Mike Thompson by Mike Thompson

Mike Thompson

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  1. 1opinion

    1opinion said, almost 3 years ago

    Rush is an obstructionist. His brand of conservatism has metamorphisised into keeping society as it was during Reagan’s terms.

  2. Jade

    Jade said, almost 3 years ago

    It is expensive and inconvenient but that’s because we haven’t made the contributions to infrastructure to make it convenient. If we had recharging stations at gas stations, etc. then electric cars would be more far viable for longer trips.

  3. chromosome

    chromosome said, almost 3 years ago

    Jade, I agree… you’ve gotta start somewhere.

  4. pavlov

    pavlov said, almost 3 years ago

    Hate to burst everyones bubble but the most efficient method for producing energy for transportation is the infernal combustion engine. We should be looking into small clean diesel engines like those used in europe and into biofuels. Down the line perhaps a diesel electric hybrid might work but it will take time.

  5. Harleyquinn

    Harleyquinn said, almost 3 years ago

    Um sure, if the Volt was 1st generation then this strip might make since to someone other then a lib.

  6. dtroutma

    dtroutma said, almost 3 years ago

    The Chinese are working on a cheaper, more efficient model. They are also looking at replacing coal as a primary source of electricity. We have options, but only buy into cell phones, TVs, and self-parking on our cars- we don’t want better handling, performance, or function- that isn’t “stylish”.

    Yes, pavlov, diesel etc are a step, but not the way to the top of the staircase.

  7. Kylop

    Kylop said, almost 3 years ago

    Harley, you can do better than that. Try again. Think of it as you proving the ‘toon’s point.
    Its beyond most humans to predict what will and won’t “catch on”

    •”The energy produced by the atom is a very poor kind of thing.” — Ernst Rutherford, who did later discover that he was somewhat in error.

    “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.” -Ken Olsen- Founder- D.E.C

    “Groups are out. Four-piece groups with guitars particularly are finished.” — Dick Rowe, Decca Recording Company executive, 1962 (turning down The Beatles)

    •”No Civil War movie ever made a nickel!” — Louis B. Mayer to David O. Selznick on Gone with the Wind.

    •Georges Bizet’s last opera, Carmen, was hated by the critics and struggled commercially when first released in 1875, with the theater giving away tickets in an effort to improve attendance. Today, it is one of the world’s most performed operas, and an essential part of every opera performer’s repertoire.

    •Thomas Edison said the phonograph was “a mere toy, it has no commercial value.”

    •Nine publishers rejected Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone before Bloomsbury finally decided to take a chance on it.

    •H. M. Warner (who owned Warner Brothers) once said, “Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?”

  8. pirate227

    pirate227 said, almost 3 years ago

    Rush must have come down off his Oxy high, makes him irritable.

  9. Michael wme

    Michael wme said, almost 3 years ago

    Thomas Friedman and others keep saying electric cars will cost less than 1¢ per mile to run and won’t pollute or use any carbon at all. Provided, of course, they’re paid for by the NYT, and the driver only has to pay for cleaning.

    Converting wind into electricity might power cars for 1% of the US; converting nuclear into electricity might power 10%. Or we can burn coal to make the electricity with an efficiency around 10%, pouring about 3 times as much carbon into the atmosphere as burning gasoline in the cars, or five times as much as burning diesel.

    But if there’s an 80% tax subsidy on electric cars, they will make economic sense. Of course, the electric cars should be land/water hybrids, so they can be used after the ice caps melt from burning all that coal.

  10. Bluejayz

    Bluejayz said, almost 3 years ago

    Oil companies don’t own all of the electric utilities (yet), so of course cars can run on electricity economically. If Exxon-Mobile could corner the market on solar power, we’d have efficient solar-powered cars in one generation.

  11. Atma

    Atma said, almost 3 years ago

    Rush probably doesn’t know why (facts are not his strong point) but he’s right about one thing: it is—and likely always will be—too expensive for privately owned 4 wheel all-electric vehicles to replace the combustion engine due to the substantial amounts of rare earth elements needed for each vehicle. There just aren’t enough of those elements easily extractable to even come anywhere close to fulfilling the need, and they will be expensive and used in other products as well. Unfortunate, but true.

    Not that there won’t be any electric cars—Tesla is on the road already—there just won’t be enough for every garage in America. Not even 1 in 10. The Chinese, who are currently the only significant producers, are closing exports, a real challenge to the western electric vehicle companies. And it will take years to get new and existing western mines open, there are essentially NONE producing anything significant.

    But the capacity and convenience of electric vehicles has room to improve, and likely will for some time.

    GM made a mistake by making their initial electric a Chevy. Nobody who can afford the price tag on that thing would want to drive a sedan Chevy. Should have been a Cadillac 4 seater or Corvette or Buick (traditionally their testing vehicle for new technologies).

    We will likely see electric fleets first since they make much more economic sense—short regular routes, vehicle lifetime that fits better with evolving technologies, central charging stations, trained fleet mechanics, and so forth.

    So don’t put bets on an electric car in your garage unless you’re pockets are deep.

  12. wayne30523

    wayne30523 said, almost 3 years ago

    $41,000.00 plus the 7500. tax subsidy means GM/USA motors Volt is a $50,000. car that gets 40 miles to a charge. What a deal!!

    I can go to town and then walk home for a can of electricity.

  13. dtroutma

    dtroutma said, almost 3 years ago

    The run is on to lock up the lithium. “Fast” reactors can generate electricity AND get rid of existing stocks of “nuclear waste”- but no, nothing is “perfect” but almost anything is better than continuing to use coal as a power source, or even “cheap” oil.

    More condoms, less carbon in the atmosphere.

  14. Pup of Cognition

    Pup of Cognition said, almost 3 years ago

    Evil carbon; the boogeyman of the left. And he won’t talk back! Perfect for the gutless Left.

  15. Harleyquinn

    Harleyquinn said, almost 3 years ago

    http://www.megawattmotorworks.com/resource.asp?func=display&resid=1309&tree=633

    http://www.hybridcars.com/history/history-of-hybrid-vehicles.html

    http://americanhistory.si.edu/edison/ed_d22.htm

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