Mazda, BMW and Pontiac have been working on hydrogen fueled cars, for the last few years, even giving rides in working cancept cars, at International Auto shows. They are in a race to see who can produce them, in latge numbers, 1st, BMW's will be the MINI Cooper.
"W" is jumping on the bandwagon, before the parade passes by.
Until schools become something more than funding machines, based on student attendance, rather than learning, these solutions are just "fingers in the dike bandaides"
Bush needs to focus on what we are doing with/to the rest of the world, in the name of "enduring freedom", and appoint someone, not up to their eyebrows in Enron $$$, to investigate that whole fradulent pile of sh*t
Ask Texas residents what public schools were like under his governorship.....
WE need leadership now, not "spin"

So now Ashcroft has recused himself from the Enron inquiry. How long before Dubya follows suit? Not to mention the VP, who has been central? (They'd be well advised to do so.)

Don't mind me, I'm just a Texan.

These top Enron scumbags should spend the rest of their lives in jail. If I was a death penalty guy (and I'm not), these are the kind of assholes who SHOULD get it.

These scum knowingly lined their pockets while they knew they were contributing to losses of livelyhoods, life savings, and dreams.

Capitalism in all its glory, with the fucking stars and stripes behind it. Free markets are GOD!! NO regulation!! Business can police itself!!

I hope these guys fry, but knowing the way things work around here, I'm sure they'll end up living their lives in comfort and wealth. Now if they'd gotten caught with a bag of weed, oh the horror!!!!! But fucking over workers, hey, no problem!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lcj:

These scum knowingly lined their pockets while they knew they were contributing to losses of livelyhoods, life savings, and dreams.

Capitalism in all its glory, with the fucking stars and stripes behind it. Free markets are GOD!! NO regulation!! Business can police itself!!

!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You are right. BUT! Extremes of Communism, socialism OR capitalism all work the same in the end for anyone not at the top.
It ain't perfect, but it's the best there is here in this country. Care to stand in a line for 5 hours back in the 1980's 0r 90's with a wheelbarrow full of rubles to buy a loaf of stale bread?

It's true about how things didn't work out so well in the USSR and it's true that it's business that brings this country the prosperity it has and that although wealth is concentrated increasingly toward the top there's still a decent standard of living for enough people in this country that revolution is not around any corners. But..the free market, hands off business thing has gotten way out of hand in the last couple of decades.

Of course, what's really wrong is human nature, I guess. I've seen two economic principles proved in my half century plus on the planet. One is that if you give most businesses leeway and power, they'll steal everything that's not nailed down and leave the little people starving on the streets - literally. The other is that the same thing happens in government because an unfortunately high percentage of people seeking power have mixed motivations..at best. Of course, now, they're working together. No telling what they can accomplish like this.

And Todd calls me a cynic! Y'all have great day! <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif" width=15 height=15>

C'mon Larry, no one's calling for a communist dictatorship.

What we could have is a more balanced hybrid of capitalism, with regulation that would assure the white collar criminals dont walk away with all the loot while the workers are taking a piss. We could easily have a capitalism with some of the social principles that work SO well for our Scandy allies, with their higher standard of living than us.

I know the arguments. It won't work here, we're too big, blah blah blah.... It may not work exactly the same way, but we could at least attempt to try some of the ideas that work so well there, instead of watching our class gap get bigger every fucking day.

But, its just too easy to label "commie" any idea that doesn't give into the american status quo and walk away.

Specially after 9-11, everyone is suddenly terrified of dissent. Well, ya know what, activists and dissenters are not the unpatriotic ones in the long run, those who would stand by waving the flag while corruption goes unchallenged are. So don't give me the "love it or leave it" bull please, I do love it, precisely why I'm sad to see it as it is today. And I'm sick to death of a society that continues to allow things like Enron and shit like "free-trade" to destroy lives, only to line the pockets of the kings. We really could do better.

In the song "The night the drove old dixie down" there is the line "they take what they need and leave the rest, but they never should have taken the very best", this line to me, speaks a lot about how goverments and companies work, too often do they take what they need from both the workers and the land and then they often leave behind a wasteland of broken promises, broken men and land changed from life supporting to life taking.

The common man wants to support both the company he works for and the goverment and is willing to let them use what they need but still, They never should of taken the very best.

The Enron failure was and is really unfair and borders on evil, the very idea of these rich people getting richer at the expense of the working man, is just wrong.
The goverment should be the watchdog over such things and anyone who made a profit from this affair should have the money taken away from them, as for the goverment, those in power must be accountable for their actions and/or inaction.

<center><FONT COLOR="#000080">--- Edited 1 times, lastly by Nathen on Jan 12, 2002 ---</FONT></center>

Thank you, lcj, nathen, pat. If I didn't love my country so much, I wouldn't care that it be right. Those who knowingly allow the corruption, or perpetrate it, are traitors to this country, imho. Does that make me a commie? No. <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif" width=15 height=15> This land is your land, this land is my land...

While I agree with most of what's been said (especially about Enron), let's not forget that businesses are started to make a profit for the owners. This is entirely possible to do without resorting to ripping off the employees, raping the environment, or running off with all the money leaving former employees in a lurch. AND it can be done without big government, and all its attendant problems. Gotta make sure the fox is not guarding the henhouse. (See Pat's 1/12 post.)

I, for one, do not begrudge any business owner a fair return on his or her investment. What I do resent is when big business sees that the financial forecast is not quite so bright (or if Greenspan says the "r" word), rather than shave the shareholders' profits by a few dollars, the company lays off several hundred (or thousand) employees.

Having gotten that off my mind--charter schools being funded by big business (an all-day commercial targeted to young impressionable minds--what a concept) and prisons for profit. Two businesses that absolutely should not be.

I agree a fellow deserves to make a profit on his idea or for starting a company, I agree that he even deserves to make 10 times as much money or even a 100 times as much as his workers but when he can make 100,000 times as much as his workers then maybe he is overcharging his customers and underpaying his help.

I also find it unfair that sports people and entertainment people make as much as they do, the price is always passed on to us the public. Sure maybe a million dollars a year seems like a lot, it realy is, when you think about it, but so many want tens of millions, and that is not right, the way I see things, so I guess I am a commie.

Hey lcj, I was kinda agreeing with you, but pointing out that extremes on either side don't work. That's all. Capitalism is the best system when it's done right. Enron proves it can be wrong and very bad.

Saw the GM concept car on tv today, wow, will we have to all relearn to drive?