E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
The White House seemed to play defense today against Republican presidential candidates criticizing President Obama’s handling of gas prices, which at more than $3.50 per gallon, are the highest they’ve ever been this time of year.
The administration pushed several news items Monday that appeared to counter the jabs of hopefuls like Newt Gingrich, who said on Fox News’ Sunday talk show that “under the Obama plan, there's going to be less American production, higher prices. … This president is anti-American energy.”
Late Monday morning, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney Tweeted a link to a Houston Chronicle story on increased oil production, which the White House press office forwarded to reporters less than an hour later.
The article notes that shale oil fields and increased offshore drilling -- as well as a dip in the value of natural gas -- is fueling stepped-up oil production. But the article also cautioned, however, that more domestic oil doesn’t necessarily mean cheaper gas, given that our prices are tied to the world market, vulnerable to “foreign conflicts and rapidly growing energy demands in developing countries.”
About 40 minutes after Carney’s Tweet, the White House press office forwarded the article to reporters, with the article’s title in the subject line: “FORWARDING: ‘U.S. oil gusher blows out projections.’”
Seeking to perhaps further blunt criticisms like Gingrich’s, the White House also circulated a release from the Department of Interior Monday that announced an agreement with Mexico over further drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
“This agreement makes available promising areas in the resource-rich Gulf of Mexico and establishes a clear process by which both governments can provide the necessary oversight to ensure exploration and development activities are conducted safely,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement.
Monday’s announcements seemed to be a continuation of a rollout that began last week, when Interior announced Friday that Shell Oil was one step closer to drilling in Arctic waters, another fold in President Obama’s post-BP energy policy.
Shell was originally supposed to begin exploratory drilling off Alaska’s North Slope in the summer of 2010, before Salazar announced in May that he would not consider applications for Arctic drilling permits until 2011 amid safety concerns raised by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
But on Friday, the Department of Interior announced that Shell had applied “lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon [BP] tragedy to offshore oil and gas production activities” and had submitted a satisfactory plan for responding to oil spills at potential drilling sites in the Chukchi Sea.
In a statement on the announcement, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar stressed “caution,” as he lauded Shell’s getting approval. “In the Arctic frontier, cautious exploration - under the strongest oversight, safety requirements, and emergency response plans ever established - can help us expand our understanding of the area and its resources, and support our goal of continuing to increase safe and responsible domestic oil and gas production,” Salazar said. “We are taking a cautious approach, one that will help inform the wise decisions of tomorrow.”
Leave a Comment:
The White House doesn't set gas prices. If they could, they'd drop them to 25 cents a gallon until the election.
Seriously, think it over kids.
World markets set the price.
So true GOPisextinct. The GOP just want something to bitch about. That's all they do.
GOP,
You are correct. Unfortunately, though, most Americans don't realize that and will blame whoever is in charge for high gas prices.
"Rising Gas Prices: Not Demand Driven" by Matthew Philips, Bloomberg / Businessweek:
"Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service... believes much of the increase is due to speculative money that's flowed into gasoline futures contracts since the beginning of the year, mostly from hedge funds and large money managers.
'We've seen about $11 billion of speculative money come in on the long side of gas futures,' he says. 'Each of the last three weeks we've seen a record net long position being taken.'"
[ http://www.businessweek.com/finance/rising-gas-prices-not-demand-driven-... ] Feb/2012
Does anybody remember the price gasoline was in the summer of 2008? When are we going to get off this 19th century polluting fossil fuel which is diminishing in supply...the real reason oil prices continue to rise along with increased demand. We're behind the curve in exploiting infinite energy sources.
Gas prices hit a record national average of $4.11 a gallon the summer of 2008.
It is still the record.
Oh silly liberals,
We were all here three, four, five years ago when gas prices spiked here and there and you all railed against Bush and his big oil buddies. But the truth is very clear Bush made attempts to increase capacity and refinery production while Obama has stifled it at every turn.
Obama owns the gas prices. He owns the unemployment rate. He owns the credit downgrade. He owns the increased poverty rate and the reliance on food stamps. He owns the further dependence of African Americans on government assistance.
Most importantly he owns the label of worst President ever!
Dennis,
Gas has already went over $4 per gallon here in California, with expectations it will get close to $5.00 per gallon. So the record will be broken within a month or two when summer driving starts. I am willing to bet as the price rises and it gets closer to election time, Obama will tap the federal reserves to try and bring the prices down, just like he did last year and just like President Bush did.
I am glad to see from the article that the Dept. of Interior has started releasing permits off the coast of Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico. However, I believe it is more of a political move by President Obama. The other thing we need more of are refineries.
Big shout out to Dennis, Ohio for getting that right...and what was the reason back then? No oil company wants to build a new refinery haven't since the 70's or shall I say since the EPA came about, they'd rather pollute. I know as I lived in the Harbor Area of L.A. and have been involved with their companies since the 70's.
Sarge,
If we need more refineries and that brings long term full time jobs why not build a refinery in Nebraska instead of a pipeline.
When the national average was at $4.11 the prices in CA were already $5 in some areas of CA but I agree that we will see a new record this year, too many factors against low or stable prices.
The advantage of having an energy policy that drills and provides product to the US would help drive prices down, but unfortunately, we have no proactive programs in place, nor the refining to process crude if available.
We are captive to the policies of the administration that has the vision of alternative sources of energy rather than use the resources available to the nation now. I'd love to see AFFORDABLE alternative sources, however those solar and wind programs are not cost effective yet.
What benefits has the nation seen for the money provided the Obama friends for promoting his policy programs? Anyone?
None would be the correct response.
Rob: I thought you were just another Republican. Then, as I was reading your "he owns the...." list, I came to : "He owns the further dependence of African Americans on government assistance." and I realized that you are just another bigot determined to get the black man out of the white house.
