The next president of the United States is a...cyclist

Zoot Katz wrote

To pull a rabbit out of a hat, you must first put one in.
http://tinyurl.com/2h39b

http://www.thestranger.com/2003-11-13/comic.html

Just tapped into this thread and reviewed a few of the historical
posts. Can't withhold my $0.02 (I tried. Honestly, I did):

(Forgive the bicycle reference on this newsgroup) We're all cyclists,
right? That's a start. A huge start.

I drive a hybrid. 45mpg. That's another huge start.

If the weather doesn't support my cycling, I ride my motorcycle
(48mpg). That's a start.

My wife is selling her (tiny) SUV as soon as her hybrid comes in
(we're on the waiting list!). Another start.

In the 1950's, the US began stationing 'advisors' in Saudi Arabia to
look after our interests in Middle East petroleum. We never left.
Ask Mr. Bin-Laden why he hates us. It's because the infidel is in
Mecca and Medina.

I could argue all day (really, I could!) about the issue of WMD, the
honesty/dishonesty of the Bush administration, the blatant disregard
for world opinion, the inCREDible spin (how many of the "Coalition of
the Willing" can _you_ find on a map?), etc., but that's just j**king
off.

I'd rather do something.

Raise the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) a few MPG...every few
years. Eliminate the (up to $106,000) deduction for = 6,000lb SUV's.
Encourage bicycle commuting. Fund viable mass transit. Raise the
price of gas through a several $/gallon tax, using that money to
provide government subsidies and incentives to renewable, alternative
fuel sources. In short: break America's long-standing and nearly
disgusting love affair with the automobile.

Get a G-D _bike_! (Now obesity is the government's hot button.
Hmmmm. I wonder if encouraging bicycling could possibly... Nawwww!).
Put some bona fide bike paths in this country.

I know, I know: it's everybody's God-given right to drive a freaking
3+ ton Chevy Suburban (which they _need_ to pull their 34' speedboat
with twin 454cid Chevy engines that consumes 70 gallons/hr), etc.,
etc., but if we want to win . . . if we want to decisively WIN, we'll
kill the demand for the product that OPEC has and to which we all seem
inexorably addicted.

IMHO, _that's_ how this thread has relevance to a cycling NG.

You wanna' be a patriot, Cowboy?? Get that f***ing American flag
sticker off your Yukon and trade up to a hybrid.

Phew. I feel better!

Neil