On November 29, in a post titled, "Pseudo-Dems Make Joke of Auto Mileage Standards in Energy Bill, " I wrote, "The auto industry and Representative John Dingell (D-MI), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and in the pocket of the auto industry, 'have accepted the target of achieving an average of 35 miles a gallon for each carmaker's fleet of new U.S. vehicles by 2020, set in the version of the bill passed by the Senate in June. However, Dingell and the automakers appeared to have won concessions extending fuel efficiency credits for flexible-fuel vehicles and creating separate mileage standards for cars and light trucks, according to the Washington Post.  How nice for them."

In a similar post of 11/21/07 titled, "An Oily Thanksgiving," you will find that 'The top five American cars average 27.4 mpg in the city and 33.2 mpg on the highway, while the average of the top five Japanese cars get 46.2 mpg in the city and 49 mpg on the highway.'  And these corporate cronies and their Congressional lackeys target 35 miles a gallon by 2020!  What a joke!"

Now the House has negotiated what inside the beltway journalists call a significant energy bill but which in reality shows the they and some of the capons on Capitol Hill don't seem to realize this is the 21st century not the 1980's.

Yet, John Dingell and honorary caponette, Nancy Pelosi, are congratulating themselves by calling the new fuel efficiency and energy bill, "an historic advancement.....aggressive and attainable.", because car manufacturers must increase fuel efficiency 40% by 2020.  Whoop-dee-do!  This is a benchmark for the 1980's or early 1990's, but certainly nothing to crow about in this new century.

Of course, clucking and bowing to Bush, the House negotiated a bill that includes no new taxes, heaven forbid, on Bushite corporate crony oil companies who continue to gleefully roll in big bucks. 

Electric utilities were given more than a decade to produce 15% of their power from renewable sources, like wind and power. These folks think we're still back in the 20th century....silicon chips are now recyclable for solar power or haven't they heard.

However, salivating agribusiness, oil and auto companies will be waiting at the government trough for federal dollars for a gargantuan increase in ethanol production which is an environmental nightmare, not a solution. Bet they won't have to wait until 2020.