Robert Gibbs Thinks About Rain-Powered Cars
[Guest post by DRJ]
[Video starting at 12:55:] “We need to take some bold steps, and Congress needs to work with this President to take bold steps to break once and for all our dependence, as you said, on foreign oil and on fossil fuels and make sure that the car that my son drives and the car that my grandchild drives isn’t powered by something that has to be imported from overseas or drilled at 5,000 feet below the ocean, but is powered by the sun and the wind and the rain.”
No, I don’t think Gibbs believes there are rain-powered cars but politicians and liberal arts graduates can get carried away with rhetoric. When that happens, it’s time for them to stop and re-examine whether they know what they’re talking about.
H/T JD.
— DRJ
Gibbs is the perfect spokesman for Obama – a blithering moron speaking for an Empty Suit(tm).
SPQR (26be8b) — 6/16/2010 @ 8:46 amThanks, DRJ. Gibbs is one of the few people that make Teh Won seem smart.
JD (4b684a) — 6/16/2010 @ 8:57 amDRJ…I don’t mean to sound mean…but Gibbs doesn’t know how a freaking toaster works. Why wouldn’t he believe in a rain powered car?
Seriously, there needs to be a technology literacy test for politicians.
Yes, JD, I guess that makes me somehow racist.
Eric Blair (f03f56) — 6/16/2010 @ 9:02 amWhen Eugene Robinson joins Olbergasm, Crissy Tingle, and Fineman in criticizing Teh One, it cannot be good for Barcky.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37720386/ns/disaster_in_the_gulf/
JD (4b684a) — 6/16/2010 @ 9:07 amThese people are operating on an assumption that anyone with any science education knows is fantasy. They will not discuss building nuclear power plants when that is a real alternative. Solar and wind are boutique sources that, like driving a Prius, shows you are a believer. There is no possibility, especially with Senator Feinstein writing legislation to make deserts off limits, that enough solar power can be generated to power a factory.
If the Obami can believe that solar and wind can provide enough power, why not rain powered cars ?
Mike K (82f374) — 6/16/2010 @ 9:24 amRest assured, Gibbs has “…stop(ed) and re-examine(d) whether ..he. know(s) what (he’s) talking about…” and is confident that he doesn’t!
At least he, and his boss, haven’t been attacked by “mad wabbits”.
AD - RtR/OS! (eef339) — 6/16/2010 @ 9:26 amActually I have seen a video about using salt water as fuel.
The actual mechanism is to use a radio frequency transmitter to split the water into hydrogen and oxygen and burn the gasses to power a steam engine. Apparently, it was a case of serendipity by an inventor researching a way to target cancer cells.
Sabba Hillel (dd522e) — 6/16/2010 @ 9:34 ammmm, Mr. Gibbs. that moisture you feel on your head every time you stand underneath the president….
It ain’t rain.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/16/2010 @ 9:38 amWe must be reading the same articles, JD, because I just posted on Robinson.
DRJ (d43dcd) — 6/16/2010 @ 9:44 amActually I have seen a video about using salt water as fuel.
That’s just a science experiment. It takes more energy to break apart the hydrogen-oxygen bonds in H20 than you get back when burning the hydrogen.
Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C. O.R. (a18ddc) — 6/16/2010 @ 9:45 amI’m inclined to believe he was referring to using hydrogen as a fuel source. I think this post comes across as more silly than the original statement, unfortunately.
Buzz Killingston (0775c5) — 6/16/2010 @ 9:58 amBuzz – If he had meant hydrogen, don’t you think he would have said so? Is it a common mistake to confuse or conflate hydrogen and rain?
JD (4b684a) — 6/16/2010 @ 10:01 amDRJ – You know what they say about great minds …
JD (4b684a) — 6/16/2010 @ 10:02 amI hope he meant hydro electric – which actually makes a bit of sense …. except that we are tearing down a lot of dams and not replacing them. But as a guy who fishes on streams that are often dammed, I frequently approve. Oh the conundrums of modern life.
quasimodo (4af144) — 6/16/2010 @ 10:07 amYou can get hydrogen from water (i.e. rain) but you need a lot of electricity to do it on a commercial scale. And you can not get those amounts of electricity from solar yet.
