Congressional Republicans claim magical powers over oil prices
By Steve Benen Tuesday Aug 05, 2008 8:30amOnce again, House Republicans are on Capitol Hill during the August recess, and once again, they are holding something of a sit-in, giving spirited speeches about coastal drilling for tourists and congressional staffers who happen to pass by the charade.
Yesterday, however, there was a bit of a twist in the Republican rhetoric. Far-right lawmakers actually believe they’re affecting the market by talking to each other.
House Republicans on Tuesday said their protest of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) decision not to allow a vote on expanded offshore oil drilling has helped lower gas prices.
Heading into a third day of speeches in the near-empty chamber, Republicans acknowledged that the average price of gas and oil has declined in recent weeks. But they claimed credit for part of that reduction.
“I think the market is responding to the fact that we are here talking,” said Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) at a joint press conference with other GOP lawmakers. “I think the market realizes this kind of pressure from Congress may, in fact, lead to a change in policy.”
The Republican members did not answer questions about whether they would take the blame if gas prices go up again.
Yes, House Republicans are hosting a very sad little photo-op on the Hill, and some of them are willing to argue, out loud, in public, that simply by talking to each other about drilling, they’re able to bring the price of fuel down.
If you told me that Speaker Pelosi’s office was paying these clowns money to make House Republicans look ridiculous, I’d be tempted to believe you.
Keep in mind, they’re not the only unhinged Republicans claiming magical rhetorical powers. There was also this item two weeks ago.
John McCain — whose campaign launched an ad this week blaming Barack Obama for high prices at the pump — said Wednesday President Bush’s new push for offshore oil drilling deserves the credit for the recent drop in crude oil prices.
“In case you missed it, soon as the President announced that we were going to end the moratorium on offshore drilling the price of a barrel of oil went down $10,” the presumptive Republican nominee said at a Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania town hall.
So, to hear McCain tell it, Bush was able to bring down the price of a barrel of oil simply by making a symbolic gesture.
I knew McCain and his GOP cohorts were slipping from reality, but this is just sad.
Talking to tourists and empty White House gestures do not, in our reality, lower the price of oil. It’s no wonder Republicans are so bad at governing — they’ve obviously flunked Economics 101.
Oil prices kept falling Tuesday, sinking as low as $118 a barrel on growing concerns that a U.S. economic slowdown and high energy costs are curbing consumer demand for gasoline and other petroleum products. […]
A day after plunging as much as $5 a barrel in a dramatic sell-off, crude continued its downward trend Tuesday as traders sold oil contracts on the belief that prices are still too high in relation to demand and have further room to fall. […]
“The market psychology has finally shifted,” said Stephen Schork, an analyst and trader in Villanova, Pa., adding that “$4-a-gallon gasoline has clearly killed demand.”
On Monday, the Commerce Department said consumer spending after adjusting for inflation fell 0.2 percent in June — the biggest drop since February — as shoppers dealt with higher prices for gasoline, food and other items. Oil prices also fell after Tropical Storm Edouard did not severely disrupt oil and natural gas output in the Gulf of Mexico.
The dollar’s gains against the euro also contributed to oil’s decline Tuesday. The euro fell to $1.5467 from the $1.5587 it bought late in New York trading Monday, making oil and other commodities less attractive to investors seeking a hedge against inflation and dollar weakness.
It’s called supply and demand. Maybe Republicans have heard of it.
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This post should have been tagged with "delusions of grandeur"
What they're doing is practicing together for the 2008 election. Go Team!
Wonders never cease! These a$$clowns are making a huge public spectacle of themselves - making themselves a supreme target for ousting from Congress when their terms expire.
I also find it fascinating that they have thrown their matinee idol, Chimpy, under the "bone dry bus" - the fact that they use the term "bone dry" is indicative of the status of the Repuke brand - bone dry and irrelevant - and not the gas situation. So, in this sense, truer words were never spoken.
Throwing their lord and master under the bus is indicative of their subsurface level of disgust for him as well as their own sense of self-loathing. Their emotions are so volatile that they can no longer control them.
Let's face it: Chimpy totally DESTROYED the Repulican party and reputation FOREVER. It will take decades to reinstate it, and it still may be impossible.
GOP = Corruption and the end of this once great party.
If they feel their talking to each other lowered gas prices why didn't they do it years ago? Also if they keep talking to each other let them predict how low will it go? Does it prove that oil company gas price increases are completely artificial?
And they have the nerve to call Obama "The One"
Whatever steam those 28 percenters had is being destroyed by the antics and shenanigans of this group of disgusted GOPhers.
eric @ 4:
All they're succeeding in doing is making jumping jacka$$es of themselves in front of the american people. What polical theatre/comedy! Gotta love it when morons dig their holes even deeper, don'tcha?
You know the Jack and the beanstalk fairytale....that's the story of the modern day con-servative voter....
Jack = Republican Voter
Stranger in the market = Republican politician
Magic Beans = Republican voter issues
Cow = Reality
The only difference...here...is the Stranger doesn't tell Jack to plant the beans...so Jack decides to eat them...and the stranger in the market gets very rich and opens a ranch for all of his cows....
Bill O'Liely does the same stuff, take credit that his hot air has changed world events.
He has "people" in the oil industry, that do his bidding.
.
Political Irony, one of the most poignant editorial cartoons you'll ever see: 'Fiscal' Con-servatives v. 'Tax & Spend' Liberals - http://politicalirony.com/2008/08/06/fiscal-conservatives-v-tax-spend-li...
