What Caught My Eye Today

Congress - I don't remember the last time we checked in on the fine folks over on Capitol Hill. I wonder what they've been up to? Big oil companies dodged an attempt to slap them with a windfall profits tax and take away billions of dollars in tax breaks in response to the record gasoline prices that have the nation fuming. Republican senators shoved aside the Democratic proposal, arguing that punishing Big Oil won't do a thing to lower the $4-a-gallon-price of gasoline that is sending economic waves across the country. The Democratic energy package would have imposed a 25% percent tax on any "unreasonable" profits of the 5 largest U.S. oil companies. It also would have given the government more power to address oil market speculation, opened the way for antitrust actions against countries belonging to the OPEC oil cartel, and made energy price gouging a federal crime. At the Capitol, Democratic leaders needed 60 votes and they got only 51 senators' support, including seven Republicans who bucked their party leaders. So if I recall correctly, not much has changed. The Senate continues to be incapable of agreeing on pretty much anything. Here's something I find rather interesting. Last time I checked the Democrats held a 51-49 margin in the Senate. If 7 Republicans crossed over, that means 7 Democrats voted against the bill. If they hadn't, we'd be looking at a much closer margin. I find it hard to criticize the Republicans too much when the Democrats cannot seem to garner consensus support among its own ranks.

Europe - Tens of thousands of truckers are on strike or joining the protests to demand government help to offset the higher fuel costs. Spanish police escorted petrol supply tankers into Barcelona on the second day of the stoppage that has caused food and fuel shortages and huge tailbacks on the Spanish-French border. French railway workers began their own walkout, increasing the transport chaos. Authorities in northern Spain ordered emergency measures after many petrol stations in the Catalonia region ran out of fuel. Arrivals of fresh meat, fish and fruit in Madrid have come to a near halt. They said that fish would be in short supply but stocks of other foods should last until the end of the week. Automakers in Spain said most of the country's automobile plants have had to cut or halt production. Oh sure, I bet you're thinking that they have it tough, what with no gasoline and soon no food, but that's nothing. I had to pay almost $80 to fill up my truck last week. Now there's some real suffering. In all seriousness, I'll all for capitalism and free market enterprise, and I do believe that the recent rise in fuel prices cannot be blamed entirely on supply, but when people cannot eat because truckers cannot afford to bring the food in, someone needs to step in and do something to fix this problem.

Greece - I swear that I'm not making this next item up. Three islanders from Lesbos told a court that gay women insult their home's identity by calling themselves lesbians. The plaintiffs are seeking to ban a Greek gay rights group from using the word "lesbian" in its name. Lesbos was the home of the ancient poet Sappho, who praised love among women. It is a major travel destination for gay women. So many jokes, so little space. Okay, keeping it real for a moment, it isn't like the term 'lesbian' is new. Why are these guys getting their knickers in a bunch now? Heck, you would think that they would be capitalizing on the windfall of tourism that the name Lesbos could generate. But, no they decide to file a lawsuit instead. You Lesbosians (or whatever you call yourselves) really didn't think this one through did you?

Australia - This one, tragically, also appears to be true. An Australian judge was forced to abandon a three-month drugs trial when jurors admitted they were doing sudoku puzzles to fight off boredom. Admit it, you're laughing aren't you? The judge aborted proceedings after the jury forewoman admitted she and four others had been playing the popular numbers game since the second week of the hearing. She told the judge the brain-teasers had helped "keep my mind busy" as she listened to testimony from the 105 witnesses at the trial, which has cost more than one million dollars so far. Lawyers had presumed the scribbling they could see jurors doing was simply note-taking. One said, "The judge had made many comments about what a good jury they were, how they were taking copious amounts of notes. I'm quite disappointed at the end that's not what was taking place." While I certainly cannot condone what the jury did--funny as it was--I do sympathize with them. Maybe I'm looking at this from the wrong perspective, but if the legal system is going to rely on the judgment of one's peers, perhaps the legal system should consider its obligation to keep one's peers actually interested in the proceedings. 105 witnesses for a drug trial? You have got to be kidding me.