Gas soars; voters whine; oil profits boom; politicians pander
From the Wall Street Journal (subsc. req.):
Booming crude-oil prices and improved refining profits are poised to put a firecracker under Big Oil’s first-quarter earnings and set the stage for a year that could come close to rivaling the industry’s record year in 2008.
First-quarter crude prices averaged about $100 a barrel, or about 20% higher than a year ago, pushed upward by oil-supply concerns due to political unrest in the Arab World and a recovering global economy. That spike is expected to lift earnings by about 50% at Exxon Mobil Corp., and about 33% each at Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips, compared with a year earlier….
“Major oil companies are firing on all cylinders,” says Fadel Gheit, an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. “Their first-quarter earnings are going to be much, much better than a year ago.”
If oil prices continue to climb, they could at least rival 2008. That year, U.S. producers reported astronomic profits as crude hit $147 a barrel for a time. Exxon that year earned $45.2 billion, more than any other U.S. publicly traded company in history.
And of course, those numbers don’t become any easier to swallow when you consider the $4 billion in subsidies that the American taxpayer coughs up each year on behalf of Big Oil. Efforts in Congress to eliminate those subsidies have failed because Republicans have cast the reform as a tax hike. So even in the midst of a deficit panic, government is required to keep on subsidizing one of the most profitable industries on the planet, a practice defended by the party that proclaims itself the champion of the free market.
Intellectually, the current situation is not that complicated. People are demanding more oil than the market can supply — an economic recovery is boosting consumption at the same time that disruptions in the Arab world threaten oil output. So the price is jumping.
However, that market-driven fact of life is hard for people to accept. With the price of gasoline approaching $4 a gallon — close to the record average of $4.11 in 2008 — consumers don’t want an explanation, they want a solution. And politicians in turn are motivated to give them one, or at least the illusion of one.
Republicans, for example, want to cast government, and more specifically the Obama administration, as the villain. They propose that the federal government drop environmental restrictions and open additional areas to oil exploration and production, suggesting that such steps will lower the price at the pump. But among energy experts, there’s really no debate. Even if we removed all environmental restrictions on domestic oil production — and last summer’s Deepwater Horizon tragedy in the Gulf suggests such a step would come with a heavy price — the amount of additional oil that could be produced in the United States would be too small to move the global market, where the price of oil is set. We may not like to acknowledge that fact — it drives home our relative helplessness — but it remains fact nonetheless.
(And of course, every additional barrel of oil pumped from beneath American territory today makes us even more dependent on foreign oil tomorrow.)
For his part, President Obama is following the futile course set by his predecessor. Last week, he announced a federal investigation into the role of speculation in driving up oil prices, just as President George W. Bush did in 2005 and 2006. Those investigations turned up little or nothing, as will this one. But politically, it gives Obama an alternative villain to whom he can point, which in his situation is important.
The uncomfortable truth is that because the need for oil is so ingrained in our economy and lifestyles, oil prices have to move a lot in order to produce even a slight decrease in demand. They have to rise high enough to make it hurt before people will curtail consumption.
So … are you hurting yet?
– Jay Bookman
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AmVet - A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
April 25th, 2011
12:36 pm
THE LIAR, it’s all been discussed here before.
But let’s make a little deal, shall we?.
Here’s the bet, I give so much detailed information that all the reasonable people here (who already know it anyway) are absolutely convinced that I served in the United States military in the 1970s, that you voluntarily leave this blog.
Permanently. I know, I know, you’ll just come back next week with a new, even more gutless name, but what the hell, it will be great humor for the good people here.
If they are not convinced, I will.
We’ll poll all the legitimate bloggers (excluding the mystery meats of many names) who want to vote.
Think about it, in typical chickenhawk fashion, you don’t even have to do anything!
Now that’s a pretty sweet offer.
Either you or out, or I am.
Let me know when you’re ready to play, big mouth troop hater.
BTW, all of the attempts at parodying FDR’s quote are very lame.
Maybe the world’s most unfunny comedian, Dennis Miller could give you guys some ideas…
TnGelding
April 25th, 2011
12:37 pm
Every military adventure since WWII.
shawny
April 25th, 2011
12:38 pm
Corporate profit envy. Gotta love it.
How about going after multinationals that can somehow find a way to pay NO federal taxes, such as G.E.? So Immelt, GE’s CEO, is Obama’s jobs czar. How about that fox in the henhouse? Anyone think that our fearless leader isn’t pandering himself?
MPercy
April 25th, 2011
12:38 pm
jm @11:00 am Jay 10:56 – second that… though a higher gas tax would be more efficient and effective than CAFE standards at getting people off oil.
If CAFE standards are so great, why not simply mandate CAFE of 100mpg? Certainly Pres. Obama can wave his magic wand and make it happen–he can give a speech and say “Let me be perfectly clear: we will have 100mpg cars next month because that’s the standard we’ve set for industry.”
