- President Bush used the term 'addicted' in reference
to America's dependence on oil. And just whose fault might that be? The
various political policies in this nation, are feeding the 'addictive'
greed of oil, gas, coal, utilities, timber, and the pharmaceutical companies.
Citizens pay billions in tax dollars, and elect representatives,
(appoint regulators) to see to the economic and environmental health of
their nation amongst other things.
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 Let's talk about these multi- national
industry addicts. Exxon Mobil Corp. reported the highest profit in U.S.
history: $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter of 2005 and $36 billion
for the entire year.
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- Addiction: the condition of being habitually or compulsively
occupied with or involved in something an instance of this: the self
centered, egotistical, narcissist, megalomaniac, multi- national gas and
oil companies, have an 'addiction' to mammon; in their all consuming insatiable
greed that is fixated on plundering the planet and bringing
it to ruination seeking that next high! It's not about money
really after the first billion, what's left to buy? It's malignant greed
and power on crack!
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- Exxon is the world's largest publicly traded oil company.
The company is massive in their spoiling of the earth. They operate in
almost 200 countries and territories; there are more than 13,000 Exxon
Mobil service stations in the United State. Last week, Chevron Corp, reported
that its fourth-quarter profit was up 20% from the year before. Also last
week, ConocoPhillips reported a 51% increase in fourth quarter profit
and Marathon Oil Corp, said that its fourth quarter profit nearly tripled.
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- Little wonder that citizens cannot afford fuel to get
to their Wal-Mart Greeter, Home Depot Associate, Prison, or Casino jobs;
with lawmakers having no problem in some states ( like NH), thinking that
$5.15 an hour is a livable wage! With war costing (all borrowed) approximately
7 billion a week one would think that the hogs at the trough (oil
gas coal utilities pharmaceuticals) might cut back
on their slurping from the public trough. Instead citizens (receiving
no dividend checks) keep these hogs living the high life by subsidizing
them. The energy bill, instead of addressing responsible and creative ways
to deal with our crisis, instead gave these oil companies some $14.5 billion
in tax breaks. Multi billions in profits weren't enough.
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 This energy bill allows oil and
gas producers to drill to depths of 400 meters or more in the Gulf
of Mexico (no wonder there's no fish) to avoid paying government royalties.
Utilities (citizens paying their stranded costs - not enough) are slated
to get some of the biggest tax benefits. American Transmission which owns
8,900 miles of high voltage lines in Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois,
will gain from a provision allowing them to write off those assets over
15 years instead of 20. Other utilities will also benefit from the change.
Utilities will get eight years to pay taxes on gains from the sale of transmission
lines to federally approved independent transmission operators.
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- Tax credits for coal fired power plants total $2.9
billion. They include incentives for coal burning utilities, to
add pollution (ha) controls, and tax breaks on investments in advanced
coal technologies. Archer Daniel Midland, the world's largest ethanol producer,
will be helped by a provision in the bill requiring oil companies to put
7.5 billion gallons of the corn based additive into gasoline annually
by 2012, up from 4 billion this year.
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- Worried about your poisoned water due to the additive
MTBE tough luck, the bill makes sure that industry will be shielded
from all liabilities. Too bad that people are stuck in the Republican/Democrat
mode on issues (which Washington loves). Government, if people would wake
up; is of for and by the interests of the multi - national
corporations. We pay and they all play. Citizens cannot afford
gas, fuel, medicines, housing, hospital care, food, insurance etc - working
two or three service sector jobs. Corporations in partnership with
politicians have made it quite profitable to move American companies to
foreign lands. It's a race to the bottom in wages. Even Mexico with its
wages of a few dollars an hour was too much for these insatiable hogs to
pay they're off to China, Korea, etc. When President Bush refers
to the U.S.A, competing in this global economy, I fear he's been
too long removed from the real work a day world! One doesn't 'compete'
in a world in a world of treaties, that lowers the standard of living,
health, and environmental protections for all countries involved. One doesn't
compete against wages that pay from .29 cents to $1.50 an hour in third
world countries. One doesn't compete against countries with no health insurance,
no job safety, and zero environmental regulations.
