Since almost no one will ever buy a new car again -- indeed, it is doubtful that any car manufacturer will survive the "Greatest Depression", as Gerald Celente has termed it -- enacting tougher fuel standards now is pretty worthless.

P.S.

THIS is what will be responsible for lowering greenhouse gas emissions:

Driving less: A new trend for consumers and their cars?

According to the Department of Transportation, Americans are driving less. The Department’s statistics show that Americans drove 7 billion fewer miles in January 2009 than the year prior. Since November 2007, the number of miles driven has continued to decline each month compared to the year prior.

Another sign is the increase in public transportation usage. Public transit is at its highest level of ridership in 52 years--an increase of four percent over last year. We have also noted this year that traffic deaths have declined and there are fewer cars on the road.

http://tinyurl.com/qk4w4z

The 10 people most responsible for the recession

http://tinyurl.com/dgrqwz

It is also instructive to read this article from The Wall Street Journal from June 9, 2005:

In Treating U.S. After Bubble, Fed Helped Create New Threats

* Low Rates Bolstered Economy, But Housing, Foreign Debt Appear Out of Balance

* Greenspan's Legacy at Stake

By slashing short-term interest rates to 45-year lows, the Fed encouraged Americans to borrow more, gave them little reward for saving and helped ignite a surge in housing prices. President Bush and Congress joined in with steep tax cuts that boosted household purchasing power. All that spending contributed to a growing U.S. economy, a steady increase in imports and -- given that Americans are so eager to borrow and foreigners so eager to lend -- a mountain of foreign debt.

This is pleasant for Americans as long as it lasts. But Fed officials, international financial watchdogs and private economists say it can't. At some point, American consumers must spend less, save more and rely less on foreigners' savings.

How that will happen puts the nation in uncharted territory: After treating a bubble, how does the Fed manage the side effects of its medicine?

"We have done what no other economy has done before, faced with an asset bubble," Lawrence Lindsey, a former Fed governor and Bush adviser, said at a recent panel discussion. Praising both the Fed's rate cuts and Mr. Bush's tax cuts, he said, "This is the first time in history the textbook economic policy... was used, and worked. The problem is, once you finish that chapter of the economic texts, you turn the page and the page is blank -- because no one has gone through the process before."

The Fed is confident these imbalances will be resolved with little pain...(MORE)

http://tinyurl.com/paavws

CHICAGO, May 16 (UPI) -- Three U.S. telemarketing firms accused of making misleading "robocalls" about expiring car warranties must stop the practice, a court says.

The Federal Trade Commission announced Friday that a U.S. District Court in Chicago issued a restraining order demanding that three companies accused of aggressively making automated calls to sell auto warranties across the country cease the pitches, The New York Times reported.

"For the first time in months, millions of New Yorkers and people across the country will finally have some relief from these annoying calls with potentially thousands saved from falling into this scam," said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who added that he himself had received a robocall on his cell phone.

The two firms identified by the FTC were Voice Touch and Transcontinental Warranty, both operating largely out of Florida, which allegedly violated the National Do Not Call Registry and collected $10 million in sales as a result of the calls and mailings, in which the firms falsely told call recipients their car warranties were expiring, the Times said. (MORE)

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/05/16/Judges-orders-end-to-warranty-robocalls/UPI-33481242493379/

re: the end result has already been determined

Like any such plan, it all looks good on paper. But once the bullets -- and nukes -- start flying, all bets are off.

I call it the "John McClane Effect".

"Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. The monkey in the wrench. The pain in the ass."

--Bruce Willis, Die Hard

:)

re: The country is going down, and is going down hard...

If we were Zimbabwe, this wouldn't make much difference. But we are armed to the teeth and control everything from the high seas to outer space. Our military footprint is practically everywhere.

As a result, we will not "go gentle into that good night"; rather we will "burn and rave at close of day".

America has an endless supply of matches and a very bad temper.