AFT) be decertified? At this conference, the attendees were treated to the topic “Advancing LGBTQ+ Justice” in which they were instructed in the proper use of “neopronouns” and “xeopronouns.” I won’t waste time defining these abominations. But surely here in Tennessee I wonder why our teachers don’t rebel against their leadership. Tennessee is a right to work state so joining the union is not mandatory so am I to assume that all teachers who are members of the unions actually endorse this stuff? I think the only way the union can be decertified is for its members to petition for a vote of the membership. Absent that, what good is the state’s board of education if it allows this social justice stuff to be part of our schools’ curricula?
A word on Obamacare
Obamacare is a ponsi scheme. It uses subsidies to hide the real cost of insuring healthcare through its generous subsidies increasing the fiscal burden borne by us all. At issue is the enhanced subsidies that were added “temporarily” during Covid that are set to expire at the end of the year, much to the distress of the enrollees. The program is rife with fraud with enrollees falsifying their information in order to get the subsidies. Again, economics says that if there are subsidies then there is additional demand for the product which drives up the price. This is what has happened with Obamacare. I am surprised that with the penchant of this president to try to fix prices (just like the democrats) that he doesn’t try to impose some limits on medical charges to lower the claims on Obamacare.
Rand Paul has introduced legislation that includes health savings accounts and the ability to combine health plans across state lines. All the other bills from both sides of the aisle are just putting more lipstick on the pig and are complicated Rube Goldberg machines. Paul says of his bill “I, for one, continue to support the repeal of Obamacare and replacing it with true free market reforms, not just some rearranging of the current system. Legalizing cross-state health care buying co-ops and letting everyone have an HSA is the only truly conservative option.” What! Free market reforms? There is no way the congress is going to give up the power of messing with healthcare to the market. What does Paul think – that we live in a capitalist free market country?
haroldblackphd.com 
I was surprised to see that the big 3 jumped aboard the EV/Battery train. The battery tech still after 12 years of Musk tech have yet to produce a battery that can handle extreme loads (trailers) cold weather or very hot weather. And until science develops the mythical solid state battery for commercial vehicle use it will never supersede gas/diesel performance. Hybrids would disappear if EPA follows thru and cancels the ridiculous fleet mileage requirements and associated carbon credits. Anytime you add additional components like turbochargers or electric motors (to increase fleet mileage) you increase failure modes and associated repair costs. Remove the senseless CAFE standards and associated carbon credits which are unseen taxes on US auto purchasers and mfgs can go back to producing their products at reduced costs helping the consumers.
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Amen to all that. I should have asked you to write the post.
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Blue Oval: The author knows I hate Blue Oval because it was a racist attack on private property..
As I recall the land was already slated to be a business park , with respect for nature, topography- maintain the land of Black farmers. Then a Republican governor stepped in, with a goal of making the damnest big roof ever, and EV batteries..
I can’t recall any mention of green grift or Al Gore in relation to this..
But REPUBLICANS appear to like EV batteries, all the while criticizing Dems for EV cars and trucks—run by Republicans..
In 2022 a Republican sent out a newsletter that said …
…”I’m anxious to return to Washington, D.C., because I’m going to experience a pat on the back, the handshake, the high five,”…… (Kansas Sen Jerry) Moran said. “And it’s something I think our state has missed out on too often.”..
He’s talking about an $829.2 million incentive package, where Panasonic would hopefully build a 9 billion EV battery plant in Kansas. Don’t know if they did..
“…Innovations happening right here in Kansas will accelerate the future of electric vehicles on a global scale,” ( said Democrat Gov Kelly)…
The executive VP of Panasonic said technology won’t work ( what?) unless we protect our environment. I don’t know if Takamoto is Dem or Republican.
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I wrote a post on Blue Oval condemning Gov Lee on the use of eminent domain to seize the family farms from black farmers that had been theirs for generations. One of my readers strongly chastised me for insinuating that Lee was racist and justifying the action as needed for economic development in west Tennessee. But I would have said the same thing had the farmers been white.
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Why is Car Insurance so much more affordable and easier to understand?
Health insurance needs to become more like Car Insurance…….
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Don’t give Washington that idea or else they will try to nationalize car insurance too!
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I haven’t recovered from the defens(ive) speech last night.
Let the market decide. I actually owned a hybrid sedan for 18 months – not a truck – and really liked it. Excellent gas mileage (I’d prefer to pay less), and alot of power under the hood. The interior body size was not to my liking, so I sold it. So….if demand is there, so be it.
It’s when demand is NOT there that the problems start. Incentives distort the market, especially when they’re inlaid by the government to create false demand. If a dealer wants to create an incentive on price and shift demand to a product, then so be it….but it will be through desire of the buyer, and demand driven by price – which is typically lower and supports the liquidity in the market.
I wouldn’t mind eventually having a good electric vehicle for local traffic use – no oil changes or gas engine maintenance required – and a little less pollution isn’t a bad thing. But again – let my personal desires drive my demand…not a government approved subsidy for a sweetheart industry. If demand isn’t there, supply will evaporate over time.
My daughter is a junior in college, studying to be a teacher. I’ve tried to talk her out of it at least 3 times; she insists that it’s her calling, so I’ve advised her to “marry well.”
I despise what the NEA and local boards are doing to our teachers and eventually our students. Clayton Christensen famously asked, “what’s the job to be done?” For our teachers, I think it’s pretty clear: teach them how to think (not what to think), inspire them with challenge, and expand their understanding of the world around them through fact-based learning. All of that other dreck is simply that. Dreck.
I have a love/less than love relationship with Rand Paul. He’s bold and courageous, and while I don’t always agree with him, he gets my ear because he cares enough to be demanding of government to do its job. As I started with, let the market decide. Surely, smart regulation will be required, but the idea of throwing millions off of healthcare without an off ramp edges on cruelty. What we really need is to stop making healthcare a job dependent burden by eliminating fraud and waste, and creating affordability and freedom of choice not tied to whether or not they can provide healthcare.
And if you’ve not read Phil Gramm’s commentary in today’s WSJ regarding welfare fraud, it’s worth the 10 minutes…
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Excellent comments all. I especially like what you told your daughter. The good senator has made this point forever that income in kind is not counted as income. Maybe one day it will be heeded. Did you know that Phil Gramm was my economics tutor at the University of Georgia?
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Wow! I’ve always had a lot of respect for Sen Gramm – so of course that’s imputed to his students!!
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Good morning!
I dont hate EVs as much as you. But, Ford whiffed!
I ordered one. It came in. Price? 110k.
I passed. Someone snapped it up same day.
EVs can be great. But the market has to decide.
Not the government or environmentalists. The big challenge will be the competition for power.
Our Al future demands goo gobs of electricity power. Silicon valley usually wins.
As for Obamacare, I dont know the math but | do believe a market driven affordable solution is needed. Healthcare should not be purely market driven but it should be market “refined” to efficiently deliver results.
At the end of your post you say “leave” instead of “live”.
Enjoyed it! Have a great day!
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