EricMM

Jingus you're looking at this from the wrong perspective. To PETA and its ilk: this is utterly untrue. They see that this was an example of cruelty to an animal (a human) and meat slaughter is cruelty to an animal (a cow). They raise animals up to the level of empathy that humans receive. They don't seek to kill humans to help animals, they seek to prevent the "murder" of animals to help humans. You do understand that it is *completely* possible to live a completely nutritious life without killing animals? You seem to be so mad at PETA that you don't see the point of their ad. I responded with snark over there, but over here, I'll respond to you points. Just because you don't agree with them doesn't mean they're wrong. Further more, Comparing people to the Westboro people should be an addedum to that old internet adage: if you compare someone to Hitler, you lose...

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2008-08-07/...nd-loathe/%20/2

That, Marvin, doesn't matter. I don't care if they get 60mpg, if the Chinese drive cars like us, oil will be $200 per barrel and their carbon footprint will be enormous. And if they start using CTL to get their fuel, like we're talking about doing, another thing they'd copy, I think the smog would reach Cali... VX, understand what I mean. I agree that the bicycle was a staple to them, but they are trying to live like we do. They want BIG CARS. And their economy is improving annually...

In regards to cars, yes, they are chasing the American car dream. Bigger, better, faster. They're certainly not emulating the European model. But gas in China is subsidized and cheaper even than it is here. I just hope people realize how utterly fucked we'd (we'll) be when as large a percentage of Chinese people have cars as Americans.

1) Peak Oil: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirsch_report 2) Global Warming not caused by cars: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions...s/08_Energy.pdf (See transportation) (US cars may emit less SULFER than the rest of the world, but we certainly don't have carbon capture technology on our cars. And cars in Europe on average get 44 mpg and our cars on average get 22 so obviously theirs are better. Becaues they're not behemoths. 3) Refining capacity has not been clamped down by the tree huggers, it has been allowed to remain where it is today by oil companies who have zero incentive to refine MORE gasoline, since that would just lower the price. All the companies have been asking for (and I have been to the congressional hearings where the mentioned this) is the right to add onto existing refineries without having to bring them up to current code. They certainly would have to build new refineries up to current pollution code, so they have zero intent on doing that. Most importantly, again, Big Oil does not profit from more refining, it spends on more refining. But bottlenecks serve to increase cost on a resource that we as Americans have made ourselves dependant on. We're not going to not buy gas. In case you noticed, gas has gone down ~20-30 cents since reports came out the U.S. had finally had enough and demand went down. Granted, it won't go down MUCH, since there's no incentive for it to. We'll buy gas right around four dollars, once it goes over, we panic and buy less. Yes, speculation has driven up the price. But they know as well as anyone that they're selling a product that is becoming rarer and more expensive to produce around the world. 4) China and India are just chasing the American dream. They're copycats, and why not. Here's a hint: comparing the percentage of Chinese people with cars and American peoples with cars throughout history, they're still where we were in the 1920's. Almost no one in China has cars. But they will, and soon. India just came out with a car that costs around $2,500. It's going to sell like mad. Either we as the world leader in car culture lead the way QUICKLY in the direction of cars powered by renewable sources, or this is going to get out of hand rather quickly. FYI 20mpg is ridiculous. I'm not telling you to buy another car, however, just to get more gas milage. But SUVs absolutely are a problem. They have a different legal status because they're "light trucks" but they certainly do not get purchased solely or even mostly for their industrial and towing capacity. 5) In regards to mass transit, obviously the boondocks of TX should not be paying for Houston to build a lightrail system. In fact, I was mostly talking about a sound bus system. But light rail is good for cities, and we CERTAINLY need a train system again to replace the utterly doomed air travel system. But again, you keep on harping about the cost of action and I ask you, do you accept or understand the costs of INACTION?

Is that in reference to "numbnuts"?

Get your head out of the fucking sand, numbnuts, and do some very basic research on peak oil. For crying out loud. Then, check out G-L-O-B-A-L W-A-R-M-I-N-G.

More to the point, everyone keeps arguing to me about how "we can't cange [this] because it would be too hard" Well shit, that's great. But things are going to change whether you like it or not. We HAVE to change our driving AND our energy habits or else our children are going to hate us, and our grandchildren are REALLY going to hate us. I'm not making this up. I have yet to hear one good reason why we should continue business as usual. Bad reasons: It's too expensive. It's too hard. I don't want to.

Found a Subway on Sunday in VA that sold the Seafood Salad. It was written up on the menu in marker. Yeah, I got it. Girl took out a thing of Old Bay for me to make it extra good. From, like, under the counter.

Strap 'im to a giant missle, launch that missle, then shoot that missle with a giant laser. Also have metal.