I'd rather listen to this guy than listen to some right wing nutballs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_PZPpWTRTU&feature=related
AND, then there was Newtie on WJ this morning (for an HOUR) doing his "WE HAVE THE POWER" dance (new Repug meme that you will now hear repeated and repeated all over our MSM) telling the listeners that there is more oil in the west, offshore, in Alaska than in ALL THE MIDDLE EAST (they know this and know right were it is - "like the WMD in Iraq")...but still the oil companies bought up all these millions of acres of leases where there just isn't ANY OIL (it's all in the ones they can't get their hands on)...tell me why we should believe ANYTHING that comes out of the mouths of these idiots???
"Baby, come back....you can blame it all on me"....tralalala. What great fodder for the comics these fools provide!
They're just a bunch of sad, little crybabies who beckoned to their great leader to save them and he gave them the finger and said:"go eff yourself"and immediately boarded a plane to go and play in his favorite commie's sandbox instead. Gotta love it.
What's more - these public servant/sycophants tried to make this an emergency lest a Democrat take office and their lobbyist friends in BIG OIL will not get their sticky little fingers on our untapped resources. These morons hopes that they could ram it through before the american people 'got wise' about what's really going on with our oil.
Fact: BIG OIL still has untapped resources without adding more to their pile of gold.
Fact: When domestic oil production is reduced, OPEC plays it's hand and does the same - ultimately controlling the US and forcing us to produce more. Let's face it: OPEC holds ALL the cards and together we and OPEC can create a totally artificial oil emergency. This is what these frauds in Congress did not want you to know.
IT HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH AN OIL SHORTAGE WHATSOEVER. This we are learning while Congress is in recess. There is NO WAY this will be approved when Congress reconvenes as people will have plenty of time to undertand the truth about what's occurring.
We decrease; OPEC decreases = oil scarcity. Quite simple, really.
Remember, this is a collection of snake oil salesmen who want to keep the ignorant where they are, and bring the marginals into the fold.
If they went home they would have to talk with their constituents and they might have to explain why they are getting big money from the oil companies to speak for them.
I think that talking to themselves, in the dark, is wonderfully symbolic. Enjoy your retirement at our expense!
Drilling solves nothing (aka right wing hater) @ 10:
That's totally accurate. Drilling solves nothing except feathering Bush and Cheney's personal oil nest! They own l/3 of the untapped oil resources in this country right now and want to "cash in" before they get booted from office.
It has nothing to do with the need to drill more and everything to do with the artificial manipulations of OPEC and the US. Besides, the already owned mineral rights by BIG OIL in this country have not been tapped out so why make the case for needing more? Greed, greed, and more GREED by Bush/Cheney Cabal and their OIL cronies.
I can't wait for Cheney's "secret oil meetings" at the beginning of this administration to become public. No doubt we will learn much about the collusion of Big Oil, The White House, and the Car manufacturers. It's called "holding Americans hostage" to the Fascist Greed Paradigm.
If we could capture the amount of hot air being exchanged in that room, we might have a new source of energy.
How do they walk around carrying those great big egos with them? An ego that large has to weigh at least a ton or two.
now hold on here folks...the repubs might be right on this one. i know the type of gas is wrong but some times perception is all that's needed in the market place. the law of supply and demand is well known, and the repubs are currently expelling and burning a helluvva lot of methane gas up on the hill...easily enuff for the price of gas to go down.
you are what you eat...
I guess they found Bush's "magic wand".
I say let them keep talking. Apparently it is working, and we don't have to do anything else.
lj @ 14:
These charlatans in Congress did not want the people to have enough time to become informed. They hoped to ram it in at the twelfth hour before Congress left town. Didn't work. Now that the truth is coming out about this "FAUX CRISIS", there's no way in hell that they will be granted their wish before the crims leave office.
Tinkerbell @ 18:
Get on the reichwing blogs and encourage them to talk on. The more they talk, the closer it comes to being a futile endeavor - and the closer they will individually come to losing their seat in Congress. Talk on, blabbermouths - soon you won't have a foot to shoot.
Dancer @ 12:
I had to turn the program off because Newt's attitude made me want to bash my tv. Good for you for hanging in there and watching the whole thing. You're a stronger person than I am.
pissed off patricia @ 16:
I think it's called a Republican weight loss program.
sassafra @ 17:
Since no one trusts the GOP brand at this point, anything they say is perceived to be a bold-faced lie. The methane reading on the Hill these days is off the charts. But let's keep them talking and blowing their own chances of continuing to hold their seat in congress down the toilet. It's their self-fulfillng prophesy.
No doubt their bud, Dumbo, sold them down the river. Which is what he always does - he throws his loyalist friends under the nearest bus when it becomes convenient for him to do so. They've known that they're next for a long time - it's the syndrome of: Your best friend is only one person removed from your worst enemy.
KEEP TALKING BOYS until the gallon drops to 59.9 cents would appreciate that a whole bunch.
This is one of the reasons I am against off shore drilling. Corporations are pressed by the CEO'S to out do the previous quarter. You will never see the saving because of supply and demand because the cheaper the fuel the more the demand. Oil rigs are unsafe. Republicans run safety measures as in the coal mines. What a safe job that is. CEO'S are to greedy. Big Oil is not obligated to sell oil to the USA. They wont pay taxes they will just move to Saudi Arabia or another tax free country. They do not understand the personal decision that could save more oil than drilling Like proper tire inflation, tune ups and fuel saving driving techniques.
Maybe they could switch over and start talking about foreclosures and the housing market. That could use a little fairy dust too. And when that's all fixed, perhaps they could discuss my ice-maker in my frig because it's going on the fritz.
