The inertia in Congress during the election cycle will prevent anything being done to curb increasing fuel costs. The Dems plans for alternative fuels are several years,if not decades,down the road. The Repubs plans for drilling now are at least two years wait for production from new wells. With the lack of refinery capabilities,new wells are not likely to be of benefit in any case. That being said,the American public will not stand for,nor will our economy survive, at least the appearance of action. The Dems will have increased power after the election without any viable,immediate solution to increased costs. This will probably mean a changing of the guard a la '94. Get used to high fuel costs. WASS (We Are So Screwed).

It's so obvious the partisan battle taking place in congress with special interest lining the deep pockets of democrat congressmen. No drilling or you lose their support. Somehow some of these greencommies convinced them that these new light bulbs containing mercury were environmentally sound. Yet go to the EPA's website and if you bust one on your floor they've got to call in a hazmat crew! Go figure.

But raise da roof! Obama! W()()T W()()T! He's our hero. Heck people faint just thinking about him!




No crooks here! What meh worry!

There are so many sad things wrong with this guy and he's not even in office yet!

Just curious...in the background, are those the same people holding the change signs in each city? LOL

Take the price per barrel, and multiply it times the annual production of oil.
That's how much of a 'wealth transfer' is occuring each year from western industrialized nations, to oil producing nations.


Take the individual nations consumption of oil on a yearly basis, do the same math above, and then compare it to that nations GDP , and see what you think the break point is.

One commodity capturing 15% or so of a nations GDP should be enough to push that nations economy over the edge.

Say..................hows around 250 a barrel sound to you ?

At 300 per barrel................................

There's no money for anything else...............

Bin Laden wanted to drive the price of oil to 144 per barrel, he said this years ago. Evidently that number he spoke of was where someone (him, his 'help', whatever) figured that real, lasting economic damage would begin to occur in western democracies.

Mission Accomplished.................

Meanwhile the US Treasury Secretary is a former currency trader, brought in to 'manage' the decline of the dollar, thus ensuring a continued rise in commodity prices of all sorts, not just oil.

Mission Accomplished.................

All the while the President chases the 'ghost of terrorism' as Bin Laden likes to say, to the tune of who knows how much a year, borrowed money of course.

Mission Accomplished..................

Now ask yourself one question, who has gotten what they wanted after 7 years of the 'War on Terrah' , Bush or Bin Laden ?

With that percentage of GDP going to oil, it would seem to me there would be more of a push for alternative fuels. The fact there is no alternative fuel in wide production and circulation more or less tells me that the technology for this is presently more costly than oil and is on the distant horizon at best.

When the Japanese controlled the rubber plantations in Southeast Asia during WW2 we got our heads together and made synthetic rubber. Why isn't that happening now?

Maybe because a lot of Americans are sitting on their couch (high on pot or crack) waiting for their Welfare check...

On the average, we don't hold a candle to the work ethic/ambition of the Americans present during WW2........let alone the patriotism.

Kef Kid was doing great there until he started grasping for conspiracy theory at the treasury secretary. No surprise there, leftards are always good for those.

Meanwhile Americans continue to pump gas at $4/gallon + like its no big deal. $200 barrel = $7 /gallon btw. Doesn't look like that's too far off. Expecially if we get someone in there like Obama to withdrawal troops and create some instability issues.

No conspiracy theory boot_gay.

When the dollar ( or any other currency) slides, an 'orderly' decline is preferred over a 'disorderly' decline. "Orderly' is generally defined as around less 20% than a year, 'disorderly' declines greater than that. Given that some other central banks were raising interest rates last fall/late summer, putting additional pressure on the dollar, having a currency trader manage the decline would seem the option to choose.
However, Since 1980, no G7 currency has fallen by more than 30 percent against another G7 member in a year. The closest I can remember was the 50% decline the dollar had against they yen and mark during 85-87. I believe the dollar is off about 30% ('disorderly decline' of the dollar, or 'disorderly rise' of the loonie) with our biggest trading partner, Canada, although the Canadian Central Bank is likely to cut interest rates more to cool off the loonie a bit more.

'Orderly' and 'disorderly' declines are terms currency traders and economists ( and others) understand.......................you evidently not so much. Managing currency declines/rises is tricky business, and evidently 'managing' a 'decline' in your feeble mind is a 'conspiracy theory'......................

