Wow.

Do people actually think this is what the US is like?

I'm not so much saying guns should (or should not) be carried by police as saying they don't shoot you for jaywalking.

Oh, now, I wouldn't say that. ;)

It's easy to make a Python interpreter in Python! It even has the exact same performance as the native interpretation.

exec(file(sys.argv[0]).read())

Or even

execfile(sys.argv[0])

Seriously, though... dogfooding isn't an appropriate comparison for interpreted languages.

Instead of using you and Vinny, what if I rigged up a shotgun (with a hair trigger, of course), through a pulley, to the cat's collar?

I think what you're looking for is a fur trigger, not a hair trigger...

(Had to get one in.)

And even with all this subsidization, driving a car is a huge overhead cost that people should not have to pay for in order to participate in the economy.

Between car payment (on a very cheap car), gas, mandatory full coverage insurance and repairs, oil changes and maintenance, I spend more on transportation than I do on either food or housing, and not by a little.

The lack of a decent public transportation system in most areas of this country is a significant barrier to entry for people to participate in the economy. Getting "bootstrapped" at 18 with outrageous car insurance rates and no credit or education is nearly impossible when you can't get to a job without a car, and you can't get a job that pays more than minimum wage.

Once you're bootstrapped, it's still a huge, constant expense. Driving is expensive and dangerous, not to mention what it does to the environment. How much crime is car related?

On a side note, in Illinois, instead of building out our public transit infrastructure, we blow money on commercials threatening jail time for DUI offenders. How about a reasonable alternative for people to get home from the bars? Yes, people should have a DD, but in reality, many people find it difficult to have a good time in a bar without drinking. Spending the money from those commercials on public transit would likely save far more lives, I think.

Public transportation, for the love of God. I know we're a car culture, but we need to get over it. Reducing our consumption is going to require centralizing transportation infrastructure, period (IHMO :) ).

This got modded insightful? Lot of funny bones broken today...