The Daily Sandwich

"We have to learn the lesson that intellectual honesty is fundamental for everything we cherish." -Sir Karl Popper

Name:
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

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Monday, February 20, 2006

Do as I say, not as I do.

Mil Apodos (aka 'The Colossus of Oaxaca') provided me with a welcome chance to be a complete smartass. Bush has been hitting the campaign trail (never has one man run so much for so little) to talk up his new initiatives on weaning the nation off foreign oil-- which apparently include encouraging private donations to alternative energy companies while his administration hands out billions of tax dollars in subsidies to big oil.

For me, the article is all about one little sentence that shows just how seriously the administration takes its committment to America's energy independence:

While Bush is highlighting his budget proposals to help wean America from foreign oil, the lab he visited is meeting a $28 million shortfall by cutting its staff by 32 people, including eight researchers.

Maybe he's trying to replace the Bush Doctrine with the Magoo Doctrine.

UPDATE (2/21): Mil Apodos spoils the fun, but at least the result is a good one. The 32 workers fired from the renewable energy laboratory he visited yesterday were in the process of being reinstated in the days leading up to Bush's visit. Bush says it was a bureaucratic snafu-- and I'll bet those 32 employees have never been happier to see the president. The WaPo has an article about it:

The Energy Department said it has come up with $5 million to immediately restore jobs cut at a renewable energy laboratory President George W. Bush will visit on Tuesday, avoiding a potentially embarrassing moment as the president promotes his energy plan.