I can understand a Republican not liking President Obama. It is understood that the GOP does not like having a Democrat in the Whitehouse. However, when you decide that the reason you don't like him is because he is black, that is un-American. The activities of you, Newt Gingrich, Mitch McConnell and any other race hating scum like you is totally uncalled for.
A black man is in charge of the United States of America. Get over it. Attitude's like yours do not belong in the United States!!!!
Take your hatred of women, minorities, the poor, the disabled and the middle class and go found your own little fiefdom on some caribbean island. We don't need your evil or you hatred and we don't need you. Don't go away angry, just go away.
Dennis,
I wondered myself why we didn't build a refinery in Montana, or North or South Dakotas and make less of a need for pipelines. Better yet I wonder why Canada doesn't build the refinery?
BTW, I just saw a montage on TV that showed all the news programs and pundits, mostly on NBC, MSNBC and CCN that blamed President Bush for the high fuel cost in 2008. Didn't see many of the liberal posters saying the same thing then and they are saying now. Now we can't blame the President but in 2008 we could, doesn't see fair.
Dirp
Get a life. Black unemployment is at 18%. That's what Obama has delivered. My comment has zero to do with him as a black man. It's his policies. Liberal policies that do nothing but enslave and entrap people into poverty.
Stick your race card and race baiting up it!
Rob: I was not the one who first brought up race:
"He owns the further dependence of African Americans on government assistance."
Which you have repeated in several threads. While unemployment in the black community may be at 18%, the fact that you brought up the race of one group indicates your true feelings on the black man in the white house. The Republican hatred for women, minorities, the poor, the disabled and the middle class has to stop. I don't know why you hate America so much, but you really should go get some anger management treatment. Don't go away mad, just go away.
just get the truth team on it
You need to look into export controls put in place by the commerce department related to the review of international gasoline contracts. The amount of gasoline that trades openly on the free market is tightly controlled. When more gasoline is allowed to sell on the open international markets it goes to higher bidders within Europe first eventually lowering the prices there but limiting U.S. domestic availability here. The effect is that domestic fuel prices also rises as the gasoline leaves our refineries for foreign shores where oil refineries seek better pricing models. Something tells me that there are some who like higher gasoline prices because it reduces consumption domestically. Unfortunately it also creates stagnation in the economy. Many who advocate for higher gas prices do not care. That is environmental religiosity in my book. Dogma with a single minded focus that has no consideration of the real world effects on those around them. It's the newest form of theology...The worship of a single subjective environmental idea!
Not exactly RobinMa. Obama doesn't own causing the problems. Obama owns fixing them.
Not to worry. In November of 2012, the American voter will return Mr. Fix It to a 2nd term to continue mopping up the GOP's mess. America still remembers who was at the wheel the last time the U.S. nearly crashed. Any thinking human with a pulse should get that.
Americans won't allow you GOP people to derail the progress we've made. Put us back into another Republican Depression?
No.
Obama/Biden 2012
Actually, GOPisextinct - have you thought about the parties who actually do have some control over oil prices in this country?
Namely, the oil industry.
Now, if they wanted to influence the outcome of the election, what do you think would be their best strategy? Keep prices down? Or engaging in scalping the American public and buy millions of $$ in ads and media time blaming the President?
Don't buy it? Just look at the money they're pumping into the GOP presidential candidates already.
Think about it.
Top 10 recipients of oil and gas industry political contributions, 2012 campaign
1 Perry, Rick (R) $789,924
2 Romney, Mitt (R) $495,600
3 Dewhurst, David H (R-TX) $310,750
4 McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) Senate $233,500
5 Barrasso, John A (R-WY) Senate $214,400
6 Boehner, John (R-OH) House $210,600
7 Williams, Michael (R-TX) $188,150
8 Cruz, Ted (R-TX) $171,300
9 Williams, Roger (R-TX) $161,600
10 Berg, Rick (R-ND) House $161,300
That sure is strange, when obama authorized the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the strategic reserves it was proclaimed how smart he was to do so as a way to control gas prices. Now it seems that the left proclaims that he really can't. Does make one wonder on the degree that the left is willing to flip-flop on their opinion in order to support obama.
Hey american - I see you're conveniently ignoring my two posts above. Way to side-step. (Although if you're in Texas, y'all call that the two-step, right?)
realamerican, you had a point?
Why not break down all the costs associated with producing a gallon of gas. You know, cost/barrel of oil, number of gallons of gas realized/barrel of oil, refinery cost. distribution costs, federal and state taxes, service station costs. You know the important stuff in determining who has the most flexibility in determining pump prices. Please keep in mind that last spring CBS news reported that the big 5 oil companies only had after tax profits of 5-6% on every $ of revenue. Not a whole lot of margin is there?
Better not let gopextinct read your post 1.22, he will label you as a conservative by using the folllowing points...engage, demoralize, confuse, intimidate, well you get the picture.
Interesting on how you present numbers, but not the source of those numbers. I am sure gopextinct has a number for that. Regardless, what is your point on the level of contributions? Are you saying that the oil industry didn't make contributions to democrats as well. You do realize that a lot of bussinesses do donate to both parties, don't you?
Thanks for trying to play...
US News and World Report has a little different take on the contribution story with a 6republican-4 democrat split with Blanche Lincoln (D) of Arkansas getting the highest amount
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/06/18/oil-and-gas-industry-gives-big-to-members-of-congress-lincoln-and-vitter-are-among-the-10-lawmakers-who-get-the-most-from-the-industry
GOPisextinct,
You are right, but there are things the Obama administration is doing that is making a major impact. On was shutting down ALL drilling in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP oil spill, regardless of considering the facts that BP had a horrible safety record, which resulted in the oil spill, and other companies had a spotless record and were drilling safely. This is like suspending a whole class of kids because one of them started a fight at school. It was a ridiculous knee-jerk reaction, and proof of Obama's incompetence. They should have just suspended BP's drilling privileges for an indefinite period. The result? Many, if not all those companies pulled their rigs and took them elsewhere in the world. Now thousands of barrels per day are not being pumped.
