Maj. Cullinane. Joint Base Balad, Iraq
Memorial Day in the United States is a holiday, established after the end of the Civil War, commemorating the ultimate sacrifice of Soldiers. At this time, it is appropriate to reflect on this sacrifice but also to spend the holiday with friends and family. I used the time to travel back to my native Massachusetts, thankful of the opportunities I was given by those who came before me.
As a member of the armed forces who has been deployed overseas, I believe that war is a necessary evil. While peace is always our goal and should be the natural state of man, it only takes one group, one nation, to start a conflict. President Kennedy once said “we dare not tempt our enemies with weakness” and there is much evidence to say that this policy has kept global war in check for many years. Still, there continues to be tension and regional aggression, and these bring a heavy cost.
We weigh our conflicts in victory and defeat and in lives and dollars. While loss of life is a heavy cost, it is not the only burden that war imparts on society. More recently we have looked at the toll it has had on our Veterans. Terms like “shell shock,” “battle fatigue,” and more recently “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)” give voice to the silent cost of an ongoing war in the minds of the living. Families lose loved ones, and they are never able to get them back.
To this I would propose another cost to consider, an environmental cost. We currently find ourselves in the unenviable position of consuming more oil than we can domestically generate. We are thus obligated to deploy our military in defense of foreign governments with massive oil reserves. These nations may or may not share our desire of liberty and freedom. By depending on their oil, we make them rich and influential. Relying on oil as a primary source of transportation fuel has ongoing repercussions across the planet. Carbon dioxide emissions have increased with the mass adoption of the internal combustion engine. The companies who buy and sell this commodity accidentally spill it in along our coastlines due to incompetence or lack of oversight causing death, disease, and economic hardship for decades to come.
I feel that Memorial Day is an opportunity for each of us to remember our Soldiers’ sacrifice by taking personal responsibility. I ask that each of you invest in our society. First and foremost, vote. Research the candidates, ask intelligent questions and elect the official who is best qualified. Every day, each of us have the opportunity to vote with our wallet. Choose products which are made responsibly and invest in companies that represent true value. Value may not mean the lowest price; value may be manifested by locally made products, companies investing in green technologies, and those businesses supporting American ingenuity.
Compared to the sacrifices that Soldiers are asked to make, personal responsibility can be simple. Ensure that the air in your cars tires is at an optimum level. Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. An energy audit is a good way of understanding your home’s efficiency. In some states, the audit is subsidized and the cost minimal to the consumer. While investing in stocks may not be appropriate for everyone, my portfolio includes two companies building batteries for electric cars. I am in the process of setting up a 5kwh Solar array on my home. Personal responsibility can even be fun. Following the development of the Volt and even taking a test drive in New York has been rewarding. I have placed a deposit at my local Chevy dealership near where I work in California. I am ecstatic that I will be one of the first 8000 to own this piece of American ingenuity.
Use this day to remember and honor our dead. But also, reflect that our actions today can lessen the burden of our service men and women tomorrow.
This entry was posted on Monday, May 31st, 2010 at 6:52 am and is filed under Volt Nation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
+6
May 31st, 2010 (7:00 am)Thanks for the post and thanks for your service.
Everyone have a safe and pleasant holiday, and remember.
+3
May 31st, 2010 (7:10 am)Thank you for your service to the nation.
We must try to take personal responsibility to consume less oil. drive small car, buy american made products even paying a little more $$ . To that end I will not buy Leaf until they produce it in TN. However, I will go for Volt instead. Make a promise to help our nation and less fortunate in our society in these times.
Alas all these are just words ..what matter the most We need to DO it.
+17
May 31st, 2010 (7:16 am)Thank you Maj. Jason Cullinane for your service and for your sacrifice. Personally the geopolitical reasons are my top reason for following the volt so closely. Memorial day can really put it into perspective and your article hit the mark. Thanks for all you do and a special thanks to all of the soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice to allow us to continue living the American Dream. God Bless you all
+17
May 31st, 2010 (7:31 am)What an excellent well-written post. Of course I agree that the best way to reduce reliance on foreign oil is to buy locally made electric vehicles. Can’t happen fast enough. I think the general public is beginning to realize this but most do not have the financial resources to pay any significant premium.
The big question is that when America does achieve energy self-sufficiency, will the wars stop? How do you change the attitude of governments and harder still smaller factions that hate us and willing to commit terror like 9/11? I think the best we can hope is to scale down the peace keeping efforts in these areas.
