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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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Get More Details! ffiaison Bleu - eiuufh riTjin cjfrjLf • Wathinsville 706.76U 64S0 T)cv, iummcr hours' (Beginning June J3) Lunch men i>at 11:00am J -Jpm Limner HTon Sal JOuptn eloae Closed Sunday • Closed duly I J Private and uemi Private Lining Available NEWS & FEATURES I ARTS & EVENTS I MOVIES I MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS JUNE 20,2007 • FLAGPOLE.COM 5