Saying he is "sympathetic to late night comedians' struggle to find jokes to make about me," Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) today issued a list of official campaign-approved Barack Obama jokes.
The five jokes, which Sen. Obama said he is making available to all comedians free of charge, are as follows:
Barack Obama and a kangaroo pull up to a gas station. The gas station attendant takes one look at the kangaroo and says, "You know, we don't get many kangaroos here." Barack Obama replies, "At these prices, I'm not surprised. That's why we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil."
No doubt about it, the flap over that Obama New Yorker cover has created a crisis for political humor in this country. I actually seem to be in the minority in thinking that the cover was funny and an effective satire (there's a broader issue there I may write about when I come back full-time); I also tend to agree with Maureen Dowd (that's rare these days) and others who say it would be good if Obama and his supporters could lighten up a little.
Why don't they?
Forget Monty Python -- here's the real "killer joke" of American politics.
Al Gore invented the Internet.
Of course, he never really said that, but after a year of repetition from a brain-dead political media, amplified by late-night comics looking for punchlines about two pretty dull-seeming candidates in 2000, you'd be hard pressed to find a voter in November 2000 who didn't think Gore had really said that. It was one of a number of exaggerations and outright falsehoods that became running jokes about Gore in 2000, that he'd claimed cleaning up Love Canal, etc. It was a joke, perhaps, but Gore's credibility became a "serious" issue for enough voters that Gore lost Florida by a few hundred votes, lost the Electoral College, and George W. Bush became president.
Eight years later, 4,000 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians are dead, New Orleans is still in shambles, and so is the American economy. Ultimately, all because of a "a joke."
It's just hard for people to laugh anything off anymore.
Posted by Will Bunch @ 7:54 AM
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"It was a joke, perhaps, but Gore's credibility became a "serious" issue for enough voters that Gore lost Florida by a few hundred votes, lost the Electoral College, and George W. Bush became president"
Will, if you want to look for two culprits for Al Gore losing in 2000, look at the Dems being unwilling to remove Clinton for lying under oath, and the Elian raid, which turned thousands of Cuban-American voters in Florida away from the Dems in 2000. If Clinton had been gone in 1999, Al Gore would have had time to distance himself from Clinton and would have run as something of an incumbent.
Steak, you're an idiot. Who's a commie? You don't even know what a communist is do you, you filth? Go back to slathering yourself in freedom cheese fries.
Maureen Dowd is a blithering IDIOT!
Main Entry: com·mu·nism
1 a: a theory advocating elimination of private property b: a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed
I've never seen or heard Will advocate for either of these things so lose the commie bull, McCarthy.
The Liberal playbook is that the election was stolen, not that Bush won. Will, you need to read these things before you discuss the 2000 election.
"The only person who would have handled the war on terror worst than Bush is Gore.".....Um, actually, the "War on Terror"tm was created by BushCo. And since 9/11 happened on BushCo's watch, I think it may be near impossible to make such a stupid statement. Hey, for all we know Gore may have actually listened to the repeated warnings and briefings and FBI field reports, instead of being more concerned about when the next drink is coming along.
Al Gore lost in 2000 because he supported Clinton and helped prevent his femoval from office in 1999. Al Queida did not care who was president in 2001, they just wanted to kill.
So bad jokes create giant hurricanes, lead to incompetant mayors, Governors, and assorted idiots in lousiana. Bad jokes also caused reporters to declare there were snipers causing the deaths of dozens of people since rescue helicopters had to be pulled back. And you are wrong. Al Gore did actually help pass the fereal law that led to the internet we now know and he did say during his first run for president that he helped create the internet, was the insperation for love story and a number of other fantasies. So Al Gore has been seeing things for years, not just since he discovered he could make a cool billion dollars pushing stories about global warming.
The ACTUAL QUOTE of Al Gore speaking about the internet.
Here it is Billie Clump.
You somehow "forgot" to place it in your neat little story.
Al Gore on March 9, 1999 "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."
