Absurd.

What a ridiculously naive and delusional assessment of an addict's relationship with it's dealer (in this case both in capital AND oil). A pathetically American/French unilateralist delusions-of-grandeur assessment, I think. The author vastly overestimates the power of Washington to impose it's will through legislation on those oil producing countries, and he vastly overestimates Washington's potential to make OPEC states "economic pariahs"... I think that resolve would dissolve around $45/barrel.

"OPEC is a cartel. Cartels violate the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts, and the Justice Department doesn't typically tolerate them." Quaint, but King Canute said it with fewer syllables.

The King sat on the beach as the tide rose not because he thought he could stop the tides, but rather to demonstrate to his sycophantic advisors that he could not.

Good old Cnut!

Hah! Nicely put.

Are we suckers, though, for rising to Noah's bait? Surely he knows he has added nothing to his previous rants on this topic, which must be thoroughly eviscerated by now.

And this isn't even a fun hobbyhorse, like Shafer's obsession with fact-free drug abuse stories...