This may be the only thing Bush has done right in his entire 8 years. Now they may see that the illegally obtained spy information which he garnered on "them" will be used against them if they balk too much. And they really thought he was listening to them all along? They're bigger fools than they look. This is so comical that it's tempting to pull up a ring side seat and pop some popcorn. Political theatre at it's finest.
They remind me of spoiled little brats who have never grown up. They can't get their way and they're pouting and acting out. This is primo stuff and stuff they will never live down. Their individual reputations are toast.
The hysterics are just like those that erected crowds outside poor Terry Schiavo's nursing facility, that slunk away after she was shown to have been brain-dead during all their pleadings to make her alive again. It has just as much rational basis as that episode did.
see http://cabdrollery.blogspot.com/2008/08/live-live-live.html
Drilling solves nothing (aka right wing hater) @ 10:
That is an excellent cartoon. Everyone needs to see it.
Is there a list of who is still hanging around? If so, can we find out if any/every one of them has taken oil money?
Then they should be exposed in their local papers with paid adds.
I bet that their wives and children are glad they're not home on vacation. Less wind-baggery around the various mansions.
The whiny morally bankrupt House Republicans, who for 8 years only worked 2 days a week and obstructed evey bill that would help Americans, again deceide to start crying while supporting Big Oil that is destroying our economy and our planet. These Republican Fascist extremmists should all be put in an insane aslym. or maybe ushered into a small town some where in Utah where they can only hurt themselves.
Actually, I think talking DID have an affect on oil prices.
Once the Bush administration announced that they would indeed talk with Iran, the oil speculators saw the potential for tensions to go down in that part of the world. When tensions go up in the middle east, oil prices go up. Bush's belligerent talk and refusal to open diplomatic talks with Iran contributed to that tension. His announcement to talk to them contributed to a decrease of that tension. Speculators are not as stupid as the people these Republicans are trying to appeal to. There is too much money involved for them to be anything but reality based. They know not to pay much attention to marketing points from Republicans.
And since the talking to "our enemies" part has been a cornerstone of Obama's policies, (And America's since the end of WW2) I refer to this oil price drop as the Obama drop.
(Oil prices started to drop before the Bush administration announced these talks, but that was surely going to be a typical correction that we see in the marketplace all the time. The substantial drop in oil prices occurred AFTER the announcement of these talks.)
osiris @ 3:
Bush was the culmination of the Reagan Revolution. How hilarious that all of the RW people are now increasingly angry with his failing to deliver on small government...as if he was ever going to! If they don't like Bush, they never should have chosen Imam Reagan.
Well this will certainly please the:
God is on OUR side, American Exceptionalism, Manifest Destiny, The Secret,Faith Healer,*John Edwards,Homeopathic,Prosperity Evangelist, sheep that are imbedded among the Repug followers.
*John Edwards the cold reader that pretends to talk to dead people.
Wow... just think what could have been done to prevent $4.00 per gallon gasoline if these clowns had tried to do something WHEN THEY HAD CONTROL OF CONGRESS FOR SIX YEARS!!!
Republicans count on the short attention span of a majority of Americans. Republicans think that we're all stupid and won't remember that they were a majority until the fall of 2006 and did NOTHING to promote conservation, new drilling, etc. (except, of course, for the old ANWAR canard which we all know is just an act since no oil company is pushing for access to ANWAR because there isn't that much oil there!).
Offshore drilling wouldn't yield any results for at least 10 years. Conservation, and yes keeping tires at the correct pressure, will begin to show results immediately. Will keeping the air in our tires at the correct level put a stop to our dependence upon foreign oil? No, not in itself, but as a part of a larger conservation effort it will go a long way towards that goal. As will reducing the amount of time spent driving, idling in traffic, etc.
It should be a NATIONAL SECURITY PRIORITY for the American economy to be largely independent of oil and petroleum products. We should have learned that lesson after the OPEC boycotts of the 1970's, but we didn't. So long as we remain dependent upon a resource that is mostly controlled by those who are opposed to the United States - and yes, that includes our "friend" Saudi Arabia - we are at risk and are actually putting money into the pockets of those who do the most to fund terrorism and the spread of Wahabbite ideology which is 100% against the United States and the rest of the non-Muslim world.
We are a creative, inventive people. We used to lead the world in technological advances. We can do it again, if we put our collective mind to it. We need a serious, Manhattan-style project to replace the internal combustion engine with a less polluting, less oil-dependent technology that will create jobs for our own people - and that can't be outsourced to India - and free us from the clutches of OPEC and Big Oil.
...Just wait until he blames every ounce of corruption during his first 6 years in office on them when they controlled congress and functioned as nothing more than "rubber stamps". That's the Rovian tactic and it's coming soon.
He will condemn them for derelection of duty and violation of their oath of office before this is all over. It's the typical Bush MO. But this time, his enablers will be taken down - lest he be taken down. When it comes down to "them or me", we know what's coming next.
They will all be blamed for the corruption from 2001 through 2006 by Bush himself. This will be priceless. What's more, we know that they're totally "guilty" of it! They're damned if they do/damned if they don't as I see it.
The more this group of renegades defy the dictator, the stronger will be their punishment. The more they gab on, the angrier the god gets. They'll soon see what becoming his enemy actually means. This gang of thugs will have the entire mess blamed on them before all is said and done. And I can't wait to see it.
