Ethanol: The Side Effects

Take a look at this:

They don't have enough to eat. Five people are dead in Port Au Prince, Haiti after a week of food riots. Unions in Burkina Faso have called a general strike to protest the high cost of grain. Food riots have rocked Egypt, Cameroon, Indonesia, Ethiopia and other nations. In Manila, police with M-16s have supervised the sale and distribution of subsidized grain. Hoarders have been threatened with life imprisonment. In Thailand and Pakistan, troops are guarding fields and warehouses. In Egypt, the army has been called out to bake bread. Even in the United States, a run on rice has caused big-box retailers Sam's Club and Costco to limit the amount of rice consumers can purchase per visit (though the cap is extremely generous -- each customer can buy four 20 pound bags of rice per day at Costco).

That sounds like the plot to one of the futuristic apocalypse/disaster movies from the 1970s/1980s. But it's not. It's real life and it's happening today. Why? Well, the answer to that will surprise most liberals and green activists.

In his epic work, Wealth Of Nations, Adam Smith noted that whenever a transaction between two people occurred, it was because both believed they were gaining something in the exchange. Further, Smith noted that when both parties did gain something, there were unintended side-benefits that went beyond the single transaction.

Well, the idea of side-benefits also applies to unintended consequences. What you read in the above excerpt is just that: unintended consequences of a transaction that has been forced upon us by our own government. I am, of course, referring to ethanol.

It is simple economics. When supply goes down, price goes up. It does not matter the reason that supply went down, just that it went down. When our government mandated the use of ethanol in our gasoline, it cut into the supply of corn that we use for food and food production. As a result of this, the price of food has gone up, not just here at home, but worldwide.

More, from Mona Charen over at TownHall.com:

It seemed like such a painless solution. It fits on a bumper sticker. In fact, I saw one yesterday: "Don't burn fuel. Grow it." The EU adopted a goal of producing 10 percent of its fuel for road transportation from biofuels by 2020. The U.S. government (cheered on by the agriculture industry and environmentalists) adopted a mandate of 36 billion gallons of biofuel production by 2022 -- a five-fold increase over 2006 levels amounting to 28 percent of the U.S. grain harvest. Congress and the president joined hands to pass this feel-good legislation just when, as the Wall Street Journal pointed out, new data were demonstrating that biofuels cost more energy than they save. "When the hidden costs of conversion are included, greenhouse-gas emissions from corn ethanol over the next 30 years will be twice as high as from regular gasoline. In the long term, it will take 167 years before the reduction in carbon emissions from using ethanol 'pays back' the carbon released by land-use change."

Of course, that will be a small relief to those who will starve over the next 167 years just so we can feel good about a law that will never reach it's stated goals.

We aren't even sure that Global Warming (or any kind of climate change) is even human induced. But we can be absolutely sure that whatever we try to do about it will have serious costs.

Mona's parting shot:

"When millions of people are going hungry," Palaniappan Chidambaram, India's finance minister told the Journal, "it's a crime against humanity that food should be diverted to biofuels." This is not to suggest that all efforts to conserve energy or maintain the environment are folly. Rather, it's a cautionary tale. How much environmental improvement do we really get and -- this is paramount -- at what price?

Yes. At what price? I have no doubt that the environmentalists and others who cheered on this bill went to sleep that night feeling very good about themselves.

But, as was noted in the book (and movie) The Neverending Story, when travellers reached the second gate to get to the Southern oracle, they looked into a mirror and saw their true selves. Brave men found they were truly cowards and kind people found they were truly cruel. Those who cheered on this ill-thought out ethanol law fall in the latter category.

You can access the complete column on-line here:

Let Them Eat Ethanol?
Mona Charen
TownHall.com
April 25, 2008

Oil Prices Down For Fear Of Recession, Rupert Murdoch Against The NY Times, GOP Takes On Earmarks, And Malaysia Goes After Christians

Lots going on today as "Black Tuesday" rolls onward. Markets around the world slid yesterday on fears of a U.S. recession. Our markets were closed due to the MLK holiday but opened to expected losses, until the Fed cut interest rates by three-quarters of a point and now the market is on the rise again. I'm not sure how well that is going to play out since I am not an economist, but do I seem to recall that slashing the rates like that devalues the dollar which in turn leads to higher prices for us abroad.

