Oh my God!! Only liberals complain about gas prices?!?!

[skypilot]

Did you guys hear the "Dittohead" today? This guy must be Rush's star pupil. And what is this crap about the economy "roaring"? That word must be on the talking points memo because I keep hearing it when the Repubs talk about the economy.

[Wickerman]

1. uh, actually, I hear lots of liberals state the gas price

should continue to go up... The whole increased cost decreased use thing...

[skypilot]

2. I can't help but suspect...

...that the far right wingnuts will guzzle gas no matter how expensive it gets just to spite us.

[Fovea]

3. Good

That means less money to the GOP.

[Damn Hippie]

6. To own a huge gas-guzzling truck or SUV is not

only every American's right, it is a patriotic duty.

Y'all need to get with the program, malcontents.

[wildwww2]

9. This war crime is just to spite us and make themselves richer.

So the price of gas is a way to keep us under their control.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

4. I don't think higher prices are the answer

It's pretty obvious we haven't stopped consuming despite record high prices. Americans need to get from point A to point B, and if we want to reduce fossil fuel usage, we have to come up with an EQUIVALENT alternative to today's car. I say equivalent because few people want a car that goes barely 60 mph and public transportation fucking sucks. If you make a hybrid that performs like a regular car, it will sell like hotcakes, but people do not want to give up conveniences.

[DarkPhenyx]

7. We still pay far less per gallon than Europe.

If we actually had prices remotely clsoe to their prices we'd definately all be screaming. Trust me. We aren't paying that much for gas, it could be, and will be, much worse.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

10. It's a good point...

but mine still stands. If we want to reduce fuel consumption, we need better alternatives.

[outinforce]

16. Speaking of Alternatives.....

You are quite correct when you say that if we want to reduce fuel (specifically, fossil fuel) consumption, we need better alternatives.

But these alternatives should not, in my view, be confined only to how to get from point A to point B.

They should look at the need to get from point A to point B.

Currently, lots of people work in major cities but live in the subrurbs. And so, every day, these folks need to get from point A (where they live) to point B (where they work) and then back to point A.

And that means more roads -- and more cars on the road - and more fuel being burnt.

If a way could be found to either prevent people from living in the suburbs or to encourage people to live in the cities, then there would be less need to focus on the need people have to get from point A to point B.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

17. Agreed, however...

Too many people simply prefer suburban life. And most cities seem overpopulated as they are. I think we're more likely to see increased urban sprawl than we are to see people re-migrating into cities. I think it's easier and more feasible to work on improving our technology than it is to change peoples' minds about where they want to live.

[candy331]

15. Europe also has higher wages than the US

and health benefits for all but I don't hear a clamoring for this over the airways. If higher wages and health care were part of the deal then I suppose no one would complain but as i see it is all profit for the oil mongers.

[L3on]

21. Probably :-)

I'm paying roughly a euro for a liter. That would be about 4 dollars per gallon.

How much do you pay? I guess I'm going to cry soon.

[DarkPhenyx]

22. Just shy of two dollars a gallon.

I remember when I was living in Germany and I was so glad I had American gas ration coupons. I wouldn't have gotten to see nearly as much of Europe as I did had I had to pay full price at the pumps.

[L3on]

24. *g*

That's why a lot of people over here like SUVs but don't buy one.
My car consumes about 2.4 gallons per 100 miles. That's cheap. I'm happy.

:bounce:

[Juan]

26. We pay one euro per liter too (Spain)

And now, my regional goverment will put a surcharge on gas (0.02€ per liter) to help balance the budget of our healthcare system...

[WoodrowFan]

27. prices in DC area

I live in the DC suburbs in Northern Virginia. I paio $2.08 a gallon for the cheapest grade at a Sunoco station a few days ago. High grade was about 2.40 something.

[PurityOfEssence]

23. Drive my Prius and eat your words

I have better acceleration than all but the most powerful conventional cars (electric motors have incredible torque). It gets its best mileage at 63 on the freeway, but has no problem cruising above 80. Top speed is over a hundred, but I never felt like trying it. In the city, it literally dusts people in stop and start driving, and gets great mileage while doing so.

I'm over 6'2" and my wife's 6'1", and we're both very comfortable in it.

Not only that, they ARE selling like hotcakes; there's a waiting list for the little gems.

Bear in mind, too, that I'm talking about an '03 model that I bought in September of '02; the '04 models are bigger and more powerful.

