Why don't we drill in a republican's ass? They're some oily greasy muthaf*ckers.

If its only 25 percent of the cost the so called speculation (more like 10 percent) then gas will still be over 100 dollars. WHere did that come from? INFLATION! This is not going to stop and taking away the average persons way to save their money in something real like oil or in the past gold leaves us at the mercy of the bankers.

"BAGHDAD — Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/world/middleeast/19iraq.html?_r=1&part...

Mission Accomplished.

liberalDAPJIHADISTmoderation @ 5:

this new push for offshore oil drilling is so blatantly designed purely to make the wealthy oil companies even wealthier...it won't make a significant diffrence in the price of a barrel of crude...and on a side note...notice how all these roughneck shows are coming out on history channel....axe men, tougher in alaska, ice road truckers, and now that new one about oil rig crews...seem like kinda an anti-environmental pro-business theme goin on...or, I'm just paranoid.

It's a classier act than the old USSR films, that portrayed the working class as heroes of the State.

RonPaul @ 4:

If its only 25 percent of the cost the so called speculation (more like 10 percent) then gas will still be over 100 dollars. WHere did that come from? INFLATION! This is not going to stop and taking away the average persons way to save their money in something real like oil or in the past gold leaves us at the mercy of the bankers.

That's why I buy gold and silver

We're sitting on the second biggest oil reserve in the world and after 5 years in Iraq, oil output in that country is still below prewar levels. WTF? I wonder who benefits from keeping that oil off of the market?

Kent Weed @ 11:

We're sitting on the second biggest oil reserve in the world and after 5 years in Iraq, oil output in that country is still below prewar levels. WTF? I wonder who benefits from keeping that oil off of the market?

Not for long.

BAGHDAD — Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/world/middleeast/19iraq.html?_r=1&part...

Why thank you Annie, now go get in on this before the Democrats take it from you.

Remember folks BOTH parties are corrupt and want to take everything they can from you to make you dependent on them...thats the point. Thats why Neo Cons created more social programs than ANY dem and the dropping dollar is the reason you need "Universal" healthcare.The dollar has been dropping since 1913.

Corporations never die, they just come back to haunt you with their gluttonous and evil policies.

This offshore oil drilling scam is just another smoke and mirror war on drugs/illegal immigration bullshit stunt to pacify the criminally ignorant. Like Dubya, McSame believes we're stupid so he throws us a plastic bone while making his wealthy friends richer...at our expense of course.

Weaseldog @ 7:

liberalDAPJIHADISTmoderation @ 5:

this new push for offshore oil drilling is so blatantly designed purely to make the wealthy oil companies even wealthier...it won't make a significant diffrence in the price of a barrel of crude...and on a side note...notice how all these roughneck shows are coming out on history channel....axe men, tougher in alaska, ice road truckers, and now that new one about oil rig crews...seem like kinda an anti-environmental pro-business theme goin on...or, I'm just paranoid.

It's a classier act than the old USSR films, that portrayed the working class as heroes of the State.

Classier...maybe...more subtle...undoubtedly....and those old propaganda films have such awesome music.

So this RonPaul character screeches and moans that evil Dems are about to take away free trading and leave us all at the mercy of the bankers. Never mind that the price of gasoline has risen 30% in the past year, with no appreciable upsurge in demand in that same time period. Weak dollar? A factor, no doubt (thanks W!). But the only factor? No. Speculators are cashing in. It's profiteering. It's wrong. And it needs to be aggressively addressed by our government.

It's pure Vulcan logic, Mr. RonPaul: The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Sure, you're having a ball getting rich on oil right now. But tell, please, Mr. Unregulated Market Guru -- where's the trickle-down effect you bozos keep telling us about? I see you getting rich. I see Phil Grahm getting rich. I see the oil companies getting off-the-charts freakin' rich. But I don't see any money trickling into my pockets. Quite the opposite: I see lots of money gushing out of my pockets every time I wheel into a gas station.

(On a related note: Wolfie on CNN interviewed a Chevron exec who claimed that "I don't think the American people blame (Big Oil) as much as you suggest." That said a lot to me. If this moron is that deluded, no wonder they're laughing all the way to the bank.)

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/74bf31bc-992a-11dc-bb45-0000779fd2ac.html?ncli...

Another thing that strikes me as odd is why this is just coming up now (in an election year) when it seems well established that the minute impact this might have on oil prices would take several years to be realized.

RonPaul @ 20:

NoGWBpolicyleftinplace Says

Yeah Mr. lbertarian.

FDR did a hell of alot of good fixing the problems the “libertarian-free market” bankers created. Did he completely take us off the gold standard? Amazing how his policies created a 60% plus political majority for over a half century. And that the libertarian free market repukes destroyed the country in just 12 years after they started deregulating his most important pieces of legislation. Libertarian = let the super rich eat everyone else, while the government looks the other way!

