Bloomberg had a revealing article yesterday exposing the basic economics driving the Keystone Pipeline and how it affects Canadian and American oil producers, while exposing consumers in the upper Midwest to higher prices. The differential impact is not a surprise to anyone who understands the basics of “congestion pricing,” which has been a fact of market life in gas and oil markets for decades and is now the rule in most of the nation’s electricity markets.

It is often asserted, sometimes in reference to Ron Paul’s views on drug laws, that a President is powerless to end elements of the “war on drugs” without Congressional assent, but our drug laws give the President significant powers to reclassify drugs to change their legality.

I do not know, and no administration official has credibly explained to me, why Karzai won’t perceive the U.S.’s double game and proceed with commensurate intransigence. But I do know that they’re aware of the problem, and looking toward mitigation.