Barack Obama certainly looks to be the heir apparent from where I’m standing. Hillary Clinton is plowing forward without any hope of victory – I honestly don’t know what she can possibly gain from staying in the game aside from even more debt. Not really the leadership I’m looking for in regards to our little problem in Iraq.
From: Yosi
Subject: obama spoke cards
Barack Obama’s environmental policy states:“As president, Barack Obama will re-evaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account. Obama will build upon his efforts in the Senate to ensure that more Metropolitan Planning Organizations create policies to incentivize greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of roads and sidewalks, and he will also re-commit federal resources to public mass transportation projects across the country. Building more livable and sustainable communities will not
only reduce the amount of time individuals spent commuting, but will also have significant benefits to air quality, public health and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”With that in mind, we have created Barack Obama Bicycle Spoke Cards for the bike riding community to show their support and to begin a larger dialog amongst riders about the importance of public transportation projects!
They can be purchased for 1$ a piece at www.obamaspoke.com (100% of the money going to making and distributing the spoke cards). If you can not afford one, please do not hesitate to message/email me and I will gladly ship you one! Show other cyclists your Obama pride!!
We are the change we have been waiting for!
Dude has hit rock star status. But I’m still not down with spoke cards.
Are we the change we have been waiting for? | Politics in America on May 25th, 2008 12:35 pm
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptBarack Obama certainly looks to be the heir apparent from where I’m standing. Hillary Clinton is plowing forward without any hope of victory – I honestly don’t know what she can possibly gain from staying in the game aside from even more dept. Not really the leadership I’m looking for in regards to [...] [...]
Barack Obama » Are we the change we have been waiting for? on May 25th, 2008 1:40 pm
[...] NationalEconomist.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptBarack Obama certainly looks to be the heir apparent from where I’m standing. Hillary Clinton is plowing forward without any hope of victory… [...]
KG on May 25th, 2008 1:56 pm
What can she gain? She’s going for the popular vote. She’s going to gain the lead, or at least argue that she has the lead for the popular vote and then make a big stink about it.
Government has been trying to promote mass transit use for years and it hasn’t work… What has worked is market forces. Gas is right at the point where it is making people think about alternatives to driving everywhere. Not government… the market.
Anyway, congress decides spending, what has Barry done while in the Senate to promote public transportation? What did he do when he was a state senator? Not being snarky, just asking?
The democrats have had control of the both houses now for a couple of years… what have they done in respect to public transportation?
bikepunk on May 25th, 2008 2:15 pm
After the flub about Bobby Kennedy getting shot, Hill has my vote ONLY AND ONLY f she is the nominee which is highly doubtful after the last few states.
Obama is in, Hill is out and only she has the audacity to not see the forest for the trees. I will rock as many of those as my family will send me.
You see this shit…?
“My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don’t understand it.”
from : HuffPo
/Take it at face value, take it as a mis-spoke… whatever you choose, she is not who we need. Kennedy was in a different race in a different time, and the circumstances were completely different…. without argument…
but for her to say this??? That is as bad a flub as ‘putting food on your children.” IMHO.
As fr the Dem’s doing shit for pub. transportation.. ask your LOCAL dems. They have the Liberman situation to d4eal with… for eyars a Dem, until he sees fit to switch sides and go ‘Libertarian’ which for him means a green card to vote R as it suits him.
No argument there is a dearth of left-wing liberal, anti-auto leadership in our government… but maybe that is what Bush will be remembered for…. pushing the US in a Bataan Death March towads $5 a gallon gas and the acceptance of Public Transpo as NECCESSITY not CONVIENIENCE .
But i doubt it.
(sry for the spelling, but after 2 gallons of beer on a gorgeous sunday afternoon… whaddya x-pect.)
bikepunk on May 25th, 2008 2:20 pm
And “couple of years..”" Fuck that. It was in 2006 that the Dems were elected into a 51% majority. What have the Rethugs done since maintaining control since what… 1996 was it?