What’s going on here is nothing more than good ole’ fashoined GOP/Wallstreet/FED greed.

Actually it was FDR's policies that cause the depression to last longer because he did what the Fed is doing now, you have to bone up on your history and stop reading "socialist monthly" or whatever you folks read. The Gold standard is what cause prices to stay the same year from year and made real savings possible. Paper money allows for the warfare state we have now.

Poor misinformed folks will never learn I guess.

phhpt....

no, we have learned. we have learned that the market populists have led the country down the path of financial crisis. the new gilded age.

the "free" market myth believers would have us dig our financial hole deeper. and, naively, they assert that their policy prescriptions will not be a boon for corporations, furthering their hold on our society and economy.

'one dollar equals one vote' is plutocracy, not democracy

Kent Weed @ 27:

Another thing that strikes me as odd is why this is just coming up now (in an election year) when it seems well established that the minute impact this might have on oil prices would take several years to be realized.

Exactly !! see post #24, they are manipulating the election process.

Annie @ 10:

RonPaul @ 8:

Actually liberal you are on to something, this crisis is being used as a way to allow things we shouldn't.

BUT

its not speculation that is not causing this problem because you can save your money too. I make 18,000 a year in Canada, I took a mutual fund and actually saw a return because I invested in Commodities but if I put my dollar in the bank I would have lost 10 percent since the beginning of the year. This is a campaign to kick you out of the loop...gas prices will go down at first if they take this from us to about 100 at the lowest...then it will go back up and only the insiders will have the investments.

I wish more people were like you and actually used their head for something other than a hat rack.

Hat rack = out.

Baseball cap = in.

Oh, and oil production that has been flat as a pancake since May 2005 has nothing to do with this? There are more people since 2005, so the demand is higher. Oh, and dumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the system to devalue the debt and bail out the banks has nothing to do with it? Now, throw speculators on top of the mix, and bingo! Big problems.

NoGWBpolicyleftinplace @ 30:

RonPaul @ 20:

NoGWBpolicyleftinplace Says

Yeah Mr. lbertarian.

FDR did a hell of alot of good fixing the problems the “libertarian-free market” bankers created. Did he completely take us off the gold standard? Amazing how his policies created a 60% plus political majority for over a half century. And that the libertarian free market repukes destroyed the country in just 12 years after they started deregulating his most important pieces of legislation. Libertarian = let the super rich eat everyone else, while the government looks the other way!

What’s going on here is nothing more than good ole’ fashoined GOP/Wallstreet/FED greed.

Actually it was FDR's policies that cause the depression to last longer because he did what the Fed is doing now, you have to bone up on your history and stop reading "socialist monthly" or whatever you folks read. The Gold standard is what cause prices to stay the same year from year and made real savings possible. Paper money allows for the warfare state we have now.

Poor misinformed folks will never learn I guess.

Where can I get a copy of socialist monthly?

As for FDR, you need to quit reading Rand novels and deal with reality. The horrible mess we find ourselves into today, just lke in FDR's day, was created by guys like you who believe in libertarian free market Darwinism! If it wasn't for those libertarian unregulated economic policies you espouse, we wouldn't have had our first great depression, or the one we are teetering on now! Yes, lets blame FDR for having difficulty FIXING the problems that economic libertarians created. Good grief! Get a clue!

Yes, you really are misinformed and naive.

And FDR put the country to work building and strengthening its own infrastructure and Dam projects etc. Ours is falling apart right now and people need work, but unless it can get into bush and cheneys and their buddies pockets they wont do anything.

((Here is some real bad news that backs up what I say.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/06/18/cmstoc...

(As for NoGWBpolicyleftinplace and Samson
FDR ruined people, he robbed the dollar of 70 percent of its purchasing power in 1933 and its continued ever since. You guys are ignorant of History. Here is a video you all should watch...and learn.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=cy-fD78zyvI

Try watching and learning instead of spewing Communist garbage.

Bob Chaig may

FDR also devalued the dollar 70 percent to do it and extended the depression nearly 10 years till WW2. WW2 was another set up by bankers too, they funded Hitler (GWB's Grad Daddy too) to make themselves money.

So did the Farm Bill finally close the Enron loophole?

No, Mr. RonPaul. I did not miss your point. I understand you perfectly: You are investing in oil right now. It's legal, if morally questionable. And technically you're not doing anything wrong other than enriching yourself at the expense of the rest of us. And, I further understand your position that it's my fault for not helping myself: I should just say to hell with my fellow citizens and get rich myself.

You were very clear: You prefer a world where a few people can get rich. And if you have to make money off the suffering of the rest of us, well, then, it's our own damn fault for not picking ourselves up by our bootstraps and jumping on the Money Wagon with you!

