Sputtering Resentment

That's right... sputtering...So in order to pay for the laughably inadequate $100 rebate that Congress was offering to U.S. Taxpayers (even Congress realizes that there are so many immigrant workers that saying Americans would be fiscally dangerous) Congress was going to reorganize the way accounting was done in the oil industry to raise taxes. Of course the oil industry lobby jumped all over this like a sugar addled child on a trampoline. Now even I can see a problem with rearranging the way inventories are kept in order to raise revenue. First, of all it creates a paperwork bottleneck in the government and in industry. Secondly, it causes a whole new system to be put in place at the back end of all oil production (the cost of which is covered by whom, you may ask.... well ask not for whom the gas bell tolls, it tolls for thee). Thirdly, and this is hi-larious, the Republicans were in essence charging the gas companies a fee to pay for votes, despite high gas prices - the result of which would be higher gas prices.The fall back plan, announced by Frist is..... .oh, boy..... to pay for the $100 (which does not even fill up the tank of some SUV's) by drilling in ANWAR. So we're paying for a rebate by giving oil companies more money? Reprehensible, irresponsible and unconscionable - the new Republican motto.On a more reasonable course, CT, ME, MA, NJ, NM, OR, RI, VT, New York City and the District of Columbia are suing the federal government to raise CAFE standards for SUVs - finally.