"Jilly DUH!" Note: When my 11 year old granddaughter Jilly was 8-ish we were having breakfast when I said something silly, and she raised an eyebrow, rolled her eyes, and said "DUH." Ergo, when I recalled it, this became the name for this piece that I posted a week ago.

In the brilliant '80's movie "A Fish Called Wanda," Kevin Kline says to Jaime Lee Curtis, "don't call me stupid." The bad news was that the Kline character WAS stupid.

The following statement has been taken from the Bill Frist web-site:

"WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and U.S. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) today sent a joint letter to President George W. Bush urging him to direct the U.S. Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission to investigate any potential gasoline price gouging or energy market speculation that could be contributing to high gasoline prices."

They, along with so many other Washington insiders, are saying to America, we think that you are stupid, and will not realize that we (the government) have arranged for our country to be in the horrid place we now find ourselves. How about having congress look at the laws that they have written and passed in order to determine if there have been unexpected consequences from their legislation?

DUH!

At the same time, our President (the oil guy, you do remember him), is NOW speaking out in favor of eliminating our dependence on imported oil. Where in heavens name has he been all of these years? And of course one can remember his relationship with "Kenny Boy." It is important to remember that it was Enron that was deeply involved on conspiring to raise energy prices.

DUH!

The Congress and the administration have given the "foxes" at the energy companies the proverbial "keys to the hen house," and are now speaking out calling for an investigation of the foxes in order to determine if they are the ones eating any chickens.

DUH!

As a nation, we all now have a new metaphor with Jack Abramoff, and the intense lobbying that has gone on in our country on behalf of "vested interests." The people who govern us vote and legislate with their own pocketbooks in mind, and they hang out with signs around their necks that say "for sale."

In the words of that famous philosopher Taylor, the energy guys are following their built in policy of "what's the use of having power if you don't abuse it," and now all of the politicians who have "organized things" are running to the media proclaiming "the sky is falling, the sky is falling, and we are going to hold hearings to determine why, and who is responsible for it happening."

DUH!

I only wish that I could blame the Republicans alone, but I can't. I blame the failure of the human condition, and our system of government, that has allowed the people in Washington to be corrupted by an inherently corrupt system.

"Mr. Smith," (Jimmy Stewart), surely you did go to Washington, but sadly you did not stay there.

NORMAN HOROWITZ

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