Ol' Jed's a millionaire ...

First, that was a disgusting display of hostility, strike that, flat out bigotry towards the Catholic Church and Christianity in general. Ideas of political correctness in Western nations are so narrow that it leaves one speechless to think its' practitioners view it as "open minded." Were this done in reference to a local Muslim cleric, let alone a recognized world leader, not only would British officials be sacked, but threatening screams that London be sacked (circa 10th century) would be heard from the Thames to the Dover Cliffs. As I noted a post or two ago, the English government is a Godless bunch ... they reserve displays of reverence for the "environment."

Your oil tariff ... Friedman is one of these Shaman the left adores because he portends some mystical knowledge that exists exclusively "outside the box." Listening to him speak one gets the distinct impression of being in attendance at a sweaty Saturday afternoon $29, "you can get rich in real estate too" seminar. His overly passionate tones and copious use of multi-syllable adjectives are meant to convey "wisdom." Yet in every interview, appearance, and essay its' conclusion leaves Macbeth echoing in my ears:

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

The phrase "too clever by half" was coined to service just this type of man.

Look, I'm not dismissing this out of hand, not in the way you think anyway. It's a noble endeavour, thinking laterally on how to remedy our national debt. But it is maddening to hear intelligent people discuss this without the first notion being, "stop spending."

Some time back I confided in Jambo a frustration I was having with my then wife. I explained to her how damaging it would be to take the profit motive out of pharmaceuticals. She retorted (if you can call it that) that perhaps then "people who just want to help will come up with cures." Upon recounting this conversation to Jambo he answered, "Yes. And maybe Leprechauns will lead us to pots of gold at the end of a rainbow." I got a much needed laugh.

The second of two points I'm making here is that while you acknowledged that Obama and company would never agree to your narrowly defined uses for the tariff revenue, I don't think this exercise properly addresses the reality of where we are. And yes, you can justly answer with, "I know that, it's an intellectual exercise", and that's fine, I get that. But things (the Obama agenda) at the federal level so far remove this idea from the realm of possibility (i.e. they would spend the $40 bil a year on green initiatives like subsidies to weatherize low income homes), that it is hardly palatable for me to contemplate. Not to mention, the GOP's message from now through 2012 should be just plain, common sense conservatism - you don't spend more than you have, the government shouldn't run 1/6th of the economy, we shouldn't have tea with Iran, etc - making your proposal for this type of election cycle ... well ... a little too clever by half.

And don't get your knickers in a bind. I salute the direction you're headed in - hands in the air frustration over government spending is causing you to try and come up with something, anything that could reconcile this debt with the least impact on the average American, I get that too. It's just that the lack of funds to service this debt isn't the problem, the debt is. Thus any attempt at a remedy addressing the former rather than the latter will ultimately prove insufficient.

By the way - I have my own brainstorming ideas for his Highness and the Brits, were Prince Charles to visit the States:

- Do PSA's about the dangers of adultery.

- Attend a dental seminar so as to introduce England to proper oral hygiene.

- Tour Irish neighborhoods so as to discover proper port.

- Lastly, do the Tonight Show. And as soon as your Lilly white, pampered, royal tush hits Jay's couch, look into the camera and open with: "You know the difference in how the Irish and English pray? The Irish pray on their knees ... the English prey on their neighbors."

Just a thought ...