El Kabong

I've never done any sanctioned racing. I've had a few moments where I've stretched my ride out a little but mostly I've just confined myself to on-ramp and deserted straight shenanigans.

That's what I like about you, man. Always looking out for the little guy

I saw an Adam Sandler movie in the theatre once.

Tonight my wife and I are having a date night. She let me pick the movie. Because I am genteel, sophisticated, and whatnot, I decided we should go to see the Minions Movie. No, I don't care what any of you think. Screw off

The more I see of this place, the more I like it

I miss that CD player.

I can pinpoint our differences to one single word: "rural." I'm a rural kinda guy. You probably aren't. Nothing right or wrong on that either way. But there it is

In a car, you set the destination and the itinerary. The only thing that can disrupt that is a breakdown in the infrastructure, or your vehicle. Anything besides a personal vehicle compromises that to some degree. I'm aware that it sounds kinda Freemen-ish, but what can I say-Brock Yates influenced me as a kid and my personal happiness speaks to the truth of it.

Much of the US east of the Mississippi and west of the Rockies has a population density equal to Europe. Getting between cities should not be the process it is today. For any trip at least 400 miles or less, flying is actually not the fastest process if you count the total door to door travel. European style HSR could get me from Pittsburgh to Columbus in 100 minutes door to door. I can't even get from my house to my seat on the plane in 100 minutes. Perhaps the difference is that I've traveled Europe frequently and know what that kind of rail network can do. I've used the system and know how well it really works... and its far better than anything we have in the US or Canada. Perhaps. But Canada's population density is different from either Europe's or the U.S. Freedom of movement trumps all other concerns for me, from a personal liberties POV.

This is where the national border affects our viewpoints. Our highways are generally good up here, but our rail system is largely freight. As much as possible, ne'er the two should meet. Leave the roads for those who can call their own shots as to where and when they want to go. The busses are for those who are in the process of getting to that point. Planes are for folks in a hurry. Solar and wind may be cheap down there. They are not up here. Ontario has the highest electricity rates in North America, and industry has taken notice. As a Canadian I have to shamelessly plug heavy-water reactors of the CANDU design. But yeah, either way you go they're much safer than they used to be. And they weren't exactly terrible when they were maintained properly. The trick is to find a civilian version of Hyman Rickover to do for the grid what Rickover did for the U.S. Navy.

"Being an liberal-socialist-capitalist means that I believe in the government providing the ladder, either directly or indirectly, and leave it to individuals to climb it one their own." -Yup, it's a good starting point. "Strong infrastructure including very strong public transportation. The more people can move at ease, the better for commerce. People who don't want to pay taxes to support public transit "because I don't use it" end up paying in lost time due to traffic, higher insurance costs, and higher fuel prices. Employers should want strong public transit because it means they have a broader pool of employees to pick from. Our high speed rail network would be second to none." -I'm in favor of strong, integrated public transit systems for urban areas. I believe that between these urban areas transportation should be left largely to the highway system and air traffic to protect as much as possible the individual's right to freedom of movement. "While I'm more in favor of a single payer healthcare system that provides a baseline. The raw mechanics of Obamacare are sound and have been in use for over 140 years. Nothing utopian about it. The problem areas of Obamacare will need to be sorted out going forward, but that does not include scrapping the whole system." -this would take time and a consensus of the people. Neither is likely, sadly. "A strong education system that does not emphasize college degrees over other tracks. Trades programs should be emphasized with equal enthusiasm. Not everyone needs or should go to 4 year college. Public school teachers should not be treated as pariahs. We require them to have multiple masters degrees and then want them to start at $36k a year with paltry raises? We won't stock the school with pencils or chalk so we can save $100 a year in property taxes?" -100% on board with this. My degree never earned me a cent of my earnings. My trade sure did. "A strong emphasis on alternative energy - I view this as an issue of national security. I would blanket the country in solar panels, wind turbines, geo-thermal HVAC systems, and solar HVAC systems. I would give large incentives to homeowners to install them on their houses and to landlords to install them on their properties. Yes it would cost taxpayer money initially, but the long term savings would be well worth the up front cost. For base-line energy, I would remove the ban on new-technology nuclear reactors (where we are falling behind China and South Africa because of that stupid 1970s ban)" -Sorry man, but solar and wind will only bankrupt you. See also: Ontario. Nuclear reactors are costly to build, but when they are built and maintained they are great in the long-term. While I know that Fukushima is a bad scene, people need to realize that this reactor, constructed in the late 60s, actually withstood the earthquake. It was the tsunami shorting out the emergency shutdown that did it in. "Energy - Education - Transportation - Health: The government gets you that far and the rest is up to you." -Peace, Order, and Good Government.

