Obama Swaps Gas Guzzler For Hybrid

It really irks me when politicians talk like this below. Now in Obama's case, keep in mind that thermostat he allegedly keeps at 72 degrees is in a "stately" $1.65 million dollar home. Quite a house for four people, looks like each has their own garbage container in this pic. Funny, I don't see a recycling bin. lol

And he dumped his Chrysler 300C for a Hybrid ... in 2007.

My, my, the Senator seems like something of a late comer to energy concerns, now doesn't he? I wonder why the change?

Obama:

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said. "That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.

Where was the leadership until 2007, Senator? Looks to me like it wasn't there at all, in more ways than one. Maybe it still isn't. He rides in a Secret Service SUV today, after all.

Comments

[seekeronos]

"--- I'd love to see Barney Frank in a dress. ---"

*runs to find a barf bag*

[Lala]

Trannies or crossdressers in Congress? I'd love to see Barney Frank in a dress.

[Spartan112]

"--- ...Unless of course you have a crossdresser in the trunk. ---"

Of course you libs always have to go straight for the gutter.

Posted by: seekeronos |

It seems the right is more predisposed towards this type of behavior in recent years, no?

[Lala]

No matter what the good intentions are there are always thieves to take advantage. Is it that lawmakers are naive or are they in on the take? And who pays? The US of course.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/21/environment.carbontrading

* Environment
* Emissions trading

Discredited strategy

Increasing allegations of corruption and profiteering are raising serious questions about the UN-run carbon trading mechanism aimed at cutting pollution and rewarding clean technologies
...................................................

The documents written by carbon consultants to justify why their clients' projects should be approved for CDM offsets contain enough lies to make a sub-prime mortgage pusher blush. One commonly used "scam" is to make a proposed project look like an economic loser on its own, but a profitable earner once offset income is factored in. Examples include the Indian wind developers who failed to tell the CDM about the lucrative tax credits their projects were earning.

Off-the-record, industry insiders will admit that deceitful claims in CDM applications are standard practice. The carbon trading industry lobby group, the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), has stated that proving the intent of developers applying for the CDM "is an almost impossible task". Industry representatives have complained that "good storytellers" can get a project approved, "while bad storytellers may fail even if the project is really additional".

[seekeronos]

I figure that might be directed at me, so I'll take the bait:

Why on earth should I pay money for a new car when I can keep up my older, well maintained car for a few more years past its recommended lifespan?

As a driver of a BMW, you should already know that Germans typical engineer their cars to run for twice the lifespan of the typical domestic car.

Or could it be that you are incompetent with basic car maintenance as with most other things in your benighted, cushioned life, and must thus part with sizeable portions of your income that could otherwise be put to better use?

[chris]

So, your advice is basically to drive a shitty old VW like an old man for 250k miles? Maybe you should spend more of your work day actually working so that you can - you know, get ahead or something - and buy a decent car at reasonable intervals.

What a clown...

[seekeronos]

"--- A VW tranny lasting more than 250k? Not likely... ---"

Depends on how aggressively one is inclined to drive, and how much preventive maintenance once indulges on with their VW.

If you have a manual shift, and if you include periodic rebuilds of the tranny in your matrix (as opposed to scrapping it out and replacing it entirely) you could conceivably keep it going indefinitely.

A manual shift lends itself much more easily to being rebuilt of course, than an automatic; and if you drive conservatively (under 60mph/100kph on highways, coasting to a stop as opposed to hard breaking from high speeds, steady accelerations from stopping instead of making like Speed Racer, and careful shifts instead of banging through the gears like Mario Andretti... you get the picture... you will be much more likely to keep your tranny in good shape.

"--- ...Unless of course you have a crossdresser in the trunk. ---"

Of course you libs always have to go straight for the gutter.

[Spartan112]

"That the engine/tranny will last at least 250,000 miles is a bonus"

A VW tranny lasting more than 250k? Not likely. Unless of course you have a crossdresser in the trunk.

[seekeronos]

"--- but I don't see the Chinese stumbling until after the Olympics. ---"

This may depend somewhat on how frisky the Red Chinese get with Tibet and possibly that Muslim province of theirs they are looking at thumping on some more as well.

If they get too frisky, the decline will be markedly worse. Hopefully, I can move some funding out of Chinese emerging markets indexes and into Oceania/Latin American based indexes. Energy sectors, of course, can be expected to remain lively even if the ChiComs take a nose dive.

[Yoda]

"And yet the cost of operation is still higher"

Drive from South FL to upstate NY on less than $150 I did. Buying $4.50/gal diesel I was. No gas car of Jetta size can make that run that inexpensively.