I don't understand why not have a double shotgun blast to the back of the head. He wouldn't survive that. Would he even feel anything!?

I repeat that I went to see the Joker, when I saw it a second time. It's not even becaues I like LEDGER that much, it's because I like THE JOKER. Perhaps it is because I never really took in any of the Batman comics as a wee one, and was shaped solely by the cartoon, but there is no doubt that Joker is the pinnacle of comic book villany to me, and the crueler the better. But always laughing. It's just my preference, I suppose. Maybe it DOES have to do with the fact that we won't ever see THAT joker again. I'm not dogging two face, EASILY the best shot in the movie is how CGI has gotten so spiffy that they could reproduce that old cartoon trick of having twoface go on his speech while having shadows hide his burned side. I LOVED his exposition at the end, the look of it. But it still didn't compare to the Joker, for me.

I feel the exact same way. His kowtowing to Republican shit when he USED to (apparently) be this quote unquote maverick has me doubting his entire political history. Frankly the man looks like grim death up there on the podium, and sounds confused and occasionally senile on the news. If Americans vote that into the oval office over Obama it will be a very disgusting thing.

Unless you can back that up I'm going to completely disagree with you on that. Most of the people who drive pickups are driving them because they want to, not because they need to, and certainly not because they need them for work. Obviously we will always need trucks for business... ...is true. After all, the buffalo aren't gone they're just in far fewer number than they used to be. But conversely, people feel way safer in 4WD and SUVs than they really are. People in Buffalo do own Corollas. This is of course true. Our batteries haven't *really* improved since the days of their invention. But there is hope. I mean, I don't know many people who drive more than 250 miles per day. I certainly know businesses who do. And for those people, maybe gas or hydrogen or biodiesel or something like it are the only solutions. But for most people? No way most people drive 250 miles EVERY DAY. If so, they're going to be completely fucked by $5 gas anyhow, so SOMETHING needs to change. Like, for instance, your demand for 5L trucks for common use. Fuck it. Horsepower = fun, sexy; that sentiment is not in any way, shape, or form a consideration for me right now. Fuck it. You're burning an increasingly scarce and valubale and IMPORTANT resource for fun? Fuck it and you... If people don't really think, REALLY realize that this country needs to start CONSERVING our oil, then they need to get their heads out of their respective asses.

Its pretty funny to go back and watch "Return to Spider Skull Island" I mean, Jonas Jr. shouldn't be making fun of the pirate for being evil once...

Electric engines have more torque in general than gas powered engines. They just have lower horsepower. A halfton pickup is going the way of the buffalo my friend...

Hydrogen is not a source of power it is a medium. Where would the energy come from? Hydrogen is not ready yet, the transmission of hydrogen is as large an infrastructure problem as laying rail throughout this country... meanwhile, there's power everywhere. I really think electric cars are the way to go.

I never said "force" Also, people don't *have* to live so centrally...I said commuting fifty miles for EVERYTHING was dumb. Stuff can be made more local.

I have to admit, this time, I saw it specifically for the Joker.

Saw it again, kind of wanted to walk out after the scene on the rooftop...

You're a bigger idiot for not seeing the differences between McCain and Obama, and not acting on said differences. Based upon your previous stances here, I think you should care about them.

I have. Not an enormous amount, but I have. What, exactly, is your point? That it will be "too hard" for people to relocate, or build adaquate public transportation? If people had been trying, slowly, for all the years that people like me have been railing for it, it wouldn't be so fucking hard. But NO. Now people are going broke because the price of gas went up five times in eight years. THEY set THEMSELVES up. There is no possible way for America to supply its own oil. We are too greedy. Accept that. The "American lifestyle" is something we buy from the rest of the world, and cannot produce ourselves. If, instead, we curtailed our energy use thirty years ago when this FIRST became a problem, we would NOT be in this mess, obviously. If, perhaps, we had decided to produce electric cars, we would not be in this mess. If, hopefully, we understand that we need clean, renewable energy to protect our future, we could be driving around in American cars powered by American engines driving on American energy. But look what we have instead. And this isn't the last time. After Katrina, conservatives said that that was the peak, that soon gas would go back to $2 or below. Not gonna happen. Production cannot increase at the rate supply is and will. So if it is "unfair" or "unreasonable" for me to suggest that people who commute fifty miles everywhere because they live fifty miles from anything MOVE, what, pray tell, is "reasonable"? Status quo? Please.

First of all, I didn't say we should build a light rail in every corner of the country. Busses are simpler than trains, take the bus to the train or something. Look, people are going to have to MOVE. If you live in the middle of nowhere, and the costs are too high for you to constantly ship you and yours around, for an hour or so every day, you need to go someplace else.

Guess what, just because thats the way things are layed out now doesn't mean thats the way things have to or CAN BE layed out in the future. Things have to change.