.
Tony Hayward. Chum.
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h/t Think Progress
Showing posts with label Big Oil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Big Oil. Show all posts
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Nation Building at Home
.
This morning on the Imus Show, Tom Friedman introduced a theme he says is vital and not being addressed by either party in this election campaign: nation building at home.
I guess he wasn't listening to Barack Obama's Invesco Field speech and Obama's plan for funding innovation and entrepreneurship and new energy technologies. Maybe Friedman was jet-porting somewhere between Beijing and HongKong or something.
This morning we're seeing already in George W. Bush's infomercial for the Republican "drill, drill, drill" mantra that the Rethug solution is NOT innovation and new technologies. Nope. The same ol' same ol' party ain't going to be the one to heed Friedman's message that innovative energy technology and nation-building-at-home are what this election should be about.
For those who are landlocked inside our borders, quaking in the corner while Lou Dobbs thunders about keeping the "out" out, nodding in agreement with Cokie's calling our 50th State foreign and exotic, for those who suck up everything the Limbaugh - Hannity - reichwing talk radio is pissin' the way their SUVs suck up gas, the Rethuglican party is right on point.
But for those who stop and actually analyze the problem and educate themselves and vote for their best interests instead of against, this is a pivotal moment.
Do we want more of the same ol' same ol' that keeps us with the hands of Putin and Saudi on America's cojones puttin' the squeeze...cause that's what oil dependence offers us.
Do we want more of the same ol' same ol' that leaves us playin' catch-up...or worse yet, sitting on the side of the road as the world passes us by?
Friedman put it about as succinctly and so vividly even the shallow thinkers oughta "get it"...flying from Shanghai to LaGuardia is like flying from The Jetsons to The Flintstones....
So pick your issues this year, folks...I've got my take. Scarborough&Mika pushing the Palin pregnant kid story in the typical "we're so offended this is being talked about that we're going to talk about it" phony fashion.
In the long run, I don't care diddly-doo about whether somebody's kid is knocked-up.
I do care that too many in what Friedman calls "brain dead Washington" are perpetuating knocking all of us down.
.
Audio of Friedman not yet up on the website, but here's the page where Imus Show interviews appear as soon as available.
.
This morning on the Imus Show, Tom Friedman introduced a theme he says is vital and not being addressed by either party in this election campaign: nation building at home.
I guess he wasn't listening to Barack Obama's Invesco Field speech and Obama's plan for funding innovation and entrepreneurship and new energy technologies. Maybe Friedman was jet-porting somewhere between Beijing and HongKong or something.
This morning we're seeing already in George W. Bush's infomercial for the Republican "drill, drill, drill" mantra that the Rethug solution is NOT innovation and new technologies. Nope. The same ol' same ol' party ain't going to be the one to heed Friedman's message that innovative energy technology and nation-building-at-home are what this election should be about.
For those who are landlocked inside our borders, quaking in the corner while Lou Dobbs thunders about keeping the "out" out, nodding in agreement with Cokie's calling our 50th State foreign and exotic, for those who suck up everything the Limbaugh - Hannity - reichwing talk radio is pissin' the way their SUVs suck up gas, the Rethuglican party is right on point.
But for those who stop and actually analyze the problem and educate themselves and vote for their best interests instead of against, this is a pivotal moment.
Do we want more of the same ol' same ol' that keeps us with the hands of Putin and Saudi on America's cojones puttin' the squeeze...cause that's what oil dependence offers us.
Do we want more of the same ol' same ol' that leaves us playin' catch-up...or worse yet, sitting on the side of the road as the world passes us by?
Friedman put it about as succinctly and so vividly even the shallow thinkers oughta "get it"...flying from Shanghai to LaGuardia is like flying from The Jetsons to The Flintstones....
So pick your issues this year, folks...I've got my take. Scarborough&Mika pushing the Palin pregnant kid story in the typical "we're so offended this is being talked about that we're going to talk about it" phony fashion.
In the long run, I don't care diddly-doo about whether somebody's kid is knocked-up.
I do care that too many in what Friedman calls "brain dead Washington" are perpetuating knocking all of us down.
.
Audio of Friedman not yet up on the website, but here's the page where Imus Show interviews appear as soon as available.
.
