Govt fines oil companies for not producing non-existent product

  You might have been following the EPA's imperial decree that oil companies increase production of cellulosic fuels.
 Director Blue laments that when the government refuses to follow the law and courts, confidence in the government breaks down and, thus, a reign of terror ensues. The absurdity of the Obama administration's view of this country expands yet again, as EPA has demanded --and in fact FINED the oil industry for not producing--a biofuel that does not exist.

The entire federal government has, at least by Bastiat's definition, become a monolithic apparatus designed to facilitate legal plunder. From General Motors to Solyndra and the Stimulus to Obamacare, the taxpayers' trillions have been stolen -- "legally" -- and directed to the president's political backers.
It is a recipe for disaster and a societal model that cannot long survive.

  Fox:

New standards announced by the Environmental Protection Agency require production of 14 million gallons of so-called cellulosic biofuels made from grasses and woody material. That's up from an 8.7 million-gallon requirement in 2012 -- when actual production was near zero. 

An oil industry representative said the Obama administration was thumbing its nose at a ruling last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The court threw out the 2012 mandate for cellulosic biofuels, saying it was based on wishful thinking rather than accurate estimates for an industry the Obama administration wants to encourage. Administration officials have said that increased use of biofuels could lower greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, as well as lower U.S. dependence on foreign fuel.

[SNIP]

According to final EPA estimates, no cellulosic fuel was produced in 2010 or 2011. Only about 25,000 gallons was produced last year.

  I mean, hey! So it doesn't exist? So what? We'll DOUBLE the requirement then, even though the second highest court in the land has pointed out the absurdity of the request. 
  What this will mean is that the fines for not using the non-existent fuel will be passed along to the cost of gasoline. 
  As it is, oil companies make a profit of 7 cents per gallon on their product while the government snakes 50 cents per gallon with doing absolutely nothing to dig it out of the ground except set up a taxing apparatus to grab the dough.
  Not only that, ethanol is absolutely a bust, not only because it drains resources from a hungry world, but because even Algore has admitted he promoted it as an effort to boost his campaign.
  And surprise! surprise! Ethanol pollutes more than fossil fuels!
  Gosh, these people are stupid.