Hummer Lovin'
And the livin' ain't so easy. A blogger gets his graphing calculater going to see how well the Bummers on one Thousand Oaks, CA, lot are selling.
Hummer Lovin'
And the livin' ain't so easy. A blogger gets his graphing calculater going to see how well the Bummers on one Thousand Oaks, CA, lot are selling.
I live in hope of the day when 100% of Hummers are "unloved."
deja pseu at December 19, 2005 6:59 AM
Well, I encourage everyone to give the finger to Hummer drivers, and the like, and to ask them if they think about Marines gettng their legs blown off while they're getting gas. Maybe if people have a bad day because of their car (or rather, their "car"), they'll think twice -- and pass the word on to their friends to think twice -- before driving such a hog-mobile again.
Amy Alkon at December 19, 2005 7:20 AM
Amy- I can't believe you are still connecting dead marines with SUV's!
eric at December 19, 2005 8:17 AM
I feel bad for taking the bait...
> still connecting dead
> marines with SUV's!
But if a modern economy weren't based on cheap oil, what would it look like?
Crid at December 19, 2005 12:00 PM
Europe? Japan?
C'mon Crid- SUV's have been around before Marines were getting killed in Iraq. We get about 1/4 of our oil from the Middle East. No Marines are dying in North America, where we get most of our oil. SUV sales are booming in Asia, and they don't have any soldiers dying in Iraq.
SUV's are a consumer consequence of cheap oil, true, but SUV drivers are not responsible for the decision to go into Iraq.
eric at December 19, 2005 12:37 PM
Goddam, whatizis, bizzarro world? You're fucking with me. aren't you?
Amy, make him stop.
Crid at December 19, 2005 1:21 PM
Amy/Crid:
I have had a Chevy SUV now since before the first Gulf War. Living on a snowy mountaintop in Idaho 4 wheel drive SUV's with studded snow tires are necessary.
How am I contributing to the death of a Marine?
eric at December 19, 2005 1:34 PM
Speaking only for myself, I think there's a difference between having an SUV or 4-WD vehicle out of genuine need and someone who "needs" to patrol the ever-sunny LA streets in a behemoth that serves only as compensation for a small penis.
deja pseu at December 19, 2005 7:20 PM
Not at all Pseu.
Gasoline is an economic resource, not a moral one. There may be moral consquences attached to the use of that gasoline, such as global warming, but one day a person who has lost a loved one in Iraq will be accused of aiding in that persons death because they like to go to Big Bear in a Jeep, or a Hummer, and that is unconscionable. They may be selfish and tacky, but they are not complicit in the deaths of their countrymen.
(Petroleum is a resource that every decade sees a "boom or bust" cycle. In 1970, Saudi Arabia was said to be using up the last of its 88 billion barrels of known reserves. Since then the Saudis have exported almost 100 billion barrels, and now have 264 billion barrels in "known reserves". The American Association of Petroleum Geologists just reported that 2.6 billion barrels of oil can be extracted from oil shale (yes, more costly than sweet crude) and the major American oil companies estimate 14 TRILLION barrels of crude has "yet to be tapped that could be accessed by increasing technological investment and making a commitment to exploration.")
eric at December 19, 2005 7:51 PM
Holy Shit you're serious. This is an unexpected transposition of our usual rhetorical roles. Not a problem! Game on!
> Europe? Japan?
IIRC, gasoline prices in these places have been within order of magnitude of ours, and never more than small integer factor of what you and I see at the corner pump. Your point worries me that you think there's some ideal price that gas should cost, and should have cost across your adult life. This is not necessarily so.
> there's a difference between
> having an SUV or 4-WD vehicle
> out of genuine need
When you say 'need', what exactly do you mean? I'm not kidding. I want it put into words very carefully. And I want to know who's going to be interpreting those words. If you say 'I, myself, Deja, am willing to set aside the time to pass these judgments,' then you should expect to face some resistance. Just for example, the size of a driver's penis is no concern of yours.
> such as global warming
MAYBE. Maybe. And again, I'm going to want specifics for your response to such a problem, not casual chatter about how we need to 'take control of things.'
> SUV's have been around
> before Marines were
> getting killed in Iraq.
Yes, but when Amy puts up a picture of an Expedition-sized beast from Southern California with a bumper sticker that says "No Blood For Oil," something is cosmically wrong with our national energy policy. Human hearts are usually more to blame for problems than is policy, but still...!
Otherwise I agree with most of what you said. Golly!
Crid at December 19, 2005 11:53 PM
By "need" I mean someone who needs 4 WD to get to and from their home. Like some friends of mine who lived in the mountains with only a steep, narrow dirt road in and out of their place. They were, incidently, also very conservation-minded, and limited their driving as much as possible. They had a couple of Toyota Land Cruisers back in the 70's before anyone else had ever heard of them.
And the "small penis" comment was a rhetorical device. Basically someone who feels the need to drive a Hummer or its equivalent strikes me as someone who is very insecure, and needs to feel important and garner attention. Same with people who feel the need to lay rubber at every green light, or who have to play their car stereo at heart-stopping decibels.
deja pseu at December 20, 2005 6:48 AM
Crid, I don't have a problem with gasoline prices. I think taxes should be tied with usage as much as possible, so I would favor greater gasoline taxes to pay for roads than increasing property taxes. I think petroleum products are priced at what the market will bear (for the most part).
Regarding global warming, the northern hemisphere has been warming for thousands of years. Texas was under ice during the last ice age, so the retreat of glaciation is nothing new. Humans are probably speeding up the process, but that is irrelevant to this discussion.
The single point I am making is that no American soldier is dying because suburanites are driving SUV's, and would love to hear an argument that can back up that original statement.
eric at December 20, 2005 8:16 AM
> By "need" I mean someone who
> needs 4 WD to get to and from
> their home.
To and from their house from where? If you're going to pass judgment about their transportation, can't you also insist that they not live in such inaccessible places? Why should there be a geographical privilege and not an economic one? What's the difference?
> the need to drive a Hummer
> or its equivalent strikes
> me as someone who is very
> insecure
We should abjure policy which requires us to peer that deeply into someone's immortal soul.
> no American soldier is dying
> because suburanites are driving
> SUV's...
You're absolutely right in some important ways, but the energy you see coming in the other direction from Deja is important. It'd be like saying the troubles in South Central have nothing to do with slavery, because there hasn't been any for a hundred and fifty years: Bad history plays a role. The bad tax and regulation schemes for oil historically are what got us into bed with Saddam earlier and what set us at war with him today.
Crid at December 20, 2005 10:58 AM
We should abjure policy which requires us to peer that deeply into someone's immortal soul.
Nice strawman. Except that I did not mention the word "policy" or suggest any laws. As an individual, I'm entitled to make judgements about people's character via their actions. Whether you agree with my judgements or not is up to you.
deja pseu at December 20, 2005 12:29 PM
Right. You're welcome to pass all the judgments you like. Nobody cares until it's policy.
Crid at December 20, 2005 1:03 PM
Hey Crid, do you also post over on Reason.com's Hit & Run blog?
Pirate Jo at December 21, 2005 3:58 PM
Yes Jo, I thought i saw you over there this afternooon
Crid at December 21, 2005 10:35 PM
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