That means that foreign markets will be losing confidence in the U.S. economy and it is already showing.

Here are the market indices from Asia yesterday:



But we've also found out that the price of oil is going down. Many people will see that as a positive sign, but I think it is a portent of more troubles ahead.

From the Associated Press:

Oil futures dropped sharply Tuesday on mounting concerns that the U.S. economy may be heading toward a recession that would dampen demand for crude. While the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut helped crude futures recover some of their earlier losses, many investors doubt the move will stave off a serious slowdown. “Whenever you see a rate cut of that magnitude between (Fed) meetings ... it conjures up images of desperation,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill. ... High energy prices also have been cited as a force pushing the economy toward recession. If oil prices continue to fall, as many analysts now expect, that could relieve some pressure on the economy. At the pump, gas prices have mostly fallen in recent weeks after rising sharply earlier in the month as oil set a new record above $100 a barrel. Overnight, the average national price of a gallon of gas held steady at $3.01 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. But prices have fallen 2.3 cents a gallon since Friday. Other energy futures also fell Tuesday. February heating oil futures dropped 4.74 cents to $2.46 a gallon on the Nymex, while February gasoline futures fell 4.59 cents to $2.2575 a gallon. February natural gas futures dropped 17.6 cents to $7.817 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude futures for March delivery fell 4 cents to $87.47 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Did you get all that? Although it looks like prices are trying to stabilize themselves in the free market, the truth is that this is a sign of decreased spending potential and decreased amounts of capital in the overall economy. That will lead to higher unemployment and then to a recession.

Get ready. It's coming. (But, I really do hope I am wrong.)

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Oil Prices Sink On Fears Of A Recession
Associated Press via MSNBC
January 22, 2008

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Ed Lasky at the American Thinker gives us some great scoop on Rupert Murdoch and his plan to unseat the New York Times as the nations' "newspaper of record." Given how poorly the Times has been managed over the last few years, it shouldn't be hard for Mr. Murdoch to accomplish.

From Mr. Lasky's column:

Legendary media baron Rupert Murdoch has just completed his purchase of the Wall Street Journal - a paper that also enjoys nationwide reach, but one that has heretofore focused on the world of business. Change is afoot. Murdoch is a man who makes no "small plans"; he makes "big plans". ... Murdoch's goal is to transform the Journal into a rival of the Times, and then surpass it, making the Journal the nation's preeminent general interest newspaper. Given Murdoch's history, zeal, resources and talents -- all qualities sadly lacking in the fourth generation of Sulzbergers, as symbolized by Pinch -- the Times will be toppled. The downfall of the Times was almost pre-ordained once family members placed Pinch Sulzberger in control of the paper. He had no real world experience to prepare him to lead the Times. He had two brief sinecures working for other companies (he was a reporter with the Raleigh Times and the London correspondent for the Associated Press) before joining the family paper. Once he was "promoted" to be both the publisher and Chairman of the Board (duties that many believe should be divided between two people for ethical as well as business reasons), he was uniquely positioned to do double the damage to the paper. And damage he has done. Indeed, his greatest "accomplishment" seems to be his ability to drive the paper and his extended family fortune into the ground. ... One can envision something of what the future will bring when the Wall Street Journal enjoys all the benefits that other parts of News Corporation will provide. As it is transformed into a paper geared toward all the American people, features that are developed at other Murdoch properties can be easily "parachuted" into the printed pages of the Journal. Entertainment news? No problem. News Corporation has wonderful connections via its Twentieth Century Fox operations. More religious coverage for an increasingly religious America? News Corporation recently purchased Belief.Net, a key website for people who want to better understand their faith (an acquisition that would be unlikely to pass muster at the religiously secular New York Times). More local news, more international news? Easy access with ownership of over 100 newspapers around the world and Fox radio and TV outlets throughout America. The News Corporation can be its own in-house Associated Press combining the people in place with the wherewithal to put even more of them in place) to report from outposts around the world.

In short, look for the Wall Street Journal to supplant the NYT in the years ahead.

