As Oil Touches All-Time Highs, Our Deparment of Energy Takes Us For Fools

[marmar]

from HuffPost:



Raymond J. Learsy
As Oil Touches All-Time Highs, Our Deparment of Energy Takes Us For Fools
Posted April 9, 2008 | 02:01 PM (EST)



Our oil whiz, Secretary Bodman of the Department of Energy, perhaps a distant cousin of "Heckuva Job Brownie" of Katrina fame, wrote a letter to the New York Times on March 30 rebutting points in an editorial, "Pain at the Pump and Beyond" from March 25, proceeding I would imagine on the assumption that everyone is as much out of the loop on oil issues as he is.

The New York Times editorial was a typical Times recitation of oil patch blather pinning high oil prices on "Soaring demand in fast growing developing countries like India and China and turmoil in the financial markets", and investors turning to commodities in lieu of stocks and the dollar. Never a mention of the machinations of OPEC, the vertical integration of the oil companies, nor the possibility of manipulated futures trading markets by hedge funds ("There is an orgy of speculation in the futures market. This is a 24-hour casino with unbelievable speculation" -- Sen. Byron Dorgan of the Senate's Energy and Natural Resource Committee), sovereign wealth funds and others who have a keen interest in high oil prices (see "Oil At $111 a Barrel. We Are Being "Sovereignly Screwed", March 17).

Then, with brilliant insight the Times editorial goes on stating that "not everyone is unhappy with oil at $100-plus a barrel", citing authoritarian governments in Iran, Venezuela, Sudan and Russia. Absent from their list of honor is that great democratic constitutional monarchy, Saudi Arabia and OPEC's de facto leader. Yet even more outrageously, in that it is closer to home, is the editorial comment that "the Bush administration can't be entirely blamed for the pain at the gas pump", a sort of left-handed absolution of an administration that couldn't be happier with the booming price of oil (please see "Bush's Hypocrisy, OPEC's Arrogance, The Oil Mess We Are Living", March 7).

Then Energy Secretary Bodman, as is his wont, couldn't leave well enough alone, as was the case back in October with oil prices still in the $80 barrel range, he volunteered either out insouciance or malign intent that the U.S. economy was "remarkably resilient" in the face of surging oil prices, thereby giving free reign to a further surge to the current $111/bbl. Bodman responded to the Times with a vaguely chastising brief, advising them and the rest of us that he "strongly disagreed" with the Times' contention that the Bush energy strategy "is focused on one thing: getting more oil". Of course Bodman is quite right. If there is, the administration's focus it is not getting at more oil. Far more importantly, it is laying the groundwork for and successfully rationalizing to a gullible public the ever skyrocketing oil prices (please see "Cheney Greets King Abdullah in SaudiLand With High Fives As Oil Sails Past $100 Per Barrel", March 27) .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/raymond-j-learsy/as-oil-touches-all-time-h_b_95861.html

[demosincebirth]

1. and fools we are ... putting numbnuts in office two times