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Articles: 1, 2, 3

A Random Conversation- Lottery Style, If You Will
2008-02-07 05:44:00
I had an interesting run in at a gas station across town. I was at the counter buying a Powerball ticket, thinking that $2 would be a small price to pay if I were to actually win the $54 million jackpot. I have since read on the Powerball website that the odds were 1 in about 146 million. Anyway, while I was waiting for my ticket, a man next to me (in the process of buying a pack of Camels) turned to me and said, "Who are you for, Hillary or Obama?" I turned to him and matter-of-factly said, "I'm for Huckabee." "Come on!" he urged, "You can't honestly..." "Just think about how much better off our people would be without the income tax. We'd be able to spend our paychecks on whatever we need to spend it on. That would be awesome for the economy," I interjected. "Well that would be great," he said, "but you can't tell me that he'll actually nail a 'going out of business' sign on the door of the IRS, can you?" Truth be told, I do believe he will shut down the IRS if elected. "If...
More About: Random , Style , Lottery , Conversation

Mike Huckabee: The Fight Begins
2008-02-06 05:01:00
Note: I was unable to participate in the New School Politics live blogging tonight because my work for the local primary election extended too late. I encourage you to check out NSP's coverage of the Super Tuesday results. As always, they did a fine job.My predictions for Mike Huckabee going into Super Tuesday: wins in Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee. Everyone called me crazy, allocating those states (less Arkansas) to McCain and Romney. I admit, Missouri was a disappointment. On the other hand, West Virginia was a huge bonus. All in all, I think that Mike Huckabee did something unprecedented tonight. He all but eliminated Mitt Romney (pending the results in California).The major northern and liberal states have spoken, and from now until June 3, the conservative states will have their turn. Huckabee now has momentum, and I believe the rest of this primary is his to take. Allow me to break it down by state.STATES HUCKABEE COULD WIN:Louisiana-47 delegates (Feb 9)...
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Barack Obama: Celebrity, Or Celebrity? Or President.
2008-02-04 21:53:00
Hollywood has thus far played a major role in the President ial Election. Mike Huckabee rolled out Chuck Norris and Ric Flair. Hillary Clinton touts the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand, and Jack Nicholson. Barack Obama can boast Oprah Winfrey, among others. But something Obama does not have in common with the other candidates that could very well set him above the rest of the pack in a general election is that his supporters have made him a celebrity, an icon of pop culture.Let's face it: not every candidate has the ability to go out on the campaign trail saying "we want change," "it's not about white America or black America, but the United States of America," and "yes we can," over and over and over while still producing satisfactory results. The average Obama supporter that I've talked to in the street cannot even name one of Barack's policy positions. And though they theoretically should be responsible for researching their candidate's platform, I concede that the...
More About: Democrats , Celebrity

My Top Three Super Bowl Commercials (2008)
2008-02-03 21:03:00
FIRST PLACE: TideSECOND PLACE: PlantersTHIRD PLACE: Coca-Cola
More About: Super Bowl , Super , Commercials , Bowl , 2008

Improv Everywhere: The NYC Freeze
2008-02-02 22:30:00
I am all about productivity. I do whatever I can to get as much done as I can, whenever I can. One of the things I am most self-conscious about is that once in a while, in the course of pursuing efficiency, I allow my life to become monotonous. My daily occupations become almost mechanical, and they lose any meaning and joy that they might have brought me in the first place. So I try to change things up once in a while. Not for the sake of change, but to keep my life fresh, and to keep my chores as enjoyable and important to me as they were the very first time.I Dugg up a group of people who apparently share my philosophy. Improv Everywhere is a hodgepodge of people from all walks of life who join together on about a monthly basis with the mission of "causing chaos and joy in public places.""In the process we bring excitement to otherwise unexciting locales and give strangers a story they can tell for the rest of their lives. We?re out to prove that a prank doesn?t have to involve h...
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A Geographic Map Of The Internet
2008-02-02 05:42:00
As it turns out, this is going to be a really important weekend for me to get non-blog work done. Tomorrow morning I'm going to put in a serious training session for baseball, followed by an afternoon where I'll finish my economy article for theREBUTTAL, query some magazines about printing a modified version of my Scientology Saga four part series, and then check out a local hockey game that I promised my friends I would go to. Then on Sunday, I'll be drafting a column for the local newspaper about the DUI sentencing and the victim impact panel that I attended recently. The back half of the day will be spent getting the house ready for a major Super Bowl party (GO GIANTS FTW!!!). So this weekend, I'll be keeping the blog posts short and sweet. I'll make up for it with some serious political blogging on Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday, I'm working absentee ballots at my town hall, but there is a chance I will be live blogging the Super Tuesday returns with my friends from New Sc...
More About: Internet , The Internet , Geographic

