Friday, May 23, 2008

See Atlas. See Atlas shrug. Shrug, Atlas, shrug!

Don't you love it when the other side reveals its true colors? Remember Hillary back in February of last year?

"The Democrats know what needs to be done. Again, we're working to try to push this agenda forward. The other day the oil companies reported the highest profits in the history of the world. I want to take those profits..." -Sen. Clinton
Well it just got worse.

There they sat, dragged as though naughty schoolboys before the headmasters, as people unwilling or unable to hold productive jobs harangued them in a display of hubris that would be absolutely unbelievable in the worst primetime political drama. The highlight came when Representative Maxine Waters actually threatened outright theft of the companies they hold in trust for the shareholders.

It’s a good thing that Mr. Hoffmeister‘s putative better was on her lofty perch several dozen feet away, because in light of her Bolshevik bluster, he had every right to slap her in the mouth.

Say what you will about overpaid American CEOs and greedy oil companies, those men hold productive jobs. Productive: that is the key word here. Those oil companies produce a useful product, purchased freely every day by people like you and me. Those companies produce jobs, jobs with paychecks that allow people to buy the homes and cars and iPods and toaster ovens that keep our economy afloat. They produce stock dividends that make our towering edifice of 401k’s and mutual funds and retirement packages possible.

And there they were, being blatantly threatened by this gerrymandered race-baiting footsoldier of the class war, this remora on the flank of Leviathan, this vacuous sinkhole of consumption that does nothing but suck in tax dollars and shit out red tape and misery. In a perfect world, they wouldn’t have sat for that. In a just world, they’d have stood as one and walked from that room and let little Maxine foam away at her tinpot Trotskyite fantasies. In an educated world, Rep. Waters would be hounded from office and reduced to asking if Mr. Hoffmeister would like fries with that; an occupation admirably suited to her self-evident lack of economic acumen.

In this world, however, her constituents will cheer her words, and vote her another term.

And this world will deserve everything it gets.

38 comments:

MadRocketScientist said...

At least the folks in the background had the good sense to look like they were laughing at her absurdity.

At least I hope that is what they were laughing at.

José Giganté said...

Funny that, I was just speaking to someone about fuel prices and they brought up the "record profits" and the execs going before congress. I simply stated that there was nothing short of Nationalizing the industry that would prevent the evil oil companies from making whatever money they could. It is capitalism after all.

I just wish people would stop trying to blame it all on big oil, Bush or the boogeyman and start making it about reducing dependency on oil. Drilling for more of it or Nationalizing it is simply a band-aid.

Its also funny that nobody looks at how much money state and federal .gov makes off of each gallon, it dwarfs what the oil companies make.

Anonymous said...

There are times, Tam, when I read the words someone has effortlessly strung together and I am awed. There was a bit there in the middle about remoras Awed and shamed me for my inability to fit word together so well.

Anonymous said...

err..

the end should read "remoras that both awed and shamed me"........

Anonymous said...

*blink blink* Words fail to express my amazement at that level of stupidity. I'm beginning to think the communists didn't lose, just changed clothes...

Turk Turon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Turk Turon said...

Wasn't there a particularly loathsome toady in the book called "Balph" or something? I hated that guy.

Maxine Waters is crazy. Doesn't she have Ron Dellums' old seat?

My spelling is loathsome, tonight, too.

doubletrouble said...

Excellent post Tam.

I asked the Mrs. up to read this & she too was tickled by your words.

Kudos aside, yes, we are doomed…

Anonymous said...

Hey, just because there aren't enough crazy conspiracy theories going around I think I'd like to suggest another one.
Didn't old George Soros make his money manipulating foreign currency markets? If so, wouldn't it be more or less as easy to twiddle with the oil markets? FSM knows it would benefit the Democrats, and he sure seems slimey enough to try it.
Anyway, how 'bout that for crazy theories? Now, I'll just sit back and wait for Patrick Stewart to show up with some goons .....

doubletrouble said...

OBTW, this is a quote for the ages,

"And there they were, being blatantly threatened by this gerrymandered race-baiting footsoldier of the class war, this remora on the flank of Leviathan, this vacuous sinkhole of consumption that does nothing but suck in tax dollars and shit out red tape and misery."

Indeed young lady, a quote for history.

Anonymous said...

You know what really bugs? The sucker fish are invincible in their ignorance and arrogance. No one will ever reach them. They will never learn the error of their ways. No matter how hard we try.

M

Anonymous said...

Turk;

Waters is from LA. I thought ol' Red Dellums was from Oakland. Or am I mistaken in that?

M

Anonymous said...

Maxine Waters' comment is not surprising. The issue for her is really to raid the IRA's and mutual funds. I remember a few years ago when Jesse Jackson wanted to annex part of the California Teacher's Retirement Fund. Waters is just going to the easy money.

