Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.

As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own, and his children's liberty.

Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and Let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.

While ever a state of feeling, such as this, shall universally, or even, very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our national freedom.


- Abraham Lincoln, January 27, 1838
  Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Sick of oil gouging? Sign here!

Yesterday, gas prices hit the highest mark in U.S. history: higher even than the 1981 record. They may eventually hit $4.00 per gallon in parts of the country.

There is no obvious reason for this rate hike, other than rampant greed. The oil industry now does this every year, as soon as the travel season begins, while continuing to rake in record profits every quarter. They do this because they can; because there are two oil men in the White House -- and because no one has, until now, raised a finger to stop them.

Hearings begin today on H.R. 1252, a House bill that if passed, will make gas price gouging a federal crime, punishable by 10 years in prison. Pelosi has said she'll move the bill to a vote this week—if there is a two-thirds majority required to fast track the bill through the process.

If you're sick of gas price gouging, contact your representative immediately, and sign this Moveon.org petition asking Congress to pass the price-gouging bill:

Sign the petition

Rep Bart Stupak (D-MI), sponsor of the House bill said "In April ... crude oil was $7 a barrel cheaper than last year (but) gas prices were almost 50 cents a gallon higher. Clearly there's more at play than simply the world crude oil market."

Um, yeah. Shocker.

According to Moveon.org, in April, over two-thirds of Americans reported that their gas bills were causing financial hardship, with one third admitting that gas prices were having a "serious" impact on their families. Meanwhile, the top two US companies, Exxon-Mobil and Chevron-Texaco, announced a combined $14 billion in first quarter profits.

The Senate passed a price-gouging measure out of committee last week, and the House bill now has over 100 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. Maybe we can get this done...

The oil industry is supposedly nervous (I'm having a hard time imagining this, but maybe... we'll see.) They've sent a full regalia of lobbyists to the Hill to stop—or at least weaken—these bills, and stall them so they never reach a vote. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry front group of more than 400 oil and gas companies, even threatened that these new laws could increase gas prices even more. Oh please. (Now if that isn't gouging, what is?)

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