Mark Steyn: Congress Passes Legislation Against ... Congress
By Vladimir Posted in Energy | Mark Steyn — Comments (20) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Well, it may be bad form to post a diary without editorial comment, but Mark Steyn makes an excellent point so succinctly that to expand upon it would be truly "gilding the lily".
The NOPEC 'Fix'
[The House] passed by 324 to 82 votes the so-called NOPEC bill. The NOPEC bill is, in effect, a suit against OPEC, which, if I recall correctly, stands for the Oil Price-Exploiting Club. "No War For Oil!," as the bumper stickers say. But a massive suit for oil — now that's the American way!
"It shall be illegal and a violation of this Act," declared the House of Representatives, "to limit the production or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product ... or to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product when such action, combination, or collective action has a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, supply, price, or distribution of oil, natural gas, or other petroleum product in the United States."
Er, okay. But, before we start suing distant sheikhs in exotic lands for violating the NOPEC act, why don't we start by suing Congress? After all, who "limits the production or distribution of oil" right here in the United States by declaring that there'll be no drilling in the Gulf of Florida or the Arctic National Mosquito Refuge? As Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz herself told Neil Cavuto on Fox News, "We can't drill our way out of this problem."
Well, maybe not. But maybe we could drill our way back to three-and-a-quarter per gallon. More to the point, if the House of Representatives has now declared it "illegal" for the Government of Saudi Arabia to restrict oil production, why is it still legal for the Government of the United States to restrict oil production? In fact, the Government of the United States restricts pretty much every form of energy production other than the bizarre fetish du jour of federally mandated ethanol production.
Extreme taxation, excessive controls, oppressive government competition with business … frustrated minorities and forgotten Americans are not the products of free enterprise.Ronald Reagan
Why do you think Republicans voted for the NOPEC Act? And as far as I know, the President hasn't threaten to veto the bill. Maybe they have something up their sleeves.
I hope someone might be thinking Congress just shot themselves in the foot with this. Could this be a way of rolling back all the environmental restrictions here at home? Maybey they are aiming it a OPEC to save some face.
Pride is a Fool's Fortress.
... which many of them don't know from their a$$ in the first place.
Note that the bill has passed the House and has been referred to the Senate.
Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible. - Frank Zappa
When I was a Kid I used to thik the people running everything automatically had to be serious and responsible individuals. I mean, how do you get elected unless you are? Over the last Year I have kinda turned into a ploitical Junkie. I confess I still think these guys are acting in a way they think are their people's best interests....but I have come to the conclusion that they are not serious or responsible!
The quest to get re-elected consumes most of the avaerage politicians time it seems. Voting for short-term and short-sighted legislation seems to be the norm. It's enough to make regular people tune out of politics becuase it's hard to watch common sense fly out the window. But I am an optimist usually, so I tend to think that *maybey* *sometimes* these people know what they are doing. Even if it doesn't make sense to a bitter clinger like me.
Pride is a Fool's Fortress.
as soon as someone tries to sue Venezuela and Obama-backer Hugo Chavez.
rick554
PSSST Dont let them hear about some recent "finds" in N Dakota or they will find an endangered ant or something in Williston :-)
They are trying to shut down a gas field in Nine Mile Canyon (Utah) because of dust. Saying it COULD harm rock art. Pave the damn road. Sheesh!
Sheesh the lawsuits against cigarette makers would pale in comparison to suits against Exxon-Mobil, Shell, etc. And just imagine if it's 2009 and we have John Edwards as US Attorney General.
$1.50 extra per gallon for gas to do cap and trade? No thanks!
Can't drill here because of environmental concerns? No thanks!
Eeet eez time to storm la bastille! Liberte!
Tim Schieferecke
Last Sunday Mark's view on NOPEC was discussed here
It beats entering the same comments..
-- A true evolutionist would let endangered species die off. Anyone care to change sides?
-- Rapture: real separation of church and state --
The roll call here reveals not many secrets.....
--82 Rebus, 2 Dems voted against.
--the people that voted against represent something of a who's- who of the people we like : Hensarling, Flake, Pence, Issa, Sam Johnson, Shaddegg
--Other notables voting no - Boehner, Hastert, and Blunt (ie, the GOP House Leadership, past & present),
--MY VERY OWN CONGRESSMAN Joe Barton -- I'm starting to really, REALLY like my guy - he sure seems to show up on the same side as the Hensarling-Flake-Pence cabal about 100% of the time.
--Duncan Hunter voted FOR. (?????? what up home?????)
--Ron Paul was a non-vote, but he voted NAY on the warm-up vote May 22, and one supposes he was out of town walking on water, or leading his harpy choir, or some such.
--the House GOP conference voted 103-82-14. Guys, we got ONE HECK OF ALOT OF HOUSECLEANING TO DO....
--add to that that the big-boys (Hastert et al) don't have their people educated OR in line. How about smoe leadership that can crack some heads when they need to.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
it would be a little hard for me to cast a vote now. I thought I had seen his name. Who knows what I *actually* saw....
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
EPU, no serious intent here with my comment, just some brain crosswiring on my part,
Yeah, CT, a change must be needed, but I'm not sure if I should do MORE meds or LESS.
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
Technically a RumJack or the more generalized LiquorJack.
But hey, so it shall be!
Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. -- IMAO
Where they can't invoke sovereign immunity.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777