Monday, August 18, 2008
A Real Solution...or More Hot Air?
.
T. Boone Pickens is making the rounds these days—he met separately over the weekend with Senator Obama and Senator McCain—talking up The Pickens Plan, a Manhattan Project-style push to reduce dependence on foreign oil by harvesting wind energy in the great corridor of America from Texas to the Dakotas.
Hard to argue about something that would bring fresh economic propulsion and jobs to the heartland. Yet we reserve judgement, take a farmer's wait-and-see attitude, because we remember T. Boone. We recall him four years ago, the skunk at the picnic, using his wealth and power to enable the Swiftboating of a true American hero, mocking his service, bein' part of the good ol' Purple-bandaid folks who played by their own rules. Call it "cheat to win and bluff if they catch us."
That's been workin' pretty well for some time now. Not much honor in it though.
Maybe that's why Pickens this time around is saying he's not going to choose sides. Maybe even for the ol' football fanatic the cheatin' just got too much. Or maybe he sees a way to keep makin' a big buck for himself.
Whatever his motivation, whatever feelings you and I may have about him, though, we'd do well to take a page out of Obama's book and be willing to listen. Unlike McCain who jumps through the hoops of Big Oil...a little chorus of "drill, drill, drill..." anyone? And damn the reality.
T. Boone is stirrin' the pot, no doubt about it. On CNN this morning, Kiran Chetry's first question was: what about those Democrats and environmentalists who oppose your plan? Pickens response was, essentially, who? Audubon Society and Sierra Club are both on board...
But when you're lookin' for alliances and oppositions these days, it would do well to keep in mind the cozy advertiser-media alliances...like ExxonMobile and CNN...and keep a healthy supply of skepticism in mind when you contemplate not only the players on the field but the referees and the color commentary from the sidelines. Who are the reporters...and who are the cheerleaders?
We've seen the mockery of "Inconvenient Truth" by the predicable naysayers before...will it ratchet up as Pickens drives the conversation? After all, who has the most to lose from a re-prioritizing of energy policy [and tax breaks and subsidies and...] than Pickens' good buddies in the oil industry?
And who has the most to win?
I'll be mindful of that this week, because T. Boone is coming to Fargo to discuss his plan, and even though he was a skunk four years ago, the current energy-economic-security mess we have on our hands is no picnic. And everyone's going to have to pitch in with new ideas and fresh personal energy.
Just as long as they bring clean hands.
T. Boone Pickens is making the rounds these days—he met separately over the weekend with Senator Obama and Senator McCain—talking up The Pickens Plan, a Manhattan Project-style push to reduce dependence on foreign oil by harvesting wind energy in the great corridor of America from Texas to the Dakotas.
Hard to argue about something that would bring fresh economic propulsion and jobs to the heartland. Yet we reserve judgement, take a farmer's wait-and-see attitude, because we remember T. Boone. We recall him four years ago, the skunk at the picnic, using his wealth and power to enable the Swiftboating of a true American hero, mocking his service, bein' part of the good ol' Purple-bandaid folks who played by their own rules. Call it "cheat to win and bluff if they catch us."
That's been workin' pretty well for some time now. Not much honor in it though.
Maybe that's why Pickens this time around is saying he's not going to choose sides. Maybe even for the ol' football fanatic the cheatin' just got too much. Or maybe he sees a way to keep makin' a big buck for himself.
Whatever his motivation, whatever feelings you and I may have about him, though, we'd do well to take a page out of Obama's book and be willing to listen. Unlike McCain who jumps through the hoops of Big Oil...a little chorus of "drill, drill, drill..." anyone? And damn the reality.
T. Boone is stirrin' the pot, no doubt about it. On CNN this morning, Kiran Chetry's first question was: what about those Democrats and environmentalists who oppose your plan? Pickens response was, essentially, who? Audubon Society and Sierra Club are both on board...
But when you're lookin' for alliances and oppositions these days, it would do well to keep in mind the cozy advertiser-media alliances...like ExxonMobile and CNN...and keep a healthy supply of skepticism in mind when you contemplate not only the players on the field but the referees and the color commentary from the sidelines. Who are the reporters...and who are the cheerleaders?