This group will be rejected by the people for engaging in this charade and rejected by Bush and his cronies now. They've isolated themselves onto a very lonely island where they will now become easy targets for everyone.
mark @ 32:
Several good points here. Does anyone want to take bets that the price of gas/oil will continue to go down pre-election. Another magic wand from the Repubs.?
mark @ 32:
Actually, American "talking to our enemies," usually involved a pissing contest with waving big sticks before sitting down to it, which is effectively a summary of every Cold War summit ever.
How can I get a list of the people involved in this miraculous event? I would like to be 21 again, and perhaps these fine Americans can just make it happen. I would be willing to pay. If they hone their powers and skills and work in unison, I have no doubt that these miracle workers could indeed make me 21 again.
Think what would happen if they prayed. Gives a guy goosebumps at the thought of such power.
eric @ 28:
Absolutely great! I'll be forwarding it to my "undecided" friends, and making a poster!
Heard about "Pray at the Pump"? Believers gather at gas stations to pray over the gas pumps. It's happened in various cities, got some coverage, probably going to continue. PatP'ers are claiming success, much like the wingnuts in this post. Is this Congress or the 700 Club??
It's fortunate for these nutters that the ProfitMedia has their backs. If such were not the case, you or I could run for their offices and win. The reality is this: the moment somebody(not in their pocket) runs for a seat in congress, the ProfitMedia finds out about that puff of pot they had in the eighth grade and you are now drug crazed. Or a libbrill. Or...
pissed off patricia @ 25:
So tell about that ice maker, no kidding.
eric @ 28:
No Democrat has ever cut defense spending. By no, I literally mean "0." The only Defense cuts came from the GOP. Incidentally, Moscow was much more frightened of Dem administrations in the Cold War than GOP ones, and for good reason. Weak on Defense is not a Democratic Party problem. It should be noted, though, that all these statistics make you question just who the "traitors," in the Cold War were, if the Dems made National Security a priority and never cut defense. It starts with R and ends with N.
boc @ 43:
Some of Dobson's followers are praying for it to rain on the stadium the night Obama gives his acceptance speech as the Dem. nominee for president.
God's gonna have to get on the ball if he gets all this stuff done. Looks like he'll be dealing with oil and water. Good luck to him on that.
boc @ 43:
LOL...Pentecostals praying for Wahhabis to ease oil squeezing. Both idolatrous and sadly typical of that kinda fruitcake.
I was worried that with Congress out of session that Bush would slide through some appointments and other garbage. I guess the GOP is thwarting him for us!
Saint Augustine @ 45:
It's dying a slow death. I thought maybe the repubs could talk about it and make it new again.
It's making hollow ice cubes and of course they fall apart in like a second.
Talking in a near empty chamber, with minimal news coverage ain't gonna do a damn bit of good.
It's Americans conserving which is helping to drive down the cost (along with foreign companies alarmed by economic and job reports.) You know like chainey's conservation is a virtue not an economic plan?
Additionally, the oil companies know the reichwingers will follow orders.
They better wave that magic wand over Freddie Mac, they just reported losses 4 times more than expected.
General_Rennenkampf @ 48:
Every Christmas in our family we regifted the fruit cake of the previous year.
mudshark @ 52:
It would require the entire Hellenistic pantheon just to keep Freddie Mac above water, much less Yahweh. So...
ysbaddaden @ 53:
You didn't send them to Washington DC did you?
BobD @ 49:
As I understand it Reid is once again doing whatever he has to do to keep bush from doing any shady appointments.
Republicans are ABSOLUTELY USELESS.
Sadly, a lot of people view this sort of stunt as Republican unanimity. Actually, it is. The Republicans have cornered the market on the ability to band together on meaningless issues, giving the impression of a communal deep-seated virtue. Many Americans, being naive and too easily impressed, buy it.
RW @ 57:
Naw...not absolutely useless, the current RNC and Administration are comedy gold mines. That's still useful.
Maybe these ass hats should stop talking whle there ahead(?). If oil drops much more, people won't be screaming so loud for off shore drilling and then where will Big Oil be? They may just "talk" themselves out of more campaign donations.
sassafra @ 17:
Awesome... just keep 'em in there talking and gas will be cheaper than water before you know it!
I'm guessing these guys would rather stay in DC and make speeches to one another than face their angry constituents at home.
oops, "while they're ahead. too early to be typing.
Newt Gingrich was on CSPAN early this morning and lied like a rug.
To a Democratic caller that asked about the need to drill offshore/ANWR before their leases were used, Gingrich answered that "there's *already* a 1-year use-it-or-lose-it" provision on those leases, and we need these additional sites because "we *know* there is oil in these sites".
Excuse me? Not only am I *sure* the Democratic Congress did not issue 79 million acres in drilling leases in the last 12 months, I'm also certain the (imaginary) technology to *know for certain* where oil exists didn't come into existence in the past 12 months when oil companies agreed to purchase leases where they would have *known* no oil exists.
Do these people really believe that the World Oil Market which has about 85 million barrels output daily really responded to their Congress psychological speeches about 'offshore drilling',and lowered the prices?
If they have so much PSYCHOLOGICAL power to control oil prices,then where were they all this time? !!
The price went down because driving is getting lesser and lesser,due to skyrocketing prices at the gas pump .
It is an affordability issue, which means demand for oil is less, so the price went down..which takes us to the most important issue which is conserving energy..
If we make cars with more efficient engines then we can conserve...then oil prices will go down due to less consumption (demand) and our oil reserves will be kept in good shape.
To these politicians the imortant issue is to sell themselves as the good public servants so they can keep their seats.
In an election year..expect more stunts like these to come from these people.
