Jerry Brown, our recenty elected State Attorney General and St. Ignatius College Prep alum, isn't afraid to take the Bush Administration to task for its weak stand on fuel efficency for SUVs, minivans and pickups. He's seeking more than the paltry one-mile-ish increase, which went to 23.5 miles per gallon from the current 22.2 miles by 2010. He called the change "absurd." Damn right. He posits that a standard of 10 miles-15 miles better would suit us far better.

At 10 a.m. today, the former state governor/presidential candidate/Mayor of Oakland is expected make his case in front of the oft-overturned 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Brown cites climate issues and reducing dependence on foreign oil as his main motivations for doing so. Sort of funny: the former is perhaps a typical "progressive" motivation and the latter is perhaps a typical "conservative" motivation. We see you working that cross-aisle appeal there, Jerry.

Are auto industry costs going to trump all the good reasons to do this? We'll see what the 9th Circuit says.