The problem with most government "adjustments" like this is that they are done with a sledge hammer. The original arbitrary mileage standards were almost impossible to meet with a large family car at that time, and only a sort of loophole for trucks saved anybody who wanted a back seat and some storage space. Maybe you noticed that the station wagon vanished from the landscape and was replaced by SUVs and minivans.

I don't know what will happen this time. Probably more goddam plastic in our cars like the stuff breaking down into powder in my Eurovan's engine.

And hey, as long as the American auto industry is treading water, why not throw them a multi-billion dollar anvil while we're at it?

If it's true that the multifuel option is a simple $100 attachment, this is a small and reasonable mandate that I can live with, and so can a struggling automobile industry.

"Externalities" have been redefined over the years to make sure that there is no aspect of our lives that the government cannot "legitimately" control. The complete deconstruction of the "interstate commerce" part of the Constitution was a major step. After all, once you've established the "six degrees of connection" between you planting a tree in your yard and interstate commerce, pretty much anything goes.

"Negative externalities," in other words, seem to serve the same function as "national security" often does.

If we want to work on energy independence, we can drill some more holes in the U.S.