O'Reilly Makes Sense

There are times when super tough guy Bill O’Reilly isn’t yelling at people and calling them bad Americans that the guy can make some sense. I don’t watch his show but occasionally I will read his Talking Points posted on FNC. It’s rare that I will find myself in near total agreement with him. Mark this as one of those days.

“Bottom line: Oil is being artificially marketed, and because we all need oil to live, we must pay what the industry dictates because there is no competition.

[…]

“That's why the price of gas is rising so quickly in the USA. Speculators gamble, and big oil goes along for the ride. But when the paper price of oil drops, the pump price often does not because the speculators can always bid the price up again. So the oil companies just wait.

[…]

“There is no doubt that the U.S. economy is getting hammered by oil prices. Almost every product and service we need is going up in price. Unless Congress gets control of the situation and begins strict oversight, this country will enter a very bad economic period for a very long time.”

And he’s right. I never thought I would see O’Reilly calling for strict Congressional oversight, for a Democratically controlled Congress at that. He also mentions that Congress has been in the pockets of Big Oil for a long time, which is also true. What he doesn’t mention is that John McCain is the largest recipient of Big Oil money. And that 75% of all Big Oil donations go to GOP candidates. More drilling is a band aid. The best way to bring down the price of oil is like O’Reilly mentions- strict Congressional oversight, getting rid of politicians controlled by Big Oil (i.e., McCain) and by making speculators actually make good on their purchases. Add in developing alternative fuel sources and I could be in total agreement with super tough guy Bill O’Reilly. Does this make me tough too? Slap a flag pin on my lapel cause I'm feeling it today.