Don't forget that big gas would prefer most green policies and profit huge as opposed to coal companies and that big money( wall street) would make a bundle( as woul al gore) of trading carbon credits. Yes scientists agree the globe has warmed. After that "consensus" gets a little thin. the debate is how much warmer will it get and how much a role does human activity, ESP c02 play in that warming. And untill the satellite data agrees with the climate models, I think it is safe to say it is not settled. Btw if you look at the Ippc data in the report you will see that most of the claims( flooding etc) are exaggerations. While the political section of the report may sound very alarmist, the actual science parts are much less so.

Well they should be glad we left it to the private sector. Your chances of surviving and making a full recovery from illness and severe trama are much higher in te USA than any state with government run healthcare. Anybody who tells you different is either lying or mis informed. In other countries victomns of brain trama , spine injuries , etc that live do not near the rehabilitation treatment to help them recover the ability to walk, run etc. those expensive treatments are not an option so they just expect them to be disabled for life. In the USA your chances o surviving cancer are 15% higher than in any country with socialized medicine. Now tell me if your doctor found a tumor on you and said your chances are 60\40 at hospital A and 75/25 at hospital B but hospital B charges 15% higher fees which would you choose? Many claims that the US healthcare system is not as effective as say the UK or Canada are based on statistics that are not easily comparable to each other. For example often sited infant mortality rates are really lower in the US because we count babies that die during birth. Other countries count babies up to a few days old as stillborn. Also genetic/social factors in certain ethnic Populations can skew Numbers. Swedes have socialized Medicine and are healthier than Americans as a whole. However swedes who immigrate to America tend to be healthier than other Americans and also swedes who love in sweden. In fact Swedish immigrants to America live an average 4 years longer than swedes who live in Sweden with all it's great socialized healthcare.

Plus 20 k would be a bargain as you would only need one car for two commutes, provided they could be done at different times or you could carpool easily. Cars will start coming with more comfortable ways to sleep.

Well taxis are my first thought. No more cab drivers they are replaced by robots. Truck drivers too, eventually. Of course the teamsters u nion will slow down adoption by having the robots whacked. I am a Mobil locksmith. I drive a LOT. Vein able to work, read and for god sakes sleep while in transit would make my job great.

They will cross real damn fast, the ones that make it anyway.

Ok you guys are using very bad logic. You are assuming that the suicidal gun owner would not just hang himself I he had no gun handy. You are also assuming that criminals would not use brute force, edged weapons , clubs etc I they had no guns. I would rather be Armed with a gun and have two criminals armed with Guns out to get me than be unarmed trying to fight two unarmed men or men armed with melee weapons

8 shoot a robber while he is robbing your house. When word gets out nobody will rob you.

Wrong if everyone had a gun we would be safer than if nobody had one. In an unarmed society gangs and big tough thugs have an advantage over the average guy. Guns equalize. That is why the government is always trying to take them away. Remember God made men but Samuel Colt made all men equal.

Ok I mean this is slashdot. Why not use a shotgun with a flashlight mounted on it or even better a shotgun or handgun with a laser site? Yes technology has changed the way we shoot also. I agree a shotgun is best for home defense. The sound of a pump shotgun being chambered is enough to make most intruders look for the nearest exit. As fat as using lethal force to protect your property , mortally I am all for it. Legally it depends. Here in Texas you have a right to use lethal force to protect your person and/ or your property from theft or harm. And you can shoot a fleeing thief( fleeing means he dropped your property and is running away) but ONLY after dark( it's an old law). Protecting your property means if a guy says "I am going to key your car " you can draw your gun and say stop. If he does not you can shoot him. In Texas we respect property and awl defense. This respect works btw. Interviews of burglars shows that they are MUCH more worried about gun owners than cops. And they should be. In our state the odds of conviction are about 1 in 100 for home burglaries. The odds of being shot are about 2 in 100 for home burglaries. About the Martin kid. It's a sad thing. He was just a kid. And kids do stupi things. I know I did at 17. Some kids shoot heroin or drive drunk. This kid attacked a man. That man happened to be armed. That man did what anybody else would and shoul do. He shot his attacker. Sadly he died. I would have rather he lived with a nice wound to show hi friends what you get for attacking people. Yes in a perfect world he would have gotten an attitude adjustment not a deadly shot. But in a perfect world drunk driving teens would never die and junkies would all kick. In the real world we should stop acting like Zimmerman was a bad guy. Wether he followe that kid or not he was within his rights and harming nobody. It was marring who initiates violence. It was Martin who chose to live "by the sword" and that I how he died.

This will put truck and taxi drivers out of work. Look for opposition from the teamsters union.

Robot cars will also use radar so they can react to the car in front of the car in front of them much better than a human. I think you guys are missing the point though. Even if self driving cars where a little slower, the fact that you can sleep, read, play WOW , answer email, watch porn and masterbate, shave, work, etc on a long commute will make that driving time more valuable.

If you paid me to build a house and I did not finish it would you be happy with me making excuses about the area we where building in or the low quality sub contractors I had to
Hire?  How about we set a
Standard for each kid at the end of each class per school year. If 95 % or better hit that standard you keep your job. If  you can't do that job we fire you and find somebody who can. Period. And stop blaming kids and parents. A charter school took over the worst school in California ( the nativ American public school) in just a couple of years they became the best school in California.  Ask the principle how he did it he says simple fire teachers who do not get results.

The average teacher earns more than the average engineer now. Remember the average teacher only works nine months out of the year. Teachers get Insane be odors packages esp in new York. How many engineers have a defined benefit pension where they. An retire in 20 years with half there last years salary Regardless of how the market does, and without paying sh$t into the pension program? The average teacher gets 107k per year in salary+benefits and they only work nine months. Does the average engineer earn 125k or more?

Only one value-oversight. The public( taxpayers actually funding the schools) is the only party with an economic Interest that the money is being spent wisely. School administraters,teachers,etc MAY have an interest in educating children, but they have no real interest in keeping costs in line. This is why In the USA per student spending on public education has grown much faster than the rate of inflation, but the actual "quality " of that education measured by almost any metrics has stayed the same or decreased slightly since 1970. Imagine this in any other industry. It would be like payIng for a porche 911 in 2011 and getting a 90's yugo.

While I agree that a dwi should not affect your job, provided driving is not a part of it( or operating heavy machinery maybe). Here in my state a dwi ( or almost any class A misdemeanor) conviction gets your license to be a plumber, insurance salesman, stock broker, locksmith, electrician, security guard , and many more revoked. Why should teachers be exempt?