The Reaction: Progressive Texans are on to the "awl bidness."

By Carol Gee

Happy Birthday, dear Barack. Senator Barack Obama turns 47 today. He took the initiative and gave a major energy speech in Lansing Michigan. With the following Memeorandum headline, Chicago Sun-Times reporter Lynn Sweet set my blog's energy agenda for today: "Energy fueling Monday's agenda. Obama, 47 today, acts, McCain reacts." To quote:

The Obama campaign jumped in first to try to set the storyline of the day, producing a new spot called "Pocket," hitting McCain by picturing him with oil man President Bush and for taking contributions from "Big Oil."

The GOP is giving out tire gauges according to Memorandum's headline, "GOP won't let go of its new tire-gauge toy." They are attempting to make a mocking point against Obama's suggestion that drivers keep tires properly inflated to save gasoline. Meanwhile Memorandum is also reporting that House Republicans are trying to force Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call a vote on the offshore oil drilling question. Their ploy is not likely to be successful, in my opinion.

Texas progressive Alliance Weekly Round Up Aug 4, 2008, by nytexan who blogs at Bluebloggin. The roundup reports threats from Big Oil against my fellow Texas blogger, Txsharon*; eforts to defeat Blue Dogs; and a possible replacement for Senator Kay Bailey Hutcheson. Some Alliance exerpts:

Last week on Bluedaze , Big Oil threatened TXsharon*. In “Big Oil” Threatens Harm to My “Lovelies” and Me she calls out the abuser and includes a new PR plan that will save Chesapeake Energy millions of dollars and help clean up Big Oil’s act.

Mike Thomas of Rhetoric & Rhythm is critical of a campaign to knock off Blue Dog Democrats , even if it means electing Republicans, all in an effort to punish Democrats for failing to hew the line on certain progressive issues.

Vince at Capitol Annex notes that Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones is going to run for U.S. Senate if and when Kay Bailey Hutchison vacates her seat to run for Governor.

Texas' fierce opponent against energy corporation exploitation of the oil crisis -- Her point is that House Republicans grand stand play is rather easy to penetrate. "Off Shore Drilling: Fool Me Once, Fool Me Again and Again and Again...," by Txsharon* (8/2/08)at Bluedaze. To quote:

Today, I heard people trying to make the case for off shore drilling because, suddenly oil prices dropped and all it took was Bush calling for off shore drilling.

. . . Maybe if you think real hard, you can remember another time or two when oil suddenly and mysteriously dropped. Hint: Just before the last two elections. . . This is manipulation and speculation.

Another fierce advocate, Firedoglake's Blue Texanventures snarkily that, "McCain’s Solution To High Gas Prices Is To Obey Those Making Record Profits Off High Gas Prices" (7/23/08). Barack Obama, meanwhile, is talking about reviving the "windfall profits" tax. Quoting the post conclusion:

He’s gonna go with the appeal to authority logical fallacy … to oil executives? That’s like asking child molesters what we should do about kiddie porn. Memo to the McSame campaign: people really, really hate oil companies. Pimping their agenda is politically retarded.

Progressive Texans are all over the corporate greed coming out of the "the awl bidness." Exxon made record profits this past quarter. At the same time Texan Boone Pickins is looking to make a profit from the wind "bidness." And the big wind, Hurricane Edouard barrels down on the Texas Gulf Coast. Things are not so quiet in the Lone Star State these days.

*Bonus from Txsharon - fabulous and unusual pictures of a Texas cloud.

Additional References from Propublica:

"Expansion of Pipeline Stirs Concerns Over Safety: Natural-Gas Grid Increasingly Reaches Into Sensitive Areas." By BEN CASSELMAN at the Wall Street Journal, August 4, 2008.