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The UAW has an overwhelmingly strong presence in Ohio, yet Honda Motors built an assembly as well as manufacturing plant NW of Columbus, which to this day remains non-union. Honda will also be building a plant to produce the Civic ( I believe) in Shelbyville Indiana which will be non-union in a state that is very pro-union.

It doesn't appear that unions are that great of a deterrent when these Japanese companies come a knocking.

Could it have been the sympathy factor as one of the reasons why Toyota built in Mississippi and by doing so would elevate their stature as a good corporate citizen providing jobs in one of the hardest hit areas of the country?

Energy hog: The Tennessee Center for Policy Research says Al Gore's Nashville mansion slurps up 20 times the electricity of an average American home.* Doug

Right! The only problem is that Gore House and Office is 20 times larger than the average American home whatever that means? If big Al House is a office and has a truck load of staffers hanging their all day and night turning out work. What is the problem? Do you really trust some phony Republican think tank that goes though your garage like the National Inquirer does to movie stars has any creditablity? Besides 30,000 grand a year for electical and gas is about right for any small and middle size business.

It appears that the phony political right want candiates or people who push causes to be like the cause and live the life style according to that cause. So should Big Al dress like a 60's tree hugger hippy and live in a tree house in the back of the House to prove he is not hypocrite?

That is like asking Brother Pat Robinson and Brother Jerry Farewell to wear sackcloth and roll in ashes to prove they are not hypocrites in the religious political homeless business.

By the way! Does anybody know what the electical bill is at the Tennessee State Republican HQ's for the past couple of years. Better yet Doug! What is the electrial bill at the N&R is and has the N&R install Solar panels on the roof or large windmills in your paper parking lot to prove they are not Energy Hogs too?

And stop using the elevator Doug when you should be using the steps to save energy and your health.

ps....move the editoral staff to the parking lot to a used Army pup tent so they can air out their brains to save more power and have all employees start riding bikecyles to work.

Actually, I'm pretty surprised that you got sucked into this without thinking more critically (sort of like JR's nod about the "Jesus tomb" story--too bad you didn't use his example). Doesn't it strike you as just a little odd that Drudge et all dredged this up the day after the Oscars? You think maybe they were withholding this to make a splashy story and you are playing right into made-for-blog media?

C'mon. I think a seasoned journalist like you would know when he was being played.

If you read the background then you'll see this "issue" is manufactured (no one is disputing the charges or the house size, like no one is accounting for required security features, eh?). The timing was orchestrated.

And now you know how swiftboating works. And we know why.

I don't know about Drudge; he's not on my reading list. My first inkling was the AP story. The AP actually examined Gore's power bills for the last year. Journalists aren't being played unless a story isn't a story. This isn't a big one in the grand scheme of things. It just makes Gore an easy target to poke fun at, like most hypocrites are.

Is he explaining it now as security requirements? Maybe I should buy a Hummer for the same reason.

What I'd really love for Gore to say is this: "It won't make any difference regarding global warming whether my house consumes 200,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year or 20,000." That would be honest.

Jon, I didn't mean to overlook your comment.

How has Honda pulled it off in Ohio and Indiana, do you think?

I wouldn't think sympathy had much to do with Toyota's decision. Former furniture factory employees would be good workers. Obviously, there are plenty of them around here.

Is he explaining it now as security requirements? Maybe I should buy a Hummer for the same reason.* Doug

Doug! I can make you a deal on Used Hummers with big discounts and fully armor along with a two year warrenty or 30 thousand miles or the first IFD blast that blows the shotgun seat away. You remember Baghdad " Bob" don't you? Well guess what? He somehow escape out of Iraq after the war and made it to it South Yemen. He form a a large Used Car dealership with his 4 Daughters Father-in-law when he traded them to the Father-in-law sons for a half interest in the Dealership. Well, they appear at a USA Government Military used supplus sale in Kurait and purchase 20 thousand brand new GMCA Hummers, that were left behind by the USA government since they couldn't find anybody to drive them to Baghdad in the coming Bush surge. Let me know if you want one. By the way, We have cheap finincal rates to fund the purchase over 420 months or when we finally get out of Iraq. Oh! You will have to pick up the Hummer of your choice on our Used Car lot at the King of South Yemen summer Palace. It's next to the " Suddamn Bobs" Used Camel and Goat lot. You can view the Hummers on our on-line show case site....www.Americansuckerdeals.com

Thanks, Connie. I'll call you.