So Al Gore "created" the internet, seems pretty close to inventing it. In fact the word create is a synonym for the word invent.
Wow, who would have thought that a joke would have changed the course of our nation's history. Isn't it a shame that a joke and a Supreme Court's unbalanced decision would have gotten the nation into such a mess.
Gee LJL Bush actually did what any competent president would have done after getting the one page memo on Bin Laden and ordered all FBI field offices to investigate and report back but somehow Louis Freeh's FBI did not know how to read email and report back to superiors AFTER getting the Phoenix memo which stated clearly there were young muslim men at flight schools who only wanted to learn how to take off in airplanes and did not care much for landing.
Also you had FBI agents who were pushing their FBI superiors to allow them to investigate Moussoai's computer but were denied as well. Somehow even George Tenet found out but did not tell anyone.
It was Clinton's FBI and Clinton's CIA that botched the job.
Bush's pick for FBI director was barely on the job 5 days before 9/11.
Get your facts straight pal!
"I actually seem to be in the minority in thinking that the cover was funny and an effective satire.....I also tend to agree with Maureen Dowd and others who say it would be good if Obama and his supporters could lighten up a little." I agree. Let's put the shoe on the other foot. Say a conservative periodical decided to print a satirical caricature of McCain on it cover. The cartoon presents McCain as a manacing looking, crazed old man in a wheelchair in the Oval Office. He is pressing a button which is labeled "Nuke Iran". In the background is a picture of an evil looking Dick Cheney hanging above the fireplace in which a copy of the Constitution is burning. In this scenario, I don't believe there would've been much of a fuss in the media and McCain himself would've simply laughed it off.
Grill, Vint Cerf and Rob Kahn (guys who really DID invent the Internet--and both of whom were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from GWB for their role in inventing the Internet) issued a paper on that very quote from Al Gore: "We don’t think, as some people have argued, that Gore intended to claim he “invented” the Internet. Moreover, there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore’s initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet...No one in public life has been more intellectually engaged in helping to create the climate for a thriving Internet than the Vice President. Gore has been a clear champion of this effort, both in the councils of government and with the public at large."
The Vice President deserves credit for his early recognition of the value of high speed computing and communication and for his long-term and consistent articulation of the potential value of the Internet to American citizens and industry and, indeed, to the rest of the world.
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"it would be good if Obama and his supporters could lighten up a little."
I think it would be impossible for someone who can link Algore's comment about the internet to the Iraq war and Katrina to lighten up.
I do agree though that the Iraq war would not have happened if Algore was President. The Afganistan war wouldn't have happened either, and it would have been impossible to go almost 7 years without an Islamic terrorist attack on American soil. On a positive note, he would have negotiated with Al Qaeda so that the next time they attack us, they wouldn't leave such a large carbon footprint.
Geez, Will! Check your facts. Gore DID say he "too the initiative in creating the Internet." "Create" and "invent" can be interchangeable. All Gore did was sponsor a bill making it more available to everyone. The Internet was created in 1969 for military use. Gore did not create, invent or devise it. If Gore is as smart as he claims, he could have chosen his words better. Gore has also claimed to be involved in the creation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a co-sponsor of the McCain-Feingold bill and putting together Earned Income Tax Credits. The first and last happened before he entered Congress; he was a FORMER Vice President when the last was enacted.
Gore lost because he was a terrible candidate and ran a terrible campaign. For you to blame his loss on one joke is a stretch beyond imagination. Did he lose because he emoted the warmth and personality of an unplugged Coke machine, the fact that he sighed during the first debate like a petulant, spoiled four year old, or the fact that he was prone to several other exaggerations of his life and "accomplishments" during the campaign? The "Internet" joke was a symptomatic of larger problems with his lame 2000 campaign.
Gee, Wil, I'm surprised you didn't thrown Valerie Plame and global warming in your BDS checklist. It just gets boring after a while - don't you have any new material?
