Somebody Needs To Shut Up Barbara Boxer

[Guest MikeSC]

Please post the following:

 

I believe that the human race will never run out of resources.

 

I just want to make it absolutely clear that's what you're saying.

Yes. We'll never run out of oil before we move beyond oil. We'll never run out of trees as we replace them. We'll never run out of any metals.

Well I know we don't have to worry about trees, because we have more trees in North America now than before the white devils ravaged the land with their greed and hate. I'm not so confident about oil though. We need to get that alternative energy source figured out quick, so we can allocate what's left from vehicle fuel to, you know, everything else we manufacture

From what I've read, things like electricity take up about 2% of the oil. Vehicle fuel is, by far, the largest user.

 

And I personally find it exceptionally ironic for a Kennedy to lecture Bush on wastefulness while flying around on a private plane.

-=Mike

[Guest BDC]

I'd be willing to guess that a big part of it is the fact that people don't wanna pay so much money for a little car. Frankly, as a big person, I need something I can actually fit in. Second consideration is that I'm moving large objects or large amounts of objects on a fairly regular basis. So, I'm looking at something I can cram my lanky ass into and has cargo capacity suitable for what I want to do. Those are the top two priorities for me.

 

That being said, I'm only half satisfied with what I have now. A Ford Escort ZX2 coupe is something that, with a little modification I can fit in. Yay.

[The Czech Republic]

From what I've read, things like electricity take up about 2% of the oil. Vehicle fuel is, by far, the largest user.

 

And I personally find it exceptionally ironic for a Kennedy to lecture Bush on wastefulness while flying around on a private plane.

-=Mike

Right, so cut out fuel, and you can focus on plastics and the many other things we need petroleum for.

 

Yeah Kennedys waste a lot of stuff. They don't need THAT much alcohol to reach intoxication. Also, that car Ted drove off a bridge had a few clicks of the ol' odometer left in it.

[EricMM]

Don't be deceived:

 

The regular Escape SUV gets like 24 city, 28 highway. Not good, but you know, not awful.

 

The HYBRID Escape SUV gets like 26 city, 28 highway.

 

Thats two mpg better than a non-hybrid. There is no way that is a "clean" car. It may very well be a HYBRID, but obviously it doesn't work the way a hybrid could. Having 28 mpg highway means that there is just no efficent way to carry that much weight around in a car.

 

The electric motor is engaged when starting from a parked/stopped position, and the conventional motor is used when maintaining relatively higher speeds, anything above even twenty miles per hour. This gets the prius somewhere around 40-50 mpg on the highway. This is when it's basically a regular car, no hybrid effects whatsoever. So if the best the Escape can do is 28 mpg, then there's just no hope for it to be a really clean car. It gets good MPG for a SUV, but it's still too big or actually, too HEAVY to get good gas milage. Hybrid or no hybrid. You'd have to use a totally clean source like electricity or I dunno what else to have a clean SUV at today's tech level.

 

I think auto manufacturers ought to work on making lighter engines and lighter vehicles. Size is not as important, at least where MPG is concerned. My friends sportscar is small, but the engine is so huge that it gets awful gas milage.

 

I would really like to see more work done into ethanol/bio-diesel sources of energy. That plus general increases in efficency would really lessen our use of oil in general. Which would be a good thing for everyone involved.

[NoCalMike]

Don't be deceived:

 

The regular Escape SUV gets like 24 city, 28 highway. Not good, but you know, not awful.

 

The HYBRID Escape SUV gets like 26 city, 28 highway.

 

Thats two mpg better than a non-hybrid. There is no way that is a "clean" car. It may very well be a HYBRID, but obviously it doesn't work the way a hybrid could. Having 28 mpg highway means that there is just no efficent way to carry that much weight around in a car.

 

The electric motor is engaged when starting from a parked/stopped position, and the conventional motor is used when maintaining relatively higher speeds, anything above even twenty miles per hour. This gets the prius somewhere around 40-50 mpg on the highway. This is when it's basically a regular car, no hybrid effects whatsoever. So if the best the Escape can do is 28 mpg, then there's just no hope for it to be a really clean car. It gets good MPG for a SUV, but it's still too big or actually, too HEAVY to get good gas milage. Hybrid or no hybrid. You'd have to use a totally clean source like electricity or I dunno what else to have a clean SUV at today's tech level.

 

I think auto manufacturers ought to work on making lighter engines and lighter vehicles. Size is not as important, at least where MPG is concerned. My friends sportscar is small, but the engine is so huge that it gets awful gas milage.

 

I would really like to see more work done into ethanol/bio-diesel sources of energy. That plus general increases in efficency would really lessen our use of oil in general. Which would be a good thing for everyone involved.

I didn't post a picture of an Escape though......or did I?

[Jobber of the Week]

I think auto manufacturers ought to work on making lighter engines and lighter vehicles. Size is not as important, at least where MPG is concerned. My friends sportscar is small, but the engine is so huge that it gets awful gas milage.

Lighter vehicles? Aluminum. However, for safety cars are always going to have big metal heavy panels, and if they don't who the hell wants to take on the freeway in something that fragile?

 

Still, I know aluminum can be done to an extent. It was a selling point on the Audi A8 luxury cruiser a while back, because Audi struck a deal with Alcoa.

 

However, in general, Americans don't want to drive smaller vehicles, ever, unless something like a 1970s oil crunch forces it on them. Cars prior to that look like cruiseliners compared to the cars of today. The only way the auto industry could assist in that regard is to stop treating all small cars as economy cars, by applying the same techniques of reducing noise and increasing comfort that they do on regular sized sedans.