However energy independence is a vital first step. I will again remind readers of the great possibility in LFTRs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWUeBSoEnRk This safe, low-cost nuclear solution is proven to work and has no long term radio-active waste. It needs to be promoted and brought to mainstream consideration by our politicians. We need to stop burning oil, it is very useful for many other things mostly for the plastics industry. We also need to stop burning coal and if we replace ICE autos with EVs we need clean electricity not more coal burning or more radio-active waste produced by conventional nuclear LWRs.
+7
May 31st, 2010 (7:31 am)I add my thanks to you Major for your service to our country and your thoughtful remarks. Energy independence for our country was one of the main attractions for me with the development of the Volt and other EVs. It is hugely important and will help make the world a more stable community of nations.
+13
May 31st, 2010 (7:44 am)Let me add my heart-felt endorsement to your remarks here, gsned57 —as well as to those in your very thoughtfully written introductory comments, Major Cullinane! In particular, Major, your paragraph stressing why we must dramatically reduce our use of petroleum is a bullseye:
“We currently find ourselves in the unenviable position of consuming more oil than we can domestically generate. We are thus obligated to deploy our military in defense of foreign governments with massive oil reserves. These nations may or may not share our desire of liberty and freedom. By depending on their oil, we make them rich and influential. Relying on oil as a primary source of transportation fuel has ongoing repercussions across the planet. Carbon dioxide emissions have increased with the mass adoption of the internal combustion engine. The companies who buy and sell this commodity accidentally spill it in along our coastlines due to incompetence or lack of oversight causing death, disease, and economic hardship for decades to come.”
And in Memorial Day recognition of the great sacrifices made throughout history by the courageous members of our armed services:
+3
May 31st, 2010 (7:57 am)A great post for Memorial Day! Thanks for your service Major Cullinane! I have been listening to the roar of Harleys as Rolling Thunder rolls through Arlington VA and it makes me smile to think of how something so simple, so much fun, as cruising around on their Harley-Davidsons can be a fitting tribute to the brothers that never came home from war.
I would also like to reiterate some of the points above, that becoming less addicted to foreign oil is a goal that would make our nation much, much healthier and safer. Coal and oil are incredibly cheap and energy rich, but we pay an incredible price for that convenience. Whether it is building new Gen IV nuclear power plants, building geothermal power plants, designing and building photovoltaic arrays that are cost effective, or increasing wind power to a probable maximum of 20-25% of the total electricity generated in the US, we need to keep moving forward on multiple fronts so that OPEC makes less money off of us and we need them less and less as each year goes by.
Even if every car on the roads of America were BEV we would still be importing oil, but importing 2,000,000 BB a day from Canada or Mexico is a lot healthier than importing 12,000,000 BB a day from all over the world.
With China and India increasing their use of oil and new oil field finds coming less frequently, it will probably be just a matter of time before oil finds a new balance price, not $75 a barrel but $140 a barrel or thereabouts. EREV will look pretty sweet with gasoline costing $4+ a gallon. And by 2020, battery packs may be cheap enough that BEV’s may start to edge out EREV’s in sales. Great days are coming when America won’t need to send our wealth overseas to fuel our cars!
+4
May 31st, 2010 (8:15 am)If you walk out the north doors (I think) of the Colorado state capital building, you find a Memorial which has the names of the people who died in Colorado regiments during the Civil War. My great great grandfather’s name is on that Memorial so remembering who we are honoring is not difficult for me.
During that war those of the northern persuasion sang a song around their campfires. It is no longer politically correct, but on this day, I thought I would point out what the southern men heard coming from the high ground near Gettysburg – As Christ died to make men holy, let us die to make men free.
May God Bless
+3
May 31st, 2010 (8:28 am)Most excellent post Sir. A quiet moment of reflection is deserved for all that have made this nation great. Your thoughts are a great mantra for us all.
+5
May 31st, 2010 (8:32 am)From your words to God’s ears Major.
Seize the day, enjoy your Memorial Day!
163 Days until V-day. “Volt Day”
NPNS!
+13
May 31st, 2010 (8:38 am)Thank you for your service.
I am surprised that neither the current nor previous president have called on our citizens as you so succinctly have. It is not hard to connect these dots.