Gore lost because he was a terrible candidate and ran a terrible campaign. For you to blame his loss on one joke is a stretch beyond imagination. Did he lose because he emoted the warmth and personality of an unplugged Coke machine, the fact that he sighed during the first debate like a petulant, spoiled four year old, or the fact that he was prone to several other exaggerations of his life and "accomplishments" during the campaign? The "Internet" joke was a symptomatic of larger problems with his lame 2000 campaign.
Gee, Wil, I'm surprised you didn't thrown Valerie Plame and global warming in your BDS checklist. It just gets boring after a while - don't you have any new material?
Eight years later, 4,000 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians are dead, New Orleans is still in shambles, and so is the American economy. Ultimately, all because of a "a joke."
so you're saying Gore lost because of the response to the "invent internet" comment? that's interesting....also, regarding New Orleans, look at the Midwest with all their floods, do you see any problems with those folks? of course not, they are taking responsibility for themselves and picking up the pieces. Whereas in NO, those residents are waiting for someone to bail them out...perhaps you think they are not capable of doing that, Will? Is that why your party needs to hand hold everyone? Lastly, the economy, sure this is a decline currently but why wasnt there any credit given when folks of all class were buying houses, and the market was booming, or when the stock market was hitting all time highs...its cycles folks, the prez is not to blame for good economics and bad...but if you are gonna blame him, give credit for the record setting economy that occured during the majority of the Bush presidency
Don't forget the "Lock Box"
Man, I really wish Bush hadn't sent that hurricane to decimate a city that was built below sea level.
Man, I really wish Bush hadn't sent that hurricane to decimate a city that was built below sea level.
Man, I really wish Bush hadn't sent that hurricane to decimate a city that was built below sea level.
flyersfan
While I like your moniker, your comment seems to be lacking. Sure, Will and his democrat friend would never come out and say they wont those things as stated in yoru definition, they just have different terms for it. What do you think "tax the rich" means? thats income redistribution bud
9/11 was planned on Clinton's watch, LJL
Funny the GOPs claim Gore could have won by distancing himself further from Clinton.. most Dems think that Gore could have won by campaigning with Clinton.
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Unfortunately, with communications and the internet access today, rumors often are treated as reality. Witness the Obama - mulim and McCain - Bush lite falsehoods. The Republicans want to keep the rumors alove on the Muslim issue (even while publically acknowledging it is not true), and the Democrats have made a cornerstond of the Bush lite label for the election (even though McCain is the most liberal Republican since Arlin Spector). Where can a person find the truth these days!
George Bush lied when he pretended to be a sober recovered alcoholic and former cokehead. Not that he claimed to invent the rehabbed redeemed and fully functional adult, but he sure gave that impression while campaigning.
"Witness the Obama - mulim and McCain - Bush lite falsehoods." --- The two are not at all comparable. Obama is clearly not muslim. McCain, otoh, does support a large majority of policies that Bush also supported.
See Politburo, even an intellegent and knowlegeable guy like you can be swayed by rumor and innuendo.
Next month's New Yorker is going to feature Obama snorting coke. He'll be pictured with a bottle of Colt 45 in one hand and a joint in the other while a pack of Kools falls out of his shirt pocket. On the wall will be a picture of Jesse Jackson. Michelle will be standing over him, angrily waving a bunch of school loan bills. Outside the room you will see Rev Wright knocking on the door with a stack full of books written by Marx and Lenin.
This post is quite a bit over the top. Do you really think the economy would never have slowed down under Gore? Do you really think the City of New Orleans would have rebuilt itself more quickly under Gore? (Whatever you may think of Bush, the aftermath in New Orleans has nothing to do with him. The city's corrupt power brokers have essentially stolen all the federal aid money...) You clearly do not support the war effort, which is fine, but a healthy majority did at the time of the invasion and a decent plurality still think it was the right thing to do. War is always tragic, but rescuing millions of people from the tyranny of a genocidal dictator is not an objectively bad thing. (Though the phase 4 planning, which led to many Iraqi and American deaths, was objectively bad. I will grant that in a second.)
