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FYI
For as long as I can remember the British have had prohibitions against hanging anyone with a wooden leg.
They use a rope. :-0
@KMH: high school with money:
http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/features/saltz/saltz9-5-01.asp among others.
Re suicide:
Under the principle that labor is wealth, then suicide removes wealth from the ruling classes and is therefore a crime.
We need to find alternatives to our lifestyles in the US and show the world we were wrong with our gaining of supposed wealth. We modeled our lives for other countries like China and India, and they saw how we lived and now they want it and they are getting it. If we reduce our gas consumption either by taxation or other constraints, it will cheapen the gas for every other developing country, greenhouse gasses will not be reduced. What we need to do, is reduce consumption world wide, and we need to learn to do it while living a "rich" lifestyle.
Ultimately I would like to see solar, wind and tidal power production for our needs. A huge tax on gas would be regressive and people would turn to electric cars which until a new alternative infrastructure was developed, we would burn coal at full capacity. Don't forget gas can power generators as well which power-plants could take advantage of unless gas was taxed for that.
Our lives have become car centric and we spend too much of our earnings on it. I'd rather have more time to live and experience life than work for driving.
@Gerald, a terrorist is some one who kills a member of a group of people in order to put fear in that same group. Basically I'd say a terrorist can be considered a serial killer with a political agenda. A killer can kill someone for no other reason then the desire to kill, regardless of how others react to it, it's more or less a feeling of personal empowerment. To that end I would agree with the rest of your comment to the point that Republicans are terrorists.
Jesus was truly an amazing person. When Jesus walked among us, He was an inclusive person who excluded no one. He loved the harlots, the lepers, the maimed, the sinners, the outcasts, the forgotten, the blind, the deaf, and all the people. Jesus is a beautiful and wonderful role model for us to follow.
What Jesus desires for America and the world are peace and justice on our planet for all of His children. He also has a vision for the world.
Jesus’ vision for the world is social wholeness, a state of well being for all, where everyone has access to the goods of creation intended to meet the needs of all. Jesus offers us the substance of the biblical vision of one community embracing all creation where all enjoy the resources that make communal harmony joyous and effective.
Jesus’ intended vision of the world, a dream for Him that resists our tendencies for division, hostility, fear, lust, and misery. If there is to be well-being, it will not be just for the isolated and insulated individuals, it is security and prosperity granted to the whole community: the poor, the widow, the orphan, the immigrant, the tax collector and the sinner, the despised and the rejected, young and old, the powerful and the dependent. We are in it together. Together we stand before His blessings and together we receive the gift of life.
When it comes to vote in 2012, I cannot vote for a Republican to be president because I have contempt for Republicans. I cannot for a Democrat because Democrats disgust me. I am left with an Independent, a Green, or a Socialist candidate. I do not know where the Tea Bagger Party stands and the same goes for the Coffee Party candidate.
I would hope that a viable party in 2012 would be The Jesus Party. Jesus is the party’s founder. The central theme of The Jesus Party was given to us at the Last Supper. It is the Eleventh Commandment. LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU.
The life of Jesus would be the party’s role model. We need only to read the New Testament in the Bible for our guide to a better world.
American education is a disaster. We know that public schools have been a disaster for many years. Private and parochial schools are functioning close to public schools in being a disaster.
Students, especially teenagers, are into fairness and idealism not just for themselves but for friends and other persons.
The school dropout rare is at thirty percent. That percentage is too high and we are losing many students who are discouraged. Teenagers know that we are in a Great Depression. They know that unemployment will remain high for many years. They see the unfairness between the rich and the middle class. They also know that the return of jobs will take generations.
About twenty-years ago I read that some states have been hiring foreign students to teach math and science classes for high schools and middle schools. American students are avoiding math and science classes because they want to keep their Grade Point Average to remain high. When they are refused entry to certain colleges and universities, the reason will be that their transcripts have lacked completion of quality courses.
Our son has talked to his former college advisor and the advisor has not had an American born student to advise in the past twelve years.
Our K-12 schools systems face many problems to overcome. It will not happen in my lifetime and it will not happen in our sons’ lifetime.
America is a divided nation and she will not heal for generations. America is a disaster in many areas. Here are some of the areas – politics, economics and the economy, religions, social justice, education, environment, and the filth and garbage in our movies and on our televised programs.
I have not even discussed America’s murderous appetite and the killing of God’s children that delight most Americans.
Sponsor Alert- (Commercial playing). Say, I have been partaking in the Right Sized Smoothie that advertizes a lot on progressive radio - I have lost 3 pounds now!
I see now there is a new weight loss sponsor - Acai Fresh 800-503-6673- hmmmm... Brad Blog tweeted something about that James o' whatever his name is that tried to frame ACORN and then Mary Landrews office. James whatever was trying to get people to buy yet another ACAI weight loss diet supplement, but it was at least said it was a different supplement than what I jsut heard on the commercial Does the company make one for lefties and another for righties?
I want to see more people involved in politics who want to take back our country. I have for at least thirty years felt we need more women in charge and in leadership positions that includes every country on this planet. I want women who have two characteristics in charge of countries. These two characteristics are nurturing and sensitivity. I also want people involved in politics who have the same characteristics of nurturing and sensitivity. People with nurturing and sensitivity are people centered and they want the best for all Americans and not only for corp-o-persons and rich persons. When I heard the person with the Coffee Party, she has appeared to be a people person. We need more people persons involved in politics.