+2
May 31st, 2010 (8:52 am)If you haven’t already, watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFJH0mimzqk
I consider this a must-see for people who frequent this site.
In particular, starting at 4:20 into the video, they point out that most alternative energy generates electricity, which has very little to do with reducing foreign oil. Only 1% of our electricity comes from oil.
Most of our electricity comes from coal. The U.S. has been called the Saudi Arabia of coal. We have enough coal for at least another 100 years. There may be other reasons not to use coal, but energy independence isn’t one of them.
I agree that best thing we can do to honor our men and women in uniform is reducing foreign oil, but in order to do that effectively, we need to focus on things that actually have an impact. Many are predicting world oil production will peak in the next few years. When that happens, all hell will break loose, and reducing oil consumption won’t be a vague concept anymore.
To be clear, I do believe global warming is a real problem, and we need to figure out a long-term solution for that, but the problems surrounding foreign oil are much more imminent. Any real solution to climate change will have to address oil anyway, so that’s the best place to start.
+1
May 31st, 2010 (9:09 am)Exceptional posting. I made a number of the same points yesterday (#31), so no point repeating them. I invite folks to view http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMOCPGLqoGI NBC affiliates across the country picked this up last July for rebroadcast on local news. It covers a number of the changes we made to our lifestyle to remove our footprint. I am a retired naval officer and fully appreciate the military commitment we make just because we are so damn addicted to oil. As the Major asks here, please use your principles in making decisions- not just your wallet. Everything in the video has a higher purpose- even to avoid dumping chemicals into our environment that creates dead zones off our coasts- just so we can have green lawns. Memorial Day is for thinking about things beyond yourself. Encourage your fellow Americans to do the same.
+3
May 31st, 2010 (9:19 am)The service of our military members is very honorable. Yet, we also need to be continually reminding our elected representatives that they need to be doing everything in their power to protect and defend the constitution of the US, which includes working towards energy independence, so the US is not drawn into conflicts influenced by oil. More energy independence equals fewer US casualties.
+6
May 31st, 2010 (9:24 am)Extraordinary post, Major! Well-said and well-done. God Bless you and yours, and thanks to all the heroic individuals who have sacrificed in the service of our country.
Be well and God Bless,
Tagamet
/definitely a “words fail to express” occasion.
+1
May 31st, 2010 (9:40 am)Oil has been transformed from a commodity into a political weapon. The 13 largest oil producing companies in the world are all government owned, and those governments have their own agendas, not our best interest, at heart. Domestically we have largely depleted our reserves, and offshore drilling in the US, dangerous as it is, is largely symbolic given the amount of oil we consume and what we can produce from those areas.
I think I read a week or so ago that adding the actual costs of importing oil would mean gas should cost $18/gallon. We can’t continue to subsidize oil consumption. The obvious solution is a gas tax or cap & trade which would encourage people to move to an alternative — natural gas, biofuel, electric vehicles — whatever makes sense — which reduces the power of governments which oppose our way of life and allows our economy to grow.
So I say it differently: Stop thanking these guys for their service and start paying a few extra bucks a gallon. Enough with the unpatriotic babble about being taxed too much. If they can go to hell holes and have people try and kill them surely you can spend an extra quarter to get to the grocery store. Talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words.
May 31st, 2010 (9:43 am)And you too. Does this mean you’re back home?
+2
May 31st, 2010 (9:47 am)Let me add my appreciation for your excellent thoughts.
Thanks so much for your service and for your thoughts and counsel.
+4
May 31st, 2010 (9:52 am)Just a little positive note: the countdown clock now indicates that we are under the 6 month mark!!!
Of course time will not seem to streatch out as we get closer will it?
+8
May 31st, 2010 (9:52 am)I really wish that you would reread, if not reTHINK, your comment. Stop thanking these guys???? We should NEVER stop thanking these heroes! It’s not an either/or choice. The Major did an excellent job of describing the issues. TODAY is the day to give our loudest thanks for THEIR actions – not a great day for political posturing. JMO.
Tagamet
May 31st, 2010 (9:59 am)Just for the moment.
Be well and believe,
Tagamet
+1
May 31st, 2010 (10:02 am)Excellent video, but again I don’t see how most of this relates to energy independence. The U.S. already has the means to produce domestic electricity for at least another century.
