The "perpetual motion" of political maneuverings.

Recently I've developed a remarkable affinity for shifty politicians. With their array of evasions and dances around what are not very complex issues, they make such easy targets for my derision. Some of these characters, OK, almost all of these characters, talk out of so many corners of their mouths I would think they're going into the Utah coal mining business(!)

Witness the latest bandwagon loaded with mindless rhetoric about renewable energy sources and "alternative" fuels and independence. This is politico-speak for the various classes of ethanol, an alcohol distillate. But, you don't dare hear ethanol
defined by these guys and here's why; concepts by themselves are such honorable and noble 'Causes' when equated with ambiguous phrases like "renewable" and "alternative", concepts the average half-wit voter will never understand.

Reference one of the defining principles of our known universe, that energy is neither created nor destroyed, but merely changes form. Do you ever hear the masterful liars in public office disclose that the energy content in a quantity of ethanol is only 85% that of gasoline? Of course not. Vehicles achieve lower mpg with ethanol because there is less potential energy to convert back into combustion.

Billions of our tax receipts are being spent on disrupting our direct food-chain with corn-ethanol and chemical plant construction for that politically motivated purpose.
Here's a relevant comparison; one gallon of ethanol requires more than one gallon of oil to attain usable grade. So let's siphon-off the agricultural product which is an integral part of our food-chain, combine it with the petroleum we could use to travel further, and create a much-less-efficient "alternative".

Are you surprised OPEC and the big oil companies seem to Love this great idea?
Just keep those huge campaign contributions coming...and "remember to build that ethanol plant in my district".

Witness the latest BP television commercial in which various actors masquerading as concerned and mentally engaged consumers parrot the basic party myopia, energy independence and "alternative" fuels. Are we as a society so starved for good ideas that we attach our collective consciousness to the first dumb idea marketed down our throats?

We are repeatedly focusing on illusory, short-term schemes rather than long-term realities. We must dedicate ourselves to solutions and not mere panacea. The only non-renewable resource in short supply is innovation, without which we will surely perish. DR