He also really believes he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize more than Irina Sendler. Consider the source.
jyoders19: If more Americans knew that he took that woman's prize, and that she died only a few months later, they would not see Al Gore as nearly so much as a hero. That was a travesty.
Recently stumbled onto the Al Gore "documentary". Showtime or HBO. Wanted to thank him and his team. Took one of the best naps in ages. Special thanks to Tipper for not making many appearances.. would have caused me nightmares.
baby daddy was goat herder before he delt in da chronic.. did the blow..don't know who or where to send fathers day card.. flop eared nappy headed..
"(Though the phase 4 planning, which led to many Iraqi and American deaths, was objectively bad. I will grant that in a second.)" Actually, if you read Fallows "Blind into Baghdad" or watch the excellent "No End In Sight", the planning was fine, it was the decision making that was terrible. Most of the decisions were made by Bush appointees in washington with litle field experience (deBaathification). As for Katrina, not much may have changed but FEMA wouldn't have been run by a guy who used to deal with horse racing.
"Eight years later, 4,000 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians are dead, New Orleans is still in shambles, and so is the American economy. Ultimately, all because of a "a joke."....Will; you must be slipping in your old age, I cant believe you left out water boarding, and destroying the constitution.
bon: Where do you get your "a decent plurality still think it (Iraq) was the right thing to do" statement? Since we haven't had such an incompetent & abuse/corruption riddled Administration since Warren Harding's, I doubt many people think Gore would have done "as bad" a job in any aspect as the current occupant. Isn't the current "we're on the wrong track" poll # at 82%? Sorry, but that pretty definitively puts you in the minority of opinion with your fellow citizens.
CB thanks for the compliments, I suppose, but do you care to explain what exactly is incorrect in my statement?
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bon: Gore didn't "take" anything, since he didn't award the prize to himself. Your beef is with the Nobel Committee. Also recall that the Prize was given to Gore and the IPCC, not just Gore. You can object to the award, but to claim that it was "stolen" or "taken" by Gore is simply wrong.
nice point Bohica...
Politburo: Gore could have taken the opportunity to honor Mrs. Sendler or (better yet) given his share of the prize to her. Believe me the committee does not escape my ire, but Gore had a responsibility to honor a woman who suffered a great deal more and worked a great deal harder than himself. (Has he ever even discussed her in public?) ----- yobill626: A plurality is a minority. It is still in the 30%+ range, in the most recent poll I saw. I would call that a "decent plurality".
RG: You won't catch me defending Bush's cronyism. But Bunch was attacking Bush for the city still being in shambles. No president can change that. Given ample federal assistance, as they have been, it is the duty of local and state leadership to rebuild the city. ----- If you think "decision making" is a better category for the Bush administration's failures in Iraq, I won't argue. The point is that most American's (and, I should mention, McCain) agree that the administration made serious mistakes in this war that led to unnecessary loss of life.
".... I don't believe there would've been much of a fuss in the media and McCain himself would've simply laughed it off." ---)))) That's odd, legatus. I completely disagree. Not only would there been a huge fuss, McCain would make a huge deal out of it to spin it to his political advantage. I love if when "conservatives" create these self-fulfilling theories about "what would happen if..." regarding the media - as if it's come sort of factual assertion rather than the highly partisan speculation that it is.
"Where do you get your "a decent plurality still think it (Iraq) was the right thing to do" statement?..." --))) LOL! He probably pulled it out of the same placer where had stored his "the vast majority of Americans think McCain is more honest than Obama" statement. The one that he repeated, although when challenged to do so, he couldn'r provide a shred of evidence for his claim. -----))) bon, do you just make this stuff up on your own, or do you copy it from some far-right wing wacko mainstream media resource?
TPS: I misused the word plurality. My bad. I meant "decent minority."
"In this scenario, I don't believe there would've been much of a fuss in the media and McCain himself would've simply laughed it off." . . . . . Legatus, why then can't McCain simply laugh off elderly librarians holding "McCain = Bush" signs? (Admittedly though, that's about the worst political insult imaginable).
