The Human Car

[From Streetsblog Network]

I thought folks might get a laugh out of this:

https://www.tcstreetsforpeople.org/node/670

Yesterday during a presentation at the state capitol related to a bill to
reduce carbon emissions and the number of miles vehicles in Minnesota are
driven, Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, grew incredulous and asked, "Mr.
Chair, are we still in America? ... I find that to be *very* offensive, an
insult to every person who drives a car. I guess it insults me because I
drove to the Capitol alone today. I find that very insulting."

Ortman was referring to an image from the cover of a 2002 book by the
comedian Bill Maher, which was titled, "When You Ride Alone, You Ride with
bin Laden: What the Government Should Be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on
Terrorism."

genec

Hey nothing wrong with driving alone, as long as you do it in a vehicle designed for one.

Pscyclepath

Ah, for the good old days and the Great War...



Obviously this dude isn't a history buff of any sort.

invisiblehand

Hey ... you didn't just make this up?



Excellent find bud!

GodsBassist

I understand where she's coming from.

"If you don't carpool, you're a terrorist." is a fairly viable interpretation of what was being said. It was also probably a poor way to start his presentation. Politicians don't have a sense of humor, what was he thinking?

wahoonc

No but sometimes you have to kick someone in the balls to get their attention...

Aaron

Val

Of course, he's right - it is very insulting, and he should feel very insulted...and that's just too bad. How he feels about it doesn't alter the facts of the issue, and if he wants to stop feeling insulted, he needs to do something different. As far as I know the Bill of Rights does not guatantee the right to be free from insult.

Silent Otto

Oh boy, this pushes all my buttons.

Prof Marshall raises a salient and important point of debate, one that is almost never talked about, but he fails miserably to demonstrate any strength in his conviction, and turns into such an obsequious little toady at the feet of a fat-ass Pol. The way he caves to her mock outrage is embarrassing and probably served to defeat his argument before he even got started.

Should we be surprised at Senator Fat-Ass's hissy fit? No, not at all. It seems nothing has changed from Bushie's 'Murika: " Tell us what we want to hear, not what the research shows, or your considered professional opinion." It would seem also that Senator Fatt-Ass is sticking to the playbook of keeping people as much in the dark as possible concerning the fact that the country is prosecuting wars of Imperial design. killing thousands, displacing millions, burning billions of gallons of oil and spending trillions of dollars in the process.

But is anyone asking what kind of carbon footprint the big green killing machine leaves behind?

This mock outrage is no great surprise, and in line with a significant and telling moment when the new Great Imperial Leader in his first speech said, "We will not apologize for our way of life." So as long as we 'Murikans can continue to consume and waste the majority of the world's resources and human capital, as long as the world continues to subsidize our cheap gas and our "non-negotiable way of life", then all is right with the world.

Why is it so offensive to suggest that it is unsustainable and the height of selfishness to drag around three empty seats and a ton and a half of metal on your daily travels through "Errandsville"?

So why is it so offensive to be even beyond rational discussion in a Senate hearing, that, god forbid, people might have to share a commute? People seem ready to embrace change, so long as it doesn't affect them personally.

+++

Whenever I have to stand and wait at a bus stop, or even waiting at red lights, I tend to count cars. Excluding all commercial vehicles, trucks and transit, I count only private autos, to see whether or not there is a passenger.

Typically, here is what I see.

On weekends it averages about 1:1, 50% of cars are single occupant. Midweek, midday, its about 3:1, 75%. Rushhour ramps up to 4:1 or more, typically 80-90% of cars carry one fat ass and three empty seats.

This is what is truly offensive.

Pscyclepath

And an appropriate response to the good Senator...




They just don't make posters like they used to...

I-Like-To-Bike

That's right.

I-Like-To-Bike

Some of our strident anti-car BF'ers may prefer prefer the latest PC versions:

atbman

But surely, since Minnesota only has a population of about 1.7/sq.mile, single occupancy is pretty much unavoidable?

fordmanvt

Minne-Paul is ~2.4 million people.

The distances involved mean more people should car-pool, not less. You might not find 3 or 4 other people to go 100% of the way, but for me it's common to travel with co-workers and meet them along the way. I personally walk three tenths of a mile to the end of my road and get a ride there, or if it's my day, one guy shows up at my house, gets in my car and we pick up two others on the way to work. Compared to traveling alone, the four of us save ~50 miles a day and three parking spots at work.

genec

And this entire population commutes to work???

gosmsgo

I'm sure she changes doctors every time one of them points out that she is obese. "HOW DARE YOU!!!"

I heard President Bush himself point out the connection between foreign oil and terrorism during a SOTU address. This is hardly news to anyone who pays attention. I think we should put a picture of Bin laden and the president of Iran at every gas pump.

Oh, and I would not have cowered the way he did. That is the worst part. She needs to be insulted.

CB HI

I bet the chairmen of the committee and the person doing the presentation drive in alone. Probably most of the Democrats on the committee did as well.

Daily Commute

Nope. It's real. Here's the image on an official government page.

Roughstuff

When I see Ted Kennedy on a bus, I'll take one. When I see Nancy Pelosi sitting next to Bob Boehner, I'll start car pooling.

Till then...what was that about a nice cup of STFU?

roughstuff

mackerel

"When I See Ted Kennedy On A Bus" sounds like the title of a scary movie... in 3D.

Roughstuff

As a cyclist, I don't know what scares me more...Ted Kennedy, OR a bus!

roughstuff

The Human Car

John E

I voted for John Anderson in the 1980 Republican Presidential primary because he had the foresight to advocate an additional gasoline tax of $0.50/gallon. California could balance its deficit-laden budget this month if it would levy even a $0.25/gallon gasoline tax.

CB HI

Remember, when Nancy became speaker of the house, she demanded that since Bush had an Air Force jet to travel on, that she needed one too. I understand that it cost we tax payers, $200,000 each time she takes a trip from DC to home on her own Air Force jet.

CB HI

Ted Kennedy driving a bus over a bridge!

trekker pete

No way in hell they are driving alone. There's the limo driver and probably a few flunkies errrr I mean aides.