I disagree with T. Boone Pickens on a lot of things, but I applaud his attempts to get America off foreign oil.

"1. T. Boone Pickens didn't exterminate six million people. He's an asshole, true enough. That hardly makes him unique."

He admitted to being a bush supporter on the Ed Shultz show, he stands by his swift-boating of John Kerry.
At the end of WWII the Germans who lived near the POW camps were made to go through those camps and clean them up. IMO T Boon Pickens is FAR more complicit with bush's war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan than were those Germans were with Hitler's war crimes. Those Germans got what they deserved-Pickens, at the very least should NOT be rewarded! (If it were up to me, bush enablers like him would be over in Iraq cleaning up their mess!)


"2. T. Boone Pickens is indeed a capitalist, and I agree, he's trying to make money off America's energy situation. However, if America benefits, I'm okay with it. I'm actually a capitalist too."

Democracy requires capitalism but capitalism with restrictions. Without capitalism it can not survive PERIOD. OTOH UNRESTRICTED capitalism will destroy America's democracy too. The corporatists I am concerned with (capitalists who seek to operate within our nation UNRESTRICTED) are destroying our democracy. Having the best government money can buy is a sure road to fascism! You and I do not have the money to compete with EXXON-so whose government is it?

I've no issue with corporatists who do well with our capitalism, my issue is with those who use our government to further their wealth AT THE EXPENSE OF AMERICA'S DEMOCRACY. Big Oil is the easy example here. Their bought and paid for representatives spent how long in session after congress was adjourned for break recently? They were NOT truly representing OUR needs, they were representing the needs of BIG OIL period! We The Peoples Government is being hijacked by these corporatists-T Boon Pickens supports this! Those benefits you may think we reap here are FAR outweighed by what we loose in our democracy.

An energy independent fascist state or an energy struggling democracy. The choice is simple but only if one believes in the abilities of the American People. Our history gives me a great deal of optimism! There are those who don't agree-that We The People are unable to accomplish this on our own! I call these pessimists and deliberate obstuctionists: 'neo-congs'. (Think Viet 'Cong' as a conservetive from the mid 60's would use the term.)


"3. Pickens is absolutely right when he points out that we must get off foreign oil. It is our biggest economic problem. We're sending some $750 billion a year to the middle east and Venezuela; this HAS TO STOP."

Yes, Pickens is quite right that we must get ourselves off of foreign oil. Should it come as any surprise to you that he helped enable our addiction to that foreign oil FOR HIS OWN PROFITS??? IMO, for America to get off of such addictions we must first place in check those who would addict us in the first place! Had this been the case long ago, had we listened to Jimmy Carter, Big Oil would not have us by the 'short hairs' right now. T-Boon Pickens offers us a way out BUT he grabs a bigger fistfull of those 'short hairs' in the process.


"I respect your opinion, but I figure we have to approach the problem with a multitude of solutions. The wind farms Pickens wants to build would be a good thing, but will not solve our energy problems entirely. I'm just happy someone is trying something."

Here we agree bunches, (and thank you for respecting my opinion), wind farms sounds very good to me, so do tidal energy collectors, solar farms and even geo-thermal plants. America can go down those roads and have great success! America actually WANTS to go down those roads-I believe Obama can take us down them. (I could be wrong there but I know for a fact that mCcain won't be taking us down those roads-I am left with optimistic hope for my country under an Obama Administration, we will see what we will see.)

Dr. Mobius, I understand how folks would eagerly reach out for the supposed life-preserver that Pickens appears to throw out for us. America needs to go down many roads and do so soon if we are to survive and remove ourselves from this stranglehold. America has the know-how to accomplish this-TRULY WE DO! Where we have been in disagreement, you and I, is in the how it should NOT be accomplished. Sadly there are those who would if they could gain control over our struggle and make it so they gain the lions share of the profits. This will not only slow down our rise to energy independence but worse-make us just as dependent on someone else! I believe T-Boon Pickens wants to be one of those people. That is not something you or I should accept

Believe it or no Dr. Mobius, we share the exact same goals you and I. We love our country and want her to be well again. For that to happen, I believe we must first cure the cancer which has established itself within our government. That cancer does not share our love for our great nation, that cancer is only motivated by power and greed. That cancer stands in the way of America's energy independence. I hope you understand now that I firmly believe T-Boon Pickens to be part of that cancer-what he offers is a partial cure and further cancer. America CAN DO better, America can do MUCH better! The sleeping giant isn't really asleep-we are being deliberately stifled and the stiflers need to stopped!
c

1. T. Boone Pickens didn't exterminate six million people. He's an asshole, true enough. That hardly makes him unique.

2. T. Boone Pickens is indeed a capitalist, and I agree, he's trying to make money off America's energy situation. However, if America benefits, I'm okay with it. I'm actually a capitalist too.

