US Elections 2012 Part II: The Conventions, Debates and Election results

[GDB]

Originally Posted by kyp275

the first mass-produced commercial hybrid is the Prius, and that went on sale in Japan in 1997, worldwide in 2000.

maybe you're thinking about EVs like the Volt or Leaf?

He definitely is, since he's talking about charged batteries and such, which the Prius doesn't do.

[Vexx]

Single payer health plans coupled with getting the employer out of the loop would be a boon for small business. They could hire employees without having to worry about health benefits or whether their employees can afford to stay well.

[GundamFan0083]

Here is an interesting little tid bit.

Election results 2012: Voter turnout lower than 2008 and 2004, report says

Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/nation...#ixzz2BhTVCfS2

[james0246]

^That's not surprising. Both candidates were mostly seen as uninteresting, and the results were more or less known since mid October.

[FDW]

Originally Posted by james0246

^That's not surprising. Both candidates were mostly seen as uninteresting, and the results were more or less known since mid October.

Actually, that's not quite true. This article below offers a counterpoint to that:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpoli...missing-voters

[monir]

Originally Posted by FDW

Actually, that's not quite true. This article below offers a counterpoint to that:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpoli...missing-voters

Makes a lot of sense. I think the key figure here is the popular vote won by Obama compared to 2008. He is about 2-3% down in that count.

[james0246]

Originally Posted by FDW

Actually, that's not quite true. This article below offers a counterpoint to that:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpoli...missing-voters

All the colours and brightness...my eyes!!!

Nice find. I had assumed Sandy counted for half a million or so potential voters, but the statistics were quite interesting (even if the formatting hurt ).

[Green²]

Originally Posted by Solace

I'm not sure hybrid has much of a future, except perhaps as a bridge to something else.

It will eventually bridge to a full-time electric vehicle that would probably use a combination of batteries and inductive coupling. It's just that it will take quite some time to add to and update the current infrastructure, as well as there being all kinds of politics involved come time when new transmission lines have to start running through whoever's backyard.

Germany is already way ahead when it comes to implementing these technologies, such as what Bombardier Transportation had already displayed on a branch of the Augsburg tram network. In short, the same technologies that power your electric toothbrush, will now power your transportation needs.

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/u...a-success.html

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by james0246

All the colours and brightness...my eyes!!!

Nice find. I had assumed Sandy counted for half a million or so potential voters, but the statistics were quite interesting (even if the formatting hurt ).

Cue the media screaming, "Ahhhh!! Stop it! You're disturbing our "narrative"!!"

(I'd like to do horrible things to the nimrods who decided news reporting should be a "narrative")

[Solace]

Originally Posted by Green²

It will eventually bridge to a full-time electric vehicle that would probably use a combination of batteries and inductive coupling. It's just that it will take quite some time to add to and update the current infrastructure, as well as there being all kinds of politics involved come time when new transmission lines have to start running through whoever's backyard.

The problem is that you still need to apply force to generate the induction. Electricity still needs a power source to be generated, unless you're going to pull a Doc Brown and wait for lightning to strike the clock tower (which in reality would melt every piece of electronics in the car).

Currently the majority of our electricity is generated by power stations that run on fossil fuels. You can cut emissions from vehicles by switching to electricity, but you haven't removed the reliance on the finite and polluting resource of fossil fuel, only made it more efficient.

[FDW]

Originally Posted by Solace

The problem is that you still need to apply force to generate the induction. Electricity still needs a power source to be generated, unless you're going to pull a Doc Brown and wait for lightning to strike the clock tower (which in reality would melt every piece of electronics in the car).

Currently the majority of our electricity is generated by power stations that run on fossil fuels. You can cut emissions from vehicles by switching to electricity, but you haven't removed the reliance on the finite and polluting resource of fossil fuel, only made it more efficient.

Bingo, and that doesn't even get into the other externalities regarding car usage. (Space being the biggest one)

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Solace

The problem is that you still need to apply force to generate the induction. Electricity still needs a power source to be generated, unless you're going to pull a Doc Brown and wait for lightning to strike the clock tower (which in reality would melt every piece of electronics in the car).

Currently the majority of our electricity is generated by power stations that run on fossil fuels. You can cut emissions from vehicles by switching to electricity, but you haven't removed the reliance on the finite and polluting resource of fossil fuel, only made it more efficient.

It is inevitable that in our lifetime, we would need to mass produce Fission power plants as a stop-gap technology to renewables.

The fact is we are going to struggle to generate electricity sustainably for even current use, so if we are going to use electricity to replace petroleum as well, nuclear power would have to supplement the grid.

I would be glad to be found wrong. But this is what I consider to be necessary in the medium term.

[Urzu 7]

According to this blog site (that I've never heard of), hundreds of thousands of military absentee ballots made it in a day late, and if they were counted, it would have made Romney win. Is this true? Or was it concocted by some republican supporters?

http://www.duffelblog.com/2012/11/mi...on-for-romney/

Edit: Snopes debunks it.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/absentee.asp

[kyp275]

hmm, not really funny tbh

though there are some better stuff in other parts of the site.

[Urzu 7]

Check out my edit. It is from a military humor site with humor in the manners of parody, satire, and faux news. Ha. I bet a bunch of people are freaking out over this fictitious news.

[kyp275]

Originally Posted by Urzu 7

Check out my edit. It is from a military humor site with humor in the manners of parody, satire, and faux news. Ha. I bet a bunch of people are freaking out over this fictitious news.

yea, reading the comments section in that article, they're all right there

[Urzu 7]

Originally Posted by kyp275

yea, reading the comments section in that article, they're all right there

Holy shit, I read some of the facebook comments under the article and read some of the comments from the site (under the facebook comments). A whole lotta people freaking out, some hating on democratic voters and liberals. What a bunch of twits. I found out the truth in 2 minutes with a single google search.

I weep for my country.

[Vexx]

Especially since the research is leaning that the military rank and file voted mostly Obama. The GOP screwed that pooch with their crappy behavior towards veterans and the Veteran's Administration. More underfunding, then privatize and loot in store if they got their way.

[Urzu 7]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Especially since the research is leaning that the military rank and file voted mostly Obama. The GOP screwed that pooch with their crappy behavior towards veterans and the Veteran's Administration. More underfunding, then privatize and loot in store if they got their way.

Plus, many military members probably don't like the idea of invading Iran and bringing war to their country, especially because it'd have many worn out military members fighting over there, fighting in a war that'd be all too much like the Iraq war.

[ganbaru]

Obama victory opens negotiating window with Iran
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8A61P920121107

Tax hike for wealthy won't kill growth: CBO
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8A71D020121109