United States government should nationalize some assets too


exxon logoAs I fully expected, I've received a fair amount of comments on a recent blog post in which I proudly took a stance in favor of Exxon's court backed demand that the government of Hugo Chavez immediately ante up for the oil infrastructure which the country he leads has stolen from Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM). Most of the commentary was lucid and well thought out on both sides of the argument, but one particular commenter really piqued my sense of intrigue.

The comment I'm referring to was an assertion that what the Chavez government has done by seizing the Cerro-Negro oil development is legal. For the purpose of this rebuttal, and because I am near totally ignorant of international law, I'm going to assume that comment was correct. Now, here comes the Devil's Advocate:


I believe that the United States government should immediately and completely nationalize all physical assets of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., the state oil company of the Republic of Venezuela (PDVSA), which may exist within the borders of The United States of America. Any gas station, any oil truck, any pipe, hose, rail car or sea going vessel at dock which might belong to PDVSA, should immediately become the property of the citizen population of the United States. That is the essence of what Hugo Chavez has done, and socialist, progressive, leftists are saying it's alright. I'm willing to take them at their word, so let's get it done. For that matter, we should consider doing the same with Saudi Arabian physical assets on our nation's soil also. We can get our oil from other sources. Don't try to tell me that can't be done.

I do honestly believe that Hugo Chavez is a brilliant man, and I fully expect that he knows what he's doing. So in honor of his proclaimed efforts to best serve his people, I think we should follow his example and take good care of our people too. Tell me I'm wrong ... I dare ya.

I'd like to add one other side note to this rant, although it is just a bit off topic. I think you'll find this in keeping with my previous vitriolic diatribe. I propose that we are duty bound, as a nation that seeks to play fairly, to inform the government of Russia that the next time it sends one of its antique flying bombers over one of our state of the art aircraft carriers, it shall be immediately and expeditiously introduced to the cold, choppy salt water in the form of nothing more than dime sized burning shreds of aluminum and plastic ... no questions asked. After that, the Russian actions should be reported to the UN Security Council as an overt show of aggression and a threat of war against our defensive posture. Then we should seriously consider leaving the UN. They hate us there already any way. They wouldn't miss us ... much.

But of course, this is just my own patriot capitalist opinion.

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