--- On Mon, 6/16/08, Lawrence de Bivort <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> The 'evil conspiracy of Big Oil' might seem less so
> if there were more
> transparency in their dealings with US government
> officials. Why do you
> suppose the participants in and gist of the conversations
> between Big Oil
> officials and Vice President Cheney were refused release to
> the public?
I agree with you. I find it reprehensible that any large industry has more
influence on what is supposedly our government than it should. Who knows what
transpires behind closed doors? Transparency is a serious issue and needs to be
addressed, but to single out the oil business is to ignore things that are
likely far worse. I pointed out this outrageous agriculture subsidy bill as
something that is right there before our eyes and yet no one thinks there is
something wrong with it. Each and every Congressman and Senator who voted for
this should be turned out, regardless of party affiliation. Fat chance of that.
Ethanol from corn is a crime and people are dying from it. However, the people
responsible for this are for some reason not called murderers, which is what
they are. I have no doubt that there are additional factors influencing crop
prices, but this one was completely avoidable and superfluous. This sort of
thing will continue until we all realize how our government actually works,
rather than the way they teach us in school. Virtually all the laws are
written not by Senators or Congressmen, but by lobbyist law firms on K street
in D.C. The bills are then handed to the most compliant legislator who then
introduces the bill with his name on it. Usually, the legislator is too busy
trying to raise money for his next campaign to read the bill. Maybe the
legislator's staff will give the bill a cursory reading with no real
understanding and if nothing looks too outrageous, the thing is introduced on
the floor of the House of Representatives or the Senate.
Do you suppose these idiots in Congress have any understanding at all of the
legislation they are saddling us with?
M.
