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Rapturous Indignation

By BlackSun / May 23rd, 2007 / Current Affairs, Energy Transition, Religion / 471CommentsRapturous+Indignation2007-05-23+16%3A00%3A53BlackSun

Mark Morford, at SFGate.com posted this brilliant opinion piece on the death of Falwell and the Hummer H2:

…it is time for much rejoicing. It is time for an upraising of hands and a hallelujah and a praise be to the heavens despite how, of course, the heavens don’t really exist.

No, not for the death of Falwell, for that would be pointless and in poor taste and besides, the ever-acerbic Christopher Hitchens did it much better over at Slate. And as I pointed out last week, Falwell’s own collection of (in)famous quotes do a far better job of revealing the man’s true nature and worth to humanity than any sort of carefully articulated, cheerful celebration of his demise ever could.

No, this minor offering of joy is for the imminent and forthcoming death of the Hummer H2 itself. Oh my yes.

See, sales of this particular model — perhaps the most idiotic consumer vehicle ever produced in your lifetime — are down. Way down, a full 27 percent from last year alone, which was already way down 22 percent from the year prior, with sales continuing to plummet as fast as gas prices are rising and Bush’s war is raging and Americans are generally snapping awake to the fact that dumping well over 100 bucks to fill the tank of this monster abomination every other day might not be the best way to waste their kid’s college fund.

…

Fast forward to right now. The Republican party is grumbling on the sidelines, kicked to the curb by their own impressive corruption and warmongering and excessive kowtowing to the extreme religious right. America feels slightly more wary, awake, a tad more environmentally aware, slightly more in touch with something resembling its soul. And the H2 — essentially the emblem of all that is/was wrong with Bush’s America — the bloat, the recklessness, the false machismo and unchecked waste and bigger-is-better senselessness — might very well end production entirely. Something, at long last, seem to be changing for the better.

Just go read the whole thing. It made my day!

Last Modified : May 23rd, 2007
Filed under : Current Affairs, Energy Transition, Religion
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Comments (471CommentsRapturous+Indignation2007-05-23+16%3A00%3A53BlackSun)

Heather Annastasia Siladi / May 23rd, 2007, 3:46 pm / #1

I felt that the fact that not a single Republican presidential candidate showed for Falwell’s funeral was a good sign that the tide is turning in this country.

If the presidency of George Bush II doesn’t destroy our democracy, it will make it stronger, more liberal, and less religious.

I’ll take the death of the Hummer as another good omen.

just say no to christ / May 26th, 2007, 12:22 pm / #2

I love this comment by falwell.

“I listen to feminists and all these radical gals — most of them are failures. They’ve blown it. Some of them have been married, but they married some Casper Milquetoast who asked permission to go to the bathroom. These women just need a man in the house. That’s all they need. Most of the feminists need a man to tell them what time of day it is and to lead them home. And they blew it and they’re mad at all men. Feminists hate men. They’re sexist. They hate men — that’s their problem.”

I’m a feminst and I have been happily married for over 14 years and my husband doesn’t have to ask permission to use the bathroom, but he does know not to leave the seat up! lol

I especially love the…”Tinky Winky in gay”! What a hoot!

And I am so glad Hummer sales are down!! My sister-in-law has one and is still bitching about it being a gas guzzler. We tried to tell her, but her dominate husband needs to show how mocho he is and how well he provides, even though we all know she makes more money then he does.

Amy

just say no to christ / May 26th, 2007, 3:42 pm / #3

As far as fuel…I am still waiting for car companies to start manufacturing bio fuel autos. Why have they not???? I friggin want one!! I will not get a new car till they do! Mean while, my husband and I are looking into kits to convert the engines in our cars to bio fuel, but some of them are pretty pricy, not to mention we are not machanically inclined. lol I really want to know why bio fuel cars and fuel are not being offered? I think that is a question we should all be asking and we should all be demanding them. I have looked into hybrids, but seriously, they are extremely small and really not that much better on gas than small economy cars. I have looked into hybrid SUV’s as well and you wont get much more into them either.

Sorry about the double post, next time I’ll read all the articles before posting. lol

Amy

BlackSun / May 27th, 2007, 4:11 pm / #4

Heather, I hope you’re right!

Amy,

It’s not so much that the automakers aren’t making cars that run on biofuel, they do. You can run biodiesel in almost any diesel vehicle, and most GM cars made in the last several years are “flex-fuel” meaning they can run on E85 (85% ethanol). The problem is, all the ethanol they are making right now is being either blended as an additive to regular gasoline, (about 5-10%) or being sold in the midwest (they actually sell E85 pretty commonly).

Problem with all of this is that biofuels they way they are currently made are unsustainable. They take a lot of fossil fuel inputs (fertilizer, etc.) not to mention water and topsoil which are being consumed at an alarming rate. We need to see the ethanol switch over to cellulose and other biomass, which should be commercialized within the next 5-10 years. Corn ethanol is an environmental and economic nightmare:

http://www.blacksunjournal.com/energy-transition/193_corn-ethanol-is-an-environmental-and-economic-nightmare_2006.html

I don’t agree with your assessment of hybrids. I’ve been driving a Prius for 2 years, and it’s one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. And I’ve owned a lot of cars: (Citroen, Toyota Celica, Mustang GT, Geo Prizm, Subaru GT, Chevy Suburban, Toyota pickup, Dodge Stratus, Chrysler Sebring). I actually TRADED my Sebring convertible for the Prius, and I have never regreted it. I’ll take the Prius over any of these, and it’s not because of the gas mileage. But the Prius does get about 46MPG, real world mileage. That’s at least 30% better than the best of the econoboxes, and those cars are tiny and no fun to drive. I just loaded an entire drum kit, (snare, 3 toms, kick, cymbals, stands, pedals and all, a Nordic Track exercise machine, about 5 boxes of books and papers, and a bunch of bedding into the Prius. It wasn’t even a tight squeeze. For passengers, I can fit 5 people comfortably, and I mean comfortably. I can sit in the back seat with room to spare, and I’m about 6′2″ with long legs. And that’s even with the front seat slightly reclined.

The American car makers are stubbornly clinging to their inefficient vehicles, which are actually worse in terms of roominess than even the Prius. Recently, they started a massive advertising blitz to OPPOSE higher fuel efficiency standards.

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/05/automakers_rall.html#more

This is criminal. The solutions are coming in the form of a greater selection of hybrids and electrics, but they are still a few years off. In the meantime, we will all be paying even more at the pump, and who knows what kind of damage we are doing to our planet’s future even now.

I could get depressed about people’s shortsighted attitudes about this subject if I let myself.

just say no to christ / June 1st, 2007, 10:41 am / #5

Thanks for clearing that up for me about the biofuels I was wondering why we havent heard much about it.

And thank you for the more detailed explaination of hybrids. I got a lot of info about them from Bullshit and probably bad car dealers. Another problem is that they have a long list of people waiting for them as well and I have three kids and two dogs and a cat that have to travel with us when we move and we werent able to fit them all in with all our luggage. And we wouldn’t be able to get one before we move anyways. I hate moving! only two more to go and then we are done!

I think the fuel issue is a lot more complex than I realized. People are going to have to start moving closer to where they work and shopping and unfortunately many states in America are just not set up that way. I am hoping to find a place to live close to work. I wouldn’t mind walking to work and my dogs would LOVE it.

Thanks
Amy

just say no to christ / June 1st, 2007, 10:48 am / #6

And I am with you about getting depressed over it as well. Maybe the rising coasts will force us to have to rely on our own biological means of transportation and that really isnt such a bad thing. They do in other countries and get along just fine as well as stay in better shape.

Amy

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