U.S. House votes to permit suing of OPEC

Wed, 05/21/2008 - 4:24pm

BARBARA GINDL/AFP/Getty Images

Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives voted 324-84 to permit the U.S. Justice Department to sue OPEC for manipulating oil supplies and prices. Fortunately, the White House opposes the measure, saying that going after OPEC countries "would likely spur retaliatory action against American interests in those countries."

Rep. Steve Kagen, a Wisconsin Democrat who sponsored the legislation, issued a press release that said, "American consumers remain at the mercy of OPEC nations." Hmmm … Americans, living in one of the wealthiest and most innovative countries on Earth, are helpless weaklings who survive at the mercy of others? Perhaps they should pay attention to columnist Thomas Friedman when he said:

It baffles me that President Bush would rather go to Saudi Arabia twice in four months and beg the Saudi king for an oil price break than ask the American people to drive 55 miles an hour, buy more fuel-efficient cars or accept a carbon tax or gasoline tax that might actually help free us from what he called our “addiction to oil.”

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It's not okay to negotiate, but it is okay to beg?

by grandpaw7 on Wed, 05/21/2008 - 7:14pm

Few informed people, outside of the oil business,really thinks Saudi Arabia is an ally rather than an enemy. While we worry about the possibility of a nuclear attack from Iran sometime in the future, Saudi Arabia, the dominant force in OPEC,is tearing us to pieces economically with an oil attack. We are in first place militarily, spending more than all other nations combined; we are close to last place in the energy war, aided in part by our military spendthrift ways.

As for reducing the speed limit, gee, wouldn't it be enough if we joined Bush in giving up golf? After all, the reduced speed limit would make the drive to Disneyland too long.

This from a spokesman for the Bush administration:

"Saudi Arabia remains the world's leading source of money for Al Qaeda and other extremist networks and has failed to take key steps requested by U.S. officials to stem the flow, the Bush administration's top financial counter-terrorism official said Tuesday.

Stuart A. Levey, a Treasury undersecretary, told a Senate committee that the Saudi government had not taken important steps to go after those who finance terrorist organizations or to prevent wealthy donors from bankrolling extremism through charitable contributions, sometimes unwittingly.

"Saudi Arabia today remains the location where more money is going to terrorism, to Sunni terror groups and to the Taliban than any other place in the world," Levey said under questioning."

grandpaw

55 speed limit

by Traxton on Thu, 05/22/2008 - 3:30am

Oh how I hate when someone mentions a 55 mph speed limit. I'd be much willing to purchase a car with higher gas mileage if it meant I could drive faster. In fact, how many miles per gallon would I have to get in order to drive about 80 or so?

Also, wouldn't driving slower cause more time to be spent in transport and less time spent working? Not good for the economy is it? Someone get Friedman on that.