Comments on: UPDATED WITH MORE DEBATE: Just drill, baby

By: Pam

Pam — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:45:17 +0000

I read Shumers letter and I've yet to see anyone jump on it except for right-opined bloggers

Surely you jest! Cuomo stopped short of naming him just yesterday. God forbid he actually named him by name and party affiliation!

CHRIS CUOMO: People are so desperate in markets right now that negative information that allows them to short-sell or bet on banks not doing well is very popular. MELLODY HOBSON: So I'm suspect about where the lists are coming from; the motives of some of the people putting the lists out here. CUOMO: We saw the impact of panic not just on people but even in Congress, right? A senator gets up and says "I've heard something about a certain bank." It's in trouble the next day.

Here's how the Wall Street Journal describes his culpability

The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), whose job it actually was to regulate IndyMac, took a different view. "The immediate cause of the closing," the OTS wrote in a press release, "was a deposit run that began and continued after the public release of a June 26 letter to the OTS and the FDIC from Senator Charles Schumer of New York." The OTS added: "In the following 11 business days, depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion from their accounts.Mr. Schumer now argues that OTS was asleep at the switch, and that blaming him is like blaming "the fire on the guy who called 911." In fact, it's blaming the guy who poured on the gasoline. Very few banks, if any, would remain standing for long in the current tense financial environment after a Senator, in effect, told its depositors to run for the exits. In the 1930s, such tipsters were derided as rumormongers and often faced indictment for encouraging depositors to stampede banks Only last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced an investigation into the role of rumor-peddlers in the run on Bear Stearns. We somehow doubt that Mr. Schumer will receive similar SEC scrutiny for his very similar role in bringing about a liquidity crisis at IndyMac. But he may be more deserving.

By: NY-David

NY-David — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:37:24 +0000

Sorry, can’t agree with you there. US arms are some of the best in the world and I’m tired of a dictatorship country get poised as “friends”. Add Pakistan to that lot as well.

I read Shumers letter and I’ve yet to see anyone jump on it except for right-opined bloggers. You can’t have it both ways. If he was responsible for the oversight of the organization and didn’t voice his concerns then I’d be dinging him for not doing his job. Kind of like the lookout on the Titanic being responsible for its demise.
NY-David

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:16:00 +0000

David, if we don’t sell arms someone else will. We have little or no leverage. And Schumer is another babbling idiot. After what his stupid mouth did to that bank he should have been expelled from Congress.

By: NY-David

NY-David — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:19:41 +0000

My over all issue here is similar that what happened after Katrina hit. Many refineries off line and gas went up to $4/gal. The country got all in a buzz, the call for an electric car came out. Some guy that figured out how to run his car on frenchfry oil got his 15 min of fame. Gas went down again and all that stuff got pushed under the rug…again. Tapping into the strategic reserves could help. Bush ordered them to stop accumulating a month before Pelosi made her letter to Bush. Drilling in Anwar could help if done correctly. I don’t think anyone wants to spend the political capital to get the offshores opened up because the states hold the final card and they don’t want to see it happen. There is no upside to the risk they are taking unless they get huge royalties from the oil companies and I don’t think that’s going to happen.
I dont’ care who is in charge. For everyone screw up of the Democrats (and there are many) I could find Republicans of equal intestinal fortitude.
Chuck Shumer is basically right that we would have had a case to delay arms shipments if they don’t puump more oil. His only stupid statement (ok there were several) was when he said “Out economy is headed south”. He should have said our economy is headed East.
I wouild love for the government to find a way to increase domestic drilling. They I’d like to see the government impose a %25 tax on imported oil. After that, let the markets work it out.
NY-David

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:44:59 +0000

If I see or hear one more babbling idiot on TV or radio parrot the brainless talking point “…increasing supply won’t lower the price” one more time I think I might go ballistic.

OF COURSE increasing supply is not a long-term solution anyone with an IQ above room temperature knows that. BUT it is a supply-and demand situation and increasing supply out of our own resources will not only solve a lot of other problems, it will provide a short term price benefit. More supply equals demand-supply balance. Duh…

Now if the average American can figure this out, why can’t our so-called leadership in Congress?

By: PCD

PCD — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:19:33 +0000

Oh, David, riddle me this? Why are Pelosi and the Democrats calling for the Strategic Reserve to be tapped? Wouldn’t that put more oil supply on the market? If there’s more oil on the market, wouldn’t the price drop?

If putting more oil on the market is what would be good for Democrats, why not drill for it domestically?

Another Riddle for you. Why is Chucky Schumer so mad that Saudi Arabia is not pumping 1/5 million barrels more? If he hadn’t blocked ANWR, we’d have 1 million barrels more of domestic oil. That’s right, David. Twice as much as what Chucky is whining about.

Are you beginning to see what a disservice to the country your Democrat party has been?

By: PCD

PCD — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:14:25 +0000

NYDavid,

TRU was known as Court TV. It is a cable/satellite channel. It ought to be safe for you to watch. A lib owns and runs the channel.

By: FrmrArtyOffcr

FrmrArtyOffcr — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:59:26 +0000

The Republicans are being idiots again. They must like being the minority party because most of them aren’t even paying lip service to the principles that got them elected in the first place. Fiscal responsibility and low tax rates. If they lower tax rates, revenues will go up. They walways do. If they cut out the earmarks, and spend our money responsibly, the budget will be balanced and the deficit will fall. With more money in consumers’ pockets, the economy will expand and produce even MORE tax dollars for the treasury. How stupid are the Democrats? How stupid do you have to be to believe that a $300 check will stimulate the economy, but that a $2500 reduction in taxes won’t? $2500 is the amount that a family of four earning $40,000 a year will see their taxes increase if the Bush tax cuts expire in two years. Hmmmm, $300 once a year or the equivalent of $212 every month. I think I’d take the $212 every month.

By: NY-David

NY-David — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:54:26 +0000

I also think Congress will through it back to the states and the respective governors will push back, like California’s governor is already doing. I understand that he’s done it before on environmentally sensitive issues previously.
NY-David

By: NY-David

NY-David — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:49:29 +0000

With due regard to the above two points, it can’t be about paying less at the pump then it will be about a national energy policy. One may not get you the other.
It does represent an opportunity for the Republicans to show some leadership (did I just say that??).
NY-David