They are not just inconvenient, they ware shock absorbers and tires out quicker. Also they can cause or help cause accidents.

I doubt that all the potholes will be fixed in alleys and less traveled streets in any case, but assuming that the responsible government agencies would adequately prioritize the repairs, how much would that be worth to you.

I have not reviewed enough data to be sure these numbers make sense, I am just trying to find out if this is something people would be willing to support.

I got there about 4:00 and stayed until 5:00. The band from Oberlin said they would be playing until 5:30. The estimate of the crowd earlier in the day was about 20,000.

I heard there is to be another demonstration from 4-6:00pm at the Statehouse.





























The next generation.





Courtney Johnson talks about the value of education and the need for
good teachers. She lead the croud with the chear, "Stand and Fight".





The Jazz band from Oberlin.


There are a few more photos on the Stand Up for Ohio facebook page.

Why is it that we are not all getting behind an increase in the gasoline tax?

From the article in the OP:



From the thread, this comment by Paul Krugman:



So, if we extend Krugman's argument that cutting gas taxes is silly, then raising them, as Carter purposed, is a good idea.

I fear that any competent politician would say, "See what happened to Carter. That is what you get for trying to make sense."

If taxes go up by $.50 then the price of gassoline will not rise nearly that much. Then the government could use the money to improve highways, reducing bottlenecks that waste gas (and time) and fund other transportation options the would reduce the number of cars on the road.

Even if the money was used to offset other taxes it would still be a good idea. What makes more sense, taxing gasoline, taxing sales or taxing income?

. . . and I found the details in the suit incredible:

Here are a few exerts:

Defendants

Lieutenant WILLIAM BROWN; Chief MICHAEL
J. SZCZERBA, in his official capacity; CITY OF
WILMINGTON, a municipal corporation;

Lieutenant PATRICK OGDEN;
Sergeant DARREN LESTER;
Sergeant RANDALL HUNT;
Sergeant ALBERT PARTON;
Detective VINCENT CLEMONS;
Detective DAVID CHORLTON;
Captain CHARLES J. SIMPSON;
Major ALBERT HOMIAK;
Major JOSEPH PAPILI;
Colonel THOMAS F. MacLEISH, individually and in his
official capacity; DIVISION OF STATE POLICE,
DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY AND HOMELAND
SECURITY, STATE OF DELAWARE;
JOHN DOES 1-10 (Currently Unknown WPD Police
Officers) and Richard ROES 1 – 10 (Currently
Unknown DSP Police Officers),

. . .

3. As eyewitness testimony confirms, the assault team never identified themselves as police officers and never warned Derek that deadly force could be used against him.

. . .

10. Defendant BROWN has a history of participating in cover-ups of excessive force incidents. The WPD is aware of his history and is in possession of a videotape of then Sgt. Brown coaching three WPD officers involved in a fatal shooting incident about how to make the shooting appear legitimate.

. . .

33. In early 2005, Defendant MacLeish, the DSP, and the individual DSP Defendants (collectively “DSP” or “DSP Defendants”) opened an unjustified investigation into the Pagan Motorcycle Club (“Delaware Club”).

34. MacLeish intended for the investigation to generate some positive publicity for the DSP in the wake of intense criticism by the Delaware media.

35. Any law enforcement objectives behind the investigation were strained and attenuated. No federal FBI, DEA, or other law enforcement body thought there was a need for this investigation.

. . .

38. The DSP also learned that Derek had no history of violence and instead was a quiet, friendly, unassuming, peaceful person. Moreover, the investigation revealed no evidence that Derek had committed any crimes.

. . .

40. Given the absence of evidence of wrongdoing, the DSP was unable to formulate, develop, or otherwise articulate any type of probable cause to obtain a warrant to arrest Derek at any point during their investigation.

. . .

60. In the hours leading up to Derek’s death, DSP surveillance units were watching Derek’s activities at 1403 W. 6th Street and observed all his actions occurring in the back and front of the house. Upon information and belief, the units used high-tech visual and audio surveillance equipment to conduct this operation and were aware of all of Derek’s actions and words.

. . .

64. There was no marked police vehicle in plain view operating as backup and as notice to the general public that a police tactical operation was underway. And there was no uniformed police officer standing outside a marked police vehicle as required per Standard Operating Procedures.

. . .

66. None of the officers: (1) ever identified themselves as police or law enforcement officers, as is required by DSP and WPD policy, (2) were displaying police badges, (3) were wearing police uniforms, (4) had the words ‘POLICE’ across their chests in large letters, (5) were wearing any clothing that could have reasonably put Derek, who was facing them, on notice that they were law enforcement officers, or (6) ever stated why they were there or that they wanted to arrest Derek.

. . .

