Gas is still too cheap

It has a great message. Originally developed by John DeGraaf. The documentary was great even if a bit cheesy. The newer PBS version was good too.

Affluenza PBS

Affluenza.org

Af-flu-en-za n. 1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the American Dream. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth. 4. A television program that could change your life.

You can watch the video on Youtube:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-dib6hSlcU]YouTube - Affluenza (Hard to Find PBS Documentary) Part 1 of 6[/ame]

 

List all those we've exploited that haven't benefited or been repaid.

 

You're kidding right?

Let's see:

Haiti
Chile
Ecuador
Zambia
Mexico (and other Central American countries)
Egypt
etc. etc.

Lets also throw in any other nation that has supplied us with resources which were never paid fair market value for or was taken in the name of "free market trade" and is under the thumb of WTO trade rules and World Bank negotiations (especially after Reagan). These countries are definately not treated fairly in these regards. Do a search on WTO pressures on the EU market for organic or small country sources of bananas and how Chiquita benefitted by taking up a disproportionate percentage of EU market shares.

No my friend, these countries by and large have not benefitted overall unless you consider the rich areas of their large cities getting a McDonalds and a Bed Bath & Beyond in trade for a loss of culture and domestic resources and self-reliance. David Korten is a great source for moe information on this topic.

 

Sorry but the shoe doesn't fit. I'm not impressed by what someone owns or feel compelled to keep up.

Its funny how people can appear to be so smart but so dumb when it comes to common sense. You can't just expect the world to see things your way, even if you're right. There's a lot of inertia in fossil fuels. It'll take time, but in the mean time you can't expect those living on the edge to see things your way.

I'm sure the world really appreciates you having made such a big sacrifice in down sizing from a big gas guzzler to little gas guzzler. But the problem is there are families having to decide between food or fuel. While most of you worry how much over msrp your going to pay.

 

I hope you are not directing that towards me. If you are then you have no idea of my "sacrifices" I have made and how I have changed my life to promote my ideals So please don't go there.

People in general are ignorant and if they cannot make the right decisions for themselves then the government should make those decisions for them. I've already stated how even poor people can manage if they are #1 educated on how they can save money. #2 Given the opportunity to make such changes via proper marketting and city development. I've lived the life, I'm not speaking with a silver spoon hanging out of the side of my mouth.

 

Excellent Scruge, two on this link seem to be full of self/American loathing. Now, watch me REALLY get them angry.
Democrats couldn't care less about high gas prices. The consistent policy of the Democratic Party, going back at least to Jimmy Carter, has been to jack up gas prices so we can all start pedaling around on tricycles.

Environmentalists are constantly clamoring for higher gas taxes as the cure-all to their insane global warming theory. Clinton proposed a 26-cent tax on gas. John Kerry said it should be 50 cents. Gore endorsed the Malthusian proposal of Paul and Anne Ehrlich in "The Population Explosion" that gas taxes be raised gradually to match prices in Europe and Japan.

The result is consumers now pay about 46 cents per gallon in gasoline taxes. That's not including taxes paid directly to the government by the oil companies and passed onto consumers. As the inestimable economist John Lott has pointed out, in the past 25 years oil companies have paid more than three times in taxes what they have made in profits.

B. Hussein Obama's response to soaring gas prices is to have the oil companies collect even more money from us at the pump, proposing a "windfall profits tax" on oil companies. "Corporate taxes" sound like taxes on rich people, but all they do is force corporations to collect taxes on behalf of the government.

Democrats have worked hard to ensure that Americans pay as much for gas as Europeans do. After a quarter-century of gas tax hikes, a ban on drilling for oil and a complete destruction of the nuclear power industry in America, I guess liberals can declare: Mission accomplished!

In response to skyrocketing gas prices, liberals say, practically in unison, "We can't drill our way out of this crisis."

What does that mean? This is like telling a starving man, "You can't eat your way out of being hungry!" "You can't water your way out of drought!" "You can't sleep your way out of tiredness!" "You can't drink yourself out of dehydration!"

Seriously, what does it mean? Finding more oil isn't going to increase the supply of oil?