The second thing Obama did is put off the building of the pipeline from Canada. The only reason he did this is to get votes from the environmentalist groups. The only reason Obama is going to do anything is to get votes and get re-elected, no matter how wrong it is. The result? Much of the oil from Canada that would help us become independent of oil from the Middle East will most likely wind up in China.
I also heard they are shutting down a refinery in the east. That is, or will, make an impact as well. I don't know what Obama is doing in regards to this, but I do know we are not building any new refineries in the US.
Dennis, Columbus, OH,
There was a little storm called KATRINA that caused this. Oil rigs were shut down and damaged in the Gulf, tankers could not get into the ports and refineries temporarily, and refineries were shut down and stayed down for weeks after the hurricane due to hurricane damage. This caused a shortage, and prices shot up. I live near Atlanta, where we get most of our gas from gulf refineries, and many gas stations ran out completely. It was hard to find a gas station with gas to sell.
This record will be beaten this year, even without a hurricane, due in part to Obama's policies plus increases in world demand. And watch out, with the warm winter we had, I think hurricane season might be a bad one this year.
It is interesting that when prices rose under Bush the left in this country blamed it on Bush being in the pocket of bil oil (it mattered not that every president since the Model T has been in the pocket of big oil, including Obama) but now that a dem is in the whitehouse all you here is that its the world market and the president does not set gas prices...it say much how about the hypocrisy of the left.
Rising gas prices not only hurt when you fill your car, but absolutely every other aspect of our life. Goods have to be transported, so higher fuel leads to higher prices at the grocery and everywhere else. It means more expensive travel for those of us who can still afford to consider vacations or visits with relatives for holidays as plane fare, train fare, etc will all be increased. The notion that increased fuel costs equate with a burgeoning economy is complete nonsense.....if we have to spend more on everything that we must buy, then there is no discretionary income to purchase other products, nor to go out to eat, or visit a movie theater. School districts will have to pay more to transport the children and that will have to come away from some other budget. Please stop drinking the already champagne priced kool aid and just stop and think....If every item in your grocery cart were to increase by a nickel or dime....how much, overall, would that change your grocery bill. And increased fuel costs usually include fuel for heating, heating water....it won't be long before the household energy providers demand their fair share of the increases in price, because after all, everything else is becoming more expensive.
And while I am not laying blame for rising oil prices on Obama per se, his policy regarding our ability to either produce our own fuels, or to purchase and work together with countries favorable to the United States have been stinted and stingy under the guise of protecting the environment. He also seems to gloat and cheer when the fuel prices soar, and I don't particularly want any government official taking their humor at the expense of the American people and American industry.
The White
And here is their own words is how they do it........
TACTICS FOR EFFECTIVE CONSERVATIVE BLOGGING
Engage
Demand an elaborate, time-consuming comparison / analysis between your position and theirs.
Entangle
Insist that the Liberal put their posts “in their own words”. That will consume the most time and effort for the Liberal poster. They will be unable to spread numerous points on numerous blogs if you have them occupied. Allowing a Liberal to post a web link is too quick and efficient for them. Tie them up. We are going for delay of game here.
Demoralize
Dismiss their narrative as rubbish immediately. Do not even read it. Once the Liberal goes through the trouble to research, gather, collate, compose and write their narrative your job is to discredit it. Make it obvious you tossed their labor-intensive narrative aside like garbage. This will have the effect of demoralizing the Liberal poster. It will make them unwilling to expend the effort again, and for us, that is a net win.
Attack
Attack the source. Any Liberal website or information source must be marginalized, trivialized and discounted. Let the blogosphere know that “Truthout.org”, “thinkprogress.org”, “the nation” and “moveon.org” are Liberal rubbish propaganda. Discredit Liberal sources of information whenever possible.
Confuse
Challenge the Liberal position with questions, always questions. The questions need not be relevant. The goal is to knock the Liberal poster off their game, and seize control of the narrative. Once you have control you can direct the narrative to where you want it to go, which is always away from a successful Liberal presentation. Conversely, do not respond to their leading questions. Don’t rise to their bait.
Contain
Your job is to prevent the presentation and spread of Liberal viewpoints. Do anything you must do to
prevent a Liberal poster from presenting a well-reasoned argument, or starting a civil discussion. Don’t allow a Liberal to present their dogma unchallenged,….EVER.
Intimidate
Taunt the Liberals. If you find yourself in a debate with a Liberal where you are losing a fact-based argument then call them a name to derail their diatribe. Remember your goal is to prevent a meaningful exchange of views and ideas which may portray Liberalism in a positive light. Your goal as a conservative blogger is to stop the spread and advance of the Liberal agenda. Play upon any identifiable idiosyncrasies, character flaws, physical traits, names, to their disadvantage. Stay on the offensive with Liberal wimps. Don’t let up.
Insult their Movement
Assign as many character and moral flaws to Liberals as you can. You must portray Liberals as weak, vacillating, indecisive, amoral, baby killers, unpatriotic, effete snobs, elitists, Leftists, Commies, sense of entitlement, promiscuous, union lovers, tax raisers, Welfare Queens, Socialists, lazy, sex-obsessed, druggies, Jesus haters, moochers, troop haters,….etc. Always use these negative epithets when referring to, or describing Liberals / democrats.
Deceive
Identify yourself as a “moderate”, “centrist” or “independent”. It will also cause Liberals to lower their guard a bit, which gives you an effective opening. This may also have the effect of aligning conservative viewpoints with the real moderates we are attempting to reach. It may serve to influence some moderates over to the Republican side.