Evolution of Language: A Brief Study On Immigration Policy In American Hist
2008-01-31 13:28:00
One of the things I have been doing on my own to facilitate my study of public policy is that I have been reading and analyzing historic documents (from personal writings to written law) and picking out language (words, phrases) that define specific policy viewpoint from that era. In the case of immigration policy, the evolutionary trends that I discovered were pretty shocking, and a good measuring mechanism that could help determine the future of immigration policy. I think it came out pretty good-- "In the course of American history, the legal concept of immigration has evolved from an unlimited, unchecked practice to a regulated, enforced stipulation in the United States code of law. Funnily enough, the course of regulation has proved to be a rocky one, stymied by the controversial forms of illegal immigration that stand at the forefront of political debate and banter in our modern times. Though the legal perspective offers a progressively more regulated approach to immigration, ...
More About: Evolution , Study , Immigration , Policy

After The Rain: The Magic Of A Commuter's Rhapsody
2008-01-30 10:31:00
Anyone who has had a recent look at my sidebar (some of my favorite photographs to a service called Flickr, which has great tools for blogging. Palm (the guys who make those nifty handheld computers) sponsor a photo group on Flickr called Commuters' Rhapsody , which allows users from all around the world to upload photos from their daily commute. The results have been nothing short of magnificent. Many of the photos are breathtaking. Below you will find one of my favorites. If you click on it, you will be taken to its location on Flickr. Beside it on the right are two Photostreams. Navigating the one labeled "Commuters' Rhapsody by Palm (Pool)" will allow you to check out this awesome collection for yourself. Or just click here. Enjoy!(Taken by Flickr user lusha)
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Anonymous Releases A Third Anti-Scientology Video
2008-01-29 13:41:00
I've trampled the story to death over the weekend, but for those of you who are following the story, you'll be interested in this new Anon ymous video that was made popular on Digg only a few hours ago. They seem anxious to clarify their purpose, clarify who they are (Anonymously of course), and to rally support for the 10th of February. Most importantly, they are trying to stay at the top of Digg headlines.Just for your information, this is not from the Youtube user Church0fScientology , but rather a user called anon5912385, who links to Anonymous's "unofficial public relations blog." I'm planning on getting up a post unrelated to Scientology sometime today. Time for some variety again.
More About: Video , Anti

The Internets vs. Scientology (Part 4 of 4)
2008-01-28 10:04:00
I am not Anonymous. Far from it. I am Anthony Marenna, a man with a name, a man without a mask, and a fascinated e-journalist. With that said, I was expecting this final installment to be, well, final. It is clear to me that though I am ending my four part Scientology Saga, the story will go on, and will only continue to become more and more interesting, more and more potent. While I spent time with my family (and thus failed to complete this entry last night), the following happened.January 27, 2008: Anonymous released a third press release on Youtube using the username Church0fScientology. Again, the classic format of montage with computer generated narration was used to create this two minute message to the world.The transcript:"It has come to the attention of Anonymous that there are a number of you out there who do not clearly understand what we are or why we have undertaken our present course of action. Contrary to the assumptions of the media, Anonymous is not "a group of sup...
More About: The Internets , Part

