A minor, minor point, but:

Last year, the president said, “America is addicted to oil,” and stimulated a debate over dependence on foreign oil that has overlapped with environmental groups’ calls for cleaner-burning domestic fuels.

In what circles did the president "stimulate a debate"? All I recall is that he stimulated mockery, because he's a former oil guy and also full of crap.

No, wait. Was it last year that we had the articles explaining what switchgrass is, because Bubble Boy uttered that word in the SOTU? What did that last, a week? And anyway, see my previous point about mockery.

Link: Bills on Climate Move to Spotlight in New Congress

What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy

The human mind isn’t very well equipped to make sense of a figure like $1.2 trillion. [...]

For starters, $1.2 trillion would pay for an unprecedented public health campaign — a doubling of cancer research funding, treatment for every American whose diabetes or heart disease is now going unmanaged and a global immunization campaign to save millions of children’s lives.

Combined, the cost of running those programs for a decade wouldn’t use up even half our money pot. So we could then turn to poverty and education, starting with universal preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old child across the country. The city of New Orleans could also receive a huge increase in reconstruction funds.

The final big chunk of the money could go to national security. The recommendations of the 9/11 Commission that have not been put in place — better baggage and cargo screening, stronger measures against nuclear proliferation — could be enacted. Financing for the war in Afghanistan could be increased to beat back the Taliban’s recent gains, and a peacekeeping force could put a stop to the genocide in Darfur.

All that would be one way to spend $1.2 trillion. Here would be another:

The war in Iraq.

Via First Draft.