Associated Press: Is corn-based ethanol fuel the wave of the future, creating domestic jobs and vital to the nation’s energy supply? Or is it a taxpayer boondoggle responsible for higher food prices? For some in Washington, the answers to those questions have changed. For years, ethanol fuel derived from corn was almost politically untouchable, thanks to powerful advocates on Capitol Hill. The ethanol industry has consequently exploded over the last decade, thanks to government subsidies and …