On a day when President Bush followed the leading Congressional members of his party in pandering to gas pump hysteria and know-nothingism, Division of Labour readers might need a little cheering up on the subject. I recommend Mac Johnson's "The O'Reilly Fiction." (Audio version available.) An excerpt:

Of course, these newfangled “futures” contracts that Mr. O’Reilly has uncovered aren’t just bets made by “Vegas-style” people removed from reality. They are binding contracts and the buyers of these contracts agree to buy oil at the high prices that we bemoan. They lose their butts if they just bid up the paper price for no reason. I would encourage Mr. O’Reilly to enter the futures market and bet against these crazy Vegas-type speculators with his amazing insights into cabals and paper and so-called markets.

Johnson's website is worth a look, too.

(Cross-posted on Southern Appeal.)