Obama’s second term.  Let the restrictions on your freedom commence!

1. First, from DetroitNews.com:

NHTSA gets White House OK to mandate vehicle ‘black boxes’

Washington — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to finalize a long-awaited proposal to make event data recorders standard on all new vehicles.

In a notice posted Thursday, the White House Office of Management Budget said it has completed a review of the proposal to make so-called vehicle “black boxes” mandatory in all cars and trucks, clearing the way for NHTSA to publish its final regulation.

Nearly all vehicles currently have the devices.

NHTSA’s proposed rule, which would raise the percentage of vehicles required to have an EDR from 91.6 percent today to 100 percent of light-duty autos, would have an incremental cost of nearly $24.4 million, assuming the sale of 15.5 million light vehicles per year.

Rudimentary EDR information indicates a variety of capture of points such as air bag initiation, vehicle speed, seat belt connection vs weight presence in a seat, brake application, throttle input, engine rpm — any form of input that can be reduced to digital capture if the vehicle is so wired.  Such as: if your vehicle has a throttle-by-wire system instead of a mechanical system, you are monitored.  Plain and simple.

As the National Motorists Association writes:

While denials abound there is good reason to believe that the promotion of universal black box installation in new vehicles has more to do with regulatory, enforcement, judicial, and corporate economic interests; all at the expense of vehicle owners who are forced to pay for and retain this form of self-surveillance.

Let me break this down.  The “need” for EDRs:

– Regulatory (intrusion upon your overall freedom);
– Enforcement (fees and taxes to be applied here, to be paid by YOU);
– Judicial (information to be used AGAINST you in legal venues);
– Corporate economic interests (INSURANCE companies to download your daily driving habits, and to approve or DENY YOU based upon your tendencies — to be determined BY the government and BY those involved insurance agencies.)

If your vehicle possesses OnStar, your vehicle is already tracked via GPS every moment it is operated.

Let me provide an obvious scenario for you:

Your car and/or your phone is equipped with GPS.  You are driving on a freeway posted for 65 mph.  You are actually traveling 75 mph, with the rest of traffic.  Technology and the EDR indicate you are driving over the limit.  You receive a citation in the mail one week later.  Further, your insurance carrier either increases your rates or drops you entirely.

The NMA recommends the following EDR policy:

1. Black boxes may be installed on a sufficient number of vehicles to guarantee scientifically valid results that can lead to vehicle safety improvements. The vehicle owners should willingly agree to the installation of the devices and there should be no coercion to accept the installation. (Coercion includes the corporate practice of inflating the base price of a product or service and then reducing the price through “discounts” for desired behavior or equipment. A car without a black box should not cost more than a car with a black box.)
2. Prohibit insurance companies from requiring as a condition of coverage or payment access to black box and related recording device information.
3. Prohibit the coerced use (subpoena, court order, discovery) of black box and related recording device information for enforcement and judicial purposes.
4. Permit the vehicle owner to use his or her black box and related recording device information for his or her purposes in civil and criminal matters.
5. Vehicle owners should be able to activate, de-activate, and read without any special or expensive equipment, black boxes and related recording devices, conveniently and with equal effort for either function.
6. Black boxes and related monitoring devices should not be enabled to transmit or broadcast data to any external wireless receiver.
7. Require that the installation and operation of black boxes be completely independent from the operation of all other vehicle systems and components to the extent that these systems and components operate normally when the black box is disabled and not collecting data.

[NOTE: if you have new 4G  or smart phone, GPS is enabled.  You can easily be personally tracked via cell site triangulation.  Every moment.  Every day.  Most people don’t know how to disable — or want to disable — GPS.  Why do most phone applications — have you ever wondered — inquire as to your current position in terms of reference to their aps?]

2. Further, your vehicle’s engine is about to be killed via E-15:

From the NetRightDaily.com:

By Rebekah Rast —

Nine gas stations in the nation now have pumps with E15 gasoline.

E15 is a blend of regular gasoline mixed with 15 percent ethanol.  The pumps are recognized by their black and orange labels.

And that label is not something you want to ignore.

In an effort to curb U.S. dependency on gasoline and oil — foreign and domestic — the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the use of E15 gasoline for vehicle models 2001 and newer.

However controversy surrounds this new blend and whether or not it is safe for your vehicle.

Many automobile companies as well as the American Automobile Association (AAA) warn against the use of this fuel blend for anything but Flexible Fuel Vehicles, 2012 and newer General Motors vehicles, 2013 Fords and 2001 and later model Porsches.

A USA Today article quoted AAA President and CEO Robert Darbelnet explaining, “It is clear that millions of Americans are unfamiliar with E15, which means there is a strong possibility that many may improperly fill up using this gasoline and damage their vehicle.”

He went onto say that, “BMW, Chrysler, Nissan, Toyota and VW have said their warranties will not cover fuel-related claims caused by E15. Ford, Honda, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo have said E15 use will void warranties.”

The reasons: potential corrosive damage to fuel lines, gaskets and other engine components.

The debate continues.  Fuel with Ethanol or not?  Fuel — more importantly — knowingly with Ethanol or not?

This for your consideration from Popular Mechanics, that massive Right Wing bastion of conservative bastards:

Most people realize that all of us burn gasohol—a mixture of gasoline and alcohol—in our cars. Just about every gallon of gas pumped today contains as much as 10 percent domestically produced ethanol.

Gummed-up fuel systems, damaged tanks and phase separation caused by stray moisture infiltrating fuel systems have plagued many consumers since this mixture debuted, and the problems will only get worse if government policy to increase the proportion of ethanol to gasoline is implemented.

Which, unfortunately, is not always the case.

And?

“Not always the case” coming soon to a gas station near YOU.  With this in mind:

Obama is a hyper-partisan idealogue.

And he does not have your best interests in mind.  His foundational philosophy, clearly stated in Dreams From My Father, is this: to destroy Western Colonialization.

And he will do this as best he can, one day at a time or one year or one Congress at a time.

BZ