Comments for American Constitution Society

Comment on Copyright Infringement: Worse Than Murder? by bigsavings

bigsavings — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:57:13 +0000

By the way, I really am quite into music. I blog about music at http://toomuchhappiness.com/ - I feel like I can cross-promote in this case without feeling like too much of a pusher.

Comment on Very Cursory Overview of FCPA Issues by Mike Koehler

Mike Koehler — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:34:12 +0000

The following website also provides a good overview of the FCPA - http://www.fcpaenforcement.com - including all of the recent enforcement actions.

Comment on 9th Circuit Gives California Violent Video Games Bill the Beat Down by rita

rita — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:56:40 +0000

As a California resident and a state employee who has recently had a 10% salary cut (and mandatory furlough days, which have yet to be accomodated) AND is awaiting my california tax refund (which is several thousand dollars, and I am told I may NEVER get it), I agree that my tax dollars could be better spent.

Comment on Avast, Ye Somalian Pirates! by rita

rita — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:24:38 +0000

And I’ll bet you never left legos on the floor again … when you had to buy your own!

Comment on CAFE Standards: Fed Task Force FAIL by DocMiles

DocMiles — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:33:33 +0000

I’d like to mention that both the CAFE and EPA ratings have very little to do with _actual_ fuel mileage (fleet or personal), and can be exceeded in nearly any car by anyone taking the initiative to practice simple “eco-driving” techniques.

Obama’s task force could track their actual fuel mileage using their existing cars on a website like FuelClinic [www.fuelclinic.com] and use the eco-driving techniques to show the nation the easily repeatable efficiency improvements _anyone_ can make - and it wouldn’t cost a dime.

Comment on CAFE Standards: Fed Task Force FAIL by Mike

Mike — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:10:29 +0000

Hi Mark, a major (and common) error with the MPG calculations. You used the 2008 EPA test. CAFE fuel economy is calculated based on the horribly outdated FTP-75 test from 1975, which is much easier. For example, the Mini Cooper S is rated at 33mpg from the CAFE perspective. All other vehicles in your list would see a similar improvement. You can download the fuel economy data files http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/download.shtml

The UNRND comp or ucmb numbers are what you should be looking at.

Comment on CAFE Standards: Fed Task Force FAIL by GRPeng

GRPeng — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:21:01 +0000

A very interesting article. A good example of why CAFE needed to be raised and why trucks should have not been given breaks for so long. Detroit also got breaks on CAFE standards for having E85 flex fuel vehicles but because of import tariffs on ethanol, very few of the E85 fuel pumps were set up on the Coasts away from heartland corn fields until there were massive subsidies set up when prices jumped.

Another minor criticism though… older cars had higher numbers before the rating system was changed. The Mini S had a combined rating of 28 MPG when it was originally sold. This car went from being above the average to below the average.

Comment on CAFE Standards: Fed Task Force FAIL by Elcheecho

Elcheecho — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:35:53 +0000

you can’t just average MPG like that.

this is the equation where x is the MPGs

http://www.sitmo.com/gg/latex/latex2png.2.php?z=100&eq=N\div\sum_{1}^{n}\frac{1}{x_i%20}

Comment on CAFE Standards: Fed Task Force FAIL by Mark Pike

Mark Pike — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:04:10 +0000

Welcome to Consumerist readers! Thanks for the comments!

I understand that CAFE is a standard for industry averages and this is merely a small sampling of a few individuals. As I stated, I just felt like this provided an excellent opportunity to highlight that the task force is a microcosm of American commuters as a whole.

Feel free to continue the discussion in the comments section here. My analysis was admittedly unscientific and, apparently, statistically flawed. Nevertheless, the policy debate remains the same. What can we do to provide consumers with more fuel-efficient choices?

Comment on CAFE Standards: Fed Task Force FAIL by greg_d

greg_d — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:54:58 +0000

Good post, however your calculations are severely flawed. Like many Americans (and politicians as well), you have confused arithmetic mean with harmonic mean (average). This error makes a big difference when calculating CAFE. Secondly, you lumped SUVS/Light Trucks into the same category as passenger cars and averaged them all together. Currently, these two different types of vehicles have different cafe standards. I won’t go into too much more detail - a quick google search can explain it. Still, I enjoyed the effort. Funny, the people in charge of “saving” America’s auto industry mostly drive foreign cars. Go figure.