Anonymous said...

Maxine ade no mistake. Its called a Freudian slip

Anonymous said...

It's the commodities bubble. I blame the traders:

"Wow, mortgages!"
"Eeek, mortgages!"
"Wow, commodities!"
what happens next?
"Wow, iPhones?"

The "free market" isn't fair to everyone (just a statement of fact) - it's mediated by people who trade things around for a living, and have enough money to affect demand without actually consuming anything. I wonder how many times each barrel of oil is bought and sold before it's even shipped to anybody. As usual, you have to have money to make money (in markets).

If I could buy iPhone futures I'd be stinking rich and congress would be investigating Apple's record profits (while the YUNs* all whined about high toy prices).


* that's "Young Urban Narcissists", as in "[groan] my neighborhood has the YUNs."**

** credit The S for that one.

Somerled said...

The Dutch and the English will be pissed if Rep. Maxine Waters (C-Kali.), nationalizes (steals) the U.S. holdings of Dutch Royal Shell and BP. Those foreign investors will pull wealth of the the U.S. like they did in Mexico after the People's Revolution. More people will lose their homes because foreign investors have propped up U.S. financial institutions. The non-U.S.-owned oil tankers will sail to friendlier markets such as China.

Western energy corporations control a shrinking amount of the world's oil reserves--less than a third. Maxie will have to become a Yankee Imperialist dog to control Iraq's reconstituted national oil company, Saudi Aramco, Petrobras, CNPC/Petrol China, National Oil Company of Iran, Petronas, and Petróleos de Venezuela.

ibex said...

You are so channeling Rand in that rant. Amazingly well written.

Anonymous said...

doubletrouble--

Indeed.

BTW, have you noticed that Tam and Ann Coulter have never been photographed together??

Carteach said...

Yes, Waters certainly would like to be part of a peoples republic of anything. Her intelligence is indicative of our system of representation. She truly represents the knuckle dragging mouth breathers in her district.

But, if she ever actually did more that leak insanity from her mouth, she would 'retire' before the week was out. Probably permanently, in a coffin.

Too much money involved, being taken by people are used to killing to get their easy ride.

It's not being spoken, but congresscritters certainly keeps this little fact in mind: The various governments that have the power to tax the oil industry make more in taxes than the companies make in profits.

Yes... the government takes anything from the same amount to THREE times the amount in taxes as the companies make in profit.

This number is especially high in Maxine Waters home state, where the government makes more than four times the profit on gasoline as the oil company does. I should not use the word 'profit' as government does nothing to earn the money, and never ceases to get in the way.

Yes, it's a true Randian situation, straight from 'Atlas Shrugged'.

Will a John Ross scenario happen? Have the right people had enough?
I understand the vast stinking majority will happily sit and rot away in their upcoming socialist paradise. Yet.... is it too late to avoid Orwell's vision, as well as Rands?

Anonymous said...

What magnificent eloqauence! Your description of Maxine Waters is truly a quote for the ages!

Some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouths. You must have been born with a golden pen in your mouth.

Way to go! Most excellently well done!

Word verification: pyzib. The sound Maxine Waters would make if she were capable of reading your comment.

DeDog.

George said...

I can't tell from the clip of Maxine if she a) couldn't remember the difference between "socialize" and "nationalize" or b) she realized she let the cat out of the bag on the end game plan.

Either way it's depressingly ignorant.

staghounds said...

"Learn"?

Why would she want to change anything, except to increase the power she has now?

Her constituents want the same thing. Do you think she gets letters saying, "Please stop sending the welfare/afdc/food stamps/ section 8 vouchers, dependency on government is like slavery without the healthy outdoor exercise!"?

There's nothing TO learn, they are doing quite well thank you.

Tam said...

Oh, there's something to learn alright, and the teachers will be The Gods Of The Copybook Headings.

And you and I will get schooled right alongside the perpetrators, dammit.

Anonymous said...

"Oil is over $130 a barrel and your companies are making obscene profits! What are you going to do about that?"

"Well, we'd like to go after the reserves on the continental shelf and ANWR to increase supply and lower prices."

"Oil is over $130 a barrel and your companies are making obscene profits! What are you going to do about that?"

And let us note that the "obscene" profits made on each barrel of oil are actually less than the taxes on that barrel of oil. So, where's the obscenity?

perlhaqr said...

I dunno. I kinda like it. Now I know where the line is.

I just finished reading Atlas Shrugged for the first time yesterday. I think it might possibly be the best book I've ever read.

"Oil Unification Board" indeed.

"mnzztsws"

Matt G said...

Tam, most people in this nation damned sure act like they want a nationalized oil industry. At least, I hear them saying stuff like "the government oughta do sumpin' about these gasoline prices! It's ridiculous!"

And, "...gouging! Th' damned awl cump'nies is gougin' us, big time!"