MSL: McCain probably did. His campaign can be a bit overly sensitive, though. (Sort of like Obama's campaign AIDS rushing Muslims out of the camera shot. Obama had nothing to do with it, but his campaign still made him look bad.)
"That's odd, legatus. I completely disagree." This is the first clue that what follows is complete BS. There is absolutely nothing odd about the fact that you completely disagree with me, Tps.
"Not only would there been a huge fuss, McCain would make a huge deal out of it to spin it to his political advantage. I love if when "conservatives" create these self-fulfilling theories about "what would happen if..." regarding the media - as if it's come sort of factual assertion rather than the highly partisan speculation that it is." I love it when hypocrites condemn a conservative's hypothetical one sentence after proceeding to do the ~exact same thing~ that they comdemn the conservative for doing. (eg. "there would be a huge fuss", etc.)
"Legatus, why then can't McCain simply laugh off elderly librarians holding "McCain = Bush" signs?" Show me where McCain voiced his displeasure with the "librarian" (who was actually a member of a George Soros funded group. Not that it matters, but....) In any case, she was charged with trespassing by the Denver police (not by McCain, whose surrogates did in fact point her out to the cops) because she was protesting is a spot that a fedral appeals court determined was not a public area, and that protests could be curtailed there. Seems like she was breaking the law...something the New Yorker did not do.
bon that's really quite silly, now. Do you really believe Nobel Peace Prize winners should share the prize with, for lack of a better term, the losers? What about the others who were nominated in 2007 and did not win? Surely they also did good deeds, like Ms. Sendler. Does Gore need to acknowledge them, too?
Nice to see you go my point, legatus.
Nice attempt at slithering out of your faux pas, Tps.
Legatus, you need to get your facts straight. The librarian was waiting in line to enter a so-called McCain town-hall meeting that was billed as "open to the public". None of the other persons waiting in line were asked to leave, just the librarian. I've yet to see where Mccain has indicated that he had nothing to do with having her removed, which could include general orders to remove anyone perceived as "unfriendly" at his public events. This same scenario took place several years ago in Charleston, WV when a couple was removed from a public event in which Bush was speaking because they wore anti-0Bush T-shirts. The secret service had the local police remove the couple. They were later successful in bringing a civil rights suit against the local police.
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"Legatus, you need to get your facts straight." I'm simply reiterating a story that was in the Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_9844803 "The librarian" who was a former Denver Post reporter "was waiting in line to enter a so-called McCain town-hall meeting that was billed as 'open to the public'." But she was protesting on property that a federal court had deemed to be not a public area, and where ptotests could be curtialed. "None of the other persons waiting in line were asked to leave, just the librarian." She was given the choice of keeping her sign and receiving a ticket, or removing the sign and staying in line to attend the event. "I've yet to see where Mccain has indicated that he had nothing to do with having her removed, which could include general orders to remove anyone perceived as 'unfriendly' at his public events." The onus is not on McCain to prove his innocence...it is on you to prove that he had anything to do with it.
Legatus, folks wearing buttons and signs supporting Mccain weren't asked to remove them, and were allowed in with them. When you selctively prosecute on the basis of the content of speech, you're in First Amendment territory. The onus on me? It was Mccain's security detail that made the complaint. Have you never heard of the "master-servant" rule? The burden shifts to Mccain to show that the acts of his staff were outside the scope of their authorized functions.
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The court had determined that ~protests~ were not allowed on the premesis...those wearing McCain buttons were not protesting. If the librarian/reporter believes that she has a 1st Amendment case, she should take it to with the courts. My bet is that she'll lose. The master-servant rule does not apply. McCain's surrogates did not overstep their bounds...they simply pointed out to the police the fact that someone was doing something illegal, as all good citizens should do. It was the police who took action...clearly within the scope of their authorized functions.
FlyersFan76, take Steak With into the corner and treat him like the crying, whining, bitter punk he is. Take no prisoners; slash him when you are done.
