Engine Brakes and unintended consequences

Engine Brakes

I've noticed many locations lately with the sign stating "engine brake prohibited".

Why would communities want semi tractor trailers to be less safe in their neighborhood?

Engine brakes recirculated exhaust through the engine to help the truck slow down.  Turning these off make the trucks rely on only their brake system to stop.

Turning these engine brakes off makes the trucks have less stopping power, hence less safe.

These signs show up in populated areas where there is increase traffic, making them needed even more.

This is another example of unintended consequences.  People really need to think before they request their compliant government officials to do things that on the surface, might sound good.........reducing noise........but it really makes the highways less safe.

Many newer trucks have engine brakes that are so quiet, one can't even tell they are being used, but with the legal requirements, truck drivers turn them off to avoid citations.

This is another set of rules that one would hope is ignored.

If communities really want to impact noise, they need signage indicated "no loud motorcycles allowed".  That would eliminate many times the noise than engine brakes and make the roads safer at the same time.

Parkersburg is the only municipality (that I know of) around that has stated publicly that they will not require engine brakes to be turned off, due to safety.

Spineless DeWine

While I'm not a fan of Romney, DeWine's reasoning for switching to supporting Santorum is sad.

He feels that Santorum has a better chance of beating the Muslim in Chief.

What happened to supporting someone because you feel they are more aligned with yourself?
What happened to loyalty?

From what I can see, neither of the Ohio GOP's DeWines are trustworthy.

Story here.

Limited supply of used cars. Anyone really wonder why?

Missed in this story is the fact that we crushed thousands of good used cars a couple of years ago. These cars would have been good used cars for folks for years to come. Another "unintended consequenses" episode of idiodic government at work.

Used-car prices on the rise

More people feel they can no longer delay replacing their old vehicles, driving up demand.

By MSN Money partner on Mon, Jan 23, 2012 9:06 AM

In the market for a used car? Kelley Blue Book urges you to buy sooner rather than later, as prices are rising.

Of course, it doesn't pay to be strong-armed into it, especially not if your current vehicle still has some life left in it. And it will make sense to consider your used-car choice carefully, as certain models command a premium.

KBB, a leading source of car-value data, says used-car prices are likely to rise by 3% to 5% in the first quarter of 2012, and even more in the second quarter. "Non-luxury cars and crossovers increased between $50 and $100 in the past week alone, and they will likely continue to rise in the weeks and months ahead," KBB reported last week.

Between Jan. 6 and Jan. 13, the average trade-in value of a 2009-2011 midsized car increased $107, from $12,096 to $12,203, or 0.9%. Most other types of cars that age gained 0.5% to 0.6% that week. A 5% increase in the coming months would raise the price of a $12,000 car to $12,600 -- and that's serious money for budget-conscious Americans.

Credit goes to unusual market conditions. Supply has been tightened by a slowdown in lease returns, a key source of used vehicles, while at the same time the average age of cars on the road is going up as drivers postpone purchases in the weak economy. Now more people feel they can delay no longer, driving up demand. Post continues below.

Time to hoard Nickels

Rep. Steve Stivers thinks it's a bad thing for it to cost money to make money.

Here's his latest bill to change to composition of the Nickel to worthless steel.

Why do we let our government give us worthless money?

Paper backed by nothing.
A penny is worth; 0 cents
A dime is worth; .02 cents
A quarter is worth; .05 cents
A dollar coin is worth; .06 cents

But a Nickel is worth it's face value in the metal that it's made of; .05 cents

Coin clipping, inflation, funny money...all stuff of dishonest governments.

previous post on subject

Here's the difference, money made of metal worth something:

1909-1982 penny, made of copper (hence the name "copper penny") is worth .02 cents.
pre 64 dime; $2.08
pre 64 quarter; $5.21
pre 64 half dollar; $10.42
pre 64 dollar coin; $22.29

So, the government steals from us in more ways that confiscating our income, they give us fake money and pass it off for full value.
See what your "money" is really worth here, at coinflation.com

Merry Christmas not allow in "franked" congressional mail.

Apparently (link here), congressmen cannot wish their constituents "Merry Christmas" in tax payer funded mailings to their districts.

I say, SO WHAT? They shouldn't have franking privileges to begin with.

It's a massive waste of money. It's a way to keep their name ID up and help with their reelections.

There is no need for this in the age of emails/internet/facebook/twitter/etc....

My Representative just sent a post card telling us he supports the 2nd amendment. Um....that's his job! He took an oath to uphold the Constitution and the right to bear arms was the 2nd amendment to this Constitution.

Complete waste of tax money. It doesn't matter what party one affiliates himself with....Wilson did this and now Johnson is,.....it's a waste of money.

Law enforcement looking for a fight

Link here:

I'm surprised this family lived through it. Usually, these situations end up with the families dead, burned alive (Waco) or shot in the back(Ruby Ridge).

Talking head stupidity

Gold is "backed by nothing" and the dollar is "backed by the fed"???

I'd take gold anytime.

Government = words/Private businesses = actions

Here's a great story on how private business know how to deal with emergency situations vs the governments desire that everyone hunker down and stay indoors while the government does what it does best......talk.

Story here

Sort of like "snow emergencies" you all stay off of the roads and we'll, well, do nothing for awhile, but you better not try to do anything for yourself!

Debasing the last US coin that is worth it's face value

Stuff that deficits are made of.