And people like me–perfectly content to keep driving my 11-year-old, paid-for, 21mpg car and only 94k miles)–screw up that CAFE thing. OTOH, since the majority of the carbon footprint of a car comes not from the tailpipe but from the manufacturing process I think I may be doing a “green” thing.
Agree that a higher tax would be more effective at changing behavior than CAFE standards. Also, I recently sat down and worked out the numbers to find that a gas/diesel tax of $0.45 per gallon would fully fund all federal transportation spending (including the non-highway spending that is wrapped up in that spending). Since the per-gallon tax is a very strong proxy for direct user fee, I have no problem in arranging to fund transportation spending in this way, although I would favor installing language that limits non-road expenditures to a small fraction, e.g. no more than, say, 5% of gas taxes could go to funding mass transit — and no gas taxes could be used for non-transportation spending.
reebok
April 25th, 2011
12:39 pm
Am I hurting yet? Starting to…enough to provoke me to do what I should ahve done 3 years ago…buy a small, very fuel-efficient car and leave the SUV parked 4 or 5 days a week. The gas savings will nearly pay the car note.
DawgDad
April 25th, 2011
12:40 pm
The facts are as Jay acknowleges – this is exactly the situation the left wanted – rapidly rising gas prices with a moratorium on drilling here at home. That, and the fact the left remains in control of the Administration and Senate, are indisputable.
You got what you wanted, and perhaps engineered it to an extent or sat back and smiled while it happened. Trying to shuck the responsibility is a non-starter.
Start drilling here now, because 10-15 years out we will need that oil, AND WE NEED THE JOBS RIGHT NOW. Just like with the ballooning debt the left is selling our future down the drain. How is this so difficult to understand?
Betting on alternative energies that are not economically viable virtually guarantees failure and billions if not trillions in more debt. Forcing this strategy requires the tyranny of a dictatorial government, with the associated loss of freedom and economic viability of our nation. Not really hard to understand..
Hillbilly Deluxe
April 25th, 2011
12:41 pm
Reckon how much gas would be saved if they did away with drive-thrus?
chuck
April 25th, 2011
12:43 pm
@onpatroll…LAZY? What an idiot liberal. Making snap judgements about people because they don’t follow your particular party line. For your info, I have 3 jobs and I’ve been working since I was 12. (41 years, now). Keep spouting your ignorance.
President Hussein
April 25th, 2011
12:43 pm
Geez AmVet, calm down! It’s just a silly useless blog. Take another deep breath from your VA provided oxygen tank and smoke another cigarette…..
THE TRUTH
April 25th, 2011
12:44 pm
Amvet (NOT ) Either you or out, or I am.
Let me know when you’re ready to play, big mouth troop hater.
You don’t have any proof or you would already say so, play your fiddle devil.
poison pen
April 25th, 2011
12:44 pm
getalife
April 25th, 2011
11:46 am
As a proud Independent with no ideology, I see the President is not the change but a start of the change.
We have electric cars and other alternative cars.
He wants to keep the change going by investing in alternatives.
The gop will fight this change for big oil so it is up to the American people to vote to keep the change going or go back to no change at all.
Getalife, Just to inform you, we had electric cars before Obama was born but it’s ok if you want to give him credit for that after all Gore invented the INTERNET.
Chris Matthews
April 25th, 2011
12:44 pm
We need to drill but Obama is clueless…that’s good because he will seal his fate…voted out of office in 2012! Who ever is elected will do better than Obama!
willie lynch
April 25th, 2011
12:44 pm
From the OPEC Charter:
The principal aim of the Organization shall be the coordination
and unification of the petroleum policies of Member Countries
and the determination of the best means for safeguarding their
interests, individually and collectively.
List of OPEC Members
Algeria- Africa
Angola- Africa
Ecuador- South America
Iran- Middle East
Iraq- Middle East
Kuwait- Middle East
Libya- Africa
Nigeria- Africa
Qatar- Middle East
Saudi Arabia- Middle East
United Arab Emirates- Middle East
Venezuela-South America
This doesn’t look like a list of America’s greatest fans. With China holding the purse strings America is in a pretty precarious situation.
You would think the national security implications alone would have told Americans to find another source to power us along. I guess when Jimmy Carter was trying to steer us towards conservation he wasn’t so far off after all.
Fletch
April 25th, 2011
12:46 pm
TnGelding – “I’d be interested in your solution. Nationalizing the oil companies is about all Obama could do at this point. And as with TARP and GM, why not? All I know is we’re being sold oil for a hundred times what it cost some OPEC members to produce it. THE USA doesn’t need a drop from the ME.”
Sorry buddy, I wish I had a solution. My arguments were based on the fact that as a country we can’t suddenly decide to deny the current oil corporations access to our oil if they don’t immediately sell it back to us. I’m by no means partisan to either the left or the right, but I do recognize that to achieve what some here have suggested would be nothing short of nationalizing the oil production in this country. Such action would be met with cries of oil independence and “caving” by the Left followed by accusations of communism and “free market interference” by the Right.
