Matrix Fail

So maybe I'm looking for it, but it certainly seems to me we're getting pretty short of comforting illusions around here. The big nasty coal sludge that burst out of its concealment in Tennessee recently (video linked on grrl+dog) like the Creature from the Black Lagoon is a reminder that coal sequestration as it is practiced now is not too functional. At This is Reality, the opinion seems to be that clean coal mostly exists as a public relations tactic for the coal industry, and in fact the evidence as she stands seems to support this. Whether the President-elect will change his mind about this "technology" remains to be seen.

In other news of the harsh light of reality, an  article by Matthew Parris (found on Andrew Sullivan's blog) considers that possibly the current President merely hastened the end of the American delusion, and that Obama's job may be to help We the People adjust to our changed circumstances. As Parris says, who better than a Brit to comment on fading empire. On Art Scatter, the American Tall Tale is considered from the point of view of the public's ready belief in the larger-than-life appetites of Diamond Jim Brady. The post goes on to examine how free Americans have been with their credulity recently to more harmful effect.

Edit 18 hours after publication: I thought this was clear, but two of the comments have made me think I need to be clearer: I do not believe Obama is a superhero who will save us (I think we have to be awake ourselves in order to do this), and I do not believe that clean coal exists as viable technology.