john5746

thanks for finishing my sentence properly, Phi. As I mentioned previously, Chu is very qualified for this position, possibly even over qualified. More people of science in government, especially positions that will require technical leaps is very necessary, IMO.

Well you will have the Japanese, Koreans, Germans, Chinese and even Indians ready to make cars and less demand from Americans - who can afford cars with no job? So yeah, capitalism will work, but the capital will flow elsewhere. I guess it has to go sometime, we can't be the rich man on the hill forever. Yes, that's what makes it so hard, it is opinion. I agree with both sides of the issue - I would love to reboot them anew, then again I would hate to go through all the pain to do it. But, maybe it is necessary. Maybe we will make it worse by bailing them out. I am nervous about the pro-union democrats being in charge, no lie there.

maybe not, but those things are considered. I am not implying that having white males would have resulted in better candidates. The main thing is that technical experience didn't seem to be high on the priority.

Not a bad analogy, but if we compare the gazelles to Americans, its more like a volcano is going to erupt in a month. Do you try and place them somewhere else or just let nature take them all down? Also, we are humans, we try to avoid catastrophe, not just let it happen. It is obvious that at least one of the big three or a significant portion of each needs to go, but to just allow that much manufacturing to go down while the economic situation is already terrible would be insane, IMO. There will be no other jobs to fill the void, unless maybe you tell everyone that they find an illegal and take his job. You seem to think that things will be static, that these companies can just go belly up and have no effect on everyone else. All sectors will be hit. This is not a few lions taking the sick, this is a volcano wiping out many people, which will in turn lead to serious sickness that will last a long time. Maybe it will happen anyway. Maybe you are worried about sinking deeper in debt, which is a concern. I think if we let them fail, a trillion of debt won't make a difference anyway. Sure, if we continue pouring money in a lost cause, it will make the fall worse. But, if America fails, does it matter if we still owe money to China? Nah.

certainly better than the previous selections, IMO. Looks like this office was used to bump up the minority numbers previously. Obama nominated a minority, but a very, maybe over qualified one.

Are we deluded in thinking we have free will or in thinking the universe is deterministic, or both? If the universe is probabalistic, then maybe our brain is as well. Maybe we don't have as much control as we would hope, but when we chose the Oreo over the carrot, maybe we did have some probability to choose the carrot. Determinism does work well in everyday physics, but doesn't work at the quantum level and doesn't work completely with humans either. Maybe we are just a complex bacteria, responding to numerous stimuli with no chance of responding differently. Maybe random changes and faulty circuits give uncertainty in our response, generating probability and the illusion of a "me" that is in control. In any case, I agree with the sentiment that pragmatically, we must assume some level of control and move forward.

Also I expect the size of the deficits to decrease in conjunction with increased taxation (on the upper classes). Oh, I agree and then some. Obama has been handed a huge mess. I just think that after an initial honeymoon phase, people will begin to blame him for all the mess. It will be far easier to just spend than to make cuts, especially with congress. Let's see if he goes forward with his original taxation plans. I think he will, but we'll see.

I think his popularity will take a hit, people are not going to like cuts. As usual, he will find it far easier and popular to run deficits. He is already preparing to do just that. I wonder if he will start to speak more positively after taking office. Saying it will get worse before it gets better will keep everyone on the sidelines, so he doesn't want to keep saying that for too long.

I think Obama being an African American helped him win, especially in the primaries. Clinton had the black vote otherwise. That doesn't mean he "only" won because he was black, just that it actually helped him. McCain being old helped him win Florida, which sealed his lead in the primaries. Same deal.

People will continue to buy Toyota, just like they continue to buy Microsoft. GM tried to hit a home run with an all electric vehicle, while Toyota continued with base hits. People will not switch to all electric until it is cost effective, convenient, reliable and safe. I don't see a private start-up having any chance. It's the beginning of the end of America as a manufacturing powerhouse, IMO. Many have been perplexed at the willingness of people to disregard the importance of manufacturing to a nation's wealth. The claim has been that the consumer gets cheaper goods - yet they just buy more and save less. Letting them go bankrupt probably is the best long term solution - but only if it results in saving our manufacturing base. Incentives to buy American would help smooth things, instead of bread lines.

