Bush's call for "more diesel"

Providing the nay sayers are not correct when they say that any
failure of the containment field will result in fusion run amok, and
the earth becoming a miniature sun. Not that I am against the idea,
but we have all seen what the human element has done with fission.
Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, etc. Now were talking about a process
that essentially creates it's own fuel... which is about anything it
can suck in.... Fortunately, if they happen to be right..." it'll only
take a moment" (C-47 gunship crew member before a pass over attacking
Viet Cong in John Wayne's "Green Beret")

On Sun, 08 May 2005 18:10:51 -0400, "Michael Johnson, PE"
> wrote:

>My crystal ball says we are heading toward a society based on energy
>produced from the process of fusion. IMO, it is the best hope of man to
>provide cheap, clean and limitless energy. It won't be here soon but if
>we can keep things from going to hell for another 200-300 years we might
>make it.
>

Hey! Spikey Likes IT!
1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok
Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior
Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8"
w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16

One of the reaons CA has such high gas taxes is because they have almost
no toll roads and gasoline taxes pay for road upkeep.

I recently moved back east from CA to NJ. The gas prices here are some
of the lowest in the nation but guess what? NJ has robably the
*crappiest* roads in the nation (Jersey Turnpike and Garden State
Parkway aside of course - these are toll roads). Anyone out there who's
driven out of the Holland Tunnel onto the 1/9 road over the Pulaski
skyway to Newark Airport can attest to this.

Putting that aside.....it's pure bulls**t when the oil companies blame
taxes for high gas prices. The taxes are what they are....prices are
raised and lowered by the oil companies. If the oil companies didn't
have such a stranglehold on our nation for nearly 60 years, we wouldn't
be in this mess. We'd have other sources of energy that could run our
cars.

Michael Johnson, PE wrote:

> If we would all make it clear that high gasoline taxes are unacceptable
> and vote accordingly then those taxes would vanish very quickly.
>
> Spike wrote:
>
>> Tax or no tax, you're still paying what you pay. Just like in
>> California. I makes no difference what the state tax and the fed tax
>> are, I still have to pay whatever the pump price is.
>> On Sat, 07 May 2005 22:39:32 -0700, Quiet Desperation
>> > wrote:
>>
>>
>>> In article >, Michael Johnson, PE
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Ouch! I guess I'm 10 years behind the times then.
>>>
>>>
>>> You also have to take local gas taxes into account. I believe much of
>>> the EU has enormous gas taxes.
>>
>>
>>
>> Hey! Spikey Likes IT!
>> 1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok
>> Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior
>> Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8"
>> w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16

One of the reaons CA has such high gas taxes is because they have almost
no toll roads and gasoline taxes pay for road upkeep.

I recently moved back east from CA to NJ. The gas prices here are some
of the lowest in the nation but guess what? NJ has robably the
*crappiest* roads in the nation (Jersey Turnpike and Garden State
Parkway aside of course - these are toll roads). Anyone out there who's
driven out of the Holland Tunnel onto the 1/9 road over the Pulaski
skyway to Newark Airport can attest to this.

Putting that aside.....it's pure bulls**t when the oil companies blame
taxes for high gas prices. The taxes are what they are....prices are
raised and lowered by the oil companies. If the oil companies didn't
have such a stranglehold on our nation for nearly 60 years, we wouldn't
be in this mess. We'd have other sources of energy that could run our
cars.

Michael Johnson, PE wrote:

> If we would all make it clear that high gasoline taxes are unacceptable
> and vote accordingly then those taxes would vanish very quickly.
>
> Spike wrote:
>
>> Tax or no tax, you're still paying what you pay. Just like in
>> California. I makes no difference what the state tax and the fed tax
>> are, I still have to pay whatever the pump price is.
>> On Sat, 07 May 2005 22:39:32 -0700, Quiet Desperation
>> > wrote:
>>
>>
>>> In article >, Michael Johnson, PE
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Ouch! I guess I'm 10 years behind the times then.
>>>
>>>
>>> You also have to take local gas taxes into account. I believe much of
>>> the EU has enormous gas taxes.
>>
>>
>>
>> Hey! Spikey Likes IT!
>> 1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok
>> Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior
>> Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8"
>> w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16

disneyfan.nyc wrote:
> One of the reaons CA has such high gas taxes is because they have almost
> no toll roads and gasoline taxes pay for road upkeep.