Don’t try to throw the problems of the old guard of the last decade-plus on the new kids who have had less than 2 years to fix them.
That is a bunch of fucking bullshit. Ask your local Howdy-Doody Republican what they ever did in their last decade-plus to promote pub. transpo or cycling friendly issues.
Fuck you and your big, white, gas-sucking, oil-dependent elephant. That was even below you, KG.
bikepunk on May 25th, 2008 2:51 pm
Check it…
“I sincerely hope it doesn’t come to this,” Obama said. “It’s time to put people to work at improving our roads and our bridges and our public transportation so that Illinois can still be the crossroads of a 21st-century America.”
…from 2005. Show me a McCain statement from then that he hasn’t completely done a flippity-flop of Greg Lougainis proportions on and then you can color me impressed.
Maybe you want something from before this election cycle Thats fine too.
Maybe you should do a small bit of googling to see what he has said.
But then I expect you have no interest in FACTS, just blowhard Faux News bullshit. But to be honest you can waste your bullshit vote on McSame and watch more of your young ‘brothers in arms’ die and blame it on the people who want to ‘Cut and Run’ and all that nonsense… When it’s your kids’ turn to die, then we will see who you really want to believe. You really got me on a bad day, so there…
and there again.
dentext on May 25th, 2008 3:04 pm
just say no to spoke cards. cable news could have a spoke card frenzy. They’ll be checking superdelegates to see if they have spoke cards. It’ll be be the new flag pin.. NO.no I say.
Anyway, it’s time to leave the primary’s behind, and look at the congressional races. Without a tough majority, the prez is mostly just another dude on TV.
Spoke Cards. ew.
mxracer652 on May 25th, 2008 4:38 pm
Obama sold out his own grandmother instead of his asshole racist pastor.
Racist fuck by extension.
el jefe on May 25th, 2008 5:28 pm
The thing that pisses me off about Clinton is the continual moving of the goal posts. She’s used up all of the goodwill I had towards her and her husband coming into this. I understand why many of her supporters are upset. She was supposed to be inevitable. But, there are better women to lead this country.
When it was convenient for her, she didn’t care about FL and MI, and agreed to the rules. Now that she needs them to make a seriously flawed argument (which is her ONLY hope), they are the most important issue in the world. Two faced bitch. The popular vote argument is bullshit. She wants to completely ignore caucus states because she lost almost all of them. I think primaries are better, but we still have states which do caucuses and the nomination is based on delegates, not the popular vote. If caucuses are so undemocratic, why did she campaign in Iowa? Fuck her. She doesn’t get to rewrite the rules every time things don’t go her way. It’s perfectly fine for women to vote for her, just because she has a pussy, but blacks can’t think through issues, and are only voting for Obama because he’s black? He can’t get the white vote? There’s not too many black people in the intermountain West and he’s clobbered her there. It’s just in Appalachia where they’re all to willing to say “I’m no racist, but I’ll never vote for a ni.., i mean negro” on camera. I’m sick of her. Of all the women who would be good leaders, we get her to set the cause of women’s equality back another 10 years.
As far as the Dems not getting anything done, it’s because they don’t really have a majority in the Senate, since Lieberman isn’t really a Dem, but they have to baby him since he votes with them sometimes. They even had to give him a committee chairmanship to placate the fuck. That and I think it’s all but one of Bush’s vetoes has come since 2006. They don’t have enough people to override his vetoes and the Rethugs have been trying to block anything the Dems get out of committee. That and the Rethugs haven’t been doing shit since 1994 except gut environmental regulations, and give their business friends tax loopholes.
Brace yourselves for $5/gal gas. It’s coming. Maybe not this year, but soon. Gas will not go down significantly again. 40% of the world (China and India) wants the gas we’ve been getting. China spends billions to buy up drilling rights. You can thank the Repugs for not preparing for this. It’s been coming for a long time. If we had been preparing for this, alternative would already be available.