If the focus is on energy independence, and the military implications associated with foreign oil, then this video is more appropriate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFJH0mimzqk
Specifically, starting around 7:05:
- Drive less by working from home 1 day a week
- Drive more efficient cars, or trade your gas powered car for a hybrid
- Help create market demand for electric cars (Chevy Volt mentioned here)
- Call you representative and urge them to support a FlexFuel mandate
- Make our dependence on foreign oil a topic in the election
These are the types of things that really can really impact foreign oil.
Things like solar panels and energy saving appliances may be good for the environment, but they have very little to do with energy independence.
+3
May 31st, 2010 (10:11 am)Wonderful post by the Major. Today is a day to remember and honor those who have put their lives on the line for our country. But we who benefit from their sacrifices must also take the time to look at why – and to honestly ask if a cause and the results we seek are truly worth the price we ask them to pay. Self reflection keeps us from being blind.
Would we be fighting our present wars if we all drove electric cars? Arguably not. It would be great if our primary need for oil was not to burn, but to lubricate. But it’s not, and thus we fight. May the bravery and personal sacrifices be always honored, even if the reasons behind them are not.
+3
May 31st, 2010 (10:24 am)Thank you Major for the sacrifices you and the troops have made to keep freedom alive in the world today. Your excellent post and the wonderful comments that follow; encourage a renewed commitment to the electrification of the automobile and continued awareness of our responsibility to energy independence. It is the consumer who will have to fight “big oil” by making the daily choices to reduce consumption. Choosing candidates who support solar, nuclear, LNG, coal, EV and high speed electric rail transit is a must as you have so well stated.
Thanks again for reminding us what this day is for. Remembering the troops and what they need from us to help bring them home.
May 31st, 2010 (10:24 am)Thanks for the super post band Happy Memorial Day. Looks like everyone that drives a Volt wants to own one. GM has a power hitter in the lineup.
=D-Volt
+1
May 31st, 2010 (10:25 am)Thanks for the super post and Happy Memorial Day. Looks like everyone that drives a Volt wants to own one. GM has a power hitter in the lineup.
=D-Volt
+5
May 31st, 2010 (10:26 am)+1000000
Repect to all.
+8
May 31st, 2010 (10:27 am)As a retired Air Force member, I send this to help keep people home and away from the desert.
Buy American, and buy an electric car. Everyone doing so will help accomplish the mission of keeping America free and out of the hands of enslaving nations, such as the Oil Barons of the Middle-East represent to me, and the Major’s photo clearly evinces to me.
May God help all these noble manufacturers achieve what bullets, aircraft carriers, airplanes, the blood of our young, and guns just can’t do.
+3
May 31st, 2010 (10:31 am)______________________________________________________________
Maj. Cullinane,
Thank you for your service.
Electric Cars + Nuclear Energy = American Energy Security
_____________________________________________________________
+6
May 31st, 2010 (11:07 am)Dave G writes:
“Things like solar panels and energy saving appliances may be good for the environment, but they have very little to do with energy independence.”
Not sure I follow you. For every solar generated kw produced or saved there is less of a fossil fuel used. Generating your own energy would be the very definition I would give to “energy independence.”
+4
May 31st, 2010 (11:26 am)YES.
Next time I deploy, I want to be with this guy! We’ll power our trailers with solar/wind (where there is PLENTY of it…) and give those nasty diesel generators a rest!
+1
May 31st, 2010 (12:33 pm)This picture brought tears to my eyes.
I can’t figure how to post it. (my phone?)
I know hotair.com is a political site so this link is just to the pic not any content.
http://media.hotair.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/memday-jamesjohnregan.jpg
We disagree about how to achieve peace, and people may be pacifist or antagonistic to the military, but I believe the vast majority of fallen were reluctant warriors acting out of love and duty.
May 31st, 2010 (12:54 pm)Thank you.
+1
May 31st, 2010 (12:55 pm)In order for the United States to be energy independent, we first have to realize what we have, and what we don’t.
The U.S. has only 3% of the worlds oil reserves, and we consume over 20% of world oil production. So there’s really no way to drill ourselves out of this mess. We just don’t have enough oil.
But with coal, the picture is completely different. The U.S. has been called the Saudi Arabia of coal. We have enough coal to meet our electrical needs for the next 100 years or more. We export coal. We have more than enough.
So again, if we’re talking about U.S. energy independence, and the implications foreign oil has on our men and women in uniform, saving electricity has very little to do with it. Our electricity is domestic powered, and will be for a long time.