Unfortunately, the reality is that oil is traded as a commodity, and unless someone is willing to take some pretty radical, and most likely illegal action, we’ll just keep on moving down the road.
Left wing management
April 25th, 2011
12:46 pm
A liberal is a man with three legs who only knows how to use two of them.
What’s a “lib” dude ?
TnGelding
April 25th, 2011
12:48 pm
We can call in China’s bonds at any time. The fed would just have to print some more money. But wouldn’t it be great if the wealthiest among us would step up to the plate?
Common Sense
April 25th, 2011
12:48 pm
According to Valueline, the newspapers are forecast to have higher profit margins than the oil companies over the next five years.
What should we do about those high profits, Jay?
Normal
April 25th, 2011
12:49 pm
What? Nobody liked my ration card idea? Not willing to sacrifice for the good of the country? Shame, shame, shame.
————————-
Oh, before I forget…Truth,
AmVet has walked the walk. He’s served his country, have you?
jm
April 25th, 2011
12:49 pm
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Daniels said he was “deeply disappointed” by Obama’s recent budget speech. “At a time when we should seek to unify Americans around the big changes necessary to deal with this life-and-death issue, he was divisive and partisan,” he said. “In terms of content, it was worse than empty.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mitch-daniels-sounds-alarm-but-indiana-republican-hesitant-to-run-in-2012/2011/04/21/AFruhpdE_story_2.html
onpatroll
April 25th, 2011
12:49 pm
What an idiot liberal. Making snap judgements about people because they don’t follow your particular party line.
I believe that is what you just did, not me. I said your lazy because your argument about not wanting to walk 5 blocks is lazy to me. it has nothing to do with party lines since i don’t follow party lines. It has to do with you crying about walking. you probably circle the parking lot waiting on a spot up close while I beat you inside because i grabbed the 1st spot i found.
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
12:50 pm
“A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward.”
A liberal is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, sits on his backside all day and lets other people do all the work.
TnGelding
April 25th, 2011
12:51 pm
Fletch
April 25th, 2011
12:46 pm
Thanks.
jm
April 25th, 2011
12:51 pm
MPercy 12:38 – I generally agree with everything you said.
onpatroll
April 25th, 2011
12:51 pm
chuck, what part of you having 3 jobs makes you less lazy or more fit? Anyone that whines about walking 5 blocks is overweight or nearing obesity.
Soothsayer
April 25th, 2011
12:52 pm
Take a good look at this chart. Notice how as the dollar rises (red line) the price of oil (blue line) declines and vice versa. This isn’t rocket science, friends. And OPEC are not a bunch of dummies.
Recall the Republicans held President Obama hostage over unemployment benefits preventing any increase in taxes. You can only expect more the same until we get our fiscal house in order.
Thulsa Doom on those evil ole oil companies
April 25th, 2011
12:52 pm
Paul,
I can’t remember the source I copied it from but the Exxon numbers were taken straight from Exxons quarterly or yearly earnings report which is easy to look up. And we have to remember that the numbers are from a few years ago because the corresponding income numbers were taken from the IRS will be a little behind. But the numbers are in fact credible and easily verifiable.
Also no matter what Exxons earnings for example if they are 88 billion dollars this year you can be sure that they are paying a substantial tax bill on top of that. Their marginal tax rates on their earnings are probably the same effective 41% tax rate that they were just a few years ago. The point is that they certainly pay their fair share and their profit margins are not unreasonable- usually 7-9% for the oil industry. They are making gobs of money but now but that is just due to the sheer volume of their business.
I believe that if the govt taxes on gas are 27 cents a gallon than the govt has made either almost as much or even more money off a gallon of gas than the oil companies. And the govt does nothing but sit on its duff- it doesn’t even do anything to get the oil.
AmVet - A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
April 25th, 2011
12:53 pm
Calm as can be, mystery meat.
Just having a great time squishing you blog gnats…
And lo and behold, the big mouth takes the challenge.
All I need is from you, MR. NON-TRUTH is to acknowledge that the terms I stated above are the ones you agree to.
The other bloggers determine your fate. And mine.
And to give the evening shift a chance to play, the deadline is 1 PM tomorrow.
Got it?
Agree and we’re on, loser.
Oh, and when you leave for good, tomorrow, be sure to apologize to all of the veterans here and to say…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMvqPffzDMQ
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
12:53 pm
“Gas soars; voters whine”
Gee Jay…just can’t find any sympathy for the little people today?
willie lynch
April 25th, 2011
12:54 pm
With all the technology available to us the best we can do is an electric car? We about to retire the shuttle fleet and an electric car is tthe best we can come up with?
Billings
April 25th, 2011
12:55 pm
Paul@12:27 said
“But I really, really get a kick out of the bloggers here (not you) who, when discussing immigration like to type “WHAT PART OF ‘ILLEGAL’ DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND???” but when it comes to their breaking the law by regularly driving over the limit they become very, very quiet.”
