We'll dig our way out.

Note: this cartoon came from Nick Anderson at the Houston Chronicle. Houston, of course, is the one American city that is not suffering at all in the current recession, thanks in large part to trillions of dollars' worth of activity in the city's oil industry.

But even Houston knows that it won't last. When I lived there in 2005, I spoke with several oil industry geologists who freely admitted that peak oil had either already happened or would happen very soon. The Chronicle sounded the same alarm in a May editorial, noting that Exxon Mobil's crude production is one the wane in spite of record-high prices.

In the midst of all this, my rather indifferent response to John McCain's offshore drilling proposals is to shrug and say, "you're welcome to try, but it won't do a damned bit of good." By the time new offshore oil wells come online, you'll probably have to shell out over $300 to buy a barrel of oil from them.

But hey, if Americans and their car manufacturers really think that they can stave off bankruptcy by continuing the failed energy policies of the past eight years, why shouldn't we humor them? It will amount to another multi-billion dollar giveaway to the oil companies, but using tax money to bail out failed business models is what America is all about these days.

You guys keep on trying to drill your way out of the hole you've made. I'll be over here, on my bike.