Think it can't happen? Notice that the New York Post, also owned by Murdoch, already has a larger circulation in New York City than the Times has.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Toppling The Times: Rupert Takes On Pinch
Ed Lasky
The American Thinker
January 21, 2008

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During the 2006 Congressional midterm campaigns, the Dems loudly proclaimed that they would put and end to Congressional earmarks. But alas, they've done no such thing. According the Jed Babbin at Human Events:

The process of earmarking -- despite conservatives’ efforts this year and Democratic leadership promises to the contrary -- was kept concealed from the public’s view last year. Congressmen such as John Murtha (D.-Pa.) -- the uncrowned king of earmarks -- have fought successfully against disclosure because they do not want any accountability for what most observers agree is the waste of billions of tax dollars. Now, a small group of Republican House conservatives is planning a move that could force reform on House Democrats and the Senate. These conservative members -- including Representatives Jeb Hensarling (Tex.), Mike Pence (Ind.) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.) -- are planning a major initiative against congressional earmarks on which they will try to get conference-wide agreement at the Republican retreat scheduled for Wednesday through Friday of this week at the Greenbrier Resort. According to a congressional source, the conservatives plan to ask the entire Republican House Conference to agree to a yearlong moratorium on earmarks.

Will this plan work? Jed goes on:

The impact of this moratorium could be significant. First, it would demonstrate the commitment of House Republicans to real reform of how the peoples’ money is spent. Second, if it is followed by the appointment of Flake to the Appropriations Committee, it would be, in the words of our source, “putting our fox in the henhouse.” The source also said that the House GOP meeting at which committee members will be chosen was, only last Thursday, postponed until after the retreat, which opens the window of opportunity wider for the conservatives’ move. If the conservatives succeed in obtaining agreement to the moratorium and then in getting Flake on the Appropriations Committee, the Democrats will be under enormous pressure. They will be Flake’s only targets.

Sounds good to me! Looks like someone on the GOP side of the ailse finally got some brains and a backbone to go with them. I, for one, will be very anxious to see how the Dems respond if the GOP can actually get this plan into place.

You can access the complete column on-line here:

House GOP Prepares One-Two Punch On Earmarks
Jed Babbin
Human Events Online
January 22, 2008

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And finally, we have more disturbing news coming out of an Islamic dominated nation. (Are you really surprised by this?) Malaysia is confiscating Christian Children's books because they violate Sharia Law. From the Washington Times:

Malaysian authorities confiscated Christian children's books, claiming the illustrations of prophets such as Moses and Abraham violate Islamic Shariah law. The independent news agency Malaysakini reported the Internal Security Ministry confiscated the literature from bookstores in two cities and one small town in mid-December. ... The Rev. Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Malaysian Council of Churches, confirmed the report and accused the government of persecuting Christians. "The officials have offended the sensitivities of Christians because their publications and depictions of their Biblical personalities have now become targets of unscrupulous Muslim officials bent on curtailing religious freedom in the country," Mr. Shastri said. "Immediate steps should be taken to amend administrative rules and regulations, especially in the Internal Security Ministry, that give a free hand to enforcement officials to act on their whim and fancies," he said. Christians, Hindus and other religious groups in Malaysia say they are increasingly being targeted as the nation gradually cedes jurisdiction to Shariah courts.

Tolerance? Diversity? Religion of peace? Hello?

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Malaysia Seizes Christian Books
Elizabeth Eldridge
The Washington Times
January 22, 2008

Environmentalists And Oil Prices, Massive Gas Field Detected And More Calls For Border Agent Pardons

Michael Reagan takes a look at what environmentalists and the Democrats have forced upon us in the way of energy policy and how we have been 1) paying for it and 2) forced into a very humiliating position with OPEC as a result.

From his column:

Here we have the humiliating spectacle of a president of the United States begging an Arab potentate to increase our supply of oil while Democrats, who bear the major responsibility for the problem, scoff at him as a mendicant groveling at the feet of a foreign monarch. As humiliating as it is for the United States to be put in a position where our economy is held hostage to foreign oil producers who can make or break our nation simply by limiting their petroleum production, thus causing the price of oil to skyrocket, it is even more shameful that we have allowed the so-called environmental movement to escape the blame for our predicament. Make no mistake about it, you are paying exorbitant prices at the gas pump solely because the environmental terrorists and their Democrat allies in Congress have all but shut down our domestic oil production while refusing to allow the exploration and creation of new sources of this resource so vital to our economic health.

