Wednesday 17SEP08

47 days to go so anyway, it looks like the President is going to veto the weak excuse for an increased domestic oil exploration bill if it makes it out of the Senate. The house passed the restrictive bill today 236-189. The online edition of the Wall Street Journal had this to say: Democrats say sharing royalty revenue with states would put pressure on lawmakers to find offsetting budget cuts, because of an opinion issued this month by the Congressional Budget Office that sharing royalties with states would count as an increase in government spending. The bill also calls for eliminating $18 billion in tax breaks for large oil companies. House Democrats say the oil taxes are needed to pay for extending tax credits for electricity produced from wind and solar energy and to pay for energy-efficiency and conservation programs. Many Republicans object to the proposal to eliminate oil-industry tax breaks, saying that amounts to a tax increase that will discourage domestic production. Over at Ace Of Spades HQ, Gabe offers up this: House Democrats passed a bill which would allow energy exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf, but sharply limited drilling closer to land. The bill would also increase the tax burden on oil companies to subsidize wind, solar, and conservation programs. President Bush says "no deal" and it looks like Senate Republicans will keep it from a vote. Oil fell to near $90 per barrel today, the lowest it has been in seven months. Following the financial mini-crisis over the weekend, I bet Saudi Arabia is sending a big "I told you so" to the rest of OPEC. Of the oil producing states, Saudi Arabia seems most concerned with keeping the price of oil low enough to stave off the development of energy alternatives or a world-wide economic slump, either of which would cause oil revenues to plummet. The US Embassy in Yemen was attacked this morning: "At about 9:15 this morning a car exploded at the main gate of the embassy and then there was a secondary explosion," Ryan Gliha, a spokesman for the embassy, said in a phone interview. A group by the name of Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to carry out similar strikes in the Persian Gulf region if al-Qaeda prisoners aren't released by the Yemen, the al-Arabiya news channel said. Details are sketchy, the initial report is 16 dead. Elsewhere, CBS News is so over Sarah Palin: The Sarah Palin Phenomenon is doomed.... .....The primary reason why the Palin bubble will burst is that the media will decide that they are bored with her. They'll need to move to shine a light on a fresh issue or individual. To which Stephen "VodkaPundit" Green replies: "The media didn't build up Palin — they did their damnedest to knock her down, and got routed in the process. So when they shine their lights somewhere else, it will be because they can't stand the reflected glare. In any case, it doesn't matter; the damage is done. Because Palin took the spotlight away from Obama, never to return. Now that he's no longer the It Boy, it will have to be someone else. Joe Biden? I don't think so." Finally, 'cause you need a good laugh, here's an outstanding look at the age old question "Which candidate would you rather invite to a back-yard BBQ?" Priceless. It comes to us via VodkaPundit, who got it from Jules Crittenden, who got it from Argghhh!, who originally cross-posted it at Ace of Spades HQ on Sunday. My blogging time on Sunday was completely FUBARed, so please forgive me for missing this nugget of comedy gold. More soon