CONGRESS TAKES A MAKE BELIEVE LOOK INTO THE BUSH REGIME'S CRONIES AT BIG OIL

Old picture/same story

I always feel envious when I read that the average price of a gallon of gas is $3.28 or something like that. (That actually is the national average today.) Here in L.A. I pay nearly $4.00 a gallon. When Bush first stole the election I used to fill up for around a $20 bills and a couple of singles. Now it's crept over $55. Only an idiot didn't see that coming when two "oil men" took over the Executive Branch. Still, I don't know what will come out of hauling a bunch of oil executives in front of a congressional committee. A fire-squad might have some effect. A congressional committee? They were probably having a rough time keeping straight faces.

Nancy Pelosi cut off Congress' balls when she took impeachment off the table. It meant, in effect, that the Regime-- and its cronies-- could get away with everything and anything-- as they have-- without having to worry much. Way to go, Nancy! The media helped Congress deceive voters back home into thinking this was a serious "grilling" and that something could come of it.

Anyway, frustrated congressmen played it like it meant something demanding the execs from the top 5 oil companies "explain the soaring fuel prices amid huge industry profits and why they weren't investing more to develop renewable energy source such as wind and solar." They said their profits ($123 billion in 2007) weren't out of line. Nor, as I suggested, would be a firing squad (after a trial).

"On April Fool's Day, the biggest joke of all is being played on American families by Big Oil," Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said as his committee began hearing from the oil company executives.

..."The anger level is rising significantly," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., relating what he had heard in his district during the recent two-week congressional recess.

Alluding to the fact that congressmen often don't rate very high in opinion polls, Cleaver told the executives: "Your approval rating is lower than ours and that means your down low."

"I heard what you are hearing. Americans are very worried about the rising price of energy," said John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Co., echoing remarks by the other four executives from Exxon Mobil Corp., BP America Inc., Chevron Corp., and ConocoPhillips.

...Markey challenged the executives to pledge to invest 10 percent of their profits to develop renewable energy and give up $18 billion in tax breaks over 10 years so money could be funneled to support other energy and conservation.

The executives were more polite than Cheney was to Pat Leahy but the message was the same. Meanwhile GOP shills on the committee, like John Shadegg (R-AZ), defended the oil executives and their business practices. If you can't understand why an ambitious congressman-- Shadegg is hoping to replace John McCain as an Arizona senator when he dies or retires-- would so blatantly fly in the face of his constituents' best interests, just take a look at who donates to his campaigns. $447,092 is a lot of money-- and the big energy companies don't hand that out because they like playing golf with you.