Postal Crazy
Red Planet Cartoons
The dysfunctional energy policy of the US Congress is the subject of today lesson by Red Planet Cartoons, and RPC zeros in like a laser beam.
Anyone wondering why U.S. energy policy is so dysfunctional need only review Congress’s recent antics. Members have debated ideas ranging from suing OPEC to the Senate’s carbon tax-and-regulation monstrosity, to a windfall profits tax on oil companies, to new punishments for “price gouging” – everything except expanding domestic energy supplies.
Amid $135 oil, it ought to be an easy, bipartisan victory to lift the political restrictions on energy exploration and production. Record-high fuel costs are hitting consumers and business like a huge tax increase. Yet the U.S. remains one of the only countries in the world that chooses as a matter of policy to lock up its natural resources. The Chinese think we’re insane and self-destructive, while the Saudis laugh all the way to the bank…
--from The Wall Street Journal: $4 Gasbags
Our only comment is that "gasbags" is too nice a term for the economically-illiterate buffoons in Congress who restrict supply and castigate oil companies who won't give their products away.
Red Planet also links to an assortment of interesting info:
* McCain Backs Incentives to Boost Offshore Oil.
* Top 10 Reasons to Support ANWR Development.
* The Only Domestic Drilling Democrats Support…
Other links are just as attention-grabbing, including "U.S. Has Enough Reserves to Be the #1 Oil Producer in the World."--something we've been speculating on for some time. Gateway Pundit moves the subject out of the realm of speculation.
Drilling in ANWR "won't produce any oil for ten years" is the Democrat mantra. Ten years ago, a little foresight would have helped ease gas prices right about now. What will it be like ten years into the future?
The reader is free to make his or her own guesses.
by Mondoreb
Source: Postal Crazy
Image: Red Planet Cartoons
Seen while perusing the Internet.
FOR CONGRESS TO MULL OVER
Think about it:
The OPEC minister may look you in the eye and say, "We are at war with you infidels and have been since the embargo in the 1970s. You are so arrogant you haven't even recognized it.
You have more missiles, bombs, and technology; so we are fighting with the best weapon we have and extracting on a net basis about $700 billion/year out of your economy.
We will destroy you! Death to the infidels!
While I am here I would like to thank you for the following:
* Not developing your 250-300 year supply of oil shale and tar sands. We know if you did this, it would create thousands of jobs for U.S. citizens, expand your engineering capabilities, and keep the wealth in the U.S. instead of sending it to us to finance our war against you infidels.
* Thanks for limiting defense dept. purchases of oil sands from your neighbors to the north. We love it when you confuse your allies.
* Thanks for over-regulating every segment of your economy and thus delaying, by decades, the development of alternate fuel technologies.
* Thanks for limiting drilling off your coasts, in Alaska, and anywhere there is an insect, bird, fish, or plant that might be inconvenienced. Better that your people suffer. Glad to see our lobbying efforts have been so effective.
* Corn based Ethanol. Praise Allah for this sham program! Perhaps you will destroy yourself from the inside with theses types of policies. This is a gift from Allah, praise his name! We never would have thought of this one! This is better than when you pay your farmers NOT TO GROW FOOD. Have them use more energy to create less energy, and simultaneously drive up food prices.
Thank you U.S. Congress!
* And finally, we appreciate you letting us fleece you without end. You will be glad to know we have been accumulating shares in your banks, real estate, and publicly held companies. We also finance a good portion of your debt and now manipulate your
markets, currency, and economies for our benefit.
THANK YOU AMERICA!
You stupid fools!
Praise Allah!
--We'll say it once again: sometimes the comments are better than the article posted.
by Mondoreb
Source:
* Comment by Barbara E., Scottsdale, AZ
on ENPR: Republicans Demoralized But Presidential Race Still Close
images: american
Our Public Servants
by Nancy Morgan
As millions of Americans are adjusting their lives and their pocketbooks to the new reality of exploding gas prices, our elected representatives continue toiling endlessly on our behalf.
A house subcommittee last week voted down a GOP led measure that would allow the U.S. to open up off shore areas for oil exploration. "The United States can't drill its way out of this problem", our servants endlessly intoned, as they effectively denied Americans the apr. 86 billion barrels of oil that lie off our coasts. Oh well, they're the experts. And after all, based on the latest Rasmussen poll only 67% of voters are in favor of drilling.
