Kathy,

I wonder how many may not know the mileage efficiency using ethanol is less 
than gas. In other words, there isn't much if any savings in per cost per 
mile. It costs less at the pump, and not even that much difference around 
here, 50 cents a gallon maybe? Maybe slightly more but not much.   but a 
gallon of gas will get you farther down the road than a gallon of E. Also 
the hybrid cars are a joke. I heard a study that took the life expectancy 
of a sub-compact with a regular gas motor compared to the gas/electric ones 
and due to life expectancy differences, and costs to replace parts and etc 
on a hybrid, you could run a Hummer for the same life expectancy time of a 
regular gas car. All these attempts are just  hopes and pokes and very 
likely a stall to being less reliant on foreign oil. They say one thing, 
but do things they know will counter it. It would be like me offering you a 
soda if you are thirsty when I know full well the sodium content in soda is 
so high, you'll actually be more thirsty later, but it sounds like I'm 
trying to help you, but I'm not. Remember, the Federal gov is making the 
most on a gallon of gas. In the 80's, General Motors came out with the 
electric cars. My employee lived out in California at the time and he said 
you'd see them all over the place and they were great for day commutors to 
get back and forth to work. They were selling great and having an impact. 
The government ordered GM to destroy the remaining perfectly good cars. My 
employee said he saw the documentary on it showing them being crushed. I 
don't have much confidence in our best interest. It once was people for the 
people but it is more government for, who knows who.  Honda is giving up 
with hybrid cars in USA, they are utilizing hydrogen in their cars in other 
countries which  has some good possibilities. The government gives tax 
reduction to you and I if we utilize a hybrid. If it is not as efficient, 
why would they do this? Stall stall stall, they know it will not fly in the 
long run and so sprinkle a little tax relief flavoring on it to help the 
consumption of hybrids for now. How did they ever think using food to 
produce fuel would not have an affect on food? They knew it, but 
capitalists knew the government was subsidizing plants to make it and 
people would hop on the "thumb wriggle band wagon"  to the Middle East so 
they invested for the quick buck but it will drop off eventually. Not all 
cars will run on Ethanol either, you need to have special seals and etc., 
also ethanol does not have the shelf life gas does either so you can't 
stock pile it either. And with capitalist farmers wanting to jump on that 
band wagon, just think of the acres of corn growing that last year were 
wheat or other foods too. You said...

"Anyway, the conversation that I was listening too also included a comment, 
would you rather import your food or your fuel?" Don't you just love these 
presupposed questions? If I were an attorney in a court room I'd be saying 
"Objection your honor. The counsel is leading the witness!". We ought be 
more self-sufficient on both. But, we have a president who in his last 
campaign specifically said he will not lead this country into 
isolationists, that is to say, we will purposefully not be self-sufficient 
and close our trade but rather encourage trade for goods with other 
countries to take part in world economics. So that ball is started and hard 
to reverse. I agree, the pet food, and lately the toothpaste with a 
chemical found in anti-freeze, what next? That import of foods is 
dangerous. Tommy Thompson, the Secretary of Health and Human Resources when 
911 hit and all the anthrax threats were out there, when he left, 
purposefully wrote in his resignation letter about the importance of 
putting measures in to protect our food as we are extremely vulnerable and 
we still are.  I read an article locally how the organic food consumption 
and demand is on the rise, but the farmers are not supplying it and 
therefore we are getting and will get more imported organic foods. In Iowa, 
one county wants to make organic food its industry because they see the 
niche which is great. Thanks for stoking the fire a bit :).

Brad




At 07:16 PM 6/29/2007, you wrote:
>Hi Guys,
>         I've been following with interest the discussion about where 
> America is going.  If Hillery becomes president all bets are off, that's 
> for sure.  So, for the fun of it, I thought that I'd throw another stick 
> on the fire just to see where the flames go.
>         I wanted to bring up a comment that I heard last week  on a talk 
> radio show having to do with food and fuel.  The conversation was about 
> ethanol and how we are using our food to make a less sufficient form of 
> fuel for our gas tanks while people around the world are starving even 
> more because the cost of the food that is left is going up.  They're now 
> talking about making fuel out of fruit, not just corn and, because the 
> cost of corn has gone up, that explains why the cost of dairy products 
> are just sky rocketing.  Out here, we can pay almost $4 for a gallon of 
> skim milk at times and that's from a dairy here in Maine.
>
>         Anyway, the conversation that I was listening too also included a 
> comment, would you rather import your food or your fuel?  We've already 
> had massive pet food recalls because of contamination.  Other countries 
> don't have the strict guide lines that we do and just think of what would 
> happen to us if we start to become dependent on other countries for our 
> food like we have our fuel.  It's all so unnecessary too.  If the 
> government would let us build more refineries the costs of fuel would go 
> down, or if we followed through on the research to convert coal into fuel 
> the cost would go down, but, instead, we are dependent on foreign oil, 
> which funds terrorism and we are becoming less able to put food on the 
> table because it might end up in our tank as well.  I just can't imagine 
> God being pleased with this craziness!
>
>         By the way, Lelia, I want to stay out of debt as well.  Right 
> now, we still owe for a car, and it's repare, and our trip out to 
> Wisconsin for Dad's funeral, but otherwise, we are trying to say no to a 
> lot of stuff to get out of debt as fast as possible.  I think that you're 
> wise to feel that way.
>
>Something else that we have  to start saving up for is to get pass ports 
>for our family, at more than $125  a piece if we want to take the short 
>way to Michigan through Canada, or by next January, if we want to board a 
>plane.  I start feeling claustrophobic if I let myself think about 
>it.  It's all just so different now.  Where are we going?  Who knows.  I'm 
>glad that the one who does know is my constant companion.
>Kathy