Cat as Trophy

Some patient souls have resigned themselves to waiting out the effects of the current administration's policies. They figure that whatever valley of doom we descend into, a resurgent democratic wake-up call will likely propel us back up the slope before we suffer any permanent damage. But as Dave Johnson of STF reminds us what happened when a similar perception pervaded 1930's Germany:

"Ernst Thalmann thought the same thing.

He died in Buchenwald."

The administration cutting back on federal funding for Amtrak, in some non-specific trial-balloon fashion, positions us further down the valley. Does BushCo have patents that cover the absurdity of their arguments?

Mineta said the federal government is better off spending wisely on transit projects created by the states than continuing to subsidize Amtrak. He mentioned Washington's $345 million investment in a rail line that runs from Seattle to Vancouver, British Columbia. He said ridership on that line has grown more than 300 percent in recent years.

Unless Vancouver resides in the United States, that sounds like a co-investment with Canada. And why wouldn't a transit line that stretches across a couple of states not show a similar ridership increase? I see little reasoning left for arguing with these knuckleheads. If this keeps up, plan for short commutes in the near future.

Philalethes has an interesting take on reducing consumption.

And while we're at it, what's the cost of impressing one's corporate cronies with a Cartier watch, instead of buying a ten-dollar digital from Walgreen's? About $4,440 , if you're pinching your pennies; you could easily spend five times that. And yet, you'll find Cartiers in boardrooms all over the country. What better target for journalistic mockery could there be than these money-squandering herd animals?

As I understand the argument, we have plenty of similar candidates waiting for energy harvest. For example, take first-class seating on airlines. I propose a simple conservation solution that essentially crams more people into first-class, but those passengers retain the distinction of their First-Class status. They still get seated first, and get to sneer at the rest of the rabble passing down the aisle. What more do they want? Increasing energy efficiency while maintaining class distinction should impress their corporate cronies just as much as a Cartier or a Prius.

Another 21^st century status symbol: A stripper well in the backyard pumping a barrel of oil a day. I predict Huntington Beach will challenge Malibu as primo status real-estate. After all, NIMBY can only go on for so long.

Thom Hartmann gives us another Hitler analogy:

To the extent that our Constitution is still intact, the choice is again ours.

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If this discussion occurred on Usenet circa 1990, the newsgroup police would have shut it down on the first mention of the fascist dictator. As I have mentioned him alot now, I officially loose and will pack it in.