As ethanol mandates imposed by these very same experts continue causing some very serious unintended consequences, like global food riots and starving people, our elected servants astutely ignore this crisis of their own making, focusing instead on other vital issues of the day.
The House was busy passing an extension of jobless benefits for unemployed Americans, knowing full well that this measure had a very slim chance of passing the Senate and virtually no chance of surviving the promised White House veto. Their intentions were noted.
As the Supreme Court handed down a decision that effectively hinders the war on terror by allowing foreign terrorists the constitutional privilege of habeaus corpus rights, our dedicated public servants responded in various ways. A group of House Democrats kept busy petitioning Attorney General Mukasey to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate torture. Meanwhile, Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee is busy holding his own hearings on torture. Hoping, no doubt, to determine if using panties while interrogating terrorists violated their rights.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich took time off from his strenuous efforts to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq to introduce another resolution to impeach President Bush. And Congressman Weiner (D-NY) had his hands full trying to fix what he perceived to be a shortage of fashion models in New York by sponsoring a bill that would give foreign models "of distinguished merit and ability" their own visa classifications.
Two other of our public servants, both openly gay, and of course, Democrats, were busy recruiting 50 of their colleagues to officially join them in promoting the homosexual agenda in Congress. Thanks to their tireless efforts, we now have the new House Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus. I, for one, will sleep better tonight knowing that the GLBT crowd will now have an official venue for their input.
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) took a brief hiatus from their relentless search for the culprits responsible for the mortgage meltdown in order to spin the fallout from their very own 'sweetheart deals' extended to them by bad boy sub-prime mortgage lender Countrywide. Both Senators expressed frustration over 'the people's' inability to appreciate nuance and context.
We, 'the people,' are resting easier, knowing that our servants are experiencing the same spiraling food prices the people are. Apparently, feeding our public servants is getting so costly that the Senate dining concession needed another $250,000 of our tax dollars in order to continue providing the level of service to which our servants have become accustomed. Rather than allow this to happen, our servants in the Senate took a brave stand and voted to, gasp, privatize its failing restaurants. It was agreed by all that the fact that this government-operated food service lost about $18 million of the people's money over the last 15 years was unfortunate and unintentional.
Not to worry. Privatization is a desperate measure of last resort and our public servants assure us they will not consider this solution when addressing the people's business, like health care, social security, and education. After all, our servants are well aware that their primary job is to save ordinary Americans from the consequences of their own choices.
Oh, the travails of our noble, hard-working public servants. Selflessly toiling on the people's business, enriching their, oops, our lives and solving all the problems they create. Having to get by with less and less national appreciation and adoration as the media switches its focus to getting Obama comfortably installed in the White House. But they toil on, putting their own needs last as they fight to save America from itself.
As one of 'the people' whose business these selfless public officials are serving, I'd like to propose a big round of appreciation for these guys and gals. I think they have earned a long vacation and I'd be more than willing to allocate a portion of my 'investments' to see them get it.
Reuters wire: The residents of a Romanian village knowingly voted in a dead man as their mayor in Sunday's municipal election, preferring him to his living opponent.
by Nancy Morgan
Nancy Morgan is a columnist and news editor for RightBias.com
She lives in South Carolina.
Article may be reprinted, with attribution.
images:
* Right Bias
* sixbucksamonkey.vox
Congressional Members Strike it Rich
The three "M"s: mining, manufacturing and money.
Those used to be the three tried and tested ways to strike it rich in America and elsewhere, with a lot of work--and a little luck.
Now, add "E" and "C" to those letters: Earmarks and Congress.
A study released yesterday said that entering Congress is one of the surest ways to increase personal wealth. Readers probably already guessed that, but the study puts facts to the claim.
Personal wealth of Congressman and Senators has skyrocketed in recent years--no surprise--with lawmakers far more richer than most Americans as of 2006.
Is it any wonder that there's such a battle to eliminate earmarks?
Earmark some project back home--it's only federal money, after all--and voila! Almost if by some force of nature, some of it finds its way back to the politician, his family or his campaign.
The median net worth of senators was estimated at $1.7 million and House of Representatives members at $675,000, said the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington watchdog group that monitors the influence of money on government.
The center released a report saying that until the recent economic slowdown, lawmakers "enjoyed an extraordinary run in their personal investments and other finances."
The report said, "Members of Congress, who are now paid about $169,000 annually, saw their net worths soar 84 percent from 2004 to 2006, on average."
