And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Not when the US carriers charge what they do. A cheaper iphone isn't going to help boost verizon subscriptions up to corporate expectations... cheaper rates will. Im as tired of hearing "cheaper phones will make..." as I was of hearing "ipod killer" 5 years ago and "ipad killer" today. When the carriers lower the rates - and not until then - I'll buy one.

I just love "the market and privatization will win the day" goons like you. Private companies have done such a great job keeping the earth clean and safe, not to mention their sterling record of labor relations, worker safety... But they will do great things, if you cut their taxes, let them bend a few laws, bail them out when they fuck up... The Gov't always has to do the dirty work - the infrastructure, roads, dams... then idiots like you dismantle the systems they built by claiming private industry could do better, when all they do is pillage profits that a stable society allows them to access to. Do us all a favor and go elect another politician who will make a 20 year career out of being "anti big gov't". everything you mentioned is only possible because nasa went to the moon - And if private industry ever gets into space they will never (Im saying never) ever (x) do anything remotely altruistic/scientific for its own sake, like nasa, like everything you mentioned

"why does the general public in the US still cling to their customary system of units?"
Is this a rhetorical question ...?

O.C. and Stiggs were characters from the old 1970s National Lampoon magazine... when it was still just an east coast college rag, long before they became known to the general public for the chevy chase fraud "vacation" movies. The original magazine characters were a riot - the movie was a travesty that was years past it's relevance. Nothing to do with DR and Quinch.