Michael pulls no punches here. Those are the facts and realities we are facing today. How many years have we Conservatives been warning people about this? Too many.

More:

George Bush should have stood on his bully pulpit and pointed his finger at Capitol Hill and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and said, “How dare you not give the nation an energy policy? Because you won’t give us an energy policy I have been forced to go the Saudi Arabia, get down on my knees and beg them to give us what you refuse to give us – an adequate supply of reasonably priced oil.” George Bush should point the finger of blame at Mrs. Pelosi and Sen. Reid and their environmentalist co-conspirators for refusing to enact an energy policy that dictates drilling in ANWR and the Florida Gulf -- where the Chinese and Cubans are drilling for the huge plentiful supply of oil beneath the seas to their heart’s content. We should also be harnessing nuclear power, and mining clean coal now locked up for alleged environmental reasons in well over a million acres of land in southwest Utah in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which contains at least 7 billion tons of coal worth over $1 trillion.

The problem is not that we don't have enough energy resources to fuel our needs. The problem is that we have these enviro-whackos who have bought off the leaders of the Democratic Party who in turn have forced us into the untenable position we are in right now.

We need to get rid of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and anyone else who smugly and arrogantly forces such unnecessary hardships on the American people.

You can access the complete column on-line here:

Environmental Terrorism And The Price Of Oil
Michael Reagan
Human Events Online
January 18, 2008

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And while we are talking about energy, check out this new discovery in the northeast United States:

A deep reservoir of long-hidden natural gas, stretching from New York through Pennsylvania and into West Virginia, could pump more than $400 billion into the Mid- Atlantic economy and push the U.S. toward energy independence, a Penn State researcher has found. Geosciences professor Terry Engelder, collaborating with Gary Lash at the State University of New York, recently completed the analysis after spending 30 years and an estimated $3 million on research. Penn State released overall findings on Thursday. State and industry experts said some companies already have begun to explore the prospects — with some early success within the past year or so. Engelder said the gas, lodged 6,000 to 7,000 feet underground, promises the U.S. “a certain amount of energy security down the line.”

As I wrote above, it's not that we don't have energy sources available.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Massive Gas Field Detected
Adam Smeltz
Centre Daily Times
January 18, 2008

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And finally, we have more calls for the pardons of wrongly convicted Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean. The calls came from Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and Rep. Duncan Hunter, both Republicans from California.

From the Washington Times:

Two California Republican congressmen yesterday called on President Bush to pardon two former U.S. Border patrol agents sent to prison a year ago this week for shooting a drug-smuggling suspect in the buttocks as he fled back into Mexico. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher accused Mr. Bush of being "arrogant and heartless" for refusing to pardon or commute the sentences of former agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, who were ordered last January to serve 11- and 12-year prison sentences, respectively. He said they had spent the past year in solitary confinement "suffering conditions worse than detainees at Guantanamo Bay. "It has been a year since Border Agents Ramos and Compean entered prison," Mr. Rohrabacher said. "This marks a year of shame for President Bush, who has been fully aware of the details of this blatant miscarriage of justice and chosen to do absolutely nothing about it. "The president has shown us his arrogant and heartless side by permitting the wrongful incarceration of Ramos and Compean to continue," he said.

At least the Dems can point to something that President Bush has done/is doing and say, "Hey! We aren't the only ones who are heartless and arrogant!"

You can access the complete column on-line here:

Rohrabacher, Hunter Call For Agents' Pardon
Jerry Seper
The Washington Times
January 18, 2008

Iowa Caucuses, Abusive Power Of The IRS And Oil Prices

There is alot going on in the world right now and only a limited amount of space to write about it. Of course, the big news is news that should be mostly irrelevent to anyone but an Iowan, but the caucuses that were held yesterday are headlines everywhere and we need to pay at least some token attention to it.

Why?

