In a classic example and contender for the Alfred E. Neuman "I Don't Get It" prize of the year the New York Times' editorial page of December 9th outdid itself.
First we had a dissertation on the "limitless stream of cash flowing to the terrorist from private charities and contributors in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar" entitled "Follow the Money". Reference is made to the lame attempts by Saudi Arabia to reign in terror funding citing Qatar "as the worst in the region" and Kuwait as a "key transit point", and the paltry oversight of the United Arab Emirates' growing financial center.
There is no specific mention of the primordial source of all this money, being of course the tidal wave of oil funds washing over these societies. There is also no mention of our participation as enablers gorging ourselves shamelessly from the poisoned oil chalice tendered to us by these willing suppliers.
Ah, but wait. The New York Times has our attention and then blindly goes on to give us a lesson on the science, economics and tax policy of ethanol. First making allusions to the highly theoretical thesis that ethanol production releases more greenhouse gases than petroleum fuels. No proof, but good copy if you are trying to undermine an entire program.
Then the editorial, "Good Energy Subsidies, and Bad" instructs us that if ethanol subsidies are extended another five years it will cost taxpayers a total of $31 billion. Well, Hello! How much is the war in Afghanistan costing us; how many multiples of $31 billion annually? And would we have a war there at all were it not for the "limitless flow of cash flowing to terrorist groups". Clearly that calculation is not made at the New York Times, nor the concept that oil costs far, far more than we pay for it in dollars and cents when we calculate the cost in lives, lucre, and diversion of resources stripped from this nation because of our addiction to this Middle East drug.
In these editorials there is no realization that any steps we take that are reasonable, to wean us away from this malodorous commodity, oil, should be celebrated.
Last time I looked there weren't any Taliban in Iowa.