And, "What we oughta do, is we oughta just take over those Ay-Rab countries, and get our oil cheap!"

And... well, you get the picture. All of this indicates that people are quite often willing to overlook a little government take-over of the industry, with some artificial price fixing going on, if it's to their benefit.

Matt G said...

"BTW, have you noticed that Tam and Ann Coulter have never been photographed together??"

Trust me-- Tam's no where NEARLY the mean, rabid bitch that Coulter is. And, note: Tamara is not by any means partisan. She hates both the parties extant.

Turk Turon said...

Mark,
You are correct; she's from LA. A few years ago she was promoting the idea that the CIA was flying AIDS and crack into Watts in order to accomplish some kind of depopulation or ethnic cleansing program. She's an out-and-out loonie.

Anonymous said...

Great, Nationalize us? You have got to be kidding. The Feds are most of the reason we can't due much exploration in the US right now.

For example, Go hit the buffalo Wyoming BLM's web page and read the notice to operator's. Basically it is calling for a meeting next week so they can tell us that for the next 2 to 3 years, permits to operate will be curtailed so they can evaluate the sage grouse habitat.

This is why you pay 4 and 5$ a gallon. We put sage grouse ahead of oil exploration.

Think about that this weekend.

CrankyProf said...

...this vacuous sinkhole of consumption that does nothing but suck in tax dollars and shit out red tape and misery.

Best damn definition of government EVAR!

MOAR!

theirritablearchitect said...

"Nationalizing it is simply a band-aid."

Actually, it's nothing of the sort. In fact, a more correct analogy would be of your referenced wound being infested with the bacteria out of the mouth of the Komodo Dragon.

Sorry, but NOTHING good can come of nationalizing the oil industry, and We, The People, will have to go to war over it, and I'm not talking about invading another country.

Anonymous said...

These are the same people who have increased taxes and limited oil exploration with the STATED purpose of increasing the price of oil so that we would use less of it and to make less efficient and more expensive alternative sources of energy more competitive, and now the are Shocked!, just Shocked!, that the price of oil has increased.

Theater of the Absurd.

Chuck Pergiel said...

I cannot stand TV news. Howard Hughes in the movie "The Aviator" walked out of a congressional hearing. I do not understand why the oil company executives put up with this. Too many people are in thrall to the "media". Reject the politics of the political! All hail the Empress of Snark!

Jason said...

So what are we going to do about it?

We can't sit back and let this continue.

Anonymous said...

Re: The taxes: Bear in mind the Gov't makes this money without investing in the product. In other words, all profit.
Nationalizing anything is the best road to an ineffective, bloated and unresponsive bureaucracy.
My understanding is that the price increase is largely driven by speculation...I don't believe that the demand has increased so much in the past year, and it sure as hell doesn't cost any more to pump or refine a gallon of oil.

Don M said...

If it was me, I would suggest the government start up one oil company, and then attempt to compete.

Of course, to have a fair comparison, they would have to find their own oil, build their own ships, their own refineries, and sell from their own corner gas stations. No private oil company would be permitted buy, sell, transport, or refine or supply their products.

A few hundred years from now, they may have some oil for sale after billions of dollars of taxpayer funding, but at thrice the price of the private companies.

Anonymous said...

This is why you shouldn't stay home in November.

So you don't like McCain. So what? Stay home and basically hand it to the other side? If you can't bring yourself to vote FOR McCain, then hold your nose and at least vote AGAINST Obama or Hillary.

Besides, the Presidential race is just one vote you'll be casting in November. There are races for U.S. Senators and Representatives, plus state and local officials. Find the ones who don't want to nationalize the oil companies, ban handguns and register all the rest, and put a serial number on every bullet and vote for those people too.

Anonymous said...

I visited my father last weekend ... a ranting lefty democrat ...

We were discussing the cost of gas, and he just went off on a tear on the "oil companies", all PO'ed that they were raising prices because they could. I tried to explain to him concepts like refinery capacity, and laws forbidding the use of Alaskan crude for US fuel due to sulfur content, but he just shouted me down.

Since he was my father, I just shut up and let him.

He later asked me if I understood that he was right ... I told him that I understood that he was loud, and that I was not going to get in a shouting match in his house.

He calmed down, and asked me to 'slain my position,and promised he would shut up long enough for me to finish.

I then told him, that he was right. That the "oil companies" were raising the price because they could. That as long as people kept buying the fuel every time they raised the price, that signaled that they weren't charging enough.

Selling gas was like selling stuff on ebay, or in any shop. If you raise the price, but still can't keep any inventory, you need to raise the price.

If he wants to lower the price of fuel, he needs to stop buying it all the time.

The reason gas price keep going up is because he keeps buying when they raise the price ... that I agreed with him, that it's all his fault.

He hinted that the visit was over, and we left at that point ...