October 20, 2018

Three Cheers for Driverless Buses!

Kevin and Marian are on a weekend getaway, but where are they?Kevin Drum

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

I’m on vacation this weekend, but right now I’m sitting around waiting for some photos to upload very sl-o-o-o-w-ly to my ancient tablet.¹ I would buy a new Surface Pro if it were even slightly better than the one I have now—and I’m such a hopeless fan that it wouldn’t take much to talk myself into it—but Microsoft’s latest is a joke. I guess I’ll have to wait for the Surface Pro 7, assuming Microsoft doesn’t kill the whole product line before then.

Anyway, I was perusing my blog reading list and noticed Atrios once again mocking the concept of self-driving cars. And that’s OK. We all need a hobby, and besides, I’m now confident that advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma will let me to live long enough to see full, no-shit driverless cars for sale in ordinary Chevy showrooms. So I’ll have the last laugh.

In the meantime, though, I just have one comment: if the software boffins can build driverless cars, they can also build driverless buses, trains, blimps, hyperloops, and hovercraft. It’s just a matter of a little more time.

¹It’s one year old.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With only days left until December 31, we've raised about half of our $400,000 goal—but we need a huge surge in reader support to close the remaining gap. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With only days left until December 31, we've raised about half of our $400,000 goal—but we need a huge surge in reader support to close the remaining gap. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate