God bless the EPA. In an age when Republican candidates are competing on how badly they will dismember the EPA, certain news stories sure do not help the cause.

Take this story. In 2007, the EPA enacted a regulation that manufacturers of motor fuel must add a specific biofuel into their mixtures (gasoline and diesel) made out of cellulose by 2012.

Failure to do so would result in severe fines.

It is now 2012, and every single manufacturer is being fined; so far, almost $7 million in fines have been levied against them by the EPA.

So why aren’t the gasoline producers using the additive? Because it doesn’t exist. No one knows how to make it. It may not be possible.

The EPA is still fining the companies anyway, defending their actions by saying they could be fining them even worse as allowed by the regulation. It ain’t the EPA’s fault that no one figured out what this stuff is. Is it?

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.