"Here's oil in them thar trees..."

Our last appointment in DC was with Congressman Sali.  It had been a very busy day for the Congressman. Shortly after introductions, the Congressman launched into an explanation of his "no" vote on a bill that provides schools and local governments with Federal dollars in lieu of taxes.  This has been a long standing practice, since no governmental entity can collect taxes from the Federal Government. Without this money, schools and counties with substantial federal lands will not meet existing budgets.  He explained his vote by saying he knows a better bill will be coming along sometime- not a great answer for those schools and counties that will be affected.

As the conversation became more and more his agenda, and less and less about listening to Idaho constituents, it became clear we would be treated to a "world according to Bill Sali" moment.  We were not disappointed.

Congressman Sali informed us that a solution to the high price of gasoline was to make petroleum from "all those trees in our forests."   Stunned by the comment, I suffered a momentary regret for not taking that high school chemistry class those many years ago. He continued by saying there '"could be up to 40 barrels of oil " in a single tree.

If word of this gets out, maybe Idaho can become part of the "forest cartel" and show those pesky Saudis a thing or two.

Comments

[Zoomie]

You guys actually elected this bozo to Congress?!?!

And I thought we Nebraskans could be a bit slow...

[Kyle Michel Sullivan]

Hey, Sali, you seem to be a bit confused about what is and isn't oil, so here's some information --

Cellulosic ethanol is a renewable fuel “derived from the stalks and stems of plants.” THAT would be the stuff that's in trees, not crude oil. By the way -- you voted against cellulosic ethanol tax credits. Change your mind? Or just being obfuscatory?

As any geologist or high school pupil in a science class could tell you, oil is a nonrenewable fuel found in the ground. And by the way -- you've received $35,000 in campaign contributions from oil and gas companies since January 2007.

Now look up the words liar and hypocrite to remind yourself of what they mean. And by the way -- check to see if your photo's next to them as an example.

[dj]

I didn't realize oil grew in trees.

Do you have money trees in ID too? How about geese which lay golden eggs? You posted this under "Everyday Humor". I'm wondering if you think he was joking.

[Sanchez]

Sali must be in the pockets of logging Lobbyists. Whats the story on Bill Sali Attributing breast cancer to abortions? Is this true or did i miss hear?