The real irony is that stupid conservatives will probably say he's unAmerican, but to me, he's about as patriotic as it gets.

Miami Herald columnist cheers the ever-rising gas costs.

Barring $4-a-gallon gasoline prices, America will not get serious about reducing toxic emissions that worsen global warming, and will continue to fund corrupt Middle Eastern kingdoms that deny basic civil rights to women and fund Islamic fundamentalist schools, some of which preach violence against innocent ''infidels'' in the name of Allah.

And, closer to home, without $4 a gallon gasoline, Washington will most likely continue filling the pockets of oil-rich tropical autocrats.

...

Granted, the Bush administration will tell you that it is doing a lot to reduce America's oil consumption. In his recent State of the Union address, Bush laid plans to reduce U.S. gasoline usage by 20 percent over the next 10 years, among other things by increasing the supply of alternative fuels such as ethanol.

But Bush, a Texas oilman at heart, and the U.S. Congress, not immune to the car lobby, are far too timid in attacking the U.S. foreign oil addiction.

This is insane! I have nothing against you buying a light truck or an SUV if you are a soccer mom with quintuplets, a concert bass player, or a rancher in Montana.

But when I see these ever-growing vehicles driving through Miami -- where I have yet to find a hill, let alone a mountain -- with just one person inside, carrying nothing, I can only conclude that America deserves the foreign oil-rich despots that are causing so much trouble.

As long as America doesn't get serious about reducing oil consumption, petro-dictators will grow stronger, and there will be more of them. So when I see $3.41 gas prices, I say: ''Bravo!'' The sooner we get to $4, the better!

I totally agree. The downside is that this is just one more way the poor people in this country are gonna get screwed before things get better, if they ever do. And I'm including myself in that. As a poor student with a very negligible amount of expendable income, filling up my gas tank for $35 even every two weeks hurts. A lot. So I've been trying to ride my bike more places and reserve my driving primarily for school, or car pool more. But it's hard. My car was in the shop this past week, and you realize how very pedestrian-unfriendly Austin really is when you're carless. It makes me mad.