Politburo: Sendler was an amazing woman who endured torture and rape to rescue people she did not even know from slaughter. Yes, I think she warranted a brief mention by Gore. (I am not a Gore basher. I almost voted for him in 2000. He still should have said something.)
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"hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians are dead". Liar. Try again Bunch. Even this left wing site doesn't add up to 100,000: http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
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As most of you know, whether for political purposes you care to admit it or not, it was Gore's initiative in the Senate that allowed the kind of free Internet we have today. Also, it should be mentioned that the great sighs during the debates were essentially an SNL invention. Finally, the reason WIll can blame New Orleans' current state on Bush is that Bush appointed lightweights to FEMA and Homeland Security who have failed the nation in every regard. Gore would not have invaded Iraq over something engineered by a Saudi living in Afghanistan who employed Saudis to kill Americans. I don't blame the Internet joke as much as I do the general incompetence of the Democratic Party leadership, however. Which reminds me--Howard Dean's scream was turned into a joke, too, when in context it was perfectly reasonable. The media (forgive me, Will) are really to blame for a lot of this. Actually, the same point was made (with illustrative clips) on last night's Daily Show.
"Here's a good one! Have you heard the one about the President who on Wednesday urged Congress to vote to allow oil drilling off shore? And here's the punchline.....Oil drops in 2 days about 11$ a barrel to it's lowest leve in 6 weeks and the stock market rallies big both days........" -----)))) Now, that's the kind of genius it takes to be a Republican sycophant. Why, the president urges Congress to "allow oil drilling" (as if it hadn't been allowed all along), and all of a sudden, in two days, crude oil stockpiles jumped by 3 million barrels and natural gas inventories rose by 104 billion cubic feet last week. Amazing, what the Bush can do, isn't it? All he has to do is "urge Congress to allow drilling," and all that happens. LOL!
TPS: That was George "the speed driller" Bush 'discovering' 3M barrels of oil in two days. However, based on his own private sector experiences, he would have declared bankruptcy before the first strike.
Hey, Bunch, shouldn't you be working on a book about how evil Reagan was or something equally as mindless?
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b.atk, why didn't Bush urge this when the Repubs had control of congress? And crude oil dropped, because demand is dropping, it is a lot of specualtion. It had nothing to do with the request to drill. The oil companies hold leases on US land and aren't even drilling there, why give them more?
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"And here I thought oil prices went down because those Pray At the Pump guys succeeded." Can you say with total certainty that they didn't succeed?
"Only a disingenious liar would try to argue that since SOME drilling is allowed that ENOUGH drilling is happening. ......" ---)))) Hate to break it to ya' battyboy, but the main reasons the oil companies haven't done more drilling - even though there have been lands available for drilling are, in no particular order (1) the more they control supply the more money they can make, (2) the more they control supply the more money they make, and (3) the more they contol supply, the more money they make. Nice try blaming it on Dems, even though the executive office and Congress have been in Republican hands far more than not over the period of reduced drilling. Yes, environmental laws make it less profitable to drill in some areas. Imagine that - people feel we should protect the environment and that we should sacrifice to do so. And apparently, the Repubs and Dems in Congress agreed. The economy is tanking under the leadership of the idiot you voted for twice, and your solution is to blame Dems? I have to make an update. You're not just a sycophant. You're a lackey sycophant.
".......Bush this week lifted an executive prohibition on drilling for oil and gas on the Outer Continental Shelf. "-----))) Say, that's interesting. Bush has been in office for more than 7 years, but he's only now getting around to lifting that executive ban? Yeah, I'm sure he was trying to lift the ban all along, but some Democrats hid is "lifting ban" pen. Right, lackey sycophants?
"The oil companies hold leases on US land and aren't even drilling there, why give them more?" Because the "68 million acres that the oil companies already lease (tm)" is a red herring that's been put out by Obama, Reid, Pelosi & Co. They say that this land will produce 4.3 million barrels per day....which is a number, with no basis in fact, that was literally made up by congressional staffers who put together the report. (They extrapolated a number which is based on current offshore extraction. The current offshore extraction is the result of years of geolgical research and exploration. The fact is that the Dems figure has absolutely no geological evidence to support it.) The oil companies could extract oil from the "68 million acres" (tm), but at much higher costs, a greater length of time, and with less production than their current rate. The very basis of the Dem's claims are false and meant to mislead a general public too lazy to look into it.
