Smug Prius owners

[chase]

I find it interesting that this forum has remained suspiciously quiet on the issue of Toyota. First of all, for all you pro-government people who always talk about how good regulation is, how do you explain how they let something like this happen? Good thing my tax dollars went to support all those useless agencies that can not even do their jobs correctly, yet still manage to hurt business. Second of all, for all those enviro-nazis who talk about how great hybrid cars are, how about that Prius? Got brakes?

[noodle]

how do you explain deregulation causing the financial crisis?
how bout them SUVs? hope you don't roll over while taking that turn at 5mph.

see, it works both ways. grow up.

[Hauptman]

I find it interesting that this forum has remained suspiciously quiet on the issue of Toyota. First of all, for all you pro-government people who always talk about how good regulation is, how do you explain how they let something like this happen? Good thing my tax dollars went to support all those useless agencies that can not even do their jobs correctly, yet still manage to hurt business. Second of all, for all those enviro-nazis who talk about how great hybrid cars are, how about that Prius? Got brakes?

You want to make a Toyota recall into a political issue? Good luck with that.

There is reason that no one posted anything about it in the political forum; it is not a political issue.

But you never seem to run out of reasons to bash people, Chase. I like hot dogs... go ahead and tell me how I'm somehow a typical, horrible, pro-gov't, anti-American liberal because of it.

[WGH]

You want to make a Toyota recall into a political issue? Good luck with that.

There is reason that no one posted anything about it in the political forum; it is not a political issue.

But you never seem to run out of reasons to bash people, Chase. I like hot dogs... go ahead and tell me how I'm somehow a typical, horrible, pro-gov't, anti-American liberal because of it.

Your eating of highly processed meat taken from the scraps of the cow and/or pig is indicative of the blended monstrosity into which this country is turning by force of your smug liberal ideals!

</end "chase simulation">

[migopod]

Your eating of highly processed meat taken from the scraps of the cow and/or pig is indicative of the blended monstrosity into which this country is turning by force of your smug liberal ideals!

</end "chase simulation">

Or in Glenn Beck blackboard style:

Hauptman enjoys hot dogs. Hot dogs are also called weiners. Weiner is also what you call people from Vienna, which is in Austria. Braunau am Inn is also in Austria! Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria. Does Hauptman like Hitler? I don't know, but this is clearly a question that needs to be answered.

[RebelFencer]

I find it interesting that this forum has remained suspiciously quiet on the issue of Toyota. First of all, for all you pro-government people who always talk about how good regulation is, how do you explain how they let something like this happen? Good thing my tax dollars went to support all those useless agencies that can not even do their jobs correctly, yet still manage to hurt business. Second of all, for all those enviro-nazis who talk about how great hybrid cars are, how about that Prius? Got brakes?

You do realize that Toyota is a Japanese company and our government had nothing to do with this... right?

[Bayou Bum]

You want to make a Toyota recall into a political issue? Good luck with that.

There is reason that no one posted anything about it in the political forum; it is not a political issue.

But you never seem to run out of reasons to bash people, Chase. I like hot dogs... go ahead and tell me how I'm somehow a typical, horrible, pro-gov't, anti-American liberal because of it.

Well, you are a typical, horrible, pro-gov't, anti-American liberal!

[chase]

You do realize that Toyota is a Japanese company and our government had nothing to do with this... right?

You do realize that there are at least two government agencies that were supposed to test the safety of the cars being sold on the market, right? You also realize that these government agencies, which should not have been created in the first place have just now proved that they are worthless, right? You also realize that these agencies are not just a waste of taxpayer money, but a drain on business, and result in cost-cutting elsewhere (like brakes, for instance), right?

[chase]

You want to make a Toyota recall into a political issue? Good luck with that.

There is reason that no one posted anything about it in the political forum; it is not a political issue.

But you never seem to run out of reasons to bash people, Chase. I like hot dogs... go ahead and tell me how I'm somehow a typical, horrible, pro-gov't, anti-American liberal because of it.

I said that it is an example of wasteful government agencies having the OPPOSITE effect that they are supposed to have.

And we both agreed on a different thread on something (that increased military spending, even if it is from Obama is a good thing).

This is another thing we agree on. I like ketchup, mustard, mayonase, and sweet relish on mine. I also like bratwurst.

[WGH]

I also like bratwurst.

Hitler liked bratwurst...

[migopod]

You do realize that there are at least two government agencies that were supposed to test the safety of the cars being sold on the market, right? You also realize that these government agencies, which should not have been created in the first place have just now proved that they are worthless, right? You also realize that these agencies are not just a waste of taxpayer money, but a drain on business, and result in cost-cutting elsewhere (like brakes, for instance), right?

Let's follow this line of "reasoning" shall we?

Software bugs make it through QA, so if QA was eliminated no software bugs would make it to release.

Despite FDA inspections occasionally tainted food products make it to the market. Therefore without the FDA inspections no tainted food products would make it to the market and the FDA should eliminated.

The US military has failed to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden, a stated objective. Therefore according to your "reasoning" the military is worthless and should be eliminated.

If you agree with the premise that if vehicle inspections fail to catch two recent design/coding flaws that the agencies involved should be eliminated entirely then you should agree with my examples* as well, right?

