Mark Steyn says sue Congress, not the oil companies
This is one guy we can’t do without.
Mark Steyn: Your car can’t run on Congress’ hot air
I was watching the Big Oil execs testifying before Congress. That was my first mistake. If memory serves, there was lesbian mud wrestling over on Channel 137, and on the whole that’s less rigged. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz knew the routine: “I can’t say that there is evidence that you are manipulating the price, but I believe that you probably are. So prove to me that you are not.”
Had I been in the hapless oil man’s expensive shoes, I’d have answered, “Hey, you first. I can’t say that there is evidence that you’re sleeping with barnyard animals, but I believe that you probably are. So prove to me that you are not. Whatever happened to the presumption of innocence and prima facie evidence, lady? Do I have to file a U.N. complaint in Geneva that the House of Representatives is in breach of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?”
But that’s why I don’t get asked to testify before Congress. So instead the Big Oil guy oozed as oleaginous as his product before the grand panjandrums of the House Subcommittee on Televised Posturing, and then they went off and passed 324-82 the so-called NOPEC bill. The NOPEC bill is, in effect, a suit against OPEC, which, if I recall correctly, stands for the Oil Price-Exploiting Club. “No War For Oil!,” as the bumper stickers say. But a massive suit for oil – now that’s the American way.
“It shall be illegal and a violation of this Act,” declared the House of Representatives, “to limit the production or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product … or to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for oil, natural gas or any petroleum product when such action, combination, or collective action has a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, supply, price or distribution of oil, natural gas or other petroleum product in the United States.”
Er, OK. But, before we start suing distant sheikhs in exotic lands for violating the NOPEC act, why don’t we start by suing Congress? After all, who “limits the production or distribution of oil” right here in the United States by declaring that there’ll be no drilling in the Gulf of Florida or the Arctic National Mosquito Refuge?
…if the House of Representatives has now declared it “illegal” for the government of Saudi Arabia to restrict oil production, why is it still legal for the government of the United States to restrict oil production? In fact, the government of the United States restricts pretty much every form of energy production other than the bizarre fetish du jour of federally mandated ethanol production.
ZZZZZZZing! More:
Rep. Wasserman Schultz believes in “alternative energy,” which means not nuclear (like the French) but solar and wind power. At the moment, solar energy accounts for approximately 0.1 percent of U.S. electricity production, most of which is for devices that heat swimming pools. So if there was a tenfold increase in swimming pool construction you might be able to get it up to 1 percent, but the only way all those homeowners would be able to afford to build their new swimming pools is through the kinds of economic activity that depend on oil, gas and other forms of federally prohibited energy.
So, instead, Congress hauls Big Oil execs in for the dinner-theatre version of a Soviet show trial and then passes irrelevant poseur legislation like the NOPEC bill. The NOPEC bill is really the NO PECS bill – a waste of photocopier paper passed by what C.S. Lewis called “men without chests.”
It’s amazing these days how pointing out the obvious takes a brilliant man. I guess it’s always been so, otherwise how did someone like Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, obviously an idiot, ever get elected to Congress? Of course there were 320 some-odd other idiots that voted for this, which of course, bolsters my point.
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Posted by G. Fortunato on May 24, 2008 10:26 am
» Filed Under Economy, Fiscal Responsibility, Global Warming, News, Politics As Usual, Socialism, Stupidity
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6 Responses to “Mark Steyn says sue Congress, not the oil companies”
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Syndicate Me
As much as I do agree with Steyn. He’s missing one HUGE point in his column.
Which I detailed here in this post http://regularron.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/when-emotion-gets-in-the-way/
But for people who aren’t going to read that, it’s all because of the FALLING DOLLAR. When the Dollar falls, Oil goes up, because Oil is priced in Dollars. This is something, that I don’t hear anyone on the “MSM,or Fix News” talking about. Not even Neil Cavuto is talking about this.
Folks, this is the real reason. And it’s got nothing to do with “Oil Production”.
Wanna sue someone? Sue the Federal Reserve.
OK, sue them both!
One thing I think you are missing though Ron. Congress can immediately hold a vote to allow both increased domestic oil exploration, production and refinement capacity along with proven “alternative energy” — nulcear. (I know none of it would be instantly online, but we care about the FUTURE, right?)
The fact that Congress can be shown by simple reading of the CR to have purposely limited oil production for decades is beyond dispute. And as you know the greater supply that would have been had Congress allowed it would have led to lower prices, whether the dollar is weak or strong. Add that to the avilability of nuke energy, demand tails off as well to the same (and compounding) effect. Lower prices regardless of where the dollar is at any snapshot in time.
The case against the Fed would be tougher as its actions are only one in many thousands of factors and permutations in a global economy.
Whenever I read or hear Steyn these days I can’t help but fantasize about what the current Presidential election would be like if someone with his clarity of thought and eloquence were running against Obama instead the designated RINO we have now. Can you imagine a Steyn/Obama debate? Just think about it awhile. Your day will be better because you do. LOL
G.F…I am all in favor of drilling, hell they can come drill in my back yard if they want.
Even the most conservative estimates say, if we were to start drilling today, it would take anywhere from 5 to 10 years to get into gas.By that time, we will be paying 10 dollars a gallon.
Congress should vote to deregulate the whole industry. Not just vote for “domestict” drilling.
How is sueing OPEC, going to help? Cause and effect, more higher prices.
I don’t think we disagree with anything here, Ron. I did acknowledge that what I suggest wouldn’t provide a fix today.
Deregulation, especially with domestic oil ops and with proven alternative energy, sources would bring the filthy Saudis, the Russians and Hugo Chavez to their knees.
Solidarity, bro!
sOUNDS LIKE A GOOD IDEA SUE THE DEMACROOK CONgress these are the bums holding up out chance to be energy independent and lets sue the greens who are always sending us their stupid junk mail urging us to oppose drilling in the ANWR