And so in the interest of combatting their lies, demogoguery and demonizations — to stand up for the scapegoats in the name of all that is right and good and holy, it is time for me to come out of the closet.

I love big oil. Oilmen make me hot.

They provide the lifeblood of the world’s economy at a nominal profit, under the most odious regulation and red tape and recieve nothing but scorn and hate (and 8 cents on the dollar) in return. Without them people dont travel, people don’t work and people don’t eat.

So I say, I love you big oil! thanks for all you do! And the bigger the better!

Big oil isn’t the problem, folks. The Dhimmicrats are.

Regards,
Peter H.

“It sounds absolutely horrible, when people are having to cut back on groceries and other essentials in order to fill their gas tank, to talk of the $100 billion dollars in profits a certain oil company made in the last two years. Lordy, lordy, that sounds like excess profits. But not when you realize it was a net profit of less than nine percent. And not when you realize ‘big oil’ is owned by millions of stockholders, including little old ladies, churches, university endowments, pension funds, etc…”

Anyone who TRULY believes that the five biggest oil producers being dragged before Congress was a travesty, and genuinely understands what an atrocious misuse of government power it constituted, would NEVER even type the two words “excess profits” outside of disgusted quotation marks. Clearly, Trace believes that “excess profits” actually exists as a legitimate concept. And all that apologetic jazz about oil companies being “owned by millions of old ladies” and such? He needs to cram that as well–it wouldn’t matter if the 5 big oil companies were nothing more than five hardworking greaseballs, their overalls covered in crude and pickaxes thrown over their shoulders–the money would still be theirs, no matter how many gazillions it turned out to be.

I’m so sick of these useless hypocrites. And let’s not forget–his “defense” of big oil companies, notwithstanding, Trace is still not on the record for actually SUPPORTING drilling in ANWR. So, let’s add all that up: Trace = a carbon footprint larger than about 100 families combined + petulant outrage that the Bush administration didn’t equate patriotism with environmentalism after 3000 Americans were MURDERED by terrorists + a tendency to offer patronizing lectures on the basic economics involved (what’s that? supply is “but one factor,” and the size of ANWR’s oil reserve is debated? NO SHIT, PROFESSOR?!) + a dash of the usual, mind-numbing bullshit implying that the “real culprit” is those evil, unregulated commodities speculators + and finally, a truly jaw-dropping lack of awareness of his own hypocrisy and elitism.

Wow, Trace, you offer such a unique and fresh perspective on this troubling issue. Maybe YOU should testify before Congress.

(a) The eco-wackos are correct: we all need to “conserve” more. (Bzzzzt. Wrong answer. Market prices, matched against a person’s budget situation and preference vector, by definition give people a sufficient signal to conserve; no further signal is necessary, desirable, or even morally permissible if it involves government pressure.)

(b) Trace and his wife’s failure **in their own eyes** to “conserve” is at least partly because of what Bush did or didn’t do after 9-11. (Bzzzzt. Hint: Who controls their actions and lifestyle? If it is Bush, it shouldn’t be.)

Like I say, it was enough of a mess that I figured I would just try to make a positive point. Free the Oil Companies! free ANWR! Drill!!!

Actually Trace, you’re lucky that ILC, VtheK, NDT and/or AE didn’t take the time to INCINERATE you and your useless comment. All of the “on the other hand…” and “conversely…” language you used in an attempt to sound reasonable and non-partisan on this issue is utterly betrayed by two things: (1) the last paragraph; and (2) your failure to state unequivocally whether you support drilling in ANWR or not.

Let’s look at that last paragraph (it’s a fucking doozy):

“I am certainly not a walking billboard for conservation. My wife and I both drive cars that weigh three tons and I, selfishly and foolishly do all my air travel on one of my company’s Gulfstreams. But I still wish President Bush had taken advantage of the surge in patriotism after 9/11 to call upon us to make sacrifices and conserve. Instead, his administration has almost made ‘conservation’ a four-letter word.”

So, you admit to having a carbon footprint that rivals Al Gore’s in size (if that’s even possible), but you criticize Bush for not capitalizing on the “surge in patriotism after 9/11” and asking “us to make sacrifices and conserve.” Who is “us,” Trace? Certainly not you, by your own admissions. Trace, do you really NOT see that these statements reveal you to be a pathologically obtuse elitist fuck-wad?

You’re right, Trace, I agree, IF ONLY Bush had told the slobbering, idiot masses after 9/11 (or held up flashcards) that COHHNNNN-SUUHHHRRR-VAYYY-SHON = PATRIOTISM, then we’d be in a much better position than we are today. Of course, as an obtuse elitist fuck-wad you KNEW this was the way to go and that conservation is VITAL to a sustainable energy policy—but, DAMN that Bush for failing to convince those dim-wit red-staters of it! If only THEY (and by “they,” I mean those silly, reactionary, patriot-people) had been led down the right path of conservation—then THEY wouldn’t be complaining about all this ANWR silliness.