Sorry, I just had an awful image. Do you think that the lights are off in the bathrooms, too.
Yeah, they found Bush's magic wand all right. I'm surprised they didn't mention all the praying and praying, down on one knee, they did every day.
{Deleted, FlameBaiting. SiteMonitor}
Don't give Republicans too much credit... All they've ever heard or believed in is supply-side economics... and we all know how well that's doing. So, it shouldn't be surprised that they are pushing for additional drilling (i.e. increasing the supply).
Holy crap... no wonder we've lost (or losing) the war on drugs... they've been so concerned about the supply-side of the drug trade instead of dealing with the root problems of why people take drugs (the demand).
And people really, really want this bunch back in there?
repugs like waving their magic wands around
Especially in airport bathrooms.
I don't get the tone of this post or these comments. Do you seriously thinking the Republicans look foolish by calling for offshore drilling in the eyes of many Americans? Do you honestly believe that they will be ousted for this?
Years of entertainment culture, consumerism, media messaging and the decreasing value of education have left this many in this country unable to see past sound bites and quick fixes. Many people cannot understand how the stock market works because it is complicated and sophisticated and even experts can be wrong about what drives it. Why is it ridiculous to think that speculation about future sources might drive down the price? It seems speculation on all manner of ridiculous stuff drives the market, why not this? (Think housing prices always go up) It doesn't matter if it is ridiculous and false if a voting majority believes its true.
Maybe if we stopped pompously laughing at the people who are inclined to believe in quick fixes and enable these bait and switch corporatist politics and the Republicans who exploit them we might actually have a chance to fix what is wrong in this country.
Obama is right there.. the GOP are proud of the fact that they are ignorant morons. They wear it like a medal. Surely ... no grown men could ever be so fucking stupid and immature. They have been proving it daily right back to the blow job witch hunt. They are hardly funny anymore but youll never take that away from them. What kind of a twit to you have to be to believe them anyways ? The world is laughing at them .
No, they look foolish for taking credit for the drop in oil prices just by sitting around talking about it. They've totally overlooked the supply/demand equation (or are hoping you will). Nobody thought we Americans would actually cut back on our driving but we did. Kudos to us.
Its back @ 81:
Wow, did you graduate?
Its back @ 81:
Let me ask YOU a question, what exactly qualifies anyone to become president? Please be as specific as possible, please use lots of numbers and reasons for these numbers, then I will direct you to Obama's website.
Its back @ 81:
Bush got elected because more people wanted to have a beer with him. Why not raise the bar a bit and get someone that (A) Knows what the hell is going on and (B) Is currently living in 2008. That, and he gives pretty damn good speeches...
That right there has three more points above what McCain has to offer.
Body Odor?? That's pretty good... Where did you pick up bullying? In the second grade? C'mon, you made an "A" in high school speech, you can come up with a better insult than that.
I spilled my guts to the enemy, trashed 5 perfectly good jet fighters and sold my soul to the highest bidder ? Can i be President now ? Oh hell , nevermind , already some dumb old fucker running on that platform.
Its back @ 81:
In the United States of America (cue National Anthem: "O, Say...), ANYBODY can be President, dincha know?
Well, you, mebbe not, being you're such adickhead and all...
Bush's "moratorium" on saber-rattling against Iran and sending a diplomatic envoy there the day before oil fell, has FAR more to do with the drop in gas prices than the GOP's "magical powers" of bringing down oil prices by simply talking about them.
Doesn't this fly in the face of the basic principlesd of the free market system? Aren't you supposed to leave it alone and it will take care of itself?
Magical Mystery Boors?
Actually the Democrats could get more done if the reichwingers would drop the obstructionism to Democratic bills concerning depositing less and releasing more oil from the strategic reserves, restricting the speculators and passing the Windfall Profit Tax.
Energy experts are saying if it weren't for non-traditional speculators at current supply levels oil would be 2.25 a gallon.
Additionally, after any contracts are filled we need to reign in where California's refineries ship all their refined products to Japan.
The great thing about the WPT is it's impossible for oil companies to legally pass them on to the consumer to try to protect their execessove profit, because then they would face more taxes.
Its back @ 81:
It must be pretty sad to have to go through middle-school getting so many swirlies and purple nurples.
Central Scrutinizer @ 62:
cheaper than water? you betcha! with the amount of greenhouse gas methane the rethugs are ruminating we'll be awash in melting greenland glacier sludge soon.
thanks gop!
.
Steve is uptight as he should be . I mean look at his candidate, McWashedUp. He can barely dodge apple sauce.
.
StirFry @ 110:
Ooh another good charachter attack that has no logic behind it, and yet again proved the stupidity of liberals....I love it.
[Stupid? STUPID? Who's posting from work, a federal gov't IP no less, buddy? And who cannot spell 'character?' Sitemonitor]
Its back @ 81:
Asking this is really meaningless, it's like asking in the 18th Century to state that without George III, the Revolution, or the lack of an alternative, is George Washington qualified, which he ended up doing as well as could be expected. No candidate today has the balls of Mr. Washington, though, so don't think I'm comparing 21st Century candidates to 18th Century candidates with the idea that Barack Obama's a new George Washington. Entirely different time, entirely different era. But the basic question is the same, without the alternative candidate, the biggest issue facing the nation right now, and his lackluster predecessor, what qualifies the opposition candidate. I mean, dude, WTF?
Ok, well I'm going to go. I actually have a life and actually am going to accomplish something with it. But dont worry i will be back.
