Feeling the "OPEC Squeeze" at the APEC Summit

What is the APEC Summit and why should you care? Soon enough, everyone will be talking about it. Then you’ll be glad you took the time to read on.

A brief aside: Honestly, does MSNBC have to include commercials with its videos? Can’t they find another less annoying way to stay afloat? Pretty soon, some computer genius will find a way to view the videos without the product plugs, call it CiVO, and rake in millions. At that point, all the MSNBC bigwigs will be back to square one while little people like me will have become so fed up, our viewing business will be conducted elsewhere. Why give computer geeks another entrepeneurial opportunity? Don't executive drones realize the inevitable logical conclusion of this dastardly income grab?

Back to APEC: The 2007 APEC Summit is currently going down in Sydney, Australia. APEC stands for "Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation." The coalition of member nations seeks to create greater opportunities for international trade and investment, develop strong partnerships with Asian-Pacific businesses, reduce trade barriers, and stomp out global terrorism. Lofty goals, no doubt, which any normal global citizen would endorse.

Somehow the United States, situated so far outside the target territory they might as well change the name of the summit to the "WEC," became a participating member nation, as did other oddly situated countries such as Mexico and Canada. At least the good old U.S. of A., which includes the Aloha State, can feign a legitimate vested interest in APEC. I wonder what excuse the Maple Leaf politicians invented.

President Bush pictured at the 2004 APEC SummitAnyway, at his most recent APEC appearance, President Bush let slip one of the most horrendous gaffes of his presidential career. He took the stage, thanked John Howard for inviting him to speak at the "OPEC Summit," then tried to make light of his mistake like the amiable good ‘ol frat boy we all know he is. The rest of his message was completely lost.

Sorry Dubya, this doozie doesn’t fly. The citizens of America are crying in their milk, so sick of the big lie they are ready to elect a Democrat - any Democrat - in 2008, even one so unqualified as Hillary Clinton!

President Bush. Your unbelievably stupid Freudian slip serves to confirm what the majority of Americans have known all along. That you, your cronies, and your whole oil loving family are in bed with the Saudis, keeping the price of oil artificially inflated, discouraging discoveries of alternate fuel sources, single-handedly strong-arming the U.S. economy into charging higher and higher prices for goods and services, while all of you sit back and play golf at your country clubs, clucking your tongues at average Americans. In the process, you are squeezing the middle class out of existence and giving liberal nut jobs the fuel they need to turn this great nation into a socialist republic. No socially conscious citizen wants to see our poor and our hungry starve out on the streets. But when you fix the game as badly as your administration has, the possibility for constructive solutions cease to exist.

Thanks a bunch.

I should send the White House a copy of our current food bill. I pay at least $25.00 more per week for groceries than I did last year. Anyone want to lay odds I’m not the only one feeling the OPEC Squeeze?