Gazelam wrote:White roofs: President Obamas appointee US Energy Secretary Steven Chu stated very seriously that he believes we should all paint our roofs white, along with our streets and parking lots in order to stave off global warming. Uhm.... this guy is clearly insane. You couldent make up something this bizarre if you were straining to write a comedic film. I live in the desert, and Im aware of what the color white does in regards to keeping you cool, but c'mon.
You're right, Gaz. Steven Chu, a Nobel-Prize winning scientist, is clearly insane for applying basic principles of atmospheric physics to policymaking. Somebody better lock that guy up before he does something
really crazy, like telling people that they can't fly simply by flapping their arms. Thanks for setting this guy straight, Gaz, Ph.D..
Spending money: In the horrific Bush years we saw the National debt go up to $10 Trillion dollars. In the span of four days, we saw the signing of the $787 billion stimulus bill, the rollout of a $275 billion housing proposal, discussion of Congress’s remaining appropriations bills (about $400 billion) and word of a vaguely-defined financial stabilization plan that could ultimately cost $2 trillion. All of this with foreign money. Its terrifying.
This is pretty scary. But you have yet to give an alternative that is less scary.
Gas Prices: Listening to NPR radio I have heard both oil company executives and enviormental lobbyists state very plainly that they want to manipulate gas prices to purposefully change the cars people own. The oil companys want this so that their oil, which has been drying up, will last longer, and the enviormental nutcases want us to use less so that we will stop releasing all our evil carbon monoxide. These are the people that have the power right now. Very soon expect all of the Bush gas prices to seem like a golden age. At that time it was the growing Chinese economy raising prices, now its your government wanting you to buy a small economic car that's raising your prices.
If the
oil companies are saying that oil is running out, it's probably running out. That means that unless demand is curbed (i.e., people want to use less gas, whether because of modest short-term price hikes or higher fuel-efficiency standards), then prices will be even higher in the future. You're trying to get a free lunch here, Gaz, and it ain't gonna work.
31 year old : A 31 year old law student at Yale who does not yet have his degree. Who has never been associated in any way with the auto industry and who has never had a job until this appointment by the Obama Administration. This guy is in charge of dismantling and restructuring GM. The government with its top guys couldent run a comapny in a profit on its best day, and they want to put an unproven young frsh out of college guy in charge. It makes no sense.
Again, he is not "fresh out of college". Nor is he "running" the company -- he is in charge of helping it avoid a crash landing, because GM is in a real pickle. If Larry Summers is in charge, then you know that the presumption against government control of a company is very strong.
Santomayer: As a member of the Supreme Court, a person should be interpreting the constitution and making legal arguements on important issues. Arguements that will affect future court decisions and rulings. This job description calls for a keen mind and visionary viewpoint on the interpretation and long range scope of Law and constitution. A man like Antonin Scalia is someone whose writings on law are praised by both conservative and liberal minded people. Santomayer isn't even capable of making a clear point in an interview, stating that a hispanic woman is more wise than a white male. We all knew what she meant to say, but is this really the person you want to have writing rulings for future generations to read in an effort to interpret law?
That's not what she said (~TWSS). She said that she
hoped that a Latina
with certain life experiences would reach a better conclusion than a white guy who hadn't lived that life. What does that mean? It means that she likes to think that Latinas' life experiences leads them to make the right decisions in ways that people unexperienced with racial animus might not. It does not mean that Latinas always make better decisions than white guys -- she even explicitly argues against this view later in the speech. It does not mean that she thinks Latinas need to stick together, and that she'll rule in their favor regardless of the law -- her decisions don't bear this out. Sotomayor's views on race are mainstream enough that even conservative legal blogs such as
The Volokh Conspiracy are largely defending her.
