The Afghani War continues as Congress votes to provide more funding even after the WikiLeaks documents show what a fiasco this is. General Motors has killed more people than Al-Qaeda. Should we bomb the car companies mercilessly? Of course not.
We are killing large numbers of innocent civilians, including women and children, and also sowing untold misery, as well as flushing our future down the drain by massively wasting money. The whole thing is basically a gangland vendetta. Good idea? If anybody thinks so, I wish they would please provide a definition of "good idea" because this mess looks like monumental stupidity.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Tolls and Trolls
People have been whining a lot about toll roads lately. One of the latest whines involves a certain local road where ONLY ONE LANE would be tolled, and it has been pointed out that not only would this lane be added, but others would benefit from the decreased traffic due to those who choose to pay the toll. Some people have been suggesting that we start charging bicyclists also, especially since bicycles are a menace because they crash into pedestrians.
Yes, maybe we should charge a shoe tax also, and have all shoes inspected, for pedestrians? Or simply put toll booths on everybody's front doors to go outside? But then, shouldn't we all be charged to go from the living room to the kitchen also? Or to get up at night to pee?
Where are the news reports about all of these medical victims of bicycles? Where are the headlines about these rampant mobs of killer bicycles who are mowing down pedestrians so heavily that it is burdening our society? If this is such a big factor in our fiscal insolvency, we should take immediate action by all means. But, ummm...how many people did General Motors' cars kill last year (sorry...fill in Toyota, Hyundai, Mazda, Fiat or the death machine maker of your choosing...not trying to make it "evening in America")? And didn't they know when they made the cars that a certain number would die from using their product as intended?
All kidding aside, the fact is that cars heavily use fossil fuels, pollute, congest our traffic and do not anywhere near pay for their usage. They are heavily subsidized in our society to the exclusion of good public transportation. It is no wonder nobody wants to ride the train or a bicycle, when auto drivers can have the public paying for their automobile usage and pollution. Why pay for it if you can get someone else to?
In Poland, there are bus stops in every small town (imagine if you could take a bus from Austin to Dripping Springs or Elgin at any time), and they run almost all the time (though the night buses, from 11 pm to 5 am, only run every half hour). The city buses coordinate with the regional buses and the national buses. People who look like our parents and grandparents are routinely riding bicycles. There are bike lanes (usually made with bricks or tile) in many small towns. C'mon, if they can get this kind of public transportation going in a relatively poor European nation, surely we could do it here. We have poor people in our suburbs and exurbs who are virtually landlocked, and this can't be helping the employment situation (of course, there are no jobs for them to take right now, but that's a separate issue). The only excuse we have for not setting up good, usable public transportation, and setting up a regulatory structure to promote it over car use, is raw selfishness.
So if your blood pressure, cholesterol and weight go up because you rode your car instead of walking, taking the bus/train or riding a bike (keep in mind I'm talking about the able-bodied here, which probably comprise a majority of the drivers), or your lungs got congested from all the car pollution, don't expect medical care, because that's going down the tubes too in our lopsided, "too-rich-to-support-the-poor-and-middle-class" society. Maybe if there is a toll on some of our roads, ya might make a healthier choice, not only for the rest of us, but for yourself.
Yes, maybe we should charge a shoe tax also, and have all shoes inspected, for pedestrians? Or simply put toll booths on everybody's front doors to go outside? But then, shouldn't we all be charged to go from the living room to the kitchen also? Or to get up at night to pee?
Where are the news reports about all of these medical victims of bicycles? Where are the headlines about these rampant mobs of killer bicycles who are mowing down pedestrians so heavily that it is burdening our society? If this is such a big factor in our fiscal insolvency, we should take immediate action by all means. But, ummm...how many people did General Motors' cars kill last year (sorry...fill in Toyota, Hyundai, Mazda, Fiat or the death machine maker of your choosing...not trying to make it "evening in America")? And didn't they know when they made the cars that a certain number would die from using their product as intended?
All kidding aside, the fact is that cars heavily use fossil fuels, pollute, congest our traffic and do not anywhere near pay for their usage. They are heavily subsidized in our society to the exclusion of good public transportation. It is no wonder nobody wants to ride the train or a bicycle, when auto drivers can have the public paying for their automobile usage and pollution. Why pay for it if you can get someone else to?
In Poland, there are bus stops in every small town (imagine if you could take a bus from Austin to Dripping Springs or Elgin at any time), and they run almost all the time (though the night buses, from 11 pm to 5 am, only run every half hour). The city buses coordinate with the regional buses and the national buses. People who look like our parents and grandparents are routinely riding bicycles. There are bike lanes (usually made with bricks or tile) in many small towns. C'mon, if they can get this kind of public transportation going in a relatively poor European nation, surely we could do it here. We have poor people in our suburbs and exurbs who are virtually landlocked, and this can't be helping the employment situation (of course, there are no jobs for them to take right now, but that's a separate issue). The only excuse we have for not setting up good, usable public transportation, and setting up a regulatory structure to promote it over car use, is raw selfishness.
So if your blood pressure, cholesterol and weight go up because you rode your car instead of walking, taking the bus/train or riding a bike (keep in mind I'm talking about the able-bodied here, which probably comprise a majority of the drivers), or your lungs got congested from all the car pollution, don't expect medical care, because that's going down the tubes too in our lopsided, "too-rich-to-support-the-poor-and-middle-class" society. Maybe if there is a toll on some of our roads, ya might make a healthier choice, not only for the rest of us, but for yourself.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
The Republican Economic Recovery Plan
The Republican economic plan seems to be the same as their health care plan, "Die Quickly." That surely must be what is behind their latest maneuver to kill any further extensions of unemployment in this era where so many cannot find employment.
But seriously, is it a good thing to have more calls to suicide hot lines?
But seriously, is it a good thing to have more calls to suicide hot lines?
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