It is all about risk. If speeders are willing to pay the fine then the risk is theirs to take. The same cannot be said for illegals. We pay the freight on the risk they take.
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
12:55 pm
“Just having a great time squishing you blog gnats…”
AmVet, I don’t know whether to laugh at your posts, or just feel sorry for you.
Most times, I just do both…
UGA1999
April 25th, 2011
12:55 pm
AmVet…this is a very leftist blog….pick another forum.
THE TRUTH
April 25th, 2011
12:56 pm
Normal
April 25th, 2011
12:49 pm
What? Nobody liked my ration card idea? Not willing to sacrifice for the good of the country? Shame, shame, shame.
————————-
Oh, before I forget…Truth,
AmVet has walked the walk. He’s served his country, have you?
I have not made a claim as to my serving or not serving. All I have done is ask for proof as you Liberals are so notorious for doing,so wheres your proof, are you going to post some leftwing bs ?
Normal
April 25th, 2011
12:56 pm
GAWD AmVet,
Lawrence Welk is bad enough…but in canary yellow? Gag!
onpatroll
April 25th, 2011
12:56 pm
And the govt does nothing but sit on its duff- it doesn’t even do anything to get the oil.
you are wrong, our govt. fights wars and props up a-holes for the gas companies to get the oil.
MPercy
April 25th, 2011
12:57 pm
Jay @11:09 am “Yes, Li’l One, and I’m sure you were equally exercised over this one circa 2003, right?”
A perfect example of trying to use the tax code for purposes other than revenue generation. Unintended consequences and all that. Before the change, there was still a capital expense for business vehicles under 6000lbs GVW and had been there for several years. Allowing a larger deduction dollar-wise was partly an index for inflation, although the new limit was probably larger than it needed to be. Congress failed to consider the impact of the resulting change, which could easily have been rendered moot by scaling the deduction, only allowing the larger deduction for heavy trucks (e.g. dumptrucks) as capital expense, and a smaller one more appropriate to the value of the consumer-grade trucks and the even smaller GVW for cars.
Stop using the tax code as a back-door regulation mechanism. Otherwise you get things like this and the black liquor debacle.
Not familiar with black liquor boondoggle?
[www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=abDjfGgdumh4]
Paper companies may claim about $6.6 billion from a U.S. tax break meant to discourage use of fossil fuels, and they’ll burn more diesel to get it.
The tax credit is an incentive to mix an alternative energy source with carbon-based fuel. Papermakers already generate electricity by burning a wood byproduct from pulp-making called “black liquor.” To qualify for the windfall they are adding diesel fuel to the black liquor, following the letter of the law while violating its spirit, said Verle Sutton, editor of the Reel Time Report, a unit of Los Angeles-based Forestweb Inc., a provider of data on the paper industry.
“It’s an absolute government boondoggle,” Sutton said. “These companies were not using fossil fuels. They only started because they needed it for the tax credit to work. So there’s a negative to the environment, not a positive.”
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
12:58 pm
Enter your comments here
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
12:59 pm
“AmVet has walked the walk. He’s served his country”
Anonymous bloggers can claim anything on the internet.
UGA1999
April 25th, 2011
1:00 pm
I serve my country every day. I pay taxes.
AmVet - A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
April 25th, 2011
1:00 pm
Normal, I had to endure that lame stuff when I was a kid and mom and dad controlled the TV viewing..
But whenever I got to take the controls, it was the Fab Four, the Doors, Steppenwolf, the Who, etc…
Dawgmeat, fix your previous lies about me and then come back and whine to me, son…
THE TRUTH
April 25th, 2011
1:00 pm
Amvet (NOT), let me get this straight, instead of offering ANY REAL PROOF, you are betting on there being more liberals on this blog to support you. Talk about being a chickenhawk. Would it not be easier to provide proof if it were true ?
Normal
April 25th, 2011
1:01 pm
Truth,
Do you want to see my DD-214? Or maybe you want to see all my pretty medals?
But, bottom line, if you haven’t served, you have NO right to question the service of others. That’s just plain cowardly.
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
1:04 pm
“Would it not be easier to provide proof if it were true ?”
He can’t even give a straight answer to the question “AmVet are you opposed to socialism”?
Thulsa Doom
April 25th, 2011
1:04 pm
MiltonMan
April 25th, 2011
12:23 pm
TheTruth – shhh! AmWay thinks he is the only vet on this board.
The clown uses the VA due to wounds received – aka “friendly fire.”
Milton Man,
I missed some of this. What happened? Did Amvet say he was hit with friendly fire while serving in the Air Force because I didn’t see where he said that? If that’s true then our AF had really bad aim back then in bombing our own air fields. I’ve heard of army and marine ground forces getting hit with friendly fire but air force personnel getting hit with their own friendly fire on an air base is nothing short of bizarre.
