When news stories of this type become ledes in the MSM, it’s time for the Woodchuck to start selling his line of foil hats again.
I wish I could make this stuff up; riches await writing scripts for TV sitcoms and made for TV movies.
Considering a lawyer thinks this dust-up is bunkum. It’s time for the gimlet-eye look at Congress’ role, yeah that batch of geniuses.

Are cosmic rays really causing Toyota’s woes?

Regulators take closer look at design of electronics

WASHINGTON — It may sound far-fetched, but federal regulators are studying whether sudden acceleration in Toyotas is linked to cosmic rays.

Radiation from space long has affected airplanes and spacecraft, and is known for triggering errors in computer systems, but has received scant attention in the auto industry.

The questions show how deep regulators and automakers may have to dig to solve the mysteries of sudden acceleration. Toyota says it is fixing mechanical problems — floor mats and sticky pedals — that explain sudden acceleration in 13 models and 5.6 million vehicles. [snip]

An anonymous tipster whose complaint prompted regulators to look at the issue said the design of Toyota’s microprocessors, memory chips and software could make them more vulnerable than those of other automakers.

“I think it could be a real issue with Toyota,” Sung Chung, who runs a California testing firm, said. [snip]

Electronic throttle controls like the ones under scrutiny in Toyotas are widespread in the industry.(emphasis added) They’re more reliable than mechanical links, they save weight and space, and make other technology, like stability control, possible.

OK, I know why only Toyotas; why not my Nissan Xterra or the GM Tahoe?
Is it because Toyota sells more cars than Government Motors?
Then there is this curious bit of information:

I am not afraid of my Toyota Prius

I’ve been driving Toyota Priuses since 2001.  As a junior defense lawyer in the mid-90s, I litigated a number of bogus sudden acceleration cases that were brought against General Motors.

So the recent kerfuffle over alleged mysterious electronic problems with the Prius and other Toyotas has certainly caught my attention beyond just throwing my floor mat in the trunk.

I knew the public hysteria had reached unprecedented proportions when my father, a Ph.D. geologist skeptical of everything from George W. Bush to global warming (and that’s just the G’s), credulously emailed me repeatedly to demand I read a press release from a plaintiff’s lawyer on how to prevent runaway vehicles.

The short answer: hit the brake and stay on it.  Every vehicle on the road today has a braking system more powerful than its engine.  Shift into neutral.  Then turn off the power.

So James Sikes, who made a dramatic 911 call from his Prius on Interstate 8 in San Diego earlier this week, is effectively claiming he had an electrical problem that affected his throttle, his brake, and his power system, because it took him over 20 minutes to stop his car.

Somehow no one in the press has asked Sikes how it is he could stop the car once it had slowed to 50 mph, but not when it was going 90 mph.  Have Balloon Boy and the finger-in-the-chili taught us nothing? [snip]

But one shouldn’t believe the hype.  We went through this a generation ago with the Audi 5000 and other autos accused of sudden acceleration, and, again, mysterious unknowable car components were supposedly at fault.In a North Carolina case I worked on, the plaintiff’s expert theorized that electromagnetic transmissions from submarines might have set off the throttle via the cruise control, though, unsurprisingly, he was not able to duplicate the effect while driving around electrical towers with much greater electromagnetic interference. [snip]

Electromagnetic rays don’t discriminate by age and height, which suggests very much that human factors were at play: in other words, pedal misapplication.  A driver would step on the wrong pedal, panic when the car did not perform as expected, continue to mistake the accelerator for the brake, and press down on the accelerator even harder. [snip]

The Los Angeles Times recently did a story detailing all of the NHTSA reports of Toyota “sudden acceleration” fatalities, and, though the Times did not mention it, the ages of the drivers involved were striking.In the 24 cases where driver age was reported or readily inferred, the drivers included those of the ages 60, 61, 63, 66, 68, 71, 72, 72, 77, 79, 83, 85, 89—and I’m leaving out the son whose age wasn’t identified, but whose 94-year-old father died as a passenger.

