I have written about Big Bill before, but I guess
he didn't get the last memo. Now I will tell you
this isn't a Keith Olberman type of disagreement,
and O'Reilly has many more hits than misses,
and generally I like his program. But when he starts
acting like a liberal elitist Democrat, I have to get
my say.
Last night you would have thought he was
Nancy Pelosi as he ranted and raved about Big Oil,
and he betrayed his picayune knowledge of what is
driving up the price of oil.
He doesn't like to see big profits, especially from
the oil companies. He doesn't mind seeing himself
at the top of the totem pole, but whoa be unto any
American company that is too successful.
Most companies drew a lesson many years ago
from Microsoft. The brief history of Microsoft's troubles
is that the poorly performing CEO's in the computer
field could not compete with Microsoft on the field of
battle, so they went crying to Congress and the courts
about "unfair trade practice." What the boards of these
companies should have done is fire them, but they did
what boards do, which is get paid for nothing.
Congress, who never misses a chance to meddle
where it knows nothing, got involved, and liberal
Democratic judges woke up from their deep sleep to
side with the companies that didn't know how to market,
negotiate a deal, or compete in the open market. The
rational was that Microsoft was doing too well, so they
should be penalized.
This exactly the same attitude that the European
community is now taking toward U.S. companies.
They are too big and too successful, and therefore
they don't want them in Europe.
While O'Reilly was ranting about Big Oil not building
any refineries in the U.S., he conveniently forgot that
t was Congress who made it almost impossible to get
one built. No company is going to spend ten to twenty
times more than what it is worth to build anything, including
refineries.
Congress has also refused to let Big Oil drill in its
own backyard, where not one, but two of the largest
oil fields in the world are located. It would take twenty
years just to get past all the idiotic environmental
regulations before the digging could even start.
And here is the astonishing thing.
Bottled water is more expensive than gasoline.
We get that right here, straight out of the ground,
or spring, and by the time it gets to the consumer
it is way more expensive than oil.
Those greedy bottled water operations are criminal,
just criminal.
Oil, drilled in the Middle East, is put in barrels, or
in the holds of enormous cargo ships, and sent on
a long journey to the U.S. to be refined. Not only is
it refined, we have to make upwards of 40 different types
of gasoline to meet all the differing standards between
states. Then it has to be shipped again, and every step
in the process it is taxed.
And after all that, bottled water is more expensive, and we
are buying it like it's going out of style. Is anyone complaining?
No! I haven't heard a peep. Nary a one.
O'Reilly likes his act a liitle too much sometimes. He
may have been just a regular guy once, just like
Bruce Sprigsteen was a struggling musician once. The
Boss now has 500 million dollars, so he's hardly a
working class guy anymore.
This ranting and raving against the oil companies is
so O'Reilly can position himself as a working class
stiff from Long Island. Bill hasn't been a working class
stiff in a long time. He is a very successful businessman,
and his show commands the highest advertising dollar in
television.
Let's propose a windfall tax on that, and see what he says.
I'll bet he is already composing a new tune.
From the big saddle,
Jim Whelan
P.S. If you haven't dropped in at: thejamesrwhelanagency.com,
it's high time you did. You can see plenty of pictures of me
as I travel around the globe, bringing the tuxedoed cowboy to
the far reaches of the earth. And you can always call 206 407 3124.
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