Oh yeah, fuck spoke cards you silly hipsters…
bikepunk on May 26th, 2008 3:21 am
“Obama sold out his own grandmother instead of his asshole racist pastor.
Racist fuck by extension.”
THAT my friend is a load of bullshit the likes of which I haven’t seen outside of a klan rally. What about McSame SEARCHING OUT the endorsment from Hagee??? One of the most horrible racist preachers out there?
But Im sure you think anyone who listened to anyone else say anything remotely offensive is ‘guilty by association’. Hell David Duke is Republican, does that make ALL Republicans racist?
You, good sir = FAIL.
mxracer652 on May 26th, 2008 6:21 am
#1) It takes a real asshole to denounce your own grandmother in public, when she did not choose to be in the spotlight, because somebody asked you to distance yourself from your racist pastor.
#2) When Falwell & Robertson spouted the same bullshit about 9/11 (those who were killed deserved it) as Wright did, the GOP fell all over themselves to repudiate that nonsense.
#3) It is a shameful double standard that secular democrats/liberals are willing to overlook this. You/bikepunk have no problem calling McSame’s bullshit endorsements from Hagee, so why not treat Obama the same?
#4) Even though McSame is also a douche nozzle, can you not see the difference between political pandering to get votes from fundies VS attending & donating money to an explicitly racist church for 20 years?
schultzenheimer on May 26th, 2008 7:49 am
i don’t think obama is the political panacea everyone is making him out to be. yeah obama girl is hot but that doesn’t mean i’m voting for the motherfucker.
at least joe has the balls to step aside, there are plenty of democrats selling you out as i type this and yet they stay affiliated with the people’s party. i would argue that had so many democrats not sold out we would not be where we are today.
if you listen to how obama addresses people it doesn’t sound much different from bush. that was the cool thing about carter and clinton, they weren’t so damn condescending.
KG on May 26th, 2008 8:55 am
So anyone who takes control of a house of congress has 2 years before they’re expected to do anything?
Really?
Really?
Nothing is expect from you for your first 2 years.
How many years did Barry hold state office? Was it more than 2 years? Was he a champion of public transportation then?
And don’t act all aghast at $4-$5 gas. Back in Gore’s book “Earth in the Balance” he was pushing for gas prices in that range so that people would give up their cars.
There are a LOT of people on the left inwardly happy that gas is high because it’s what they wanted for years… except they wanted the money to go to taxes and not company profits.
The left isn’t pissed about high gass, they’re pissed they couldn’t do it themselves.
KG on May 26th, 2008 9:07 am
Liberman votes straight dem except for defense issues. So public transportation would have been right up his alley.
So again I state, it’s not government that promotes public transportation…. it’s market forces.
Market forces have done more to increase the use of public transportation and bicycles that 30 years of government activity or inactivity.
Here’s a question for the lefties who are disingenuously crying about high gas prices. What price per gallon would make you happy?
el jefe on May 26th, 2008 9:36 am
The Repugs caused McCain’s problems. They pushed the Wright story 24/7 for weeks, now McCain has to apply a modicum of the same standard to himself. You can bet he wouldn’t if he didn’t think it would sink him. Don’t forget there are other pastors he’s having to distance himself from. He’s called Parsley his spiritual advisor, and had to denounce him.
So you’re telling me that you agree with your family all the time? That you wouldn’t publicly say that some of them are crackpots? Liar.
How exactly have the Repugs distanced themselves from Falwell and Robertson? McCain just spoke at Liberty University. That’s really distancing himself. What a maverick! They’ve been pandering to the religious right for 30 years. Maybe they feigned disgust for a couple of minutes after 9/11 and Katrina, but they sure crawled back into bed quickly.
Obama’s church is not racist. Nationwide, Trinity United is a predominantly white church. Some of what Wright said was batshit crazy. Some was true. If you’d listen to more than the soundbites which were played incessantly for weeks, you could figure that out.