The Internets vs. Scientology (Part 3 of 4)
2008-01-27 07:54:00
January 23, 2008: Mediafire.com reported via Digg that the Anonymous hackers have released secret Church of Scientology documents retrieved from their secure servers. I downloaded these documents. Unfortunately they are in a file format called .rar, which is used for archiving. The vast majority of computers do not come with software that can handle this format, and the necessary software is not available for free.There is a lot to read, and I am in the process of reviewing the documents. Skimming them I came across writings from Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, instructions for executives and managers within the Church organization, complete organizational charts, and a lot more. I have a suspicion (an alleged suspicion mind you) that the L. Ron Hubbard documents may be the very ones that potential members of the Church pay an arm and a leg for. Given the Church of Scientology's history of filing copyright and trademark violation lawsuits, I don't feel comfortable qu...
More About: The Internets , Part , Part 3

The Internets vs. Scientology (Part 2 of 4)
2008-01-26 09:58:00
Before we continue with the Scientology Saga, let's step back a few days from the January 21st release of Anonymous's video to-January 18, 2008: Anonymous, then anonymous with a lowercase "A," launches a major attack against the Church of Scientology via the internet. As reported by Wikinews, the Anonymous hackers had some success.Several websites relating to the Church of Scientology have been slowed down, brought to a complete halt or seemingly removed from the Internet completely in an attack which seems to be continuous. The scientology.org site was back online briefly on Monday, and is currently loading slowly.I tried to stop by the main Scientology website several times in the course of writing this article, and each time it was completely unavailable. Try it for yourself. In addition to the internet attacks, Churches of Scientology have been inundates constantly with non-stop automated prank calls and a constant loop of blackfaxing, which prints completely black pages relen...
More About: The Internets , Part

Taking The Stress Out Of Politics
2008-01-26 05:00:00
If you're looking for "The Internets vs. Scientology (Part 1 of 4)" see the article below this one. I had to interrupt my four part Scientology stream to show you this.My sister came home this weekend with a trinket for me. It's a stress reliever that gives you a good laugh, but pretty much does nothing as far as stress is concerned. Enjoy, and check back tomorrow for part 2 of my Scientology expose.
More About: Politics , Stress , Taking

The Internets vs. Scientology (Part 1 of 4)
2008-01-25 20:48:00
For the past several days, I have been been amused to Digg several articles about the Scientology Saga that nobody knows about. I'll catch you up point by point in a four part series that will be posted throughout the weekend.January 21, 2008: A really creepy video surfaced on Youtube from a user called Church0fScientology. It is an approximately two minute still of a building being eclipsed by storm clouds. The video is narrated by a computer voice with even, eerie music in the background. Take a look at the video:I have transcribed the message as follows:"Hello, leaders of Scientology. We are Anonymous. Over the years we have been watching you, your campaigns of misinformation, your suppression of dissent, your litigious nature. All of these things have caught our eye, with the release of your latest propaganda video into mainstream circulation. The extent of your malign influence over those who have come to trust you as leaders has been made clear to us.Anonymous has therefore d...
More About: The Internets , Part

The Girlies From Italia
2008-01-24 22:40:00
I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my aunt, who is coming this weekend to visit with my two baby cousins from Italy. I get to see them so infrequently that the far-between visits are really enjoyable and memorable for me. This summer, I am tentatively planning on paying them a visit for the first time. Summer in the Tuscan Valley. Oh my goodness, do I hope that wish comes true. Anyway, in honor of the visit I'm about to get from my baby cousins Alexia and Isabel, check out this home video I received in my inbox a couple months ago from across the Atlantic Ocean.
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An Absolutely McDiculous Article And Some Other Cool Random Stuff
2008-01-24 00:11:00
I don't have terribly much time for the blogs today- as you may have seen , I Twittered about an emergency I had around midday that totally ruined my would-be productive day. Luckily I have friends and readers who gave me some cool stuff to blog about.First, my friend Geoff pointed me towards a great writer named Chuck Klosterman. You may have heard of him. I had not. The article he sent me as a sample was called McDiculous, a whitty rebuttal to the documentary Super Size Me.Staying alive is complicated. There is just so much in this wicked world that can kill us: cancer, avalanches, liver failure, street gangs wearing baseball uniforms, gravity, electric chairs, Rwandan death squads, hammerhead sharks, werewolves, hemlock, and a boundless cornucopia of other coldhearted entities that exist solely so that we may not. Everything is bad for you. Food is bad for you. Food--something you need in order to stay alive--is probably killing you right now. Food hates you. But food cannot be ...
More About: Article , Cool , Random , Stuff

