For all of you out there wondering whatever became of former Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle (you know who you are), I have some important new information for you. Turns out she’s gone and joined something called the U.S. Energy Security Council.
“Governor Lingle brings to the council a unique perspective and wealth of experience in running a state whose economy is heavily dependent on tourism, a sector which is severely impacted when oil prices rise,” Senior Council Adviser Gal Luft is quoted as saying in a small blurb on the appointment that ran in the April 6 Maui News.
I’m sorry–aren’t you familiar with the U.S. Energy Security Council (USESC to its close friends)? Well, according to its website (Usesc.org), it was formed way back in 2011, apparently to find a place to stick all our out-of-work white, male corporate and government officials. There are former defense secretaries (Harold Brown, William Perry), elected officials (Jeff Bingaman, Gary Hart), generals (Barry McCaffrey), Hawaii Superferry executives (John Lehman), Federal Reserve chairmen (Alan Greenspan), CIA directors (R. James Woolsey), Iran-Contra conspirators (Robert McFarlane) and Las Vegas Sands President Mike Leven, because apparently he’s in everything these days.
“The goal of the United States Energy Security Council is to highlight and promote a fresh approach to solving America’s oil predicament, one that addresses the roots of our vulnerability–oil’s monopoly over transportation fuel,” state’s the USESC webpage on the organization’s mission.
Now we can argue over how “fresh” the approach to our nation’s energy needs will be coming from a panel that includes our government’s most distinguished has-beens, but I think we can all agree that when you hear the word “predicament,” Linda Lingle is the first person who comes to mind.
Photo of Linda Lingle: U.S. Navy/Wikimedia Commons
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