(And live preview seems to be up again. Yeah!)
Have Blue (854a6e) — 6/16/2010 @ 10:09 amAnyone else see the story out fo Spain about solar power. In order to promote solar the Spanish government was subsidizing the producers.
Have Blue (854a6e) — 6/16/2010 @ 10:14 amSome of the “Solar” producers were using other sources to generate power and selling it as “solar” thus getting the additional subsidy. An audit showed that these guys were selling “solar” generated electricity at night.
Hydroelectricity…
a (0c0e11) — 6/16/2010 @ 10:42 amI often say rain when I mean hydroelectricity.
JD (4b684a) — 6/16/2010 @ 10:44 amIn related news, Toyota has announced the debut of “Rainbow”, their new water-powered automobile. The vehicle has no rear seat, due to the presence of a 2,500 gallon water tank. Averaging 1 mile per 100 gallons of water, the “Rainbow” is ecologically friendly and can be refueled from any water tap. Base price: $873,249. Radio, air conditioning, power steering and brakes extra.
navyvet (206534) — 6/16/2010 @ 11:47 amForgot to add, max speed: 2.2 mph. Slightly slower in California.
navyvet (206534) — 6/16/2010 @ 11:48 amA lot slower in CA, the water is being diverted to protect the Delta Smelt.
AD - RtR/OS! (eef339) — 6/16/2010 @ 12:11 pmYou guys may think you’re joking about California, but the situation here getting uncomfortably close to the truth.
Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C. O.R. (a18ddc) — 6/16/2010 @ 12:19 pmIt’s time to ask Boxer about natural gas again – after all, she’s quite an expert on fossil fuels.
Dmac (3d61d9) — 6/16/2010 @ 12:32 pmBradley, if there is one thing missing in California, especially in politics, it is truth. You can’t get close to the truth in California. It’s in Nevada. Remember, what happens in Las Vegas…
Mike K (82f374) — 6/16/2010 @ 12:33 pmCome on you guys, lighten up. It was just an error in transcription. He meant a “reign” powered car.
In the future, cars will be powered by the persuasive force of President Obama. He will command them to go, and they will go. Actually, he’ll begin by commanding them to stand still. And when everyone is convinced that works, and the cars truly capitulate to the president’s authority, then the government will consider whether to allow us to accelerate.
By that time it might be possible to drive downwind of the Oval Office, especially if the press is back in his corner. (That should happen in 3… 2… 1…)
Gesundheit (cfa313) — 6/16/2010 @ 12:49 pmDarn! Still no paragraph breaks. Somebody want to share the formatting secret with me?
Gesundheit (cfa313) — 6/16/2010 @ 12:50 pmOH! It shows up after you refresh! Sorry for the static.
Gesundheit (cfa313) — 6/16/2010 @ 1:00 pmJust because it bears repeating, my favorite Gibbs moment, from early in Obama’s tenure:
Gibbs: “I’m sorry, you’ll have to ask the White House about that.”
Reporter: “That’s you.”
Another Chris (2d8013) — 6/16/2010 @ 1:26 pmsun and the wind and the rain
In answering the cry for a “simpler” time, we are going back to transportation powered by the steam engine. The engine has a funnel intake that will accept rain water into the water chamber, and a mirror-like device to concentrate sun rays to heat the boiler. In the event it is cloudy, hopefully it will be windy to allow the automatic opening and closing sail to capture the wind.
Previously such a car would have been impractical, because not all car drivers know how to “catch the wind” and go where you want to go. (Funny landlubbers, they are.) But the same computer technology that now enables a car to parallel park automatically can be used to control the sail to be at the proper angle, compensating for wind direction and car direction by the millisecond.
In case of an emergency and needing to drive without sun or wind, there is an emergency allotment of ethanol that can fuel a small lamp which will heat the water in the boiler and will provide up to 15 miles of travel. (Like I said, it’s for emergencies, and you’re not allowed to have an emergency more than 15 miles away from home, a hospital, a police station, a Starbuck’s, or a Baskin-Robin’s.
