The price of gas in America

[Weltall]

Actually, smoking immediately reduces your life expectancy... the sooner you quit the more you will recover, but it'd never be the same as if you'd never smoked.

Alcohol does the same kind of permanent damage, in that it scars, and eventually mutates, your liver, a process that is quite irreversible. The liver of a lifelong alcoholic and the lungs of a lifelong smoker are both not pretty things to behold.

As for banning alcohol, the reason it won't happen has nothing to do with its effects. Look at prohibition. Banning alcohol failed because it was legal forever. It was widespread, common, and more or less a part of life for many people. You can't hope to ban it after it's that deeply ingrained. On the other hand, drugs like marijuana, cocaine, etc. never got that sort of chance. The law of the land stamped them down before they ever got the chance to become widespread the way alcohol is.

[Dark Jaguar]

Prohibition... Many people had good intentions hoping to curb things like domestic violence and so on by banning it. They later had to admit with all their good intentions, the law had failed. The law actually managed to allow a substantial mafia to take hold. Breaking the law became a favorite past time for Americans at large. There were other factors, for example they lived in a time where the criminals could actually outgun and outrun the police, but to say that prohibition wasn't the major factor of the violence in that era would be ignorant... So, now we have a constitution that ammends itself purely to say "that one adjustment? Yeah, cancel that, excepting state law". Alcohol has been around for just too frickin' long, ever since someone ate some grapes that were out in the sun for too long...

Hard to say if banning it is the right way to go (most likely not), but educating people even more strongly than the "Dare" problem may help. It might also help if "Dare" wasn't lame. I'm surprised with as much info as I was fed (mostly correct, but some of it was straight propaganda, the propaganda part might be best eliminated), that any kids actually would start doing drugs. I don't know if it was peer pressure or rebellion, but I just didn't get why anyone "in this day and age" would just start doing that.

Anyway, there is a reason I go "clean" when it comes to addictive substances. Heck, I even chill out on the caffiene. I'm not "resisting" anything, I don't even think about it until someone brings it up and I can be around it without the slightest internal "need" to consume any of it. If you don't have an addiction, there's no resisting needed. I only point that out because a few people seem to get it in their heads that I'm actually just "resisting a good thing" because I'm a prude or something. There's just no resistance involved, and there won't be until I actually drink or smoke for the first time and those chemicals affect my brain. And, I don't do that not because I don't want to "have fun" (I really don't know what I'm missing, that's how I can have a great time without them probably), but simply because of the clinical "dull" reasons of knowing I really don't want any chemical to rule over me that isn't really needed to survive.

...

*eats a sugar sandwitch* ... What? You need sugars.... maybe not this much but....

[N-Man]

The utter platitude displayed in this thread is making me thank the heavens y'all are about as exciting as Bob Dole and therefore lack the charisma to get elected to any public office.

[Great Rumbler]

Banal is a funny word.

[Darunia]

Alcohol does the same kind of permanent damage, in that it scars, and eventually mutates, your liver, a process that is quite irreversible. The liver of a lifelong alcoholic and the lungs of a lifelong smoker are both not pretty things to behold.

I heard that the human liver is the only organ that, if cut in half, can actually regenerate itself... it this is true, then why can't it repair damage from alcohol?

[Great Rumbler]

[A Black Falcon]

But as we saw in the 20's, banning it only helps so much... (yes, drinking DID go down in the 20's, despite all the images of barnyard stills and illegal bars and stuff, but not by as much as they may have hoped...) it'd help, of course, though. But really, I think it's pretty unlikely that alchohol would manage to get banned again... cigarettes are more likely, eventually. We're moving towards that with things like the steady restrictions where you can smoke (such as how a few years ago Maine banned smoking in all bars and restaurants statewide)...

I heard that the human liver is the only organ that, if cut in half, can actually regenerate itself... it this is true, then why can't it repair damage from alcohol?

Built-up damage and continuing breakdown if you continue to drink, I imagine... even if the liver can regenerate some it's surely nowhere near enough to make up for a heavy drinker.

As for banning alcohol, the reason it won't happen has nothing to do with its effects. Look at prohibition. Banning alcohol failed because it was legal forever. It was widespread, common, and more or less a part of life for many people. You can't hope to ban it after it's that deeply ingrained. On the other hand, drugs like marijuana, cocaine, etc. never got that sort of chance. The law of the land stamped them down before they ever got the chance to become widespread the way alcohol is.