That the engine/tranny will last at least 250,000 miles is a bonus

[Lala]

This is what Pickens said today, he thinks we should use natural gas for transportation - he also said he will have the biggest wind farm

"We are now paying out...an estimated $600 billion a year for oil," he said. "It's four times the cost of the Iraqi war, and not one of the politicians running for president has anything to say about it. I don't know whether they don't know it, or they don't want to mention it."

Pickens says natural gas is the only American resource that can reduce oil imports. He claims the effective use of natural gas could reduce oil imports by 40 percent. He dismissed ethanol as an alternative. He added that what reduced demand there has been in the United States has immediately been picked up by China."

"The only way I see that oil doesn't continue to rise [is] if we had a global recession." he said. "That will happen at some point, but I don't see the Chinese stumbling until after the Olympics."

[Lala]

Jim,
My apologies, you're a breath of fresh air

[seekeronos]

what we need is a solution with multiple vectors; tap untapped offshore oil, befriend the Russians and build partnerships to source their oil, solar convection turbine towers, wave energy collectors, high altitude Mylar solar focusing arrays, geothermal conduits... Nuclear energy, fusion, liquified coal... There are numerous avenues we can pursue for alternative energy.

[jim]

"My guess would be the infrastructure required to go to market. "

Another problem with natural gas, is that it *also* isn't a renewable resource. So switching over to it wouldn't solve anything;
a) we'd still be 60% dependent on oil
b) we'd just run out of natural gas in a couple of decades too. And if we haven't changed our basic consumption in the meantime, we'll be in an even more grim position.

[jim]

"The lefties always either curse or call people names."

Well Lana, I'm what you'd call a "Leftie" and I've done neither...

[Southern Values]

My guess would be the infrastructure required to go to market. We’re already setup for the oil / gasoline distribution model; so where do we find the money ( I would assume great amounts of legal maneuvering as well ) to put in all that storage, piping, distribution, delivery etc. to take advantage of the natural gas?

That is part of the problem with our current oil crisis - a whole industry / market / infrastructure built around a certain commodity. It very hard to market against the install base.

[Lala]

I was watching T Boone Pickens on TV this morning. He said we have enough natural gas in this country to enable us to cut our oil imports to 40 percent. Who is blocking the natural gas exploration?

[Lala]

The lefties always either curse or call people names.

[jim]

Now in Obama's case, keep in mind that thermostat he allegedly keeps at 72 degrees is in a "stately" $1.65 million dollar home. Quite a house for four people, looks like each has their own garbage container in this pic. Funny, I don't see a recycling bin. lol

So? It's not written anywhere that Democrats, liberals or progressives can't be wealthy and live well. We like money. We just like having a good, working world to spend it in.

My, my, the Senator seems like something of a late comer to energy concerns, now doesn't he? I wonder why the change?

Maybe because gas prices rose to an all-time high in 2007? Which has since been constantly surpassed, and is now $3.79/gal on average? And may be $4.25 by the time you, dear reader, see this line? And that's only if you read it within the next 4 months...

Meanwhile, where is Bush or McCain's leadership on this issue **at all**?

Since it's an ***absolutely undeniable reality** that we're actually going to run out of gas someday. In fact, we're probably at peak oil right now. And as world expansion increases and fuel drops, we're soon going to be in a painful crunch.

Which I guess pales in comparison to the issue of Obama not buying a hybrid before he ran for office.

[Joy Mc]

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said. "That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he (Obama) added.

Ok so choose a country. Make it a fairly poor one like maybe Ghana. Consider the average citizen living there. He lives in a 1-2 room cinder block house with a steel roof, owns no car, and eats a protein poor diet of food that Many Americans would not feed to their pets. I say we all adopt that standard of living so the average guy in Ghana will approve of us. We can walk to our jobs at the salt mines, sit around on the floor in the evening hot as hell, eat small portions of rice and beans & let the good times role. Obama will be proud of us before the rest of the world, and we won't be pissing off anyone or using up too many resources.

[Southern Values]

Lala – you’re an idiot.

Seek – I don’t believe one should have their lifestyle / views forced on anyone, especially children. There are certainly examples of gays only identifying with their sexually and over the top strident on the point. If I met a gay guy on the street and all he can talk about is being gay – that level of self consumption is sorry and bores me to a fault. I’m going to assume that you’ve also seen Christians a little too pumped up about Jesus. I’m only a fanatic about fanatics.

Fred – I personally don’t have an issue with the concept of god and have a high degree of interest in spirituality. It’s that personal relationship with Jesus that’s a little to anthropomorphic for me.