Patriotism
Always claim the high ground of pro-military, low taxes, strong defense, morality and religion. We own those virtues. Learn how to exploit them when debating. Call the Liberals weak on terrorism, it drives them crazy.
Smudge the Lines
Say that there is no difference between the two parties. Look for ways to show how similar the two parties are. Make them doubt their allegiance to the democrat party.
Infiltrate
Inquire as to the personal lives of Liberal posters. Get to know them. Where they live, work, how many kids. Call them by their first names. This will make them tone down their narrative. After all, you are not going to insult a trusted friend are you? If they are a powerful blogger with a sharp tongue you need to find a way to weaken their rhetoric, and nothing will do that as well as familiarity.
Demean
Always refer to the other side as “Liberals”, “Lefty Liberals”, “Libbies”. Never assign them the status of a bona-fide political party. Hang Liberalism around their neck like a burning tire. Make Liberalism appear as a function of moral turpitude or a character flaw. They are NEVER, NEVER to be referred to as “the Democratic Party”. At best it is “the democrat party”.
Opportunity
Be alert for ways to insert our catch phrases into your narrative. You will receive your daily list of talking points and topics that we want you to cover. Consistent, persistent repetition and inculcation will drive our talking points home and so will neuro-linguistic programming. Stick with it and our talking points will become truth. If they debunk your talking point, ignore it, and move on as if you didn’t hear it.
Way to cool. Thanks for that. All points well taken!
GOP - Remind you of anyone around here? lol
Gee, doesn't that sound exactly like:
JoAnna Smith 1, Lenora, Nojonobonj, brianb,american, whitecollar auto, bob (with lottsa numbers),kirk, Spanky (on occasion)
and a whole bunch of other RWNj trolls who post on this vine.
(Statement, not a question!)
Gas prices rise every summer, so what if it's late February.......
This is a non-troversy!
FR- They were on this vine the other day in full force with the same talking points about the president declaring war on religion...many of them remind me of stalkers. Need I name names they know who they are.
The Tonopah Solar Company in Harry Reid's Nevada is getting a $737 million loan from Obama's DOE. The project will produce a 110 megawatt power system and employ 45 permanent workers.
That's costing us just $16 million per job.
One of the investment partners in this endeavor is Pacific Corporate Group (PCG).
The PCG executive director is Ron Pelosi, who is the brother to Nancy's husband!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just move along folks..... Nothing to see here. NO CONFLICT HERE! Just another example of the energy policy of this President. Sending taxpayer money to friends and friends of friends is cool - why, uh, this is the summer of recovery. And if the project fails, as the other solar programs did, no problem. The taxpayers will pay for it!
As for gasoline, the state of California encourages high gas prices, along with the feds. They receive more tax dollars for high costs while doing nothing in the processing to receive any appreciable return for investing.
"That's costing us just $16 million per job."
It's a loan not a give away. If the loan is repaid the cost per employee for tax payers is ZERO.
Dennis,
It's a loan.....just like the other solar company failures? Were those loans repaid, or was the taxpayer the payer of the loans?
So what was the cost per employee at Solendra Dennis?
Actually, if it is a loan, then the US Treasury makes money on the deal.
Every administration makes these types of guaranteed loans and a low percentage of them fail.
The loan to Solendra represented less than 5% of the loan guarantees made by this administration.
who?
Wasn't the paperwork for this Solyndra loan started by George Bush's administration?
Yes my Feisty friend,....most of the RWNJ troll / squids that invade this board daily. I thought of going to a RWNJ board and doing the same thing there, but they won't allow dissenting opinions there.
The "Conservative Tactics" are in full use here daily. These people almost have them memorized by number.
unsustainable
dirp101
So, the Treasury then lost on those solar panel deals, with the taxpayer in the last position. Now how are we making out on the car bail-out guarantees? Government Motors recently paid out excellent bonuses, but they still owe the taxpayer considerable fees. Making money here too GOPisextinct ? Have some debts already been forgiven?
And now Harry and Pelosi are making money for the solar field from the Obama administration while others are having issues with regulations that undermine their opportunities.
gopextinct - your list is quite impressive, at first glance it reminded me of obamas rhetoric towards the right, especially after the house showed up obamas initial FY2012 budget proposal last spring. I was so nice to have mr obama try to hold up rep ryan budget proposal to ridicule, rather than find common ground.
On second glance it reminded me of the tactics that FR progressive use to not engage in reasonable discussion with those who are not afraid to engage in discussion with the libs as time permits.
Ever since I was a little tyke one of the most effective learning tools my instructors encouraged was to ask questions. It would appear that you and many of your cohorts are comfortable with just listening to your so called teachers without question. As this is your mantra, is it any wonder that we continue to pour money into our education system only to see it continually decline in world rankings.
WRT attacking the source, LMAO! Op-eds are always questionable whether left or right. Interesting on how FR lefties are so reluctant to discuss government supplied data or data from responsible neutral news sources.
Interesting on how you choose to hint that the right have your list memorized by number, yet you yourself have not numbered them. Whatever are we to do, without you numbering them?
To bad you and the majority of your cohorts don't recognize your listed points as the one they parctise everyday. Please do keep up your rather lame attempts at trying to deny equal access to FR blogs.
BTW extinct - bush refused to make the solyndra loan, but obama picked it up. Looks like you are trying to apply confusion to your argument in order to diminish obamas culpability.
Feisty,
I don't know about GOP, but it does remind me of most of the posters here on FR....
It also reminds me of something else......
Here check this out.....
Are you going to tell me that isn't a liberal leaning webpage? just look at the column on the right and the article headings, Like this "4 States Where Right-Wingers Are Promoting Shocking Measures to Keep Women Barefoot and Pregnant" I guess that's one of the "Most Read" articles on the site....
continued from above...
