GIVING OIL SHALE DEVELOPMENT A BOOST. This seems like an obvious good thing to me — opening up access to domestic supplies that don’t put money in terrorists’ pockets or require long sealanes to be defended against foreign powers, pirates, etc. — but some people seem to be giving it a negative spin. One worry regarding the current low oil prices is that they’ll put the kibosh on present efforts, something we’re sure to regret later.