We've seen the mockery of "Inconvenient Truth" by the predicable naysayers before...will it ratchet up as Pickens drives the conversation? After all, who has the most to lose from a re-prioritizing of energy policy [and tax breaks and subsidies and...] than Pickens' good buddies in the oil industry?
And who has the most to win?
I'll be mindful of that this week, because T. Boone is coming to Fargo to discuss his plan, and even though he was a skunk four years ago, the current energy-economic-security mess we have on our hands is no picnic. And everyone's going to have to pitch in with new ideas and fresh personal energy.
Just as long as they bring clean hands.
Monday, July 28, 2008
The Pickens Effect
.
On a quick roundtrip errand run this morning—carefully calibrated to make a circuit with no backtracking, no delays at train crossings watching the gazillion-car trains hauling North Dakota coal out East, and turns left far more than right, I noted a sign of the times: gas at the Holiday station store on the far southside: $3.58.9 a gallon.
Call it the Pickens Effect. Oh, I know the VVM [vapid vapors media] will spew the Big Oil friendly spin that it's people driving less that have brought oil prices down...or no damage from the latest tropical storm/hurricane to roll across the Gulf Coast... and that's part of it. But to say that's it as though that's all it is, is kinda like sayin' "the surge has worked...." while ignoring the gorillas in the room.
Because I'm convinced the real driver of high energy costs is the Chee-knee Energy Plan...cooked up in early days of the BushCo Administration with his Texas-based cronies. A plan to drive up demand...how's that tax break for gas guzzlers workin' out?
A plan to artificially diminish supply...crank up the deposits in the oil reserves, folks, oh, and while you're at it...cry whine and sheesh over the fewer refineries...and don't mention that the fewer refineries are bigger and...well, I almost said better...but that's subjective. But at least the fewer refineries can be taken off-line any ol' time a Texas heart feels like pumpin' a little more crude goudging and a little less crude oil.
And then there's the futures boys, from Wall Street to West Texas, speculatin' in tomorrow's cost of oil.
And if you've got one of their own sayin' he's been an oil man for all those years and "this is one crisis we can't drill our way out of" then you're going to have a whole lotta folks quiverin' in their high-priced Texas boots and Wall Street loarers.
And tomorrow's oil starts looking not so good. Because if you start aggressively developing—not just talkin' about—alternatives to oil, the futures are going to dry up and the costs are going to drive down.
There's plenty to look at. Wind energy, solar, natural gas, switchgrass, biodiesel, nuclear, magnetic...heck, there's probably energies we haven't even thought about yet.
But while we're lookin', might be a good idea, too, to look at history. And who's got an incentive to destroy some energies—electric cars, anyone?—to save their own hides. And who do you trust.
So do I trust ol' T. Boone? Not as far as I can throw a Swiftboat.
He's going to be one of the first hogs at the trough for more tax breaks and loopholes and the whole business of socializing capitalists while starvin' consumers.
But we gotta get there somehow, and if we keep our eyes on the ball, and elect the people who will look out for the people's interests, call the media when they're shillin' for their advertisers instead of reporting facts, use common sense regulations so the outlaws can't take over and monopolize the whole effort...then we just might have a chance to reinvent not only energy policy but the whole energy of the planet.
.
On a quick roundtrip errand run this morning—carefully calibrated to make a circuit with no backtracking, no delays at train crossings watching the gazillion-car trains hauling North Dakota coal out East, and turns left far more than right, I noted a sign of the times: gas at the Holiday station store on the far southside: $3.58.9 a gallon.
Call it the Pickens Effect. Oh, I know the VVM [vapid vapors media] will spew the Big Oil friendly spin that it's people driving less that have brought oil prices down...or no damage from the latest tropical storm/hurricane to roll across the Gulf Coast... and that's part of it. But to say that's it as though that's all it is, is kinda like sayin' "the surge has worked...." while ignoring the gorillas in the room.
Because I'm convinced the real driver of high energy costs is the Chee-knee Energy Plan...cooked up in early days of the BushCo Administration with his Texas-based cronies. A plan to drive up demand...how's that tax break for gas guzzlers workin' out?