And I will bring plenty of Kool-Aid for you liberal nuts to drink next time.
http://www.Broken-sitemonitor
Thought I would share that again. It was just too good.
[Nice. So, are you being paid by the taxpayers of the US to post this hate crap on our site? Or were you meant to be scrubbing the loos in The House? Enjoy your chat with House Security, and your boss-Sitemonitor]
It must be nice to go through life lacking reading comprehension skills, since this thread is neither about Obama nor mccain.
Stillbackagain @ 114:
IOTW, come in, take a fire, pour gasoline combined with gunpowder on it, and leave. Nice job, buddy, what a great troll you are (sarcasm.)
I find it funny that you base your critism of Obama on what amounts to a very insignificant verbal gaffe which he immediately corrected. So are you going to vote for the guy who thinks that Iraq and Pakistan border one another? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVfU8g8dlNg
So are you going to discount Obama's educational background? His State Senate service? His vast community service? And, yes, his ability to speak elequently? Not to mention the fact, as someone pointed out, his ability to run what has so far been a vastly suprior campaign then McCain.
OK without discussing politics, will someone PLEASE answer my political question?
And do I have to bring up Abraham Lincoln into the question of experience? Huh, do I, really??
Stillbackagain @ 114:
The Paris vid should keep you busy for at least a half an hour.
“I think the market is responding to the fact that we are here talking,” said Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) Well ... on the other hand markets do respond to instability.
Right. This thread is about Repukes claiming magic powers. I'm thinking maybe Mitt Romney stopped by and gave each of them some magic underwear, and since putting them on, "just by "talking," they've managed to increase the flow of oil and reduce the price at the pump.
Perhaps we should consider locking all of them somewhere in the Capitol so they can continue their discussions and magically fix: our national debt, the occupation of Iraq,
the public education system, the crumbling infrastructure, the healthcare debacle, etc. ??!!
isn't it funny how "immature" the republicans are becoming as their power starts slipping out of their hands. it's really like the spoiled brat who doesn't get her way and pitches a fit.
I wonder if these GOPers got this idea while watching Peter Pan and being asked to clap to help save Tinkerbell? Probably not, since they were no doubt rooting for Hook even at that early age.
126 Amitola Says: Right. This thread is about Repukes claiming magic powers. I’m thinking maybe Mitt Romney stopped by and gave each of them some magic underwear,
http://www.fashiontelevision.com/galleries/worst_underwear.jpg
128 Amitola
Buh-bye…….and do try to keep in mind that if we posted every video of gaffes mad by Mr McGoo, the server woulde probably crash!
Like his jets?
What would Zeus do? @ 131:
I'm sure some of them were trying to figure out how to get some of their own Lost Boys in cute little costumes to play with (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
What kills me is the fact that almost all of them are college educated... and they still don't know what "non sequitur" means...
And why is nary a news reporter reporting on this little tidbit!:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/world/middleeast/06surplus.html?partne...
In the words of Obama: "Republicans are very good at negative campaigns. They're just not good at governing." So the more they collectively make fools of themselves, the more we all can laugh. Now, when it comes to smearing Obama, that's something that needs to be taken
seriously.
Since when do you have to pay Republicans to act ridiculous? And since when do you have to pay them for anything? If they want your money, they'll steal it.
What would Zeus do? @ 131:
I wonder if these GOPers got this idea while watching Peter Pan and being asked to clap to help save Tinkerbell? Probably not, since they were no doubt rooting for Hook even at that early age.
They probably kept missing their other hand.
Where the hell were these magical Repubs when prices were rising through the roof? Can anyone be more deluded about themselves?
I wouldn't call it magic... more like conspiracy.
If the GOP makes some promises to big oil, whose to say they wouldn't make decisions that could influence the outcome of the election.
Remember the rolling blackouts in California?
Gee goopers, instead of your magical chanting, could it be because the global economy was fucked over by the housing crisis? At least that's the official word from financial news sources.
Demand for oil has dropped everywhere, even in Asia, because everyone's gone into a recession. Lower demand = lower prices... it's simple economics. If the GOP were such economic gurus, they'd understand this by now.
mackiddo5 @ 140:
Wasn't this the same bunch that tried to ban or burn Harry Potter books for "teaching" witchcraft to our children?
How does voting for off-shore drilling translate into more oil? Perhaps Republicans want to nationalize our oil reserves and contract oil companies to drill for oil? That might work. Because, in a free market, there's no way to compel Big Oil to drill (or even sell the drilled product here).
And why should they? Their current business model is working fabulously. There's no risk in filling up at the Aramco pump in Saudi Arabia and reselling at inflated prices here. They have the US military providing security and muscle to make sure they can get the product to market. (Maybe we should bill Big Oil for 25% of our military budget to reflect the true cost of ME energy consumption?) Risk is introduced when you capitalize costs of drilling...no guarantee that you'll cover your sunk costs. Big Oil loves their present business model, but they obviously don't mind their political front organization, the GOP, from using drilling as a fake issue to get the rubes, like Steve, onboard.
Blue Buddha @ 142:
Oh wait, that was already said behind the cut... nevermind. *^_^*
Where do all the people fit in who were praying for lower gas prices?
Correlation implies causality?
139 bob ondeez
Lest you forget besides Natural Born Citizen is the Natural Citizen, one born in a foreign country or foreign held American territory, but of American parents as Ius Sanguine. Otherwise mccain wouldn't qualify.
I'm sure mcgramps could solve our gas problems
He's an old dude
Just feeds him lots of spinach and pinto beans.
So will that mean that they will take credit for the oil prices when they go up as well?