[Lala]

The Left have their own religion - the church of green

"I heard Gore on NPR the other day. He was asked what he made of evangelical pastor Joseph Hagee's absurd comment that Hurricane Katrina was God's wrath for New Orleans' sexual depravity. Naturally, Gore chuckled at such backwardness. But then the Nobel laureate went on to blame Katrina on man's energy sinfulness. It struck me that the two men were not so different. If only canoodling residents of the Big Easy had adhered to "The Greenpeace Guide to Environmentally Friendly Sex.""

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-goldberg20-2008may20,0,315197.column

[seekeronos]

"--- WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, SOME PEOPLE ARE NOT CHRISTIANS AND DO NOT CARE TO HEAR THE MESSAGE. ---"

And you liberals say stuff like this, while forcing your doctrines (homosexuality, abortion, polyamory, incest, pedophilia, adultery: all in the name of "sexual lifestyle choices") upon our children, who are most vulnerable to this wicked message.

As far as schools go, how about a little quid-pro-quo?

[seekeronos]

"--- And also, that my kids should be locked in an auditorium to hear from professional "gay" therapists about how half of them are "hidden" gays, and that it is okay for them to come out as gay... AND they are forced to sign confidentiality (non-disclosure) statements which prohibit them from telling their parents about what sickening wickedness they had forced upon them? ---"

"------ I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT HERE. ------"

This refers to an ongoing social engineering project in California public schools:

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55558

And in Illinois:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54683

[Lala]

If liberals were really tolerant of the free speech of others we wouldn't need F.I.R.E. and no college would try this -

University of Delaware: Students Required to Undergo Ideological Reeducation

http://www.thefire.org/index.php/case/752.html?PHPSESSID=33341373b5fee57544dbab87da07ba17

Sorry, I hit post before I added the link

[Fred Beloit]

You were getting my agreement for a while there, Southerly: "Balance, moderation and tolerance are fundamental beliefs I carry. The tolerance component speaks to my desire to allow people to be who they want to be..." And then, like a true lib, you showed the deep-rooted intolerance of the Lefty "...– even if that means crazy religious superstitions."

I don't happen to be a religious person, but as others here have pointed out, there is nothing superior to a religious belief in the current belief by cosmologists in a "singularity", which is as much as to say a "creation event". But the cosmologists can't make the leap to a creator using mathematics so they stop short at "singularity", something of tremendous and inexplicable energy from nothing at all. You, Southerly, can only label this scientific belief half-crazy, isn't that so?.

[Southern Values]

Fred –
I used all caps to differentiate my comments from the post I was referencing. Being a liberal, it’s not my nature to force you to read anything and, yes, I do believe in “live & let live”.

Balance, moderation and tolerance are fundamental beliefs I carry. The tolerance component speaks to my desire to allow people to be who they want to be – even if that means crazy religious superstitions.

[Fred Beloit]

Great, Southerly, live and let live. You forgot one though. If a commenter uses all caps all the time, we don't have to read it.

[chris]

"If Christians are "in a huff" over something like this, then I say it is long overdue that we spoke out against evil and vileness."

You bitter kooks can speak out all you want. Who's stopping you? Hope you don't mind if the rest of us laugh, though.

[Southern Values]

SEEK-
The same could be said for atheistic materialists who want to legislate their filth and their humanist immorality and force my children at an extremely early age to learn that it is perfectly okay for two men to engage in vile acts of sodomy and then dress it up under "marriage" as a political stunt to gain acceptance for a fringe, perverted practice by statistically minute segment of the population.

IF THIS IS A STATISTICALLY MINUTE SEGMENT OF THE POPULATION – WHY DO YOU CARE? IF THEIR LIFE STYLE IS SO OFFENSIVE TO YOU, THEN TEACH YOUR CHILDREN YOUR VALUES. DON’T IMPOSE THOSE VALUES ON OTHERS. I WAS OF THE MISTAKEN BELIEF THAT YOU RIGHTIES WERE FREE MARKET TYPES. THEREFORE, IF A MOVIE IS OFFENSIVE TO YOU, DON’T GO TO. IT A BOOK HAS MATERIAL THAT YOU DON’T LIKE, DON’T BUY IT. IF TWO INDIVIDUALS HAVE A LIFE STYLE DIFFERENT FROM YOURS, AND DON’T WITNESS TO IT BY KNOCKING ON YOUR DOOR, IGNORE IT. WHERE’S THAT LOVE & TURN THE OTHER CHEEK STUFF ?