A plan to artificially diminish supply...crank up the deposits in the oil reserves, folks, oh, and while you're at it...cry whine and sheesh over the fewer refineries...and don't mention that the fewer refineries are bigger and...well, I almost said better...but that's subjective. But at least the fewer refineries can be taken off-line any ol' time a Texas heart feels like pumpin' a little more crude goudging and a little less crude oil.
And then there's the futures boys, from Wall Street to West Texas, speculatin' in tomorrow's cost of oil.
And if you've got one of their own sayin' he's been an oil man for all those years and "this is one crisis we can't drill our way out of" then you're going to have a whole lotta folks quiverin' in their high-priced Texas boots and Wall Street loarers.
And tomorrow's oil starts looking not so good. Because if you start aggressively developing—not just talkin' about—alternatives to oil, the futures are going to dry up and the costs are going to drive down.
There's plenty to look at. Wind energy, solar, natural gas, switchgrass, biodiesel, nuclear, magnetic...heck, there's probably energies we haven't even thought about yet.
But while we're lookin', might be a good idea, too, to look at history. And who's got an incentive to destroy some energies—electric cars, anyone?—to save their own hides. And who do you trust.
So do I trust ol' T. Boone? Not as far as I can throw a Swiftboat.
He's going to be one of the first hogs at the trough for more tax breaks and loopholes and the whole business of socializing capitalists while starvin' consumers.
But we gotta get there somehow, and if we keep our eyes on the ball, and elect the people who will look out for the people's interests, call the media when they're shillin' for their advertisers instead of reporting facts, use common sense regulations so the outlaws can't take over and monopolize the whole effort...then we just might have a chance to reinvent not only energy policy but the whole energy of the planet.
.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Sunday Gas
.
There's a whole lot to be said about kickin' back for a weekend and NOT listening to the Sunday Morning gasbag shows. If you didn't and you must know what time-wasted concern trolling took place, well then, crooks and liars deconstructs the lot of 'em.
Okay, I confess, I did catch a bit o'Reliable Sources, with fearmongering Howie Kurtz warning his colleagues in the media that they are being bad, bad, by giving so much attention to Barack and so little to his buddy McCain that there could be teh backlash.
Not to worry, though, Howie. If C&L's description of Tom Brokaw's cave-into-concern-trollism is even halfway on the mark, the "librul" media can once again be counted on by the RNC blast-fax-folks to be cowed out of reporting on facts and instead wring their hands over "polls" and "process."
It's going to be a long rest of the summer.
Meanwhile, you have Republicans including known Bush adorer Michelle Bachmann, still best known for channeling her inner Baron "The Claw" von Raschke, heading up to Anwar. Along with such energy experts as CNN's Ari Velchi, who's energy expertise seems most suited to picking out a tie to go with that pin-striped suit.
They'll be tellin' us all about the drillin' in the Anwar. Or the not-drillin' in the Anwar. And like too much that supposedly passes for reporting these days, you won't even hear a mention of the real issue of Anwar.
It's not the drillin'. It's the heating.
And I don't mean global warming...except in this way. A convenient little fact the Vapid Vapors Media glosses right over [see also, sin of omission] is that extracting the oil in the northern Arctic regions requires heating that oil. Which in turn heats the permafrost. Which in turn changes the climate...there...and ultimately everywhere.
So I didn't listen to the gasbags this morning. Instead, I got a little bit of truth and information from National Geographic Explorer's "Alaska's Last Oil" Saturday night [set to re-air Tues. July 22 at 5 pm ET].
Oil wars, whether they're violent [see also, The Kingdom, now airing on HBO] or wars of words [see also the on-message Republispinners screamin' for drillin'], well, those oil wars win nothing.
See also, Al Gore....
.
There's a whole lot to be said about kickin' back for a weekend and NOT listening to the Sunday Morning gasbag shows. If you didn't and you must know what time-wasted concern trolling took place, well then, crooks and liars deconstructs the lot of 'em.
Okay, I confess, I did catch a bit o'Reliable Sources, with fearmongering Howie Kurtz warning his colleagues in the media that they are being bad, bad, by giving so much attention to Barack and so little to his buddy McCain that there could be teh backlash.
Not to worry, though, Howie. If C&L's description of Tom Brokaw's cave-into-concern-trollism is even halfway on the mark, the "librul" media can once again be counted on by the RNC blast-fax-folks to be cowed out of reporting on facts and instead wring their hands over "polls" and "process."
