"Fossil Fuil Industry Ads Dominate TV Campaign"
headlined a N.Y. Times article which attracted reader comments...
East End
o East Hampton, NY
In their infinite wisdom, the fateful five on the US Supreme Court gave "free speech" rights to corporations. Of course as we all know, speech ain't free. But with their deep pockets these corporate "persons" can buy a whole lot more speech than you or me. Problem is, when they've done something wrong you can’t lock a corporation in solitary confinement. They don't have a beating heart. More to the point, they're heartless and will rule the rest us heartlessly. We can count on the fossil fool industries to speed us all toward unbridled climate destabilization. In the end they're cutting their own throats as surely as they are cutting ours. But like I said, they're heartless which means they don't care.
fuller schmidt
Chicago
Coming next: the Supreme Court rules that money is a human being and that bribery is free speech.
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o Sept. 14, 2012 at 7:28 a.m.
Recommend 77
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1. You know, a smart, independent person who believed in freedom and American democracy would look at the megainternational fossil fuels industry, with their minimal taxes, public subsidies, record profits while gas prices go up, and a stunning track record of corruption, and think "I'm going to look at what horse these guys back in this race and then vote the opposite way."
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Record profits for Big Oil Companies, consumption is down in the US and supply is up. You should always question why gas prices are up, particularly now that there is a presidential election in 53 days. People need to fight for alternative energy and buy a fuel efficient vehicle.
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1. Oil companies are "denouncing Mr. Obama’s proposal to eliminate oil industry subsidies. " They have no shame whatsover. Further, the Repubs always yell about how they are the fiscally responsible party but yet endoese these tax give-aways to the most profitable corporations ever to exist. The hypocracy is mind-blowing
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It is disheartening to note, in the aftermath of a summer that has been one of the hottest and driest in recent history, the fossil fuel industry, likely the industry most responsible for this negative climatic change, is again dominating the policy dialogue, due more to the stagnant economy than any other factor. Ultimately the habitability of our planet, among other things, is being sacrificed for lucre. How is it we have become so self-destructive, or is it just the social Darwinism inherent in our economic philosophy? Eventually the truth must be faced, the only question is who will be left to face it.
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PaulB
Cincinnati, OH
Criticize Obama for being tepid on energy, but save your ire for Congress, where the fossil fuel industries exert the strongest influence on national energy policy. Which is to say, they pay handsomely to insure that the United States has no energy policy.
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o Rick Crammond
o Victoria BC
Oil is obsolete. It causes cancer, according to recent UN research that now claims diesel exhaust is a "Known Human Carcinogen". UN says up to 4.5 million good people die each year due to burning fuels. Shame, shame.
It's very expensive to burn oil. New technologies are thousands of times more efficient, with fuel-less and pollution-free generators becoming readily available soon, all over the planet. Why pay more?
Only fools burn fuels. The only question is, "Will North America fall back to the stone age because of its oil and coal addiction?"
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We're not dependent on energy from the Middle East. Most of our oil comes from Canada and other western hemisphere sources, including a lot from our own land. It's really truly true!
The fact is that it doesn't matter how much we drill here. It won't have much impact on oil prices. Oil is a worldwide commodity, and priced accordingly, like gold or silver. The world is totally oversupplied right now, but what are prices doing? See, it's not about supply at all. There are so many other factors...
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o Max
o NJ
Without fail anytime a president is trying to do any actions that are threatening the fossil industry profits there is a whole barrage of actions to defeat and get rid of that person. It started in the 1950s and continues until today. Today when we are dawning in oil, you see the gas prices spike (refinery manipulations), than the price of the crude trying to be propped up, and the gas at the pump going higher and higher, without any reason, even when the driving season is over. The price manipulation is really a criminal action, but it is very difficult to prove, so the oil companies get away with them over and over again.
Today, all the refineries are back in bushiness, the price of oil is around $97 , but the gas price price at the pump is the highest it ever been. There are not real causes for such high prices except the political pressure the oil companies are putting on the public's purse to make them vote against the incumbent president.
The oil companies take no prisoners, for them it is do or die and the war has started. They are fully aware that in the long-term they cannot survive with fossil energy that pollutes and destroys the earth, but until they are ready to transition themselves, they are making sure that their profits are maximized at any costs, and people be damned if they stay in their way.
1. So:
Fuel costs rise--industry makes record profits--blames White House for causing consumers' bills to rise--industry charges consumers more because of all the money they spend telling consumers that their costs are going up because of the White House--industry still takes home record profits.
That about it?
Which is worse--health insurance companies or oil companies?
