Basically, Pelosi (aka the Bolshevik Bitch) was stonewalling any vote on any energy plan from either side, as usual, and when she tried to adjourn the house for the august recess, the republicans simply refused to leave - even after they turned off the lights and microphone.
My favorite part;
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He then said, "I am a Democrat, and here is my energy plan" and he held up a picture of an old VW Bug with a sail attached to it.
Maradon! fucked around with this message on 08-01-2008 at 06:35 PM.
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Blindy. spewed forth this undeniable truth:
Didn't you rip on democrats for filibustering like three years ago?
Filibustering is talking endlessly to prevent a vote from being called, which isn't what's going on here.
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While you read this, I'm gonna go make out with Arttemis's mom:
Filibustering is talking endlessly to prevent a vote from being called, which isn't what's going on here.
Ah, just RTFA, wasn't what I thought it was from the blerb.
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x--ArttemisO-('-'Q) :
Filibustering is talking endlessly to prevent a vote from being called, which isn't what's going on here.
Correct. Filibustering is closer to what the house democrats are doing - preventing any vote on any energy plan from coming to the floor.
That aside, I believe Blindy was referring to filibustering judicial nominees, which isn't even what filibusters are meant to be used for anyways.
The protest continues today, incidentally. Last I heard, none of the house republicans have gone on vacation yet, and are petitioning the president to call for an emergency session of congress, while house democrats are pulling every string they can to prevent it.
Keep voting for these people.
1- Open ANWR and continental shelf for drilling. (5-15 year solution)
2- Take proceeds from leasing rights and invest them in alternative fuel technologies and infrastructure / higher MPG research. (15-30 year solution)
3- Open doors for more nuclear power plants. Why are we burning oil to power homes? WHY ARE WE BURNING OIL TO POWER HOMES?
4- Investigate the possibility of oil speculation dominating prices and consider the need to regulate that trade for the sake of economic stability and national security.
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Blindy. had this to say about Jimmy Carter:
I don't understand what's so fucking hard about fixing these energy problems1- Open ANWR and continental shelf for drilling. (5-15 year solution)
2- Take proceeds from leasing rights and invest them in alternative fuel technologies and infrastructure / higher MPG research. (15-30 year solution)
3- Open doors for more nuclear power plants. Why are we burning oil to power homes? WHY ARE WE BURNING OIL TO POWER HOMES?
4- Investigate the possibility of oil speculation dominating prices and consider the need to regulate that trade for the sake of economic stability and national security.
Yea, 4 isn't practical without destroying the American energy market completly. The other three are all things that Republicans want to do. So uh, vote for Obama?
Not saying that I know it's possible, but I think someone could figure something out that will at least help.
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Blindy.ing:
I don't understand what's so fucking hard about fixing these energy problems1- Open ANWR and continental shelf for drilling. (5-15 year solution)
2- Take proceeds from leasing rights and invest them in alternative fuel technologies and infrastructure / higher MPG research. (15-30 year solution)
3- Open doors for more nuclear power plants. Why are we burning oil to power homes? WHY ARE WE BURNING OIL TO POWER HOMES?
4- Investigate the possibility of oil speculation dominating prices and consider the need to regulate that trade for the sake of economic stability and national security.
This is more or less precisely the bill that the House democrats are trying to prevent from coming to the floor for a vote. It's generally referred to as the "all of the above" bill.
Pelosi knows that there are enough votes for it to pass, so she is preventing it from coming to the floor at all, and as the majority leader she has pretty much complete control over whether or not it does.
Keep voting for these guys.
And, for once, the democrats might actually be correct regarding regulation of the futures market. As I understand it, there were regulatory rules on oil speculation aimed at preventing wild price spikes that even Reagan did not disagree with and left in place, and that some of them were removed by GHWB and others by Clinton.
I don't have any of the details on it, but simply appointing a committee to do an investigation shouldn't hurt.
Bush lifts his ban on offshore drilling and the price starts to drop. Imagine what would happen to the price if congress repealed its ban as well. Speculation isn't the problem, the lack of supply is.
However, that isn't the case now. The current oil futures are a symptom of the hostile attitude toward oil and the boot heel on allowing future oil development.
I suppose it's worth mentioning that, until this week, Obama opposed both nuclear and oil development, both vocally and in his voting record. Just this week he has started dropping lines about how he might support limited offshore drilling if/maybe/under certain circumstances.
Which means, of course, that he doesn't actually support it at all. Maradon! fucked around with this message on 08-04-2008 at 10:49 PM.
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Maradon! had this to say about Cuba:
Oh, there's no doubt. A major invasion of oil futures is out of the question, businesses that directly depend on oil could not exist without the futures market. The problem with oil speculation isn't that it's working wrong, it's that it's working correctly and too well. When we do begin to literally run out of oil, it will be the futures market that softens the blow and gives us time to adjust.However, that isn't the case now. The current oil futures are a symptom of the hostile attitude toward oil and the boot heel on allowing future oil development.
I suppose it's worth mentioning that, until this week, Obama opposed both nuclear and oil development, both vocally and in his voting record. Just this week he has started dropping lines about how he might support limited offshore drilling if/maybe/under certain circumstances.
Which means, of course, that he doesn't actually support it at all.
His speech yesterday said he would support offshore drilling for immediate relief if his plan to give money to alternative energy research would be approved.
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Blindy. was naked while typing this:
And where did you two get your degrees in economics?Not saying that I know it's possible, but I think someone could figure something out that will at least help.
The University of Florida
I hinted at an answer in my original post but here is a sample of why this won't happen. From a Finance perspective, one of the new issues facing global commodities is the emergence of (relevant) Sovereign Wealth Funds. These are exactly what they sound like- pools of capital controlled by foreign governments.
A huge reason that crude oil futures are so high is that these funds are literally throwing billions of dollars at the futures market in order to... well for a variety of reasons, all of which aren't clear. There is certainly the obvious answer (securing a necessary commodity for the future) but I suspect (and others will agree or disagree) there are more issues going on. Regardless of why, these actors exist outside the realm of regulation in the U.S.. Oil exists on a global market and we can only influence how it is traded to certain extent.
If we look at more detailed analysis it's possible that Maradon is right, and this speculation isn't actually bad. There is evidence that the futures market is simply smoothing out the highs and lows of oil prices and even giving us some early warning of sticker shock. Speculators were punished in the adjustment the other week, and I'm not convinced the temporary spikes in futures means anything other than a good news story.
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I'm Newing:
His speech yesterday said he would support offshore drilling for immediate relief if his plan to give money to alternative energy research would be approved.
Doesn't his plan for alternative energy research involve a huge windfall profits tax on the oil industry?
Yeah.
