Summer, 2008. You can’t seem to buy a headline that doesn’t remind you that the price of gasoline is at a record high. Everyone is coming out of the wood-work talking Peak oil. Articles stapled to the same headlines fall back on the same, now tiring, discussion about rising demands, shrinking supplies, and the myriad speculative strategies playing out on the open energy market — they talk about anything except solving the problem. Thats because we’re not only at a peak in oil production (which generally drives all other production), we’re at a peak in our production of educated problem solvers. We’ve got a nation of pontificates (at times, myself included).

While Congress questions Big Oil hoping markets can police themselves (lasting it’s tie to capitalism), the opposite only seems obvious and true to consumers and the American people, leaving some of the best analysts wondering, “Is speculation or fundamentals driving the price of oil?” I prefer my question, is it Need or Greed? But, there should be no surprise so little has gotten done, Americans always worry first about who is to blame despite whats opportunities are lost in the meantime — thats the terrifying reality that landed us in Iraq: the need to blame. But, even as we grow nearer to what may amount to the largest energy crisis in American history (perhaps the history of all of our species), and America spirals downward, I realize I have a greater fear, one worse than expensive commodities: my fellow Americans.

Besides the pointless chatter surrounding oil that fills the media — which wastes more energy (in the form of oil, et al) than anything else given its return value — I hear a common notion threaded across the perspective of average Americans: Americans believe George W. Bush, our current President, did all this with a simple policy of “drill and veto.” But, and this is what scares me most, they also believe conversely, that when Bush leaves office these problems will go with him. They believe somehow through Bush’s ties to Big Oil, he was capable of masterminding this global economic shift at the most fundamental level: commodities pricing. Our President alone is not that powerful, thankfully. However, the American people are when they can be united.

So, my poor, undereducated Americans, so down-turned by bad policy, despite your instinct, please forget your dire need to blame. Realize that holding a belief that any such problems will vanish overnight is in fact a form of greed itself, and not need, and is an idea that is plain stupid. We as a society, must exercise the discipline we lacked prior to this, leading us here, in order to find the way out.

Beyond that, personally I feel, George W. Bush, our President, couldn’t mastermind a few elegant English statements in the form of complete English sentences given chair, desk, ink, pen and good reason to do so. And that my friends… is the problem with America, forget oil, we’re at Peak education.

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Peak education is the point in time when the maximum rate of distribution for global education, training, and knowledge is reached, after which the rate of that production and distribution enters its terminal decline. If global consumption is not mitigated before the peak, an education crisis may develop because the availability of conventional education, training and knowledge will drop and the population will rise, perhaps dramatically (Hubbert peak theory).

HR1955 like most Mistakes of the Day do, makes me sick to my stomach. It is not that this law could (and likely will) be abused, but the sheer need for it to exist.

You see, America has become entertainment for the world. The respected leader turned clown; our country found of freedom continues to pass legislation which cannibalizes that — her very soul. Soon, what will be left of her magic act? Likely only a stage littered with the disgust of what its audience propelled upon its ill performers as its final Act.

Rather than address the shift in social mobility, the current state of our wars and destruction around the globe, our lack of an equilibrium or development of sustainability, or even in the broadest sense how these things act together to orchestrate an on-going decline of our society, we choose to fill our Congress (and our minds) with things as trivial as baseball and celebrity.

Forget her business savvy, her amber waves of grain, and all the magic she’s shown us thus far. For, America is not the salt and garbage stew of the Atlantic, the ashy remains of the fiery West, nor the litter covered grounds of her monuments. No, America is an idea. One that unfortunately is slowly turning sour. While its officials use a magician’s misdirection, games and other social engineering polar tricks, we “Romans” are trapped in the Colosseum of our own excess.

On the stage of the world, we have become the magician’s rabbit; entertainment for the business of show. As an audience we’ve grown too large to leave our seats, too disinterested and egotistical to pay attention to the show, so jaded we have no appreciation even for our own existence. These are times troubled by man.

For all those pedestrian-minded simpletons who walk along the surface of liberty so many have fought to protect, I ask that you awaken from your lazy, sleep-walking, dream. The framers of our Constitution knew this day would come and speak to us all in the spirit of the law. Perhaps it is time we listened to their ghosts. It seems alive, they had eyes with which to see centuries gone, what we cannot see upon us, now.

