Secretary of Transportation

[Charles]

Q. President Obama has talked about his desire to wean Americans off automobiles.

A. What we’ve talked about is getting to a concept that we call livable communities, where people don’t have to get in a car every day. You can use light rail, you can use buses, you can use walking paths, you can use your bike.

Q. The conservative columnist George Will recently denounced you as the “secretary of behavior modification,” in reference to your plan to have Americans give up cars.

A. When George came over here for lunch, I could tell from the tone of our conversation that he wasn’t particularly keen on what we were trying to promote here.

...

Q. But if Americans increasingly get around by rail, bus and bicycle, as you’ve planned, who will be buying cars in the future?

A. I think everybody will have an automobile. I think it’s amazing in America when you drive around and look at new homes that are being built, there are three-car garages. I don’t think you’re going to see families with three cars. I think you’re going to see families with one car, possibly two.


This is a clip from the New York Times, Ray LaHood is the one answering the questions. He is Obama's Secretary of Transportation.

Any thoughts?
Chas

[Sandy G]

I think it will be difficult as America is basically laid out for cars...Even in this dinky little town where I live, its a good quarter/half mile to the nearest store, & it IS walkable, but you gotta deal w/traffic, rudimentary/nonexistent sidewalks, who wants to fool w/that when its 90 degrees, or 30, or when its pouring, do I/can I carry groceries that far etc... European cities are walkable because at least the older parts were DESIGNED that way...And the rails for the old trolleys/innercity rail systems here were pulled up long ago.

[Charles]

I think it will be difficult as America is basically laid out for cars...Even in this dinky little town where I live, its a good quarter/half mile to the nearest store, & it IS walkable, but you gotta deal w/traffic, rudimentary/nonexistent sidewalks, who wants to fool w/that when its 90 degrees, or 30, or when its pouring, do I/can I carry groceries that far etc... European cities are walkable because at least the older parts were DESIGNED that way...And the rails for the old trolleys/innercity rail systems here were pulled up long ago.

Well, around here it's about 100yds to a couple of resturant/beer joints, and around a 1/2 mi. hike to the 7-11. A couple of mile hike to the grocery store. And there's no such thing as a cab in this town.

We've got five vehicles. 3/4 ton van full of equipment, 3/4 ton FWD pickup which is always hooked to my debris trailer, my 1 ton "Sunday go to meetin" FWD pickup (the junk trailer will put a 1/2 ton's bumper on the ground when it's full), my wife's Vibe, and an old Blazer for her to drive when the weather gets rough...she has a 90 mile commute to the "Home for the Criminally Insane".

I suppose we could dispense with the Blazer and she could drive my pickup, but it gets 12 MPG, and I have to unload my equipment when she does it, so the Blazer makes sense. Besides, it's nice to have a spare.

The people who live in the cities in the East have no conception of what it's like down here in Dog Patch. Worse than that, they don't much care. They have an agenda, and they'll pound the square pegs into the round holes if it bankrupts half of the country.

Chas

[merrylander]

Lets see, 10 miles to the bank, 7 miles to the grocery store, 5 miles to the liquor store - doctor is in the same strip mall. Twenty minute drive to Ace or Home Despot, 35 minutes to Lowes, yep we are right in the thick of things.

[Sandy G]

No offense, Rob, but I DON'T see an 79, 80 yr old guy hoofin' it to any of those places...unless you aren't wantin' to make it to 81...

[merrylander]

Hey, I ain't hooffin it nowhere nohow, I got four white pines to plant today, that outta do it for now.

[merrylander]

So the four pines are planted, having a beer then lunch, then mow 3.5 acres. The tractor is all hydraulic so it will do all the work.

[Sandy G]

Watch out for Yellow Jackets ! Its ALMOST time for them sneaky l'il bastards again...An' w/all the rain, methinks it'll be a primo year for waspers 'n' hornets, too..

[merrylander]

I like the ones that make a burrow in the ground, run the mower over the exit hole and leave her there with the blades going full speed.

[Sandy G]

Yeah...Bumblebees made a nice, big, "Thump! Thump! Thump!" noise when they'd go the ol' Lawnboy, back in the days when our Imperial Gummint would trust us ignerunt dumbasses to have lawnmowers w/o those infuriating "Safety Handles" on 'em...An' would let us have 2-stroke mowers, too...Rob, why do I think you & I coulda had an Extremely Large Time w/each other back when we were younger, gettin' into "trouble", as it were ?!? You know, nothing bad, mean or really destructive, just "Devilment", as the old folks called it...Mbwahahahaha...

[Charles]

I like the ones that make a burrow in the ground, run the mower over the exit hole and leave her there with the blades going full speed.

Need to be careful, some of those bastards have more than one exit hole. I had a bunch of those ground hornets move into a mole tunnel next to my house, and they had about 5 or 6 exits. I finally filled my bug sprayer full of "likker thinner", gasoline, poison, and kerosene, and that finally killed 'em all. Ain't nothin' moved back in, either.

You could smell it from 50 yds out.

Chas

[Grumpy]

I think thats one of the most idiotic things ive ever read.

[Charles]

I think thats one of the most idiotic things ive ever read.

I assume you're addressing me?

I may be an idiot, but at least I can mow my yard without a bunch of ground hornets chasing me around.

Chas

[Grumpy]

Sorry should have been more clear. I was talking about the Lahood interview.

[Charles]

Sorry should have been more clear. I was talking about the Lahood interview.

No need to apologize, I AM an idiot. I should have put one of them "smiley faces" at the end of my post.

Take care,
Chas