It's going to be a long rest of the summer.
Meanwhile, you have Republicans including known Bush adorer Michelle Bachmann, still best known for channeling her inner Baron "The Claw" von Raschke, heading up to Anwar. Along with such energy experts as CNN's Ari Velchi, who's energy expertise seems most suited to picking out a tie to go with that pin-striped suit.
They'll be tellin' us all about the drillin' in the Anwar. Or the not-drillin' in the Anwar. And like too much that supposedly passes for reporting these days, you won't even hear a mention of the real issue of Anwar.
It's not the drillin'. It's the heating.
And I don't mean global warming...except in this way. A convenient little fact the Vapid Vapors Media glosses right over [see also, sin of omission] is that extracting the oil in the northern Arctic regions requires heating that oil. Which in turn heats the permafrost. Which in turn changes the climate...there...and ultimately everywhere.
So I didn't listen to the gasbags this morning. Instead, I got a little bit of truth and information from National Geographic Explorer's "Alaska's Last Oil" Saturday night [set to re-air Tues. July 22 at 5 pm ET].
Oil wars, whether they're violent [see also, The Kingdom, now airing on HBO] or wars of words [see also the on-message Republispinners screamin' for drillin'], well, those oil wars win nothing.
See also, Al Gore....
.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Something's Gotta Give
.
Michael Kinsley issues an invitation this morning on Huffington Post, with a link to his new website conversation about Creative Capitalism. Taking the structural selfishness of capitalism and turning it to a greater good.
Bill Gates is about to do that full time. With the same zeal he put into becoming arguably the world's most important capitalist ever, he's about to step full time from businessman to philanthropist.
We worry about the cost of gas at the pump and what's happened to the 401K with yesterday's 350 point drop in the market. Oil is up over $140 a barrel. We're killing people in Iraq for Bush and his cronies' oil profits. Sorry sorry times indeed.
We wring our hands. What can we do. Our leaders blow us off as advocates while they "lead."
We can vote. In November. But for now, let's get to work. Or for starters, get to know the problems, so we can be part of the solution.
Yesterday, while making my carefully charted out route of errands [no backtracking!], mindful of my carbon footprint, I heard a report on Minnesota Public Radio about the state of nonprofits in rural counties and communities.
It's not good.
The high price of oil, the rising prices of everything that oil goes into—transporting food, anyone?—are not only reducing grants and personal contributions to charities and nonprofits, they're cutting down volunteer hours. Volunteers can't afford to drive the long distances in rural areas. They're going back to work, or working longer hours, just to pay their own price at the pump.
Looks like a rainy weekend coming up in Prairie Country, I'll be learning more about this Creative Capitalism business, because it seems to me there's a whole new mindset in this that could affect not only philanthropy, but also the way we all live on this planet together.
Because plainly, something's gotta give...
.
Michael Kinsley issues an invitation this morning on Huffington Post, with a link to his new website conversation about Creative Capitalism. Taking the structural selfishness of capitalism and turning it to a greater good.
Bill Gates is about to do that full time. With the same zeal he put into becoming arguably the world's most important capitalist ever, he's about to step full time from businessman to philanthropist.
We worry about the cost of gas at the pump and what's happened to the 401K with yesterday's 350 point drop in the market. Oil is up over $140 a barrel. We're killing people in Iraq for Bush and his cronies' oil profits. Sorry sorry times indeed.
We wring our hands. What can we do. Our leaders blow us off as advocates while they "lead."
We can vote. In November. But for now, let's get to work. Or for starters, get to know the problems, so we can be part of the solution.
Yesterday, while making my carefully charted out route of errands [no backtracking!], mindful of my carbon footprint, I heard a report on Minnesota Public Radio about the state of nonprofits in rural counties and communities.
It's not good.
The high price of oil, the rising prices of everything that oil goes into—transporting food, anyone?—are not only reducing grants and personal contributions to charities and nonprofits, they're cutting down volunteer hours. Volunteers can't afford to drive the long distances in rural areas. They're going back to work, or working longer hours, just to pay their own price at the pump.