It is the typical Democratic strategy to babble meaningless slogans, as if they have a plan. Their plan is: the permanent twilight of the human race. It's the only solution they can think of to deal with the beastly traffic on the LIE (Long Island Expressway).

How do liberals propose we acquire the energy required for the economic activity and production that results in light appearing when they flick a switch? The larger enterprise involved in producing that little miracle eludes them.

Liberals complain that -- as B. Hussein Obama put it -- there's "no way that allowing offshore drilling would lower gas prices right now. At best you are looking at five years or more down the road."

This is as opposed to airplanes that run on woodchips, which should be up and running any moment now.

Moreover, what was going on five years ago? Why didn't anyone propose drilling back then?

Say, you know what we need? We need a class of people paid to anticipate national crises and plan solutions in advance. It would be such an important job, the taxpayers would pay them salaries so they wouldn't have to worry about making a living and could just sit around anticipating crises.

If only we had had such a group -- let's call them "elected representatives" -- they could have proposed drilling five years ago!

But of course we do pay people to anticipate national problems and propose solutions. Some of them -- we'll call them Republicans -- did anticipate high gas prices and propose solutions.

Six long years ago President Bush had the foresight to demand that Congress allow drilling in a minuscule portion of the Alaska's barren, uninhabitable Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). In 2002, Bush, Tom DeLay and the entire Republican Party were screaming from the rooftops: Drill! Drill! Drill!

We'd be gushing oil now -- except the Democrats stopped us from drilling.

Drilling on only 0.01 percent of ANWR's 19 million acres was projected to produce about 10 billion barrels of oil. From all domestic sources combined, we currently produce about 1.8 billion barrels of oil per year. To a layperson like myself, 10 billion barrels seems like a lot of oil.

The other party -- plus John McCain -- ferociously opposed drilling in ANWR, drilling offshore or drilling anyplace else. Instead of Drill! Drill! Drill!, their motto could be: Kill! Kill! Kill!

They refuse to believe our abortion studies? I refuse to believe they care about Americans having to pay high gas prices.

COPYRIGHT 2008 ANN COULTER
DISTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
4520 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111

 

Angry? LOL

No, You did invoke an emotion from me though. That emotion is pity. The fact your quoted anything from such an uneducated dolt as Ann Coulter explains your particular stance and worldview. It is very obvious that you intend to annoy and/or belittle other members so based on that attitude issue I'll be sure to stear clear of any of your threads and opinions from now on.

 

Is there even a country on that list???

Bananas, who would have ever imagined such atrocities. Chiquita?? Are they even still in business?

Representivities from 3 of them ( Ecuador, Mexico, and Chile) have done yard work for me.

Again another neighbor of mine is from Chile. Actually she just returned from a 5 month visit there, this past weekend. She said she wasn't aware of any problems with US and Chile. Her family migrated to Chile from Germany in 1920s, so they've been there awhile. She mentioned she was flipping a condo there if anyone is interested 140 sq. meters ch$110,000,000. pesos, Las Condes, Santiago.

I'm really sorry you have so much time on your hands to monitor all the horrible mistakes the USA has made.

I don't know why, but I sense you aren't even a US citizen.
Seems if you were really interested in keeping score, you would also keep track of the number of times US citizens and companies have be screwed by other countries. Or How much the average American donates to charity verses the rest of the world.

Or the fact that even though this country is less 300 year old, it has blown the doors off all other countries in human progress and civil rights.:usa2:

 

Seems like you are arguing from a personal opinion standpoint than one from actual data. Are you even aware of the issues I mentioned? Zambia and World Bank? Anything?

I too have talked with representatives from Chile and Ecuador (a member of the Pachamama Alliance) and they do not agree with you and your landscapers. I have also personally been to southern Chile to witness the efforts of Ayacara Funducion and spoke with Pablo Sandor about southern Chile's problems with commercial fishing and forestry. I actually stayed in Ayacara for two weeks (the little red building in the top right corner is where we stored our gear for the expedition). I went out on one the little fishing "skiffs" the locals use to make a living. It was quite an experience considering the are only allowed to fish for 1-2 days a month (may not be current)now that the commerical fishing fleets have totally ravished the local fish populations.