68. This failure to identify themselves immediately as law enforcement officers or to make known the purpose of the attempted arrest violates state statutes, such as 11 Del. Code § 467, numerous WPD and DSP rules and regulations, as well as national and local law enforcement standards and practices.

. . .

143. The WPD, Chief Szczerba or his predecessors, and the department’s supervising officers therein are fully aware that Lt. Brown has violated the constitutional rights of others in the past through the improper use of deadly force and has coached other WPD officers on how to lie about and/or justify the improper use of deadly force. Rather then correct these egregious actions, Lt. Brown was promoted from the rank of Sergeant. The promotion of Lt. Brown, his ongoing employment, along with the officers he coached, in the face of these constitutional improprieties, constitutes, at the very least acquiescence, but more aptly an informal policy or custom rewarding the violation of constitutional rights that proximately led to Derek’s death.

. . . and still relevant after all these years.

PBS needs to re-broadcast this.

. . . Ultracapacitors will have a major role in electric vehicles. I assume they will be used in conjunction with batteries, such as Li-ion on LiFePO4 batteries. They would make batteries unnecessary if they could obtain close to the same energy storage density.

Links that I have collected can be found here, (scroll down about a page):

http://home.columbus.rr.com/lfairban/Pages...

and here, (scroll here too):

http://home.columbus.rr.com/lfairban/Pages...

As for this company, I found this quote in the Top Post link:

" Perry is not alone in his doubts. An ultracapacitor industry leader, Maxwell Technologies Inc., has kept a wary eye on EEStor's claims and offers a laundry list of things that could go wrong.

Among other things, the ultracapacitors described in EEStor's patent operate at extremely high voltage, 10 times greater than those Maxwell manufactures, and won't work with regular wall outlets, said Maxwell spokesman Mike Sund. He said capacitors could crack while bouncing down the road, or slowly discharge after a dayslong stint in the airport parking lot, leaving the driver stranded."

Maxwell is probably the leading company developing Ultracapacitors.

Check out this page comparing plug-in hybrids. Notice the superior performance of the Li-ion/Ultracapacitor system in the far right column:

http://www.afstrinity.com/extr-comparison....

Did Tom Brokaw help start the current Iraq War? I think he helped enormously.

When I first heard the title, I thought it would be about the generation that stopped the greatest fascist threat to American liberties of the twentieth century. But instead of being about the anti-war movement of the '60 and '70, it was about the people in the '40s who helped the Russians defeat the Germans.

Thanks for this post.

I feel a lot better now.

Power is energy per unit of time.

For instance, for the Maxwell Technologies BCAP0650 Ultracapacitors:

Emax (Wh/kg) 3.29
Pmax (W/kg) 11,300

For the Lithium-ion battery:

Energy/weight 160 Wh/kg
Power/weight 1800 W/kg

(Actually, it is Energy or Power per unit mass, not weight, but most people confuse weight and mass so often that the two terms are often used interchangeably. These parameters are also called the specific energy and specific power respectively)

These are not your standard Lithium Ion batteries:

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/200209...

They are safer and easier to recharge:

Testing will be conducted over the next year or so to determine the viability of combining them with Ultracapacitors for enhanced performance.

http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/...

Ultracapacitors have better Power storage, but not as much energy storage. Ultracapacitors enhance the acceleration, lithium iron phosphate batteries enhance the range.

Some testing of this combination has been done on e-bikes:

Adobe pdf file
http://gltrs.grc.nasa.gov/reports/2001/TM-...

We need to do a lot of things to combat global warming and reduce the corporate power of giant oil companies, as was pointed out in the thread:

For the last time, folks, I'm begging you: NOT PUMPING GAS FOR ONE DAY IS A STUPID IDEA!

One very important component that I think has been largely overlooked is the use of e-bikes, also known as electro-assist or power-assisted bicycles.

I have been using an e-bike for years and I absolutely love it. It is great for going to the carryout, doing errands around town and even walking the dog. Actually our dog runs more than she walks when I use the bike, but you get the picture. It takes some practice and training, but it is much easier with the assist than without it, and she absolutely loves it.

Since there is a small hill right outside out house, a regular bike would require much more effort to use for going anywhere uphill from the end of the driveway. Since I am over 50, this is kind of a major concern.

Mixing with traffic is much easier since you have the acceleration from a stop light to about 15 mph that a car has.

Under optimal conditions and with maximum effort, I can beat a Harley with a passenger out of the hole and it takes him about a half a block to catch me. By the time he can pull ahead, it is time to start breaking for the next traffic light. You may not believe this until you see it, or I go thorough a long winded explanation, but I have heard other people say the same thing.

Please look at the links I have collected in My Home and Leisure Page.

I Googled and found this very interesting discussion on Free Republic which included a link to a CATO Institute Study.

It seems the Freepers are more outraged than are we.