But before I get there, I need to go back for a minute to this past Wednesday's post. In that post, I quoted a former Government commodities regulator who blamed the soaring price of oil in part on the deregulation of the crude oil energy futures market in the year 2000. I added my own comment, asking rhetorically "... which party is it that champions deregulation of everything as the solution to all our problems?" An anonymous reader commented on that post, saying, "Well, Bilbo, the party that deregulated oil trading on behalf of Enron happened to be William Clinton, since George W. Bush was not inaugurated until January 21, 2001. Nothing is as simple as it seems."
Well, it's true that Bill Clinton (a Democrat) was President in 2000 when the market was deregulated. However, it's worth remembering that both houses of Congress at that time were solidly controlled by - the Republicans! So I guess nothing is as simple as it seems, and it depends on who you choose to blame for the ill-considered legislation: the President who signed it into law, or the Legislature that bowed to the special interests (remember Enron?) and gave them a huge break that eventually came back to haunt us. Now, don't get me wrong - the Democrats can be just as venal and mendacious as the Republicans...it's just that the Republicans tend to be more openly and shamelessly pro-business-screw-the-public about it. You have to admire their chutzpah.
So...
With that in mind, who has Bilbo chosen to endorse for President?
At first, I was leaning toward Cthulhu, the unspeakably evil character created by H.P. Lovecraft. He was appealing because he's up front about his evil nature...the ultimate what-you-see-is-what-you-get candidate:
But on reflection and further study, I have officially decided to throw my full support behind a better, more well-rounded candidate:
Yes, I have chosen to endorse Nobody.If we're going to vote for an empty suit, let's vote for a real empty suit.
See you at the polls.
Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.
Bilbo
I think I'm going to vote Cthulhu too. Btw got your letter yesterday, will start my own back this weekend hopefully :)
ReplyDeleteLOL! Nobody is funny.
ReplyDeleteHi Bilbo, coming by for a friday read...I couldnt agree more, 'Nobody' certainly does tell the truth,thats why I will also vote for 'Nobody'...which means I shall be voting for 'Somebody'...maybe Nobody AND Somebody..Getting tongue-tied here..lemme leave while I'm still ahead :)
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend !
We know Nobody will win as usual!
ReplyDelete"However, it's worth remembering that both houses of Congress at that time were solidly controlled by - the Republicans!"
ReplyDeleteA lot of right wingers seem to forget this little fact when they're bitching about Clinton.
I'm still endorsing Bilbo for President. Some real advantages here: You could commute or work from home enabling the US to rent out office space in the high rent district that the White house is located in. We could apply the income directly to the growing debt!
ReplyDeleteAlso, since you grow your own herbs and love to cook, we can eliminate the White House chef and staff.
As Pres. you certainly would be deserving of a maid and cook and other help, too. But I'm sure that you would be much more fiscally responsible.