Well, it's time to serve some economic justice and liberate Utah from the foul oil companies' grasp! Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is scrapping 77 lease sales closed during the waning days of the Bush administration, citing environmental concerns and other politically-correct buzz words. The government stood to make $6 million plus royalties on any oil or gas production on the leases, which were sold in a December auction. A federal udge placed the sales on hold, and now Salazar is effectively canceling the deals, pending a further look. Actor Robert Redford, who owns property near the leases, opposed the sale and now lauds Salazar's actions. He is quoted as saying, "I see this announcement as a sign that after eight long years of rapacious greed and backdoor dealings, our government is returning a sense of balance to the way it manages our lands." Well, it's nice to know that Sundance is such an expert on the ins and outs of oil and gas M&A. If we tell him he can stay, does that mean he'll leave the oil companies alone? Does anyone besides me get that reference? In any case, we can probably expect some more instances of economic justice along these lines for the four years or so. –Stephen Payne, Editor, Oil and Gas Investor This Week; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; spayne@hartenergy.com