Futuristic Sky Cities: They Could Change Our World
2008-01-22 10:41:00
A trip to Digg today revealed a new theory of engineering that I have never heard of before: arcology. Developed by Italian American architect Paolo Soleri, arcology is "the fusion of architecture and ecology." In English, that means that his vision of a city is a building more or less "that is the opposite of urban sprawl with its inherently wasteful consumption of land, energy and time, tending to isolate people from each other and the community." It is basically the future of the city that will enable humans to accommodate an ever growing population while at the same time freeing up massive amounts of land for cultivation and preserving an unfathomable amount of resources."As the world?s population continues to boom so does density in major conurbations. This increase in density is actually increasing around the world as an influx of people move to the cities in search of jobs and the (often hollow) promise of a better life... This leaves the w...
More About: World , Change , Cities , Futuristic

Power Grids Vulnerable To Internet Hackers
2008-01-21 21:04:00
According to CIA Analyst Tom Donahue, information has been received by the Central Intelligence Agency that criminals in other countries (which were not named) have managed to hack into central computer systems, shutting down power in several cities at once."We have information, from multiple regions outside the United States, of cyber intrusions into utilities, followed by extortion demands. In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities. We do not know who executed these attacks or why, but all involved intrusions through the Internet ." -Tom DonahueSo basically the instances of hacking that have occurred so far were committed by sophisticated criminals who have held power grids hostage for money or political favors. But this is a concerning trend. I reported a couple of weeks ago about the new Boeing jet that, in its production stages, are susceptible to hacker attacks.To deal with the power grid cybersecurity issues, the Federal Energy Regula...
More About: Power , Hackers

My Hat Goes Off To NJ Rep. Rush Holt, Hero Of Voter Confidence!!!
2008-01-21 01:10:00
I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was to Digg this story. Apparently, a U.S. Congressman from New Jersey, Rush Holt, is in the process of sponsoring the Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act of 2008, or as I call it, the Voter Confidence Act. According to The Raw Story:"The bill, to be introduced Thursday, would provide incentives for states to provide verified, audited balloting for the general election, but would not mandate standards for all states." Read More Digg ItThe U.S. House is currently battling over an earlier bill that would make a paper trail mandatory by the 2008 Presidential Elections. That bill has not passed, and is currently on the table, where no action is being taken on it. Holt's new bill is meant to ensure that at least some action is taken towards valid elections.In the meantime, researchers in Ohio and Colorado have found that electronic voting machines could be tampered with using magnets (yes, magnets) and handheld electronics. I ha...
More About: Hero

Russia Making Threats With Nukes?
2008-01-20 21:29:00
I Dugg up a very interesting article from the BBC today containing an announcement from Russia 's Military Chief of Staff General Yuri Baluyevsky. "We do not intend to attack anyone, but we consider it necessary for all our partners in the world community to clearly understand ... that to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia and its allies, military forces will be used, including preventively, including with the use of nuclear weapons."Baluyevsky would go on to comment, according to the BBC, that the comments were in response to "potential threats to Russia from international terrorism or countries seeking global or regional hegemony." Global or regional hegemony? For those of you who do not know what hegemony is, it's the dominance of one state or nation over all others. A world government. Russia is worried about a world government?BBC went on to speculate that the use of nuclear threats in Baluyevsky's statement may be the result of their declining resour...
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Back In One Piece: The Renaissance Man
2008-01-19 21:04:00
Well, I just got back from a really good workout, and I think I've left that nasty virus behind, finally. I'm feeling good, and before I go out tonight, I'm going to catch up on things and pull myself together. I will be putting my finishing touches on an excellent article about Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, and illegal immigration that I was hoping to have done early this week. You should be able to see that on theREBUTTAL sometime in the next few days. I'll be blogging daily once again after that three day hiatus, and of course, constantly updating my Twitter.So in conclusion, sick is gone, and the Renaissance has just begun.
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A Nice White Surprise
2008-01-16 05:16:00
We Connecticut-ers were given a treat tonight! At about 5:30, it started snowing. It wasn't in any forecast, and according to the Weather Channel it was partly cloudy at the time of the storm. It was the kind of snow that was heavy right away, the individual flakes so large that when one landed on my hand I could hardly believe how much snow was there. And ten minutes later, the snow was done for the night, leaving an inch and a half of perfect packing snow behind to melt into slush. When I noticed it was snowing, I grabbed my camera, and here's what I came up with. Enjoy!
More About: White , Photographs , Nice

