Dubya Is for War

Despite the rhetoric about reducing dependence on foreign oil, recent administrationsDemocrat and Republican alikehave been loath to offend Detroit by pushing for changes that could accomplish exactly that. Since 1980, the light-truck category has risen from 20 percent to 52 percent of U.S. vehicle sales. Cheap gasolinekept that way because states and the federal government are unwilling to raise gas taxes to a level commensurate with the actual costs of roadshas also contributed to SUVs' growing hegemony on the highway. Adjusted for inflation, gas would have to be $2.62 a gallon to match its 1981 peak of $1.35. (In Germany, it's now more than $7.)

And now, before the first bomb falls, Americans are whining because it's around $2.

Laurent Van Der Stockt/courtesy Artisan

An image of things to come? Combat photographer Laurent Van Der Stockt was on the scene in Kuwait when the last Gulf War erupted in 1991. (From Shooting Under Fire).

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ON SEATTLE WEEKLY'S SOAPBOX
Seattle Weekly is sponsoring a weekly open-mike community Soapbox at Town Hall on the subject of war and peace. The Soapbox is an opportunity for attendees and special guests to speak their minds and hearts (10 minutes max). It is followed each week by a panel discussion of "The World on the Edge."

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Well just wait for the war to start. -Erica C. Barnett

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