MPercy
April 25th, 2011
1:04 pm
Paul 11:12 am The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signed by Pres Bush, applies to all vehicles – cars and light trucks. So ‘crapwagons’ – vehicles affected by CAFE increases, includes Suburbans, Escalades, F-150s, etc
Not really. CAFE, which stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy, is a measure of the mean. It does not say that all vehicles must reach xxMPG, only that the average fleet produced must do so. That means they company can sell one crapwagon that gets 50MPG and sell an SUV getting 10MPG and get average fleet economy of 30MPG.
On a related note, CAFE standards have been linked to increased numbers of deaths, as lighter, less safe vehicles are needed to meet CAFE limits. I have seen reports of 1200-2600 deaths each year may be attributable to CAFE.
Soothsayer
April 25th, 2011
1:04 pm
“With all the technology available to us the best we can do is an electric car?”
As I’ve said many, many times on this blog we do not have an energy shortage. We simply are using the energy that is given to us every day. You can go outside and look at it. It’s shining down right there on your front lawn. For every square meter of area exposed to the sun that represents one kW (1,000 watts). For every hour the sun shines on that square meter that is one kW hour.
So why don’t we use this inexhaustible energy source to generate hydrogen to fuel our vehicles? It’s called status quo. The oil companies make giant profits the way things are now. Why would they want to change?
Unfortunately, a day of reckoning is coming. On that day, gasoline will become too expensive for all but the very richest. We can only hope that this harms oil company profits and forces them to explore alternatives.
By the way, I think electric cars are a waste of time. They are too expensive. The Lithium used in their batteries is in short supply. In short, they are unsustainable. Hydrogen, on the other hand, is easy to generate, transport, store, and will burn in the car you now own and the only by-product is water.
THE TRUTH
April 25th, 2011
1:05 pm
Amvet ( NOT ) it looks like you have ONE supporter.
deegee
April 25th, 2011
1:05 pm
Why do people think that oil that is pumped and refined in the US will be cheaper than oil that is imported from the Middle East? The price per barrel is influenced by OPEC, the value of the dollar, commodity trading, and to some extent, supply and demand. From my perspective, US consumers are experiencing what European consumers have been experiencing for years. We can’t do much about the price but we can look for alternative modes of transportation. Why can’t I take a high speed train from Atlanta to Memphis? Why was the funding for rail cut out of the budget during recent negotiations? Why can’t communities all over the US use their right of way to build sidewalks so that people could run errands to the store either on their feet or on their bike? How expensive could that be?
stands for decibels
April 25th, 2011
1:06 pm
Reckon how much gas would be saved if they did away with drive-thrus?
I guess we shouldn’t necessarily ban them outright, but I can think of some pretty unappetizing disincentives that could greet drive-thru customers… some open heart surgery video while you place your order, perhaps?
Thulsa Doom
April 25th, 2011
1:06 pm
MPercy @ 12:57,
The law of unintended consequences at work.
UGA1999
April 25th, 2011
1:07 pm
For all those that are condeming oil and supporting electricty for vehicles. Can you tell me where the grid gets the electricty?
AmVet - A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
April 25th, 2011
1:07 pm
THE TRUTH, so I take it you are not going to agree to the terms I’ve listed above? In spite of that play your fiddle comment?
Accept the terms or don’t.
But understand this, coward. I’m gonna post so much detailed, exacting information regarding my time in uniform, you are going to look like a bigger loser and brat than you already are.
Information that would shame the average adult.
But that does not apply to you, does it?
So one last chance, big mouth.
You wanna play?
Solutions are easy
April 25th, 2011
1:07 pm
Easy way for consumers to use less: DRIVE LESS.
Easy way for government to get people to drive less: RAISE GAX TAX SUBSTANTIALLY (and fix some fo the da** potholes). Low gas taxes in this country border on criminal.
And our stupid politicians (local and national) will propose that we CUT TAXES in order to “give taxpayers a break.” The cycle of stupidity is almost endless.
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
1:07 pm
“Did Amvet say he was hit with friendly fire while serving in the Air Force”
Maybe some of the guys in his unit got tired of his ignorant leftist rants and launched a round or two in his general direction.
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
1:08 pm
AmWay, are you angry?
LMAO.
chuck
April 25th, 2011
1:10 pm
onpatroll, what part of being able to post on a blog makes you less of an idiot? Sure you can read and write, but you are still an idiot.
AmVet - A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
April 25th, 2011
1:10 pm
No, Frank Burns, as I said I’m just having fun swatting you blog gnats…
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
1:11 pm
AmVet…just FYI…I know you like to sling around terms like “coward”, “loser”, “big mouth”, etc. but you need to understand…anonymous internet tough guys are about a dime a dozen. NOBODY is impressed…
THE TRUTH
April 25th, 2011
1:11 pm
Amvet (NOT) play your fiddle devil.
