Guest editorial: Energy bill shenanigans

Ethanol is a gas additive made from corn, and it pleases corn growers and those who represent them in Congress that the government pretends its use does the nation at large some good. It doesn't. It doesn't help the environment or lower gas prices or have any other value than making corn farmers and ethanol producers richer. What we have in ethanol subsidies is a transfer of money from the pockets of some citizens to the pockets of others based on lies and politics.

There seems to be a lot of that sort of thing in the energy legislation awaiting final action -- freebies to some people over here and to others over there, all the better to win their political support, even though the citizenry at large could be worse off. There is also good in the bill, including ways to help avoid electricity blackouts and facilitate the movement of natural gas, but neither side of the aisle -- nor the White House -- has covered itself in glory in pasting all of this together.