Looks like we got ourselves a movement here. Hey- go for it! I still don't see how you are going to persuade the Pub Congress on this- did you see Wyden's filibuster the other day? Or Feingold's censure motion? Lobbying reform? NSA wiretap issue? Any number of things that they just. will. not. address?
But still- this is a very interesting idea, running petitions through state governments. You may be on to something here. If we ever get responsible representation *chuckle*, maybe someday they will listen.
BROOKFIELD, Wis. -- Gov. Jim Doyle urged Wisconsin residents on Monday to sign an online petition asking the federal government to do something about rising gas prices and oil companies' growing profits.
Doyle said all companies should have the right to make a fair profit, but oil companies are announcing record profits at a time when residents can least afford to pay around $3 for a gallon of gas.
"Oil companies made record profits in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The public outcry was enormous, yet their profits keep rising," Doyle said at a news conference at a gas station in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield. "I think that's unconscionable."
Doyle, who's running for re-election this fall, launched the petition initiative with the state of Michigan. Doyle said he hopes people will use the Web site, http://www.lowergasprices.wi.gov, to send a message to Congress and oil companies that the profits are excessive.
According to an e-mail I just received, our petition here in Michigan is at 250,000 signatures. Good deal. Go sign if you haven't done so.
It also seems the Republican $100 rebate idea is going over like a lead balloon. What scares me is that Rush Limbaugh and I had the same response.
The Senate Republican plan to mail $100 checks to voters to ease the burden of high gasoline prices is eliciting more scorn than gratitude from the very people it was intended to help.
Aides for several Republican senators reported a surge of calls and e-mail messages from constituents ridiculing the rebate as a paltry and transparent effort to pander to voters before the midterm elections in November.
Angry constituents have asked, "Do you think we are prostitutes? Do you think you can buy us?" said another Republican senator's aide, who was granted anonymity to openly discuss the feedback because the senator had supported the plan.
Conservative talk radio hosts have been particularly vocal. "What kind of insult is this?" Rush Limbaugh asked on his radio program on Friday. "Instead of buying us off and treating us like we're a bunch of whores, just solve the problem." In commentary on Fox News Sunday, Brit Hume called the idea "silly."
The reaction comes as the rising price of gasoline has put the public in a volatile mood and as polls show that cynicism about Congress is at its highest level since 1994.
Under the proposal, $100 checks would be sent late this summer to an estimated 100 million taxpayers, regardless of car ownership. Single taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes above about $146,000 would be ineligible for the checks, as would couples earning more than about $219,000. The $100 figure was determined by Mr. Frist's office, which calculated that the average driver would pay about $11 per month in federal gas taxes over nine months.
Ahhh, Frist. That explains everything.