@KMH - Most inner city gas prices are already higher than in suburbs. That's been my observation in the Detroit to Cincinnati corridor
I was talking to a colon/rectal specialist and he said that colon cancer is phasing out with prevention, like colonoscopy procedures at fifty or sixty years of age. No one should be dying of colon cancer.
A guest on Thom’s show has said that a friend died of colon cancer. Preventive medicine is very important. Medicine cannot just be for crisis management. I believe that health insurance companies want people to die early in life so health costs can be eventually non-existence even with health plans being outrageously high.
A terrorist is a person who wants to kill other persons. The Republicans want to kill people by dropping people from health insurance plans. The killing of people is actually the goal of Republican terrorists.
As my health remains tenuous, I want to paraphrase Jesus as He was dying on the Cross. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken America and middle class Americans?”
Transisition plan- would include the development of walkable cities.
Maybe we could create special inner city zones where we increase the price of a gallon of gas. But obviously, callers like the gal on the line now could not have this work for them, or truckers.
Transition phase... good walking shoes or a nice bicycle.
As an addendum to the comment I posted yesterday in regard to “ethnic” relations in this country, “blue” states like Washington are clearly not immune from the effects of negative stereotyping. Take, for instance, a simple excursion on Seattle’s new light rail, which isn’t all that inspiring to me; yesterday I decided to try it out, and that was a big mistake. The thing practically crawls, and it took me a half-hour longer to get to where I wanted to go than if I had taken the bus. But that was only frustrating part. The annoying part was when two Seattle cops and a guy wearing a jacket with the letters “DHS” got on the train. The two cops pretended to checking passenger fare, one starting in front of where I was sitting, and the other behind me; the DHS guy was just hovering around, and for some reason kept gawking at me with this ridiculous smile on his mug.
I kept waiting for the cop behind me (where there were only ten seats) to pass by and look at my fare at any moment, but he never showed himself. The cop in front of me then started walking toward the back of the train, and the DHS guy followed him, still looking at me with that sht-eating grin, like we were best friends or something. I didn’t much care for this; I turned around to see what the other cop was doing, and there he was, standing there right behind me. Oh, I get it now, I thought to myself. I was supposed to be all nervous, or something, because maybe I was an illegal alien, and the cop behind me was supposed to make sure I didn’t try to jump off a moving train. Unfortunately for them, I had proper fare to show the cop in front of me (with the DHS guy blocking the aisle), so they didn’t have a rational excuse handy to detain me.
For some of us, this is what “America” is all about.
In regard to the discussion on health care systems, in the British system there was some effort to “improve” the quality of care by “rewarding” doctors with bonuses for meeting certain goals in achieving “positive” outcomes (based on a complicated point scheme). I don’t think what this implies requires further comment. Meanwhile, everywhere there seems to be problems controlling runaway health care costs. France may be slightly more ahead of the game because the government health ministry negotiates drug prices and fixes re-imbursement rates, although doctors in France technically can charge anything they want. It is interesting to note the more sick a person is, the less they have to pay out-of-pocket; for serious illnesses, there is no co-pay charged, and 100 percent of medical costs are paid for by the French system. Still, even where there is socialized medicine, private insurance is taking a growing percentage of the health care cost; in Canada, 30 percent of health care costs are paid for by private insurance.
Keeping on the issue of health care (in a fashion), I encountered a man walking his pit bull on the sidewalk. While he held tight to a very short chain, the dog looked at me as if it wanted to take a chunk out of my leg. I am actually more concerned about the people who own these dogs. Why would anyone own a dog bred to chew another of its breed to bits? It can’t be for the companionship; pit bulls have got to be the most uncompanionable breed known to man. Even a cat shows more appreciation for its care.
karl rove will be doing a book tour, it would be great to see people out there to protest and bring back awareness to rove's involvement in the don siegelman case. i will be there when he comes to chicago. you can see the book tour scdule on the internet.
Thom, to your paying $5 per gallon of gas question to save the environment. I would have to say I would start taking the train instead of paying that much for gas (I'm already considering taking the train anyway, but that would put me over the edge).
So would I or would I not be helping the environment with that solution?
Yeah- what's up with Obama and firing the teachers. I just hate him when I hear stuff like this coming out of him,,,,,just hate him.
@Gene- are you serious? Do you have a link to an article. That just sounds NUTS.
Re Bunning et al:
Someone commented that the art world was like high school with money. It appears that Congress is like grade school with money.
Two Santa Claus Theory - I have heard Norman Goldman use the term two santa claus theory. Randi Rhodes talks about it but she does not use that two Santa Claus name. She says that they spend like drunken sailors in office and then borrow at the same time to pay for it.
The Inflation Calculator
What cost $5.00 in 1973 would cost $23.88 in 2009.
Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2009 and 1973,
they would cost you $5.00 and $0.98 respectively.
Do you want to do another calculation?
This is according to the Consumer Price Index
http://www.westegg.com/inflation/
FYI
Sorry I posted in the wrong spot earlier
Smartcars are very safe. Here is a crash test video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJHpUO-S0i8
Thom,
Diesel is a great way to go. Diesel engines are inherently more efficient, so even discounting the roughly 20% more energy in diesel over gasoline, they still get better mileage. I have a 2006 Jetta TDI w/ 80K miles now that has a lifetime average of 42MPG. I routinely get 45+MPG with a car that is both roomy, safe, and relatively lively and fun to drive.
We need to get CARB to stop being so prejudiced against diesel engines and putting undue burdens on them. Economy is at least as important as emissions and the new ultra-low sulphur diesel is very clean burning w/ many fewer particulates and NOX.
Thanks