"Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women. When it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it." – Justice Learned Hand

In watching the president's speech from the Oval Office last night, I was struck by the shear politicizing of the GOM event. The president began a passage and had a moment where he really could have begun the marketing effort that only the presidency can accomplish. Here's the passage:

One of the lessons we've learned from this spill is that we need better regulations better safety standards, and better enforcement when it comes to offshore drilling. But a larger lesson is that no matter how much we improve our regulation of the industry, drilling for oil these days entails greater risk. After all, oil is a finite resource. We consume more than 20% of the world's oil, but have less than 2% of the world's oil reserves. And that's part of the reason oil companies are drilling a mile beneath the surface of the ocean -- because we're running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water.

For decades, we have known the days of cheap and easily accessible oil were numbered. For decades, we have talked and talked about the need to end America's century-long addiction to fossil fuels. And for decades, we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires. Time and again, the path forward has been blocked - not only by oil industry lobbyists, but also by a lack of political courage and candor.

The consequences of our inaction are now in plain sight. Countries like China are investing in clean energy jobs and industries that should be here in America. Each day, we send nearly $1 billion of our wealth to foreign countries for their oil. And today, as we look to the Gulf, we see an entire way of life being threatened by a menacing cloud of black crude.

The pitch to the American people is that "We Can Do This" - with "This" meaning an Apollo moon shot style techno double achievement of "millions of clean energy jobs" and "clean energy". The sad truth of the matter is that the President might be able to convince legions of mathematically and scientifically challenged Americans that all we need to do is approach this the way we approached "putting a man on the moon" and Viola! Problem solved. We can all continue to live an an energy intensive society, and NOTHING could be further from the truth. Anybody with Physics 101 and 201 under their belt knows this (or about 2% of the population).

Yes, Mr. President we HAVE known for decades that this day is coming, and now that it is here you have chosen the political - "evil" B.P., Cap & Trade, "clean energy" jobs - over the substantive: Massive conservation efforts, massive expansion of heavy rail and public transport, and MASSIVE cuts in the budget for fuel for Federal Government vehicles and buildings. We SHOULD BE on a war footing on this issue, because the political ramifications

are as stark as War here on our soil.

There are positives, too, to bringing the American people together on a common course of action, because in addition to denying our oil predicament for decades... for DECADES our political leaders have polarized the electorate to the point we find ourselves at now - a hair trigger away from a political meltdown. But to do this you and our other "leaders" would have to cease your polarizing efforts and compromise, thus risking the strangle hold that the 2-headed-one-party has had on America since the end of WWII.

You blew it, Mr. President. The U.S. consumes closer to 25% than 20% of the world's oil. We DO only have 2% of the world's reserves. You LEFT OUT the FACT that the U.S. produces 8% of the world's oil on a current basis - which means the U.S. is running through its domestic reserves at 4X the rate the rest of the world is (all else being equal, and I know this is a less than perfect metric... but the POTUS brought it up) while the rate of decline in U.S. Oil imports is roughly .7% per month. How hard would it have been to put up a graphic, Ross Perot style, and walk the American people through this. The people PAID for the Hirsch Report. The people PAID for the Pentagon report on the future of Oil. Why not help the people to understand the issue? Heck, you are a former college professor... who better than you to make this presentation?

This is going to piss some folks off - don't read it if you are into denial. The American people are not only addicted to Oil - they are addicted to Media explanation. Pictures of birds drowning in Oil tug at the heart of any normal person. Pictures of flag-draped coffins coming off of military transport planes somehow do not. WTmotherfingF?!!! For some reason people cannot picture what is inside the coffin. Our media engages in censure in the abortion debate as well. Support abortion? Really? (Libertarians like me do not support the use of government force against women and doctors to prevent abortion. We prefer to work from the other side of the debate - prevention and assistance to pregnant women to prevent abortion) Ever seen a picture or film of the PRODUCT of an abortion? Probably not. No media representation of the REAL costs of war, no media representation of the REAL result of an abortion. No media representation of the Death Penalty, either. Why? I'll tell you why. You already know why. Because people are basically good and righteous and when confronted by the TRUTH of the violence of any of these they will reject them out of hand!! - And the 2-headed-one-party simply cannot have that. They must have control... and so we are manipulated with pictures of birds drowning in Oil while they withhold documentation of the human results of War, Abortion, and the Death Penalty. Why are we not permitted to see the graphic representation of the activities one purports to support? And why are people protesting BP in the GOM while we have teenagers coming home in pieces, placed in flag draped coffins, fighting over the very stuff BP was drilling for?

I have often wondered in this forum if I were, in fact, the only normal person left. Thankfully, I am NOT. I got a call from an old friend that I went to grade school with in the 1960's telling me that he is normal, too. Now there are 2 of us. I am looking for more. Let me know if you are out there.