Doug,

I believe Toyota located in Mississippi as a result of the Katrina (NC's textile woes never got the press like Katrina) effect. Toyota, a foreign firm with a bbbiiiggg footprint in the US auto market, wanted to show it has the American people at heart, thus building a plant in that region will cultivate goodwill toward a company who will in a very short while, overtake our own GM as the biggest auto producer in the world. Just my theory.

Unions now represent only 12% of the US workforce down from 30% in the 80's. They're losing their relevance. Toyota as well as Honda have the appeal and reputation of providing jobs for a lifetime with fairly good pay as well as great benefits. In fact, many of their plants employ former UAW workers who faced downsizing as a result of the weakness of the US big three. The Shelbyville Honda plant will employ many former UAW workers who were let go at auto suppliers who were forced to downsize/go out of business as a result of the big three problems.

One estimate I saw a while back regarding Al and Tipper Gore's annual use of private air transport and the related fuel usage was enough to provide go juice for 100 automobiles traveling around 15,000 miles per year. In my book this guy's a hypocrite.

I've always been amazed that people could get turned on by Al Gore who didn't have the skills to piggyback on one of the most popular president's in my lifetime and win the election in 2000. Even his home state had enough of him and refused to give him their plurality in 2000. And to add insult to injury, the Tennessee county where he was born shunned him for W.

That Honda plant is being built in Greensburg, Ind., not Shelbyville. As someone who grew up in the Hoosier state (and has quite a few friends in the Greensburg/Batesville-area) I paid quite a bit of attention to the news about that plant. Shelbyville's not too far away though.

I've always understood location to be the biggest factor in where auto manufacturers build assembly plants with several issues being key: proximity to highway and rail for parts intake and product output; proximity to available workforce; and strategic location within the marketplace (i.e., how does it help the manufacturer deliver the product to the sales point). With incentives, union representation, etc. all being secondary factors. The are several examples of manufacturers spurning incentives and/or moving into pro-union areas because the other factors were too enticing.

I'd speculate that Tupelo's two rail lines and location off of a U.S. highway, soon-to-be-interstate, were more important than the presence of United Auto Workers in North Carolina or hurricane damage some 350 miles away.

I also noticed that Haley Barbour was heavily involved in selling the site to Toyota. At the time the Greensburg Honda plant was announced, many of the news reports credited Gov. Mitch Daniels' multiple trips to Japan as having been a major factor in swaying Honda from a largely equal site in central Ohio.

But what do I know. I'm just a court reporter.

The Davidson County site, assuming all parcels could be acquired, appears ideal according to the criteria you named, Jonathan. I hope it will be in line for a future Toyota plant and won't be held up by secondary factors that might be construed as negative.

Oh, I'm not trying to say the Davidson County site doesn't have a lot going for it. It looks like it does, although I'm not sure how it would fit into marketplace delivery. Most of Toyota's plants are a little more centrally located to the rest of the country. The one exception being Freemont, Calif.

Toyota has come back to sites that it saw in previous evaluations and turned them into plants. Tupelo is one. Jackson, Tenn. has a Toyota engine plant on a site that had been previously rejected for an assembly plant.

So maybe Davidson will be in the running again.

Doug, your qualifier about that site intrigued me though: "assuming all parcels could be acquired." When Honda was looking at the Greensburg site, an Indianapolis law firm quietly got all the necessary options signed before any rumblings about the site began to leak out.

It seems to me there are at least a few folks who own land in the area of the Linwood site that aren't happy industrial development is being talked about on their property. At least they've been in the papers saying as much. I wonder if that would be a bigger hindrance than anything else -- actually acquiring the rights to the land.

Thanks, Connie. I'll call you.* Doug

Doug! One other small sales detail. Should you be late on our easy monthly Hummer payment plan. We have a excellent repo personal to handle this matter. It's call the Iranian military repo services with the wrecker service being provided by the Palatine Liberation Front. It's one of the biggest booming business in the middle east at the moment. Just last week they repo 5 Oil tankers from Exxon and one Chinese Junk Submarine that was lease from the North Korea Rocket program. The North Korea Scienists have found that they can convert their Rockets into Submarines after they fall in the Japan Sea from tests.

