T Boone Pickens

If a plan that will dramatically cut our dependence on foreign oil imports disproportionately benefits a gigantic energy corporation, would the end justify the means?

T Boone Pickens is a kind of a dick. He contributed three million dollars to Swift Vets and POWs for Truth in 2004, and in this election cycle endorsed, of all people, Rudy Giuliani. When John Kerry accepted his $1 million challenge to disprove the swift boat ads, he changed the rules to ludicrously require he "provide his Vietnam journal, all of his military records, specifically those covering the years after his active duty service, and copies of all movies and tapes made during his service" to get him to retract the ads.

But it can't be overlooked that he's also donated hundreds of millions of dollars to charity, Katrina relief and universities, and if the plan is good, who cares?

The plan, from Wikipedia's analysis of his website:
A major feature of the Pickens plan is replacing the 22% of the electricity that the United States gets from foreign countries with natural gas and wind energy, which would then make natural gas 38% of the nation's fuel for transportation. The Pickens Plan calls for the United States to utilize its wind corridor in the middle of the country stretching from Texas through the Great Plains to the Canadian border. He noted in Congressional testimony in July 2008 that his plan would generate new jobs and provide economic stimulus to this area, while noting that it would also require new transmission lines which traditionally antagonize some environmentalists and/or nearby populations.

Critics of the plan, however, point out that it is self-serving: Pickens is a huge investor in wind power, and subsidies and mandates for wind power would help his personal financial position. The announcement of the plan also coincides with Pickens' need for federal subsidies for wind to be renewed, as he's already begun placing orders for his planned wind farm in Texas.

Are there small businesses or other groups that could capitalize on a government mandate to implement the Pickens plan? I doubt it. You'd need a company of Halliburton proportions to pull it off. Properly put in check and regulated intelligently, I say let em have it.

Besides, the guy is worth four billion dollars, he's A-OK. If he didn't actually care about this stuff, why spend $58 million dollars on media ads when he could probably spend half that on lobbyists?

Finally, it's an energy policy. Remember that? No, you don't.