Saudis want money for not selling oil

I think I've finally found an issue on which liberals and conservatives can agree. I'll bet the lefties and the righties will be together on this one.

The New York Times reported yesterday that Saudi Arabia is asking other oil-producing countries to join with it in demanding financial compensation if wealthy countries reduce their oil consumption to fight global warming.

Now the last time I checked the law of supply and demand, it said that if supply holds steady and demand drops, prices should fall.

The Saudis apparently believe that if they sell less oil, they should get more per barrel for it.

I was always sorry we didn't get hard-line with oil producers 30 years ago. As the late Sam Kinison -- one of my favorite comedians -- once said, we ought to tell them that whatever a barrel of oil costs, that's what a bushel of wheat will cost.

And if they don't want to sell their oil, let them eat sand-wiches.

Sorry, but this is the biggest load of crap I've heard since, well, since Dubya Bush left office. Yes, oil revenues account for most of Saudi Arabia's budget, but I can think of two things they can cut without a whole lot of pain.

1. Private jets, etc., for the 3,000-member royal family.

2. Funding for terrorists.

Most of the OPEC countries don't have much going for them except oil. Yeah, Venezuela has cocaine and Russia has whatever they have, but does anybody really think we would even know where Iraq is if it weren't for oil?

Don't worry, we'll still be buying enough oil for enough years to keep these countries going. And if they have to cut back on those checks to Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden or pan-fry up a few cobras, so be it.

Cut back on your support for radical Islam and then we'll talk.