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- One doesn't compete in a global marketplace, when grants
to educate ones children ($12.5 billion), are cut to pay for the various
billions in tax subsidies for these multi nationals. In the political
world of lucrative paychecks, expense accounts, travel allowances, full
health coverage, (taxpayer subsidized), exotic vacations, called 'fact
finding missions', yearly cost of living raises and obscene pensions
well, it just might be hard, for the Foggy Bottom Club in Washington;
to connect with rusted mills shuttered plants and rising
prices in the real world ! Rest assured that the toasty marbled halls
of Congress, and the White House, aren't worrying over increased electric
and fuel bills. They're certainly not worried over that next prescription
or hospital stay or having to choose between heat and food!
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- Once more, we see the victims of government's ineptness,
incompetence, and indifference being blamed. We see citizens being blamed
for their "addiction to oil", not those sucking the planet out
of money and resources! These malignant corporate vampires don't use a
straw they use mammoth hoses, pipes, drills, explosive charges, et
al. There is no plausible - rational reason - that America shouldn't be
leading the world in energy efficiency, and creative alternative fuels.
We would be if the oil gas utility and coal folks weren't keeping
a stranglehold, on new innovative, cost saving inventions. Gosh, it might
cut into their profits and most certainly their lucrative subsidies. The
ENRON debacle lives on with the President telling folks not to be "anxious"
that war does that to a people. No a closed factory, no food, unaffordable
medicine, shut off, and eviction notices is the 'terror' that Americans
fear. One can only imagine if we'd targeted 7 billion a week (instead of
war) towards a sane medical plan, housing, or innovative alternative fuels
where we'd be? I'm sorry a handful of 'wood chips' and a clump of 'switch
grass' in the tank is not too innovative! Honestly it reminds me
of our disaster plan of duct tape and a roll of plastic! It speaks to the
politicians in NH, dealing with the pollution of dioxins, by telling a
few poor folks to stop their burn barrels; while coal plants and incinerators
continued spewing out tons of toxins! It's always easier to attack and
blame the victims- especially those without money. These satiated hogs
don't care because they don't have to it's that simple. All
of this posturing of supposedly caring for one's neighbor, the environmental
health of the nation, etc, is pure hokum. Corporate hucksters and their
political partners in plunder are incapable of empathy or compassion. One
has to possess a soul for these qualities. Any wringing of hands
or a condescending tsk tsk is all mimed and goes no deeper than the
coating on a piece of M&M candy.
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 President Bush certainly isn't setting a good example
in the conservation of fuel. According to the Daily News, Feb 1, 06, the
first thing that President Bush did to sell his idea of breaking the nation's
oil 'addition', was to burn up thousands of gallons of jet
fuel and hundreds of gallons of gasoline. But hey, he's not paying, which
leaves him oblivious to what ordinary citizens are going through.
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- Air Force One, a 747, gets less than the equivalent
of a mile per gallon. The President usually travels with a backup 747 as
well as a huge C-17 aircraft packed with the presidential limo and the
Marine One helicopter, which flies Bush from the White House to Andrews
Air Force Base and around destination cities. The C-17 gets even
worse mileage than the 747s, and the chopper's mileage is pegged at .014
miles per gallon. According to the Daily News, once on the ground, the
President travels in a gas gulping convoy. At the heart of that convoy
are two Cadillac limos and several Chevy SUVs. Even without the bulletproof
shields and other special protective measures (unlike vehicles in Iraq),
the limos get 18 miles per gallon in the city. The SUVs get 15 miles per
gallon, but that too is without the bullet and blast proofing and
the communications gear the Secret Service and military travel with. Bush's
700 mile trip to give his State of the Union encore speech in Nashville
cost $19,594.25 in fuel alone just for Air Force One. He will carry his
message (that was on TV) over the next few days to Maplewood, Minn. Albuquerque
and Dallas before heading back to Washington. That's another 4,341 miles.
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- And so, as our politicians luxuriate in their mosaic
health club, dine at the heavy laden tables of food in their
Capitol dining room, or check in for some health needs, at their on site
medical clinic it's easy to understand how they can get disconnected
from the real world. They don't call it Foggy Bottom for nothing.
If people would come out of their red and blue bubble worlds they'd
see that a few are doing very well in our new military industrial
society with the rest of us pretty much on our own. Ask
folks in the Gulf Region they'll tell you first hand how much help
they've received in our nation's worst natural catastrophe. Besides having
no energy policy, it appears we have no credible disaster plan? What
President Bush should have announced at his State of the Union address
was: Due to conserving energy " The light at the end of the
tunnel has been turned off."
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