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p>V» gN UNIVERSAL PRESS SWPtCATC ClOOl R-80LUNt/- -05*t VrNW # to*\VW«Aan6f\gkUVCO*n
like opening up a slot in their backside, squat
ting down and pinching off a few rebars like they
were turds? Or do you mean going miles under
the earth and digging for iron ore, putting it in a
blast furnace, heating it several hundred degrees,
pouring out the red-hot molten metal into rods
and then cooling them with gallons and gallons
of water? This "locally acquired aggregates and
cement" that you speak of, is that just laying by
the side of the road so the robots can just scoop
it up, or do you need to go to "Aggregates 'R*
Us" to find it? I need to put an extension on my
driveway, so I sure could use some of the stuff
that you seem to think is just lying around for
the taking.
You talked about people being able to pur
chase 100 self-replicating robots. Where would
someone keep 100+ robots? You couldn't just
leave them out in the rain or they would rust or
short-circuit. I would think you would need a
building larger than the cozy concrete and rebar
house they built on your "half an acre per person
of rural land."
How would you power 100+ robots? Would
they just "make it' in the same place they
"make" the rebar? Oh, wait the "10 kilowatts
of carbon-free power" ought to do the trick.
Especially from "solar panels with ?0 percent
efficiency" that are located in Alaska during the
winter, when they only have a few hours of day
light each day.
Mr. Priest, did you think any of this stuff
through before writing it down? Normally, I don't
waste my time responding to such drivel, but
the overwhelming amount of misinformation in
just a few paragraphs made me feel it must be
addressed.
I have no patience for people who try to pass
themselves off as progressive, forward-think
ing individuals who struggle to understand the
deeper issues of life by simply making outlandish
statements bolstered by pseudo-scientific gob-
bledygook or mathematical equations intended to
impress or intimidate others in an effort to k*»ep
anything they have said from being challenged.
Consider me the one who tries to tell you that
you can't sing before you make a fool of yourself
at an audition for "American Idol."
Philip Weinrich
Bogart
Editor s note Keith Priest s letter was edited for length
in the June 6 issue of Flagpole It’s possible that some o(
Mr Weinnch s complaints were addressed in the sections
that were edited out. but the letters editor confesses to
an ignorance of robotic technology and policy that pre
vents him from knowing for sure (Ben Emanuel]
FRED DRAFTER
I think Mr. Chapman seriously missed the
mark in his article about Fred Thompson's poten
tial presidential bid [Comment: "Fred Thompson
Calling " .Tune 13]. He states that things get
trickier when a candidate has to actually start
staking out clear positions in his campaign.
While he's correct that this was part of Wesley
Clark's problem, I think he's quite wrong that it
will be Thompson's. One of the main reasons that
Fred is so appealing to so many people is that he
already has staked out clear, firm positions on
most, if not all. of the big issues facing our na
tion. This is not because he is forced to, but be
cause he is strong, intelligent and principled. It
is because his positions are an honest reflection
of his beliefs and his leadership ability, and are
truly his, as opposed to what he needs to say to
look good. It is because his positions are deferr
able and supported by his political record. He's
no mystery candidate. For anyone who wishes
to know, his opinions are readily available, and
this puts his potential run for president in a
whole other league from Clark's, as well as from
the vast majority of the current field of both
Republican and Democratic candidates.
Rebecca Kreister
Athens
TOM-DANCING BUG
PRESENTS'-
„ 8y
Ruben
^OLUNG"
A COUNCIL OFF me NATION'S TO? CRITICS HAVC COME TO THE
inescapable, objective conclusion that the best period
Of POP CULTURE occurred when you were twelve tears old
Critic s Corner
Everything
Was Better
When You
Were Twelve
wl Did an exhaustive
STUDY AND DEFINI
TIVELY FOUND THAT
NO ERA BEFORE OR.
SINCE PRODUCED ART
WITH THE SU&LIME
depth, Poignancy
AND MEANING AS
DID THE TIME
when tom were
TWELVE.
V
FOR EXAMPLE, MOVIE COMEDIES ARE SO
S«.LV TODAY. YES. THEY WERE *SILLY"
when YOU WERE TWELVE, BuT THEN
THE SILLINESS WAS SUBVERSIVELY
ANARCHIC/
AND POP MUSIC IS
JUST DUMB COMPARED
TO THE SHEER FUN
AND EXHUMATION
OF THE SONGS
FROM THE TIME
WHEN THE
PERSON READ -
ING THIS WAS
TWELVE/
I'M TWELVE NOW,
SO ALL I CAN SAT
is that‘pirates of
THE CARIBBEAN 3*
IS REALLY
AWESOMELY,
COOL.
BUT IN 30 TEARS,
WHEN I'M AN
ESSAYIST, ILL
WRITE HNPeR-
ARTICULATE
justifications
OF ns GENIUS.
VOTE FOR
PEDRO
of course, ill 8E Totally wrong--
UNLESS YOU ARE ALSO TWELVE TODAY/
Next:
Political
Scientists
Agree:
America
“Lost Its
Innocence"
When You,
the Reader
of This,
Grew Up.
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