I'm just sayin'.....
pissed off patricia @ 25:
Well Played!
And these are the same jacktards, who say New Age Beliefs are silly. LMFAO @ them.
HERE IS THE REAL DEAL
---- it is class warfare and the REPUBS are getting their asses handed to them.... economy all that....
THE OIL COMPANIES would rather lower prices to the CHEAP $3.98 a gallon FOR THE DAYS UNTIL NOVEMBER 4TH
rather than let OBAMA WIN and slap their asses with a WINDFALL PROFITS TAX
they are counting on everyone thinking the economy is getting better.... of course it is..... THEY ARE SUFFERING FROM FEAR !!!!
I have seen lot's of talks on oil but this lady get's it.
A true American
Conservative or Liberal
Anne Korin Global Security Analysis,
(Institute for the Analysis of Global Security)
Talks about Oil and what we can do
she explains it in plain language
anybody can understand.
This is must see TV
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=7MVwL2PcCG8
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=I8WRq2C31ao
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=efW_IR-SYJ8
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud_E-o2voUE
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=qfSbkiCwv-I
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=s9ua3C0e6Lk
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=HxZzLyV3Cwg
Why the hell didn't these pricks start talking to each other about oil when it was only $3.00 a gallon? If all they needed to do was to sit around the office after hours and talk about it, why is it unfair to blame them for the price getting to where it is now? Was it too much to ask that they sit around and talk a year ago?
These bastards should have been using there magical powers of political theater a year and a half ago, and maybe the economy wouldn't be so bad off right now.
Unfortunately, people believe what the republicans are selling. Over half of Californians now
approve of offshore drilling. By drilling offshore we MAY get 1/1,000 th of the worlds oil production
This would not make a dent in the price of a gallon of gasoline.
Please, write letters to the editor and spread the word of this deception because people
believe that drilling offshore will bring down gas prices.
Thanks.
156 Jon Hanbury
I still think all this off-shore energy talk is one of two things or both.
Election year posturing in a cycle that doesn't bode well for them.
Legislation in the interest of ONE energy company in Alaska, the rechristened (so to speak) Veco, that practically owns the state's politics and politicians local and national.
Veco is part of the larger corruption scandal engulfing Ted Stevens, hence their name change.
What a joke.
When it comes to scandals is this another Teapot about to boil over?
Dome...dome...de dome...dome...dome...dome...dome...dome...de dome...
"Whatza matter, alla y'all 'murka-hatin', devil-worshippin', faggy libruls? Cain't y'all tell me why yer gunna vote for BO, the stanky black guy, without talkin' 'bout Bush, the Eye-rack War, torture, the 'conomy goin' down the shitter, the huge-ass deficit, the fucked up housin' market, an' the dee-rision of the world we 'murkins currently enjoy, all 'cuzza the Ree-publican party and their winnin' politics of hatred and fear? Oh, yeah... and yer not allowed to talk 'bout McCain bein' a senile, cynical ol' bastard who cain't seem to remember what he's for or against most of the time, either! So, bring it on, alla y'all librul bitches! An' don't forgit ta follow alla my rules now, ya hear?"
The GOP should be careful or the religious right will turn on them for using their Harry Potter like powers.
Actually, it was their prayers that caused oil prices to decline. I'm surprised they're not mentioning it.
the Repubs actually do have magical powers !!
they get them from borrowing Mitt Romey's MAGIC MORMON panties
Where I work we have a Suggestion Box. The other day someone put in a suggestion that "We should have lower gas prices." Since that suggestion was made, the prices of gas have been going down around here.
I don't think the republicans have anything to do with the lower prices of gas, it's our suggestion box; it goes straight to the top.
Great. They can keep talking in the dark and the prices will go down. So we don't need to drill, right?
What a bunch of frgn' morons. The price of oil has been coming down substantially before they pulled their hissy-fit on Friday.
You know, Rush Limpballs is constantly calling Obama "The Messiah." These repuglicans must be another reincarnation of "The Messiah" if they think they are driving the oil price down. That newly drilled oil which we might see in 10 years sure has some sort of messianic power on today's prices.
Sure sounds like evil Rove at work here. They're all drinking the oil, I mean Kool-Aid.
Justin @ 164:
Bob?
Big E @ 163:
http://www.fredericks.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=Holiday2002&categor...
It does not take an economics degree to know that decreased demand will lead to lower prices. We are driving slower, we are driving less, we are buying more fuel efficient cars. And some people are checking their tire pressures to improve efficiency. So the ironic counter argument to the republicans taking credit for the decreased gas prices is: So many people respect what Obama says that they started checking their tire pressures and it decreased demand, and in turn this lowered the price of gas!!!! I know it is not true, but it has more economic truth than their argument. By the way, properly inflated tires can decrease your real cost up to 3%. About 12 cents a gallon right now. Not nine years from now. Up front cost of about $5 for a decent tire gauge. Bright people know this is not the final energy solution. Ignorant people ignore these suggestions at their own expense.
169 MTM Says
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_8aDvzwElY
They are responsible for the lowering of the prices.
The fact that they are meeting instead of flying home or driving around DC in their SUVs has driven down demand and thus the prices.
Obviously Obama's threat of a windfall tax is forcing the oil companies to gauge their gouging to maximize profit without tipping public rage beyond control.
He is The One.
His proclamations ripple the space-time fabric.
He Speaks, Unleaded Peaks.
