Senate Republicans Block Taxes on Oil Majors

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans have blocked a Democratic plan to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies.

Democrats on Tuesday failed, 51-43, to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP filibuster of the energy package, and bring the bill up for consideration.

Democrats said the huge profits enjoyed by the largest U.S. oil companies should be reined with motorists paying more than $4 a gallon for gasoline and oil prices soaring well beyond $100 a barrel. But Republican critics said higher taxes on oil companies would increase — not lower — gasoline prices and reduce the incentive for domestic oil exploration and production.

Ok. I thought this was what the people wanted? As I understand, the taxes would be used to create/support more alternative/renewable energy domestically?

Florida people don't want drilling & exploration in their backyards. Miles O'Brien of CNN stated yesterday that there is only 3 months to 2 years of oil in ANWR according to high and low end estimates depending on our domestic consumption rate.

We really need to find other options. We can't drill our way out of this.

McCain, McBarbie, and painkillers

Click above for the link to the whole story.

The Terror of Marriage Fraud

At least that's how the Justice Department sees it. It turns out that from 2001 to 2005 they included cases of immigration violations, marriage fraud, and drug trafficking as terror cases. In all only 2 of the 26 reports sent to Congress were correct.

Hmm, 2001 to 2005 you say? I'm trying to remember did anything happen in those 4 years? I seem to remember something, oh yeah there were a couple of elections where the GOP claimed to be the party that would keep America safe. Apparently they meant safe from mail-order brides.

Well that's what you get for not reading the fine print.

Guess We Should've Bought The Extended Warranty

Yeah, that seems about right.

Even Rupert Isn't Pretending Fox News Is Fair Anymore

Maybe it was candor, maybe he's bored, maybe he just doesn't care anymore, but Rupert Murdoch admitted to what we all knew:

"Asked if his News Corp. managed to shape the agenda on the war in Iraq, Murdoch said: "No, I don't think so. We tried." Asked by Rose for further comment, he said: "We basically supported the Bush policy in the Middle East…but we have been very critical of his execution."

So there you have it, even the guy at the top of the pyramid at Fox says they don't accurately report the news. Who knew?

Cartoon Time (Don't Tell the City of Boston)

How Do We Know If It Is A Surge?

Its now been 2 years since the last National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq, and intelligence czar John Negroponte seems in no real hurry to deliver a new one to Congress. NIEs are “the most authoritative written judgment concerning a national security issue” according to the CIA, severely needed as the last one was completed in 2004. According to this report Negroponte is dragging his feet as this NIE would be "deeply pessimistic" and embarrassing to the President.

So how do we know if the 20,000 troop surge will be enough if we're operating off of 2 year old data? And is it really putting the lives of another 20,000 troops in danger to avoid embarrassing the President?

So Does This Mean Peyton And Snoop Dogg Roll Together?

I think its safe to say Rush Limbaugh is unraveling pretty fast. Maybe he's back on the Oxy, or caught something in Costa Rica, or he's simply deeply depressed about the election, but quotes like this have to make you wonder if its safe to allow him to roam the streets:

"Look, let me put it to you this way: the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it."

Doesn't he know NFL stands for the "No Fun League?" Is he trying to tell me that Rex Grossman's play is an attempt at a drive buy on the Bears? That when Peyton is changing the play at the line he's throwing gang signs? I'm honestly not even sure what he means when he says this.

Looks Like Somebody Is Full Of All Kinds Of Stupid Ideas These Days

So basically the President realized that he hadn't done anything to help insurance screw consumers, so now he wants to tax people who receive health insurance from their company.

"Today, the tax code unfairly penalizes people who do not get health insurance through their job," Bush said. "It unwisely encourages workers to choose overly expensive, gold-plated plans. The result is that insurance premiums rise and many Americans cannot afford the coverage they need."

First off, their is nothing gold plated about health insurance in America other then the name plaques on the doors of the insurance executives offices, and denying employees savings of buying group plans, will only add to that. Reducing buying power will not improve any one's health, and will instead lead to another increase in the already high rate of medical cost induced bankruptcies as lower middle class families will be forced to buy plans without adequate catastrophic coverage, as these will be the only plans they can afford when forced to price plans individually.

Well this Should End a Lot of those Rumors About Condi

Sure nobody is shocked to hear Condi say she loves Fox News, but the fact that anybody actually knows who Harry Smith is at this point was a surprise.

I wonder how long it'll take FNC to turn that clip into an ad?