Bush's Lie-o-Meter Goes Crazy

Sometimes I don't know whether to laugh or cry. And this is one of those moments.

First, George Bush's Energy Secretary and economic advisor come out and apologize and clarify the pretty much change the whole meaning of the goop that Bush said about energy policy during his State of the Union Address.

But now, we have the lie-o-meter on fire, smoking and about to blow apart.

In his speech, Bush said:

We'll also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing
ethanol, not just from corn, but from wood chips and stalks, or switch
grass. Our goal is to make this new kind of ethanol practical and
competitive within six years.

But in reality, we have budget cuts and layoffs at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The Energy Department will begin laying off researchers at the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the next week or two because
of cuts to its budget.

A veteran researcher said the staff had been told that the cuts would
be concentrated among researchers in wind and biomass, which includes
ethanol. Those are two of the technologies that Mr. Bush cited on
Tuesday night as holding the promise to replace part of the nation's oil
imports.

The budget for the laboratory, which is just west of Denver, was cut by
nearly 15 percent, to $174 million from $202 million, requiring the
layoff of about 40 staff members out of a total of 930, said a spokesman,
George Douglas. The cut is for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1.

Laugh. Cry. Do whatever you need to do to get you through the next three years.