...must really piss off the plutocraps and their minions...
hehe
;-}
If the GOP had these "magical powers" over the oil companies, why in the hell weren't they using them sooner? They've cost me a lot of money, if they had this fabulous power and refused to use it. If that's the case, isn't that malfeasance or misfeasance or something like that? I mean, they are servants of the people and weren't looking out for the people.
For withholding their magic, they should all be impeached.
ysbaddaden @ 158:
Great point.
We had a woman running for governor here in our state and she made the argument that since we started using biofuels, which her opponent favored, the price of gasoline had more than doubled. Therefore, it is apparently biofuel's fault that gasoline is so high.
No other reason, just biofuels. Didn't have anything to do with the oil companies or the war in the middle East, just biofuels.
Two republican idiots duking it out over non-existent issues. I love these self-congratulatory folks.
pissed off patricia @ 21:
Newt can help save energy by walking a little more. Might even lose a pound or two. He has certainly gotten to be a little porker, hasn't he?
Congressional Republicans claim magical powers over oil prices
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfahp4J_-_o
Kathy in St. louis @ 139:
Republicans don't know the difference between causality and coincidence. Boasting without substantive proof is the bane of insecure toadies like Neocons. For their self centered propagandistic purposes causality and coincidence are one and the same. With their warped logic it's like saying that the stock market went up 331 points yesterday because I went to Burger King for lunch.
Pelosi would never be so clever. The very personification of weak sauce.
142 bmw H. 528
What you're arguing is that the repubics are utilizing the logical flaw in rhetoric called non-causae.
I don't disagree.
But then that's why Aristotle preferred a Constitutional Monarchy over Democracy which he held in contempt as essentially selfish. This is also why Socrates and his student Plato prefered Didactics over Rhetoric.
Don't get me started on Didactics; I find it arrogant, and I tend more to the views of Protagoras of Abdera (Pagan) and Pelagius (Christian.)
ysbaddaden @ 144:
I find Aristotle disturbingly similar to Hitler's ideas, especially the bit about some races being born to servitude, and others to rule them. If I have to pick a Classical-age person to represent my views, I suppose that my views are closer to Hunayn Ibn Ishaq, with the caveat that I derive my theomorphy from Nicene Trinitarianism, whereas his theomorphy is Islamic unitarianism. Even so, Ibn Ishaq represents my views on things much more than any Hellenistic philosopher does. Or, for another viewpoint on how relations in society are supposed to work, my views are more in tune with St. Theresa of Avila and Hume. Hobbes is a bit too much for me, but a combination of Stoicism, Kalam, and Nicene Christianity is my basic view of things, with a little bit of Nieztsche added in for good measure.
I've never quite trusted Nicene Trinitarianism theomorphy. That what codified Chrisitianity and empowered the Roman Catholics in particular (although it's shared with Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, and although I'm not sure possibly Abyssinian and Coptic.) It helped destroy the work of the early Church Father Origenes Adamantius, anathemizing his teaching after his death. I'll make this my last comment on the subject today, because I've already started drinking, and want to stay sober long enough to worship my Deities.
But because my senses are already scrambled was it Hunayn Ibn Ishaq who formed Sufism in Islam? That's the first thing that popped in my head, along with the wine bubbles. As for Theresa of Avila I know she was suspected at times of being a Quietist. They would excuse their sinful ways as God's Will, and since they obey God's Will in all things, if He wants them to be a sinner so be it.
And in Theresa's case her surrender into Divine Will had distinct erotic overtones, but somewhat controlled, that made her only marginally better than the nuns at the convents of Loudun and Aix-En-Provence that went quite berserk.
Now back to my drinking a enchantery.
One last thought. If I were to describe myself in any way it's Dionysian. It's not like I conduct rites in his honor. My approach life is ecstatic and explosive.
I've always thought that philosophy was what I called cerebral onanism, or in another parlance whacking off the mind. Sure it feels good, but what good does it do?
As a fifteen year old I got caught up in the German Expressionist movement, because of my interest in the history of horror movies. But I couldn't determine a philosophy behind the movement. So I gleaned out what I could along with the Sturm und Drang. That is that they would use powerful emotions and abstractions to warp the real world to see what remained uncorrupted within. I suppose it was all rather solipsistic, which I also was as a teen as well as something of a nihilist. The Germans have these terms Schein and Erscheinung which says it all. Since then I've prefered the use of humor to shred opinions to glean what lays within.
Nietzche described the Dionysian as opposed to the Apolloneist best when referring to Schoepenauer's work Welt als Wille und Vorstellung:
(A) tremendous terror which seizes man when he is suddenly
dumfounded by the cognitive form of phenomena because
the principle of sufficient reason…seems to suffer an exception.
If we add to this terror the blissful ecstasy that wells from the
innermost depths of man…at this collapse of principium
individuationis, we steal a glimpse into the nature of the Dionysian,
which is brought home to us intimately by the analogy of
intoxication (The Birth of Tragedy:Out of the Spirit of Music).
But since I only learn enough about the philosophy and history of Christianity to bug and confuse the hell out of Christians, can you recommend a few books?
uhmm... you do realize that a vast portion of oil price has nothing to do with supply and demand and everything to do with the faith in oil that traders and hedge funds have. people invest in oil driving prices up only to sell them later on... this cycle of buy sell happens numerous times before it arrives at the pump. what we do need is some regulation on trade of such items. every time you buy at the pump it's just like you are buying a public stock. it fluctuates for the same reason. faith in oil.
Are the Republican clowns going to accept the blame when the price of oil goes back up in a day or so? I suspect magical thinking is one sided.
Nietzche, Apollonian...
That's what I get for typing drunk.
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