Right. It's a matter of national security now. We are paying for both sides of the war on terrorism.

For about the amount we are paying with taxes to mandate the switch to digital TV, we could mandate all cars made after 2010 have flex-fuel capacity. Meaning, they could take ANY fuel, whether made from oil, coal, sugar, corn, bio-waste, etc. It would open up the market to alternative fuels (while allowing our cars to still take gas) which compete for what is economically viable. And guess what, the techonology exists to do it today. (In fact, 90% of cars in Brazil use this techonology today. Google it, it's real.)

And those oil wells in Florida and Alaska? Why ruin our countryside for the promise of a tiny, and we mean tiny, bit of oil TEN years from now. Let's just find something better and move on from our dependance on those intent to kill us.