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o Bob Burns
o Jefferson, Oregon
I think the Supreme Court killed democracy in this country. The damage they caused is incalculable.
We either need to reform our election system *and* declare that only individual living, breathing people should be accorded constitutional rights, or just admit that we've lost what the framers had in mind for self-government.
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o Randy M
o Texas
The endorsement of Big Oil is like having the endorsement of the Tobacco industry.
Only worse.
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o Alex
o New York
Citizen's United essentially decided that money is speech and people have the right to speak freely and without financial limits.
But shareholders are not necessarily of monolithic voice and opinion. You can own stock in BP or Exxon and still want those companies to shift to greener energy.
One possible antidote to Citizen's United could be to give shareholders more control over the political lobbying of their corporations. The company's board of directors should have to announce to their shareholders any plans to lobby and run political attack ads, and reveal the dollar amount they wish to spend. Every shareholder should then have the right to decide whether to allow their money to be spent on political expenses, or whether to instead opt out and receive an additional dividend check. If money is free speech then publicly traded companies are infringing on the 1st Amendment Rights of their shareholders by withholding free speech that is rightfully theirs.
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o pixelperson
o Miami, FL
It is very obvious that the oil, gas, and coal industry had decided to spend millions to buy political influence rather than research alternative energy.
Sad.
If the short-sighted leadership in these corporations would use thier millions of taxpayer subsidized funds toward energy alternative rather than to meddle in politics they - and the rest of our country - would be much, much better off.
o Sept. 14, 2012 at 12:04 p.m.
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Gray
Milwaukee
Very true but they really aren't interested in the country being better off. It's all about $$$$$$$$$$.
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o Lee Howley
o Morristown, New Jersey
Now that money equals free speech, all of these energy companies have a lot more free speech than I do. It's sad when you can measure it too. This essentially is now a legal form of bribery. I know lobbyist have always been there, fighting for their company's/industry's interest, but in a pre-campaign setting I can't help but feel that promising that much money must get them something in return. Is our country blind to the fact that money now controls politics more than ever? What ever happened to running on a platform of what a candidate actually believes in rather than siding with guy who has the most money in his pocket?
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o Patrick
o Long Island NY
I call it On-The-Highway-Robbery.
The next time you are in a gas station, look around and ask yourself, who's really ripping me off? Is it Obama, or this gas station?
My breath is taken away at the gall of Exxon Mobil who once said they owe no allegiance to the U.S., while they now try to manipulate who runs it and to get their way and Billions of dollars in profits.
The price of oil over the last decade trashed the world economies. This advertising is more to reinforce the image of big oil than an election because the oil companies must know that whoever wins the election, they will get their way anyway. We are their captive hostages, all of us.
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omalley69
Toronto
Leadership often involves doing things that not easy, but are the right thing to do. Obama has done what I think is the right mix of initiatives, which is opening up some new drilling (and America is under an undeniable energy boom) while looking to spur the development of renewables, which is absolutely where America needs to go long term. Obama will eventually approve Keystone and really, the goal of energy independence which every President since Nixon has talked about but not really gotten far on, is looking feasible (if it's defined as continental independence - i.e. US & Canada). I look forward to the last of Saudi oil imports. Energy independence will contribute greatly to American security and will no longer necessitate participation in the constant geopolitical games around securing energy resources.
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o Helen
o NYC
Why do oil companies need so many government subsidies anyway??
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MD in NYC
New York, NY
Because they demand them and get them. It would be extortion, except that they own congress. But yes, it is ultimately extortion upon the citizens. It's a good scam: screw 'em at the pump and screw 'em when they pay their taxes too.
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o Thom
o Connecticut
Yet another example of money over logic and reason. Responsible production and consumption of oil and gas is essential. The future is what must be balanced. There is nothing wrong with clean air; simply ask any coal miner with 'black lung' or look to the horizon and see the layer oily brown over our cities. Money will always protect money; government is the only counter weight to protect ourselves, our children, our air, our water and our future.
Make no mistake: Responsible production and consumption of oil and gas is essential; the key word being RESPONSIBLE.
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o Alan Gregory
o Williston VT
Wow, startling discovery. Polluters actually give cash to the election bank accounts of politicians? And, on the reality side, they expect results for doing so. After all, polluters, like fossil fuel giants, don't just hand out campaign contributions to be nice Americans. No sir. They expect results. And, more often than not, that is what they get. Money talks, democracy and every vote counts are secondary, "nice" things.
o Sept. 14, 2012 at 7:28 a.m.