Buick is the brand that is surprising people. The ad campaign is a success if your brand doesn't die. Oldsmobile died. Buick won't, if for no other reason than China. Beyond that, I see the logic behind the ads but I won't lie about being leery about the self-depreciation behind them.

You're likely right on the rider bills. But beyond that Obamacare was doomed by the culture of the U.S. as opposed to the politics (it is the former that influences the latter). As long as healthcare cash lacks the ability to be fairly distributed throughout all 50 states regardless of their individual economic circumstances, it will not work. Throw in the fact that there are long-established private corporations that a government-sponsored program has to compete against and it gets even worse. Look, I'm not going to go all Michael Moore and say Canada's system is perfect. But it works well for nearly all, most of the time.

I'm a Candaian Conservative, which roughly translates as "Lieberman Democrat." I feel your pain.

I'll stir the pot even more: if everyone in the United States is entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, then why is Universal Healthcare such a bad thing? It provides the "life" part. I already know some of the answers: states rights (in Canada healthcare is heavily dependent on transfer payments between have and have-not provinces), distrust of elected officials to run such a large portfolio (kinda legit, but then again, what if Blue Cross was run by the Enron guys?), and all that. But at some point you gotta realize that the root idea of the American Dream have been realized-there is no more land left to settle. From here on in you really need to be better neighbours with the ones who settled the plots of land all around you.

I think we have bigger issues than that. We (us Americans) have become so insanely selfish, I think we're doomed to failure in short order. This clip really resonates with me whenever I hear some yokle talking about how great America is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q49NOyJ8fNA America's problem (and, to be fair, many place's problem these days) is that far too many Americans equate "the pursuit of happiness" with individual liberty. They have produced a nation of micro tyrants.

Please do not turn off the downvoting. He got it turned off over in CF when people got tired of his act. They started to leave insulting things on his bulletin board instead. It's not the system that's broken-it's him. And yes, despite my request to Olds to not mention the reflexive downvoting of all my posts (for fears of stirring up this very discussion), he has been doing it. It's rather lame, but it's another thing he does when his feelings get hurt. I checked my inbox at MT last night. He was over there in full swing, and the mods were asking everyone to calm down. He's never going to change. How you as a forum admin deal with that is entirely up to you. Me? I'd permaban him without a second thought.

Oxygen, quiet, and cool vibes. The best medicine.

Dood, you gotta just let them rot over there. You don't go to the circus to get mad at the clowns.

Ya man. It's like when the Nazis invaded Pearl Harbour!

I was neither offended not thrilled by the design of these trucks in the first place. Their genius lies in GM's refinement of proven tech and styling. I suppose that could also be considered a weakness, but if so there are far worse weaknesses to have. FWIW, I bought my Ram because the styling appealed to me and it had tech that I consider both innovative AND effective in the real world (small diesel, air suspension). In any event, these trucks will doubtless continue to sell and perform well in the segment. Thrilling they ain't. But they're number one for a reason.

Uh... my story isn't about racing. Strictly speaking.

Let me regale you with a story of a young lad from early 1990s Newfoundland and his beautiful girlfriend of three hours. Like many such stories it involves awkward states of undress, a Chevette, and a moose.

Contrary to my rep, I don't hate Ford. I just laugh at many fordies. I actually recommended an SHO to my buddy a month ago. He bought a Charger instead, but that's neither here nor there

Uh... I think you roughly described a Taurus grille.