Free Republic

A Michigan sheriff compared the governor's stay-at-home order to a mass arrest of the state's residents while speaking at a rally this week opposing the coronavirus restrictions. Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf told the gathering in Grand Rapids, Mich., that by definition the governor's measure was placing people of the state under arrest, according to MLive.com. “What’s the definition of an arrest? It’s basically taking away your free will, your right to move about,” Leaf said, adding that "an unlawful arrest is when you do it unlawfully." "So when you are ordered to your home, are you under arrest? Yeah,...

The CEO of Maple Leaf Foods spoke out against the United States government days after an Iranian missile accidentally shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 people on board — including, he said, the family of a company employee. In a series of tweets on Sunday, Michael McCain said the time since Wednesday's crash has not quelled his anger over what he describes as a "needless, irresponsible series of events in Iran." The tweets were sent from the official Maple Leaf Foods account, though McCain characterized them as "personal reflections." Fifty-seven Canadians were among the 176 people killed on...

Some very bad news today – for Nissan. Profits are down 99 percent. Not a typo. A near-total wipeout – which triggered the wiping out of 12,500 jobs, the immediate suspension of manufacturing in Indonesia and Spain and an announcement that Japan’s second-largest car company will reduce its model lineup by at least 10 percent by 2022. Nissan’s U.S. market share is down to 7.9 percent; it was 8.1 percent a year ago. It is quite possible there won’t be a Nissan by 2022. So, what’s gone awry? One thing – a thing which is going awry generally – is...

Ryan Leaf, the former Washington State quarterback and No. 2 NFL Draft pick whose career was plagued by drug addiction and who served time in prison, joined ESPN as a college football analyst.

Some would argue otherwise, but this is fantastic news. Recent Nissan battery life data suggests that the battery itself may last some 10-12 years beyond the life of the car. The company sees the LEAF's reasonable life at about 10 years. Managing director of Renault-Nissan Energy Services Francisco Carranza reveals that the batteries in those cars seem to have a 22-year life span.

On September 30th at 2:31 PM during Campaign Life Coalition's peaceful demonstration, pro-life leader Marie-Claire Bissonnette, was roundhouse-kicked in the shoulder by an abortion proponent The Human Defense Initiative has identified the assailant as Jordan Hunt, a hairdresser in Toronto, Canada. During the event, Hunt vandalized multiple pro-life signs. He then sought support and recognition for his handiwork from an abortion activist standing nearby, at which point Bissonette began filming the encounter.

<p>Electric cars have a lot of perks: zero emissions, a quiet ride and instant acceleration. But can they save you money? Probably not.</p> <p>Electric car prices are falling, but they still cost more than equivalent gas models because of their expensive batteries. A $7,500 federal tax credit—which survived the recent tax overhaul—helps erase that gap, but not entirely.</p>

The all-electric Nissan Leaf is now officially on sale, advertised as the first mass-market battery-operated car on the market. It uses no gasoline — and has no tailpipe emissions, because it has no tailpipe.And even though it's battery powered, like a golf cart, it's a real car, fun to drive, with comfortable seating for up to five people and styling that's mainstream, not quirky like some of the hybrids and earlier electric cars.For many, this even will be a practical car, one that can meet their everyday transportation needs — especially if they live, work and shop within a small...

In Europe, at least, drivers of the 100%-electric Nissan LEAF actually drive about 50% more than average drivers of petrol- and diesel-powered cars. This helps to bust the myth that electric cars are inadequate for the average driver, and that electric car drivers don’t drive very much. It also indicates that Nissan LEAF owners must be saving a lot more money than generally assumed. Electricity for powering a car is much cheaper than petrol or diesel. The average driver will save several thousand dollars (or euros, british pounds, etc.), but someone who actually drives much more than average is going...

"We are getting into positive, which is good for this technology." – Carlos Ghosn After 19 months in a row of record sales in the US, the money picture for the Nissan Leaf is steadily improving. To date (well, until the end of September), Nissan has sold 63,944 Leaf EVs in the US and a total of around 140,000 globally. The company produces the electric vehicle in three countries: Japan, the UK and the US and has sold more standard passenger EVs than any other automaker. Add all that up and you get to an EV that is just about to be profitable. At...

Reuters sources inside Nissan are saying the production of batteries inTennessee for the all-electric Leaf, which stimulus-subsidizing U.S. taxpayers backed with a $1.4 billion loan, could be eliminated. According to the report, at minimum there is sharp debate over whether the company will continue to manufacture electric vehicle batteries in-house or contract with an outside supplier. Nissan partner Renault, which has 43.4 percent shareholder ownership in the joint company, is said to be pushing for outsourcing battery production – possibly to LG Chem. None who revealed the information were identified for the Reuters story. “We set out to be...