3. Pickens is absolutely right when he points out that we must get off foreign oil. It is our biggest economic problem. We're sending some $750 billion a year to the middle east and Venezuela; this HAS TO STOP.

I respect your opinion, but I figure we have to approach the problem with a multitude of solutions. The wind farms Pickens wants to build would be a good thing, but will not solve our energy problems entirely. I'm just happy someone is trying something.

#4, T. Boone Pickens was one of the people who funded the swiftboat ad's agaisnt Kerry!!

He was among the highest-profile supporters of Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth, giving $1 million in 2004 to the group that savaged Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry's war record.

He contributed $2.5 million the same year to the Progress for America voter fund, a group closely linked to President Bush and the Republican National Committee, and tens of thousands of dollars to individual Republican candidates for Congress, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Three years later, he offered a million dollars to anyone who could disprove claims made by the Swift Boat group, whose name became synonymous with underhanded attacks on political opponents.

Kerry and a group of his allies took Pickens up on the challenge, offering two rebuttals to the Swift Boat claims, but Pickens rejected both. The New York Times reported that Pickens said the terms of his original challenge had been misreported.

Of this amount Bob Perry, described by the Houston Chronicle last year as the single largest Texas donor to the Republican Party, contributed 4.5 million dollars.
T. Boone Pickens and Harold Simmons each contributed 2 million dollars.

Where and when was this interview?
Anyone got any audio?

I think it was in hour two of the 08/26 show.

If I can find the interview, I'll give a link.

-P

Here you go.

-P

Thank you Plunderer

Big Eddie: THANK YOU!

..... I was unaware that Big Eddie stood by Randi Rhodes when she was going through those recent issues with Air America but this fits in with my own image of Ed Shultz. I figured all along that he is a decent guy, this only confirms it for me.....

I never heard ed support Randi. Every time her name was brought up he brushed it off saying something like "it will work out" or maybe a "she'll be ok", that is not support. The interview in Denver sounded like two junk yard dogs forced to sit next to each other by their masters. There seemed to be a constant undertone of growls.

It sounds to me like you might be fomenting something.
Why would you want to do that?

Big Eddie: THANK YOU!

I don't care one bit about anything negative which may have happened before between Ed Shultz and Randi Rhodes. I don't always agree with Randi Rhodes and I don't always agree with Big Eddie-(hell if GOD had a radio show I wouldn't always agree with him either*) but that doesn't mean I can't learn from and enjoy these two patriots.

I was unaware that Big Eddie stood by Randi Rhodes when she was going through those recent issues with Air America but this fits in with my own image of Ed Shultz. I figured all along that he is a decent guy, this only confirms it for me.
*(If GOD DID have his own show, I've no doubt that it would be on Jones Network but it would likely NOT air any of those ads from that T Boon Pickens fella)

Sorta off topic but I feel strongly about this T Boon Pickens phenomenon.

Many many folks feel as you do, I do not. IMO If A. Hitler were resurrected and wanted to air the exact same ads for the exact same purposes, many more folks would feel as I do-would see it as I do. OTOH Hitler wanting to do this purely for humanitarian reasons would be an entirely different matter, he would then have my full support-the same goes for that T. Boone Pickens fellow.

I see Pickens as a corporatist who is using this energy tragedy as a road to his own further wealth, I see him as someone who would set himself up in the same position as a BIG OIL consortium. Now don't get me wrong, I am all for capitalism BUT not at our nations greater expense-the very expense that our country is shelling out now to the BIG OIL gang! (That expense is far MORE than just money btw)

Only a very few folks actually believe that BIG OIL wants to drill in ANWR for humanitarian reasons and I'll not be believing that the likes of this corporatist Pickens is any different. He is trying to set himself up in his own kingdom just as the Big Oil Companies have. I'm not happy being under BIG OIL's greedy whims, putting ourselves under another corporatist's greedy whims is a bad idea in my book.

America IS a CAN-DO nation, under Obama we may have a chance to get it right with our future energy policies. That would be my preferred road. Let us not repeat the mistakes of the past-let us not allow the corporatists to frame our road for us so that they can ultimately milk us for our wealth, for our very democracy! (Yes, we do indeed have the greatest 'democracy' money can buy-it ain't workin' out so good now is it?). Let us instead frame our own road! If Pickens wants to join us, wants to pitch in or lend a hand that is just fine by me but it is a mistake imo for America to join him-to jump on HIS bandwagon. America has America's better interests in mind, I believe that Pickens only has his pocketbook in mind.

Well that's how I see it

#4, T. Boone Pickens was one of the people who funded the swiftboat ad's agaisnt Kerry!!

If he would apologize for being a part of the lie I would look at him differently.
He was part of a huge mistake that was made for this country but now he wants to fix it?

I don't trust the guy...
if we get hoodwinked by him you will have people like shoreke
blaming us for allowing him to get away with whatever he is getting away with.
Let's just do the right thing without him...
let's get a spokesman with integrity.