While the comments are flying hot and heavy over on the Bush to Congress thread, today’s Investment Business Daily editorial is a side dish complement. The op-ed cuts right thru the mustard, and calls out the DNC on their absurd - and dangerous - suggestions to nationalize the oil industry.

Believe it or not… there’s nothing I can add to make this better.  (is that a sigh of relief I hear out there???) So RTFA… :0)   Here’s the first paragraphs to titillate you into the complete read.

Oh yeah… for those that think the oil industry is really screwing it up, there’s a pertinent truth waiting for you near the end: 93% of the world’s oil reserves are controlled either directly, or indirectly, by government.  uh huh… let’s add another one to the fray, right DW?

In the kind of “oops!” moments politicians have when they say something they wish they hadn’t, two House Democrats have recently suggested nationalizing the U.S. oil industry.

The first was the far-left Maxine Waters of South Central Los Angeles. During a May 22 grilling of oil CEOs, she responded: “Well, I can see that this congresswoman is going to favor nationalizing the oil companies, and making sure the prices go down.”

Then, this week, responding to President Bush’s call for more drilling, the just-as-liberal Maurice Hinchey of New York’s Borscht Belt chipped in with: “We (the government) should own the refineries. Then we can control how much gets into the market.”

[Mata Musing: Dupray's provided the video links....]

This is what it’s about: “control.” And it’s extremely dangerous for our democracy because once government controls the economy, it controls you, too. Then the Constitution, which guarantees your rights as a citizen of our republic, becomes a dead letter.

What’s especially shocking is these two extremists no longer seem out of step with what used to be a centrist Party.

Don’t take our word for it. A Rasmussen Poll released Tuesday showed that 37% of Democrats think nationalizing the oil companies is a good idea. Only 32% disagreed with that.

snip - continue reading at IBD

It’s an eerie feeling reading this…  the pit of the belly says this just may be a reverse de ja vu.  Here’s the story in a nutshell, as told by Duncan Gardham and Gordon Rayner from London’s The Telegraph:

Justice Mitting signs a bail release for Abu Qatada because he had no prior criminal record in the British courts, and could not be deported for his Jordan retrial for possible breach of law under the European Convention on Human Rights.

While he’s sitting at home, wearing his fashionable electronic tag, he’ll be collecting £12,000 per year in benefits for he and his family, plus cost the state annually tens of thousands of pounds for protection.

Oh yes, among the visitors he is NOT allowed to entertain personally, or via phone contact, are Osama bin Laden, his Deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Hamza. [CORRECTION:  Article doesn't mention phone or email correspondence]   RTFA to see the rest of the “strict” house rules…. plus more on their due process getting in the way of old fashioned common sense.

It appears the Brits… none of them… are bully over this quandary of their own making.  Imagine that? Read the rest of this entry »