Forget What The Truth Is…

“We Know Better”

I hate people that call themselves “advocates”, particularly “consumer” advocates.

Most ”consumer advocates” think that you are too stupid for your own good. Their often financially and politically driven, egotistical “advocacy positions” are fueled by emotion and hysteria rather than facts and competently interpreted statistics. Their positions are also funded by cash from well intended donors, those that they can dupe into giving money, and even the Government—both and local and national—pays for “advocates” and other professional busy bodies to meddle in our lives.

Take the 1960’s savior of auto owners everywhere, Ralph “the mouth” Nader, killer of the Chevy Corvair, for example. What a complete, total $#&@ moron Nader is (in my considered opinion.)

Nader wrote the 1965 book ”Unsafe at any speed” that tackled his and other “advocates” perceived “safety issues” with cars manufactured by American companies.

The Corvair was basically run out of the market by consumer reaction to Nader’s allegations, although most of his complaints were moot by the time the book was published in 1965, the year my own family adopted a new white four door Chevy Corvair with an automatic transmission.

We also at that time owned a bright red 1963 Volkswagon convertible, so our family was the poster child for Nader’s hysterical complaints about rear engine automobiles. Of course my mom and dad took a path to ensuring safety that Nader and his ilk always overlook—we obeyed the speed limits and otherwise didn’t operate our motor vehicles like complete ingrates and morons on the highways of south Alabama. In fact, neither car was ever involved in an accident. The Corvair even survived carrying us on a 6,000 plus mile four week adventure from south Alabama to southern California in 1968.

Furthering my theme of consumer "advocates," with the fourth of July upon us I did a Google search on Fireworks Safety and came upon the National Council of Fireworks Safety web site. There I found some interesting numbers, typical of what I find when I personally look into a subject rather than watching TV or reading the newspaper to fin out what I should be worrying about.

Their documents are in PDF format so I can’t accurately reproduce much of the text here without retyping, but essentially they say that fireworks use is up 661% (from 29,000,000 pounds to 221,000,000 pounds) since 1976, but injuries are down to 5 from almost 40 per 100,000 pounds of explosives.

Certainly fireworks safety should be everyone’s concern, but I would like to point out that, no matter what the "advocates" and your government tells you, it is probably more dangerous driving your car to the store to buy your fireworks than it is actually shooting them off on the 4th.

Know what I mean?