Thomas L. Friedman...writing in the New York Times :

"...If you are going to use tax policy to shape energy strategy then you want to raise taxes on the things you want to discourage - gasoline consumption and gas-guzzling cars - and you want to lower taxes on the things you want to encourage - new, renewable energy technologies. We are doing just the opposite.

"The McCain-Clinton gas holiday proposal is a perfect example of what energy expert Peter Schwartz of Global Business Network describes as the true American energy policy today: 'Maximize demand, minimize supply and buy the rest from the people who hate us the most.'

"This is not an energy policy. This is money laundering: we borrow money from China and ship it to Saudi Arabia and take a little cut for ourselves as it goes through our gas tanks."

*** Boris Johnson is the new mayor of London. He's also the former editor of the British magazine, The Spectator, for which we occasionally contribute an article.

Our old friend, Sue Easton, writing in Human Events has this to say about Boris:

"He is somewhat of an odd duck. Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born in New York City in 1964) is the grandson of a liberal Turkish Muslim journalist who was welcomed into Britain as a political refugee during World War 1. Boris made his mark as the editor of the conservative magazine, The Spectator, and has been a regular guest on British telly. Often portrayed as a buffoon by the media, Johnson was elected as the Member of Parliament for Henley. The town is famous for its yuppie population, gentrified residents, their piles (as aging mansions are known in England) and for rowing races on the river that runs through it. The Thames.

"When the prospect of becoming Mayor of London surfaced, by all accounts, Johnson decided on a course of self-discipline. He found himself a stern group of advisers and put his Oxford education to work for him. Of late, he's taken to referring to his classical hero, Pericles, in campaign appearances. Pericles had quite lofty ideals about civil life and responsibilities in ancient Greece."

The nice thing about Boris Johnson is that he has a sense of humor. Sue continues: "He says that if he does well, [as mayor] he might like to run for President of the United States someday. He is (technically) Constitutionally eligible to do just that as he was born in New York City. Of course, he'd have to reapply to renew his recently relinquished American citizenship."

Bill Bonner
The Daily Reckoning Australia

• Thomas L. Friedman Trying to Reassure Americans
• Obama Plans to Do Away With Ireland’s Tax Advantage
• Worthless Money, Worthless Economy
• Britain’s Financial Sector Winding Down
• U.S. Presidential Election