O brave new world …

"We must fix the energy bill and save the Clean Air Act," opines a local letter-writer –– though I think I may detect some Democratic Party talking points. "The energy bill that passed the House of Representatives was weakened by industry lobbyists and repeals the part of the Clean Air Act that limits global warming pollution from power plants. This rollback will open the door for as many as 100 new coal plants. ..."

Good heavens. Allowing inexpensive electricity during a recession? What can they be thinking?

"To get the economy going again," our letter-writer concludes, "our state needs more windmills, not more smokestacks. According to a University of Massachusetts study, solar and wind create twice as many jobs as coal. More coal means fewer clean energy jobs."

You know what? The letter writer is correct. Trying to get a kilowatt of electricity out of windmills generates LOTS more jobs than generating a kilowatt with coal. That's why no one would even think about trying to sell wind-generated electricity without mass tax subsidies.

But isn't it time to bypass such half measures? We all know the "clean energy" source that would create the MOST new jobs: generating all our electricity by hiring Americans thrown out of work by the eco-extremists and paying them to  pace away the hours on wired-up treadmills.

Now, about importing foreign oil in those diesel-powered tankers. NOT a good way to create more jobs, is it? Instead, I propose we create massive tax subsidies for any shipping company that's willing to propel their tankers with tiers of men using oars. Of course, we wouldn't actually call them "galley slaves" –– they'd be "clean maritime energy workers." ...