Obama isn’t a cure-all. He is a historic candidate, who is at best constitutional triage. Clinton is a historic candidate, who is using up every bit of her liberal credibility on a power trip. She’s mad that Obama has the personality and oratory skills which won her husband the presidency, and she doesn’t even come close.
W talks down to people. Obama, not so much.
el jefe on May 26th, 2008 10:10 am
Am I happy with the fact that the Dems haven’t grown a backbone and gotten more done? Of course, but I’m going to acknowledge that the Repugs have been completely obstructionist, even when there were bills that would have benefited them and their image (SCHIP, the new GI bill). They’d rather get nothing done, than be seen agreeing with Dems. In the Senate, 51 votes (or 50 if they piss Lieberman off) isn’t enough.
You’re telling me that if the US had been substantially investing in alternative energy research since the 70s, that we wouldn’t be closer to energy independence than we are? That we might not be at the mercy of OPEC and Exxon/Mobil. That automakers wouldn’t be able to figure out how easily reach 40+ mpg averages? Yes markets will force us to do that, but we’ve been warned about peak oil for 30 years, and could have been preparing.
I have little problem with $4/gal gas. I walk most of the time. I laugh every time I see the DMPLBITT trucks full of frat boys sucking down gas at 8 mpg. You have not and will not see a complaint out of me.
Market Forces 101 on May 26th, 2008 11:21 am
don’t do dick; get dick done
KG we heard you the first time and it didn’t stick because it didnt stick
Opus the Poet on May 26th, 2008 1:35 pm
DMPLBITT? Interesting acronym, but what does it mean?
el jefe on May 26th, 2008 2:40 pm
The problem with “The Market” is that it is only reactive. People don’t change their habits until it hits their pocketbook. Hopefully, it’s not too late. Like I said we’ve been warned about peak oil for 30 years. Carter was the last president to listen.
DMPLBITT = Does My Penis Look Bigger In This Truck. (I believe it’s Mikey’s acronym. I wish I had come up with it…) You know the jacked up Hummer H2 with off road 20s that has perfect paint and will NEVER see dirt. I don’t have any problem with people who drive big trucks for work. Some have to. You can tell those trucks. They have toolboxes, dirt, dents and scratches.
Oh and there should be a “not” after the “of course” in my last comment.
cs on May 26th, 2008 3:49 pm
y’all suck my naders;Ralph in ‘08
cs on May 26th, 2008 4:40 pm
got anther one;DMUWMMLF?
cs on May 26th, 2008 5:21 pm
Does My Unwarranted Wiretap Make Me Look Fascist?And whats wrong with spoke cards?Are they worse than ribbon magnets?oh and KG you might want to check out a few books.Bad Samaritans;Shock Doctrine;Blackwater;or The Trap:Staying Afloat In Winner Take-All America if you want to read about the result of unfettered capitalism.Or for that matter,the environmental record of any utility or publically owned company when given unregulated access to “free market” corporate business philosophy as endorsed by shareholder driven greedheads.While Wall Street hypes “free market” capitalism,it’s as destructive to the greater(common)good as the supposedly depised Marxism,however corrupt.Corporate,mostly republican leadership is working on bringing back the age of the robber barrons while slowly killing the middle class.Supply and demand is no replacement for policy.Tell me if I’m wrong;aren’t soceity and socialism based on the same thing?Yet I’m supposed to be a member OF society while horrified by socialism?Its bullshit.Sorry for the sermon;the old lady’s away and i’m left home with the beer.
