Subject: SUV's support terrorism?

Hey smart guy, why do you say SUV's support terrorism?

I'm a Marine in military intelligence, so I know a little about this. I'm also the proud owner of an '86 Bronco, which does off road, and off road well. It gets a little less than 10mpg. It has a 33 gallon tank.. And it is well worth it.

While it's true that Iraq's oil money goes into Saddams regime, and partly to terrorists, the U.S. doesn't import oil from there. Terrorists get more money from, guess what - drugs! There are much more important things to waste your time on insulting gas guzzlers.

While I agree, many SUV's are little more than status symbols, let people drive whatever the hell they want. If you want to help the environment, and lesson dependance on foreign oil, lobby to drill for more oil in Alaska, and open the pipeline to full capacity. Why isn't this done already? Environmental restrictions. People must protect the wilderness. Ask yourself this, when is the last time you heard of a big oil DRILLING accident, vs an oil spill bringing it from overseas?

While what you are doing is good in principle, I ask myself what could drive a person to go the the lengths that you are just for this meager cause.
Do what I do - just sit back and laugh at the soccer mom who doesn't know how to turn on four wheel drive, and get over the fact that she doesn't need it anyway. Have a nice day, because no-one will do it for you.

And as far as SUV's being more dangerous? American drivers are more dangerous, regaurdless of what they drive. Europeans actually have to know how to drive to get a liscense, not just get from point a to point b without hitting anything. I mean, skid control, emergency reactions, etc. America's misguided attempts at this just mean it's harder for teenagers to get their liscenses. I know alot of 17-18 year olds who could drive a hell of alot better than most 35 year olds. This is because they do things like spin cookies in the snow, and generally have fun, in deserted areas. When my truck starts to skid, or something un-expected happens, I don't just panic, hit the brakes, and wait to stop. Positive action, go around the accident, or hell, get the thing sideways. Just kidding. But most drivers who can't safely drive an SUV are just as likely to kill someone behind the wheel of a Volvo.

My $.02

Joe

hey Joe
sorry for the delay getting back to you - day job.
i didn't serve in the military but i did some consulting to the army, the navy, and the canadian military - for what it's worth. i don't really connect suvs directly to terrorism but you have to admit there's some connection. most of the sept. 11 gang came from one of our biggest oil suppliers. dictatorships are loser governments built on oppression and information control, no voting, no free press, just plain garbage governing. and why support innovation when they can suck money from the ground? anyway, you get these mafia like governments controlling the pumps and we buy from them as most favored nations. the majority of their people get nothing from the deal. radical islam is sort of a side effect - better to blame the infidels for the people's misery. so security is an issue, but its more of a human rights issue i think.

as for alaska - i haven't really taken a position. i'd rather we drill there than keep dumping money into the hands of oppressive regimes. but if suvs keep growing the way they have, it wouldn't make much difference even if we tapped into alaska's oil.

it is pretty silly that suvs are such a status symbol. run errands and take the kids to school in the family truck. safety stats mostly tell us what we want to hear for and against suvs. course suvs are high and heavy over the standard bumper so they're kind of like a wrecking ball to the standard car in a collision. add a lousy driver and a rhino grill and you've got the killer package!

the suv issue may be trivial, but a brother's gotta have a hobby. honestly gaspig grew cause i had fun making it. i like the debate. that's what makes democracy great, we can all speak out about whatever we want, industrialists, tree huggers, whoever. all the banter usually evolves into innovative solutions. that's how i see it.

thanks for the $.02!
joe
the Pig
www.gaspig.com