"Estimates of the amount spent by the Saudis in the last 30 years spreading Wahhabi beliefs throughout the world vary from $70 billion to $100 billion. Furthermore, some oil-rich families of the Greater Middle East fund terrorist groups directly. The spread of Wahhabi doctrine fanatically hostile to Shiite and Suffi Muslims, Jews, Christians, women, modernity, and much else plays a major role with respect to Islamist terrorist groups: a role similar to that played by angry German nationalism with respect to Nazism in the decades after World War I. Not all angry German nationalists became Nazis and not all those schooled in Wahhabi beliefs become terrorists, but in each case the broader doctrine of hatred has provided the soil in which the particular totalitarian movement has grown. Whether in lectures in the madrassas of Pakistan, in textbooks printed by Wahhabis for Indonesian schoolchildren, or on bookshelves of mosques in the US, the hatred spread by Wahhabis and funded by oil is evident and influential. On all points except allegiance to the Saudi state Wahhabi and al Qaeda beliefs are essentially the same."In other words: Saudi Arabia = al Qaeda So we have simply got to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I'm all for drilling in ANWAR and off of the Florida coast, but simple mathmatics prove that neither of these will make much difference. I don't have time to go through all of the criticisms of the Cato scholar, but will briefly address the safety issue. Sure, smaller cars are more at risk today, but only because some people insist on driving huge SUVs. If everyone drove a smaller car, we'd all be equal. Now, maybe this energy bill isn't the right way to go. Maybe instead of increasing CAFE standards we ought to slap a $3 or $4 dollar tax on each gallon of gas. Maybe we ought to invest more in Flexible Fuel Vehicles. Whatever, I'm open to suggestions. But my bottom line is that right now we're funding terrorism and Islamic fascism and we need to find a way to stop it.
That's how I'd do it, if the need is that urgent. I'd also tariff all oil from foreign sources. And I'd use the money to bulldoze every frickin' Saudi-funded madrassa in this country and help other countries do the same.
(Because, with taxes, you see, people still have a choice as to what to buy or use. The taxes simply render some choices less palatable than before.)
Oh, and I’d also bulldoze every radical and/or Saudi-funded mosque as well, and deport every radical muslim in the country. A wise use of our fuel taxes to gain the upper hand in the WOT.
I'm one of those people. Ever try to fit a family of 6 into one of your small cars?
What next? We mandate a maximum family size so everyone can fit in to a sub compact. How do plan on fixing that? Are Forced abortions and sterilization in your plan as well? Or do you expect me to take two cars when I take my family anywhere? All so we can have an "equal" chance of being killed on the road?
God help us. When "Americans" actually think the way you do, this country truly is lost.
I’m not so sure that the details of this legislation are the right way to go, but I absolutely disagee with the assertion that we don’t need to do anything to reduce our petroleum consumption”
People don’t understand how free market capitalism works so well and that ANY government interference has only negative consequences. For example because the liberal media says that “WE” need to reduce our oil consumption now the government has mandated ridiculously high mileage standards for car makers.
Just a few unintended , unforseen ,consequences than an average individual like me sees is that mucle cars and full-size pickups will be banned because they can never get to 35 mpg in that short of a time. Maybe others haven’t noticed but i have that full-size pickups do a lot of the hauling and transporting of goods, materials and equipment for businesses. the AC repair man that fixed my AC works out of an F250 ford pick up. The locksmith that fixed my mailbox out of a van and so on. banning these trucks will destroy our economy. but government planner idiots didn’t see this because government planning never works as just this example shows.
People think it’s just easy to manufacture something like a cell phone or a laptop computer? You don’t know how many millions of people had a hand in designing, planning, managing, transporting , manufacturing, marketing that laptop . But all this works in businesses perfectly without any government planning. you stick a government plan into this complex process that no one individual can never have the knowledge to implement it and you will serious problems.
I’m not so sure that the details of this legislation are the right way to go, but I absolutely disagee with the assertion that we don’t need to do anything to reduce our petroleum consumption”
People don’t understand how free market capitalism works so well and that ANY government interference has only negative consequences. For example because the liberal media says that “WE” need to reduce our oil consumption now the government has mandated ridiculously high mileage standards for car makers.
Just a few unintended , unforseen ,consequences that an average individual like me sees is that muscle cars and full-size pickups will be banned because they can never get to 35 mpg in that short of a time. Maybe others haven’t noticed but i have that full-size pickups do a lot of the hauling and transporting of goods, materials and equipment for businesses. the AC repair man that fixed my AC works out of an F250 ford pick up. The locksmith that fixed my mailbox out of a van and so on. banning these trucks will destroy our economy. but government planner idiots didn’t see this because government planning never works as just this example shows.
People think it’s just easy to manufacture something like a cell phone or a laptop computer? You don’t know how many millions of people had a hand in designing, planning, managing, transporting , manufacturing, marketing that laptop . But all this works in businesses perfectly without any government planning. you stick a government plan into this complex process that no one individual can never have the knowledge to implement it and you will have serious problems.