Looks like a rainy weekend coming up in Prairie Country, I'll be learning more about this Creative Capitalism business, because it seems to me there's a whole new mindset in this that could affect not only philanthropy, but also the way we all live on this planet together.
Because plainly, something's gotta give...
.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Big Oiiillll. Big Bad Oil.
Derrick Jackson in The Boston Globe on Big Oil. A reality check.
No, Virginia, it wasn't about showcasing the establishment of Democracy in the Middle East.
And it wasn't about fighting the terr'rists.
Long before there was a 9/11, there was a mission...and a malleable, messianic megalomanic Deciderer who could be easily manipulated.
And it was about the Cheney Energy Task Force...and Halliburton profits...and getting back those nationalized Iraqi oil contracts.
Just remember, next time you gas up the Big Guzzler. Next time you buy anything in plastic. Next time you watch the nightly news...oh, wait, guess not... Corporate infotainment media doesn't like to talk about the war no more 'cause it's, you know, messy.
How's that little Spears baby comin' along?
No, Virginia, it wasn't about showcasing the establishment of Democracy in the Middle East.
And it wasn't about fighting the terr'rists.
Long before there was a 9/11, there was a mission...and a malleable, messianic megalomanic Deciderer who could be easily manipulated.
And it was about the Cheney Energy Task Force...and Halliburton profits...and getting back those nationalized Iraqi oil contracts.
Just remember, next time you gas up the Big Guzzler. Next time you buy anything in plastic. Next time you watch the nightly news...oh, wait, guess not... Corporate infotainment media doesn't like to talk about the war no more 'cause it's, you know, messy.
How's that little Spears baby comin' along?
Monday, June 9, 2008
Fatcats or Families?
.
The general election season ratchets up this week as Barack Obama begins a two-week tour in North Carolina, focused on the economy. And MSNBC's reporting that John McCain is focused on the economy, too--his own, as he intensifies his fundraising.
With gas prices already pickin' up speed past $4 a gallon, all Bush can talk is the BigOil party line: more oil, dig for more oil, Continental Shelf, what-me-worry?
Higher oil prices are driving up the cost of everything from baby's disposable diapers to the food on the table to the plastic we store it in.
And John McCain's answer is [paraphrased] my lobbyists tell me that it's good for America to keep sucking the money out of the pockets of ordinary Americans so we can subsidize the multimillionaires and their yachts and Hamptons hideaways.
On Election Day, ordinary Americans get the say, each and every one of us, with how we cast our votes. So what do you think? Who shall it be?
Fatcats? Or families?
The general election season ratchets up this week as Barack Obama begins a two-week tour in North Carolina, focused on the economy. And MSNBC's reporting that John McCain is focused on the economy, too--his own, as he intensifies his fundraising.
With gas prices already pickin' up speed past $4 a gallon, all Bush can talk is the BigOil party line: more oil, dig for more oil, Continental Shelf, what-me-worry?
Higher oil prices are driving up the cost of everything from baby's disposable diapers to the food on the table to the plastic we store it in.
And John McCain's answer is [paraphrased] my lobbyists tell me that it's good for America to keep sucking the money out of the pockets of ordinary Americans so we can subsidize the multimillionaires and their yachts and Hamptons hideaways.
On Election Day, ordinary Americans get the say, each and every one of us, with how we cast our votes. So what do you think? Who shall it be?
Fatcats? Or families?
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Enronizing the Rest of Us.
.
And in other news this weekend (yes, there was other news than Hillary's speech) ... the price of gas at the pump hit a national average of $4 a gallon. With the outlook for $5 a gallon gas in the not-too-distant future. Words like "stag-flation" starting to be bandied about like music, man.
Remember back in the good ol' days, when it was just California that was getting gouged and, frankly, robbed by Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling and the gang? Yep, the good ol' days, when war was just a conspiracy in the minds of Team BushCo.
Meanwhile, let's give mega-tax-breaks to buyers of gas guzzlers, drive up the demand for product. Then toss in a little War by Lie in eye-raq, and you've got the makin's of an eight-year bonanza for the pirates partyin' in the Big Oil hoo-rah.
And now that the fun's winding down, why not get in just a wee bit extra for ol' times' sake. Shades of Enron economics.
Kinda makes you wish for the attentions of a steely-eyed U.S. attorney with a reputation for goin' after crooks and racketeers and nailin' 'em, bigtime.