Trace, if you dispute that you are obtuse elitist fuck-wad, please explain where you get the unmitigated nerve to criticize the President for “turning conservation into a four-letter word,” while doing all your travel on your company’s “Gulfstreams?” The fact that all of this is contained in one paragraph illustrates the “obtuse” part of “obtuse elitist fuck-wad.”

And as for the second point, Trace (you obtuse elitist fuck-wad, you) it did not escape my attention that no where in your comment do you actually state a position on whether you support drilling on ANWR or not. So, what’s it gonna be, Trace? Yes or no? Are you capable of giving an unequivocal answer?

My suspicion is that you didn’t state whether you support drilling in ANWR because you DON’T (just like every other obtuse elitist fuck-wad). Have I got it wrong? Prove it. State unequivocally that you support drilling in ANWR. Can you? If you can’t, I’ll assume you’d like to stick with the status quo—you flying around in private jets and driving around in SUVs with the financial where-with-all to do so, while criticizing the rest of us for our failure to “sacrifice and conserve” like good little patriotic Americans.

Just one last question, Trace: who the FUCK do you think you are?

Why should we take the environmentalists seriously if they only oppose the U.S. from oil exploration in N. America. Canada can. Mexico can. Cuba can etc. Why not the U.S.????

How can you say you’re protecting the Gulf of Mexico, but don’t give a damn when Mexico & Cuba drill there?

And if oil is so evil, why do you suck on Chavez’s balls for it?

And from there, it’s been a double-diamond downhill run.

Way to knock someone for agreeing with you, Trace ol’ pal

As V pointed out:

Recall when I wrote my essays about adoption, the only person on the forum who said anything nasty… was Kevin.

I thought Kevin had the lowest IQ of anyone here, but you’ve certainly disproved that notion.

Regards,
Peter H.

“The fault for high gas prices is SOLEY Bill Clinton’s and the Democrats”

That is a totally asinine and unsupportable statement.

Insofar as government can affect the price of oil it is spot on. Democrats have neither done nor proposed anything that would reduce the price of gas one cent. In fact they are solely resonsible for taxes and regulation that have dramatically increased the price of gas, and have been passed over the opposition of Republicans. Moreover, they have blocked, at every possible opportunity, Republican attempts to increase domestic supply, increase refining capacity, improve infrastructure and reduce regulation, ALL of which would reduce the price of gas, and which together would reduce the price of gas considerably.

ALL
THEIR
FAULT

The Truth About Oil & Gasoline.

This explains pretty much everything. They also have an article debunking the myths about the “big tax breaks” (also sourced).

Check it out and you’ll be surprised how much the left has been lying to you.

I would put more blame on the oil corporations that are raking in billions of dollars in profit each year.

What about your state and federal governments? For every dollar you spend on gas, the oil company gets about 10 cents. Our governments (state and federal together) make about 70 cents. Think about that when you gripe about the billions of dollars the oil companies make.

What’s more, despite all those billions of dollars, their profit is still only about 8%. There are several industries (travel, beverages & tobacco, electronics) that have a higher percentage, but you never hear the liberals complain about that. Makes you wonder, eh?

And what’s our government’s reply to that? They want MORE. People like Obama and Hillary want to take more money. That means there’s less for employees (profit sharing) and less for investors. As Trace mentioned above, millions of people with retirement pensions, 401 K’s, etc. are invested in oil companies and usually aren’t even aware of it. Most of these folks earn less than $50K/year. Therefore, if the liberals want to take more profit from the oil companies, guess who else they want to take away the profits from????

Add to that’s not if the oil companies raise the price of gas to cover their loss. So should we “screw the evil big oil companies” and raise gas prices even more????

And even if we do take their profits away, what will that do to produce one more drop of oil that we need?

That’s the biggest question.

That pretty well describes the lefty position on energy production and GW (or climate change, if you prefer).

It’s frustrating that Americans are so happy to elect enviro-pols like Schwarzenegger, McCain, Kennedy, et al and then whine when the pols do what the voters elected them to do and the bill shows up.

Rush said today that Americans love liberty and freedom (something like that). And all I could think was “yeah, right”.

I guess that makes me a grumpy-con.

Not too far off, Vince. The idiot left has decided C02 is a toxic pollutant. Every time we exhale, we’re committing genocide.

It’s like the Greenpeace founder who quit when they decided to campaign for a ban on chlorine. He pointed out that chlorine was an element on the periodic table and banning it would be a gesture in futility. That’s when he realized he was dealing with a pack of morons.