May 31st, 2010 (1:39 pm)Thank you Major for your service.
My brother will be in the US Army soon (currently in ROTC and majoring in Arabic), so I have added motivation to get off foreign oil. In 20 years, it should be China and India having to deal with protecting Middle Eastern oil supplies that western Europe and the US no longer need. I have a feeling if this happens the Arab world will realize the Great Satan was really quite benevolent!
May 31st, 2010 (4:06 pm)Thank you Major. I hope that you are one of the first to get your Volt.
+2
May 31st, 2010 (4:12 pm)Unfortunately – until everyone starts connecting the dots between oil usage & foreign wars & GOM BP oil disaster – we will see the spectacle of gas guzzlers used to go and pay homage to lives lost in wars.
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/850/memorialdayh.jpg
May 31st, 2010 (5:08 pm)I personally want to thank the fallen and their families who have made the ultimate sacrafice.
We will never forget.
Take Care,
TED
+1
May 31st, 2010 (5:21 pm)God bless you and your family, Maj. Jason Cullinane.
Thank you to all servicemen and servicewomen who continue to put your lives
in danger in the name of freedom.
You and the people on 9-11 have made the ultimate sacrifice.
I am blessed to have been born in this country.
Death to oil, not too our soldiers.
-1
May 31st, 2010 (6:19 pm)Dave G: The video you discuss is also appropriate. Do not overlook the mention of our hybrid vehicles. I agree with most of your discussion, but the point of our efforts is about a comprehensive overhaul of an entire lifestyle. Those solar panels on the roof will mean that our Volt is recharged by the sun- not by dirty coal. While we are choking under our domestic oil oozing into the Gulf right now, don’t forget that we had our worst coal mine disaster in 40 years just a few weeks ago. It is not just our soldiers who die to support our comfy lifestyles.
I don’t know how many in Volt-nation are preaching to friends and neighbors, but I find that the common man can’t even figure out that all city driving is merely a race to the next red light. Why punch the gas pedal when you take off and leave your foot on the gas when you see that the light ahead is red? This nation’s populace- no exaggeration- could reduce oil dependency by over 10% just by driving like someone’s life (in the case at hand, it would be a soldier’s life) depended on it. From recycling, to car pooling, to renewable energy, it is our entire American lifestyle that we must address. As your video points out, Americans consume an outrageous amount of oil, per capita. But it is not just oil that we are guilty of hogging. Our nation is about freedom. Unfortunately, that involves the freedom to consume all that we have a mind to. After thorough introspection, you realize all the areas of your life that involve waste. Every drop of oil begins to matter- as does every watt, every item thrown into the trash, every object we decided to replace instead of repair.
Most of you in Volt-nation are here because this represents much more than a vehicle to you- it represents a philosophy. That philosophy should always involve the big picture. I think at some point, I will be having T-shirts made up. Those T-shirts will show a picture of this small fragile planet we live on- and it will read “What Have You Done for Me Lately?”
Do I hear an Amen?
+2
May 31st, 2010 (7:32 pm)Major Cullinane, thank you for your thoughtful post.
Sometimes, those of us not in the military don’t appreciate the sacrifices made by the families in our nation’s service. Having a 9 year old son of my own, this following story from the Corvette Forum really hits home. I cry every time I read it.
“I was going to the mall last night about 7 p.m. and a mini van (Not sure of the make/model) pulls up next to me at a red light. We were the only two at the light and its one of those long lights. She rolls her window down and motions with her hand to look in her direction. So me being the man that I am, I accommodated her. She looked to be in her mid 30s and fine (An easy 8, maybe a 9). Anyway, she looks me straight in he eyes with a big smile and says. “You want to race to the next light.” I looked at her not knowing what to say at first, with my mouth open, dumb founded. Again, big smile, and said Do ya want to race to the next light. Well, I said “Sure lets go at the light. About that time I saw a young man about 9 or 10 yrs old, looking out the drivers’ side back window. But, I didn’t think too much about it. I push down on the gas a few times (Borla Stingers). I look over and she is talking with the young man in the back.
The light changes and she is off, not too fast but, fast. I set there a second and take off slow and as cool as I can, but I want to stay close to her and not get too far behind her. I can see the young man in the back and he is talking a 100 miles a minute. We get to the next light and it changes before I get to a complete stop and she is off again but, this time at a normal speed.