It never occurs to you that there are vast numbers of people out in the real world who don't have the extra money to invest in stocks, oil, gold or silver. And now, what little extra money they did have has to go into their gas tanks just so they can get to work. But all that doesn't matter to you. As long as you can make the Hummer payment, everyone else can go to hell.

time for a revolution man --

liberalDAPJIHADISTmoderation @ 5:

this new push for offshore oil drilling is so blatantly designed purely to make the wealthy oil companies even wealthier...it won't make a significant diffrence in the price of a barrel of crude...and on a side note...notice how all these roughneck shows are coming out on history channel....axe men, tougher in alaska, ice road truckers, and now that new one about oil rig crews...seem like kinda an anti-environmental pro-business theme goin on...or, I'm just paranoid.

I was getting the same feeling last night watching the new one on oil rig crews. I admit I enjoyed watching Deadliest Catch for the first season (when I could see it while traveling). But indeed, their seems to be a boatload of these shows now, all romanticizing rather destructive industries. Not saying that these industries shouldn't exist in some form, but they sure seem to have gotten some Madison Ave-style support of late.

Paranoia? I think not.

Kathleen @ 48:

Nicole

Sorry to interrupt this blogcast with a VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE. Emptywheel ( Marcy) has alerted us to the STRONG POSSIBILITY that the BEHIND CLOSED DOORS negotiations taking place on the FISA issue may come to a quiet resolution today and come up for a vote tonight or tomorrow. (in the shadows).

Please go to FDL (or hopefully Crooks and Liars will put out their own alert) and find out what you should be doing. One thing for sure is to contact your reps and say NO RETROACTIVE IMMUNITY. Go to that site and find out more. Steny Hoyer, Pelosi (silent) and Rep. Bond are conducting behind closed doors negotiations. THIS IS IMPORTANT

"THE FISA SHAFT IS UNDERWAY" BY EMPTY WHEEL OVER AT FIREDOGLAKE.

SPREAD THE WORD

Thanks, on my way.

RonPaul -

If you're only making $18,000 a year, may I suggest you refrain from giving the rest of us financial advice. Furthermore, may I also suggest you vote Democratic in the upcoming elections. You will do much better financially under a Democratic administration than you could ever hope to under a Rethuglican one. Trickle-down economics doesn't work. A country with only a few rich individuals is not a rich country. Our country, our economy only benefit if we all share in the wealth and do well. This is common sense. I'm not saying force people to give their money away. I'm saying let's fix bad laws that enable a few people to get wealthy at the expense of the masses.

Kathleen @ 48:

Nicole

Sorry to interrupt this blogcast with a VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE. Emptywheel ( Marcy) has alerted us to the STRONG POSSIBILITY that the BEHIND CLOSED DOORS negotiations taking place on the FISA issue may come to a quiet resolution today and come up for a vote tonight or tomorrow. (in the shadows).

Please go to FDL (or hopefully Crooks and Liars will put out their own alert) and find out what you should be doing. One thing for sure is to contact your reps and say NO RETROACTIVE IMMUNITY. Go to that site and find out more. Steny Hoyer, Pelosi (silent) and Rep. Bond are conducting behind closed doors negotiations. THIS IS IMPORTANT

"THE FISA SHAFT IS UNDERWAY" BY EMPTY WHEEL OVER AT FIREDOGLAKE.

SPREAD THE WORD

Better not be retroactive immunity for these fucks!

RonPaul -

If you’re only making $18,000 a year, may I suggest you refrain from giving the rest of us financial advice.

((First off, I would refrain from insulting, I make this amount of money because thats the work that is available where I live. ASLO it doesn't mean I do not know what I am talking about because I am obviously better informed than you are))

Furthermore, may I also suggest you vote Democratic in the upcoming elections.

(I am Canadian)

You will do much better financially under a Democratic administration than you could ever hope to under a Rethuglican one. Trickle-down economics doesn’t work.

(You are just going back to the same talking points that the Dems say. They are in on the corruption just like the Repubs, the enable them and they work together. If they take away your right to own something worth anything like gold and oil then all you will have is worthless paper than it getting more worthless by the day. Why don't you try watching (and paying attention) to the films I suggested. You will see what I am talking about)

What are the odds that McCain, due to the fact that he's really old and full of crap, will just have an overdue age related heart attack so we don't have to look at his fucked up puff jaw and false teeth for the six months?

Breaking News! 2 Bears Stearns fund mgrs. arrested for misleading investors.

RonPaul -

I'm not insulting you. I'm merely pointing out that your enthusiastic support for commodities trading in during a gas crisis would be more compelling if you were earning a larger sum of money annually.