Fitz!
And in other news this weekend (yes, there was other news than Hillary's speech) ... the price of gas at the pump hit a national average of $4 a gallon. With the outlook for $5 a gallon gas in the not-too-distant future. Words like "stag-flation" starting to be bandied about like music, man.
Remember back in the good ol' days, when it was just California that was getting gouged and, frankly, robbed by Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling and the gang? Yep, the good ol' days, when war was just a conspiracy in the minds of Team BushCo.
Meanwhile, let's give mega-tax-breaks to buyers of gas guzzlers, drive up the demand for product. Then toss in a little War by Lie in eye-raq, and you've got the makin's of an eight-year bonanza for the pirates partyin' in the Big Oil hoo-rah.
And now that the fun's winding down, why not get in just a wee bit extra for ol' times' sake. Shades of Enron economics.
Kinda makes you wish for the attentions of a steely-eyed U.S. attorney with a reputation for goin' after crooks and racketeers and nailin' 'em, bigtime.
Fitz!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Slow to 60
.
You don't need me to tell you it's almost the weekend. The time to kick back, take life a little slower.
So here's my proposition. Take your time behind the wheel a little slower this weekend, too.
We don't need a government decree or big media blitz to do what we all can do on our own.
Slow down. Try driving 60 this weekend.
And do it for whatever reason you want--better for the environment, more efficient gas mileage, one person's way of stickin' it to Big Oil, a Not So Big use of the planet's resources, a contrarian way to wipe the stench of Bush from all things 60...
Or no reason at all.
Go ahead, give it a try, tell your friends. Who knows, maybe if we all slowed down we'd look at the world with a whole new perspective.
You'd be amazed at what you see when you just slow down.
You don't need me to tell you it's almost the weekend. The time to kick back, take life a little slower.
So here's my proposition. Take your time behind the wheel a little slower this weekend, too.
We don't need a government decree or big media blitz to do what we all can do on our own.
Slow down. Try driving 60 this weekend.
And do it for whatever reason you want--better for the environment, more efficient gas mileage, one person's way of stickin' it to Big Oil, a Not So Big use of the planet's resources, a contrarian way to wipe the stench of Bush from all things 60...
Or no reason at all.
Go ahead, give it a try, tell your friends. Who knows, maybe if we all slowed down we'd look at the world with a whole new perspective.
You'd be amazed at what you see when you just slow down.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Moratorium on Infrastructure
.
Just what is a tax, anyway? The way I look at it, it's an investment in civilized society, the common good. Oh, and in some cases, it's:
a) a political gimmick
b) a road repaired or a bridge replaced
c) either/or...or all of the above? [just two, you say? Well, isn't that enough?]
Though I will allow that John McCain actually does see a tax as a couple more things:
1) political opportunity to posture over and spin and distort and twist and divert
2) something to flip-flop over.
3) both of the above, and more...
Take McCain's recent proposal for a temporary freeze on collecting taxes at the gas pump.
Big whup.
Let's say that tax amounts to 5 or 10% of your gas bill. Pretty small potatoes when compared to the two, three, four times per gallon as much as gas cost back in the good ol' days, also known as before the Bush Dark Ages.
Nope, McCain doesn't want to talk about the grotesque profiteering Big Oil's taking these days, coupled with the rampant speculation of Wall Street's hedge fund types who are driving gas prices right through the roof.
Get a handle on those guys? Not our John. His phony concern for the poor at the pump is belied by his diversion from the real issue: the greedy gas gougers who want four more years of Bush-whacking everyday Americans.
So this summer, as the dials spin higher and higher on gas prices, thank a Bush and a McCain as you hit those potholes and drive over the shaky bridges. Infrastructure brought to you by Republican politics.
Just what is a tax, anyway? The way I look at it, it's an investment in civilized society, the common good. Oh, and in some cases, it's:
a) a political gimmick
b) a road repaired or a bridge replaced
c) either/or...or all of the above? [just two, you say? Well, isn't that enough?]
Though I will allow that John McCain actually does see a tax as a couple more things:
1) political opportunity to posture over and spin and distort and twist and divert
2) something to flip-flop over.
3) both of the above, and more...