The reason they have such high gas taxes is the State is addicted to
revenue and will break the financial backs of the hard working citizens
to support their habit.

> I recently moved back east from CA to NJ. The gas prices here are some
> of the lowest in the nation but guess what? NJ has robably the
> *crappiest* roads in the nation (Jersey Turnpike and Garden State
> Parkway aside of course - these are toll roads). Anyone out there who's
> driven out of the Holland Tunnel onto the 1/9 road over the Pulaski
> skyway to Newark Airport can attest to this.

The real reason the CA roads are better than NJ roads is due to weather.
The more freeze/thaw cycles the ground under a road experiences the
more damage it receives. Also, when water seeps into cracks and freezes
it expands and further damages the paving material. CA has nice roads
for the same reason Florida, Virginia, Alabama and Arizona does. NJ has
bad roads for the same reason Indiana, Michigan and NY does. It has
very little to do with the amount of tax each state gets from a gallon
of gas.

CA likes people who believe these kind of falsehoods. It allows them to
keep taxing while the public just grins and thanks them for the nice
roads. The CA public really needs to thank Mother Nature.

> Putting that aside.....it's pure bulls**t when the oil companies blame
> taxes for high gas prices. The taxes are what they are....prices are
> raised and lowered by the oil companies. If the oil companies didn't
> have such a stranglehold on our nation for nearly 60 years, we wouldn't
> be in this mess. We'd have other sources of energy that could run our
> cars.

It's easy to blame the oil companies. They are a big, easy target. We
tend to forget that to a large extent it has been oil that has allowed
the human race to advance to what we are today. We sure don't mind
consuming their product. If the oil companies charge more than the
market will bare then a different energy source will be developed. Oil
companies have competition. Unfortunately, the government has a
monopoly on levying taxes. Maybe a little competition for them would be
good for us poor tax payers.

> Michael Johnson, PE wrote:
>
>> If we would all make it clear that high gasoline taxes are
>> unacceptable and vote accordingly then those taxes would vanish very
>> quickly.
>>
>> Spike wrote:
>>
>>> Tax or no tax, you're still paying what you pay. Just like in
>>> California. I makes no difference what the state tax and the fed tax
>>> are, I still have to pay whatever the pump price is.
>>> On Sat, 07 May 2005 22:39:32 -0700, Quiet Desperation
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> In article >, Michael Johnson, PE
>>>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Ouch! I guess I'm 10 years behind the times then.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> You also have to take local gas taxes into account. I believe much of
>>>> the EU has enormous gas taxes.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hey! Spikey Likes IT!
>>> 1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok
>>> Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior
>>> Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8"
>>> w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16

Spike wrote:
> So easy to say, but it does not take into account human nature, or how
> the system really has worked since the earliest days of the Republic,
> when the Founding Fathers; wealthy, educated, landowners; determined
> that women, slaves, anyone who did not own land, frontiers people,
> Indians, etc, should not be able to vote. They lacked the education,
> worldly experience, and personal investment motivation to know what
> was best for themselves. Elitists then, elitists now.

There is one thing that is changing the status quo from a political
perspective... the Internet. People have more ways to educate
themselves on the issues than ever before. It is also making them have
to think about what they read and hear. As more people have access to
the internet, I think we will see that lobbiest', special interest's and
the liberally biased media's influence will greatly reduce. This will
be a very good thing for the rest of us.

> We all know how we were taught in school about how it's supposed to
> work, but has it ever really worked that way? Not really. There have
> only been times when it was closer than other times. Sometimes the
> devil you know is much better than the devil you don't. I for one
> would rather have what we have than some of the possibilities we could
> have; think North Korea, China, the chaos of the former Soviet Union,
> Malaysia where chewing gum in public is punishable by caning, or the
> theocracy of Islam.

I agree 100%.

> As for Special Interest groups, from corporations to religions, they
> DO vote with their wallets and their influence over employees/members.

They might but when a person is in the voting booth, all alone, how they
vote might just suprise you. I never have subscribed that the US
population is a buch of mind-numbed robots doing what they are told.
They trouble is they have never been able to hear all sides of an issue
to make a truly informed discission. The Internet is letting people see
all sides of an issue. IMO, an informed voter is what the lobbiests,
special interests, corporations and unethical encumbent politicians fear
the most.