I don't drink, and never have... same with drugs, cigarettes, etc. Of course it helps to not be very social so I was virtually never in situations where it'd be around, but I'm more than smart enough to know that doing such things are stupid... so I never did.

[Darunia]

Oh come on, even James Bond likes the happy sauce.

[Weltall]

So do I, from time to time. It's still pretty dangerous stuff.

That's not to say I am in favor of any sort of ban, just as I am against banning cigarettes.

[Dark Jaguar]

I know what we are saying isn't original, but that doesn't mean we aren't right :D. It's worth repeating.

As far as what the human liver is capable of, it may be best to not just go on hearsay or what we think might happen that would support our arguement, let's go with the facts. And, I do believe the facts say our livers are destroyed by alcohol.

...On another note alchohol is good for the heart in small quantities. I still don't want to mess with it though.

[Darunia]

This calls for an experiment!

*Darunia kidnaps Lazy and sedates him. Later, he extracts his heart and places it in a tub of rich, Stolichnaya vodka for 24-hours, before replacing it and sewing Lazy back up.*

*Lazy's comes to, and immediately has super-human strength, fire-breath, and the powers of telekinesis!*

WHAT HAVE I DONE!?!

[Dark Jaguar]

That hardly qualifies as a proper experiment.

[Weltall]

That kinda happened to me, except none of the effects happened. I just woke up with PENIS written on my forehead with magic marker.

[Dark Jaguar]

I hope you brushed your teeth.

[geoboy]

Alcohol does the same kind of permanent damage, in that it scars, and eventually mutates, your liver, a process that is quite irreversible. The liver of a lifelong alcoholic and the lungs of a lifelong smoker are both not pretty things to behold.

I heard that the human liver is the only organ that, if cut in half, can actually regenerate itself... it this is true, then why can't it repair damage from alcohol?

It's true that the liver can regenerate more tissue for itself, but it's really no surprise that an unhealthy liver can't magically generate healthy cells again. If that were possible, we'd never grow old and we'd essentially live forever.

[Great Rumbler]

Gas is now up to $2.55-$2.60. :S

[Darunia]

Cheapest I could find it today was $2.57.

[Great Rumbler]

It's crazy.

[Darunia]

It's OPEC.

[Great Rumbler]

It's OPEC, supply and demand, and those stupid futures speculators that go crazy everytime something in the Middle-east blows up.

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, the speculators guessing about future prices seem to be the biggest problem... that and our maxed refinery capacity.

[Dark Jaguar]

It doesn't help that this company is probably using astrology as a guide to what decisions to make...

...

On another note, you ever play an RTS and get to a point in the map where you are at the height of your tech tree but the resources are completely gone, and while you do have a massive army, that's all you have and you can't restock it? It's an odd feeling to be sure.

...

Not that that relates at all to this.

[Great Rumbler]

[A Black Falcon]

On another note, you ever play an RTS and get to a point in the map where you are at the height of your tech tree but the resources are completely gone, and while you do have a massive army, that's all you have and you can't restock it? It's an odd feeling to be sure.

Yes, that's a fairly common occurance in the Age of Empires games... doesn't happen nearly as often in Blizz titles, but because of the very slow pacing of the AoE games, this seems to happen regularly in big online AoE/AoEII games... and the more players the more likely it is.

[Darunia]

Gas was $2.35 in Georgia, and when I came back to Massachusetts, I was delighted to see that it was at a record-low of $2.57.

[Great Rumbler]

Gas is now $2.63 and it's probably about to go higher than that. Thanks a lot, Katrina.

[Darunia]

When I got gas this morning, I got it for $2.69, grumbling. When I drove home after work, it was up to $2.84. TWO-FUCKING-EIGHTY-FOUR!

[Great Rumbler]

$2.84? Good Lord...

[Weltall]

It'll eventually even out. Demand can't keep up with the prices forever.

[Undertow]

When I got gas this morning, I got it for $2.69, grumbling. When I drove home after work, it was up to $2.84. TWO-FUCKING-EIGHTY-FOUR!

I payed $2.99/ gal going home from work tonight for plus. Premium was $3.09 a gallon.

It'll eventually even out. Demand can't keep up with the prices forever.

As long as people drive and vechicles need oil, there will be a plenty of demand. Perhaps Americans will learn to stop buying SUVs and F-350s and smarten up.