And also, that my kids should be locked in an auditorium to hear from professional "gay" therapists about how half of them are "hidden" gays, and that it is okay for them to come out as gay... AND they are forced to sign confidentiality statements which prohibit them from telling their parents about what sickening wickedness they had forced upon them?

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.

Indeed! You tell me that my child cannot bring his King James Bible or talk to other kids about Jesus on public school grounds, for that is mixing "church and state", but now I have no say in preventing my little ones from being victimized and aggressively recruited by the sodomites?

WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, SOME PEOPLE ARE NOT CHRISTIANS AND DO NOT CARE TO HEAR THE MESSAGE.

[seekeronos]

The upcoming liberal edit to the Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be relative, that there is no absolute truth, that some men are more equal than others if they belong to the correct party, that they were the result of a meaningless and random chain of events, and therefore have only the privileges we see fit to grant them..."

[Fred Beloit]

Ouch, chris, that slider by Lala about Feinstein must have hurt. I can see the seam marks from a Spaulding on your forehead.

[seekeronos]

"--- As for religion, I really don’t have a problem with it. That is as long as religious people keep it as a personal view and don’t try to legislate it. That has not been the case with the Right. ---"

The same could be said for atheistic materialists who want to legislate their filth and their humanist immorality and force my children at an extremely early age to learn that it is perfectly okay for two men to engage in vile acts of sodomy and then dress it up under "marriage" as a political stunt to gain acceptance for a fringe, perverted practice by statistically minute segment of the population.

And also, that my kids should be locked in an auditorium to hear from professional "gay" therapists about how half of them are "hidden" gays, and that it is okay for them to come out as gay... AND they are forced to sign confidentiality statements which prohibit them from telling their parents about what sickening wickedness they had forced upon them?

Indeed! You tell me that my child cannot bring his King James Bible or talk to other kids about Jesus on public school grounds, for that is mixing "church and state", but now I have no say in preventing my little ones from being victimized and aggressively recruited by the sodomites?

Something just isn't right about that set-up.

There's something in there about a left-wing pot and right-wing kettle.

If Christians are "in a huff" over something like this, then I say it is long overdue that we spoke out against evil and vileness. If anything, we should have been more proactive since the 1960s against this menace.

"----- Like a trampled spring and a polluted well Is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. (Proverbs 25:26, NASB) -----"

[Lala]

No wonder Feinstein is so rich. Is she the one who wouldn't let the minimum wage go up in Guam because it would hurt her husband's company, or was that Pelosi?

"Democrat war profiteer, imagine that
Thursday, March 29th, 2007

feinstein3.jpgSen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has abruptly walked away from her responsibilities with the Senate Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee after a report linked her votes to the financial well-being of her husband’s companies, which received billions of dollars worth of military construction contracts she approved.

As reported in Metroactive, an online report from the Silicon Valley, Feinstein’s resignation followed six years of subcommittee work during which time her alleged conflict of interest stemmed from her husband Richard C. Blum’s ownership of Perini Corp. and URS Corp.

Feinstein, chairman and ranking member of the subcommittee, regularly reviewed and accepted contracts from her husband’s companies for not only construction work for military bases, but also addressing “quality of life” issues for the veterans of the United States military services.

“As MILCON leader, Feinstein relished the details of military construction, even micromanaging one project at the level of its sewer design,” wrote Peter Byrne in the report. “She regularly took junkets to military bases around the world to inspect construction projects, some of which were contracted to her husband’s companies, Perini Corp. and URS Corp.”

He suggested perhaps Feinstein resigned “because she could not take the heat generated by metro’s expose of her ethics… Or was her work on the subcommittee finished because Blum divested ownership of his military construction and advanced weapons manufacturing firms in late 2005?”"

[Fred Beloit]

But chris, I am laughing...at you. Lala we need to change creator to Big Bam in honor of chris.

[Fred Beloit]

Obama say "We can't... eat as much as we want..." Oooouuuuwwwwaaa. Is this the guy who is photographed chowing down waffles and pancakes in every honky dinner in the uppaUS? He doesn't get fat though, bless his heart.

[Lala]

Since the non-religious do not want religion or God then I think it is time for a change to satisfy them

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,"

I vote for Creator to be changed to "big bang" although it doesn't sound too cool.

[chris]

What about Gerry Studds!!! Oh, the humanity. He ruined the 70's!!

Cmon, neo-whig, laugh!!

Hahahaha!!!!!!

[Fred Beloit]

Oh chris, you so now. Me so two weeks ago last Saturday. But here is a recent case just for you: "I'd bet my bottom dollar that William Jennings Jefferson's folks taught him what all perceptive parents taught their black baby boomer children about the secret of succeeding in the racially challenged U.S. of A.: ''You've got to be twice as good as the white man.''