And no, sir. I am most definitely NOT less informed than you. I am a journalist who has covered the transportation and construction industries for almost two decades. So I know first-hand the potential long-term devastation high fuel prices can inflict upon our economy since profit margins in these two industries are intimately tied-in with the price of gasoline, lubricants and diesel.

Finally, since you say you are a Canadian, may I point out (in a non-insulting way, of course) that you don't really have a dog in his hunt. You enjoy on a daily basis, many of the things that the Republican Party works so hard to deny U.S. citizens -- universal health care and low perscription drug prices spring immedidately to mind. And those two benefits alone, make it much easier to survive on $18,000 a year. I wouldn't advise it in the United States today, Sir.

Have a good day. I hope you get insanely rich buying oil, gold and silver.

RonPaul @ 61:

Pawn the reason the dollar "out Grew" gold is because the government was spending money it didn't have and caused inflation. As for correcting mistakes we have to stop spending money we don't have...that means a depression because of all the mal investment (meaning anything that was bought with money that wasn't backed by gold or simple savings has the POTENTIAL to disappear) so we could be in a lot of trouble as the PAPER money house of cards falls. The only people with money that will be left are people who bought things of value with the paper.

I suggest all you people start buying something with the shrinking dollar now before its too late. Read the RBS article I put up. This is not the time for ideological fighting. I HATE BUSH, I HATE the REPUBS (except PAUL) and I HATE THE DEMS. They all suck..so for anything other than the economics of things I AM ON YOU SIDE.

I am telling you guys to get out of the dollar, I pray for those who can't and I feel real sorry for them. I just hope things do not get too bad.

i believe you think you are on 'our side'.... i believe you have the best intentions.

but...

the ideology you espouse, an irrational belief in an all-knowing/benevolent "free" market, is exactly the problem.

not to say that libertarian views on the economy aren't interesting to hear, its just that a lot of what the libertarians profess and preach is not reality-based.

and, again, market populism has been foisted upon us by those that have profited mightily from rampant and irresponsible deregulation, privatization, union-busting, corporatism, etc.

i just wish those that push market populism would explain just how and why markets are better than democracy.

Time to close this Enron Loophole found in the Commodity Modernization Act of 2000.

It's bad enough that ten of thousands of ex-Enron employees get shafted. Now, Enron is ready again to bankrupt the entire US nation and the world.

Phil Grahamm the co-founder of this loophole, and now sits with McCain, needs to be exposed, and exposed loudly.

Its up to us to point out that Big Oil is sitting on drilling leases that Bush expanded 300% since 2001, its up to us to tell them that Saudi Arabia loves the ‘gas tax holiday’ idea, its up to us to point out that it will soon take $150 of our devalued money to buy a barrel of crude, its up to us to point out that its not in the interests of Big Oil to repair/build refineries to increase supply, its up to us to point out that drilling in ANWR and else where will take up to 10-20 years (2030) to be viable and at best a 900 day supply (6 month supply in ANWR), its up to us to point out every time McBush & Bush crime family rattle their sabers with Iran the speculators & Hedge Fund Managers armed with the Enron Loophole (courtesy of Phil Gramm corporate lawyer for Enron and McBush’s senior adviser) push the price of crude up another $11….

The 300% increase in Bush drilling leases: 68 Million acres leased, no drilling, no pumping. Drilling offshore will yield 900 days of Oil, period. There are 15 billion barrels of Oil in Naval reserve, everyone knows its there. Big Oil isn’t stupid, they own 2Trillion in reserves (land leases that have been drilled and capped, ie not pumped out), they will sit on this and ride the world record breaking profits every new quarter as long as there is no government intervention and blame ‘lack of drilling’ for the prices, which only idiots, small children, and right wingnuts can believe hook, line, & sinker. There also has been ZERO expansion of existing refineries, repairs have been put off to slow down supply by design, and they’re wanting the bill for that work, not to be picked up by them (which any business calls – cost of doing business) but to be put on the taxpayer’s bill.

If the U.S. was on the Euro, a gallon of gas would cost a little over $2…as it is our devalued dollar (thanks Bushonomics/Reaganomics) will buy a barrel of crude for $150 within the next few weeks….do you think Cheney & Bush are crying, do you think their Big Oil Party (GOP) is crying that their meal ticket is shattering world record profit barriers every new quarter?

The next right wingnut con-servative talking point (take it to the bank): "Well yes, we have the drilling leases, but those 'damn environmentalists' keep suing Big Oil to keep them from drilling there"
FALSE - FAIL, stupid. There are sensitive areas that states & federal government protect...for good reason...because people (yeah, remember those things) live there...it is a TINY fraction of the leases that are protected for environmental reasons. This is yet another BS, soundbyte, fast & dirty talking point that the lowest common denominator (your average con-servative right wingnut) will hop on and ride until, you....debunk them....