[Darunia]

$2.99? Where the hell was it selling at $2.99?

And very true for the SUVs and F-350s...

[A Black Falcon]

As long as people drive and vechicles need oil, there will be a plenty of demand. Perhaps Americans will learn to stop buying SUVs and F-350s and smarten up.

I wish, but people would rather look to squeeze the last drops out of the earth and continue to burn oil and do their best to continue our destruction of the environment than actually take measures that would help...

[Great Rumbler]

One gas station here had regular unleaded for $2.92. :(

[Weltall]

I saw on the news that some stations in Atlanta were over $5.50 a gallon!!

[Weltall]

I payed $2.99/ gal going home from work tonight for plus. Premium was $3.09 a gallon.



As long as people drive and vechicles need oil, there will be a plenty of demand. Perhaps Americans will learn to stop buying SUVs and F-350s and smarten up.

That's what I mean. People will still drive, will always drive. But you can bet your ass that as things go down this path, people are going to increasingly ignore vehicles that lack fuel-efficiency. I think you're going to see sales of hybrids multiply expontially over the next few years, and every 15MPG SUV that's replaced by a 45MPG Hybrid will over time reduce demand, as will high prices: Eventually they'll be too much of a strain for some people. They'll be forced to curb their use.

I don't own a hybrid, but I'm very, very happy I bought a car that gets 25 MPG right now. I can still go a month on about $40 of gas, for what little I drive.

[Great Rumbler]

I have to drive 200 miles every week to get to the university, I'm just glad that I get 25 MPG.

I can tell you one thing, my next vehicle is going to be a hybrid and I don't care how ugly they look.

[Darunia]

CNN.com reports that gas will "definitely" hit $4 a gallon nationally by the end of the year.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/31/news/gas...tm?cnn=yes

But on the reverse end of things, the O-zone layer has officially stopped thinning, and is on the long, slow track to normalizing. Go Team UN!

[A Black Falcon]

Goes to show what environmental legislation can do...

[Weltall]

Finally, all those decades and countless billions of dollars produces a result! Hoist the champagne!

[A Black Falcon]

Maybe gas prices will force the car companies to actually work on really increasing fuel efficiency where the government has failed...

Oh yeah, and it seems more than somewhat ironic to me to see Republicans acting happy about successful environmental legislation...

[Great Rumbler]

Actually there was just less erupting volcanoes and cow flatulance over the past few years.

[Darunia]

Average price today: $3.11. I saw it for $2.99, and quickly rushed back to fill my tank. It cost me $29.71 for 9.9 gallons of regular unleaded.

Of course, thirty-nine cents-per-gallon of that is federal taxes. If the government really want to relieve the gas prices, it should keep its cotton picking hands out of my wallet.

[Great Rumbler]

I saw gas today at between $2.75 and $3.15. Stupid hurricane...

[A Black Falcon]

$0.40 in gas taxes? Should be a lot higher, like Europe... raise them slowly though so you don't kill the economy. Republicans of course will never do that... live in the moment, don't think about tomorrow... but it will come, and we should have been seriously working on converting away from gasoline for some time now.

[Darunia]

ABF, what the hell are you talking about? Why should gasoline be heavily taxed? You tax-and-spend Democrats had already destroyed the American hegemony, virtually handing it on a silver platter to Communist China... what next!?

[A Black Falcon]

What's the best way to reduce usage of something? Raise the price!

[Great Rumbler]

Nevermind the fact that us poor folks and college students are spending vast amounts of our paychecks on gasoline as it stands now, but what the heck! Let's take out a few loans and get us some hybrid cars! Wooyeah!

[CoconutCommander]

This is one of those things that you can do nothing about. Do yourself a favor and quit complaining. People will think better of you.

[Darunia]

ABF, really... the way to make things go away isn't to tax them. That's so ridiculously ridiculous that I can't believe as esteemed a charter member of TC said it publicly. The government that governs best TAXES LEAST.

[A Black Falcon]

Actually, it works very well. Look at cigarettes or alchohol for proof of it... tax it more and people use it less. They complain, but they use it less... and getting us off oil is very important. People won't just do it of their own free will, so they have to be forced to... (and this goes for car companies too -- the key really is getting them to make cars that get much better milages. This isn't happening, and it would have a HUGE impact. The government refuses to, so hopefully gas prices will get to the point where car companies are forced to do something...)