Unfortunately, GOP's list cuts both ways, it could easily be counter posted as....
"TACTICS FOR EFFECTIVE LIBERAL BLOGGING"
Everything in that list of GOP's can be found on that site and it is a decidedly Democrat supportive site.
Generally the tactics he's posted above are also included in one of Vladimir Lenin's diatribes on how to foment unrest and revolution, I'm still looking for the link to it I'll post it when I find it. The tactics are not new, are still used today in the political arena as recently as the last two weeks.
GOP's whole post reminds me of one thing, when you point the finger, you have three pointing back at yourself.
First rule of journalism, if your mother tells you she lovesyou make sure you verify with at least two independent sources. I can't find a reputable news sources that will back up that "TACTICS FOR EFFECTIVE CONSERVATIVE BLOGGING" actually came from Karl Rove much less a conservative. I can only find it on more progressive blog sites being attributed to him starting with a site called the Young Turks beginning last fall. Trust God but in all others verify! I would like to know the source and be able to independently verify. The source currently attributed does not seem to wash for me yet.
Joe, Neb
If you will notice the list of campaign contributions from opensecrets.org and Newsweek are quite a bit different.
GOPisextinct (a stupid name, I must admit. The GOP is alive and well.)
You forgot the biggest rule when it comes to arguing with Liberals. Ready? Here it is:
"Never Argue with an Idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience!."
;-)
Dennis, Columbus, OH.
Please take the Ohio State moniker off of your posts. You are an embarrassment to the institution.
Doesn't matter. It was over $530,000,000!!!!!!!! Yes, that is seven zeros! That is just one example of the wasteful spending. There are many many more. We cannot afford to let this happen.
And, GOPisnotextinct- It doesn't matter when it started. It was awarded by the OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, when they knew the company was in trouble. Then, THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION told them to not fire anyone until after the election. It was CORRUPTION at its finest by the OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. This is just one example. There are many many others. All you need to do is look. And you want four more years of this crap? You have to be frikin kidding me!
Please vote for ANYBODY BUT OBAMA.
The President has no control over gas prices. Its a commodity the President has no control over the price of free trade. Also all the oil produced goes to the world market. So drill baby drill isn't going to help. Cost is controlled by the market and oil speculation.
Concisely put Smitty. Thanks.
Very true Smitty.
And I still remember how oil prices were manipulated in the 1978 election year to reflect adversely upon the American President. Not only was the price of oil artificially raised, but American citizens were also taken hostage because certain entities did NOT want Carter - who had brokered the Camp David Accords in an heroic effort to bring about peace in the Mideast - to have a second term. Of course all that changed one minute after his successor was sworn in....
Any wonder we get SICK AND TIRED of being taken advantage of????
Here is a novel idea America: Lets NOT succumb to it this time!
President Obama for President 2012!!
Lets NOT allow Big Oil to have their way with us again and put their man in the White House.
I, for one, am so over their greedy piracy.
If they insist on these strong arm tactics, I say OCCUPY BIG OIL.
JMO
And..if this President DID try to manipulate gas prices....who do think would be the first group to complain about him "interfering with the markets"?
not -- when you refer to "Big Oil" are you talking about the 9,000,000 US citizens that receive around $176,000,000,000 in wages from companies in the oil and gas industry?
or something else?
1. I am referring to the "1%er" Big Oil entities trying to manipulate this election and take over our nation;
2. YOU refer to GOPisextinct @ #2 above.
If the President can not control the price of gas, which I agree with, why then did the liberal MSM blame President Bush in 2008? Where were all you liberals posting in 2008, if I remember right President Bush was being blamed and really crucified for the high price of gas.
no, not -- i am referring to your post where you mention Big Oil. You make a very bold and general statement to which some clarification is requested which you deflected by coming up with a conspiracy theory.
I'll ask again and see if you choose to answer == What is your definition of Big Oil?
Also, can you describe the "1%er Big Oil Entities that you suggest are manipulating this election and take over our nation?
James:
If you do not understand what I am saying, allow me to simplify for you:
My post does not reference those earning $20,000/yr or so from oil company stock holding, nor those earning $100,000/yr or less from working in the field FOR oil companies, but it DOES refer to those who do not pay full 30% income taxes on oil earnings over $!,000,000.00/yr. but instead take the corporate welfare substities, grants, write-offs and other "tax expenditures" due to their personal greed.
But you already KNEW that, didn't you? You are really not as dense as you try to make us believe, are you.
Again; read #2 above.
not, so you tried to answer part of my query, thanks for that. you seem to be hung up on #2 above which has no relevance to our discussion on Big Oil.
So now you seem to be saying that there are a bunch of tax cheats who do not pay full 30% income taxes on oil earnings.
But aren't these corporate welfare subsidies (watch your spelling), grants, write offs and other "tax expenditures" to which you refer in the tax code and therefore legal?
Maybe you need to talk to the democrats that controlled the Ways & Means tax writing committee of the US House of Representatives for 54 of the last 70 years! The Speaker of the House in 1986 when the Big Oil things were added to the tax code was Thomas Foley, democrat of Washington. He is still alive, why not send him a note to see why he led the House to make this change?
james
Please allow me to ask, and see if YOU will answer:
Can YOU describe the "9,000,000 U.S. citizens" you've referenced?
And define the "$176,000,000,000" you claim is wages in your post?
And provide some authority citations for your talking points?
Or are you through trying to spin your untennable statements?
Appears our dialogue is finished.... oh well!
But, just for clarification;
...but actually, no. 1 of the post sets out:
I leave it to readers of this vine: Is this or is this not exactly how james has addressed my statements at 3.2 and 3.3?
