Thursday, January 03, 2008

The Tyranny of Oil?

During his Iowa Caucus victory speech, Barack Obama promised (among many, many other things) an end to the "tyranny of oil." Mr. Obama must be confused--Americans voluntarily buy countless barrels every day. We habitually downplay substitutes, opting to live far from city centers, shunning buses, and using candles primarily for romance. Claiming we are under a tyranny of the very thing we choose to buy is like accusing Google, McDonald's, and Nintendo of being dictators.

Mr. Obama ironically said this in Iowa, where farmers collect taxpayer money to grow corn. This is money taken by force and handed out to a select few, offering no clear benefit to society. Ethanol, not oil, is the closer autocrat.

5 comments:

Jason said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jason said...

Really.

Jenny said...

Sounds like good politicking to me...I suppose that he'll blame the money-sucking farmers when he campaigns to the oil-producers in Tex and CA...

David said...

Jason: somehow I doubt that's what he was referring to, but fair point.

The Whited Sepulchre said...

Jason and the LLL people both have valid points.
Within a few years, the term "welfare" will be associated with corporations....

Which line do I have to stand it to get subsidized?