Debunking the White House/Bushevik BS that he spewed yesterday to the American Public:
http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=1390

There are many factors affecting the high cost of oil and according to some experts one factor affecting it, is that investors, ca use loopholes in commodities law to manipulate the market and drive crude oil, and diesel fuel prices to new heights. We know that US economy depends upon the reliable supply of energy available at fair price in a free market. With the high cost of oil and diesel fuel as well as foods in the market, struggling families are taking desperate measures to provide their needs. There's no doubt that desperate times call for desperate measures, but payday loans aren't one of the desperate measures – in fact they can be quite the sensible choice. To be your cash advances guide or payday loans guide for now, let us explain – if your emergency requirements are that you get some quick cash, let us tell you about payday loans, or cash advances. They mean the same thing – it's an amount of money loaned to you for a fee that you pay back on your next payday. Most customers pay them back on time, so it's likely you will as well. If you have a financial emergency payday loans may be the fix you're looking for.

RonPaul @ 61:

Pawn the reason the dollar "out Grew" gold is because the government was spending money it didn't have and caused inflation. As for correcting mistakes we have to stop spending money we don't have...that means a depression because of all the mal investment (meaning anything that was bought with money that wasn't backed by gold or simple savings has the POTENTIAL to disappear) so we could be in a lot of trouble as the PAPER money house of cards falls. The only people with money that will be left are people who bought things of value with the paper.

I suggest all you people start buying something with the shrinking dollar now before its too late. Read the RBS article I put up. This is not the time for ideological fighting. I HATE BUSH, I HATE the REPUBS (except PAUL) and I HATE THE DEMS. They all suck..so for anything other than the economics of things I AM ON YOU SIDE.

I am telling you guys to get out of the dollar, I pray for those who can't and I feel real sorry for them. I just hope things do not get too bad.

Not only was the government spending what it didn't have, but there were too few families with a bulk of the money. There had to be a way to get money out to the sheeple to bring things back into "balance".

I agree with you in that the dollar is ready to collapse. This isn't Bush style fear mongering. This is all to real. The dollar is going to correct itself by outside forces if we don't step in and do the responsible thing. Correct it ourselves. We as Americans tend to be to cocky to think that we could make a mistake. God forbid we don't learn from our past mistakes. We don't have to be right the first time. We can correct things as we realize that the system has a glitch. We are led to believe that this correction is in adjusting interest rates. This is ridiculous. All it does is feed further speculation. Where are the real visionaries?

Samson- @ 66:

RonPaul @ 61:

i just wish those that push market populism would explain just how and why markets are better than democracy.

Because...the libertarian viewpoint (socially they're good folks in some cases) is a joke. They can't point to a single time in the history of the world where their 'markets are God governing philosophy' has worked. Well, maybe someone could make the argument that Iraq is the first experiment...wonder how it will turn out...

You can debunk the ideology very simply....they say 'let people govern themselves - the market place yada yada yada will correct itself'....Ok, prove it. You have to go back to a time in Human history where we were still hunting and gathering to see a 'true market system unimpeded by a government entity/centralized rule'....the ancient Egyptians paid 'taxes'.... Trading and bartering...in this day and age????

They want communities to fend for themselves....fix their own potholes, etc, etc... There are people who won't pay association fees, mow their lawns, and completely disregard their homes, yet...they believe magically that once 'we're all free of the government' those same people will rise up and join the community and do their share...

Libertarians (a good portion of them) went to socialized public schools, drive on socialized roads, drink socialized water, eat socialized beef (inspected by FDA), enjoy protection from harm via socialized police force, protection from fire damage via socialized fire departments (VFDs w/volunteers I grant you - and most still receive socialized pay taxes), their corporations they work for sue each other endlessly in socialized court systems, they enjoy the protection of the socialized armed forces, they enjoy getting their mail from the socialized postal service....

Bottom line, the best system in the world is a hybrid of democracy & capitalism, we have it here (though the democratic socialist regimes in Scandinavia are excellent as well) and if we can stop spending 600 Billion of our tax dollars on nothing to show for it military industrial complex (yes...Lieberman the "independent Republican" thinks we need Cold War era submarines to fight terrorism....do they even have a dingy?) and instead put that money into infrastructure and rebuilding this nation, we can resume our position as the greatest nation on earth. As long as markets are regulated to prevent malfeasance (Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, etc...eh libertarians) and taxes are invested wisely...this democracy and republic as Ben Franklin put it best: "A republic if you can keep it" will endure.

Sorry Mods, please delete post 75....darn preview button!

i just wish those that push market populism would explain just how and why markets are better than democracy.

Because...the libertarian viewpoint is a joke. They can't point to a single time in the history of the world where their 'markets are God governing philosophy' has worked. Well, maybe someone could make the argument that Iraq is the first experiment...wonder how it will turn out...

