The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 6 of 12)

br> -- Burton Hollabaugh br> Marion, Indiana /p>

Mr. Newman is, or course, exactly right. Having read his brilliant and insightful article, I (one of those "small c" conservatives) have seen the light.

What we small "c" conservatives need to learn is that federal government confiscation of our income and subsequent redistribution of those funds to others is really okay, as long as it goes to Midwestern corn growers and is done by Republicans and helps Republican candidates get elected. Further, food riots caused by this government hand-out program are "somewhere else in the world" and therefore should be of no concern.

p>Got it. Thank you so very, very much. br> -- Keith Kunzler /p>

With all due respect to Mr. Newman, you don't have to be an "MC," "C" or "c" to recognize what a boondoggle ethanol is. The prime beneficiaries of ethanol remain the corporate farmers ADM, Cargill, and agricultural suppliers Monsanto and DuPont. Only in America would politicians foist a program that contains 33% less energy than gasoline, contributes as much if not more CO2, and has to be subsidized in order to be price competitive on a per gallon basis (but not per BTU) on the public. Compounding the issue is that corn prices have risen substantially over the last seven years which has a direct impact on the cost of food products that use corn; the government is building inflation into the nation's and world economic system. There is also a moral question of should we be burning "corn" in our autos while sub-Saharan Africans starve?

p>I think the "MC's" would like to see a portion of the monies that subsidize the "farmers" be diverted towards nuclear power, off-shore drilling and more refining capacity. Energy sources that would be of benefit all of us. br> -- Tim Reed br> Highlands Ranch, Colorado

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