By the way! I notice Ed has taken Dr Mary to the woodshed about medical business services in your area with this brilliant statement.

" non-profit hospitals are not necessarily obligated to serve the poor," *Ed

I have every reason to suspect that Mother Thersa would beat Ed to death with the Pope's Cone hat with that comment. I wonder if the Cone's new hospital in High Point would be interested in a used Funeral military Limo Hummer for it's service to the rich in High Point?

Alright Jonathan Jones, Mr. smarty britches Hoosier that you say you are, if you're a Hoosier, you will know how that name arose. Please entertain us with your Hoosierian knowledge.

In addition, what town in Indiana is the birthplace of James Whitcomb Riley?

Well Jon, which tale do you want to hear?

"Who's ear?"

or

"Who's hear?"

Or the one that no Hoosier likes to admit, that the word was likely derogatory slang in the early 19th century akin to hillbilly or redneck that folks from Indiana took as a name of pride?

And as someone who spent a good chunk of his childhood at Riley Children's Hospital -- daggum ear infections -- I know Mr. Riley was born and raised in Greenfield. Not to be confused with Greensburg, Greencastle, Greenwood or Greenville.

Do my bonafides pass inspection?

What I've heard is that reluctant landowners in Davidson County have been told in no uncertain terms by state officials that they WILL sell their land if Toyota wants it.

The state does have that much power.

How is the Al Gore story "manufactured," Sue? Either it's true or it isn't - and Gore's side isn't offering any evidence that it is false.

Like Doug said, it's not huge news. But it does point out that Gore is a Grade-A hypocrite. He's spent the last few years hectoring the American public about our energy consumption, even though he's not willing to live by the same standards he wants for everyone else.

It reminds me of these Hollywood types who complain the U.S. doesn't spend enough to help the Third World - then jump in their limo and head to yet another lavish party.

Al Gore's private jet burns more fuel in one cross-country trip "promoting" conservation than my car burns in a whole year.
Hypocrite.

Big Al, took a lehr to the airport, a limo to his hotel, and a hybrid, to the awards.

Doug,

Yep, acquisition of land for a big fish like Toyota is no big deal. The Supreme Court paved the way with their contorted ruling on eminent domain. This ruling seems tailor-made to attract business such as a Toyota plant by taking private property and giving it to a private business. Government could surely declare it would be in the greater good. The landowners would be bulldozed in a New York minute.

Swiftboat attack, huh? I thought that was the private domain of John Kerry. Evidently, in recent confirmation hearings he brought it up again. The man is, indeed, bitter. He's having a hard time living with personal attacks on his character when he, himself, conducted such attacks decades earlier on others' characters.

Al Gore's private jet burns more fuel in one cross-country trip "promoting" conservation than my car burns in a whole year.
Hypocrite.*jaycee

The rumor on the airport taxiway is that big Al has place a order with Honda for their amazing upside down jet engine design. He fiqures that anything upside down will use less fossil leaves after the Great Flood returns. Wait a minute! There is no great flood in the future according to the bible. This Global warming thing must be true since God said he was going to zap the earth with fire this time to get the heathen attention in order to make Doug and the Greensboro happy about Honda making jobs.

Repeal the drug laws! Grow more Pot to save the Ozone layer with more green leaves.

There is proposed legislation in North Carolina that would curtail government's power of eminent domain. There's merit to that although, if I were a targeted landowner, I would hate to be the one killing a deal like a Toyota plant that would create 2,000 badly needed jobs -- especially when Toyota would happily make me a millionaire.

Doug Clark, I am sure you would not have any problems, kicking people off their land for your tax and spend liberal friends. What Mr. Clark will not tell you, is that if you get any money it will be pennies on the dollar. Most people get none. They owe you, however there no law that they must pay you. Not to worry Mr. Clark, Joe Hackney will never let this see the light of day. Your papers endores, Pricey Harrison,Alma Adams, Earl Jones, and Kay Hogan, refused to answer, will they support peoples right to own land. If Honda wants land, they should buy it from land owners. That used to be American way.Watch FOX CABLE if you want to see, items on this, that will make your blood boil.

