Yeah right, he's the epitome of healthy huh?

True, there are far too many chemicals (declared or otherwise on the labels) and we need to regulate a ton out of the food system, his (Trump/Kennedy) idea is dumb as shit. We need more regulation and less Big Food lobbists in Washington.

I'm Canadian, and let me tell you we aren't that much better nor that different than our Southern neighbor in our diet. Stuff we see & buy in the "Big Chain" (of which 3 companies control like 70% of all groceries) supermarkets are 90% the same stuff (and brands) in the USA. If we live slightly longer and healthier, it's probably about moderation. It's crazy looking at the portions we're served at restaurants whenever we're down in the States. And no amount of regulation, or lack thereof, can change that.

I disagree with you Bobknight,

By your own words, you said the money supply within the US has gone up 271%. That would mean the economy is coming back from the recession. Unless of course, your FOR recessions in my country?

Unlike the last idiot we had in the White House, this guy understands things. Following the status quo only servers to polarize the left and ring wings more. Results in the extremists from either side coming out of the wood work, feeling its 'ok' to launch attacks (including threats of violence) with impunity. Is THAT, what you want for my country?

So far, Bobknight, you sound like an enemy of the USA, not a citizen or friend of it.

And truthfully, Mr. Obama does not want to take over health care. There are, quite alot of problems with the health care system in the USA. There is no silver bullet solution like the GOP is brainwashing you with. Nor, is this guy trying to take over in some sort of hidden agenda or 'grab for power'. Funny that the last guy tried to do that, but not a single Republican said a word.

Somethings that should be done regarding the health care system in the USA:
A) Get our 40-50 million citizens who dont have coverage, some sort of coverage. The long term benefit will save us, and the short term gain is those who skip seeing a doctor over serious issues, can get help.

B) Setting up the legal system, so that health care companies can not act in together, or conspire against Americans on the rate of health care. As it stands now, there are no anti-trust laws in effect for the health care industry. Wouldnt you want such laws in effect for our health? Drinking water? Food system & supply?

C) Set up a system that gives a base level of care coverage across the board. Makes companies accountable to the level of care they give. That gives a bonus to companies that get things done right the first time, and starts penalizing the longer and deeper screw ups take place. As it stands now, if a hospital screws up, or you catch an illiness inside, chances are you will be back to the hospital for further treatment. Does that sound like a wise policy to have?

D) Set up a system for preventive medicine. Give Americans a tax saving or incentive to eat right, exercise, and live better. That is like free money to go work at the gym, and be healthy in the process. Your against looking and feeling good?

E) Behave in a civil manner. Yes, even idiots that have no clue how to behave in society, can get a fair say at town hall meetings. When people come together, discuss the issue(s) at hand as reasonable, mature, and forward thinkers, great things take place. Founding fathers did it, why cant we? They didnt have 1 billionith the tools we have at our disposal. Or are you as Rep. Barney Frank put it "just a dinning room table'?

Yes, there are alot of issues, and the president has his work cut out for him. Rather then waste your time, with your fearful and childish rant. Why not be productive and learn what is the issue, and how it can help the USA on this issue.

>> ^bcglorf:

Thank you for your reply.

You made it clear that I may have made an error in my previous comment. I think I should clarify that what I meant by "personal transport" was light vehicles for personal uses, as is the minivan or motorcycle used to get to work, the store, not transportation in general, which I view as a different, though not unrelated, problem. Moving freight, airplanes and battleships requires different solutions (in my opinion) then the problem of getting your kids to the hockey game.

I think we agree that the transition from oil is an important issue. You seem to believe that better batteries (and electric engines) will solve every facet of every issue facing the end of oil, and that this will result in little or no social or political change or turmoil. While I deeply wish that the next century comes to be shaped after your expectations, I do not believe it will be so. I do not believe that batteries alone will solve the coming crisis. Even if energy storage technology was to rapidly become what we would need it to be, where would the energy come from if the source for more then half of our current use was to vanish? Replacing that energy by renewable means will require a huge amount of investment and several decades to implement.

What I see coming, is a myriad of interwoven problems of which the central spine is energy use. All of them are have energy use at the at the root of their problem. This is because oil has done more then just let people drive their cars around cheaply. Cities are no longer shaped after people's needs, but to suit the demands of the automobile. There has been a great deal of optimism in investing in electric cars to allow people to continue to access modern cities as they have been constructed.

"When people say that they want to go to the electric car, I love it! But remember, they say 'car' not 'truck.' A battery won't move an 18 wheeler. The only thing that will move an 18 wheeler is foreign oil, diesel and gasoline, and our domestic natural gas." -T. Boone Pickens (on The Daily Show)

However continuing to access these cities will get more difficult when costs of energy begin to come down from the bubble of cheapness that I and most of the people I know have grown up in.

"Consequently these (cities) will be places that nobody wants to be in. These will be places that are not worth caring about. We have about 38,000 places that are not worth caring about in the united states today, when we have enough of them we will have a nation that is not worth defending. -James Howard Kunstler on "The greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world."

Even if cities are reshaped for the new economy of energy, there is debate on what that will be. Some people believe that there will be a magic-pill cure, like super batteries that will allow life to continue as normal. This will not be the case.

"The central delusion that we're seeing right now is the idea that we can magically come up with a rescue remedy to continue running the interstate highway system and all the other accessories and furnishings of the happy motoring system. I happen to think that we're going to be very disappointed about that. In fact there are a lot of intelligent thigns we can do, but one of the least intelligent things we can expect is that we can continue happy motoring. You can demonstrate that you can run cars on hydrogen, cow shit and fried potato oil, but can run 230 million cars and trucks on it? Forget about it.

And then you get into political questions, like if driving becomes something only for the elite. Right now 4% of americans can't drive for one reason or another. What happens when that number becomes 13% or 27% of the people do you think that's going to be politically okay? It would create huge resentments and grievances against the people who can still do it." - James Howard Kunstler

But when I said that personal transportation is not the biggest issue, I meant it. People will be less concerned with their car or the "happy motoring system" if they are hungry.

"Food prices are rising and they're about to soar. There have been a lot of rising grain prices that have not been passed on to the consumer, they're about to be. High food prices always create political peril, as we've known since the French revolution at least.

The era of cheap food is over in this country, just as the era of cheap oil is over as well. (...) The old fix, ramping up production is not going to work this time, because cheap food depends on cheap energy, something we can no longer count on. Without reforming the American food system, it will be impossible to make progress on the issues of energy independence, climate change and the health care crisis because the way we feed ourselves is that the heart of all those three problems.

Let me explain. The food system, uses more fossil fuel and contributes more greenhouse gas to the atmosphere then any other industry. Between 17 and 34 percent. Meat production alone is 18 percent." -Michael Pollan, on The End of Cheap Food.

So when faced with the choice between fuel for their cars and fuel for their bodies, some will choose to fuel the car, leaving others to go hungry. And when people are hungry, they turn to first to the government for solutions. Governments know that they will need to bring resources to appease a population and avoid that political peril they have known about since the French Revolution. Remember that wars are always about resources.

"How curious, that the First World War is never taught in our schools as an invasion of Iraq. (...A reaction to) the Berlin-Bagdad railway, which commenced construction in the years leading up to the first world war," with the goal of bringing oil from Iraq to Germany. (-Robert Newman, A History of Oil)

"Oil is what drives the military machine of every country. It provides the fuel for aircraft, the ships the tanks for the trucks. The control of oil is indespensible. When you run out if your army stops." -Chalmers Johnson, Why we fight.

Oil is more then just a transportation issue. Riding the bus won't help much. The bus runs on gasoline, just like your car.