This'n'That; December 19th [Powell;Limbaugh;budget;Truckers]

Another Attempt To Shaft America's Truckers As a semi-retired over-the-road truckdriver, I'm always on the lookout for articles that affect truckers. This article comes from the daily email news from LandLine Magazine [the Business Magazine for Professional Truckers]. December 17, 2008 OOIDA battling full-on push for longer, heavier trucks The once-dead issue of asking the feds to increasing truck size and weights is heating up in a full-blown battle on Capitol Hill with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association battling the propaganda being pushed by a group of coalitions. “The fight is here again,” said Rod Nofziger, OOIDA’s Director of Government Affairs. “OOIDA is in a good position, but we can’t take it for granted. It’s not going to be easy because these folks have deep pockets.” Coalitions such as Americans for Safe and Efficient Transportation, Coalition for Transportation Productivity and AgTec are knocking on doors all over Congress trying to sway lawmakers into believing that 97,000-pound, six-axle trucks are the answer to a myriad of problems facing the trucking industry and the nation. The groups are composed of businesses from heavy commodity industries such as the paper, logging and steel industries, just to name a few, and they are in addition to several mega carriers. One of the groups, ASET, is even to the point where they are finalizing potential legislative language they are going to shop by members of Congress in an attempt to get it added to the highway funding reauthorization bill being developed right now. “They are really leaning on the ‘green’ argument and the hurting economy to sell this bad idea,” Nofziger said. There’s a lengthy list of reasons why opening the door to longer or heavier trucks is a bad idea, Nofziger said. And that’s a list the OOIDA DC staff has been making sure lawmakers are very aware of. With so much focus on the nation’s aging roads system, it seems almost moronic to open the door to heavier trucks that will damage it even further, he pointed out. That’s just the tip of the iceberg of arguments against heavier trucks. Nofziger pointed out that while it is an established market within the trucking industry, heavy haul isn’t for everyone. Right now, heavier trucks are a specialized gig that requires an extended level of oversight at the state level through permitting and such. There is a certain amount of investment and business savvy required to compete in that market. So, by default, truckers who work heavy haul are experienced, safe drivers. Allowing all trucks to go to 97,000 pounds means any steering wheel holder with little or no training will be sharing the road with the general public. “This isn’t an easy job by any means at 80,000 pounds,” Nofziger said. “Now they want to let the same incapable drivers loose with 97,000 pounds? That’s crazy.”Now, with proposed legislation in hand and an upcoming “fly-in” to Washington, DC, planned where they will swam Congress trying to get support for their bill, Nofziger said the time is right to get letters in the mail and beat them to the punch. Nofziger said the timing is perfect for OOIDA’s membership to mobilize and to write letters to their lawmakers in opposition to the longer and heavier trucks. “OOIDA is a leader in opposing this issue,” Nofziger said. “With 160,000 members writing letters, sharing their experiences and concerns, and pointing out how wrong this idea is, the better chance we have of putting this issue to rest once again.” Letters outlining personal experiences with longer or heavier trucks, explaining that upping the weight limits will force small-business operators to upgrade equipment in a down economy, and detailing safety concerns go a long way toward educating lawmakers, Nofziger said. If you don’t know who your lawmakers in Congress are, you can call OOIDA’s Membership Department at 800-444-5791 and they will look it up for you. – By Jami Jones, senior editor jami_jones@landlinemag.com Sending Reminders To The Governor On Thursday's show, highly popular talkshow host Bob Lonsberry was casting about for suggestions for his listeners to use to remind Governor Paterson that the disgruntled public is "mad as hell" over the latest budget proposal. One caller suggested mailing cans of diet soda to the Governor. I checked and a can of soda weighs 13.1 ounces whereas an empty can weighs 1/2 ounce. The full can might run up against added packaging and postage requirements [mailing liquids, which might not be allowed]. The empty can, when crushed flat and bent to conform to the size of a standard letter or business envelope. The empty can would qualify for 1st class postage, 42 cents. Mr Lonsberry hosts his own wildly popular show on WHAM-1180 [www.wham1180.com], M-F, 11AM-2PM, eastern. Rush Has It Right......[from Newsmax.com] Rush Strikes Back at 'Turncoat' Colin Powell Tuesday, December 16, 2008 12:07 PMBy: Phil Brennan Talk show legend Rush Limbaugh wasted no time in answering Colin Powell after the former secretary of state said on CNN that the Republican Party should stop listening to the radio host. On Monday, Limbaugh told his 20 million listeners that what Powell was doing was telling the GOP to throw them under the bus. "I think Powell's premise is all wrong," Limbaugh said. "The Republican Party needs to stop listening to me. Basically, what that means is the Republican Party's gotta throw you overboard. The Republican Party can't win as long as it is defined by people like you and me, those of you in this audience." Powell is a bit late in telling his party to stop listening to him, Limbaugh said, noting that the party had already stopped listening to him. "The simple fact of the matter is, folks, what makes this funny to me is that the Republican Party's not listened to me in the last two years," he explained. "And you might even say in matters of policy and so forth, the Republican Party hasn't been listening to me for the last six years. "And you might even say that the Republican Party is in the situation it's in precisely because of the people like Colin Powell and John McCain and others who have devised this new definition and identity of the party which is responsible for electing Democrats all over this country." After recalling that Powell voted for Barack Obama, Limbaugh charged that the Bush administration's first secretary of state was upset because he said that Powell's endorsement of Obama was about race. "These things are supposed to go unsaid," Limbaugh said. Limbaugh also took aim at GOP presidential candidate McCain. "The Republican Party nominated Powell's perfect candidate. The guy's going after moderates, independents, Democrats, a guy who is not conservative at all, McCain, didn't stand up for much conservative [principles], and he's out there now saying he won't support Palin if she seeks the presidency again, or he might not." Turning back to Powell, Limbaugh said Powell "insists that conservatives and Republicans support candidates who will appeal to minorities like I guess McCain who led the effort for amnesty. He insists that conservatives and Republicans move to the center like McCain, who calls himself a maverick for doing so. "General Powell insists that conservatives and Republicans provide an open tent to different ideas and views, like I guess McCain, who repeatedly trashed Republicans and made nice with Democrats. I mean, their tent's big, they just don't want us in it." Having been what Limbaugh described as Powell's ideal candidate, after McCain won the GOP at the last moment, Powell switched sides. "Once McCain was nominated as the Republican candidate, largely by independents and Democrats voting in Republican primaries, Colin Powell waited 'til the last minute, when it would do the most damage to McCain and the Republicans, and endorsed Obama. And when I said it was largely about race, that's what set 'em all off. You're not supposed to say these kinds of things. This is supposed to go unspoken. "Let me get this straight," Limbaugh said. "The guy who has supported the Republican candidate for president should be thrown out of the party. That would be me. But the guy who bolted and sabotaged the Republican nominee by endorsing the Democrat candidate should stay in and be part of the team that determines what the Republican Party is going to be. The turncoat, General Powell, is the one who the party is gonna listen to? McCain's a moderate. I supported McCain. Powell, who wants a moderate, did not support McCain." Til Nex'Time.......