'Nuff said!
not, check this link --
so you are unwilling to discuss things at length to come to an understanding. not looking for a comparison of any kind, just a debate about your thoughts. must be too much to ask.
have a nice night.
Gotta hand it to you Not As,....that is exactly what "James" was trying to do: deflect, delay, stonewall and generally take focus off the thread. Classic Rovian tactics.
Well GOPisextinct ----
You called it ahead of time.
They are pretty transparent with that daily RNC-TEA talking point and spin; praying we voters truly are too stupid to catch on to their ploys I guess....
It’s not about oil imports, it’s about gasoline exports. Gasoline export contracts from U.S. refineries on the international market are a controlled commodity. It’s the law for many reasons both good and bad. There
are some that believe that it is simply not fair that the U.S. pays less than others for gasoline throughout the world. They see it with an almost religious tunnel vision. People don’t mind agendas as long as people are upfront about them. It’s when they feel manipulated or bypassed that they start to feel frustrated. The question that has to be asked is why are people not being leveled with? Maybe they just think we are not smart enough to agree with them or maybe they don’t care and see the general population as being in the way. I think it is time to bring back mutual respect and begin leveling with people like adults not as a barrier or opposition to an ideological agenda.
This below referenced conservative is particularly sneaky. He calls himself a liberal but uses all of "Karl Rove's" talking points:
Not as stupid as yo uthink
Can someone point me to a reputable news site (not a blog) that tells me where or when Karl Rove presented the "TACTICS FOR EFFECTIVE CONSERVATIVE BLOGGING" that is being attributed to him? I am asking not to be able to make an argument on his behalf but because I like to have the facts before I accept the premise of someone else’s argument.
BWAHAHAHAHA! ROTFL (wiping tears from my cheeks)
HEY Spanky, JAS1, WCA, bob numbers, Lenora, and all your ilk:
LISTEN UP! YOUR COHORT Rick-312779 is giving you pearls here....
Don't try arguing with this "sneaky conservative" anymore.
Rick: I really do NOT mind you being in disagreement with what I post, or even becoming frustrated when punished with truth - but do you have to insult me like that?
Yeah.... maybe you do: no. 8 in post 2 above:
No greater insult today than being labled "sneaky conservative."
p.s.
I notice neither you nor your buddy posted ANY answers to MY questions...
Appears you aren't too fond of that tactic - too bad; NO MORE DOUBLE STANDARDS!!!!!
.
I was a petroleum geologist in the 1980's.
Most of the shallow, easy oil is already gone. We have been forced to go farther and farther out in the ocean, and deeper and deeper to obtain prospects to drill on. God isn't making any more oil and gas for us to find, and once we find what's already here we are done. Facts of life.
Please don't start with the tired right wing crap about the Williston Basin in the Dakotas. That oil is all in a "tight" formation, and is difficult to obtain but for the new advances in drilling technology. The RWNJ crap about the Wiliston was debunked years ago. Recent developments in secondary recovery and enhanced production will help, but it'll just deplete the oil at a faster rate, and cause an even more desperate crash once the fields are sucked dry.
The pipeline is being built to end at an ocean for a reason: the plan is to put the oil on ships and sail it AWAY from the U.S. The pipeline will do nothing but provide more oil for China and India. It will do nothing for the price at the pump or the thermostat. Nothing for the U.S.
Think people.
Its sad to think that republican/tea bag party lied to get the American people into thinking that the oil produced here stays here. What is even more disturbing is some of the American people believe that. Wake up America, the republican/tea bag party lies!!!!
So now we don't want to increase exports, right extinct? Doesn't that conflict with obamas stated goal of increasing exports?
So just what is the RWNJ crap about the williston basin? Last I knew it was costlier to refine, and I am not a petroleum geologist to understand that.
Seems that the only thing you mentioned worth a crap was that fossil fuels are finite in quantity, but anyone who bought gas in the 70's knew that.
There are all sorts of new technology on the horizon. Like electric autos, hybrids, we could use ethanol, hydrogen, methane and I wonder what happened to those hydrogen powered autos including fuel cells.
But the key phrase is "on the horizon" GOPisextinct What are we suppose to do in the mean time? Maybe ten years from now we can complain about it taking at least ten years to actually extract what is left?
One of the things driving gas prices right now is our country's sanctions against Iran building a nuclear weapon(s) and its intransigence against Israel. So, in order to lower gas prices, we would have to suck up to Iran and to throw our ally Israel under a bus.
But I'm sure there's a GOP candidate who is willing to come out in favor of just that. I have faith!
you mean obama don't you? After all he is still POTUS.
the apologists for the obama team are sure out in force today. the buck -- regardless of how defined -- stops with the President. he gets credit for doing nothing and he gets blamed for doing nothing. he is the 44th President of these wonderful United States and every one of his predecessors was treated in just the same way, he should be no different.
The White House is on defense? What's to defend? President Obama stopped the Keystone Pipeline. He has stonewalled American production of Oil Shale in the Western States. He stopped drilling in the Wayne National Forest of Ohio, and he won't allow drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Arctic Reserve. Pretty clear to me that he wants oil prices to go up, so what's to defend? He should be proud of his policies instead of trying to bull$hit his way around them. He obviously wants the economy to collapse and he's doing a bang up job.
What part of this don't you people understand. All oil produced goes to the world market. If you think we keep the oil produced here for us your wrong. It goes to the world market and sold to who pays the most at the time. So drill baby drill isn't going to make any difference. Stop oil speculation and gas will go down.
Smitty, the more that is produced, the cheaper it is. What part of that don't you understand? Oil speculation can't be stopped. Who the hell do you think you are to tell someone in some other country that they can't speculate on the price of a commodity? There are some communist countries that may take you since you have such a large problem with the free market. Cuba or North Korea. Give em a shout. I'm sure they would love for you to come and teach economics 101.