UGA1999
April 25th, 2011
1:11 pm
AmVet…you post like a three year old. Great job. Did you get any kind of gas that may have messed with your Brain?
Thulsa Doom
April 25th, 2011
1:12 pm
Soothsayer
April 25th, 2011
12:52 pm
Take a good look at this chart. Notice how as the dollar rises (red line) the price of oil (blue line) declines and vice versa. This isn’t rocket science, friends. And OPEC are not a bunch of dummies.-Soothsayer
Soothsayer,
True enough. A strong dollar buys more oil at a cheaper price. A weak dollar means imports-oil- costs significantly more. The main reason our dollar is weak and getting substantially weaker is because of our ever escalating deficit/debt situation. That blame currently goes squarely on Obama and the Dems.
Thulsa Doom
April 25th, 2011
1:13 pm
Seriously? Was Amvet hit by friendly fire while in the AF or not?
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 25th, 2011
1:14 pm
So why don’t we use this inexhaustible energy source to generate hydrogen to fuel our vehicles? It’s called status quo. The oil companies make giant profits the way things are now. Why would they want to change?
——–
The evil oil companies can’t stop you from implementing your genius plan. What’s stopping you?
Normal
April 25th, 2011
1:14 pm
Harry,
If you were called a liar and implied you were cowardly, you’d be angry too.
AmVet - A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
April 25th, 2011
1:14 pm
OK, off to the gym and then to make some money.
You little girls and chickenhawks discuss my military service amongst yourselves until I get back, OK.
Here’s a teaser for THE LIAR and his fellow suckups.
AFSC 328X4.
Google it dumasses…
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
1:15 pm
I like it when Obama and the Democrats take credit for turning over budget surplusses to George W. Bush. There’s only two things wrong with that;
1) There weren’t really any budget surplusses, and
2) Clinton was essentially just signing the budgets sent to him by a Republican-controlled House (which Obama would be well advised to do as well)
Soothsayer
April 25th, 2011
1:16 pm
“That blame currently goes squarely on Obama and the Dems.”
Thulsa, would you be in favor of returning taxes to the same levels during the Clinton years and drastically reducing Pentagon spending to 2001 levels (about 1/2 what they are today)?
Recall that President Obama wanted to return to the Clinton-era tax levels but was blocked by Replublicans over the extension of unemployment benefits.
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
1:16 pm
“Harry,
If you were called a liar and implied you were cowardly, you’d be angry too.”
AmVet has called me all that and worse. I just consider the source, and laugh…
jm
April 25th, 2011
1:17 pm
Soothsayer 1:04 – related to that post, Univ of Michigan engineers are working on a combustible engine design that uses 25% of the gas (or 4x the efficiency) that current engines do using shockwave effects. To be ready for full testing in a few months supposedly. A working prototype has already been subject to testing.
http://www.futurecars.com/news/gasoline-cars/new-gas-engine-design-gets-4-5x-efficiency
AmVet - A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
April 25th, 2011
1:17 pm
Normal, these boys screwed with the wrong lib.
At least of three of the never-served cowards made up lies about me – out of the blue and for no good reason – and then cry when they get what is coming to them.
What a waste of blog space these kids are.
Over and out.
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
1:17 pm
“You little girls and chickenhawks discuss my military service amongst yourselves until I get back, OK.”
Still of the mistaken impression that we give a crap, are you? LMAO
toodles
THE TRUTH
April 25th, 2011
1:17 pm
Amvet (NOT) before you start giving us the year you were born, how old you were when you enlisted, how many years you served and what years you were in the military, perhaps you should at least write it down and try and decide if it makes any sense to you, unlike last time when the dates and times just did not work.
Soothsayer
April 25th, 2011
1:17 pm
Lil Barry: lack of capital.
deegee
April 25th, 2011
1:18 pm
What about the soccer moms that block traffic in front of their kids’ school for 30 minutes with the engine running and the air conditioner blowing cold air into the cockpit of their high performance, six cylinder, fully loaded SUV? That is disturbing on so many levels. Not only do I have to navigate around them, I have to stop and let the mostly empty school buses that I’m paying for in my property taxes exit the parking lot and pass the interminable line of SUVs idling in the street. GAWD!
Michael
April 25th, 2011
1:18 pm
This isn’t the 21st century I had imagined I’d be living. I would have thought history would have taught us that progress and social stability come more readily from cooperation than from competition. I would have thought we would have made progress at learning how to live without destroying our one and only home. I would have thought that organized religion would not be at the center of politics, and that wouldn’t be a problem for most sane people. I would have thought we would have learned that war costs too much and yields nothing. I would have thought we’d eventually agree that nothing is more important than nurturing and supporting our children (especially the real live ones who have made it more or less safely outside their mothers’ bodies). And I would have thought that totalitarianism and fundamentalism would be would be memories of an atavistic past we’d left behind.
