[:today we teach poodles how to fly:]

     Lie when you have to, lie to anyone you want to if you think it's necessary, but never lie to yourself. For that way lies madness.

     We are vicious, self-serving, and at times blindly stupid animals. The only difference between us and a pack of ravenous wolves is that we are capable of convincing ourselves that whatever serves our own ends, no matter how wrong, is good. And only then, when our own ignorance comes back and bites us in the ass, do we recognize the folly of our choices.

     Today's case in point - Gas Prices. I can't even begin to fathom the level of dumb.

     Problem; Oil is in high demand.  Solution; Supply more.

     This, kids is simple economics. So what's the government's answer? Drill in Alaska and oil shale in the Western U.S. Because, clearly, drilling in a wildlife refuge is the best way to help the tough economic times of the American people. And that "oh hey, we don't really need to preserve lands because oil can be recovered in a way that protects the environment now" should diminish our reluctance to drill in pristine lands.

     Hmm. Oh wait. Isn't it when you remove something and don't put it back the equivalent of destruction? And how does one suppose to get all this miraculous drilling equipment into the wilderness? Maybe it will magically pop up. Maybe there will be muffin fairies. Or maybe, they'll have to knock down forests to build roads, and then pave over a beaver and light a squirrel on fire, and then things will be all white again. So it's the same rhetoric all over again. Oil companies that have ties to the government want to circumvent the law and expand their operations to fatten the bottom line. But, there is no other recourse, right? We need oil. We're dependent on that to power our technology. So, what do we do?

     Not that I pay much attention to the world as of late, but at least someone has an idea that could save oil and gas, without destroying the ecosystem that FUCKING GIVES US AIR YOUR MORONIC DOUCHNOZZLE. And what pray tell is this idea from this genius, this modern day Kwisatch Haderach?

     Re-institute the speed limit. Congress in 1974 set a national 55 mph speed limit because of energy shortages caused by the Arab oil embargo. The speed limit was repealed in 1995 when crude oil dipped to $17 a barrel and gasoline cost $1.10 a gallon. Now we're averaging 4.10 a gallon nationwide, with oil hovering around $145 a barrel. Studies that showed the 55 mph speed limit saved 167,000 barrels of oil a day, or 2 percent of the country's highway fuel consumption, while avoiding up to 4,000 traffic deaths a year. I think it's safe to assume that the increase in the number of vehicles on America's highway system from 1974 to 2008, the amount of fuel that could be conserved today is far greater. Fuel efficiency decreases rapidly when traveling faster than 60 mph, and every additional 5 mph over that threshold is estimated to cost motorists essentially an additional 30 cents per gallon in fuel costs.

     Crazy, huh?

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