*You probably do agree with the FDA one I suspect.

[Rockstar44]

Hitler liked bratwurst...

I just damn near fell out of my chair.....

[Fiat Slug]

I find it interesting that this forum has remained suspiciously quiet on the issue of Toyota. First of all, for all you pro-government people who always talk about how good regulation is, how do you explain how they let something like this happen? Good thing my tax dollars went to support all those useless agencies that can not even do their jobs correctly, yet still manage to hurt business. Second of all, for all those enviro-nazis who talk about how great hybrid cars are, how about that Prius? Got brakes?

You do realize that most of the recalled Priuses were manufactured during Bush's tenure, right? If you insist on making this a political issue, then it demonstrates the faults of a right-wing administration. This should not come as a surprise since the folks on the right (including our esteemed OP) are generally anti-regulation. Therefore this recall demonstrates exactly what happens when the government under-regulates.

.

[Philistine]

Toyota has modified their motto. It's now:

Toyota. Moving Forward...Whether you want to or not.

--Philistine

[I_luv_saber]

I'd be pretty smug too if I was filling up a Prius next to a Chevy Tahoe at the gas station.

Then again, I'm even more smug seeing their pump go to $60+ as I ride by on my bike

[Inquartata]

On a perhaps unrelated note, why is it that SUVs and Priuses are the vehicles whose drivers least often bother with turn signals when changing lanes?

[lindajdunn]

You do realize that most of the recalled Priuses were manufactured during Bush's tenure, right? If you insist on making this a political issue, then it demonstrates the faults of a right-wing administration. This should not come as a surprise since the folks on the right (including our esteemed OP) are generally anti-regulation. Therefore this recall demonstrates exactly what happens when the government under-regulates.

.

Under the Bush administration, contractor oversight for those who supplied our troops was greatly reduced and that's a matter of public record.

http://pogoarchives.org/m/cots/cots-march2009b.pdf

The above has a nice listing of websites that provide useful information.

http://www.ombwatch.org/node/3759 is being quoted for this:

Over the last seven years, the Defense Department has doubled the amount of money spent on private contractors, yet it has remained disturbingly lax on contractor oversight. Recent evidence has emerged showing that the Pentagon spends too little on contract oversight and interferes with current auditors to restrict the length and scope of investigations. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report affirming whistleblower complaints of improprieties at the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), and a subsequent investigation by the media revealed that DCAA managers are primarily concerned with adhering to performance metrics rather than conducting competent contract oversight. The agency is further hampered by declining employment and a budget that has failed to keep pace with the amount of dollars spent on Defense contracting. The Defense Contract Audit Agency is the primary office in the Pentagon dedicated to auditing contracts and providing financial advisory services.

and this

Chief of the Army's Field Support Command Division Charles M. Smith was removed from his post after he refused to approve some $1 billion in unsubstantiated charges from then-Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR). The Army subsequently replaced Smith with private contractor RCI (now SERCO) to review KBR's pricing proposals for future procurement.

More about Charles M. Smith (and he's NOT an isolated example) here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/wa...r.html?_r=1&hp

The official, Charles M. Smith, was the senior civilian overseeing the multibillion-dollar contract with KBR during the first two years of the war. Speaking out for the first time, Mr. Smith said that he was forced from his job in 2004 after informing KBR officials that the Army would impose escalating financial penalties if they failed to improve their chaotic Iraqi operations.

Army auditors had determined that KBR lacked credible data or records for more than $1 billion in spending, so Mr. Smith refused to sign off on the payments to the company. “They had a gigantic amount of costs they couldn’t justify,” he said in an interview. “Ultimately, the money that was going to KBR was money being taken away from the troops, and I wasn’t going to do that.”

But he was suddenly replaced, he said, and his successors — after taking the unusual step of hiring an outside contractor to consider KBR’s claims — approved most of the payments he had tried to block.

Mr. Smith, a civilian employee of the Army for 31 years, spent his entire career at the Rock Island Arsenal, the Army’s headquarters for much of its contracting work, near Davenport, Iowa. He said he had waited to speak out until after he retired in February.

As chief of the Field Support Contracting Division of the Army Field Support Command, he was in charge of the KBR contract from the start. Mr. Smith soon came to believe that KBR’s business operations in Iraq were a mess. By the end of 2003, the Defense Contract Audit Agency told him that about $1 billion in cost estimates were not credible and should not be used as the basis for Army payments to the contractor.

[I_luv_saber]

On a perhaps unrelated note, why is it that SUVs and Priuses are the vehicles whose drivers least often bother with turn signals when changing lanes?

It generally correlates most with the price of the vehicle....

[kapunga]

Despite FDA inspections occasionally tainted food products make it to the market. Therefore without the FDA inspections no tainted food products would make it to the market and the FDA should eliminated.

Of course we need the FDA (actually I think you meant USDA). It's so freakin' easy to get sick from food thanks to the worst government intrusion into the free market ever, the corn subsidy!!!

[lindajdunn]

Let's free these trustworthy companies from the shackles of government oversight. We don't need no frigging OSHA, FDA, and all other other nosey agencies. We're REAL Americans and we want big government to leave businesses alone.

Here... have a nice peanut butter sandwich. Skippy. Peanuts from a certain factory in Georgia.