You can debunk the ideology very simply....they say 'let people govern themselves - the market place yada yada yada will correct itself'....Ok, prove it. You have to go back to a time in Human history where we were still hunting and gathering to see a 'true market system unimpeded by a government entity/centralized rule'....the ancient Egyptians paid 'taxes'....

They want communities to fend for themselves....fix their own potholes, etc, etc... There are people who won't pay association fees, mow their lawns, and completely disregard their homes, yet...they believe magically that once 'we're all free of the government' those same people will rise up and join the community and do their share...

Libertarians (a good portion of them) went to socialized public schools, drive on socialized roads, drink socialized water, eat socialized beef (inspected by FDA), enjoy protection from harm via socialized police force, protection from fire damage via socialized fire departments (VFDs w/volunteers I grant you - and most still receive socialized pay taxes), their corporations they work for sue each other endlessly in socialized court systems, they enjoy the protection of the socialized armed forces, they enjoy getting their mail from the socialized postal service....

Bottom line, the best system in the world is a hybrid of democracy & capitalism, we have it here (though the democratic socialist regimes in Scandinavia are excellent as well) and if we can stop spending 600 Billion of our tax dollars on nothing to show for it military industrial complex (yes...Lieberman the "independent Republican" thinks we need Cold War era submarines to fight terrorism....do they even have a dingy?) and instead put that money into infrastructure and rebuilding this nation, we can resume our position as the greatest nation on earth. As long as markets are regulated to prevent malfeasance (Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, etc...eh libertarians) and taxes are invested wisely...this democracy and republic as Ben Franklin put it best: "A republic if you can keep it" will endure.

The Big Pander to Big Oil

President Bush's decision to ask Congress to end the federal ban on offshore drilling along much of America's continental shelf is cruelly misleading.

sorry that was 'cut into 9 zones'

Go back to square one. We have yet to have access to Cheney's energy policy meetings early on in this administration when they divided up Iraq. These psychopaths are drowning in the Iraqi peoples blood. But they don't care they are psychopaths. ACCOUNTABILITY IS A MUST

Democratic Party Unity (aka right wing hater) @ 77:

Sorry Mods, please delete post 75....darn preview button!

i just wish those that push market populism would explain just how and why markets are better than democracy.

Because...the libertarian viewpoint is a joke. They can't point to a single time in the history of the world where their 'markets are God governing philosophy' has worked. Well, maybe someone could make the argument that Iraq is the first experiment...wonder how it will turn out...

You can debunk the ideology very simply....they say 'let people govern themselves - the market place yada yada yada will correct itself'....Ok, prove it. You have to go back to a time in Human history where we were still hunting and gathering to see a 'true market system unimpeded by a government entity/centralized rule'....the ancient Egyptians paid 'taxes'....

They want communities to fend for themselves....fix their own potholes, etc, etc... There are people who won't pay association fees, mow their lawns, and completely disregard their homes, yet...they believe magically that once 'we're all free of the government' those same people will rise up and join the community and do their share...

Libertarians (a good portion of them) went to socialized public schools, drive on socialized roads, drink socialized water, eat socialized beef (inspected by FDA), enjoy protection from harm via socialized police force, protection from fire damage via socialized fire departments (VFDs w/volunteers I grant you - and most still receive socialized pay taxes), their corporations they work for sue each other endlessly in socialized court systems, they enjoy the protection of the socialized armed forces, they enjoy getting their mail from the socialized postal service....

Bottom line, the best system in the world is a hybrid of democracy & capitalism, we have it here (though the democratic socialist regimes in Scandinavia are excellent as well) and if we can stop spending 600 Billion of our tax dollars on nothing to show for it military industrial complex (yes...Lieberman the "independent Republican" thinks we need Cold War era submarines to fight terrorism....do they even have a dingy?) and instead put that money into infrastructure and rebuilding this nation, we can resume our position as the greatest nation on earth. As long as markets are regulated to prevent malfeasance (Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, etc...eh libertarians) and taxes are invested wisely...this democracy and republic as Ben Franklin put it best: "A republic if you can keep it" will endure.

thanks for that, well written

i agree the best system is where capitalism and democracy provide checks on each other. so many of society's current ills can be tracked back to the deregulations, privatizations, corporate-giveaways, etc. that market fundamentalists are so quick to advocate. yet they try to wash their hands of once it is evident that their economic policies have been damaging in the extreme

it never fails to astound me just how many people are apologists for the dreadful system that has hurt so many, and enriched so few.

i don't understand this futures market issue. How can speculators be running up the price of oil if they don't actually take possession of the oil when the contract expires? They aren't hoarding the stuff... so how are they pushing the prices up??

