Hi Jasmine,

Some addictions will always be legal. The difference between legal and illegal has to do with whether big business is making money. For example, gasoline and percocet are examples of "good" big business supported addictions where as marajuana is not a big business product. W. is a business man.

Excellent conference in NYC about peak oil, alternative energy, permaculture, local food and better public transport. We are seriously focused on action and practical solutions, not simply alarmism and hand-wringing.

See world-famous speakers such as James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency, Derrick Jensen, author of The Culture of Make Believe, Mike Ruppert, administrator of From the Wilderness, and Matt Savinar, administrator of lifeaftertheoilcrash.net. Only $35 a day, with special discounts available! Starts Thurs, 4/47, through 4/29.

Go to http://www.energysolutionsconference.org/ for more information.

So according to Bushitler we Americans are addicts. So what's the best recourse in fighting this addiction? Our dealer gives us another fix. Makes perfect sense. Thanks Bush!

p.s.

Mr. Bush:How about legalizing marijuana now?

You Americans have already proven yourself too stupid to see through the simple lies your administration tells you. Things will only get worse for you.

Okay, so we criticize G. Dubya for not paying attention to our surmounting energy crisis, which translates to a serious and unavoidable environmental problem--yet, I must make an attempt to truly understand/see his stance. Ergo: Mom has recently recovered from a cancer that we all thought would take her life early. Thankfully, it did not. So: with a new understanding of the ephemeral nature of "life" in hand, it is understandable that an individual may live his or her life with an "I don't care about Tuesday--I'm living today," kind of attitude. Particularly if the Bible is driving this view. Heaven and eternity in tow....

As an Anthropology student, I am constantly challenged with the notion of understanding views outside of my 'norm'--all of which my esteemed president falls. Yet, I think I get it...if the world may end Wednesday, then why not eat fudge, f*@! dogs, and frolic without ambition on Tuesday?

what's worrying is that bush has the power to destroy clean air regulations (bad), as he promised. but it's republicans in congress who would be responsible for making Big Oil pay for the oil it pumps out of our country (good), as bush promised. and congressional republicans' notion of "responsibility" has failed to impress me, pretty much since they got obsessed with a kid named monica lewinsky.

Just because the Federal Government won't support or

enable a transition away from oil and driving doesn't mean

the Blue States and Blue Regions can't do so on their own.

$3.00/gallon is cheap in world terms. Several groups of

Blue State Legislatures and Governors could still impose

inter-Blue State taxes on gas and diesel, or at least gas,

up to a $5-6.00 EuroJapan price level. That tax money could

be used to restore missing train and trolley systems within

the Blue Zone. It could be a Blue Zone equivalent of the

national rail restoration project that James Kunstler keeps calling

for for the entire country. But it will never be permitted

for the entire country. So the Blue States can either do

it themselves within their own territory, or the Blue States

can decide they would rather accept a post-Soviet collapse

future for themselves, along with the rest of the country.

Its a Blue State choice, folks. Some survive separately,

or all die together.

Andrew Leonard, thanks for writing this:

That's going to hurt every working person who depends on a car squarely in the pocket. But it may end up hurting Bush more.

Since Americas two remaining sell predominantly full sizepickup trucks, this could be the end of the big two.

The only thing they didn't need was higher gas prices,and the higher interest rate that will result from inflation. The auto industry will soon be on financial life support much like the airline industry.

Any recognition..? Connecting any dots..? No?

Let's go back further... '47... did we have *any* enemies in the Mideast..? No?

Explain to me how an oil-dependent country chooses a path that results in its economy being negatively affected... what has I$rael *ever* done for the US?

Machine-gunning US sailors trying to board life rafts does NOT count!

Great slogan ideas, Ramon.

Bush's Slogan:

>Bend over America!

Opposition Slogan:

>Time to Wake Up!

The Winner: PT Barnum.

Great column Mr. Leonard. You get my vote.

Would that the NY Times, Washington Post, and

LA Times published something similar...until this

stuff gets out into mainstream media, it's nowhere.

My main point..this time of peak-oil production is

bound to be bumpy..we'll have a correction in oil prices here, most likely, but it won't be much of a correction, and if any number of Bad Things happen instead, the sky's the limit for oil and gasoline prices. And the trend, of course, the trend is most definitely not our friend, in this instance, unless you're investing regularly in some nice, solid energy funds...

(Let's not even think about the consequences of falling off the natural gas cliff. Coming to an electrical generating plant near you before too long. Rolling blackouts at the very least in major metro areas. I rather not even talk about it, thanks. I've been pricing complete domestic solar packages. You should too.)

People think 3 bucks a gallon for gasoline is high? Hah. It's not. It's nothing. We're chewing through millions of years of ancient sunshine in a comparative heartbeat. People have no idea what they're doing.

But Bush, Cheney, and the boys do. They know perfectly well what they're doing, and they'll fade quietly away when their terms are up, secure in the knowledge that they made more than enough money to hire a nice private army when the mob comes calling on them... or something of the sort, anyway.

3-bucks-a-gallon for gas? That's so incredibly cheap, it's a joke. Now. 50 bucks a gallon. that's more like it. And we'll see it, in our lifetimes. Bet on it. Gas will be for the rich only, then.

The american public thinks gas prices are high now? They have no idea. It's sad really, how unrelievedly stupid the public is. It has been ever thus, but this basic fact never ceases to amaze, you know? Socrates wrote about it. Marcus Aurelius did too. Everyone has. Yet. Nothing changes. Nothing. The public, the *voters* the *people* remain as bottomlessly ignorant, stupid, and shallow as they have ever been.

What do we have to look forward to? See www.dieoff.org The numbers, graphs, and charts, are clear enough.

Sorry. I'm having a cynical day.

Chas