I don't know. It is not as if Iowa and Hew Hampshire are the only states that will determine who will be the Presidential candidates for each party. But it is entertaining and it does allow certain issues to come to the front that otherwise would not have been given any attention at all.

In her most recent column in the Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan touches on this with her explanation of why Mike Huckabee won:

What we have learned about Mr. Huckabee the past few months is that he's an ace entertainer with a warm, witty and compelling persona. He won with no money and little formal organization, with an evangelical network, with a folksy manner, and with the best guileless pose in modern politics. From the mail I have received the past month after criticizing him in this space, I would say his great power, the thing really pushing his supporters, is that they believe that what ails America and threatens its continued existence is not economic collapse or jihad, it is our culture. They have been bruised and offended by the rigid, almost militant secularism and multiculturalism of the public schools; they reject those schools' squalor, in all senses of the word. They believe in God and family and America. They are populist: They don't admire billionaire CEOs, they admire husbands with two jobs who hold the family together for the sake of the kids; they don't need to see the triumph of supply-side thinking, they want to see that suffering woman down the street get the help she needs. They believe that Mr. Huckabee, the minister who speaks their language, shares, down to the bone, their anxieties, concerns and beliefs. They fear that the other Republican candidates are caught up in a million smaller issues--taxing, spending, the global economy, Sunnis and Shia--and missing the central issue: again, our culture. They are populists who vote Republican, and as I have read their letters, I have felt nothing but respect.

Mike Huckabee is not who I would have voted for, but at least his victory in Iowa will bring the social issues back into the Republican Party, and the GOP will greatly benefit as a result.

You can access the complete column on-line here:

Out With The Old, In With The New
Peggy Noonan
OpinionJournal.com
January 4, 2008

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Oh! And this is a big one! You have got to read this story. I don't even know where to begin in describing it, so I will just let the excerpts speak for themselves.

From the World Net Daily:

A lawyer who was acquitted by a federal court trial jury of Internal Revenue Service accusations he failed to filed income tax returns for two years now is suing several IRS agents over their alleged improper disclosure of his personal information in the case. A spokeswoman in the office of lawyer Tom Cryer told WND the case was assembled and filed by Cryer between Christmas Day and the end of 2007 and is expected to be placed on the docket in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Last summer in federal court a jury voted 12-0 to find Cryer, of Shreveport, not guilty of the IRS allegations. He had been indicted on 2006 on government claims he failed to pay $73,000 to the IRS in 2000 and 2001. His successful defense was based on a challenge to the IRS to prove a constitutional foundation for the nation's income tax.

You did read that last sentence, right? Read on:

Now his claim against the government's agents, according to a report in the Shreveport Times, explains four IRS criminal investigation division workers tried to destroy his reputation during the course of their investigation in the case. The lawsuit alleges IRS agents Jimmy H. Sandefur, Darrin A. Heusel and Judge Armand, and a trainee, Patrick Potter "entered into a smear and fear campaign to destroy Plaintiff's good reputation and law practice." Cryer alleges the federal workers repeatedly violated federal laws that restrict the disclosure of tax information, release of information about an investigation and publicizing information about a grand jury investigation.

This case will highlight the fact that the IRS possesses an abusive power that they never should have been given in the first place. More:

"I think now people are beginning to realize that this has got to be the largest fraud, backed up by intimidation and extortion and by the sheer force of taking peoples' property and hard-earned money without any lawful authorization whatsoever," Cryer said after his acquittal. He said he is dedicated to the truth, and has launched a new Truth Attack website that is intended to build on his victory, and create a coalition of resources to defeat – ultimately – the income tax in the United States.

We, as a people, need to research the case of Tom Cryer and his fight against a Federal Government entity that can only be described as "invasive" and "abusive."

His website can be accessed here:

Truth Attack

And the complete article can be accessed on-line here:

Lawyer Who Beat IRS Sues Agents
World Net Daily
January 4, 2008

This is yet another reason why I am a supporter of the Fair Tax

UPDATE: For those who wish to research this issue further and gather background information on the original case, I found links to certain documents. After Mr. Cryer filed a Motion to Dismiss on March 3rd of 2007:

The Government's Response
Mr. Cryer's Reply
Mr. Cryer's Trial Brief
Proposed Jury Instructions
Proposed Voir Dire Questions

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And finally, the Wall Street Journal has an interesting expose about the price of oil and its relationship to the strength/weakness of the dollar.

