"The 'Use it or Lose It' legislation failed to muster the two-thirds majority needed to pass the measure, by a vote of 223-195."

Since when did the House become a body requiring two-thirds majority for legislation to pass? What happened to 50 percent + 1?

The House Dems were attempting to pass the legislation under a suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority to pass legislation. This is a procedural maneuver to expedite the process, and it doesn't allow for amendments or motions to recommit. They were hoping to rush the vote before everyone goes home for the holiday this week.

Kate Sheppard

Did they sidestep closing the enron loophole?  Calling for tougher enforcement might not do the job.

At least it's on the radar though.  Maybe legislators will take this break to march in July 4th parades and talk up re-regulation of futures markets?

ENRON is LONG GONE, WHY is the LOOPHOLE STILL here DOUBLING GAS PRICES?  CLOSE THE ENRON LOOPHOLE NOW!

Too long for a parade sign?  

$2 0f that $4 dollar GAS goes to HEDGE FUNDS!  CLOSE the ENRON LOOPHOLE NOW!

Hehey.  Maybe I'll put that on the other side of the GHG sign.  

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

Oil soaring again today.  This is the grassroots July 4th break issue candidates ought to campaign on.

Pubs will holler for more drilling.  We need to shout about hedge fund re-regulation.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

ENRON is LONG GONE, WHY is the LOOPHOLE STILL here DOUBLING GAS PRICES?  CLOSE THE ENRON LOOPHOLE NOW!

Would ya rather gas prices go down?

I'm in agreement with ya that it's a bad practice, and it has boosted some oil companies' profits by quite a bit...

...but right now, high gas prices are almost the only thing ensuring our GHG emissions don't grow at the same phenomenonal rate they've been growin' at, 'specially in the United States.

It's just too destructive partner.  This market manipulation is destroying the real economy, the one real people use to get by.  Every commodity traded this way is soaring.

3 dollar gas would give them a breather in which to buy higher mileage cars, bikes, organize car pooling, and find mass transit.

They would all know it will be 4 bucks soon enough and have time to prepare.  

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

It's just too destructive partner.  This market manipulation is destroying the real economy, the one real people use to get by.  Every commodity traded this way is soaring.

Yes, but wasn't that economic model, and the cheap price for commodities like fuel and building materials in particular, behind much of the destructive practices towards the environment to begin with?

At least now consummerism and rampant consumption is startin' to taper off (if only slightly).

3 dollar gas would give them a breather in which to buy higher mileage cars, bikes, organize car pooling, and find mass transit.

They would all know it will be 4 bucks soon enough and have time to prepare.

I really appreciate the optimism, and that may apply to most folks here, but that would assume that most people, in general, are not short-sighted.  Unfortunately, most are.

If they weren't, then when gas reached $3 a gallon originally, wouldn't they have started to go for better cars, mass transit, and car pools?

But they didn't, 'cause they wanted to hold out for as long as possible, and as long as they could do it on $3 a gallon gas, they didn't really care what would happen at $4 a gallon, cause it wasn't here yet.

They didn't respond to gas as bein at $4 a gallon, until it actually was at $4 a gallon, even though most people saw it comin'.  

Fluctuates with real supply and demand so the warning of 4 bucks would be followed by a dip, then a rise, and so forth.  This market is rising at 10 cents per month.  Steadily, no dips.

That's catastrophic, it paralyzes the ability to respond by drying up capital.  Just what darth cheney planned, hehey.

A scare may galvanize the attention, but outright terror tends to creat despair.  Despair leads to depression, real economic depression.

It's counter productive to our political goals too.  If the swing voters see us as trying to kill the economy as eco-revenge or punishment for sins against mother nature, they are going to desert our side.

We have to instead tout 66 cent per gallon equivalent electric powered cars, running on wind and solar.  That's a winning strategy for the swing vote.  Barack should drive an RMI hypercar on youtube, yesterday!

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin