Been thinking about the issue of U.S. dependence on Saudi oil over the last few days. It seems to me that all the solutions are all Band-aids that might even back-fire—e.g. if we all start driving less because of a new gas tax, won’t the demand and price for oil decline, giving an advantage to the Saudis, the lowest-cost producers in the world? The most promising way to go might be a boycott of Saudi oil. It could be the “stick” we threaten the Saudis with when we demand that they cut off their funding of Islamic radicalism. I haven’t thought this all the way through, but the world price of oil would probably stay the same after a U.S. boycott because Saudi oil would still be on the market—going more to the Europeans and Chinese probably—while we would have eliminated our “dependence” on them and sent an unmistakable signal that our relationship has changed. Anyway, if any oil mavens out there want to tell me why this is a good, or a loony, idea, I’d love to hear from you…