MD in Philly (5a98ff) — 6/16/2010 @ 2:13 pm40-acres and a mule, that’s all we ask.
AD - RtR/OS! (eef339) — 6/16/2010 @ 2:31 pmMore than you are going to get under the Obama-Gore-Hansen dictatorship. AD.
SPQR (26be8b) — 6/16/2010 @ 3:06 pmIt’s amazing to me that his co-panelist does not even bat an eye, let alone burst out laughing upon hearing Gibb’s nonsense.
I’m so tired of being embarrassed for Gibbs as well as being frustrated that he is mouthpiece of the administration.
Dana (1e5ad4) — 6/16/2010 @ 3:45 pmgibbs corner market
ColonelHaiku (523269) — 6/16/2010 @ 3:53 pmif alternative fuel
for car is bullshit
Comment by SPQR — 6/16/2010 @ 3:06 pm
Yeah, and I’ll never get that “bonus” either.
AD - RtR/OS! (eef339) — 6/16/2010 @ 3:55 pmsomeone put gibbs head
ColonelHaiku (523269) — 6/16/2010 @ 4:01 pmin dark and dank place and him
enjoy doing it
the sun and the wind and the rain
m (ef6db6) — 6/16/2010 @ 4:11 pmKumbayah, etc.
I have developed a liberal powered car. Stack em up like firewood, burn them in the combustion chamber for steam power. Cheap fuel source and cleans the enviroment at the same time.
peedoffamerican (8e86ba) — 6/16/2010 @ 4:44 pmI was reminded of Gibbs earlier when I saw a piece that quoted the UN’s WHO Director General praising North Korea for defeating obesity.
That’s Gibbs level stupidity, I said to myself.
SPQR (26be8b) — 6/16/2010 @ 4:49 pmI was reminded of Gibbs earlier when I saw a piece that quoted the UN’s WHO Director General praising North Korea for defeating obesity.
Say it ain’t so, SPQR! You’re kidding, right?
Dana (1e5ad4) — 6/16/2010 @ 4:51 pmNope, not kidding, Dana.
North Korea is a health care paradise according to WHO Director General.
SPQR (26be8b) — 6/16/2010 @ 5:01 pmThe funny thing to me is that, seriously, my maternal grand-parents drove a mule-driven wagon from one part of Texas to another for about 200 miles, on dirt roads, to set up their homestead in East Texas.
In the few years between them and me, we have seen an explosion of progress that is, frankly, mind-boggling.
And that progress was made possible by only one thing: free enterprise.
It’s a great thing when you have it, but it’s a bitch when it’s gone. Even FDR knew that.
Ag80 (1b8eea) — 6/16/2010 @ 9:50 pmDmac at 23 – I remember Pelosi on one of the Sunday morning shows talking about energy. Over and over she repeated the talking point, “We don’t need to drill, we’ll use Natural Gas!” She must have repeated this little mantra a half dozen times in less than five minutes of conversation.
I thought right there that she probably had no frikken idea where natural gas comes from or what it is. I swear she was under the impression it was magical unicorn farts or some other supernatural substance that just pops in to existence from nowhere, totally organic and free range.
After all it says “Natural” right there in the name.
Have Blue (854a6e) — 6/16/2010 @ 9:53 pmBlue, she probably thinks that “natural” gas comes from “natural” sources. With all the botox that she has used, she probably sees tubes coming outa cows butts that supply this “natural” gas, or she just thinks that we all need to eat more beans to provide it.
Her slogan would be;
Eat beans, Amerika needs the (“natural”) gas.
peedoffamerican (52fe58) — 6/16/2010 @ 10:31 pmYeah, you’re right, it makes *much* more sense that Gibbs believes rain is a direct source of energy, than that he meant something indirect, despite what DRJ said in the post.
Buzz Killingston (0775c5) — 6/17/2010 @ 4:26 am