Liesbetold

I am no knuckl;eshead, FDR took us off the REAL gold standard in 1933 when you could buy one ounce of gold for 19.37 cents. (today its 898.00 to give you an idea of the robbery) FDR replace it with 35 dollars for once ounce of gold so he could fund the expansion of his social programs...it was only a Pseudo standard too because gold did fluctuate but its a MILLION times worst today.

Bill Says

This is what I don’t get.

If closing the loophole is supposed to drop the price of oil by 25-50%, and the farm bill closed the loophole, where is the drop in prices?

This is the point I am trying to make...IT WILL NOT LOWER PRICES! I am not yelling at you but I want to make it clear and noticeable to everyone. This has nothing or very little to do with investors. Its bull. At most gas would go down to a hunfred then it will go up again as soon as people figure it out.

Ron @ 39:

You will be enlightened but bored with this video. It's worth it though.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3340274697167011147

Straight out of the gate, he's full of crap.

"There is as much oil on the north slope of Alaska as there is in Saudi Arabia."

Pure, unadulterated bullshit. Don't bother watching that nonsense.

Teddy Roosevelt and the others were for regulation for a reason. Ronnie Reagan and his troll followers are for de-regulation for a reason. Without regulation the evil rich get richer and the masses get poorer. It is not rocket science. All the hacks who believe the GOP and their trickle down is going to help them are fools. Reaganomics was a failure then and it is even more of a failure now. They are doing the same thing with oil that Ken Lay did with electricity, the same law. It is worse now because the Bushies have allowed the dollar to de-value to nothing on the world market. We are hosed.

cravenmorehead @ 87:

i don't understand this futures market issue. How can speculators be running up the price of oil if they don't actually take possession of the oil when the contract expires? They aren't hoarding the stuff... so how are they pushing the prices up??

Weak dollar allows them to buy tons of it ON CONTRACT (virtually), and sell tons of it too. It's a perfect storm of screwing the US public and people are catching on; this has NOTHING to do with demand that's market driving (some will say it IS demand but the demand is speculative because they've driving up prices NOT actual due to the world using more oil which has only increased 1.5% a year like it's supposed to)

When you double a nations debt in less than 3% of the time it took to get HALF that debt then of course your currency will be worthless

RonPaul @ 4:

If its only 25 percent of the cost the so called speculation (more like 10 percent) then gas will still be over 100 dollars. WHere did that come from? INFLATION! This is not going to stop and taking away the average persons way to save their money in something real like oil or in the past gold leaves us at the mercy of the bankers.

your probably correct speculation may be a consequence of the crisis..but it's exacerbating the issue for sure(banks,weak dollar)....maybe slower production but i don't believe it to be supply......if it is open up the reserves
here's an opinion by opec short video
http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=84361

karl @ 99:

RonPaul @ 4:

If its only 25 percent of the cost the so called speculation (more like 10 percent) then gas will still be over 100 dollars. WHere did that come from? INFLATION! This is not going to stop and taking away the average persons way to save their money in something real like oil or in the past gold leaves us at the mercy of the bankers.

your probably correct speculation may be a consequence of the crisis..but it's exacerbating the issue for sure(banks,weak dollar)....maybe slower production but i don't believe it to be supply......if it is open up the reserves
here's an opinion by opec short video
http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=84361

I put it at 2/3 weak dollar (thanks Bernanke) and 1/4 speculation the other part is demand which I'm being liberal with.

Talking to a buddy yesterday and he said the reason we're not driving series diesel cars now (the 1940s technology that gives freight trains 400mpg pulling a ton of freight) is it would take away tax revenues for roads etc...when your SUV gets 700 MPG and is around 200hp\200ftq oil doesn't become a commodity anymore.

Chevy is "SUPPOSED" to come out with the Volt (a gas series electric) but we'll see...

Happy to watch Keith O. yesterday on MSNBC finally crack the lid off this corporate coverup of the vast theft of American gas money by corporate speculators.