[Jobber of the Week]

Toyota's hybrid is ugly as sin, but those Hondas really do look sharp.

WHAT!?!?!

 

You did not just slam the Lexus RX400h and GS450h. Nuh-uh. No way.

 

 

And if nobody's buying these things, at least the luxury market is. RX400h already has more pre-launch orders than any Lexus ever. I can't find any hard mileage numbers, but auto megasite Edmunds.com calls it "the best fuel mileage in the SUV industry."

 

Now what they need to do is produce a Toyota variant.

[SuperJerk]

^I was talking about the Toyota Prius.^

 

"Fugly" isn't a strong enough of a word to describe it.

 

Also, if you can afford your second brand new house in 3 years, do you really NEED a tax cut?

 

You're right. In fact, we should redistribute his hard-earned wealth to the TRULY needy.

Better yet, cancel his tax cut and use it to reduce the deficit.

[kkktookmybabyaway]

Or, better yet, all you hippies can just geeeeet out...

[LessonInMachismo]

^I was talking about the Toyota Prius.^

 

"Fugly" isn't a strong enough of a word to describe it.

 

Also, if you can afford your second brand new house in 3 years, do you really NEED a tax cut?

 

You're right. In fact, we should redistribute his hard-earned wealth to the TRULY needy.

Better yet, cancel his tax cut and use it to reduce the deficit.

Better yet, keep my tax cut and use the money from garbage like "endowment for the arts" to pay off the deficit.

[kkktookmybabyaway]

But that money is used to enrich the lives of OUR CHILDREN.

 

Fuck, the NEA will never go away...

[SuperJerk]

^I was talking about the Toyota Prius.^

 

"Fugly" isn't a strong enough of a word to describe it.

 

Also, if you can afford your second brand new house in 3 years, do you really NEED a tax cut?

 

You're right. In fact, we should redistribute his hard-earned wealth to the TRULY needy.

Better yet, cancel his tax cut and use it to reduce the deficit.

Better yet, keep my tax cut and use the money from garbage like "endowment for the arts" to pay off the deficit.

Or we could cancel the Natl. Endow. of the Arts AND your tax cut and pay it down even more.

[Guest MikeSC]

Or you could eliminate programs the gov't shouldn't be involved with, such as Medicaid and Medicare, and really save some cash.

-=Mike

...Nobody wants their pork cut...

[SuperJerk]

Or you could eliminate programs the gov't shouldn't be involved with, such as Medicaid and Medicare, and really save some cash.

-=Mike

...Nobody wants their pork cut...

If we were going to cut those programs in an across-the-board effort to balance the budget, that'd be one thing. But to cut them out INSTEAD OF cancelling a tax cut? No thanks.

 

I'm not going to completely take away health coverage from the poor and the elderly just so we can owe a few less dollars on April 15th.

[LessonInMachismo]

Or you could eliminate programs the gov't shouldn't be involved with, such as Medicaid and Medicare, and really save some cash.

  -=Mike

...Nobody wants their pork cut...

If we were going to cut those programs in an across-the-board effort to balance the budget, that'd be one thing. But to cut them out INSTEAD OF cancelling a tax cut? No thanks.

 

I'm not going to completely take away health coverage from the poor and the elderly just so we can owe a few less dollars on April 15th.

Then why don't people like you, and richies like Kerry, Edwards and Dean DONATE 3/4 of your salaries to the poor and elderly? What a novel idea!

[SuperJerk]

Or you could eliminate programs the gov't shouldn't be involved with, such as Medicaid and Medicare, and really save some cash.

  -=Mike

...Nobody wants their pork cut...

If we were going to cut those programs in an across-the-board effort to balance the budget, that'd be one thing. But to cut them out INSTEAD OF cancelling a tax cut? No thanks.

 

I'm not going to completely take away health coverage from the poor and the elderly just so we can owe a few less dollars on April 15th.

Then why don't people like you, and richies like Kerry, Edwards and Dean DONATE 3/4 of your salaries to the poor and elderly? What a novel idea!

Because those three people by themselves don't have enough money to provide the needed services.

 

I wouldn't have a problem with cutting funding for those programs, so long as it was part of an overall program that reduces the deficit that includes eliminating the Bush tax cut.

[Guest MikeSC]

Or you could eliminate programs the gov't shouldn't be involved with, such as Medicaid and Medicare, and really save some cash.

  -=Mike

...Nobody wants their pork cut...

If we were going to cut those programs in an across-the-board effort to balance the budget, that'd be one thing. But to cut them out INSTEAD OF cancelling a tax cut? No thanks.

 

I'm not going to completely take away health coverage from the poor and the elderly just so we can owe a few less dollars on April 15th.

Then why don't people like you, and richies like Kerry, Edwards and Dean DONATE 3/4 of your salaries to the poor and elderly? What a novel idea!

Because those three people by themselves don't have enough money to provide the needed services.

 

I wouldn't have a problem with cutting funding for those programs, so long as it was part of an overall program that reduces the deficit that includes eliminating the Bush tax cut.

And I don't feel the tax cut is the problem. The problem is such boondoggles as the Medicare drug benefit, whose costs keep skyrocketing and the plan isn't even really implemented. My one beef with Bush is that he spends WAY too much and refuses to veto anything.

 

Hell, veto one of Byrd's spending bills. I'm sure the people of W. Virginia might like a building taller than one story that doesn't his name attached.

 

Geez, at least Trump wastes his OWN money to pimp himself. Byrd wastes everybody else's.

-=Mike

[SuperJerk]

And I pretty much agree with everything after your first sentence.