We did not endorse Earl Jones!

Doug, I understand the sentiment against use of eminent domain, but I don't agree that the beneficiaries of a Toyota plant would be my tax-and-spend liberal friends. How about the people getting all those $20 an hour jobs?

Sure, a Toyota plant paying $20 an hour would be great. No one said it wouldn't. But don't property owners have rights?

The government shouldn't be able to kick people off their land just to accomodate a wealthy business. Eminent domain was intended to be used in only limited circumstances of prevailing public good - things like building roads or military bases. But greedy, unethical politicians decided to use it as an economic development tool.

Doug Johnson has it right - if Toyota or any other company wants to build a plant, they should negotiate with the property owners and strike a deal.

Oh, and I'm sure the N&R has endorsed Earl Jones somewhere along the line. If not, he would be about the only Democrat not to receive the paper's endorsement.

You're probably right.

Oh, and I'm sure the N&R has endorsed Earl Jones somewhere along the line. If not, he would be about the only Democrat not to receive the paper's endorsement.* just saying

You're probably right.*Doug

Boy! Are you boys confuse? Earl Jones was endorse many times in the N&R for his role in " The Hunt For Red October." Frankly Earl couldn't care less about a endorsement from the N&R. And if it did, his supporters would think he has sold out the poor, homeless, and the oppress of the establishment society.

Mr. Clark,
I have no problem with people making $20 hour.
Your paper years ago bashed unions for wanting pay increase for the worker. Now you want people to make $20 hour.Why the change of heart? My problem is what happens to the people that's land is taken from them? Any land taken from people, has to benefit your tax & spend liberal friends, are they would not do it.

As I posted over at the similarly gullible Ed Cone's place:

The Huffington Post provides details that the MSM and Ed Cone weren't willing to provide:

"It's nice to see the conservative media taking the message of conservation and energy efficiency seriously. Hopefully they will hold their own leaders and readers to the same high standards.

The Tennessee Tax Dept. does not consider the "Tennessee Center for Policy Research," which roughly no one had heard of before this, a legitimate group. It's run by a long-time right-wing attack hack, and its only registered address is a P.O. box. Why is everyone in the media taking what it says about Gore's electricity use at face value?

Gore's electricity company has no record of being contacted about his bills.

The "average" home electricity use quoted by TCPR is a national average that includes apartments and mobile homes. In Gore's climatic zone, the East South Central (Dept. of Energy PDF), the average is much higher, thanks to hot, humid summers and cold winters. Within that zone, Gore's usage is three (not 20) times average, and his per-square-foot usage is squarely average. (More here.)

The Gores are not an average family. He's an ex-VP with special security arrangements, and has live-in security staff. He and his wife both work on their many business and charitable undertakings out of their house, so they have space for offices and office staff. All that would be tough to cram in an average size house.

Gore buys the maximum allowable green electricity from the program offered by his utility.
Most of the electricity in TN comes from hydro and nuclear, and so doesn't generate all that much CO2 anyway."

The AP did its own research, finding numbers very similar to those cited by TCPR. They were a little lower, but for 11 months compared to a year. Face it: Gore's an energy glutton. But, bottom line, it isn't going to raise the planet's temperature anyway.

Doug,
How someone so smart could be so obtuse sometimes is just beyond me.

The raw numbers are correct. They are from the power bill.

The problem is in the characterization of the numbers - it is NOT 30 times the average annual use for the area. per square foot it is an average use.

And he does this while running his fully-staffed operations out of his house and having a full-time Secret Service detail living on the property.

I'd say that's a sign of admirable efficiency, not gluttony.

He drives a hybrid and he buys green power.

He's living as within his own rules as it is possible to live and still be a public figure doing thew travel and public work that he does.

THis is just another way to undermine environmentalism and concern about global warming.

Don;t even get me started on your post above, which could have been written by George Will while he received a crude-oil neck rub from a Bush twin.

How many secret service agents has he got bunking in with him, 20?

Seriously, if all this is true -- "fully staffed operations," etc. -- would it not have been helpful if the Gore people had simply explained these things to AP when it asked instead of making a political response?

By the way, the Secret Service Web site does not list former vice presidents among those it is authorized to protect.