ENRONed again: this time by oil futures contracts speculators who are unnecessarily and very profitably driving up the price of crude oil and hence retail gasoline prices.
by James K. Sayre
We're being ENRONed again. Curious as to why you are suddenly paying over four dollars a gallon for gasoline? No, it's not due to "supply-and-demand," no, it's not due to "OPEC," nor is it due to "peak oil." It's due to totally unregulated electronic oil futures trading in world markets. Check out the very lucid article that explains the unseen financial machinations in oil futures markets written by F. W. Engdahl on May 2, 2008, entitled, "Perhaps 60% of Today's Oil Price is Pure Speculation." It may be viewed at http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/2008/0502.html.
In a nutshell, he suggests that the Bush Administration dropped the ball in January 2006, when they allowed totally unregulated electronic trading of oil futures contracts in New York. Previously these electronic trades had been made at the London Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Futures Market. With that decision by the Bush Administration, all of the world's oil prices were then opened to upward pressure from speculative futures contracts. In essence, oil futures contracts made by speculators, banks, hedge funds and pension funds all competed with real demand on the spot markets and had the effect of driving up both wholesale oil prices and retail gasoline prices. Speculators have made billions of dollars on their trading of oil futures contracts. All of their profits come right out of our pockets.
Even with a stable oil supply, there is a slow worldwide increase in demand for oil, which creates a long-term upward pressure on oil prices. However, with the relentless saber-rattling and war-mongering by Bush and Cheney in the last several years, and the more recent war talks by McCain and the Israelis, the oil futures markets are rife with speculation and paranoia. This war talk keeps ratcheting up the prices on the oil futures contracts and hence the wholesale spot market prices. It is an endless spiral of greed and paranoia.
As long as there is no tough and effective oversight of the electronic oil futures markets by the Bush Administration, the oil prices will climb endlessly. These oil prices will be quickly followed by hikes in the retail gasoline prices at the pump. The 60% speculation share of the $4.25/gallon gasoline price, is about $2.55/gallon, which is what we consumers are paying to these oil speculators as a "service fee." Not a bad "fee," since the speculators produce no usable goods or services...Just a few large greedy oil futures traders helping themselves to your gas money.
Without this added-on oil futures "service fee," you would be paying about $1.75/gallon for gasoline. Write, call or smoke-signal your Representatives and Senators today and suggest that they read the June 2006 report by The U. S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations entitled, "The Role of Market Speculation in Rising Oil and Gas Prices." Then demand that they investigate and then force the Bush Administration to firmly regulate the computerized oil futures contracts trading in New York, London and Dubai.

These unregulated electronic oil futures trading markets should be completely shut down immediately. They serve no social purpose, they only enable corporate greed. These same greedy corporate speculators are probably also responsible for the rapid rise in the prices of basic food commodities, such as wheat, rice and corn. No one who is not prepared to accept physical delivery of one thousand barrels of oil on their front doorstop should be allowed to participate in the oil futures markets. Same goes for wheat futures, rice futures and corn futures.

Truthbtold @ 86:

This is what we get for being a carbon-based economy. I said it before -we went to war when the neocons were rattling their swords. THis is about oil. The rest is just noise for ignorant fools. This war was started to remove Saddam, who nationalized Iraq oil, and tossed out the same oil barrons that are now going back in. They did the same thing in Iran, installing the shah.

Watch this:
http://kenkelsey.vox.com/library/post/energy-non-crisis.html

Drill ho's not holes!!!

Absolute. Fucking. Disgrace. You're a miserable sleaze, McCain.

ysbaddaden @ 108:

I knew speculators were the primary reason for the increase in gas prices, not counting the weakening dollar.

Speculators are scalpers who just dress better

At our expense.

China and Saudi Arabia have currencies that are pegged to the US Dollar. Even with the weakening dollar, the price of oil should remain fairly constant. The huge prices are about 90% specualtor based.

let's see fed wants to bail out banks/financial institutions...so increase liquidity....weak u.s. dollar...commodities price increase.....has nothing to do with supplies...u.s. demand has decreased if i understand correctly....the fed is fxxkxxg us surprise
http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/?p=622

America doesn't need another dishonest and uncaring President that sides with the Reslug crooks and criminals by using loopholes to rip off the poor and middle class.

VeeKaChu @ 116:

Holy fuck, this needs to be the TOP STORY in the US media until this loophole is closed, and these bastards are all in jail, a'la the subprime corpo-rapists.

all dollars the financial institutions pay for media advertising i'll be very surprised to see it as a big time story. they would rather talk about tiger's knee and speculate on that. you can see now there are people trying to dilute the speculation story with drilling story but if you get any overseas news they talk about it.

Limp-Dick Blimpaugh @ 115:

America doesn't need another dishonest and uncaring President that sides with the Reslug crooks and criminals by using loopholes to rip off the poor and middle class.

But...but...they're so much fun to have a beer with. Oooh...and a war veteran toooo. Hubba hubba. Maybe he'll show us his medals.

These Bastards admitted they stole from my Grandmother, Yes her name is Millie, and Yes she live is California, I hate Corporations!

♠Bob In Chiang Mai♥ @ 27:

Heathwood @ 25:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/74bf31bc-992a-11dc-bb45-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

Why would anyone visit an unknown site that is so criptic in nature from someone we don't know.
Could be a bad-code page.

I think you need to lighten up a bit.

Ah yes... the GOP, The "Greedy Oil Party" strikes again! Rich fat cats first.... America last!

Its funny how people are still talking about speculators like paid schills when its technically IMPOSSIBLE for it to be speculators since it only counts for 500,000 out of 85 MILLION barrels of oil;...gawd.