Running on Empty

Dallas Morning News | Editorials:

“It may be true that this administration is too snuggly with Big Oil, but even if it were, that would have nothing to do with the spike in gas prices. ... As we explained in this space earlier this week – and in this emotional climate, it bears repeating – if you don't like high gas prices, demand less gas (that is, drive less). The supply will increase, and prices will go down. Simple as that.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

The DMN gets it all wrong. It assumes as true President Bush's contention that any efforts at energy conservation and alternative energy development necessarily means a lowering of Americans' standard of living. It's not true.

Rather than ask 200 million Americans to drive less, the DMN should be asking 1 American, the President, to increase the fuel economy standards for the automobile industry. That simple act could allow those 200 million Americans to drive just as much as they do today, but conserve millions more barrels of oil as they do. The simple laws of supply and demand suggest that as Americans drive farther on each gallon of gasoline, they'll pay less for each gallon as they do.

The DMN gets it wrong when it says, in its sub-headline, "Politics won't get us anywhere on gas prices." On the contrary, solving our energy crisis has everything to do with politics. Unfortunately, our current political leaders favor a laissez-faire approach that promises an ever-increasing mismatch between supply and demand and ever-growing profits for the oil industry. Americans need to use our political process to elect leaders that understand that nothing less than a comprehensive national effort involving government, industry, and, yes, private citizens, is essential to solving our national energy crisis.

We need to promote conservation. A simple pen stroke by the President to increase CAFE standards would be a significant first step. We need to launch a national effort on the order of the Manhattan Project to develop alternative fuel sources and make America energy independent once again. The President talks about ethanol and switch grass, but funds nothing.

The DMN's schoolboy lessons on supply and demand are patronizing. The solution to America's energy crisis does not lie in Americans' driving less. It lies in political solutions that our current government is unwilling or unable to provide. The solution begins with changing our political leaders.

Flogging the Bloggers

Dallas Blog is six months old and its collection of contributors already constitutes an impressive stable of war horses. Well, ok, some might have been found out in the pasture, but saddle them up and they still know their way around the track. To help you handicap the field, here's my tip sheet. Put your money on the picks at the top of the list for your best chance of getting insightful, thought-provoking, witty and/or entertaining opinions.

1. Tom Pauken: Gutsy stand supporting a new tax, on business no less
2. Ed Ishmael: Keeps high ranking by keeping low profile, perhaps?
3. Scott Bennett: Earnest in his call for higher auto fuel standards, but who's listening?
4. Rufus Shaw: Sounds like he's knows what he's talking about. I have to read him sometime.
5. Tara Ross: Tries to express outrage with italics. Cute when she's angry.
6. Bill DeOre: "Nothing's more dangerous than a wounded grizzly." Nice call, Bill DeOracle. Not.
7. Carolyn Barta: Broke Technorati's news that blogging is popular. What's next? Microsoft Big on Windows?
8. Will Lutz: Thinks Dallas Blog is the recycling bin for the Lone Star Report
9. William Murchison: Thinks Chappaquiddick is a current event. And the Reformation.
10. Trey Garrison: Crime beat reporter who thinks he can channel the Founding Fathers

When secrets are spilled: They keep officials honest - and alter history

Dallas Morning News | Editorials:

“when it comes to leaks, there is just so much hypocrisy. Isn't it true that most of us condemn or laud a leaker based on whether the information leaked harms or helps a favored cause? And doesn't that generally determine whether we think any rules or laws were violated in the leaking? Such selectivity doesn't carry much ethical weight.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Sure it does. Selectivity is at the heart of ethics. The DMN's position on government leaks is like saying that there is no ethical difference between using a gun in self defense versus using a gun to rob a bank. In some cases, the ends do justify the means.

In the cases of government leaking, there's a world of ethical difference between a government bureaucrat leaking facts about widespread abuse of power that strikes at the heart of our Constitutional rights, versus the President himself leaking information about a critic of the Administration in a smear campaign.

