Stuff, or Why the Black Lung Is Good for You

First off, this post by Digby is a must-read. Digby is probably my favorite political blogger on the Web these days. He's very astute as an observer of the "kabuki," as he calls it, that we are all subjected to by way of the ruling class suck-off comprised of the elites in Washington-- politicians and their swooning cabal of "journalists"-- think Andrea Mitchell; think Chris Matthews; think JUDY Miller; think Matt Cooper. In typical fashion, he eviscerates these punks; and, also in typical fashion, he is very insightful about the psychology of these great protectors of our democracy.

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This strikes me as an unqualified good first step towards energy self-sufficiency:

The Fischer-Tropsch technology, discovered by German researchers in 1923 and later used by the Nazis to convert coal into wartime fuels, was not economical as long as oil cost less than $30 a barrel.

But with U.S. crude oil now hitting more than double that price, Gov. Brian Schweitzer's plan is getting more attention across the country and some analysts are taking him very seriously.

Montana is "sitting on more energy than they have in the Middle East," Schweitzer told Reuters in an interview this week.

"I am leading this country in this desire and demand to convert coal into gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel. We can do it in Montana for $1 per gallon," he said.

"We can do it cheaper than importing oil from the sheiks, dictators, rats and crooks that we're bringing it from right now."

The governor estimated the cost of producing a barrel of oil through the Fischer-Tropsch method at $32, and said that with its 120 billion tons of coal -- a little less than a third of the U.S total -- Montana could supply the entire United States with its aviation, gas and diesel fuel for 40 years without creating environmental damage.

An entry level Fischer-Tropsch plant producing 22,000 barrels a day would cost about $1.5 billion, he said.

(Could that be a quasi-liberal Jew [Schweitzer] at the helm of deep-red Montana?)

I'm sure there are myriad drawbacks, environmental and otherwise, to the notion of spinning coal into gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel. Nonetheless, if you have, as I have, spent much time hanging around working-class bars, channel-surfing on your television, or chillin' with your white-trash relatives, you've gotta know that the motorhead mentality is as ingrained in the fabric of this country's collective consciousness as the tattoo of "Mom" is on your uncle's deltoid. So, viewed as an evolutionary step towards the vaunted hydrogen-based economy that I hope to see in my lifetime, this seems like a good one. And anyway, anything seems better than what we currently have-- I'm sure I have to remind no one of the quagmire we're perpetually in in the Middle East.

[ Via Kos ]