Allen: Americans addicted not to oil, but freedom
Contrary to the assertions of members of his own party, former U.S. Senator George Allen told radio talk-show host Laura Ingraham yesterday that "Americans are not addicted to oil." Calling that an "elitist point of view," Allen said, "Americans are addicted to freedom–- the freedom and liberty to move where and when we want."
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I thought that in the immortal words of Robert Palmer we were addicted to love.
You know, this kind of makes me miss George Allen. It's good to know that he is still as much of a dope as he's always been. It's funny when a died-in-the-wool elitist from birth uses the term "elitist" to disparage others. Of course, nobody's ever accused ol' George of being a people person!
Is Allen really THAT stupid? Does he have no idea of the complex intertwined nature of the American desire to travel and cheap oil? Interesting that today General Motors announced (yet again) the birth of the first electric/gas combo car that could reduce dependence on foreign oil. I guess for Allen it's elitist to question fighting wars for access to oil, or elitist to suggest change is needed to reduce the use of oil and the resulting international conflicts that inevitably result. Or maybe, Allen is just painfully ignorant of how much oil Americans use versus what is available to be produced here.
In a Peak Oil discussion last year here in C-ville, I heard a determined man make much the same argument that Allen makes.
That our cars are our "freedom."
I'll grant them that most of us believe that. But we as a people have got to recognize that this "too much of a good thing" is causing us huge problems. It's connected to our massive defense spending bills -- we keep two carrier groups in the Persian Gulf; it's connected to our being forced to fight in the Middle East -- Iraq has the largest untapped oil reserves in the world; it's connected to the $24 billion annual holes that auto-fuel emissions are creating in our lungs -- that's the 2004 asthma figure; it's connected to the $517 billion we're spending importing oil annually -- before the 2007/8 price hikes; it's connected to our obesity -- which is costing us in excess of $100 billion annually to fight; it is connected to the breaking down of our communities because we drive instead of walk -- we don't know our neighbors like our grandparents did; it's connected to our our water pollution -- one cancer-causing gas additive has been found in the groundwater of 28 states; it's causing our congestion -- which is now estimated to cost the economy $78 billion annually...
And it is the LEADING cause of America's greenhouse emissions. Business has actually decreased C02 emissions since 1990 but our driving has more than made up for those gains. America produces almost half of the entire world's automotive greenhouse gases but we're only 4.5 percent of the world's population and we only have -- even with all the off-shore drilling possibilities -- 2.7 percent of the world's oil reserves.
Like Senator Allen probably said a few years ago, "Freedom simply isn't free."
Actually, Allen is just painfully ignorant. He's always been a lowest common denominator politician.
Ahhh that's the answer! So what he is saying is continue to drive your 10 mpg SUV so you can be more free than someone driving a Prius!
I thought I saw someone in a prison uniform driving a Prius the other day! This guy never seems to amaze me. Its about FREEDOM not macaca!
what a JACK ASS
Well he's clarified his point somewhat it seems here:
http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-09-17-...
Now it seems it's all energy we're addicted to...not just oil..err, I mean we're not addicted..we have a divine right to consume as much energy as wish! It's our nomadic destiny!
Funny that they referred to it as a "liberal talking point" - first time I ever heard that phrase (addicted to oil) was in Bush's state of the union speech where he tied it to terrorism (terra-izm).