“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”
– James Madison, US fourth president, 1751-1836

Look out! Run! Oh, no, sorry. Wait, stop. Oh, no, I was wrong, its coming straight for us, sorry… Run again! Hurry! Oops, hold on, something in my eye… oh, damn it all — Run! Run! Look out! The Terrorists are coming! The Terrorists are coming! Oh, wait, never you mind… stop a second… take a breather… the coast looks clear, guess my gut was wrong.

The above is fiction, for sure. Yet, at the risk of oversimplifying the process of reading a report, and explaining it to the American people, I wonder, do those statements sound like the kind of security advice you’d be willing to pay for? Probably not. But, that is probably because when it comes to security, the last thing anyone really wants is panic — the statements above smack of panic. And panic usually follows ignorance.

Well, the question of whether or not you would pay, friend, is moot to be sure. Because, you do pay so already. You pay for this wonderful service in taxes. Who’s giving us the advice? The Department of Homeland Security. That is right, the part of the government responsible for keeping our country secure, especially from people who want to terrorize us. Its an interesting irony then, how quickly members of our own government, but especially in this department, tend to use Terrorism as a political tool to meet points in their respective agendas — talk about terror — abusing the people who give you power might be the worst kind.

This little tidbit from AP shows Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff commenting about his gut feeling of the safety of our country. This sets a terrible precedent. This is the man tasked with making Americans feel confident about the country because the country is secure — thats what doing his job is all about. His key concern should be that Americans feel safe not panic.

Besides that, no one calls their boss — in this case the American people — to say what Chertoff is saying. Imagine, I might call up my boss and say, “Hey, so, $3,000,000 in the hardware you paid for, might go belly up this summer — I checked with my gut.” And there is a reason for this. I — you — we — would be fired. Not because we’re raising awareness to a problem, but for being aware of such a huge problem and not already involving the right people from jump — for letting the problems pile up.

See, its not my job to raise awareness of problems its my job to solve them — much like Secretary Chertoff. And, when a problem is too big for me, thats when I visit my bosses office. So, is that what Secretary Chertoff is telling us? He can’t secure our country? He can’t do the job? Thats information I’d be willing to “buy.” Because it takes me forward, I know who I do not want handling the problem, at least.

I mean, its only 2007; there have only been a few technological advances (*cough* Google *cough*) in information gathering in the past while. So seriously, the fact that our Secretary of Homeland Security is basing the safety of the free world on his gut feeling shouldn’t be an issue, should it?

Oddly enough, this all comes at the same time as political analysts determine the best bump in the poll numbers for the Republicans would come from announcing potential terrorist attacks in our near future — our President’s approval rating would rise especially — its suggested it would invigorate his base. And, various members of the Republican party have also come forward with this same “gut feeling.” For instance, the comments Rick Santorum recently gave.

I can’t help but believe this is all one big, heaping pile of Mistakes of The Day.

One question is, is it a mistake to listen to Secretary Chertoff’s gut?

I guess when it comes to security intelligence, you can’t have enough sources. So, of course, I’ll take heed. But, if you ruin my summer Mr. Chertoff, I’ll be alright. Its the whole summer session of the market I’m worried about. How exactly does your gut plan to repair the economic impact it just had on America through use of your mouth? I guess we’ll need to call in Vice President Cheney’s shooting hand in for help. All jokes aside, if its not too much trouble, mister Secretary, perhaps next time you might rely on your brain — that goes doubly for the American people.

Are we allowing the terrorists to act transparently through our government? It is certainly a possibility. Consider that the only true tactic of terrorists is creating terror.

A good question about the comments of Secretary Chertoff, and the terror they created, might be: is this intentional or accidental? And another is, is it a mistake to put the country in a position where concern for terrorist threats can be made a plaything for politicians or worse their gut feelings? Worst of all, who will we be able to trust to give us secure information to save our very lives?

These kinds of messages from government officials tend to destroy confidence, refute their own efforts, and can never solve any aspect of the problem, because (especially in this case) they offer up no facts. These kinds of messages are idle apparitions created by people who are looking for security of another kind: job security. And, if they’re not just idle apparitions and we are in danger, then, Secretary Chertoff , and Rick Santorum know something they’re not supposed to.

Here is an interesting tidbit of law.  The US Congress would like to make it illegal to spoof Caller ID.

Title: A bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit manipulation of caller identification information.

Sponsor: Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] (introduced 2/28/2007)  Cosponsors (4)

Latest Major Action: 6/27/2007 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.

You can find more details here.