The difference is the difference between right and wrong. Conservatives used to be able to distinguish the two, at least until their guys became the ones caught doing wrong. Now, they want us to believe everything is equal. Hypocrisy at its worst. And the DMN misses a chance to point it out.

THE BIG SQUEEZE

Dallas Morning News | Mark Davis:

“More American oil. We have whined for decades about relying too much on foreign oil, yet we have never seen a major public outcry for environmental extremists to get out of the way so that we can drill and refine more of our own oil and import less from countries that want to kill us. No new refineries in America in more than three decades. That track record of obstruction, thanks mostly but not totally to Democrats, has done more to keep our oil prices high than any Republican coziness with big oil.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Mr Davis exceeds even his own usually high ratio of falsehoods per paragraph with this twisted opinion piece on oil prices. His unstated assumption is that the supply of oil is infinite. That if we'd only unleash the oil companies to rape the land and pollute the seas and skies we'd have enough oil to fuel our gas guzzling consumer tastes forever. That's simply false. Any reader who is unfamiliar with the concept of peak oil is well advised to read up on it instead of reading Mr Davis' rants blaming the Democrats for supposedly artificial shortages of oil.

As for Democratic obstructionism to the building of new refineries, it's well established from internal industry memos that the oil industry itself is as culpable as any tree-hugging environmentalist for the lack of any recent new refining capacity in the US. An internal Chevron memo from 1995 asserted that "If the U.S. petroleum industry doesn't reduce its refining capacity, it will never see any substantial increase in refinery margins." A 1996 Texaco memo identified excess refining capacity as "the most critical factor" facing the industry. That excess was leading to "very poor refining financial results."

Let's face it. The world is facing a supply squeeze. The world as a whole is close to peak oil production. It's not just the United States. Thirty three of the forty eight largest oil-producing countries are seeing declining production.

The world is facing an explosion in demand. US demand is not going to decline and demand in countries like China and India is skyrocketing. We're seeing a disconnect between supply and demand that no amount of US government relaxation of environmental regulations is going to solve.

It will take a Herculean effort on a global scale between government and industry and yes, individual behavior, to manage the disconnect. And Mr Davis' knee-jerk anti-government obstructionism is only going to delay getting this problem under control. If we could direct our energies toward controlling demand and developing alternative energy supplies, we might have a better chance of prevailing and seeing our world economy continue to grow and prosper.

"Higher education" in California

DallasBlog.com | Tom Pauken:

“The Emeritt Distinguished Professor of English at UCLA has some rather novel notions about Satan whom he believes ‘is the most maligned figure in history,’ according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald. Dr. Henry Ansgar Kelly believes that the devil is the victim of ‘unjustified character assassination.’ ”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Dr Kelly has been writing dry tomes on medieval subjects like Chaucer, Dante, and, yes, the devil, since the early 1960s. I imagine his audience is mostly William Murchison types. If Dr Kelly manages to catch the public interest with his latest book, "Satan: A Biography" and gets people talking and actually thinking about the Devil again, more power to him. He's got Mr Pauken's attention and a mention in the Dallas Blog. He may be off to a fine start.

Senator Lugar calls for talks with Iran

DallasBlog.com | Tom Pauken:

“Can the United States afford (both in human and material terms) another war in the Middle East?”

Ed Cognoski responds:

It's a real fix our recent foreign policy has put us in. We've alienated the whole world with our unilateral foreign policy based on pre-emptive war. So, now, when we need the rest of the world's support more than ever to isolate and pressure Iran into backing down from nuclear brinkmanship, no one's there to help us. So, now, when our military is exhausted and stretched to the breaking point in a futile war over non-existence WMDs in Iraq, we are in no position to act in Iran, except with the very weapons we most fear in the hands of terrorists.

What to do. What to do.

If we believe, as Rep Ron Paul (R-TX) recently said, that Iran is not an imminent threat to acquire nuclear weapons, and when they do, will be dissuaded from using them for fear of retaliatory annihilation, then containment, sanctions and diplomacy is the wisest course to pursue.