Somewhere along the line, the 60-year-old Harvard Law graduate forgot his upbringing.

U.S. Rep. Jefferson was arraigned Friday in federal court on charges of racketeering, money-laundering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In total, the Louisiana Democrat racked up 16 violations of federal law and if convicted, he could face 235 years in federal prison." BAM!

[Fred Beloit]

chris is amazing. He sticks the chris head into a round opening in the back canvas wall of a tent. Bam, a baseball hits chris square in the face. He pulls back wiping his eyes. He then sticks his head back into the opening. Bam. Ad infinitum.........

[chris]

Dan Rostenkowski??? He's been out since the mid 90's!! You conservative-types really are miserably stuck in the past.

Hey, I hear that Boss Tweed guy was a crook too!!

Hahahaha!!

[Fred Beloit]

chris, LEST WE FORGET

From today's NYT:

"Former Representative Dan Rostenkowski, once one of the nation's most influential lawmakers, has tentatively agreed to plead guilty to two Federal corruption charges and serve 17 months in prison, a lawyer in the case said today.

Two years ago, Mr. Rostenkowski, a Democrat from Chicago, was indicted on 17 felony counts centered on the misuse of his office. They included charges that he hired no-show employees, received kickbacks from workers, embezzled money from the House Post Office and used Government money for personal and family expenses. Altogether, according to the indictment, the corruption involved more than $500,000.

Many other members of Congress have gone to prison over the years for official corruption. But none have been nearly as prominent as Mr. Rostenkowski."

[Fred Beloit]

"I’m not prejudice against age, just narrow minded, self-serving opinions."

Sure, I understand, you mean opinions that differ from yours. This is the way all liberals feel. I guess they learn this in college.

"...blaming the person saying something you, I sense, feel uncomfortable with..."

Yes I blame people who accuse me of being a racist, you bet I do. Does it make me "uncomfortable" to be called a racist though I'm not? Yes, how about you?

"...as long as religious people keep it as a personal view and don’t try to legislate it."

Wonder if you would be so kind as to provide an example or two. But please don't use abortion as an example because many religious people view abortion as murder. If you viewed it that way, you too would want to outlaw it.

[chris]

It saddens me to report that a great supporter of justice and (multiple) family values has decided to end his glorious service to the Island of Staten and the rest of America.

http://gothamist.com/2008/05/20/vito_fossella_a_2.php#comments

Vito is a true hero.

[Southern Values]

Fred – I’m not prejudice against age, just narrow minded, self-serving opinions. As for my race prejudice, your using the classic Right tactic of blaming the person saying something you, I sense, feel uncomfortable with, by stating I show those characteristics. Very lame.

As for religion, I really don’t have a problem with it. That is as long as religious people keep it as a personal view and don’t try to legislate it. That has not been the case with the Right.

[Fred Beloit]

Indeed, seek. To the best of my admittedly incomplete knowledge, neither side of my family was in the US in the 1860s (when the largely white soldiers of the Union Army set the slaves free by exceedingly violent and deadly force of arms) or before.

[Fred Beloit]

"YOUR ABOVE COMMENT CLEARLY INDICATES YOUR “ISSUES” WITH RACE. YOU WRITE LIKE AN OLD GUY SO MAYBE YOU DON’T CARE – BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO DO IN A COUPLE OF DECADES WHEN THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS ARE BROWN?"

You've already demonstrated, Southerly that you are prejudiced based on age and religion and convicted another commenter of racism. Are these three attacks your thing? Can we look forward to more of the same in future?

[seekeronos]

"--- I just don't want to pay reparations for events I had nothing to do with. Is this wrong of me? ---"

Indeed. Most of my ancestors were potato and beet farmers either in Prussia, Hessen, Schleswig-Holstein, Norway, England, Scotland or Ireland. One branch may have come to Massachusetts Colony, but as I hear the story told, they were too poor to afford a properly trained Negro.

So can I get an exemption on my reparations tax, Mr. Obama?

[Fred Beloit]

Why Southerly, why are you trying to jam all your personal thought crimes (for which you feel guilty and with good reason) into my head? I just don't want to pay reparations for events I had nothing to do with. Is this wrong of me?

[Southern Values]

Boy Fred - you do come off as an angry racist. BTW, I’d move to Scotland. They have a tradition around New Year’s that its good luck to have the first person through your doorway a black person. Your black face makeup would make us all proud.

I also appreciated that you don’t care about anything that doesn’t line up with your very narrow world view. What do you do when you go to Wal-Mart and see all those “mud people”? Does it make you feel dirty or just mad?