No More Mr. Tough Guy, Thomas Friedman, NY Times, 2/8/06

[Coastie for Truth]

I've always thought Dick Cheney took national security seriously. I don't anymore. It seems that Mr. Cheney is so convinced that we have no choice but to be dependent on crude oil, so convinced that conservation is just some silly liberal hobby, that he will never seriously summon the country to kick its oil habit, never summon it to do anything great.

Indeed, he seems determined to be a drag on any serious effort to make America energy-independent. He presents all this as a tough-guy "realist" view of the world. But it's actually an ignorant and naïve view — one that underestimates what Americans can do, and totally misses how the energy question has overtaken Iraq as the most important issue in U.S. foreign policy. If he persists, Mr. Cheney is going to ensure that the Bush team squanders its last three years — and a lot more years for the country.

Listen to Mr. Cheney's answer when the conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham asked him how he reacted to my urgings for a gasoline tax to push all Americans to drive energy-saving vehicles and make us energy-independent — now.

"Well, I don't agree with that," Mr. Cheney said. "I think — the president and I believe very deeply that, obviously, the government has got a role to play here in terms of supporting research into new technologies and encouraging the development of new methods of generating energy. ... But we also are big believers in the market, and that we need to be careful about having government come in, for example, and tell people how to live their lives. ... This notion that we have to 'impose pain,' some kind of government mandate, I think we would resist. The marketplace does work out there."

What is he talking about? The global oil market is anything but free. It's controlled by the world's largest cartel — OPEC — which sets output, and thereby prices, according to the needs of some of the worst regimes in the world. By doing nothing, we are letting their needs determine the price and their treasuries reap all the profits.

Some excerpts, thoughts, and comments---

Gregory Mankiw, recently retired chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, wrote in The Wall Street Journal on Jan. 3 about his New Year's resolutions: "Everyone hates taxes, but the government needs to fund its operations, and some taxes can actually do some good in the process. I will tell the American people that a higher tax on gasoline is better at encouraging conservation than are heavy-handed (mileage standards). It would not only encourage people to buy more fuel-efficient cars, but it would encourage them to drive less."

Friedman asks "So who protects their oil supplies from the Middle East? U.S. taxpayers. We spend nearly $600 billion a year on defense, a large chunk in the Persian Gulf. But how do we pay for that without a gas tax? Income taxes and Social Security. Yes, we tax our incomes and raid our children's Social Security fund so Europeans and Japanese can comfortably import their oil from the gulf, impose big gas taxes on it at their pumps and then use that income for their own domestic needs. And because they have high gas taxes, they also beat Detroit at making more fuel-efficient cars. Now how tough is that?

Interesting quote in the op-ed from said Michael Mandelbaum, a foreign policy expert and the author of "The Case for Goliath." ""Everyone says we need a new Marshall Plan, ... We have a Marshall Plan. It's our energy policy. It's a Marshall plan for terrorists and dictators."

[Beetwasher]

1. Friedman is a Fucking Idiot

Sorry, but he's feigning surprise here. Cheney is an oilman, WTF does he think Cheney would do? Reign in the oil companies? Friedman's been living in la la land for a while and all of a sudden he's waking up and saying "Hmmm, these guys, maybe there not so good for this country...". You know what? He can go fuck himself. He's a scumbag enabler.

[Coastie for Truth]

2. But I am a efffing doctoral level chemical engineer

And out of a 40 plus year career I have worked 30 plus effing years in the effing (alternative, renewable, and green) energy industry.

And while I don't buy into the whole James Howard Kunstler ("The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century") Malthusian scenario - if we don't get our effing energy house in order pretty effing fast - we are going to see a God awful misch of a Kunstlerian mega-depression and an onging series of energy wars - as in American blood for Arab oil - as per PNAC's "Rebuilding America's Defenses"

And I have worked in synthetic liquid fuels from coal, nuclear power, eletrochemistry (batteries and fuel cells), and solar energy -- and I was a federal regulator of bulk petroleum transport in the Coast guard.

And we are in for major problems.

[Beetwasher]

4. Yeah

No kidding. We're in for some serious shit. What's amazing to me though, is that Friedman somehow thoght that Cheney might have ever given a shit. Friemdan's a fucking idiot with his head up his ass. "Gee, I'm getting the feeling that Cheney maybe doesn't really want to do anything about the energy crisis." Duh. I'm just some moron posting an internet message board who doesn't have a cushy job at the NYT with all sorts of high powered political connections, and yet, somehow I knew from day one Cheney didn't give a shit.

[orwell]

5. "And we are in for major problems..."

...effing right effing on.

As a financial trader for over 25 years I coudn't agree more. It is screaming at us everyday when we look at the commodity charts.

But then, who would expect "conservatives" to pay attention to a free market.

[Coastie for Truth]

6. You might find this interesting--

[orwell]

3. You go beet...

...couldn't have said it better. I am tired of all the "scumbag enablers" running like rats from the ship that they so neatly outfitted with storerooms full of bullshit just a few years ago. All of a sudden, as Iraq predictably descends into chaos, oil prices go through the roof, when we are on the verge of a nuclear conflict in the world's energy breadbasket and we are "entertained" with riots and vilolence over cartoons "for God's sake," these clowns want to cry foul.

Blow it out your ass Friedman, you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas.

No offense to real dogs...