> On Sun, 08 May 2005 18:24:16 -0400, "Michael Johnson, PE"
> > wrote:
>
>
>>Spike wrote:
>>
>>>I seriously doubt you could come up with a strategy which would work
>>>to accomplish such a goal.
>>
>>It's easy, just vote for the guy that wants to eliminate/reduce the gas tax.
>>
>>
>>>You can threaten not to reelect politicians, but when they get huge
>>>campaign contributions from the oil companies, you think they'll care?
>>
>
> Hey! Spikey Likes IT!
> 1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok
> Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior
> Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8"
> w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16

Fusion only happens under very controlled conditions. When the
"conditions" cease to exist so does the reaction. I think people
confuse a "fusion" bomb with a fusion reactor. One is an uncontrolled
reaction run a muck while the other will terminate immediately without
the proper environment.

The trouble with naysayers is they typically are barely qualified to tie
their own shoes. Besides, if they were right about atomic fission
reactions we would have never lived past the Trinity nuclear test.

Spike wrote:
> Providing the nay sayers are not correct when they say that any
> failure of the containment field will result in fusion run amok, and
> the earth becoming a miniature sun. Not that I am against the idea,
> but we have all seen what the human element has done with fission.
> Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, etc. Now were talking about a process
> that essentially creates it's own fuel... which is about anything it
> can suck in.... Fortunately, if they happen to be right..." it'll only
> take a moment" (C-47 gunship crew member before a pass over attacking
> Viet Cong in John Wayne's "Green Beret")
>
> On Sun, 08 May 2005 18:10:51 -0400, "Michael Johnson, PE"
> > wrote:
>
>
>>My crystal ball says we are heading toward a society based on energy
>>produced from the process of fusion. IMO, it is the best hope of man to
>>provide cheap, clean and limitless energy. It won't be here soon but if
>>we can keep things from going to hell for another 200-300 years we might
>>make it.
>>
>
>
> Hey! Spikey Likes IT!
> 1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok
> Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior
> Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8"
> w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16

Check this story out:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opi...a-news-opinion

It's written by Edwin Reubins, a retired professor of economics, CUNY.


"Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in
:

> disneyfan.nyc wrote:
>> One of the reaons CA has such high gas taxes is because they have
>> almost no toll roads and gasoline taxes pay for road upkeep.
>
> The reason they have such high gas taxes is the State is addicted to
> revenue and will break the financial backs of the hard working
> citizens to support their habit.
>
>> I recently moved back east from CA to NJ. The gas prices here are
>> some of the lowest in the nation but guess what? NJ has robably
>> the *crappiest* roads in the nation (Jersey Turnpike and Garden
>> State Parkway aside of course - these are toll roads). Anyone out
>> there who's driven out of the Holland Tunnel onto the 1/9 road over
>> the Pulaski skyway to Newark Airport can attest to this.
>
> The real reason the CA roads are better than NJ roads is due to
> weather.
> The more freeze/thaw cycles the ground under a road experiences
> the
> more damage it receives. Also, when water seeps into cracks and
> freezes it expands and further damages the paving material. CA has
> nice roads for the same reason Florida, Virginia, Alabama and
> Arizona does. NJ has bad roads for the same reason Indiana,
> Michigan and NY does. It has very little to do with the amount of
> tax each state gets from a gallon of gas.
>
> CA likes people who believe these kind of falsehoods. It allows
> them to keep taxing while the public just grins and thanks them for
> the nice roads. The CA public really needs to thank Mother Nature.
>
>
>> Putting that aside.....it's pure bulls**t when the oil companies
>> blame taxes for high gas prices. The taxes are what they
>> are....prices are raised and lowered by the oil companies. If the
>> oil companies didn't have such a stranglehold on our nation for
>> nearly 60 years, we wouldn't be in this mess. We'd have other
>> sources of energy that could run our cars.
>
> It's easy to blame the oil companies. They are a big, easy target.
> We tend to forget that to a large extent it has been oil that has
> allowed the human race to advance to what we are today. We sure
> don't mind consuming their product. If the oil companies charge
> more than the market will bare then a different energy source will
> be developed. Oil companies have competition. Unfortunately, the
> government has a monopoly on levying taxes. Maybe a little
> competition for them would be good for us poor tax payers.
>
>> Michael Johnson, PE wrote:
>>
>>> If we would all make it clear that high gasoline taxes are
>>> unacceptable and vote accordingly then those taxes would vanish
>>> very quickly.
>>>
>>> Spike wrote:
>>>
>>>> Tax or no tax, you're still paying what you pay. Just like in
>>>> California. I makes no difference what the state tax and the fed
>>>> tax are, I still have to pay whatever the pump price is.
>>>> On Sat, 07 May 2005 22:39:32 -0700, Quiet Desperation
>>>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> In article >, Michael
>>>>> Johnson, PE > wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Ouch! I guess I'm 10 years behind the times then.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> You also have to take local gas taxes into account. I believe
>>>>> much of the EU has enormous gas taxes.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hey! Spikey Likes IT!
>>>> 1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok
>>>> Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior
>>>> Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8"
>>>> w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16
>

