Posted on 02/25/2007 4:29:07 AM PST by Laverne
My son loves PJ. I had not thought of him. (This grandson belongs to my daughter.) I will tell him about PJ.
Thanks!
What about:
The obvious transformative technology -- an alternative to the global economy's oil dependence -- is as far away as it was on Sept. 10, and the Alexander Graham Bells of our day are busy inventing the ''self-repairing condom'' -- a marvel of nanotechnology to be sure, but not one with much strategic use unless you can supersize it and unroll it down every Wahhabi mosque.
"We need a leader to rally us on to that Strategic Vision."
Why? Why do the solutions to our problems have to be introduced from the top down? If anything, that's a recipe for failure. We all saw on 9-11 how the carefully crafted leadership initiatives for airline safety kept us "safe."
Energy independence is an area in particular where top down leadership is largely unnecessary. The technology for biofuels is widely available. Heck, you can make biodiesel in your own garage using waste cooking oil should you wish. The kits and equipment are routinely advertised in magazines like Mother Earth News. Same goes for solar technology, alternative heating systems using corn and wood, wind power, etc.
The problem here is that the leadership has made it economically disadvantageous for us to achieve energy independence. Our tax structure benefits the status quo. Those who develop and implement alternative energy technologies are at a disadvantage. What amazes me is that there is a hard core of individuals who still persist in spite of it. For example, those who purchase hybrid vehicles. The dirty little secret about hybrids is that they really don't make economic sense at this point. If you run the numbers, you'll find that the economic breakeven point of purchasing a hybrid vice a non hybrid of comparable size is late in the expected service life of the vehicle. If you ever reach that point. Yet hybrids continue to sell and are actually becoming more popular.
I love, love, love Steyn, and his book "America Alone" is a MUST-READ for every single person in this country.
You're welcome. P.J.'s language can be a little tacky, although his new publishers seem to have cleaned it up. His books from the 80's and 90's are an interesting introduction to recent history for politically alert teens, since so many of the issues of those years are relevant to current events.
"Due to the huge increase in life expectancy, we have a society that is dominated by elderly hangers on who do not know about or understand new technology."
You paint with an extremely broad brush. My grandfather owned and used a home computer well before I did.
...speaking of overdoing demography, you seem to have been unduly influenced by the one you live in, and thus are apparently not in contact with those who enjoy the blessings and benefits of age rather than suffering the final debilitating effects of a lifetime of poor choices and an education guided by the all knowing media. Stupidity, like liberalism is almost an incurable disease.
The man who shpt Gardield did it to make VP Chester Arthur the President. He said so right afterward. This "deranged office-seeker" biz was just spin. See the book at http://www.repubicanbasics.com for details.
I think you need to read 'America Alone'. If you already have, I'm at a loss to understand how you arrived at this statement.
Well, my own professional credentials to evaluate and comment on the data way outstrip those of Marc Steyn's. On general, however, projections are not fate but are probable if nothing changes. Something always changes, especially when people see and react to predictions.
First, I have discussed one aspect of this with European friends. They regard their countries as overpopulated now and population decline as desirable. Replacing the population is, therefore, not their goal. Second, given their history, I think the French are fully capable of deporting or otherwise expelling troublesome Muslims. Note, they recently sacrificed 10,000 elderly to the idea of everybody vacationing in July. When it comes to keeping French culture French they are single minded.
One exception does not a rule make.
Thanks for the ping, Pokey.
Steyn raises some great questions. This column wasn't as funny as some of his can be, but it was every bit as thought-provoking.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
How many Muslims did the French deport after the riots of Nov. 2005? The Muslim "yoots" ran wild and the French caved in to them.
The old fallacy of failure to distinguish between "government" and "nation" rears its ugly head again. The former is inept at solutions and innovations -- naturally, since it is inept at pretty much everything -- but this says nothing about the latter.
>My 15 yo grandson read 'America Alone'. Now he is reading Ann Coulter's books. I need to find 'High Crimes and Misdemeanors' for him.<
Think long and hard before sending him off to college at too young an age. He will probably come home a changed man. I suggest that perhaps a term in the Service first will anchor his beliefs more solidly. Then the progressive professors won't stand a chance at changing him.
Have you read his book? What data that he presents do you disagree with?
On general, however, projections are not fate but are probable if nothing changes.
And what do you see changing in Europe to alter the fate he presents?
Something always changes, especially when people see and react to predictions.
He is not offering 'predictions' on the birthrates in Europe. He is offering actual current data on birthrates.
Replacing the population is, therefore, not their goal.
Ah, but it is the goal of certain segments of their population, which is exactly what Steyn is saying.
Second, given their history, I think the French are fully capable of deporting or otherwise expelling troublesome Muslims.
So, those troublesome Muslim youths that rioted last year have been deported? No? Why? Because most of them were BORN there.
Note, they recently sacrificed 10,000 elderly to the idea of everybody vacationing in July.
Yes they did, didn't they? See any moral decline there? Any idea what ancestry those 10,000 came from?
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