Posted on 09/09/2008 8:36:09 AM PDT by A_Niceguy_in_CA
Sarah Palin Battles Energy Cartels / By Jerry Zeifman Sep 9, 2008
After retiring as the Democratic Chief Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Monopolies, I was retained from 1975 until 1980 by both Republican Governor Hammond and the legislature of Alaska as a non-partisan consultant on the taxation and regulation of multi-national oil companies. Sarah Palin Battles Energy Cartels Sarah Palin Battles Energy Cartels
In my view, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has had by far more personal experience in battling multinational energy cartels than any current members of Congress. She is also the first elected official in Alaska to successfully wage such battles since Jay Hammond.
Under Jay Hammond Alaska instituted tax measures treating international monopolies as “unitary businesses” and measuring their tax base as a portion of their worldwide income. He also oversaw the creation of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the famous Alaska Permanent Fund, which invested oil royalties to cover future state budgets, and has since the early 1980s also paid out annual dividends to residents of the state of Alaska.
In 1976 Congress enacted the Rodino, Scott, Hart Act (15 USC 15(c), which permitted states to bring decentralized enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Under Presidents Carter and Clinton multinational energy cartels then enjoyed de facto immunity from federal anti-trust enforcement. As a result multinational conglomerates enjoyed the advantages of OPEC’s price fixing which under our anti-trust laws would be a felonious conspiracy.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over monopolies, was chaired from 1981 until 1995 by Democratic Senator Joe Biden, who also conducted no oversight whatsoever over anti-trust enforcement and acquiesced in the de facto immunity of energy cartels from anti-trust enforcement.
From 1983 to 2003, by making substantial campaign contributions to Democrats and Republicans alike, multinational cartels became the sacred cows in both Alaska and Washington and enjoyed de facto immunity from both federal and state regulation. In that regard, Frank Murkowski, who in 2003 became the first Republican Governor since Jay Hammond, perpetuated a corrupt status quo.
From 2003 to 2004 Sarah Palin served on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, until resigning in protest over what she called the "lack of ethics" of fellow Republican Governor Murkowski. After she resigned, she exposed the lack of ethics of the state Republican Party's chairman, Randy Ruedrich, one of her fellow Oil & Gas commissioners. Mrs. Palin filed formal complaints against both Ruedrich and former Alaska Attorney General Gregg Renkes, who both resigned.
During her tenure as Governor of Alaska Mrs. Palin, with no aid from federal anti-trust enforcers, has fought alone in the front line of the battle against multinational energy cartels. While Congressional Democrats have capitulated to the oil cartels, she has increased taxes on their OPEC induced profits, launched a gas pipeline, balanced Alaska’s budget, and also remitted earnings from oil royalties to Alaska’s citizens.
Hopefully, as John McCain’s Vice President Mrs. Palin will help revive the Progressive Republicanism of Theodore Roosevelt, who was a staunch advocate of the conservation of all of our natural resources and destroyed the monopoly of Standard Oil of New Jersey and some 40 other cartels.
Starting in 1932, with his cousin Theodore as his “trust buster” role model, President Franklin Roosevelt established a tradition of anti-trust enforcement in our Democratic Party that survived until 1980 with the election of Jimmy Carter.
In my view, the capitulation by my party to international cartels and other special interests warrants not only the election of McCain-Palin but also the shedding of our Democratic Party of its present corrupt leadership.
Amen to the election of McCain-Palin...but, doubtful the Dims will ever get rid of their corrupt leaders!
Does this mean that the GOP will have to change their position, join with the democrats and Palin, and go after BIG OIL?
Bump and bookmark
Gov. Palin will push to open up ANWR and other areas to the benefit of Americans and Big Oil resulting in more oil and more jobs for Americans. America wins and the dimwits lose.
Those rich, evil oil companies can afford it
If I discover oil may be found under my property and an oil company comes to me seeking a contract to extract that oil, I will negotiate the largest percentage payment for the resource to be extracted. Some posters are so bitter in their dislike for Palin that they cannot stand her negotiating the highest percentage she could get for Alaskans who are the 'owners' of the state's resources.
You're outed, punk. Libs are the ones who believe what belongs to others should be gifted to those who want some of it.
I expect Palin to raise the issue of Biden’s failure to bring antitrust action during his tenure as chair of the Senate Judiciary committee. She has a great gotcha that will make Biden squirm in every direction but up.
Biden’s corruption is central to O choosing him as Veep. If the Dem’s are unfortunate enough to win, rest assured that Palin and her minions will force these corrupt politicians into the open and see every one of these crooks in prison.
Either way, the days of the good ole boy system of back room politics is under seige.
The likelihood is that you do not own the mineral rights to your property.
Um, the likelihood is you don’t have a clue ... this property has been in my family since the ‘frontier’ was settled ... and I live in East Tennessee, so that goes back to when this was part of the Carolinas.
In Palin's case, because she wanted more money out of the pipeline , the oil companies plan on building their own pipeline.
It has already been announced, Congress will be revisiting this issue that they thought they had settled back in 2004.
You can be sure that the dems will be milking it for all it is worth. You can also be sure that the dems will be saying that that Republican Palin agrees with them, taxes on the oil companies should be raised. Palin has already raised taxes on the oil companies. Palin is trying to force the oil companies to pay tribute to Alaskazuela to use the Palin Pipeline.
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