Boehner Makes a Boner

Some dead enders in Congress are forgoing their summer recess to stage political theatre in the District of Cleptocracy. They have vowed to 'fight on' until the Democratic convention in Denver begins on August 25th to give the oil companies what they want: control of more sea bed on the Outer Continental Shelf. Oil companies want more leases whether they drill them or not, because owning leases gives them a competitive advantage. The more leases a company controls, the greater the chances another concern will pay for exploration rights. Think of the OCS as a vast chess board with each square an OCS lease. A company can make money by selling their leasehold interests without spending a dime in exploration or development costs--both expensive propositions.

Not every oil sponsored politician is doing his fair share of talking to the walls. “Republicans will not rest until we have an honest, up-or-down vote on the American Energy Act,” John Boehner (R-OH) wrote in a memo to his colleagues. “To that end, we request that you contact the Whip’s Office and indicate any time you may have available to come to Capitol in the coming weeks." Mr. Boehner, House Minority Leader, was around for a fake House session last Friday, but hasn't been seen on Capitol Hill since. Newt Gingrich had to fill in for him. What is the patriotic Mr. Boehner up to you ask? Eighteen holes of golf, of course. That's him showing off his form at Wetherington Golf & Country Club in West Chester, Ohio where he shot an 85. He also showed up at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio for a tournament. The Muirfield course was designed by the 'Golden Bear' Jack Nicklaus, don't you know. I wonder if his golf cart is gasoline powered?

The Smoking Gun?

Ok, this goes beyond mere exaggeration, beyond intentional ignorance, beyond selective intelligence. If journalist and author Ron Suskind has got the right stuff, his book out this week will show that the White House (read: Darth Cheney because the conspirators were very careful to maintain deniability for the Charlatan) deliberately falsified evidence of a connection between Saddam Hussein and 9/11 kamikazes. Not that this will make a difference to the narcissistic politicos on Capitol Hill because it's too close to the presidential election. But at least the historical record will be set straight. The forged letter in question is somewhat cumulative in my opinion. This commentator thinks that the much more central Niger forgery {2/11/08, 2/14/08} was a product of a collaboration between Italian fascist elements in the Italian secret service and neconservative conspirators in the US government.
[photo: a king vulture mugs for the camera (AP)]

This Maverick Will Not Go Quietly

I have to admit it. Not much newsworthy happens in Omaha, Nebraska. Today, the usually quiet city of about four hundred thousand is mostly known as the home of billionaire extraordinaire Warren Buffet. But before Warren there was and still is, state Senator Ernie Chambers. Simply being the only black state senator in a single chamber legislature is reason enough for fame. He rose to prominence as a civil rights leader after the north side race riots of 1966. Mr. Chambers, a barber by trade, has represented Omaha's predominately black near north side for thirty-eight years making him the longest serving sentor in the state's history. He is finally being forced out of the legislature because of term term limits. Senator Chambers is also known for his peculiarly non-mainstream sense of humor. He is a master at pricking the tender sensibilities of stodgy Midwestern burghers who like their politics on the right and their football strait ahead. He got local educators wagging their heads in 2006 when he proposed segregating Omaha public schools as a means of insuring schools in minority neighborhoods got a fair share of resources, since the schools were already segregated in fact and the minority schools were being disadvantaged.

May I direct your attention to the case at bar. Senator Chambers is a graduate of Creighton University School of Law but does not practice the profession. Nevertheless, he has no qualms about suing the largest authority in the universe, God. That is not a saint's halo around the Senator's head but an electric fan. He should perhaps wish it were. Chambers is an atheist in a very pious place. He routinely absents himself from the prayer that begins each session of the state's unicameral. The 1966 Academy Award winning documentary, A Time for Burning, shows the young barber telling Rev. Luther Youngdahl that his "Jesus is contaminated". In September last year, Senator Chambers filed a case in Douglas County for an injunction against God for various perceived malfeasances practiced on the human race. The district court judge assigned is prone to dismiss the suit for lack of service of process on the respondent. Never one at a loss for a legal argument, Mr. Chambers has asked the judge to take judicial notice of the defendant's divine powers of omniscience and omnipresence even in Douglas County, Nebraska. Of course by filing the case, Mr. Chambers is making a point with wit and humor, as is his usual style. Exhibiting the typical reticence of prairie folk, the judge has taken the issue of God's right to due process under advisement. Whatever the ruling politics in Nebraska will never be the same without Senator Ernie Chambers, the "angriest black man in Nebraska".
[photo credit: AP]

