HappyTrails

Maybe I should quit surfing the internet so much, but it seems that by searching the same subject on many sites provides a better opportunity for a more balanced opinion, regardless of the subject.  Different sites have different opinions, and jump starts the process of beginning to sort out the weeds from the wheat.

It is not always an easy process to come to a real or solid conclusion.  The mainstream news usually all seems rather biased in one particular direction, and lots of pertinent facts and circumstances are left out.  That is one of the best reasons to read independent bloggers and other sites, as well as independently research the topics.

One of the items on the news today involved the Oregon Department of Transportation. Apparently, not enough revenue is being collected from just the gasoline taxes, so they want to find new ways to enhance their incoming revenue.  Voila!!  A mileage tax — but does that mean no more taxes at the pump?  I would not bet any money on that one.  You can read it for yourself at http://www.dhonline.com/articles/2008/12/28/news/local/1aaa02_road.txt

Anyone who has purchased a fuel-efficient vehicle or restricted their driving to save money will still have to pay — oh, and they want to do it using satellite technology so that your vehicle will not be neglected and miss out on paying this tax.  Talk about shooting a fly with a Canon here, really, satellite technology is needed to accomplish this?

It is really only supposed to be used to track total mileage, but what really bothers me is knowing that it could be used to track every last place you go very accurately.  That is not a good thing.  Our freedoms and privacy are already eroding like a weathered beach lately, and taxes are destroying our quality of life.

Why shoot a fly with a canon like satellite technology — why not just come out and raise the damn gasoline tax and be honest about it?  Setting up satellite technology would surely require a much greater expense to implement, and require more equipment to make it work, costing everyone more money — and then require a lot more tax money to be monitored and collected.  Politics is always so convoluted in the way things are done.

Innovative taxes are contagious and will likely spread to your own state or one near you. Is there anyone out there that wants an additional bill to pay when it could have been paid at the gas pump?  Perhaps judicious belt tightening on the part of states would be just as important as it is for all citizen taxpayers. The economy is really on a rough ride right now, and higher taxes are just going to make things worse and prolong the time it takes to make a recovery.

This 2003 model has less than 10,000 miles on it, and owner claims “car has an interesting movie star history” which the seller promises to share with a buyer who is serious.  Already, there are supposedly 9 interested parties who have made an offer.   Pictures are pretty nifty too, lovely red color, sleek styling.

According to some buzz on the web:  This is the restored car that Eddie Griffin destroyed while practicing for a charity race.  The restored Ferrari Enzo was previously offered for sale at a cool $1.3 million, but obviously did not sell, so now it is back on the market again at a discount.  Check it out after the video if you are interested, I am not qualified to tell you if this is the same car or not, or if the buzz is correct.

This is way out of my price range, I was looking at some used 4-cylinder Fords.  A much better use of that kind of money would be a charitable contribution to provide help to those in need instead of a fast ride down the road.  Sorry, German Gal is very practical.

Here’s a video of Eddie Griffin crashing a Ferrari Enzo:

Here’s the buzz on the web if you want to read the article:
http://www.luxist.com/2008/12/22/famously-smashed-enzo-back-on-ebay-for-a-discount/?icid=200100397×1215746580x1201052891  

Four cylinders are good on mileage and Ford sure has had its share of recalls, but we are still considering buying a friend’s used Ford Focus.  It is a 2000 or 2001, four-door with air conditioning, has less than 60,000 miles on it and gets really good gas mileage.  Here in Western Pennsylvania, there are lots of opportunities to hyper-mile because there are lots of hills (especially when you are headed down one of them).  Unless you have a big family and need a larger car, it probably does not make any sense to get a 6- or 8-cylinder car.  If you still want the bigger car, hopefully you do not mind paying a lot for gasoline.  Oh, and the gasoline prices here?  I just bought gasoline today, and the regular gas (lowest priced gasoline) at two local stations was still at $2.38.9 — why is that?  News reports have shown regular gas in various other areas of the nation at $1.89, so our prices still seem rather high here.  That used Ford Focus is starting to look better every time I think about it.