"You can't figure people ..."

"... not with pencil and paper
na-na-na-na na-na-na."
-Bourgeois Tagg

I like having conversations with people who disagree with me. You could even say that I like to argue. But I'd qualify that by insisting that I prefer a reasonable opponent with a good argument.

That's where atheists/agnostics/skeptics come in. I have quite a few disagreements with that segment of the population. And some of them do a wonderful job of arguing their side even if I happen to think. Others fall astoundingly short of the type of clarity of thought for which those groups tend to pride themselves.

I ran across "The Ocelli Journal" today because the author is another who misuses a quotation attributed to but probably not stated by former Secretary of the Interior James Watt (under the Reagan administration).

And I ran across this appalling viewpoint under the title heading "Muslims, be careful what you wish for":

Americans want out of the middle east so bad they can taste it. We are tired of dealing with you (yes, the whole region) and your quirky ways. Just as soon as we can wean ourselves from your oil, your problems will be over because we will be out of your land so fast your head will spin. Just think, no more Americans (and no more American money). If China is not on board with alternative energies, they will be needing your oil. I am sure you will love dealing with the Chinese. Get pissed at the Chinese and fly a plane into one of their government buildings and you will see how reasonable they are.
(The Ocelli Journal)

As of today, the profile indicates the author as 45 year-old male.

Where to start?

First, we're not going to be weaning ourselves from an oil-based economy anytime soon, even if the Democrats do an about-face on nuclear energy.

Second, buying their oil is one of the things the Arab nations like the most about the West. What the hard-liners really don't like is the export of our culture (cable television and Hollywood) and the way we stand between them and the destruction of Israel.

Third, if China buys oil from the Arabs they'll be using it to produce products that we buy in the United States. So unless Mr. Ocelli also has a boycott on Chinese goods in the works the Arabs will still end up with their pockets stuffed full of American dollars courtesy of Chinese go-betweens. Though the Chinese could always pay for their oil with munitions that the United States refuses to provide to hard-liners (the U.S. forbids sale of arms minus a pledge of use only for self-defense--China maintains no such policy). And maybe the hard-liners will use those weapons to re-take traditionally Muslim lands in Europe.

And Ocelli will speed along on his ethanol-powered motor-scooter without a care, secure in the knowledge that all that trouble is an ocean away. And who could possibly believe that hard-line Muslims hate the image of Hollywood, anyway?

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