On Mon, 09 May 2005 10:47:55 GMT, Joe > wrote:

>Check this story out:
>
>http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opi...a-news-opinion
>
>It's written by Edwin Reubins, a retired professor of economics, CUNY.
Price controls? I'd check out actual world demand for oil before
jumping on that bandwagon.
-Rich

I don't think government price fixing is the answer to high gas prices.
Unfortunately we are not the world's 800lb energy gorilla anymore and
therefore can't influence the price of crude oil like we once could.
Developing countries like China, India and numerous smaller third world
nations are increasing the global demand for energy. The demand is
going to rise (along with the price) for well into the future. IMO, we
need something to shock us (USA, Japan, Europe etc.) into finding
alternative sources of energy and to be more efficient users.
Unfortunately that shock will likely be economic in nature. The
government needs to coordinate/facilitate private industries efforts to
wean us from having a huge dependence on petroleum. Unfortunately the
Government doesn't seem to be willing to take on this role and probably
won't do it until the public demands it by electing officials that will
get the job done.

Joe wrote:
> Check this story out:
>
> http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opi...a-news-opinion
>
> It's written by Edwin Reubins, a retired professor of economics, CUNY.
>
>
> "Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in
> :
>
>
>>disneyfan.nyc wrote:
>>
>>>One of the reaons CA has such high gas taxes is because they have
>>>almost no toll roads and gasoline taxes pay for road upkeep.
>>
>>The reason they have such high gas taxes is the State is addicted to
>>revenue and will break the financial backs of the hard working
>>citizens to support their habit.
>>
>>
>>>I recently moved back east from CA to NJ. The gas prices here are
>>>some of the lowest in the nation but guess what? NJ has robably
>>>the *crappiest* roads in the nation (Jersey Turnpike and Garden
>>>State Parkway aside of course - these are toll roads). Anyone out
>>>there who's driven out of the Holland Tunnel onto the 1/9 road over
>>>the Pulaski skyway to Newark Airport can attest to this.
>>
>>The real reason the CA roads are better than NJ roads is due to
>>weather.
>> The more freeze/thaw cycles the ground under a road experiences
>> the
>>more damage it receives. Also, when water seeps into cracks and
>>freezes it expands and further damages the paving material. CA has
>>nice roads for the same reason Florida, Virginia, Alabama and
>>Arizona does. NJ has bad roads for the same reason Indiana,
>>Michigan and NY does. It has very little to do with the amount of
>>tax each state gets from a gallon of gas.
>>
>>CA likes people who believe these kind of falsehoods. It allows
>>them to keep taxing while the public just grins and thanks them for
>>the nice roads. The CA public really needs to thank Mother Nature.
>>
>>
>>
>>>Putting that aside.....it's pure bulls**t when the oil companies
>>>blame taxes for high gas prices. The taxes are what they
>>>are....prices are raised and lowered by the oil companies. If the
>>>oil companies didn't have such a stranglehold on our nation for
>>>nearly 60 years, we wouldn't be in this mess. We'd have other
>>>sources of energy that could run our cars.
>>
>>It's easy to blame the oil companies. They are a big, easy target.
>>We tend to forget that to a large extent it has been oil that has
>>allowed the human race to advance to what we are today. We sure
>>don't mind consuming their product. If the oil companies charge
>>more than the market will bare then a different energy source will
>>be developed. Oil companies have competition. Unfortunately, the
>>government has a monopoly on levying taxes. Maybe a little
>>competition for them would be good for us poor tax payers.
>>
>>
>>>Michael Johnson, PE wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>If we would all make it clear that high gasoline taxes are
>>>>unacceptable and vote accordingly then those taxes would vanish
>>>>very quickly.
>>>>
>>>>Spike wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Tax or no tax, you're still paying what you pay. Just like in
>>>>>California. I makes no difference what the state tax and the fed
>>>>>tax are, I still have to pay whatever the pump price is.
>>>>>On Sat, 07 May 2005 22:39:32 -0700, Quiet Desperation
> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>In article >, Michael
>>>>>>Johnson, PE > wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Ouch! I guess I'm 10 years behind the times then.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>You also have to take local gas taxes into account. I believe
>>>>>>much of the EU has enormous gas taxes.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Hey! Spikey Likes IT!
>>>>>1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok
>>>>>Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior
>>>>>Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8"
>>>>>w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16
>>
>

Just a lurker here...