It's no surprise that the "party of the poor", the Democrats, contain some of the wealthiest members.
Having lots of money shields politicians from the consequences of the laws they pass.
Joe Six-pack finds it a lot harder to hire a battery of tax attorneys and lawyers to handle the latest tax, but not wealthy Congressmen--or women.
Congress' wealthiest member was estimated to be California Democratic Rep. Jane Harman. The Los Angeles-area lawmaker is married to Sidney Harman, founder and executive chairman of audio products maker Harman International Industries.
The center said its findings were based on lawmakers' financial disclosure reports filed most recently, covering 2006, and from reports for the preceding two years. Data for 2007 will be made public this summer, it said.
The center estimated Rep. Harman was worth $409 million in 2006, but it said her net worth could be as high as $597 million and as low as $222 million because lawmakers are only required to disclose assets and liabilities in ranges.
"Determining an official's precise net worth is impossible using the financial disclosure forms that Congress currently employs," the center said.
"Like a lot of Americans, as the economy did well, Congress did well -- but lawmakers did especially well," said Sheila Krumholz, the center's executive director, in a statement.
"Now that the nation's economic road is turning rougher, members of Congress have a far more comfortable cushion than most Americans have to ride it out," she said.
Exactly.
No surprise, either that congressional investment flow to industries that seem to need constant legislation from those same congressional investors.
"They have millions of dollars invested in politically influential industries that they also regulate," such as real estate, banking, pharmaceuticals and energy, the center said.
When someone on Wall Street benefits from advance knowledge or inside knowledge, it's a crime. Just ask the many victims of Eliot Spitzer.
And no, we're not talking about the prostitute he had unprotected sex with. We're talking about the many businessmen strong-armed by Spitzer into copping pleas when he was on his prosecuting way to the New York governorship.
In many cases, "insider knowledge" was a Spitzer charge.
If only Spitzer's targets had been congressmen--then they all could have all had a laugh and a drink over the latest legislative coup.
It's only a matter of time before this study is confirmed by events that touch daily life. The one way readers can tell that winning a congressional seat is the way to a quick buck:
The late-night infomercial.
by Mondoreb
hat tip: Powell Gammill, FPhoenix
image: mesastate
Source: Get Elected to Congress and get Rich: study
DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
It's been one year since Democrats won the 2006 elections. As Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) points out:One year ago, when they took control of Congress, House Democrats made many promises. Most of all, Democrats promised you that they were ready to govern – over the past year it has become all too clear that they have let you down.
This may be the solitary instance when we've heartily agreed with Nancy Peolosi.
Take a moment to watch our latest web video, which highlights the performance of House Democrats over the past year. With an 11 percent approval rating, the lowest in recorded history, it’s no wonder that Speaker Pelosi recently remarked, "I know that Congress has low approval ratings, I don’t approve of Congress, because we haven’t done anything."
Watch the video and make up your mind. Were the Democrats right to commission RAPH for a new symbol?
What do you think?
by Mondoreb
[graphic: RidesAPaleHorse; video: ericcantor]
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
The sign says it all.
Source: Michael Ramirez in IBD.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
Congressional Democrats demonstrated what they do best: nothing.
Well, vacation is a break from work and that's what they did. Of course, it's hard to tell from their list of accomplishments(sic) when this Congress is in session or when it's recessed.
Normally, the fact that Congress is not in session is to be applauded: if America needs one thing less than a terrorist attack, it's another law. The "there ought to be a law" mentality is perfect for both trial lawyers and those to lazy to think of alternatives or unintended consequences of new laws. Congress not in session equals no laws being written.
But this Congress has left a standing U.S. Army in the field, in need of funds. While members of Congress are out pursuing votes, the military will out pursuing funds. More on this latest example of how this Congress supports the troops from Wake Up America's Congress Goes on Vacation and Abandons the Troops:They failed in their 41st attempt to force an immediate withdrawal and they went on vacation without passing the bill to fund our troops in the field, even after Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned them what the ramifications of such actions would do to our military.
Next time you a Democrat leader uses the word 'historic' in relation to this Congress, give them their due.
Basically they are determined to punish our troops for doing the unthinkable and succeeding in Iraq, which even the die hard liberal media outlets are blasting across their front pages because the progress is undeniable.
It would be the first time an army, victorious on the field of battle, has been de-funded by it's own country in an effort to reverse the victory.
by Mondoreb
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