The Obama Shimmy

Update: Standing in the dark chamber and lauding their own perceived cleverness is how House Republicans ended this House session before the five week summer recess--a comic absurdity only appropriate to Washington, DC. These conservative legislators who do stupid human tricks for their big oil sponsors[1] could give a rolling donut about gas prices. Their only goal is to keep the oil profit bonanza going. They blocked legislation to require oil companies to diligently explore and develop the offshore leases already in their hands. Exploration is expensive and takes time, so a majority of the existing offshore leases have not been developed. If the conservatives were really interested in finding more supplies of oil, they would support legislation that gives companies an incentive to explore. The minority has blocked eight different energy bills intended to create alternative energy sources and improve energy efficiency. The only drilling that might be productive is in the heads of these demigogues to release some of their natural gas.
[1] House Minority Whip Roy Blount (R-Mo) has received nearly $100,000 in oil company contributions with $20,000 from Chevron alone.

Oil is about $125.oo a barrel, down over $20 a barrel from it's recent all time high. But Americans do not see a significant decline in gas prices at the pump. The sad truth that John McBush does not want you to know is that the international oil companies literally have us over their barrel. As long as we are totally dependent on their product to run our economy, they can play all the price games they want and nobody can stop them. Blaming Barack Obama for gas price blackmail is a cheap political trick. The American people should just say "no" to the oil oligopoly, and declare their energy independence by demanding that the next administration engage in an all out effort to develop alternative energy sources that are clean and can fuel our transportation needs. Barack Obama offers such a plan, but the opposition from the Republicans is so intense that he shifted his previous unqualified support for the offshore drilling moratorium while campaigning in Florida. AP says Obama told a Palm Beach newspaper, "If, in order to get that [a comprehensive energy policy] passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage — I don't want to be so rigid that we can't get something done." The only thing more drilling on the Outer Continental shelf is guaranteed to do is increase oil company profits[1] and oil spills. Industry experts admit that any oil or gas from the OCS is 10 years or more[2] away from entering the nation's fuel supply. By that time our increasing demand will have out stripped the dwindling supply of oil including the OCS. We use 25% of the world's oil, but we only have 2.6% of reserves. Do the math. We cannot drill our way out. Wackydoodle sez: "What we need heah, is a working majority."

[1]since BushCo entered office in 2001, gas prices have doubled and oil companies have made more than half a trillion dollars in profit. Exxon-Mobil announced its second quarter profits will be up 14% to $11.68 billion, the largest profit ever made by an American flag corporation.
[2] An OCS access case was prepared by MMS to examine the potential impacts of the lifting of Federal restrictions on access to the OCS in the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The projections in the OCS access case indicate that access to the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030. Leasing would begin no sooner than 2012, and production would not be expected to start before 2017. Because oil prices are determined on the international market, however, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant. http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/otheranalysis/ongr.html
photo: Mississippi river barge sinks in collision with ship, and spills half a million gallons of fuel oil closing the river to traffic (AP)

The Kahzak "Miracle"

One of the worst wounds inflicted on Earth by man was the draining of the Aral Sea. The Soviet Union literally drained the sea by damming two major rivers that feed it for irrigation of cotton and rice crops in the 1960s. The volume of the sea decreased by three-quarters, devastating the regional ecology and local economies dependant on fishing. Kazakhstan, which borders the sea with Uzbekistan, announced that it's effort to restore the sea's northern portion is starting to show results. The program was launched in 2001 by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev and is supported by the World Bank. The $260 million rescue program has increased the North Aral Sea's surface by about 30 percent since the last assessment was conducted in 2003, according to a statement last Wednesday by the Kazakh Foreign Ministry and reported by ENS. Its depth has increased too, from an average 30 meters to 42 meters. To increase the amount of water flowing into the inland sea, Kazakhstan built a dam separating the northern portion of the sea from the larger, saltier and polluted southern portion. Because of improved conditions, fish are naturally returning and being reintroduced. Recently there was only one species of fish remaining in the depleted sea. Now there are fifteen. With more fish, fishermen are also returning, and there are plans to revive the sturgeon fishery. Even the local climate is improving, with fewer sandstorms and moderating temperatures. Officials can now begin diverting water to the Sea's still blighted southern reaches. The Aral Sea recovery project is entering its second phase focused on the revitalization of the dry former seabed with the cultivation of the native shrub saxaul. Saxaul is a shrub indigenous to the arid salt deserts of Central Asia. Reaching heights of three to 10 meters, its thick bark acts as a water storage organ and provides protection from wind erosion. The Kazakh program proves that if given a chance, nature will revive despite man's ruthless exploitation.
[photo credit: World Bank]

Plug It In, America

More background on GM's technological leap with the Chevrolet Volt at Atlantic Monthly

'Toontime: Big Al Keeps Moving On

[credit: Rex Babin, Sacramento Bee]