Ron, ANWR oil would have a price impact of less than 50 CENTS PER BARREL if drilled. Oil would take a lag time of decades to come online too.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4542853/ns/us_news-environment/t/study-anwr-oil-would-have-little-impact/#.T0MEjHlnDSs
These old points were debunked years ago. Where you been boy? It ain't no "free" market if it is manipulated, son.
GOPisextinct, same lame a$$ argument the greenies have been using for years. It would take to long to come on line. Yeah, that's why we never get started drilling it. If the country had developed it when it was discovered, we wouldn't be kissing the Arab's rear ends right now. I don't like the taste of Arab A$$, but I guess you do.
I'm for developing what we have and putting American workers to work developing it. If I have to pay $5.00 a gallon for gasoline, I want as much of the money staying here as possible. I don't have a problem with wind, solar, hydrogen, geothermal, nuclear, natural gas, coal, or anything else that powers our country, but to close the door on fossil fuels and cast this country's future on renewables and green energy is foolhardy, son. Especially when we are committed to the internal combustion engine for at least 2 more decades. We don't have a hydrogen infrastructure, and supporting the economy of nations that don't like us while this one wallows in debt is just plain dumb, son.
LWNJ's sure are funny. The reality is that global demand is outstripping global supply.
smitty and extinct, seems that your arguments are based more on the person that gives up because new production can't keep up with demand. Be glad that we pay far less for a gallon of gas than many of the industrialized countries do.
american-2051576,
The US consumer pays less because the other 'Industralized Countries' have added extensive taxes. To help support their failing social structure...
Even China is INCREASING their taxes on energy to force people to use less fuel...
If you look at the other energy EXPORTING Countries, which the USA is now one. The price their citizens pay for energy is well below what the USA is charging...
And some day, probably when it is too late, you will all realize that the pump price of a gallon of gas has nothing to do with the price of a barrel of oil.
For almost the entire fall and winter now I have been watching it and comparing, until just yesterday gas prices had been falling while oil has been creeping upwards. Gas took a large jump today, we here in Washington were told it has to do with a refinery fire here in the state. This is very similar to what they always say, some disaster or other blah, blah, is going to raise the price of oil.... blah, blah.
The price of oil hast jumped at all, in fact except for minor variations, it's been rather steady, yet we have had gas swing almost .50 cents a gallon over the last 6 months....
Pump gas price has nothing to do with per barrel oil price, never has, never will..
egilman - I will have to say otherwise on oil price vs pump price. Obviously they are not in lock step, but as long as oil is refined into gasoline, the price of oil will remain a component of the pump price.
Egilman,
In 1972 I was operating three SUNOCO full service gas stations and my sons wife last year was the Head Chem Engr at the largest refinery in the USA...
While the price of gasoline is not directly pegged to the crude oil price, it is effected. When crude oil was $10+USD a barrel, gasoline was selling for $0.249+gal (mid 1960s)...
Though after the breakup of Big Oil during the 1970s, the speculators on spot prices and the US States/Fed taxes have taken a larger effect...
I always loved it when the daily price was announced and the 120,000+gallons of gas I had in the ground & paid for. Was now worth $0.05+gallon more... Ha! Ha!
Ron 374###:
You deliberately ignored the point.
ANWR oil won't affect the price,...........son.
If you wanna' spend your life on your knees in front of oil company execs and Arab sheiks, that's your business, but I'm a proud Liberal American, and I don't bow to anyone. Especially willfully ignorant righties.
GOPisextinct you do realize that .50 a gallon equates to an additional 9 and a half billion dollars a year back in people’s pockets across America ($480 per car annually for those that fill up each week). That’s far more money than what would be saved by keeping our tires inflated properly isn’t it. That was a joke :) I do
like both ideas though!
GOPisextinct
It was pointed out when ANWR first came into discussion that it would take 10 years for these fields to start producing. Here it is several years later and we are still no closer because those like you continue to resist.
GOPisextinct, I ignored the point? Really? You lefty children only hear what you want to hear. ANWR was only one of the sources I mentioned. The Wayne National Forest in Ohio. The Oil Shale in Colorado. I guess they don't count because the left hasn't instructed you small minded zombies how to respond. I'm the one that made the point that as much money as possible being spent by the country for the development of gasoline, should stay in this country. You're the one that wants to stop the production and give it to the Arabs. If those oil company execs are creating jobs in the U.S. I don't see any difference between them and G.E. executives creating jobs by building windmills, other than oil seems to be profitable and the wind power seems to coming from lefties, like you, with your lame excuses as to why we shouldn't be producing here. But, I'm done. The propaganda has worked on your 3rd grade brain and you have bought Obama's snake oil. Now get off your parent's computer and go play in the sandbox.
Part if not the majority of the speculation on oil prices will always involve the fact that oil is a shrinking commodity. This fact we've known for quite a while, thus experts will tell you that the demand is growing exponentially as is the population in the two rising users of petroleum: China and India. Time to get off the carbon based fuels not just for ecological reasons but for national security.
"Time to get off the carbon based fuels not just for ecological reasons but for national security." Really?How about that? I've got another proposition for you. Since oil is a shrinking commodity, a well known fact, and the price is bound to go up, another well known fact, how about we develop this. Oil shale, an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, contains significant amounts of kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil (not to be confused with tight oil—crude oil occurring naturally in shales) can be produced. Shale oil is a substitute for conventional crude oil; however, extracting shale oil from oil shale is more costly than the production of conventional crude oil both financially and in terms of its environmental impact. Deposits of oil shale occur around the world, including major deposits in theUnited States of America. Estimates of global deposits range from 2.8 to 3.3 trillion barrels (450×109 to 520×109 m3) of recoverable oil. You see, we have far more of it in the United States than in any other country. Well over a Trillion barrels. At 100 dollars a barrel, I wonder what that would do to our economy. Or, we can continue to chase moonbeams and bird farts like our President wants us to do. Solyndra worked out really well for him, didn't it.