PistolPete on May 26th, 2008 7:59 pm
Aw shit,ain’t nuthin’ gonna change but the rhetoric,if that.Barak wins,learn Spanish and kiss your guns goodbye,not that they ever did me any good.I’m a big ol’ non- politico/corporate killer softie anyhow.Plus,McCain gonna win.We are all fucked…No matter who wins we’re all gonna need a butthole resizer.At least gas is still goin’ up.It can’t ALL be bad news…Me,I’m lookin’ for a nice little canyon,gonna grow watermelons an’ marijuana,stash a good stash o’ 29er tires an’.223 ammo…
Farris on May 26th, 2008 8:37 pm
.308 and 26″ for me thanks
KG on May 26th, 2008 9:25 pm
At least someone is willing to admit they’re fine with $4 gas while everyone else pretends to be upset about it.
And yes, if there had been huge government pushes for alternative fuels and public transportation they would have flopped because it would be cheaper to pay for a gallon of gas and drive a big comfy SUV. Why would you not, gas was cheap, it’s been cheap for a long long time.
Either way, it doesn’t bother me, I live 3 blocks from work and ride my bike everywhere.
big jonny on May 26th, 2008 9:53 pm
12 gauge 00-buck and 29er for me, thanks.
bikesgonewild on May 26th, 2008 11:01 pm
…el jefe sez “the problem w/ ‘the market’ is that it is only reactive…people don’t change their habits until it hits their pocketbook”…that is an unfortunate fact about living w/ the ‘freedom’ we have…people have become complacent & stupid because we’ve taken so much for granted for so long…
…our free market economy is a great system but w/out an intelligent viewpoint based on some “real fact” education regarding natural resources & their recovery costs, are we only insulting ourselves…
…we need a balance rather than going from one extreme (we have it all) to another (we’ll have nothing soon)…we need to make intelligent decisions but by the same token we don’t need to go to the opposite extreme…
…one of the rehashed stories over the weekend was about people hording guns, food, supplies, blah, blah, blah because of fear over shortages…when we’re the kind of society that bases our every move on fear of others, we won’t be making intelligent choices…of course w/ that kind of viewpoint fostered by the present administration, it’s hard for a lot of folks to have anything but fear…
dentext on May 27th, 2008 7:54 am
jee-zus we are a bunch of morons.
anyone take the intro to logic class?
reasoned argument ain’t much in evidence.
Gas $, btw, is for the greatest part-
1 a function of production going on/offline (take iraq down out for 5-10 years, petro goes way up)
2 a funtion of the $ sliding against other currency.
Someone else can figure if a single cogent thought is is the thredz.
Mikey on May 27th, 2008 8:18 pm
1) “Government has been trying to promote mass transit use for years and it hasn’t work[ed]… What has worked [are] market forces. Gas is right at the point where it is making people think about alternatives to driving everywhere. Not government… the market.”
2) “There are a LOT of people on the left inwardly happy that gas is high because it’s what they wanted for years… except they wanted the money to go to taxes and not company profits.”
KG, et al-
1) There is no such thing as a free market. Our GOVERNMENT carefully propagates this myth and coddles it with taxes and credits. It’s all sleight of hand. The closest thing to a ‘free market’ is marijuana, and of course that market is steeply skewed by… wait for it… government action. The free market will never serve the greater good. The government? Maybe.
2) I’m tickled pink that gas is $4. It’s about fucking time. A buddy of mine owns a gas station and sometimes I hang out just to listen to fat-ass SUV drivers whine about how much their vaginas hurt and try not to snicker. Americans create their own gas-dependent nightmares and I have chosen not to play.
It’s wrong to blame “big oil” for the price of gas. Their feed stock (crude oil) has more than quadrupled in price. Profit margins remain exactly the same as they have for decades, it’s just a slice of a bigger pie, hence higher top-line numbers. QED.
It’s wrong to blame the government for the price of gas. They try like hell to control the global price of oil, and it’s not working. (Anyone notice a little conflagration down in Iraq? Gee, why do you suppose we stepped in that shit?)
The high price of gas is DIRECTLY driven by fat-ass Americans. WE control the market, and idling in three-ton, single-occupant cars isn’t getting it done now, is it?
Mikey