Truth be told, I haven't actually witnessed a Chinese rig in Cuban waters and lack the ability to discern which one of the competing statements of Jorge, Mel, John or Dick is correct (although Boehner citing the NY Times didn't really bolster my confidence.
) Thus, I updated my post above to note that China has the
ability to drill off our coast while the United States legally does not. Even if the Congress allowed it, that doesn't mean the individual states would permit it and we could speculate all day about what it would do to prices at the pump. I just think the states should have the option to open those fields to exploration.
Anyway, the real reason for this reply... The Commerce Department reported today that the economy grew at a 1 percent annualized rate in the first quarter, an update to the previous estimate of 0.9 percent growth. The new reading was better than the 0.6 percent growth rate logged in the final three months of last year.
I know we continue to experience slowdowns in many aspects of the economy and that 1% growth doesn't warrant us bringing out the confetti cannon, but as I've written elsewhere, I don't think we should be all about the doom and gloom. Only the future will bear out if my current thoughts were appropriate, and with all due respect and empathy to the difficulties experienced by sa_meredith, I remain optimistic about our collective futures, higher gas prices and all.
My glass is half full and filling.