Obama would be wise to stick to selling snake oil to the ignorant and leave energy policy up to the adults.
According to the IEA's Oil Market Report dated 13 December 2011, global oil supply had risen to a record high of 90.0 mb/day by November 2011. Of this, oil supply from OPEC nations represented only 30.68 mb/day (34.1% of the total).
Research - Hydrated methane...
By some estimates, the energy locked up in methane hydrate deposits is more than twice the global reserves of all conventional gas, oil, and coal deposits combined. see https://www.llnl.gov/str/Durham.html
But keep buying those 'rare earths' from China, who currently provides 97% of the world supplies. And believing that wind power and battery vehicles are the answer.....
Look there, Slick Willy had to wheel and deal to get a budget passed, Obama doesn't even try. He si in over his head or just doesn't care.
Many here posting that the president can't control gasoline prices. He could affect them in a small way. But does he want to? He will throw up his hands and say "my hands are tied on this one". It gives him an out when the February and forward UE numbers come out. I can hear it now "well ummm the gas prices stymied the recovery but with four more years blah blah blah." Just gives him something else to blame as the "Bush's fault" has run the course.
This is the Obama recession/depression we are living under. The Oil spill in the Gulf was the Obama oil spill disaster. The tsunami that hit the West coast was the Obama tsunami. The Obama wikileaks scandal, the Obama fast and furious scandal, the Obama bailouts, the failed Obama stimulus, the stupid Obama cash for clunkers program, Obama unemployment, record Obama food stamps....and on ...and on.
Get it yet?? This is Obama's watch. Anything that happens on Obama's watch is all Obama's fault. That includes the up coming Obama gas prices.
This is called politics. Get used to it.
obama hasn't taken responsibility for any thing yet!!!
Apparently, progressives have a short memory when, it comes to haranguing President Bush when prices spiked????
Obama blames everyone else when things go wrong, and tries to take credit when anything goes right.
If he is reelected for another term, the USA will be a mirror image of Greece with rioting in the streets. God help us.
You are absolutely right, sofork.
Prime example: He is taking credit for more illegals being captured under his administration than under Bush's administration. That is because Bush DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT, and now Obama is reaping the results. Read this and weep, liberals. This is from Wikipedia:
In July 2005, Congress signed the Emergency Supplemental Spending Act for military operations in Iraq/Afghanistan and other operations. The act also appropriated funding to increase Border Patrol manpower by 500 Agents. In October 2005, President Bush also signed the DHS FY06 [fiscal year 2006] Appropriation bill, funding an additional 1,000 agents.
In November 2005, President George W. Bush made a trip to southern Arizona to discuss more options that would decrease Mexicans crossings at the U.S. and Mexican border. In his proposed fiscal year 2007 budget he has requested an additional 1,500 Border Patrol Agents. By 2012, the Border Patrol will have over 10,000 more agents. They are excepting 100,000 applications. By 2012, the U.S. Border Patrol will be one of, if not the largest law enforcement agency in America. Customs and Border Protection, (the Border Patrol's parent agency which includes the U.S. Border Patrol, air and marine operations, and the port of entry operations) will by far be the largest L.E.A. (which it already is) in America.
_____________
Obama is too much of a wimp to even go to the damn border to check out the problem. Vote him out in 2012.
I go through all the tv news stations. While watching msnbc this morning, I was shocked by the self-promotion commercials they are running.
In one, Al Sharpton talks about he and his blueberry-pie-faced friends trying to say they didn't touch their mothers' freshly baked pies as an analogy to the Republicans saying they had nothing to do with the poor economy.
There are a couple of others I saw showing Lawrence O'Donnell and Ed Schultz doing the same thing.
I never bothers me how Maddow, Olbermann, etc., wax vitriolic on their shows about the right. It also never bothers me how Hannity, O'Reilly, etc., wax vitriolic on their shows about the left. They are all political pundits - that is their job.
But for a so-called unbiased news station to promote itself with left wing propaganda?????
Why isn't MSNBC reporting the fact that even Goldman Sachs thinks that "net speculative positions are four times as high as in June 2008" and they ""issued a warning that the price of oil has grown out of control due to excessive speculation."? Of course Goldman Sachs will continue to drive up prices as long as they can make money.
But nothing to see here, move along. The cash Wall Street is funneling into the 2012 election has to come from somewhere. You certainly don't think it will come out of their pockets?
Dennis, Columbus, OH.
Please take the Ohio State moniker off of your posts. You are an embarrassment to the institution.
Doesn't matter. It was over $530,000,000!!!!!!!! Yes, that is seven zeros! That is just one example of the wasteful spending. There are many many more. We cannot afford to let this happen.
And, GOPisnotextinct- It doesn't matter when it started. It was awarded by the OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, when they knew the company was in trouble. Then, THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION told them to not fire anyone until after the election. It was CORRUPTION at its finest by the OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. This is just one example. There are many many others. All you need to do is look. And you want four more years of this crap? You have to be frikin kidding me!
Please vote for ANYBODY BUT OBAMA.
Plain and simple . . . if you didn't give the WH credit when prices went down, then you don't get to blame the WH when it goes up.
LMAO......love how they finally have an article about the WH and gas prices and its buried in an education article.........should be a major headline.
Obama is taking credit for actions put in place under President Bush. New permits on Federal land and Gulf of Mexico are down 70% and 30% respectively since Obama took office. Andf Obama stopped the Keystone Pipeline. The NEW wells have been on State and private land. More lies from team Obama.