Go Bulldogs! (Fresno State, that is...)

"Maybe the challenges of climate change and the constraints of finding enough food and water and clean air for nine billion people will force the world to deal with all its problems in a fashion that puts collective welfare above the interests of any isolated community."

This is the real crux of this problem, as well as many others we face, including global warming, world hunger, and environmental deterioration. There are too many people on this rock we call Earth. Every one of the problems mentioned above are at the very least indirectly caused by our overloaded population. By the year 2050, which will likely be in my lifetime, there will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 billion people on Earth. We need to find a way to decrease the numbers. (No, I'm not advocating killing anyone) But if we don't figure out a way to at least curb growth in population, the problem will be solved in a ways that are very unpleasant, like mass starvation, rampant disease, and war. That is not a world I would relish living in, much less leaving for my kids to live in.

You know what, fuck the troops

I just can't support them anymore. They're hurting America.

-- xtopher

Your comment is disgusting.

What does this have to do with the troops? This is a Four Star General we are talking about here. To reach General Officer rank in the military, you pretty much have to become a politician. He is not representative of the people serving in the military in positions of lesser authority. The troops are as much pawns in this as anyone, perhaps more.

Don't accelerate slowly

---- Just a note, but you explicitly mentioned accelerating slowly in the article...don't do that. For better gas mileage, you should accelerate quickly thru the low gears, as the extra gas wasted in acceleration is more than made up by the extra mileage at a higher speed.

It may not sound like much, but I average 2-3 mpg over the gov't specs on my car on the highway...and that's traveling at 78-80 on average. ------

I disagree. I recently tried accelerating slowly in my Honda Ridgeline pickup, as well as coasting more when approaching a stop, and I increased my mileage by more than 4 miles/gallon.

The "free market" can not truly sustain itself in the real world. Humans are naturally greedy (which, by the way, is also the real reason that communism can never work), and thus there will always be those who will try to manipulate the system to provide themselves with maximum benefit. Therefore there always must be a controlling entity to keep its thumb on the market to ensure that there is fairness, and to punish corruption. Otherwise, the whole thing will implode, as we are witnessing now.

My, aren't you the snarky one...

So, you seem to be advocating that no one watch the store, and let market anarchy reign. You are incredibly naive if you think that will work...

All that America asked was that George W. Bush "keep them safe". Nothing else mattred. That is still the Republican campaign theme.

And nothing else will matter this year as well if a coincidental attack should happen before election day. John McCain will win in a landslide.

It was Benjamin Franklin that said:

"He who would trade liberty for some temporary security, deserves neither liberty nor security."

As true today as it was then....

Kudos on a great screen name... not sure how many people get the Monty Python skit reference, but it remains my favorite...

For me when I was 20, it was Milwaukee's Best. $2.00/six pack. Tasted like crap, made you vent vile fumes, but what the hell... it was cheap, and that was the point. Boy that brings back memories.

Fat Tire rules! I have a 12 pack in my fridge, and I'll be imbibing in some when I get home tonight...

There is a difference between quality and consistency. Anheuser Busch has striven for consistency, which is the reason that they are using the same brewers yeast for so long. However, they have never produced a "quality" beer. Of course, quality of taste is in the eye of the beholder, but I think that most people that enjoy drinking good beer detest Budweiser.

"The rest of the world seems to understand that higher gas prices, achieved through imposing by-the-gallon taxes, results in more rational consumption of scarce resources."

The problem with this thought, is that the rest of the world (I am assuming that you are mainly referring to Europe)has a reliable mass transportation system in place as an alternative means of getting around. I live in the western US, and we have no really viable alternatives like this. If my monthly spending on gas goes up, I have to give up something else to make room for that expenditure. I don't live lavishly, so what I give up is likely going to be something that I consider essential. So raising the gas tax lowers my standard of living. Not an attractive solution as I see it...

First of all... @taliesan

A theocracy is a government run by religious leaders. Saudi Arabia is a monarchy, and Syria is run by a president. The president is required to be a muslim, but he is not a religious leader. Yes, religion seems to have a big part in Middle East politics, but calling every country a theocracy is just plain inaccurate.

But to my point...

I, like many people in the US, want us out of Iraq. It was a bad idea, and we are there for all the wrong reasons. However, as a child, I was taught that when you make a mess, it is your responsibility to clean it up. We made a mess. We shouldn't leave until we fix it.