It is hard not to see the United States as having become a nation of big, endlessly whining, fat, aggressively ignorant, selfish babies, endlessly repeating the same idiotic mistakes, endlessly getting taken in by the same simple, garden variety of puffed-up, egomaniacal, psychopathic demagogues who do nothing more than offer, over and over, nothing but the same-old, same-old brand of noxious, useless snake oil, offering it more than anything else because the mob can’t get enough of it. We cultivate leaders who continue to get worse and worse, possessed of ever smaller and more sere souls and ever more occluded vision, and we ourselves seem, as a group, to cultivate more deeply chronic sickness, more unpleasantness, more apathy, and more disengagement from anything beyond our own personal appetites. If there is a single image that stands well for what we have become, it is a badly damaged, atherosclerotic heart.
I hate to find myself wishing a catastrophe would come to my own people, but I honestly can’t see anything less drastic than total collapse as being the solution to our problems. Our forebears handed us the promise of liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and we have squandered their legacy and made a cancerous mess of the world. As Jonathan Swift said, we are “the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth.” May the world survive us and be healed of our existence.
jm
April 25th, 2011
1:18 pm
FYI, my 1:17 – is huge frickin news, if it comes to fruition. not a hobbyist garage project, the real deal.
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
1:18 pm
“Normal, these boys screwed with the wrong lib.”
Oh gee…another anonymous internet bully has threatened me. Guess I better sleep with the lights on tonight.
(yawn)
Common Sense
April 25th, 2011
1:18 pm
As much respect as I have for those who have served in the military, it does not give greater weight to one’s beliefs.
And if one has to keep pointing it out as their reason for validity, that might be a problem.
Let the weight of the comments speak for themselves.
chuck
April 25th, 2011
1:19 pm
@solutions are easy. Do you want people to stop going to work? Do you want them to stop shopping? Do you want them to stop going out to eat? Your so-called solution is a sure path to bankruptcy and depression. The resulting unemployment would cripple our country and you would finally get your wish…socialism. Well, you’ll have to pry my steering wheel from my cold dead hands…
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
1:19 pm
“At least of three of the never-served cowards ”
Normal…see above…you paying attention?
AmVet - A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
April 25th, 2011
1:19 pm
Damn, I’ll never get out of here playing with these prevaricating clowns, THE LIAR and Frank…
AmVet
November 4th, 2009
1:25 pm
Normal,
November 1972, I was 17 years old and in boot camp. And as I was considered on active duty the otherwise 18 year old age limit to vote was removed.
And let me tell you brother, there was no way in hell I would have voted for Tricky Dick.
The first of many to come…
getalife
April 25th, 2011
1:20 pm
The con troll children are attacking vets again.
Way to support the troops cons.
Pitiful.
.
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
1:22 pm
“The con troll children are attacking vets again.”
FAIL
getalife, I think you’re lost…the NASCAR and strippers blog is over at http://www.mindlessliberalrhetoric.com
deegee
April 25th, 2011
1:25 pm
I have total respect for the men and women that serve in the military. My dad served in the Pacific during WWII. He never talked about it and neither did any of his friends and acquaintances. They might have said a few quiet words about it to each other and then the subject would change. Why do this generation wear their military service on their sleeve? Even when we asked my Dad about the war he would tell us that he didn’t really want to talk about it.
Hillbilly Deluxe
April 25th, 2011
1:25 pm
jm @ 1:17
That’s an interesting idea. Of course, it’s a matter of can they get it to work and produce it at a cost that makes it affordable to the masses. There’s a lot of interesting ideas out there.
Thulsa Doom
April 25th, 2011
1:26 pm
Soothsayer
April 25th, 2011
1:17 pm
Lil Barry: lack of capital.
Soothsayer,
I’m sorry but that is a patently absurd answer. There are plenty of venture capitalists who would invest in such a project. If one could invent a motor that does what jm talks about such as the univ of Michigan prototype he would have venture capitalists lined up around the block wanting to fund the deal. There is no lack of capital venture money for projects that could offer potentially explosive profits.
Normal
April 25th, 2011
1:27 pm
You know, y’all?
My Granny used to say the the one’s that were the angriest, were the one’s that knew they were wrong.
Judging from a couple here, I think she was correct.
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
1:28 pm
AmVet.
1992 – Bill Clinton (never served) ran against George H.W. Bush (combat veteran) – Who did you vote for?
1996 – Bill Clinton (never served) ran against Bob Dole (combat veteran) – Who did you vote for?
2000 – Al Gore (never served) ran against George W. Bush (Texas Air Guard vet) – Who did you vote for?
2008 – Barack Obama (never served) ran against John McCain (combat veteran) – Who did you vote for?
Soothsayer
April 25th, 2011
1:29 pm
Thulsa: I already have a career. I can’t venture into something else right now.
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 25th, 2011
1:29 pm
jm
I’m guessing you’re reading the first link’s statement as theoretical as opposed to actual then.
