Congress Takes Aim at OPEC

From the Houston Chronicle:

House legislation would label oil cartel’s actions as illegal

Championed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., the bill would essentially make it illegal for foreign nations like those in OPEC to operate a cartel.

Under federal law, foreign governments cannot be sued for failing to comply with federal antitrust laws.

“We don’t have to stand by and watch OPEC dictate the price of our gas,” Conyers said. “We can do something about … this anti-competitive, anti-consumer behavior. And we are.”

That’s right OPEC! Quit hogging our gas!

Cavaney argued that lawmakers could likewise be accused of withholding oil production, since they have refused to let operators drill off most of the nation’s coastline.

“They’re criticizing others for the very actions they’ve done,” Cavaney said.

Funny. I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone. Either the public at large is incredibly stupid, our politicians think they are incredibly stupid, or the politicians themselves are incredibly stupid. It’s not clear to me which it is. Suing OPEC because they won’t deplete their oil reserves fast enough to suit us. Incredible.

6 thoughts on “Congress Takes Aim at OPEC”

  1. I would like to point out that there has been a stark contrast between the way the US treats OPEC and the way it treats others for failing to comply with federal antitrust laws. Specifically notice how the diamond equivalent of OPEC, De Beers, gets treated.

    A friend of mine worked for De Beers but had a hotmail account as his work email. When I enquired about this, he told me it had to do with US enforcement of antitrust laws. Nice to see that OPEC seems to be heading for similar treatment – I wish.

    I guess it’s becoming clear to Washington’s finest that kissing up to OPEC is going to do squat for oil production. Little do they know that so is anything else they can come up with, short of the C word. You know, the one Mr. Cheney dismisses as a “personal virtue”.

  2. It gets even better. Relating to DoJ prosecution of De Beers: “The guilty plea reflects the department’s persistence in the fight against illegal price fixing,” said R. Hewitt Pate, assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice in Washington.

    Question for Mr. Pate: Any chance we will see any of that persistence in the fight against illegal price fixing used against OPEC? Afterall there is a strong connection between some of OPEC’s members and 9/11.

    Or how about this: Any De Beer’s employees entering US were supposed to be arrested. Imagine an OPEC member entering the US, and instead of the usual brown nose treatment, he gets arrested! Too weird.

  3. “Either the public at large is incredibly stupid, our politicians think they are incredibly stupid, or the politicians themselves are incredibly stupid.”

    Robert, this is a good question. Which is it really? You know when Reagan left office, his poll numbers were very low. Yet we see how the media continue to blanket his legacy with copious amounts of loving saliva.

    I used to think that the answer to your question was: it’s the public. But now, as I find more and more pieces of evidence, that span US history, I have to assume that a big part of the answer to your question has to involve the “thought police.”

  4. “Funny. I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone.”

    Help, I’m stepping into the Twilight Zone
    The place is a mad house
    Feels like being cloned
    My beacon’s been moved
    Under moon and star
    Where am I to go
    Now that I’ve gone too far
    Soon you will come to know
    When the bullet hits the bone
    Soon you will come to know
    When the bullet hits the bone

    Golden Earring – “Twilight zone”

Comments are closed.