Free Market?

i thoroughly enjoy when situations show people just as they are. No spin, no twist, no clever editing acting as an editorial... just people being who they are... idiots. This weekend i saw "Who Killed The Electric Car". No big surprises here but i dug seeing assholes playing it straight and showing their true colors.

The excuses and justifications people come up with are insulting. Just say "i wanted more money" or "i have a small penis and needed some way to compensate for it". The lines some folks will give you are hilarious, and the level of suppression of the truth (although not surprising) is disgusting. Do people really believe these lines?

Since listening to music i have moved from records to tapes to cd's to mp3's in the span of a few decades. Why have we been using the same combustion technology for over 100 years? Technology has improved so something else is clearly at play here. Could it be the wide spread control that the auto and oil companies have over this country? Otherwise, shouldn't the "free market" dictate what is sold? People were willing to pay top dollar to keep their electric cars so what's the motivation?

Interesting enough is the fact that the two companies that have solid hybrid technology and sales are Japanese companies, not the US car companies that were given large subsidies from the US government in the 90's to develop hybrid cars. Where has that money gone? Again, what is the motivation? This question must be asked over and over again. If not for laws set by our government the auto industry would not have put seat belts in cars, they would not have set mandatory impact safety standards, they would not have included the upper level brake light, etc, etc. Clearly we can't count on the auto industry to regulate itself in keeping it's customers safe or giving us all the information.

As we are bombarded over the next couple of days by the media replaying and remembering 9/11 on it's anniversary we must continue to ask how has OUR government let us down? How about our security as Jr likes to regularly comment on? A clean and safe environment is the most important thing we can have in terms of security, more important to survival than a secure economy, secure border, or even a secure middle east. None of these latter examples are currently secure anyway despite massive federal spending. With failing health and difficulty breathing what else truly matters? We have been let down over and over again.

Even now as those who worked tirelessly to help others out after 9/11 are experiencing serious health issues our government has once again turned their back on those trying to improve things. With the money our government pisses away on a daily basis how can anyone not justify taking care of those who need help after helping so many? Many people from ground zero are unable to continue their jobs and are losing health benefits (health benefits in this country are another problem all together).

As the problems pile up, as the opportunities to improve things are squandered, as politicians skirt issues and redirect blame, as the midterm elections are approaching everyone must start looking at their motivation for what they are doing. When a dvd player stops doing what it was intended to do it gets replaced. Why should we treat our politicians (or government) any differently?