So the wife & I are thinking on taking the plunge. I commute about 75 miles a day round trip to work & back. Based on that, I pay over $410 in gas/month on a paid car that is just getting more expensive to maintain. Any other FReepers who are owners care to give your experiences? Is it worth it?

I did it. I got an electric car. A Nissan Leaf. Whatever the origins, the confluence of factors made it absurd not to. Buyers get a $7500 credit off federal taxes. Georgia offers $5000 off purchase or lease. Power usage costs about $25/mo (vs gas at $150-300). That, plus negotiating, makes a 2 year lease net cost $0, if not negative. That I was driving a '98 POS facing major repairs, plus legislative movements reconsidering the incentives, made it a must-do. If you're in a state with similar incentives, and have any reason at all to get another car, do...

Despite the looming bankruptcy of electric carmaker Fisker Automotive, and disappointing sales of electric vehicles across the country, the Obama administration has harnessed some of the country’s top scientists, engineers, economists and auto experts to push electric car use deeper into the fabric of American society. Among the ideas being considered: new and bigger consumer subsidies for electric-car purchases, stiffer gasoline or carbon taxes, more federal subsidies for electric-car research, more subsidies for public-access battery-charging stations, and even broad, publicly-funded ad campaigns extolling the virtues of cars that the public currently seems disinterested in buying. Those possibilities, and more, have...

Generations of Eastern European housewives doing battle against bedbugs spread bean leaves around the floor of an infested room at night. In the morning, the leaves would be covered with bedbugs that had somehow been trapped there. The leaves, and the pests, were collected and burned — by the pound, in extreme infestations. Now a group of American scientists is studying this bedbug-leaf interaction, with an eye to replicating nature’s Roach Motel. A study published Wednesday in The Journal of the Royal Society Interface details the scientists’ quest, including their discovery of how the bugs get hooked on the leaves,...

A top Nissan official has said the company was “arrogant” in its marketing and sales approach for the all-electric Leaf, which received a $1.4 billion stimulus loan guarantee fromPresident Obama’s Department of Energy. Not that the company is going to return taxpayers their money, since the premise upon which Nissan received the loan were ridiculously high production estimates. Too much in expenses would have to be eaten otherwise. “We were a little bit arrogant as a manufacturer when we went to the 50-state rollout,”said Al Castignetti, Nissan’s vice president for sales, to Automotive News in late November. “We had assumed...

It’s the battery. Contrary to the excuses that Nissan has supplied about the loss of capacity for owners of the all-electric Leaf in the desert Southwest – especially super-hot Phoenix – a tightly-controlled test of a dozen of the vehicles showed that all of them experienced reduced range. Even a month-old Leaf could not recharge to 100 percent. GreenCarReports.com revealed the dismal development this week. That the power reduction came so rapidly and so quickly debunked the claims of Nissan executives Carla Bailo and Andy Palmer, who suggested the problems could lie either with owners who were charging their...

In what looks like an attempt to avoid a potentially costly and disastrous recall of its taxpayer-funded electric vehicles, Nissan has dismissed the concerns of its Leaf customers in Arizona and other hot states by claiming the apparent loss of battery capacity is “normal.” Owners of the company’s dismal selling plug-in have banded together to collectively test their vehicles and see just how “normal” their loss of “bars” on their power indicators are. Over the weekend twelve Leaf owners – led by EV advocate and Leaf owner Tony Williams – were to conduct an extended range test in Phoenix,...

ScienceDaily (May 9, 2012) — A detailed description of development of the first practical artificial leaf -- a milestone in the drive for sustainable energy that mimics the process, photosynthesis, that green plants use to convert water and sunlight into energy -- appears in the ACS journal Accounts of Chemical Research. The article notes that unlike earlier devices, which used costly ingredients, the new device is made from inexpensive materials and employs low-cost engineering and manufacturing processes.Daniel G. Nocera points out that the artificial leaf responds to the vision of a famous Italian chemist who, in 1912, predicted that scientists...

Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC) gave anti-Energy Secretary Steven Chu an earful yesterday during a hearing on oil prices. McHenry ripped Che for the administration’s policies that have prevented access to domestic oil and gas. “You’re telling me my constituents need to buy a Nissan Leaf?” "My time is short, you've listed a long list of things that this administration has done. I have not yet heard that there are trying to increase the supply of American oil or our refining capacity or limit the regulations in the diversity of blends that are required. I have heard nothing from you today...