... Bush might be right this time.

Under the rules of OPEC all oil is traded using American Dollars. If Germany needs oil from Saudi Arabia it must be purchased in Dollars. The more oil needed the more American Dollars they need and this keeps the Dollar strong. The US is the only country that can get away with importing more goods than exporting (48% more), because of this OPEC agreement. If we work against OPEC they would surely begin trading in Euros, which has been debated since the Euro began. Switching to the Euro would totally ruin our little consumer paradise we have created by making the Dollar the new Peso. Oddly, our Big Business back room dirty dealings with Saudi Arabia have kept them loyal to the Dollar... weird?

I hate defending this tyranny, but this is what the lovely little land of opportunity for unchecked capitalism has created for us all... enjoy.

That is a scary thought. While i drive a fairly powerful car (3.0L engine) there is a reason and it has nothing to do with w anting to have a powerful car. Where i live is hilly and the engine is necessary to get up the hills. If oil does start being traded using euros instead of dollars I think that would have a serious and detrimental effect on our economy here in the U.S. Me personally, if this happens i will consider using a horse for transportation.

Saddam, our loyal Dictator of Iraq for years began to get mad at the sanctions and bombings and he talked of selling Iraq oil for euros. This would not have helped our situation so look what happened to him.

Maybe it is time we quit thinking of ourselves as super power and empire and began to think of ourselves as one nation among nations and a law abiding nation at that. To maintain a super power is very expensive and the tax payers are being jipped - no National health care, no peace of mind, the lives of our brightest and bravest being sacrifices daily and endless debt. 9 trillion and growing. It is not sustainable.

What we see in this NOPEC bill is a very American response: if things don't suit you, go sue someone.

Unfortunately, producing legislation to sue OPEC members doesn't seem a very bright idea, for a couple of reasons.

As others already pointed out, the US imports a few million barrels of crude per day. Parties being sued just might decide to suspend deliveries while the case is in court. They will not have to look far for customers willing to take up the slack in demand either.

And just who are those OPEC members we are about to sue? Well, there is Saudi Arabia, with 30% of OPEC's production it's lead, and Kuwait. However Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are just about our only friends in OPEC. Sue them? Bright idea!

Then of course then there are Iran and Venezuela. Both are quite happy to use oil as a weapon and might just be waiting for an excuse to sell all their oil to China, India, and Europe. So our considered response should be to sue them? Yeah, right.

Besides which, OPEC is simply telling the truth: there is no shortage of oil. We know that because the market clears. So what is this huffy talk about "collusion"?

Besides which, are they under any legal or moral obligation whatsoever not to charge whatever they can get away with? Last time I looked OPEC did not come under US jurisdiction. Sure, individual companies and states have assets in the US. You know ... "petro-dollars". The cashflow that kept investment in the US up and largely underpins (read props up) the US dollar. So yes, let's claim extra-territorial coverage of US law and start suing them. Investment levels in the US are too high anyway and the dollar is overvalued, right?

Am I alone in thinking that suing OPEC members is stupid?

Nope. Not at all. We both just hate freedom probably. ;-)