[Warren DeMontague]

25. Zactly.

I drive an '01 Corolla. Not amazing mileage, but not bad. The next one will definitely be a Prius. My non-scientific sampling leads me to believe that bigger cars, trucks, and SUVs are favored by more right-leaning people, at least around here. So the idea that "liberals" are complaining about gas prices doesn't make any sense.

When I see some yahoo with a giant outsized truck at the pump, I must admit, part of me thinks "serves you right".

[PVnRT]

28. No

For one, in regards to Europe that another poster mentioned, people don't drive as much (for the most part) as they do here, because of public transportation, trains, and so on. In this country, that's simply not possible, because (1) we're so big and (2) we simply have not developed a system of non-automobile transportation like Europe has.

So, no, high prices in order to punish those bastards who buy gas is not the answer, because, in the end, you are hurting poorer people who have to drive to the suburbs on the other side of town to work their minimum-wage job, farmers, and so on. The key is to develop alternative fuels and more public transportation, not flog the peasants for the transgressions of the princes.

[htuttle]

5. Al's dittohead friend 'Mark' had a psychotic break today

He was spouting all sorts of delusions, like 'Only liberals care about the gas price!' and 'The economy is booming!' and 'There will be two million new jobs by November, you'll see!'.

He finished with, "And I AM Napolean, so there!"

(okay, I made that last part up...)

[skypilot]

12. I can't believe that he actually...

...admits to "learning" stuff from Rush. It's so strange hearing an adult admit that. You'd think an adult would know better. And Luther is a teacher--THAT is scary.

[cosmicdot]

13. I heard some of him ... if you don't want the low-paying

no benefits ... below ability to survive paying jobs ... you don't have to take them ... the economy is roaring ...


Commerce Secretary and * good ol'buddy Don Evans released some report to give the 'roaring economy' some talking points ... has to do with "value" of construction ...

could that mean that inflation is up?


"The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that the value of buildings put in place rose by 1.3 percent in April from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $970.4 billion, the highest level on record."
http://start.earthlink.net/newsarticle?cat=1&aid=D82UA4M00_story

wasn't it just last month that construction was down?

[goddess40]

18. 2 bit jobs

This is Goddess40's mom. Two of my granddaughters did get jobs this month. The one that is a high school grad got a job at Walmart's for $8.00/hour and no benefits. The college grad got a job in the lab (her major was molecular biology) at Kraft Foods for $13.50/hour with no benefits. Both these jobs are for 6 months and then if they keep them on they will get benefits. Want to bet they will not be working at these places long enough for the benefits to kick in? So both these young women are working for low wages and no benefits in limited term jobs. Some great job recovery, eh?

[maggrwaggr]

19. US companies slashed more than 73,000 jobs last month

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1519&e=4&u=/afp/us_economy_jobs

US job cut figures "worrisome": survey

2 hours, 42 minutes ago

Add Business - AFP to My Yahoo!


NEW YORK (AFP) - US companies slashed more than 73,000 jobs last month as announced layoffs accelerated for a second consecutive month, a survey said.

(snip)

So much for the "ROAR"

[papau]

8. 10 to 15% of the economy - manufacturing - is indeed doing better

The manufacturing index is up today - and the sector is indeed adding a few jobs.

Deficit based defense work and Gov jobs via contractors are barely keeping the rest of the US job picture at "even"

Bush has grown the gov almost as much as Reagan did and as FDR did - damn good thing conservatives are for small gov.

Seems if you want Republican/American "values" you have to vote Dem.

Interesting world as the GOP re-defines itself as the party of tax cutting for the super rich.

[maggrwaggr]

11. who's the dittohead?

I am clueless.

[skypilot]

14. Sorry.

He is a friend of Al Franken named Mark Luther. Franken has him call into the show everyday and then Franken confronts him with the latest lie or outrageous statement made by Limbaugh. Luther is a big Limbaugh fan and almost always trys to defend him. Franken and Lampfer are trying to bring him to his senses but I think he's a lost cause.

[tjwash]

20. He is there for freak value.

The guy is a crack up to listen to. He sounds just like my brother before he went to the rehab...

[PVnRT]

29. Well, this guy is an idiot then

Because I hear plenty of Republicans bitching about gas prices, and wondering why Bush is doing nothing about it, especially in regards to possible inflation that this may cause.

[porkrind]

30. Like the old saying...

"If you want to live like a Republican, vote Democrat."

---

Read about the Right-Wing "Master Plan": http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/sam/sam-contents.html

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