Here’s the link to the 2nd one….
http://mygermantravels.com/2011/03/german-solar-power-%E2%80%93-nuclear-alternative/
I didn’t say that they did it on the cheap. We’ve had that discussion before about how they subsidized their solar advances. However, they’re putting far more money into research and application as a whole between country and private investment than we’re even thinking about. I guess I’ll have to keep that in mind when I have my German engineered and manufactured solar panels installed. Would be nice to have them American made, but we don’t seem to have that research and investment appetite anymore.
One would think that since the US has far more geographic area than Germany, we could outsize their installation numbers many times over. I guess our investment zeal is geared more towards rigged paper that’s completely worthless as opposed to something tangible that ALL people can actually benefit from.
getalife
April 25th, 2011
1:29 pm
hairy,
Go somewhere else and attack the vets.
We support our troops on this blog.
Right del and scout?
TaxPayer
April 25th, 2011
1:31 pm
It sure is a good thing that we have a free market to keep the price of gas under control.
THE TRUTH
April 25th, 2011
1:31 pm
Amvet (NOT) November 1972, I was 17 years old and in boot camp. And as I was considered on active duty the otherwise 18 year old age limit to vote was removed.
WHAT KIND OF PROOF IS THAT ?
MPercy
April 25th, 2011
1:32 pm
ByteMe @11:50 am And the average state gas tax is about 27 cpg, so that still doesn’t get you to his number. Just because you saw it on a blog doesn’t make it true.
California is probably above average, but the recent numbers there have taxes at $0.67/gallon and oil company profits short of $0.13/gallon (that 13 cents includes “distribution costs, marketing costs and profits”). So that’s about 5.2x (likely more, as “profit” is just a portion of that 13 cents) not 7.5x.
Still, when government at all levels is garnering more than 5x in “profit” than the oil company does, it hardly seems right to rail against a profit margin of 7-8% as “obscene”, “excessive” or “out-of-line”.
Mick
April 25th, 2011
1:34 pm
harry
Al gore did serve in the army and went to vietnam, where was george in alabama?
AngryRedMarsWoman
April 25th, 2011
1:34 pm
I wonder how much oil we could save by syncing the damn traffic lights and/or setting them to work on sensors instead of timers? hmmmmm. Or how about not making people sit at a red-light left turn when there is NO traffic coming the other way? Or maybe empower the driving public to forcibly revoke the license of any idiot who doesn’t move when the light turns green because he is busy texting or talking or wanking off and then only 3 cars can make it through after he finally realizes what we are all honking about?
BTW, I drive a gas-guzzling V-8 with 425 hp because I enjoy it – but I shut it down at red lights. And I don’t whine about gas prices – I just hate crappy timed lights and idiots who don’t pay attention when they drive.
War hero?
April 25th, 2011
1:34 pm
So if Amvet was in boot camp in november of 1972 how much time did he really spend in Nam when all combat troops were gone in 1973? Assuming he left boot camp he then probably would have spent a month or several months in a technical school to learn the specialty he was going to go into in the AF. The timeline makes no sense. Why would he have been sent to Vietnam as we were scaling down operations and leaving. Typically a soldier or airmen served a 1 year duty in Vietnam which means the last of personnel being sent to Vietnam probably would have been sent for their 1 year of service in Sept. through Oct and possibly Nov as we were scaling down. If Amvet was in boot November and December is he saying he would have been sent there in Jan. as we were scaling down? Makes no sense.
US combat operations ceased in 1973 after relentless US bombing of Hanoi forced North Vietnam to sign the Paris Peace Accords. Nearly all American troops were withdrawn that year. Some advisors and logistical personnel remained to support our allies, the South Vietnamese.
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_did_US_get_out_of_the_Vietnam_war#ixzz1KYbFqlcU
jm
April 25th, 2011
1:34 pm
HD 1:25 – I agree. I think this one has more legs than many of the others
SoCo 1:29 – but the reality is, due to the cost, ALL people cannot benefit from solar panels. They’re inordinately expensive and the average person couldn’t begin to afford them, absent massive government subsidies that ultimately come from the same people (ie, just taking money out of one pocket to put in another).
Solar is advancing and getting cheaper. If they get it cheap enough, terrific. Wind is a better option for renewables.
Harry Callahan
April 25th, 2011
1:35 pm
“My Granny used to say the the one’s that were the angriest, were the one’s that knew they were wrong.
Judging from a couple here, I think she was correct.”
Yes, AmVet seems very angry.
Normal
April 25th, 2011
1:35 pm
deegee
April 25th, 2011
1:25 pm
A completely different set of circumstances. Your Dad (God bless him) served in the last Congressional declared war. I did not. My wars were undeclared, and While I won’t talk of specifics of my experiences, I’ll let anyone know who will listen that I served, even though I knew that to win was to survive and that I was being screwed by both Democrat and Republican. It’s a perverse kind a pride, I guess..just my opinion.