Buffalo Rising Online

Did Congressman Higgins say these words as he cast his vote? "One small step for a man, one giant leap for socialism."

lastcall4am, drilling in alaska is not going to lower oil prices unless you want to build your own refining facility.

Bloviator- Its the oil companies that are recipients of taxpayer dollars, welfare/socialism for big business, a real problem.

damn it feels good to be a ganster.

BuffaloBloviator, you could use a little lesson in economics and markets and the concepts of public and private goods. As stated by BlackRockLifer, allowing private companies to drill on public lands (including waterbodies) and then extorting billions in profit from the very people who leased you the land is basically social welfare for oil companies except instead of everyone and everything being equal, such as in socialism, the oil companies reap all the benefits while the average American struggles with the increase in energy costs.

Thinker and Blackrocklifer - I agree with both of you and enjoy reading your progressive and enlightened viewpoints. We need to stop subsidizing companies to boost their profits and begin looking out for the best interests of the citizens.

I like Barack Obama's idea of taking a windfall tax from the big oil companies and giving it to the middle class and less fortunate citizens. The oil companies are not socially responsible and should not be rewarded for their greed.

Every time I hear the phrase "record profits" used to describe the oil companies, I want to throw up. The oil companies' profit margin is must less than many other industries. Leave the liberal/progressive redistribution of wealth rhetoric at home and have an intelligent conversation.

Economics 101: Higher taxes on oil = less incentive to increase supply = higher prices to consumers.

Thinker, it is you who needs the lesson in economics. The deep-water wells in the Gulf are outside of the United States territorial limits. Here's a concise explanation.:

" The Interior Department signed binding leases with some of America’s largest oil companies back in 1998-99, "allowing" the firms to drill in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, far outside any internationally recognized 6- or 12-mile territorial limit.

The government doesn’t spend any money facilitating that expensive deep drilling, mind you. It doesn’t "subsidize" those operations in any traditional use of the term. Rather, Washington charges the oil companies for the "privilege" of keeping our homes heated and our cars on the road – and then sharply restricts where, in international waters, the drilling can occur.

If the oil companies tried to get away with paying less than called for in the leases, what do you think would happen?

Instead, the oil companies are perfectly happy to pay the amounts agreed upon. But Democrats in Congress say the leases are "flawed" – the Interior Department wrote them incorrectly and now the oil companies aren’t required to pay enough.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi even refers to the difference between what the written leases call for the oil companies to pay, and the amount she’d like them to pay, a "government subsidy."

Imagine that. If you’ve been paying three dollars a dozen for eggs, but the supermarket manager now wishes he’d charged you 10 dollars a dozen, then the supermarket has been "subsidizing" you by seven dollars a week ... and has a right to try and get it back!"

I thought this was a blog, not a board for politician's press releases?

yea this will never become law, but anyone notice oil has dropped $50 in the past 2 months? clean coal doesn't exist and is an oxymoron. anyone that doesn't want to tax oil profits in the billions is an idiot also anyone that doesn't want to invest in alternative energy is an idiot. the oil companies have DC in their pockets, sucks for us. we need to invest in something other than drilling

It also leaves off shore drilling up to the states ...aka allowing states to block.

It also leaves no incentive for states to allow it

I could go on but suffice it to say....this bill accomplishes only 10% of what an energy bill really needed to accomplish.

An energy bill needed to attack the infrastructure of the entire electrical grid, its distribution and management.

An energy bill needed to attack both oil and natural gas drilling and renewables and it did only a fraction of what was needed.

man.. fox news is so emotionally manipulative. Watching that channel is like watching mtv in an outhouse. Fox appeals to people who need to be angry and are too lazy to consider anything but some illusionist luxury.

we need a parental advisory sticker for television, instead of these stupid news tickers. jerry springer and hard copy are running our public opinion. These nazi clowns could careless about information! What kind of prick needs television to be educated?

The media has been working against our rights and someone needs to turn of the square dance music and get peoples heads out the toilet. Bush was reelected because he kept us safe, now why can’t anyone look him in the eye? I don’t know anyone who has ever waited in line behind him at a gas station. I’m just glad we are buffalo. .

Giving tax breaks to any industry is foolish and only ensure that the solutions we are stuck with are more expensive than a free-market would provide.