If we are convinced that a madman is in charge of Iran, bent on speeding the arrive of apocalyptic end times by unleashing nuclear war on the world, then waiting for Iran to strike first will be disastrous for the whole world, not just Iran.

What to do. What to do.

Iran: The next neocon target

DallasBlog.com | Rep Ron Paul:

“Conservatives, libertarians, constitutionalists, and many of today’s liberals have all at one time or another endorsed a less interventionist foreign policy. There’s no reason a coalition of these groups might not once again present the case for a pro-American, non-militant, non-interventionist foreign policy dealing with all nations. A policy of trade and peace, and a willingness to use diplomacy, is far superior to the foreign policy that has evolved over the past 60 years. It’s time for a change.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Rep Ron Paul (R-TX) lays out the most cogent argument for a foreign policy of containment and diplomacy and against interventionism and pre-emptive war that I have read anywhere. It lays out the lessons learned over 60 years, including our failure in Vietnam, our success in the Cold War, our unfinished business in Afghanistan, and our disaster in Iraq. It identifies the telltale signs of another intervention being plotted by neocons, this time in Iran, and why this intervention is likely to have as disastrous of results as Iraq. It should be required reading.

News continues to editorialize for school tax hike

DallasBlog.com | Tom Pauken:

“As legislators prepare to go into special session to debate the Perry/Sharp plan to shift the tax burden away from high property taxes and Robin Hood to a 1% tax on businessess, The Dallas Morning News continues to push editorially for higher taxes and less property tax relief. ... From this observer's perspective, that is a real way to kill any possibility of getting something done this special session. ”

Ed Cognoski responds:

There's a faction that wants to cut school spending. (The Dallas Blog's own Tara Ross is an example.) The Dallas Morning News is lobbying to increase school spending. As long as both factions at the extremes stay balanced, the Legislature might have enough cover to split the difference and pass a revenue neutral bill, just good enough to satisfy the Texas Supreme Court, at least for now. Neutrality won't upset either extreme enough for them to kill it. That's about the best we can expect from this Governor and this Legislature.

Mr Pauken might just get his business tax. Property owners just might get their tax relief. Gov Perry just might get his legislative achievement to hang his reelection campaign on. And schools will continue to struggle with inadequate funding. Such is what passes for success in Austin.

Latinos shouldn't be duped by Dems

Dallas Morning News | Ruben Navarrette Jr:

“Who killed immigration reform? The autopsy shows it was Senate Democrats.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Latinos shouldn't be duped by the GOP. The Republicans control the House. The Republicans control the Senate. The Republicans control the White House. For Ruben Navarrette to blame the Democrats for not passing legislation favorable to Latinos is simply a stunning claim contrary to fact.

Immigration is an issue that fractures both parties. There are 100 different positions on this issue in the Senate. It's up to the Senate leaders to fashion a compromise that can bring together a majority to prevent a filibuster and pass a bill. The leadership of this Congress is Republican. They failed to craft that compromise. As long as Republicans have a majority in Congress, the Republicans have to shoulder the blame for failing to pass legislation. This case is no exception, despite Mr Navarrette's efforts to paint the Democrats as the bad guys.

The Republicans tried and failed. Latinos should give the Democrats a majority in the next Congress. If the Democrats try and fail, then and only then will they deserve Mr Navarrette's condemnation.

News columnists today - the good and the not so good

DallasBlog.com | Tom Pauken:

“Steve Blow continues to have little or nothing to say in his regular mutterings in the Metropolitan section in the News. ... I am not sure that Steve Blow gets it. Most of the criticism of his columns in the News that I have seen here at DallasBlog and elsewhere comes from people who don’t think his ‘stuff’ is very good.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Mr Pauken misrepresents Mr Blow. Mr Blow wasn't commenting on the criticism of his "stuff" by Dallas Blog bloggers. He was commenting on accusations of him being anti-God, anti-American, a Jew, a Gypsy. Mr Blow says he welcomes thoughtful, informed criticism, just not "knee-jerk media bashing." Mr Pauken dismisses criticism of such bigotry as mere "whining."