Smithsonian Magazine Launches "28 Places To See Before You Die"
2008-01-14 19:10:00
I retrieved this great article from Digg, where one user rightly commented that the article would be better titled "28 Places To See Before You Die If You Have Loads Of Cash." Anyway here's a little clip of the article.We are all of us resigned to death: it's life we aren't resigned to," novelist Graham Greene once wrote. A growing number of Americans of all ages are embracing that idea by renewing a resolve to live life to its fullest. Exhibit A is the recent popularity of "life lists"?itineraries of things to do and places to go before taking the ultimate trip to the Great Beyond.read more | digg storyI thought the 28 selections were really interesting, so I expanded each one and added the Smithsonian stock photo from the actual article for your viewing pleasure.PORTALS INTO THE PASTMesa VerdePompeiiTikalPetraFEATS OF ENGINEERINGPyramids of GizaTaj MahalEaster IslandThe Great WallA MATTER OF TIMINGAurora BorealisSerengetiIguazu FallsMachu PicchuTRIUMPHS OF VISIONThe LouvreZen G...
More About: Magazine , Photographs

Amarcord Has Floored Me.. You MUST Check It Out!
2008-01-13 03:13:00
I spent my evening tonight in bed with a sore throat and a headache. I'm still fighting that "nasty little virus" I've been sparring with for almost a week now. Anyway, I took the opportunity to throw in my latest Netflix movie, an Italian film made in 1974. Here is the review I posted to Flixster just minutes ago.A whimsical, haunting, nostalgia ridden masterpiece. It is life summed up beautifully in 2 hours. People come and go. Childhood moves on by. Time passes gracefully and inevitably. And this is the priceless souvenir that documents our common journey. All I can say is wow.This is easily one of the most amazing films I have ever seen, no question about it. It is an experience that I hope all of you choose to take advantage of. I don't think you'll regret it.It turns out that I watch movies very often because of the Netflix plan I subscribe to. It is very rarely that I am floored like I was at the end of Amar cord, but I get to see a lot of really great movies that not a lo...
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Anthony Marenna Conference Calls With Mike Huckabee
2008-01-11 21:30:00
Several months ago, Living On Anon was added to the blogroll for Governor Mike Huckabee on his campaign website, which was pretty cool in and of itself. This morning I woke up to find an e-mail in my inbox from Huckabee inviting me to conference call with him and my fellow Bloggers for Huckabee '08. Obviously I jumped on the opportunity.For about the first five minutes of the conversation, he talked to us about the campaign trail and blogging. Right now he is in Detroit, Michigan, where he'll spend the next few days trying to overcome Mitt Romney's huge name recognition there (since Romney's father was governor of Michigan). He says that the excitement there for his campaign is huge. He took a couple of minutes to thank my fellow bloggers and I for our efforts thus far in his campaign. Our greatest value to him, according to Huckabee, is that we help him to answer attack ads from other candidates, particularly the Romney campaign.The next 20 minutes or so he dedicated to answeri...
More About: Republicans , Calls

Did The Electronic Voting Machines In New Hampshire Mess The Results Up?
2008-01-09 07:49:00
Try not to mistake me for a conspiracy theorist here. Since the launch of my blog, I have been complaining about the tremendous potential for either fraud or bad software concerning these new electronic voting machines. I told you about the voting scandal right next door to me in East Haven, CT. And according to Lori Price of Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG), there was quite a difference between the vote counts when it came to the electronic count vs. the hand count. Here are her numbers for the Democrats : Hillary Clinton, Diebold Accuvote optical scan: 39.618% Clinton, Hand Counted Paper Ballots: 34.908% Barack Obama, Diebold Accuvote optical scan: 36.309% Obama, Hand Counted Paper Ballots: 38.617%Based on those numbers, the electronic voting machines added 13,745 votes to Hillary Clinton's total and removed 6,604 votes from Barack Obama's total, thus giving her the win in the primary. The Republican side still has significant variations between...
More About: Electronic , Machines , Results , New Hampshire