Well, it turns out that we are going to the same mall. We both park our vehicles; started for the mall entrance. The young man runs into the mall ahead of her and we met at the doors. She looked at me again straight into my eyes and said “Thanks for letting us win. My son wants me to buy a new car but not any car he wants one like yours.” She when on to said, “I asked him why he wants one like that, it only seats two people and he said because it’s a Corvette the fastest and best sport car the USA makes and Dad wanted one.” I said, you guys will get one one day. She said, His Dad was a Marines and did not come back from Afghanistan. Well, as I am trying to pick myself up off the floor, I didn’t know what to say. She looks at me with a big smile, says “Thanks Again.”, walks into the mall, and disappears into the crowd. I go in and do what shopping I needed to do before I left I was going to the food court to get something to drink. I see her and her son at a table, he is eating a hamburger and some fries and she is sharing his fries and drink. Well, I went to the food shop they got their meal from and told them to give me two more meals like the one they have. I took them over to her and set the meals down on the table. The son is looking at me like I had four eyes. I said these are for you two. She says “We can’t take these.” I said, when ever I race, I race for something and I lost the race. We didn’t say what we were racing for so I hope dinner on me is ok. She said OK, Thank You. I left the two of them seating, talking and eating away.
I almost didn’t take the Corvette because that last place I want to park it, is at the mall. However, for some strange reason I decided to drive it… Makes you wonder why we do some of the things we do…”
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-corvette-general-discussion/1737796-my-c6-gets-beat-by-mini-van.html
+1
May 31st, 2010 (7:45 pm)updated: May 28. 2010 11:57AM
Electric car tax break proposed…
The House version would spend $6.6 billion, dedicating $800 million to five “deployment communities” to speed 700,000 plug-in vehicles into use and establish recharging networks. A Senate version would spend about $10 billion and grant $250 million to up to 15 communities.
The Senate version would extend the current $7,500 tax credit for 200,000 plug-in vehicles per manufacturer to 300,000. And it would boost the credit to $10,000 in those 15 communities.
The Senate bill also would create a $10 million prize for the first manufacturer of a battery that can get 500 miles on a charge.
=D-Volt
May 31st, 2010 (9:24 pm)Amen.
May 31st, 2010 (10:07 pm)Off Topic: today I heard a rebroadcast of an interview of Bob Lutz by a local talk host named Frank Beckman. It was a darn good interview. Here is a link to a text article about it with a link to the audio program. The interview was done on the last day of Bob’s tenure and was more about his overall career than the Volt specifically, though there is a prominent segment on the Volt (and no, GM seems to not want the Volt to be high production, hmmmmm) (the Volt is a game changer because it is a HALO thing
).
Link: http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2010/04/so_long_bob_lutz_retiring_gm_e.html
+1
May 31st, 2010 (11:23 pm)Can I get a little credit for realizing Don C. was idiotic a month ago?
-1
Jun 1st, 2010 (2:00 am)Can we give you a citizen’s medal for that article? Well done!
Here’s a sobering link: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/index.html
Its from CNN and the visual of it is enough to get you very angry. Very angry indeed. Please follow that emotion with resolve. Resolve to insure many of these , America’s finest, did not die in vain. I believe budgeting, planning and truly doing what it takes to buy an EREV or EV is an absolute act of patriotism through-and-through.
First, when you click on Iraq and look – just try to feel for the families represented in our country alone. And then feel the sacrifice. Of course this country suffered a horrendous attack on our soil – and that was after nine years of U.S. taxpayers funding a “no fly zone” over Northern Iraq and Southern Iraq. Russia, Germany and France were all deep into Saddam for post sanction oil contracts – to redesign, rebuild and reap profit from cheaper oil. To think that so many of those dots representing a fallen countryman or ally were to secure a sane, safe and free world – those losses seem understandable – the price of freedom. On the other hand, how many —- just how many of those dots would be there if not for our dependency on oil from that particular region? Half? More than half? God only knows. And surely God knew each and every soul who valiantly served, and lay down their lives and their dreams for the call to duty and country – their blood for our good. We truly can do more than remember. Hold our politicians and corporate giants accountable.
Of course, we know Gulf War I was over oil. Of course we know our presence in places all over the planet many times are to secure shipping lanes or our oil importers. Gulf War II , the occupation and the “surge” were reportedly over freedom from tyranny of two nations needing our help. Yet do we really believe we are there because of this? Our men are still falling to protect the Iraqi oilfields and Persian Gulf oil depot.
