I fundamentally disagree with everything you have written in this thread (and assume in every other thread concerning politics). I assume you vote a straight republican ticket and this is as disgusting as someone who votes a straight democrat ticket. Imagine my surprise when you write about something I've always wondered about and might agree with. Although I don't remember the exact numbers, I saw estimates on power usage for all of the folding going on and it's not insignificant. If it really helps, and is an efficient use of resources, then by all means, it should continue. It would be interesting to see it quantified though. For me, and what I see is a lack of evidence, it's similar to giving blood. It's presented, almost religiously, as a human duty. Not that helping out someone in need is a bad thing, but I believe someone's profiting from people's kindheartedness or sense of duty.m0002a wrote:...
Regarding the issue of Folding, etc, and whether it actually produces any results, compared to the amount of green house gases it produces and the energy (money) that is expended running it:
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20 years ago, I lived in a large city (predominantly republican, btw) that was just getting on the recycling bandwagon by delivering a separate container to residents and asking them to fill it with cans and glass for trash day. I thought it was stupid that we were giving free labor so that some recycling company could make profits. Boy, was I wrong. It turned out that the contents of the separate container were tossed into the dump right along with the other trash.
I don't suppose you have a 'deserving' charity in mind... In the republican city mentioned above, I donated some money to vietnam vets. How could this not be a good thing? It turned out that the head of this charity legally retained 85% of all donations. He did give 15% to the vets though... (btw, you might want to reconsider this line of attack - it's unrepublican to give credence to the possibility that greenhouse gases might have some effect on the environment.)It would be interesting to calculate how much money and green house gases are expended by this activity each year, and I wonder if it might be better to just donate the money to a deserving charity.
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So, what does any of this have to do with palin? She's a republican. I believe she would defend all of the above shady actions. It is embarrassing to see people using gender to criticize her though - just as it should be embarrassing when republican attack dogs do the same thing. I don't believe there's really much substance there - just another rabid, fundie republican. Even though we are a nation of people who give an inordinate amount of attention to train wrecks, the focus will eventually be on mccain again, where it belongs, even if he is uninteresting.
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And, if I've erroneously labeled you a republican, my sincerest apologies.