These “electronic defects” apparently discriminate against the elderly, just as the sudden acceleration of Audis and GM autos did before them.  (If computers are going to discriminate against anyone, they should be picking on the young, who are more likely to take up arms against the rise of the machines and future Terminators).

But Toyota is being mau-maued by Democratic regulators and legislators in the pockets of trial lawyers—who,
according to the Associated Press, stand to make a billion dollars from blaming Toyota for driver error. [snip]

Maybe Toyota should move the whole case to Judge Judy.
Wanna bet that will produce a fairer hearing?

As with any religion, to put an end to the folly, one needs a crucifixion.
I’m all for that…

Lets have one

I wonder if he can see his house and boat from up there?

Pelosi: Dems bear no responsibility for economic crisis

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, when asked Tuesday whether Democrats bear some of the responsibility regarding the current crisis on Wall Street, had a one-word answer: “No.”

They’re all practicing stand up delivery I guess so they have work after the collapse of the country.  The Republicants are no better, both parties porked their districts to gluttony.

Well, it’s over, the piper has his hand out. And Congress is looking to the taxpayer to front the money.  John Q. Public is broke too, Nancy sowhatcha gonna do?

The fat lady ain’t gonna sing ’cause she ain’t gonna get paid either!

Not everyone pays all these taxes in every state; some states tax unprepared food, others like New Hampshire tax the scenic view you have from your property. To insult you further all tax, at some level, your view of the coffin lid. Politicians will look you in the eye and tell you most of these aren’t taxes, they’re fees for allowing you to exist.
This list is by no means definitive. Many more state and local “fees” are in place, limited only by the imagination of the “Elected Elite.”
I’m using $1000.00 as monthly earnings for ease of math and understanding. Also, I’m using Vermont as the basis for other taxes, which may or may not have the same rates OR even be collected where you reside. All is computed as single, no exemptions, 0 dependents

Federal Income Tax: @ 15% of gross adjusted = $150.00 X 12 = $1800.00

State Income Tax: decoupled from the Federal when Bush’s tax cuts took place. $434.00

Federal Medicare Tax: @ $1.36% of gross =$13.60 X 12 = $163.20

Social Security Tax (FICA): 15.7% of gross = $157.00 X 12 = $1884.00

The fact that the employer is paying your other half means he isn’t giving that to you in wages. You still pay it.

State Unemployment Tax (SUTA): Average $1.00 to $3.00 per month $1.75 X 12 = $21.00

Workers Compensation Tax: $25.00 X 12 = $300.00

Property Tax: My town = $1.43 per $100.00 evaluation $200,000 =$2860

Renters as well as homeowners pay this. Seriously, do you think the landlord pays your share?
Phone Fees and taxes land Line:

Federal Subscriber line charge $6.40 X 12 = $76.80

Federal Universal Service fee $0.65 X 12 = $7.80

Vermont Universal Service fund $0.24 X 12 = $2.88

Vermont State tax $1.13 X 12 = $13.56

Federal Excise tax $0.59 X 12 = $7.08

Phone Fees and taxes Cell phone:

Federal Universal Service fee $2.01 X 12 = $24.12

Vermont State tax $13.18 X 12 = $38.16

Vermont Universal Service fund $0.67 X 12 = $8.04

Regulatory Program Fee $0.96 X 12 = $11.52

Utility Taxes: $100/month electric bill 4.5% =$4.50 X 12 = $54.00

Vermont residences do not pay sales tax on energy used, they do pay an Energy Efficiency Charge, between 4.5 and 5%, funds the statewide Energy Efficiency Utility
Gasoline Tax: $0.42 cents/gal Federal and State(some states add their tax as a percentage of the per gal charge) Thought this ruling is of interest. The state will have no untaxed gasoline in cars.