You don't have to take Mr Blow's word that mainstream media is the whipping boy of both political extremes. Read the letters to the editor of the DMN. Most days, they pair letters between one accusing the DMN of being a tool of the right and another accusing the DMN of being a tool of the left, both letters prompted by the same news article or editorial. It would be amusing if it weren't the norm for political discourse in this country.

But rather than respond to Mr Blow's argument itself, Mr Pauken criticizes Mr Blow's "stuff", whatever that means. Mr Pauken is worth reading when he writes about politics, but when he ventures into journalistic criticism, I'm afraid he has little or nothing to say himself.

Christian student group may be denied equal access

DallasBlog.com:

“The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that a Christian student group may have to pay fees if it wants to keep holding rallies in the high school’s gymnasium.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Such a litigious society we live in. The legal costs of the frivolous lawsuit objecting to this school policy will exceed by many times the nominal costs of paying the legitimiate expenses of using the gymnasium for what is a non-curricular event. Many non-curricular groups already rent school facilities for a small fee. The Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, National Youth Sports and the Telugu Association of North Texas, a cultural group for people of India, rent the same gym the Liberty Legal lawyers for the non-curricular Christian group are demanding access to for free.

But Scouts are taught to be friendly, courteous, obedient, etc. Christians are taught to render unto Caesar and all that. But maybe the Liberty Legal lawyers were never Boy Scouts. Or maybe they aren't Christians. But they do seem to have a persecution complex. And our children are learning an indelible lesson. Don't listen to your teachers. Don't listen to the principal. If you can't get what you want, or at least can't get it for free, then sue. Claim discrimination. Claim victimization. There's a problem with the teaching going on in our schools alright. But some of what is taught is coming from outside groups like Liberty Legal.

My take on the student protests

DallasBlog.com | Ed Ishmael:

“Make no mistake, the students made history. The final ripples from the splash they created may not be fully known for some time, either by them or by the rest of us. For the first time in a long while, perhaps since Caesar Chavez, someone stood up and fought back on behalf of immigrants and their families. And in North Texas , it was the students who lead the way. That alone is historical. And now that our students know they have a voice, perhaps they will start using it to influence their future.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Anti-immigrant Anglo commentators seem to think the protests were a failure because they alienated ... anti-immigrant Anglos. The Mexican flags really ticked off these spectators. What they don't realize is that the intended audience for most such protests is not the community at large, but the community of the protestors themselves. Consciousness raising, solidarity, awareness and education are the goals, not trying to win debate points with anti-immigrant Anglos. When someone says "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore", he probably doesn't really care what you think. He's taking power into his own hands, not trying to supplicate you into doing him any favors. Perhaps we're seeing the beginning of that for the Latino community as a whole. Perhaps.

UT scientist to 90% of you: die horribly

DallasBlog.com | Scott Bennett:

“Have you ever heard of Dr. Eric Pianka? No? Well you might want to learn a bit more about him. Why? Because he reportedly wants you to die. Specifically he wants you to die of Ebola virus. ”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Scott Bennett passes on hearsay quotes reported by Forrest Mims to the effect that Dr Pianka wants you to die. Mike Sivertsen, a Dallas Blog reader, repeats hearsay quotes attributed to Dr Charles Wurster to the effect that "People are the cause of all the problems. We have too many of them. We need to get rid of some of them." Dr Wurster has repeatedly denied making the alleged comments. I suspect the hearsay about Dr Pianka advocating mass human death is similarly misrepresented.

In the Seguin Gazette story on the speech in question, Jamie Mobley reports that Dr Pianka denies that he is advocating human death. Maybe he is only predicting such a catastrophe as nature's way of restoring balance to human overpopulation. Smiling as he says it, perhaps. Bad enough, right? So, why try to make what he said sound worse that it is already, when verbatim quotes should be enough to condemn him? Perhaps because Forrest Mims is as biased as Dr Pianka only in the opposite direction. Check out his biography. The two sound like they are made for each other.