Sorry if it came off as smug. Not sure how to make the point with any other language. Undoubtable my take on things will be immediately dismissed by many, and will piss some people off. It isn't personal. We are products of our culture. Most of us don't know any other way to live or even consider. I am barely scratching the surface with trying to expand my viewpoint on things. Hell, in some ways I'm way more "narrow" than most...I've never lived outside of California. And I'm so far from enlightened/perfect it isn't even funny. But I'm finding that the old ways of thinking aren't working on a number of levels. And as has been offered up before by our own Tabdula, the US is tanking. The great empire is crumbling. Can we do something about it? Can we take some personal responsibility in the whole affair? Or do we just keep driving down the same road in our H2s?

Great synopsis of the American mindset, but I have to add: the average American thinks the rest of the world has it wrong.

Somehow, I knew this thread would ebb into the political arena.

To address the H2 - its excesses have merit as something to be complain about. It's large and for its utility, spare. However, the vehicle is a personal statement, as is the Prius. In between these vehicles which border, in my view, on extremes, there are many other vehicles which do all things well. They are smaller, have great utility and performance. Motor Trend this month tests five SUVs that IIRC get fairly good mileage, have sound engineering, handle well, and not one of them - again IIRC - goes from 0 to 60 in more than 7 seconds. A tall order for any vehicle IMO. But do these SUVs make the statement made by the H2 - not in the least.

In defense of the H2's size, it should be noted that it seems parking spaces are actually smaller. As well, freeway lanes seem narrower.

As for Ca. suing the car companies - this is a complete shoving off of responsibility when Ca. knows only it can rectify the problem of emissions and traffic; and I believe all of us are to blame. There is mass transit available, and no one says one can't ride a bicycle to and from work...

Suing automobile companies at the behest of environmental concerns is politics at its very lowest, opportunistic and most desperate.

That's because our system is based on the inherent self regulation of capitalism and I do believe it is superior. If the (again self-proclaimed) intellectual left would leave the system alone it would correct itself. Here is an example I've been thinking about:

Take oil/gasoline. The left in it's race to force their ideals of better fuel mileage, cleaner emissions, etc.. they may have actually made the situation worse. What if the pure capitalist system was waiting for the breaking point that would have occurred much sooner (gas and oil shortages and massive price increases)? The free market would have been forced to scramble for alternatives in the most natural of ways and with the most base and effective of motivations (greed and survival). Instead we have delayed this and thus become more dependent on oil and our technology is more focused on refinement of our old systems rather than the creation of new?

It delayed the same breaking point enough for us to find new and greater deposits of oil, ways to refine shale, etc..... If you hadn't fukced with the natural progression of our supply and demand system our greatest minds may have been forced to focus on alternatives rather than doing so of altruism (not an effective tool I think we can agree).

I'm gonna go buy a Hummer H1 so I can tow around my Hummer H2 with it.

So according to your freemarket example, wouldn't we drill anywhere/everywhere in order to find more oil? Some find that unacceptable.

Apparently with Bush's tax code you'll get a free Cadillac STS and a $200 gift card to Lowes with that purchase:)

Yes, but it would have to make sense from a risk reward standpoint. And I'm not saying that communities, counties, even states wouldn't have the right to ban drilling in their locale. But if they OK it and a corp is willing to take the risk....well then yes, by all means.

We may not have a choice. But then again, if left-environmentally-oriented legislature takes root in where we can and cannot drill, we may have to deal with increasingly hostile anti-American countries in the Middle East and South America on several levels and at extremely high costs.

Bush seems to not realize this with the current world viewpoint of American politics and business.

But nor do the Democrats realize this, who perptuate wildly unrealistic restraints on our necessity and/or pleasure to drive whatever automobile we like.