From the Review & Outlook section:

Since 2001 the dollar price of oil and gold have run in almost perfect tandem (see nearby chart). The gold price has risen 239% since 2001, while the oil price has risen 267%. This means that if the dollar had remained "as good as gold" since 2001, oil today would be selling at about $30 a barrel, not $99. Gold has traditionally been a rough proxy for the price level, so the decline of the dollar against gold and oil suggests a U.S. monetary that is supplying too many dollars. We would add that the dollar price of nearly all commodities -- from wheat to corn to copper to silver -- are also surging, a further sign of a weakening currency. On Wednesday alone the price of wheat and soybeans increased 3.4% and 2.8%, respectively. That follows a 75% increase in their price in 2007 -- which ran ahead of the oil price, which gained a mere 57% for the year. Neither OPEC nor China caused food commodity prices to rise like this. The main culprit here is a global loss of confidence in Federal Reserve policy and the dollar.

And this interesting tidbit:

A weak dollar has been trumpeted in the business media and especially among manufacturers as a strategy to lower the trade deficit. But this strategy makes imported oil a lot more expensive. The trade figures reveal that a major contributor to the rising trade deficit over this decade has been the high cost of oil imports. We don't worry about the trade deficit -- except in so far as it inspires protectionism -- but those who do might want to consider that the weak dollar policy they are cheering is making fuel very expensive. ... Rising oil prices act like a tax on American consumers. With the economy slowing, the Fed is now under intense pressure to cut interest rates to stimulate the economy and provide liquidity to the banking industry. But if this causes the dollar to continue to weaken, the tax of higher commodity prices will offset much of the "stimulus" from looser money. The Fed will get a lot less bang for its easier buck. The larger danger here, as we've been warning for some time, is that the U.S. seems to be returning to the Carter-era economic policy mix of tight fiscal policy (tax increases) and easy money. Add barriers to oil and natural gas production and you have a recipe for higher oil prices and slower growth. In a word, for stagflation. The Reagan-Volcker policy mix of the 1980s changed all that, but maybe we have to relearn the hard way every generation or so what works -- and what produces $100 oil.

Please read this article and take it to heart.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Oil And The Dollar
The Wall Street Journal
January 4, 2008

Pelosi Proposal Would Send American Economy Into A Depression

Nancy Pelosi seems to be getting desperate. The general view that the American public has of the current Democrat controlled Congress is that it is a do-nothing legislature completely impotent in it's own world. Thus, she came up with H.R. 6, the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007. This bill is supposed to take us towards greater energy independence and less reliance on fossil fuels. Unfortunately for Ms. Pelosi, she does not understand economics nor does she have a grasp of history.

The National Taxpayers Union breaks down the problems with H.R. 6 here:

Huge Tax Increases -- The House previously passed $14 billion in vengeful tax hikes on so-called "Big Oil." Though billed as a way to move us toward energy independence, similar taxes in the past have simply reduced domestic oil production and increased oil imports. Congress ought not to repeat those mistakes. Renewable Fuels Standard -- Forcing Americans to consume 36 billion gallons of heavily-subsidized ethanol and other alternative fuels will serve to dramatically raise fuel prices, taxes, and food costs for everyone. Renewable Portfolio Standard -- Requiring that 15 percent of all electricity be produced by alternative sources will likewise raise utility bills, causing harm to those Americans who can least afford the additional expense. Higher Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards -- Though raising CAFE standards may appear productive at first blush, ultimately this policy would have little effect on total fuel consumption while creating vehicles that are more expensive and less safe. Price Gouging Language -- There is no evidence that price gouging has taken place, even after disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Congress ought not to interfere with the delicate balance of energy markets.

These five items are all in H.R. 6. This bill needs to be defeated, or, if passed, vetoed.

You can access the original article on-line here:

An Open Letter to Congress: Taxes, Regulations, And Subsidies Are NOT The Answer For Energy Security!
National Taxpayers Union
December 3, 2007