If you want to pillage and plunder in a nice environment - wall street. If you want danger - WalMart greeter during the holidays. Want to be a trophy wife, go to golf courses.

http://bigthreeauto.procon.org/ This is a supposedly non-partisan website devoted to this question. Not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet. Looks like it has been done in a short time, so the site may not function well.

If you feel this way, you should not bring up interracial marriage, or any other examples.

Well, I am not OK with incest even if it cannot result in children, so this example is somewhat relevent in opening my subjective lenses. I just don't think it is healthy for families to have sexual relations with one another, but that's just my biased opinion, I guess. So if some guy in Appalachia just has to have relations with his daughter or son, I guess they should be allowed to marry as long as he gets a vasectomy and they are of age? I don't think so. In regards to comparing incest with homosexuality, it is just a matter of consistency, much as the topic of interracial marriage is brought up.

Since science has been such an obvious failure in regards to helping man understand and adapt to his environment, what is the better alternative?

Seems to me that the Japanese just followed their philosophy of small, incremental change instead of trying to hit an R&D home run. GM and maybe the others swung for the fences with an all electric vehicle and failed.

I'm not sure you can say that at this point. I would think it should be easier for a money mover to turn the ship around than a manufacturing company, but I am not ready to say they didn't make huge mistakes.

Man, I hate when I do that. Then I pour alcohol on them and whoa, the pain!

You are getting enough responses concerning global warming, so I will just remark that I agree with you that humans are most concerned with humanity when it comes to global warming. Global warming will most likely not destroy life on earth, just change the climate - possibly enough to wipe out humanity. The earth will take care of itself, but we probably won't like the remedy, so we should make our own solution.

You are getting enough responses concerning global warming, so I will just remark that I agree with you that humans are most concerned with humanity when it comes to global warming. Global warming will most likely not destroy life on earth, just change the climate - possibly enough to wipe out humanity. The earth will take care of itself, but we probably won't like the remedy, so we should make our own solution.

lol

I consider this child to be psychotic and in need of therapy for a long time. Whether it is primarily a case of genetics or environment, he is what he is and needs therapy and removal from society IMO. No need for punishment, just protect society #1 and provide the possibility of remediation #2. On a personal note, I would not allow a child to have access to guns. I can see teaching a child, say 12 to shoot, etc. But to be able to get the gun at anytime is crazy. Kids get angry and say things like "I wish you were dead" etc. If they say it with a gun, you can't take it back.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loving_v._Virginia Loving v. Virginia(1964) - overturned Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which made it a felony for a white and non-white person to marry. Bans on interracial marriage were NOT done by democratic means, but via the courts. No one can argue that the South wanted to end racial descrimination. The arguments against interracial marriage included: God seperated the races, so they were not intended to mix Interracial marriage(sex) would result in a degraded population Mixed offspring would cause much grief to their families and society whites and non-whites were punished in equal measure for the offense of engaging in interracial sex, so equal protection doesn't apply Against using this case to support same sex marriages: I disagree with the above in that homosexuality has been regarded as sinful for a very, very long time, so that marriage could not be considered. Why would same sex marriage be considered by a culture that thinks their God hates it? I just think it seems like a bigger stretch than interracial marriage because we were not alive 50 years ago. This resulted in offspring - you could see the result! Must have been very scary. Brief History of US Marriage

I think it is a gross oversimplification to blame the big three's problems on only a few managers. Keeping gas prices low, expecting high returns on investments, frowning on factory work, thinking wealth can be created without actually building something, flocking from hard science and engineering courses to more financially rewarding business or medical degrees, buying foreign because they must be better. Most of the country has a hand in the fall of manufacturing in America, myself included. I worked in manufacturing for 13 years, with several companies. All those companies are gone and many of the ones I interviewed with are gone as well. This isn't something that just happened in a few years, it has been an ongoing ordeal. Maybe this financial crisis has made the problem more accute in the short term, but in the longer term, more change is necessary. Sure, some companies need to be restructured or allowed to fail, but the culture of this country needs an adjustment as well. Maybe tax incentives for buying a green car from the big three and investing in their stock as well. Target degrees in certain majors and provide incentives via loan rates, etc. We need manufacturing in this country and that requires more than just good management.

It's called an hallucination until proven otherwise. Maybe LSD or peyote helps to see ghosts?