At 20 MPG, 100 miles =$2.10 X 15,000 miles/year = $315.00
Vehicle License Registration Tax: for pleasure /year $60.00

Rooms and Meals Tax: Eat out once a week

$30.00 dinner for two = $2.70 = $140.40

9% on everything from coffee to the motel room. Add up all those lattes and bagels for more tax, tip optional
Here’s the annual total of those taxes I can actually figure. You need to add the sales, use and other taxes as you believe you pay them:

TOTAL: $8161.56

Your income: $12,000.00

Percentage of income paid in taxes/year: 68% of Gross

With all this the Congress wants to let the “cuts” expire and raise taxes on “only the wealthy.” Aren’t you glad to be only poor.
Extras:
Sales Tax: Charged on everything except unprepared food and first $110 of clothing, State rate is 6% with some towns adding 1% to that.
Service Charge Tax: Same rates at Sales tax. Placed on services like medical, dental, construction etc. 6% with some towns adding 1% to that.
Use tax: Buy a item out of state for $100.00, pay the sales tax there, bring it into Vermont and pay 6% use tax here.
Marriage License Tax: to make legal what you are doing now, $15.00.
Excise Taxes: Federal taxes on things like tires for the car $3.00/tire added on to the cost, don’t forget the sales tax.
The following taxes you pay when you use any middleman for work, selling or buying, shipping:
Building Permit Tax; A variable fee based on the cost of the project, gets you a piece of paper with writing on it allowing you to alter your own property.
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA
Road UsageTax
Accounts Receivable Tax
CDL license Tax
Inventory Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gross Receipts Tax
Food License Tax
Corporate Income Tax:
Luxury Taxes
Real Estate Tax
Personal Property Tax
Cigarette Tax
Dog License Tax
Hunting License Tax
Fishing License Tax
Liquor Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Inheritance Tax
Well Permit Tax

…is the way the poor get richer.

Here’s part one:

Here’s part two:

This all assumes you have some gumption to to do something for yourself.

Big Oil-one better hope they keep paying taxes and employing people. The lefties griping about Exxon can’t cover these taxes collectively.

 

Exxon’s 2007 Tax Bill: $30 Billion

Corporate profits receive a lot of media attention, but what receives considerably less attention are the corporate taxes paid on corporate profits. Do a Google search for “Exxon profits” and you’ll get about 8,000 hits. Now try “Exxon taxes” and you’ll get a little more than 300 hits. That’s a ratio of about 33 to 1.

I’m pretty sure that Exxon’s tax payment in 2007 of $30 billion (that’s $30,000,000,000) is a record, exceeding the $28 billion it paid last year.

By the way, Exxon pays taxes at a rate of 41% on its taxable income!

[Update: The $40.6 billion and $39.5 billion figures are after-tax profits. For 2006, Exxon’s EBT (earnings before tax) was $67.4 billion, it paid $27.9 billion in taxes (41.4% tax rate), and its NIAT (net income after tax), or profit, was $39.5 billion.]

Over the last three years, Exxon Mobil has paid an average of $27 billion annually in taxes. That’s $27,000,000,000 per year, a number so large it’s hard to comprehend. Here’s one way to put Exxon’s taxes into perspective.

According to IRS data for 2004, the most recent year available:

Total number of tax returns: 130 million

Number of Tax Returns for the Bottom 50%: 65 million

Adjusted Gross Income for the Bottom 50%: $922 billion

Total Income Tax Paid by the Bottom 50%: $27.4 billion

Conclusion: In other words, just one corporation (Exxon Mobil) pays as much in taxes ($27 billion) annually as the entire bottom 50% of individual taxpayers, which is 65,000,000 people! Further, the tax rate for the bottom 50% is only 3% of adjusted gross income ($27.4 billion / $922 billion), and the tax rate for Exxon was 41% in 2006 ($67.4 billion in taxable income, $27.9 billion in taxes).