Paper money is made of..........paper. Completely worthless

the penny is made of 97.5% zinc and is worth $0.005

the dime is made of nickel and copper and is worth $0.02

the quarter is made of nickel and copper is is worth $0.06

The only coin made in the US that is worth anything (when I say "worth" I mean it's made out of something worth something, in case that wasn't obvious) is the Nickel.

The Nickel is made of mostly copper and a higher percentage of nickel than the quarter and dime. It is worth $0.06

Maybe it's just me, but I think money should be worth something. This way the government can't just print / make funny money out of thin air. Seems criminal to me. Gov. Perry is correct that it is treasonous.

We need to attach our money to something valuable. Like gold and silver. Look at the inflation we've had since Pres. Nixon disassociated our money from Gold!

Now, the government is whining that it actually costs money to coin the nickel. It should cost money! Our money should be worth something.

It's time to start hording nickels. They are about to go the way of the pre-64 silver quarters and dimes.

Here's the difference:

pre 64 quarter is worth $7.63
pre 64 dime is worth $3.05

This is stuff banana republics do!

And here I thought Ohio was a sovereign state....

Kasich bows to the Governor of New York and his threats. Sad!

Instead of protecting the state of Ohio's economic future, Kasich caves in to the enviro-Nazis. Unbelievable!

Dispatch story here

Hayek is correct...again.

Ken Blackwell vs Kevin DeWine

Principled conservative vs a weasel....Pretty sure that fits.

Dispatch story here

"Blackwell said that among the reasons he decided not to run is because it "would require me to make 'nice' with folks with whom I would rather not."

That comment was not explained, but appeared targeted at Kevin DeWine, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, who gave Blackwell's potential candidacy a chilly reception when Blackwell told The Dispatch in April that he was thinking about running."

DeWine is not and doesn't care for real conservatives running for office. Conservatives that will actually be a conservative after they are elected, not just during the campaign.

"Blackwell, who lost the 2006 governor's race to Democrat Ted Strickland by almost 24 points, said that after serving as Cincinnati mayor, Ohio treasurer and secretary of state, he would "much prefer an executive office over a legislative office.""

Blackwell lost because the GOP establishment abandoned him and had to have actually voted for Strickland. They mouth the politially correct words "diversity" but only really want it when candidates toe the moderate GOP party line. I don't believe the Ohio GOP is racist, they are anti-conservative, no matter what color you are.

"Blackwell, 63, also said he had made a personal commitment not to run for office past age 70, so "I could not and would not run for re-election if successful this time. I believe to get done what needs to be done in the U.S. Senate, the next senator needs to make a two-term commitment. I cannot.""

I don't agree with Blackwell that this has to be a 2 term commitment. When that happens, the first term is spent campaigning and raising money for the 2nd term....more so than actually being a good conservative Senator. Maybe that's why I can't remember one of them (Ohio conservative US Senator) in my life time. Think John Glenn (D)and George Voinovich (so called R), it's a hard call as to who was the more conservative.

"In an apparent criticism of the state party, Blackwell said he received encouragement from conservatives, "a source of political strength that the GOP establishment has never been able to grasp.""

He's right, the GOP makes promises, innuendos and platitudes toward conservatives every election year. No action has resulted until Kasich.....which are few and too timid. Use them (conservatives) to campaign then ignore their requests after being elected.

"The Ohio GOP has not endorsed a Senate candidate, but a number of its leaders, including Secretary of State Jon Husted, have thrown their support to Mandel, who has been treasurer just six months."

If that isn't a good enough reason to support former state Sen. Kevin Coughlin, I don't know what is. When the Ohio GOP establishment starts endorsing candidates before the primary (bad practice btw, let the voters decide........proof that they don't trust the GOP voters to make decisions) it's a good time to support the exact opposite.

""We leave it to the GOP to decide if they would rather nominate an ethically challenged and newly elected treasurer who promised to serve the full four years of his term, or a do-nothing former state senator," Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Justin Barasky said."

The this do nothing label is thrown around by both parties against former / current general assembly members that run for office. Let see, would I rather have an activist state Senator/Representative who probably doesn't think through the ramifications of his votes (unintended consequences) or someone that is slow and thoughtful about important issues and isn't the first to jump on all the band wagons rolling down Broad St?

Everyone is a suspect in a police state

Rep. Rex Damschroder's bill to eliminate our front license plate makes sense. The police don't like it because we are all guilty of something until proven otherwise. Someone needs to remind the FOP and the OHP that they work for us, not vice versa.

Link to story here

What is Kasich thinking?

Does he really think that acting like a liberal will make them like him? He should have learned better than that by watching George H.W. Bush.

Dispatch story about him thinking about giving tax monies to minorities because they are minorities, not because their companies can do the best / most cost effective job.

You really wonder why people think that both parties are the same? The difference is when they campaign they say different things. When they get elected, that's when you can't tell them apart.

Sometimes doing nothing is the right answer

None of these Republicans can say it. That, maybe the right answer in Lybia is to do nothing.

IF, we are not concerned about the massive amount of oil under Lybia, why get involved?

Muammar al-Qaddafi has kept Lybia semi-stable in an unstable part of the world. Do we really want to support a bunch of rebels with ties to al qaeda?

I hate to say it, but there's no other logical answer why an anti-war president would relent to bomb another sovereign country, OIL.

So, since this anti-war president has to keep the spigot open in the middle east, it comes back to his actions or in-actions on the domestic oil front. Allow drilling in ANWAR and other federally owned lands. Start issuing permits to drill in the gulf.

Obama has backed himself into a corner forcing him to do something that completely against everything he stands for....sort of like "chickens coming home to roost".