In Leno's words: "What in the hell were you thinking?"

Yep, back in the 90's, the 19-90's, not the Gay 90's of a century earlier... that was Leno's first question of actor Hugh Grant who had just been caught with a street hooker.

Same question, today, should be posed to the watchdogs we elected to keep an eye our tax dollars. A Colorado company called Range Fuels was selected to pursue the production of cellulosic ethanol. What is that, you ask? Well, instead of corn, it seems that wood chips could produce this excuse for fuel. You know, ethanol, aka gasohol. The stuff that breaks down into alcohol, absorbs water, and destroys gasoline engines.

Don't get me started, again.

Range Fuels got a 76-million dollar grant...another name for tax dollars...and promised to build a plant in Georgia. They promised to produce 20 million gallons of wood chip ethanol in 2008. Their eventual goal was to be 100-million gallons per year.

That was "then". In 2010, we learned that Range Fuels would finally produce FOUR million gallons. Remember, they were to produce 20 million the first year (2008), and reach a goal of 100 million gallons per year shortly after. FOUR million gallons, for 2010, was their FIRST production. Wait a minute! Turns out the FOUR million gallons was for METHANOL, not cellulistic ethanol. What the heck! It's the same stuff that others have been producing for quite a while.

Range Fuels has collected 162-MILLION tax dollars, plus untold millions in private funds, and has come up with zilch. So, $162,000,000 for 4,000,000 gallons of ETHANOL/methanol. That's $40 per gallon that it's cost the taxpayers. You and me. Think about it when you write your next check to the Infernal Revune Service.

Seems our watchdogs are asleep on the job. And, I thought that only weathermen could keep their jobs when they're only half right. Perhaps it's time that we get some real watchdogs, with teeth, to watch the watchdogs that we elected.