Democrat calls ...

I'm not defending Wiggins - what she did is inexcusable. She should apologize immediately in the most public way possible.

Here's my point:

Person A, a Democrat, does something stupid.

Person B, a Republican, does something equally stupid.

Here on this blog, this is what happens:

Person A becomes symbolic of ALL Democrats, because surely all liberals must all be mindless drones incapable of independent thought.

Person B is a RINO or "a bad example" of what Republicans should be, but oh, heavens no ... that's not an example of the party as a whole. My goodness, who'd ever think such a thing?

Democrats are all villains whenever one person does something boneheaded; Republicans are to be judged on a case-by-case basis.

That's my point.

Again, Wiggins' behavior was reprehensible. I don't know if she has a history of doing stuff like that or not - if she does, I hope she finds her way back into the private sector ASAP.

As far as the rest, Lew, I post to make my point(s) and move along. Sometimes I find it useful and relevant to use slightly off-topic material to prove my point. Not gonna change it, even if you-know-who gets delete-happy (even when I don't have a "potty mouth").

Perhaps you should urge Klatu/Jack to follow your rule, too, as he mostly posts "DRILLLL FOR OOIIIILLLL!!!" in every thread, regardless of the topic.

Also, I notice you use "obfuscate" and "BWAHAHAHAHA!" in a lot of your posts. Nothing wrong with it. I just notice, is all.

Again, surrounded by shitheads.

Sigh.

Let's put numbers aside for a moment. We're losing track of the big picture here. The point is this, bottom line:

Given the way the economy works today, and given our dependence on oil (good, bad, or otherwise), every little bit helps, right?

Would anyone not agree (aside from you-know-who) that taking a baby-step is better than taking no step at all? Or is it better to just wait until some improbable solution comes along that fixes everything at once (it ain't gonna be drilling, either)?

If it's been proven (and it has, Lew) that proper tire pressure and traveling at proper speeds can help increase mileage, it's a good thing, right? We're not so deeply divided that we can't agree on this scientific fact, correct?

And if we can increase mileage, it means we can - however slightly - conserve fuel and literally not burn through it so quickly, is this also not a good thing?

So Barack Obama makes a statement, seemingly innocuous at the time (one would think), encouraging Joe Citizen to think about ways we can help out every day. In baby-steps. Fine.

OK, so the conservative talking heads pick up on the issue, and the next thing you know, "Obama's energy plan is to inflate your tires!" - as if this is the only thing he's suggesting, or as if he thinks that this will fix everything.

Obama never said that this was a fix-all, yet he is absolutely lambasted by people like Sean Hannity and Victoria Taft for ... for what, exactly? Trying to be helpful? For giving some kind of useful, non-governmental, every-day-life kind of information that could possibly <i>help</i> the situation, to whatever degree?

Oh, my. He's offering advice. How very, very ... <i>elitist</i> of him!

The attention this absolute NON-ISSUE is getting is beyond ridiculous. The sad part is, America is buying it. I can't figure out how or why, but these ridiculous attacks manage to stick.

And they are ridiculous, because the science behind Obama's statements seems pretty firm.

Obama said absolutely nothing wrong, and absolutely nothing controversial. Yet here we are, debating this RIDICULOUS issue with more vitriolic tirades against each other.

And why?

Because people like Victoria insist on spreading this nonsense like the manure that it is.

because she'll probably erase what I wrote (again)

Part 1:

Funny how so many conservatives want to shrink government, yet when
Obama suggests a small step that we as individual citizens can take to
help conserve energy (wholly separate from any congressional action) he
is mocked. And people like Klatu say stuff like "Drill drill drill!
Make congress drill!"

So which is it? Personal responsibility, or big government?

Also, Victoria is (surprise!) wrong about what Obama said. Here's his exact quote:

"There
are things you can do individually, though, to save energy. ... Making
sure your tires are properly inflated - simple thing. But we could save
all the oil that they're talking about getting off drilling - if
everybody was just inflating their tires? And getting regular tune-ups?
You'd actually save just as much."

He never said anything about "replacing" America's oil reserves - he said that it would save consumers the amount we'd gain from drilling offshore.


Part 2:

Victoria, you wrote "Why don't you put the whole quote in there", and
proceed to emphasize "...But we could save ALL THE OIL THEY'RE TALKING
ABOUT GETTIN' OFF DRILLING..."

As if I had left that out. As if, indeed.

Please put on your glasses and re-read my post.

I'll re-post the quote that I put in my last entry, with a nice bold-face font to help you if you need it:

""There
are things you can do individually, though, to save energy. ... Making
sure your tires are properly inflated - simple thing. But we could save
all the oil that they're talking about getting off drilling - if everybody was just inflating their tires? And getting regular tune-ups? You'd actually save just as much."

On tire pressure

.You are a pathetic, ignorant lemming. I don't understand why this is supposed to be "funny".

From <a href="http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1829354,00.html?cnn=yes">TIME Magazine Online</a>:

The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.

If that's not to your liking, perhaps this story from the <a href="http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080804/NEWS15/80804084">Detroit Free Press" is better.

I know the president doesn't believe in science, buy maybe someone here will take this article from <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V2W-4KWTFM8-2&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=f948d8c8782911e143d07e195e91c93a"&gt;ScienceDirect.com</a> a little more seriously.

It says (bold added):

The study indicates that <b>substantial benefits</b> would accrue if car care facilities systematically offered complimentary <b>tire pressure checks</b> with oil changes including: (i) increased safety by decreasing all crashes and saving more than 100 lives per year, (ii)<b> reduced petroleum consumption by over a billion gallons/year, which would (iia) provide over $4 billion in economic savings for US consumers </b>that could in part be recouped in retail/auto-care facilities, (iib) reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 13.5 million tons and automobile pollution and (iic) enhance national security.