Comments on: Bush Backs Off Pledge to Reduce Middle East Oil Imports

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 15:21:32 +0000

One more point: if you see oil independence as another piece of the all-encompassing national security puzzle, as Mr. Bush says he does, then you can justify government investment in renewable energy completely independently of economical issues.

At the very least it makes the math far more favorable. How much money are we burning on hamster-powered cars, and how much does a six-month supply of Tomahawk missiles cost?

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 15:05:38 +0000

I see one of three things happening as far as the transition away from a fossil-fuels economy goes.

1. The technology and infrastructure arrives exactly on time and everything goes smoothly.

2. The technology and infrastructure arrive "too soon", or while oil is still the cheapest option; they're unprofitable at first, and the investors lose money, at least in the short run.

3. The technology and infrastructure arrive too late. A massive crisis ensues.

While private industry isn't stupid, it also isn't infallible, especially timing-wise. It's potentially an important and useful role of government to jump-start investment in this field before it gets sexy, thereby making #3 less likely. I'd be happy to accept some waste of taxpayer funds as a hedge against a more spectacular disaster.

By: Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator

Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 11:19:04 +0000

Bush’s Mideast oil vow not meant literally...

WASHINGTON — In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Bush vowed to reduce A...

By: legion

legion — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 23:24:04 +0000

While it was certainly on shaky ground before then, the Niger claims weren't officially bailed on by the CIA until June '03.

Now all we have to fear are terrorist human-animal hybrids...

By: McGehee

McGehee — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 21:04:46 +0000

Maybe we could run our cars on yellowcake uranium?Oh, wait, that was a State of the Union lie, also.

Not quite. The claim that it was a lie, is the lie. Thank you for playing. Charlie, tell Jony about our nice parting gifts.

By: Jony

Jony — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 19:19:14 +0000

Maybe we could run our cars on yellowcake uranium?--Oh, wait, that was a State of the Union lie, also. Perhaps we'll find some on Mars--oh wait, that was another State of the Union "dramatization." Well, at least we don't have steroids to contend with anymore--that was probably Bush's most successful State of the Union-expressed goal.

By: Anderson

Anderson — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 19:08:32 +0000

Now, as Drum notes, Bush may be more consistent than his flunkies would like.

George Bush, later on Wednesday: "Bush expressed hope, as he did in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, for cutting oil imports from the Mideast. 'I believe in a relatively quick period of time, within my lifetime, we'll be able to reduce if not end dependence on Middle Eastern oil....I meant what I said last night, that America's addiction to oil is bad for this country.'"

Maybe they haven't been giving Bush his meds lately? What next? "Wow, invading Iraq was really stupid--must've been that pill Cheney gave me every morning!"

By: Herb Ely

Herb Ely — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 18:57:19 +0000

It would have been a better metaphor if he had said that the country is addicted to pork. Consider the five characteristics of addiction - increased tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, self-deception, loss of will, and distortion of attention. Our political system displays all five when it comes to federal funding.

By: none

none — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 18:53:47 +0000

You might also note that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory budget was just cut by 13% resulting in the elimination of 30-40 research jobs into, ummm, wind, biomass, ethanol... I'd say at this point that the administration was lying then and now.