Why are we now in Afghanistan? For the Taliban?!!! In that, I am so puzzled why we are rushing in and not out of there – not in defeat, but in a message these country’s have to rely upon themselves to fight their forces of religious insanity and evil. We know the Taliban are the enemy of Iran – So in Afghanistan, it’s so much more puzzling why we say we are fighting terror in a country that is so steeped in corruption, warlords and wasteland – and still claim it’s our duty to undo a thousand years of futile and feudal governance.
Iraq is strategic and central in location – and an extremely fortified U.S. base ( 30,000 troops – airfield ) SW of Baghdad would make a great deal of sense in case Iran gets ideas after the withdrawal. Bring the rest of our people home! And Afghanistan? Why oh why are we there?!!!!
On CNN’s map think on the price of a barrel of crude. Then think of the pricelessness of even one American or Allied soldier or citizen working over there. When Bob Lutz says GM isn’t going to make Volts in any great number – as per the Mlive.com interview April 30th,http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2010/04/so_long_bob_lutz_retiring_gm_e.html
I can’t help but get mad. Really really mad. Why GM? Why? Why keep us all on the insanity of gasoline dependency? Is bottom-line profit in dollars and cents really what you’re all about?
RECHARGE! James
Jun 1st, 2010 (5:09 am)“Why” is a difficult question to answer. 2011 will be a huge year for EV. Ford should introduce the EV Focus and an electric van. China and maybe Korea as well will be displaying their EV. Tesla and Fisker will be close to producing a lower cost sports model. Volt popularity will be rising on word of mouth.
If the Senate passes the proposed tax credit increase and extension of coverage. Then EV are heading for mainstream acceptance.
GM has openly stated that they see several changes for the gen 2 Volt. It’s hard to sit and read about the plans for only 8000 2011 Volt units. But, considering what GM has said about the planned upgrades. GM’s low production target for 2011 is understandable.
=D-Volt
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Jun 1st, 2010 (7:32 am)Since we believe that any forum in cyberspace is the proper forum to express gratitude – we offer ours here for the men and women who have courageously given their lives so that we might debate the future of EVs in places like this. It is all too easy to forget the sacrifices made by those in service to their country when caught up in the car-making business. Most people who know this site also know that without our free market system and the concept of free enterprise – there would be no evolving EV business – or Volt or Tesla or Leaf most likely.
Thank you to the families of our vets and those in service today. Without your sacrifice and commitment to our Constitution – we would not be gathered here. God Bless.
Jun 1st, 2010 (2:14 pm)On a semi-on-topic note, I find it interesting that whenever I see a “WWII Veteran” license plate around here (Metro Detroit), it’s on a Japanese or German car. So apparently they are able to forgive and forget. Some on this site referring to people who buy foreign cars as “traitors” should consider this. I’d like to see them call a WWII vet a traitor or treasonous to their face.
But that’s one great part about this country, that people can have unusual or extreme viewpoints without being locked up, so long as they don’t try to stamp out others’ rights to their own views.
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Jun 2nd, 2010 (5:41 pm)Thank you Lyle for the Memorial day post … unlike our president you have recognized the sacrifice of our military. My father in law spent 3 years walking and fighting the Germans in Africa and Italy .. he spent the rest of his life with severe arthritis which he got from sleeping on the ground with nothing but the wool blanket. I knew him for 35 years and never mentioned the war even though he received 4 bronze stars and lost 4 of the friends he grew up with in his neighborhood. There are thousands of these stories of sacrifice by our American Military.. many of which are buried in France Italy Germany etc … they gave their lives for freedom around the world…. and yet just 60 years later the President of the United States can’t even put a wreath in their honor at Arlington Cemetery.
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Jun 5th, 2010 (9:39 am)let us indeed flatter and celebrate the ignorant fools who go to the corners of the earth to kill millions of people based on lies, at tremendous cost and they come back whining that war is awful.
what a motherfucking surprise you morons!
behold I send you out as sheep amidst the wolves. be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
you will burn in hell Major for what you have done unless you fall to your knees and beg for mercy and repent what you have done and distance yourself from it in the clearest of ways.
but in your mindlessness and pride you will rather believe these foolish comments here that flatter your stupidity
o USA great evil, what shall become of you.