In last weeks Arizona Republic newspaper here in Phoenix they ran an
article on 20%gasoline/80% grain alchol. It is available in Tucson for
$1.83/gallon and runs in about 80% of the vehicles on the road without
any changes. It went on to say that it was even cheaper in the midwest
where we have an oversupply of grain and it is produced locally.

I have not seen much else on this. Too bad. That would cut back our
reliance on foreign oil.

hank

On Mon, 09 May 2005 10:47:55 GMT, Joe > wrote:

>Check this story out:
>
>http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opi...a-news-opinion
>
>It's written by Edwin Reubins, a retired professor of economics, CUNY.
>
>
>"Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in
:
>
>> disneyfan.nyc wrote:
>>> One of the reaons CA has such high gas taxes is because they have
>>> almost no toll roads and gasoline taxes pay for road upkeep.
>>
>> The reason they have such high gas taxes is the State is addicted to
>> revenue and will break the financial backs of the hard working
>> citizens to support their habit.
>>
>>> I recently moved back east from CA to NJ. The gas prices here are
>>> some of the lowest in the nation but guess what? NJ has robably
>>> the *crappiest* roads in the nation (Jersey Turnpike and Garden
>>> State Parkway aside of course - these are toll roads). Anyone out
>>> there who's driven out of the Holland Tunnel onto the 1/9 road over
>>> the Pulaski skyway to Newark Airport can attest to this.
>>
>> The real reason the CA roads are better than NJ roads is due to
>> weather.
>> The more freeze/thaw cycles the ground under a road experiences
>> the
>> more damage it receives. Also, when water seeps into cracks and
>> freezes it expands and further damages the paving material. CA has
>> nice roads for the same reason Florida, Virginia, Alabama and
>> Arizona does. NJ has bad roads for the same reason Indiana,
>> Michigan and NY does. It has very little to do with the amount of
>> tax each state gets from a gallon of gas.
>>
>> CA likes people who believe these kind of falsehoods. It allows
>> them to keep taxing while the public just grins and thanks them for
>> the nice roads. The CA public really needs to thank Mother Nature.
>>
>>
>>> Putting that aside.....it's pure bulls**t when the oil companies
>>> blame taxes for high gas prices. The taxes are what they
>>> are....prices are raised and lowered by the oil companies. If the
>>> oil companies didn't have such a stranglehold on our nation for
>>> nearly 60 years, we wouldn't be in this mess. We'd have other
>>> sources of energy that could run our cars.
>>
>> It's easy to blame the oil companies. They are a big, easy target.
>> We tend to forget that to a large extent it has been oil that has
>> allowed the human race to advance to what we are today. We sure
>> don't mind consuming their product. If the oil companies charge
>> more than the market will bare then a different energy source will
>> be developed. Oil companies have competition. Unfortunately, the
>> government has a monopoly on levying taxes. Maybe a little
>> competition for them would be good for us poor tax payers.
>>
>>> Michael Johnson, PE wrote:
>>>
>>>> If we would all make it clear that high gasoline taxes are
>>>> unacceptable and vote accordingly then those taxes would vanish
>>>> very quickly.
>>>>
>>>> Spike wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Tax or no tax, you're still paying what you pay. Just like in
>>>>> California. I makes no difference what the state tax and the fed
>>>>> tax are, I still have to pay whatever the pump price is.
>>>>> On Sat, 07 May 2005 22:39:32 -0700, Quiet Desperation
>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> In article >, Michael
>>>>>> Johnson, PE > wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Ouch! I guess I'm 10 years behind the times then.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> You also have to take local gas taxes into account. I believe
>>>>>> much of the EU has enormous gas taxes.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Hey! Spikey Likes IT!
>>>>> 1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok
>>>>> Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior
>>>>> Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8"
>>>>> w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16
>>