Recommend 54
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o Arthur B. Treadway
o Madrid, Spain
The fossil fuel corporations in the U.S. have always been major receivers of welfare for the rich and have always behaved like gangsters with the public and with government. Our government subsidizes them and they use taxpayer money to lobby and corrupt our politicians and now to publish ads to persuade us to vote for more of this same immoral behavior of theirs. Maybe sometime we will wake up to the elementary principle about advertising (except maybe classifieds in papers): If it is advertised, don't buy it!
Recommend 46
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Privacy Guy
Actually what troubles them is any talk of cutting off corporate welfare.
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o Robert Lion
o Connecticut
3. The question is when, not if, we will break our dependence on fossil fuels. We are not there yet, but if it were up to the oil companies and their henchman/lobbyists, that day will forever be pushed back in a selfish attempt to protect their own gravy train.
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o Michael
o Fleetwood, NY
Yes, we see the greedy polluting lobby all in to defeat common sense. They want free reign to pursue fracking without those pesky environmental responsibilities, burn coal, ship tar sand oil to China (not to us) and destroy our land for their profit. They know they can't even hope to defeat President Obama without a massive propaganda wave.
The same people that complain about having to pay taxes to support our infrastructure, education, and defense have no problem spending millions to pursue their own interests. Its about time those suffering through the worst droughts in 75 years wake up and do something about the damage the fossil fuel industry has wrought for their own profit. Change in the energy industry is coming. Let's own the future, not cling to the past. Or we'll be the fossils.
Just say no to the corporate takeover of our democracy. The USA is not for sale.
o Sept. 14, 2012 at 7:10 a.m.
o Recommend115
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Kalidan
NY
But USA is for sale.
We may be one of the least corrupt nations, but we are definitely for sale.
Every loophole has a lobby behind it, ready to go to war at imaginary threats. AARP rules, and has produced the the largest gerentocratic plutocracy in history. Every polluting technology has a lobby that makes lawmakers tremble. Every outdated weapon system has a lobby that makes the chicken hawks in our congress wet themselves. Every corrupt ideology has a well oiled propaganda machine ...
George Will famously asked, while denying prospects of global warming: "What temperature should planet earth be?" In any intelligent environment, he would be laughed out of the room for being unaware of the notion of variance, and alarming variance. I don't think he is corrupt, just a damn fool. And foolishness and corruption are indistinguishable because they produce identical results: A nation united against reason, united against science, united against a clean environment, united against new technology, and united in favor of instant gratification and large scale profits.
We believe nonsense such as "organizations are people." We stand silent while the supreme court enables unfettered PAC money. In the name of free speech, we are for sale to the Koch brothers, Adelson, big oil, big energy, big pharma, and the unions.
Sorry Mike, we are definitely for sale.
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MD in NYC
New York, NY
Um, yeah, about that "The USA is not for sale" tagline.... I think the horses left the barn already.
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Irene
New York
Commenters who replied that the country's been sold let me tell you it's not too late. Laws can be amended, repealed. We need to get rid of Citizen's United, so join with Sherrod Brown or any of the other campaigns trying to rid us of this blatantly corrupting decision. There is so much that is in our hands if we'd get active and be in the face of the representatives who are selling us down the river.
If you lead the fight Michael many will follow. But can you do it on the weekends as I have to work Monday thru Friday?
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Linda
Phoenix
And America is contributing to global climate change more than any other nation except maybe China
what do these guys think they are rich enough to buy another planet to live on? What will they tell their grandchildren who can no longer breathe the air or drink the water?
The change to renewable non polluting energy now is essential - just take a look at the midwest today.
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Irene
New York
If we had listened to Jimmy Carter we would be the leaders in the clean energy field now - on par with oil and gas. Maybe the problem is us, we don't push hard enough, make enough phone calls, write enough letters to our representative and to the editors. We are complacent while the tin foil hat wearers are active and LOUD!
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o Downtown Verona NJ
To vote for lazy ignorance over creativity and hard work is a reckless, self-destructive choice.
We should use our minds to solve our problems, not energy company and GOP propaganda to close them.
Voting for the GOP and Big Energy is a wonderful way to ensure that America becomes a toaster oven for the air-conditioned rich.
o Sept. 14, 2012 at 7:09 a.m.
o Recommend131
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1. So, basically, nothing has CHANGEd in U.S. politics: oil industry, big banks, war corporations and such vested interests -- along with the almighty federal reserve (which is "as federal as Federal Express") -- have taken over.
Plutocracy rules. The one percent creates and perpetuates the illusion of democracy.
Media could have helped us cut through the clutter. They decided not to do it. They were complicit in this game.
Now, why do I feel depressed? Any clues, Mr. Obama?
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