Oh those inflammatory funny pages. Sunday's Dilbert has Dogbert mocking Dilbert for wanting to buy a more fuel-efficient car as an act of patriotism.
Dogbert makes fun of Dilbert's naivete, saying that any gas he saves will be bought by others around the world, so he's not really doing anything to prevent money from going to countries where terrorism is permitted.
Now, while it's true we can't specify where the oil that we put in our tank comes from, I don't recall us importing much ethanol or biodiesel from Saudi Arabia. Also, following Dogbert's thinking, we shouldn't be discouraged from buying from drug dealers or gambling illegally "someone else will buy it anyway" and support the thugs of organize crime.
If through conservation we cut oil use by 20 percent, that would drop demand, which theoretically lowers the price and therefore the amount of money headed to the bad guys.
But as former CIA Director Jim Woolsey points out in some somber dialogue on the Colbert Report, the oil market is far from free, and we are funding both sides in the war on terror. Woolsey, who supports the invasion of Iraq, says that if you are at the gas station and wondering who is giving money to terrorists "just look in the mirror."
It should be the cars that get 35+ mpg with American Flags in their windows, not Hummers and gas slurping SUVs.
