I thought the Democrats won the 2008 Presidential Election. But they’re taking policies from Republicans. Guantanamo’s still in business, Wall Street fat cats are looking fat and sassy, war’s been ramped up in Afghanistan and we’re messing around in Libya. And now Obama wants to expedite oil and gas drilling on public lands and waters. Since when did the commons become the private profit preserves of the corporations?
The New York Times reports that Obama is responding to critics who say “he has shackled domestic energy development at a time when consumers are paying near-record prices at the gas pump.” And yet “the policies announced Saturday would not have an immediate effect on supply or prices, nor would they quickly open any new areas to drilling.”
Hmmm?
Meanwhile “the president noted in his address that the Justice Department had formed a task force to look into potential market manipulation or excessive speculation in oil, and he repeated his call for a repeal of the $4 billion a year in tax incentives the oil industry receives.” Well, a task force is nice. All they do is make reports. What will the report say, and will anything actually be done? And what’s the loss of $4B in tax subsidies to an industry that pulls in profits of $4B a week?
Truth and Traditions 