Another winner, Andy; though Kagan was a BIG winner.
I'll look this guy up.
Maybe you can check out Orson Scott Card's (author Ender's Game;
Mormon hawk; fantastic writer) website, including other essays.
This one on peace, where in Arabic peace means "submission",
is really good, but OSC on civilization, for instance, is also
good. (OSC also notes that the best pro-Palestinian arguments are often made by Jewish Israel-supporters who want Israel to improve.)
http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2002-07-29-1.html

Remember Gary Hart? My idea is that the US should set, as its
contribution to the Kyoto Protocol, a federal tax revenue target
from gas taxes of 5%, and increase it every year. This should
be coupled with a tax refund, per taxpayer, of the same amount.
(The idea is to be revenue neutral), so the income tax goes down
while the gas tax goes up.

I read that Biodiesel, at current subsidized levels, can be sold
for about $1.35 /gal. Do you know about this? Or what the gas
price is, last year I thought it was around $1.30.
(pause while I look in google:)
Here's a note http://www.rendermagazine.com/August2001/TechTopics.html

Though pricing has a multitude of influencers such as volume, geographic distribution, delivery costs, Environmental Policy Act credits, and blend level, biodiesel has ranged in the $1.50 to $3.00 per gallon. Currently (June 2001) neat biodiesel (B100) costs are between $1.25 and $2.25 per gallon. This compares to a current price for No. 2 diesel at approximately $1.55 including state and federal taxes. Biodiesel is taxed as a diesel fuel (unlike ethanol), so taxes are added to the purchase price. Specific blends of biodiesel are commonly distributed products. B20 is a 20 percent biodiesel blended with 80 percent diesel and thus at current prices costs 13 to 20 cents more per gallon than diesel. The use of B20 has been shown to acquire a substantial reduction in the unfavorable emissions associated with petroleum-based diesel. Premium diesels that contain from two to five percent blend of biodiesel for specific properties such as lubricity generally command a premium price. Research has shown that the inclusion of two percent biodiesel into any conventional fuel is sufficient to address the lubricity concerns for low sulfur fuels. There are Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that are mandating a significant reduction in sulfur content from a current 500 parts per million (ppm) to a 15 ppm level by 2007. As sulfur levels are lowered, the lubricity properties of petroleum diesel become a concern for optimum engine operation and maintenance. This feature and market positioning are significant opportunities for biodiesel usage now and in the future.

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Well, the point is to reduce taxes on renewables, and increase them
(even MORE, but like 1 penny/month increase) on oil products. And we (the world) need US defense to be strong. That's what government's for -- the "night watchman" minarchy I favor. And this early 5% could easily go up to 50% -- I think if people saw how expensive gov't was every time they pumped gas, they'd be more in favor of cutting it back.

But I guess I always try to reduce two problems (or more?) with one new action. The focus on oil, and hypocrisy of US calls for "democracy", can not make the US look good. Whether the US is a very good policeman or not is a further talk!

What do you think?

Tom


> From: Andy McClymont [mailto:amcclymont@mindspring.com]
> Tom, Do you ever read Tom Friedman of the New York Times? I
> find him to be
> one of the few reasonable U.S. media people on the Middle East. His
> viewpoint is unashamedly pro-Israel, but he is no zealot. Here are two
> recent columns of his that really ring true I think. (You can
> read him on
> http://www.nytimes.com/).
>
> Andy