Dear America,
Finally, Donald Trump has done some things with which I cannot take issue. First, he stopped military aid to Pakistan, which is doing nothing to prevent both religious warfare against our forces in Afghanistan and its government. It is not surprising that Pakistan's government, although secular under the country's constitution, leans toward supporting the Haqqani network based in the tribal region of Pakistan as the country was born of Islamic militancy in colonial India. But regardless of Pakistan's official position as an American ally, the fact is that the Haqqani network and probably other Taliban supportive entities have functioned with impunity inside Pakistan's tribal region, and the government...the army in particular...has done little to interdict these activities. It isn't about the money. It's about the principle that as nations, the United States and Pakistan should be candid in identifying their political goals, philosophies and affiliations. There is no point in funding an effort that is not forthcoming, and Pakistan's effort relative to the primary stated goal of the American alliance with Pakistan has been more lip-service than military activity.
Second, a law banning the export of domestic crude oil was passed in 1975, and it stood until December 2015 when congress passed and President Obama signed a bill that allowed the resumption of exportation, which oil producing states and oil producers themselves had been lobbying to effect for over forty years. Democrats agreed in exchange for increased funding to support wind and solar energy enterprises and research. But restrictions on oil leasing persisted until about a week ago when Trump authorized the leasing of about 90% of the rest of projected American off-shore reserves. Environmentalists protest, but the fact is that while the United States is now approximately 90% energy independent, buried in the statistics that lump oil and gas, petroleum distillates like gasoline and other energy related exports together with imports is the fact that we import something between 40% and half of the petroleum we use every day. With that is the fact that gasoline and other distillate prices like heating oil have been climbing for the past year or two after hitting low prices they hadn't seen for years. In fact, those low prices had put a damper on domestic exploration and production, which in turn reduced supply relative to consumption and resulted in climbing prices at the pump. So, if we can export oil, more will be produced, and as a consequence, prices here should decline, which is good for all those who drive to work...most of us.
As I write to you today, I am somewhat discomfited by the possibility that my indignant rejection of what Trump stands for is in jeopardy...that I can be co-opted by just a few prudent moves. N-a-a-a-h. He's still a moronic lunatic, but as my brother-in-law says, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in awhile.
Your friend,
Mike
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