Zandar's Thought Of The Day

Dear oil company PR firms:  You're doing it wrong.

A Democratic senator blasted oil giant ConocoPhillips for using the term "un-American" to describe his proposal to strip tax subsidies from the five largest oil companies in the U.S. and use the savings to pay down the deficit.


Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, said it is "truly outrageous" for ConocoPhillips to use the term in a press release it issued Wednesday and said he expects the company's top executive to apologize when he appears at a Senate hearing Thursday examining the tax proposal.

"For ConocoPhillips to question the patriotism of those public officials who believe they do not deserve billions of dollars in wasteful subsidies is simply beyond the pale and I expect an apology from the CEO tomorrow at tomorrow's hearing, Menendez said at a news conference staged at an Exxon gas station on Capitol Hill to highlight the Democrats' proposal. "It is simply not acceptable."

A press release posted on the company's main web site page is headlined: "ConocoPhillips Highlights Solid Results and Raises Concerns Over Un-American Tax Proposals at Annual Meeting of Shareholders."

The controversial word doesn't appear in the body of the release but the statement does cite the company's concerns about the "challenging political environment facing the energy industry, in particular, the potential impacts of increased regulatory burdens and proposed tax increases."

"These unprecedented proposed taxes, targeted at only five companies, would have serious effects on our company," CEO James Mulva says in the release. 

Well yes, Mr. Mulva.  That's the entire goddamn point.   Meanwhile here in the NKY, gas prices jumped 25 cents a gallon from $3.89 to $4.15 this week, just a few cents away from all time highs.  And remember, those all time highs were when oil was $135 a barrel.  It's $98 a barrel right now.  In other words, gas is about to be more expensive here in the Cincy area than it was in 2008, and it's still not even summer yet, not to mention oil is significantly less expensive than three years ago.  But it's all about oil speculation, right?

Certainly can't be the oil companies having a hand in it, right?