''As gas prices continue to set records, Americans are driving less and using public transit more, a trend that has lasted the past six months.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said that Americans drove 1.4 billion fewer highway miles in April 2008 than April 2007. There is a decline of almost 20 billion miles travelled this year.

Peters said that midsize SUV sales were down last month 38 percent over May 2007, while car sales -- which had accounted for less than half of the industry volume in 2007 -- rose to 57 percent in May.''

So.................while Americans 'continue to pump gas at 4 a gallon', as you say, obviously they are pumping less, and doing so into more fuel efficient cars.......................

You're not real bright, are ya boot_gay ?

B-J!

You're a funny guy:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=twW_riHWz_4

Still laughing, next....

good call Hankster! I will not defend Clinton, but it is important to note that Gramm got the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (a 262 page document)attached to the already contentious $384 billion budget spending package hammered out at the last minute. No one read it or really knew what was in it (ignorance is no excuse) so it passed as an attachment. Among other things, the bill did the following:

Exempted energy trading from regulatory oversight. As a result, Enron wrecked the California electricty market and cost consumers billions before it collapsed. Approximately eight years before this, Gramm's Wife, Wendy Gramm was Chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commision. She pushed through a rule excluding Enron's energy futures contracts from government oversight. Wendy later joined Enron's board and received anywhere between $915,000 and $1.8 million.

Made Credit Default Swaps unregulated. These are essentially insurance policies covering losses on securities in the event of a default. With no regulation, no one made sure that banks and hedge funds had the assets to cover the losses the CDS's were to guarantee. This was supported by Alan Greenspan and Fed Chairman Larry Summers - a $62 trillion market which is about four times the size of the stock market. If this doesn't scare you, you are beyond reach.

McCain should drop Gramm like plutonium. I won't bore any of you with more facts as it is all too depressing.

I'm not defending Gramm and if there is a whiff of impropriety, McCain should drop him like a soiled condom. I have many times said that if you scratch ANY politician, you will come away with dirty fingernails. It's all a power trip and these people will lay down with the scum of the earth to obtain the power they think they need. The seemingly most idealogical politician didn't get to where they are by emulating Mother Theresa.

Before you get too caught up in the Gramm thing, balance your information with these links too and tell me if there aren't more people to share the blame.

www.nationalreview.com/daily/nr020502.shtml



The National Review piece more or less exonerates Gramm. Going back over this I found the other links I edited out were no longer active. You can find them by typing "Clinton and Enron" in your browser and read the ones from Media Research and NewsMax......and yes, I did read the one from Mother Jones too. Fair and balanced is what I like and I don't get all of my info from conservative scribes.

National Review.

NewsMax.

Media Research. (As in Brent... Bozo... Bozell?)

That list right there sounds pretty "fair and balanced" to me Hank!

Captain Obvious strikes again...


dumber than a whole box of really stupid rocks.

probably has a breathmaker installed reminding him when to breathe

just another leach that whines about paying taxes

would sell his soul just for the chance to have rush's baby

named his buttplug *W*

Nice to see the hang over has worn off--------your alive!

Thats right !!! Don't you owe us a picture of you in a Tux Stam ?? I for one would be proud to see it.

You gotta love someone that dumb....thanks for being a good sport b_j


yeah, jim I felt pretty damn bad yesterday, even today I was a little ragged, then I read just a couple of b_j's posts and realized that I just had a hangover, terminal stupidity is well.....terminal, a hangover will go away.


Thanks b_j again for reminding me how good I have it, America is a wonderful place..you should learn to appreciate it.

stam

Mike had already come up with the liberal resource.....I added the conservative. That is what is commonly called fair and balanced. I leave it to you to separate the wheat from the chaff. I also said I had read the Mother Jones piece too.

Brent me Boy!!

*if* Parker, Bucket, Neal or Gilly have a pic I 'spect they would have posted it by now, I certainly don't, though I must say I was quite dashing.....all my youngest daughters friends thought ...and I quote "I was hot".

Here is the only pic I snuck in during a photo session...glad I saved some dough during the Clinton years...or my sweet daughter would have wound up getting married in the courthouse.



stamerican

A lovely bride and a bridsmaid with an attitude. I wish i had made it there - looks like fun.

Seems to me Dave that old Stammeroo didn't invite anyone that might me competition to his "hotness".