Soldier?s ?Blog? From WWI Trenches An Internet Hit
2008-01-08 18:01:00
Nah, this isn't one of those Tupac albums written from the grave. This actually seems pretty legit. 90 years to the day after Harry Lamin fought on the front lines for C Company in World War I, the transcripts of each of his letters and diaries are being published on a blog, chronologically with time. Its readers tune in for the ongoing story in hopes of finding out what will come of their hero.The raid you read about in the papers was made by our Battalion. B Coy went over and we, no 12 platoon C. Coy stood to. It was made to get a prisoner or two, to get information which they did, they lost one man and two wounded, it happened about five one morning. I got a slight wound in the face with shrapnel but not much it is alright now, I did not go to the doctor. There as been a big advance this last day or two but I have been left out. We get left out in turns.we are expecting our Coy out tonight. We have some rough times out here but I think the Germans have it rougher. We have to m...
More About: Internet , Blog , Soldier

Solar Cycle 24: What Is It, And Why Should I Care?
2008-01-07 21:52:00
I did some more Digg-ing today. This is kind of becoming a daily routine because of all the awesome, totally useful news that you can't get anywhere else. Anyway, it helped me to learn a bit more about Solar Cycle 24, which, until now, I didn't even know existed.It?s official the NOAA, or more specifically the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rings in a new 11-year cycle of heightened solar activity. The new solar cycle is dubbed as Solar Cycle 24. The major climax of this new cycle is predicted to be in 2011 or 2012. Once the solar cycle reaches it?s maximum level you can expect it to bring greater risk of havoc on things like GPS signals, power grids, cell phones, civilian and airline communications, military communications and a whole lot more...It is only during strong periods of geomagnetic storms that many things on Earth can be damaged. Normally the earth?s magnetic field protects earth from all of the random emissions put out by the sun during increased acti...
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Boeing's New 787 May Be Vulnerable To Hacker Attack. WHAT?!?!?!?
2008-01-07 05:33:00
I was cruising through today's popular Diggs, when I came across this scary little revelation.Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner passenger jet may have a serious security vulnerability in its onboard computer networks that could allow passengers to access the plane's control systems, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.The computer network in the Dreamliner's passenger compartment, designed to give passengers in-flight internet access, is connected to the plane's control, navigation and communication systems, an FAA report reveals.The revelation is causing concern in security circles because the physical connection of the networks makes the plane's control systems vulnerable to hackers. A more secure design would physically separate the two computer networks. Boeing said it's aware of the issue and has designed a solution it will test shortly.read more | digg storyAre you kidding me? So basically we've got a situation where huge jetliners (see picture of the MASSI...
More About: Hacker , Attack , Atta

My 2007 Story Of The Year: TOYOTA
2008-01-05 15:54:00
It's the big story that never made the headlines: Toyota (a Japanese company) has overtaken Ford as the second largest U.S. (!!!) auto maker. Now only General Motors stands in their way for the top spot. I guess in a lot of ways this doesn't surprise me, and here's why.In 2007, Toyota sold 48,226 more cars and trucks than Ford. Let's face it, we're just not seeing as many new Fords on the road as we used to. Even the local and state governments seem to be making a gradual shift from Ford to General Motors. They feel obliged to contribute to an American auto maker (and thus to the American economy), but are forced to choose between an array of vehicles with very poor reliability ratings, notoriously short lives, and horrible fuel ratings.Oh yeah, fuel ratings. People are going nuts about gas prices and greenhouse gas emissions. Both complaints have reached a fever pitch worthy of making the average person's new car as green as possible. Ever heard of CAFE? It means Corporate Av...
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