Have you looked into the work of David Korten? He is was a captain in the U.S. Air Force (Vietnam) and educated in business and psychology (BA, MBA, Ph.D). He grew up in a conservative family. He also worked for the Ford Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Develpment and has come to a completely different opinion than the one you seem to harbor. He has some interesting insights. This is not a rant towards you. I am simply offering an alternative to arguing points.

 

I don't need to read any reports to realize we as a country have probably made some mistake in the past.
Whats odd, is usually to do so requires the help of those inside the offended country's government. Why don't you go after them?

Besides from what I've heard Chile is going to fall into the sea just ahead of California.

 

If you read the reports you would realize that the "mistakes" are an ongoing problem and that those who refuse to read the data or evidence are partially responsible because of their apathetic inaction. Why should I go after the offending government? They would not be able to do the bad things they do if we did not empower them with our money. Money that we supplied by purchasing goods without first reading up on their origin and and possible negative associations that go along with their production/extraction, shipping, consumption, and waste products. So no, unlike many I do not want to point fingers at everyone else but our nation. I am not that geared towards nationalism. I will point fingers at all involved, including myself when required. When are you going to stop pointing fingers at "the other guys" and assume responsibility as an individual and as a citizen of an offending nation?

To keep things on topic just use oil (and metals) extraction, production, and consumption as an example of exploitation. In North America where were/are most of the oil reservoirs located? Yup, on First Nation people's lands. You know what happens to those people when we want those resources? Read up on it here:

Indigenous Environmental Network - IEN

Oil and Gas Exploitation on Arctic
Indigenous Peoples’ Territories​

Human Rights, International Law and Corporate Social Responsibility

California and Chile is going to fall into the sea? Wow! lol

I was raised by grandparents who immigrated from Spain in 1916 and raised sheep on 100acres in California. Now I study ecology and work with local ranchers, farmers, environmental and government groups on sustainability projects for both the environment, economics, and social wellbeing. In short I work for the community both local and global. Who's side are you on?

 

I think it is time to let the neaderthalls go back to their caves. There is no arguing with a brick wall. I have yet to see a citation to back up any of their arguments, only opinion and quotes of the likes of Ann Colter. The best quote of all is "This is like saying you can't water your way out of a drought." Tell that to all those in the Ogallala aquifer in the middle part of the US. The aquifer is dropping at a very unsustainable rate, and the energy required to pump water from such depths exceeds its worth.

As I say,,I'm done arguing to these two.

Icarus

PS. I abhor the scare tactics, racist overtones of referring to Senator Obama as Hussien. You will argeu the point, but the only point of referring that way is to inflame hatred and bigotry. The right wing knows exactly what it is doing by doing so. You would NEVER make such a reference if John McCain had the middle name of John HITLER McCain. Grow up, read outside your comfort zone and learn to frame an argument in a cogent, respectful way. Perhaps most importantly, realize that you are perhaps, not the most important thing, or even person on the planet.

 

So you work with people that exploit migrant workers?

btw.. if your poor mistreated countries don't like the US, they shouldn't do business with us.

Odd I don't recall you citing chapter and verse.

btw.. I called Obama a prick.. he's an egotistical elitist. My wife and I both were initially impressed when we first heard him speak 4-5 months ago. But we've since lost any desire to associate with him. We don't like his friends and his wife has some real issues with America.
Plus I don't see how a no body can come out no where and run for prez, unless his money is coming from offshore, crazy perhaps, but I'm guessing the Saudis.

 

Not entirely true. There are bystanders who read and learn.

 

No, and your level of ignorance and callousness is irritating. It appears I'll have to put you on the list with the other knuckledraggers. Too bad you could not have played amicably and put forth your sources.

 

ahh.. I forgot you're a proud Spaniard who's country (conquistadors) exploited the Incas and Aztecs long before the US was even a nation.. :high5:

Why don't you fix that injustice first.

 

Once again, if you do your research before you shoot your self off, you will realize that the vast majority of Obama's have, for the first time in modern electoral history, come from small doners. ~1.5 million of them giving an average of less than $250. By the people and for the people.

Icarus