The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 572
My business partner, Bob Gordon, recently wrote an editorial titled “When All
American Drivers Use Non-Exportable Domestic Fuel, MPG Hysteria Will Go
Away.” On this very point, Bob writes, “There are no our American oil companies, there are no American companies pricing our domestic oil and its products
at a home town price.” He's right, ethanol can give every American community
a hometown price, like eggs and milk. As Bob points out, Venezuela has a home
town price on its oil, as does Saudi Arabia and Iran on their respective oil. Why
not us?
Bryce goes into long discourses on the mechanics of oil trading and how it’s a
marvelous method by which, he says, “a fair price” is arrived at. It costs the
Saudis perhaps a dollar or two to lift a barrel of oil out of the ground, and the
Saudis think that $75 per barrel is fair. As a consumer, I wouldn’t call that fair.
I’m a for-profit kind of business guy but I would say that 7,000% profit is a tad
excessive, by about 6,700%. Reading the machinations of oil trading is like listening to someone try to explain and justify derivative investing. Hey, Robert,
oil is a commodity, like an apple, the world doesn’t need to be betting on the
size of the seeds inside the apple, we just want an apple that tastes good.
Bryce says that our fixation on oil dependency is also based on our fear and/or
loathing of their religion. He writes that things are changing in the Muslim world:
elections are sometimes being held, women are being allowed to attend school,
banks are staying open later, and giving out toasters when you open an account
(I embellished this point based on his comment about banks becoming more
liberal). Good for them, welcome to the 18th century. Oh wait, this is the 21st
century.
Bryce complains about the views extolled by writers like Thomas Friedman of
the New York Times who think we need to change Muslim societies. Bryce uses
this commentary to return to the concept that slavery isn’t all bad, that we can
learn to live with it. Robert, I thought you were leaning towards libertarianism. If
you are, then know this: Us real libertarians don’t want to nation-build at all,
whether it’s Friedman’s vision or your vision of letting them run-amuck and all
over us. I may not like what I’ve seen from Islam, but I personally have no interest in who or what they want to worship, as long as they don’t want to chop
my head off because I choose not to worship the same way.
ENERGY INDEPENDENCE IS POSSIBLE
Now, my dear readers, this is where I will finally address what Robert Bryce
refers to as GUSHER OF LIES, and why I sent that email to him.