"Probably because they prefer to spend ten times the money to drill off shore than pick up the easy stuff on land...." Wait. I'm confused. I thought the problem was that the Dems prevented oil companies from drilling. Now Xi Jah explans that really, what's at issue is the profit margins of oil companies. You know, because their profit margins are so incredibly tight, and because oil companies have barely been squeaking by profit-wise, I'd say Xi Jah really has a good point there. I have to say, the argument that we should gamble our health and our environment for the sake of a differential in oil company profits really does make a lot of sense......well......TO A LACKEY SYCOPHANT
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Repubs blame Dems, so Dems blame Repubs. Anyone who doesn't realize that virtually ALL the Repubs and Dems in Congress are in the hip pocket of oil companies just hasn't been paying attention. There are long-term alternatives to paying high prices for gas, and all of them will require sacrifice. There is no easy way out, and increased drilling rights is a canard. If you don't think that increased drilling rights won't simply lead to increased oil company profits with no substantial benefit to the American public, you're a fool.
Yes, as everyone knows, successful businesses routinely spend money on leasing buildings so that they can then not use them. In fact, I hear that new Comcast tower is completely empty.....MYTH: Oil companies currently have 68 million acres of leased public lands that contain large amounts of economically recoverable oil available. Drilling in these areas could generate 4.8 million barrels a day so opening up more land is not necessary.......FACT: The estimates on the amount of oil available in those 68 million acres have been derived by assuming that the unused acres can produce the same amount as those acres being used. However, much of the land leased to oil companies has already been explored and determined not to carry enough recoverable oil to justify drilling. This is in stark contrast to the other 97% of currently banned offshore resources and areas with shale oil, where enormous quantities are known to exist. That opponents to greater U.S. exploration believe they understand better than petroleum engineers how we obtain oil from drilling is absolutely ridiculous. Try again Rage Boy.
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Wow! I didn't realize how wrong I could be. Turns out that the lackey sycophants are right. Wacko environmentalist extremists really do have far more influence on our country's law-making process than ginormous oil companies. How could I have not realized that?
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Can we ban the word sycophant? Seriously..
"Can we ban the word sycophant? Seriously.." ---)))) Consider it done, Politburo. No more sycophant. The new word is lackey. (I was getting tired of sycophant myself, anyway.)
Meanwhile, Texas is leading by example by vastly expanding its wind power capacity. By the end of 2008, Pennsylvania will have 10 wind farms generating electricity along the Allegheny front. I have no problem spoiling a little scenery with windmills, and I think certain environmentalists need to get their priorities straight. Anyway, you can just remove them when they become obsolete, and voila, restore the natural beauty. That's more than you can say for restoring coastlines devastated by oil spills.
I would like to add to the Algore mystique a bit. I believe yesterday Al gave a sppech on global warming in Washington. The invitations specified that attendees should try to take pubilc transportation or a bike to the event. In typical limousine liberal fashion, Al pulls up with 2 Lincoln Town Cars and a Suburban SUV, which the driver left idling for 20 minutes with the AC on. There's a video of it on Michelle Malkin's blog. Hypocriticus Maximus. I love it.
"Hypocriticus Maximus. I love it." . . . . . . . jmc, Would you prefer that a former US vice president be vulnerable to a terrorist abduction or ambush? In terms of total vehicle energy consumption, compare the cost of the police and secret service escorting him if he were to symbolically bike or jog to these speaking events.
The Suburban in that case was in violation of DC law, which prohibits such idling. Your beef appears to be with MPD, who does not enforce the law.
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b: Based on that last comparison of yours, Turds all over the world are now raising a stink (sometimes ya' just come in at the right time...).
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Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
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