DOJ, that's exactly what happened as a result of the 1970s oil embargo. Car makers couldn't crank out those sub-compacts fast enough. Then somewhere along the line, the govmint decided that SUVs were farm vehicles, and therefore exempt from smog restrictions. We've had unrealistically-priced gas here in the US for way too long. Now it's our turn. Maybe we'll stop using 25% of the world's resources.
I had ancestors in every American war up through WWII. I would certainly hope we can honor the dead and their sacrifices, and at the same time, hope, pray, and work toward a time when young people will not have to die in wars.
Memorial Day was also called Decoration Day when I was young, and was definitely on May 30--which was also my parents' wedding anniversary.
Some very disturbing comments. But I still want to add my reaction to the original article. I'm studying Buddhism, and am in the process of getting rid of things, even things I truly love, such as my books. I choose to celebrate what this man is doing, rather than criticize him for not embracing total poverty. In case you haven't seen poverty up close and personal, I can tell you that for most, it's a world of pain.
@ Evil Pundit--It isn't the Democrats who started a war of agression based on lies to protect oil interests. The last Democratic president left a surplus, as I recall, after inheriting the Reagan/Bush 1 deficit. Bush 2 is going to leave the biggest deficit in history. If Bush 3 (McCain) is elected, we'll continue the war, until our economy is ruined. If a Democrat (I hope it's Barack Obama) is elected, we have some hope of beginning to dig ourselves out of this recession before it becomes the Greatest Depression.
Some MIT students did a study, dropping things randomly in ordinary places. Most foods tested were ok after 5 or 10 seconds, and some were still fine after a much longer time on the floor/ground. I agree that placing something on a surface smeared with a concentration of bacteria will not produce accurate results.
It's kind to call many of these errors typos, when they are simply presenting the stupidity of the writer. I cringe reading the comments of many blogs. Why can't people learn to write decent English? What is so terribly difficult about the difference between the verbs "to lie" and "to lay"? Oh, well. These errors are getting so common, clearly more and more people don't even see the mistake.
I remember very well the oil crunch of the early seventies. Long lines, gas even days for even plates, odd days, odd plates, wait for two hours to find the station was out of gas, etc. Big wake-up call for compact cars with good mileage. Now as I drive my fuel-efficient (sorta) 12-year-old Saturn around SoCal, I can barely see the road for the SUVs.
They made fun of Jimmy Carter for putting on a sweater and urging Americans to conserve energy. Gas prices have been kept low, regulations were relaxed (Reagan years--trickle down, de-regulation, etc.)and people here just went crazy.
I think it will take real shortages rather than price hikes to wake up my fellow citizens of the USA.
In some states it's perfectly legal to make beer or wine. When we lived in Washington State, making beer was the thing to do. We tried all different recipes, and frankly, I wasn't too crazy about any of it. then my husband decided to add yeast to grape juice. He capped the bottles as he did the beer bottles. The exploded sequentially while he was at work. Fortunately no one was in the room, as glass and fermented grape juice flew everywhere.
My housemate and I nearly came to blows over this. It wasn't until the fruit flies spread to his bedroom that he believed me. They lay eggs through the banana skin. Leaving a cut one open lets lots of them come to life and take over your house.
Families should be taxed for every child over two. The tax should rise with each child. If it's that important to them, they should pay for the extra resources they consume.
Memorial Day was also called Decoration Day when I was young, and was definitely on May 30--which was also my parents' wedding anniversary.
They made fun of Jimmy Carter for putting on a sweater and urging Americans to conserve energy. Gas prices have been kept low, regulations were relaxed (Reagan years--trickle down, de-regulation, etc.)and people here just went crazy.
I think it will take real shortages rather than price hikes to wake up my fellow citizens of the USA.