Rasta Rants

I met a man recently who said he does not believe in anything but himself. He does not believe there is a God or even a higher being. He has lived his whole life this way and appears happy. This got me to thinking about faith. I don't understand how you can live without it? I don't mean this as a criticism of those that don't believe in God or Buddha or Allah. Actually it is a deep intellectual inquisitiveness that drives the question. I accept that I am biased since I have deep faith and was raised with it. So I want to understand how one can live without faith? I am not suggesting that one has to believe in God or be a Christian. I accept that any religion is a form of faith and I grant that each delivers the comfort, strength, patience etc. that I think faith should. So what I want to focus on is how you live with no faith at all? Who do you pray to for guidance and strength? Who do you ask forgiveness from? Who do you ask to help you through tough times? Who do ...

I get asked tons of questions about cars regularly. I love that people see me as a knowledgeable source and I love to talk cars. It is like a sports fanatic I guess. They memorize stats, game results, player info and history. With cars it is about the same. We gear heads read a great deal and learn about the latest in the auto industry, memorize all kinds of stats and vital info. My sons say I an a walking talking car magazine. I guess if you love something and have done it since you were a child it comes naturally. So with that said here are some answers to some car questions I got recently. New Cars 1. what is the best small SUV that does not cost a fortune? Well the good news is there are several. My clear favorite right now is the new Ford Escape. The Escape is a small SUV and less expensive than some of the imports. The styling is a personal preference as it is edgy but the itnerior is solid and well appointed. I would opt for the Eco Boost engine and the middle mo...

Well we are facing another fiscal "emergency" on Friday according to the President. March 1st we will have Sequestration. What a strange word. Who chose that word i wonder? The technical definition of it is to segregate or separate. We for example sequester a jury during trial sometimes. The word was first used in the 15th century and comes from the Latin word "sequestrare" which means to hand over to a trustee. Why would we use this term to define a decrease in an increase in spending? It seems to be an absolute miss in definition. Is the government trying to confuse the populous? The GOP claims the Democrats specifically the President and his staff came up with it. The President is claiming that all parties agreed to it. Who is right? WHO CARES! I am an independent so care for neither established party but it seems to me that they are acting like school kids blaming each other. Do we ever think about what we look like to the rest of the world? Do we care? ...

Since we seem to be once again stuck with another "fiscal crisis" here is an brutally honest view of our current sequester. Enjoy Sequestration

After nearly 11 months of writing this blog I have been "prodded/convinced" to start a podcast. Below is the Welcome and introduction. I will upload the first few episodes shortly. Please tell your friends and let me know what you think. Welcome to Ambushing Reality

As I was pondering this blog, I had a small epiphany. I have written consistently about politics, policy and our national economy for the past nearly 12 months. While I hope I have written some informative and thought provoking pieces, I recognized that I have never written about a subject I am very well qualified to opine on - Automobiles. How could I have missed this? I am a certified race car driving instructor, an avid racer, a huge gear head and a lifetime lover of the automobile and all things related. I read more about cars than anything else in my life and some say I am a walking encyclopedia on all things automotive. I have had a plethora of cars and driven twice as many. I have raced dirt bikes, street bikes, boats, karts, dune buggies, cars, even a Caterpillar or two. So I thought to myself why not share some of this knowledge and divert from the tiresome drone of economics and politics. Automobiles are so much more interesting and fun. So here we go: Automotive Hypoc...