Take McCain's recent proposal for a temporary freeze on collecting taxes at the gas pump.
Big whup.
Let's say that tax amounts to 5 or 10% of your gas bill. Pretty small potatoes when compared to the two, three, four times per gallon as much as gas cost back in the good ol' days, also known as before the Bush Dark Ages.
Nope, McCain doesn't want to talk about the grotesque profiteering Big Oil's taking these days, coupled with the rampant speculation of Wall Street's hedge fund types who are driving gas prices right through the roof.
Get a handle on those guys? Not our John. His phony concern for the poor at the pump is belied by his diversion from the real issue: the greedy gas gougers who want four more years of Bush-whacking everyday Americans.
So this summer, as the dials spin higher and higher on gas prices, thank a Bush and a McCain as you hit those potholes and drive over the shaky bridges. Infrastructure brought to you by Republican politics.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
McCain's Gassing
.
McCain's big plan for the economy? Suspend gas taxes for the summer.
The gas taxes that pay for highways and bridges and all that oh-so-dull infrastructure.
You know, the common good. "Socialist" stuff.
Instead of sending his minions like Bill Kristol and Joe Lieberman out to smear Senator Obama, perhaps the McCainiacs could turn their attention to something more useful and, dare I say it, honorable.
Like recouping middle class assets and money from the elite class by taxing and regulating the out-of-control profiteering, nay, pirateering, of America's energy dollars.
Pump up the economy, Senator McCain, not the price at the pump.
McCain's big plan for the economy? Suspend gas taxes for the summer.
The gas taxes that pay for highways and bridges and all that oh-so-dull infrastructure.
You know, the common good. "Socialist" stuff.
Instead of sending his minions like Bill Kristol and Joe Lieberman out to smear Senator Obama, perhaps the McCainiacs could turn their attention to something more useful and, dare I say it, honorable.
Like recouping middle class assets and money from the elite class by taxing and regulating the out-of-control profiteering, nay, pirateering, of America's energy dollars.
Pump up the economy, Senator McCain, not the price at the pump.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Oil on his Hands
.
So while Dubya's tap-dancin' in front of his fans at the White House waitin' for McCain to appear, his good buddies at OPEC are tellin' him, essentially, go piss up a rope. Dubya, a wholly owned subsidiary of Big Oil, may be making his buddies richer, but they seem to be more contemptuous as well. Lot of that going around....
The head of OPEC is saying why should they lower the price of oil, when it's "mismanagement" of the American economy that's causing the problems. The sticker shock at the pump isn't their fault, they protest.
Apparently, holding hands with the guys what brung ya ain't what it used to be.
There's a lot of talk around the blogosphere about oil and gas prices right now. But that just scratches the surface. As deep as the oil wells are is the muck that surrounds this mal-administration's dis-handling of the affairs of the nation. Healthcare, education, the economy, treatment of troops and veterans...the reckless, profligate, tap-dancin' preznit despoils everything he touches.
And he's got a legion of dance partners. Including the next man who would be president, who seeks out the endorsement of right wing extremists like John Hagee...and right wing wastrels like George.
But when you dance with the devil or his disciples, you better watch out what you're gettin' on your hands.
So while Dubya's tap-dancin' in front of his fans at the White House waitin' for McCain to appear, his good buddies at OPEC are tellin' him, essentially, go piss up a rope. Dubya, a wholly owned subsidiary of Big Oil, may be making his buddies richer, but they seem to be more contemptuous as well. Lot of that going around....
The head of OPEC is saying why should they lower the price of oil, when it's "mismanagement" of the American economy that's causing the problems. The sticker shock at the pump isn't their fault, they protest.
Apparently, holding hands with the guys what brung ya ain't what it used to be.
There's a lot of talk around the blogosphere about oil and gas prices right now. But that just scratches the surface. As deep as the oil wells are is the muck that surrounds this mal-administration's dis-handling of the affairs of the nation. Healthcare, education, the economy, treatment of troops and veterans...the reckless, profligate, tap-dancin' preznit despoils everything he touches.
And he's got a legion of dance partners. Including the next man who would be president, who seeks out the endorsement of right wing extremists like John Hagee...and right wing wastrels like George.
But when you dance with the devil or his disciples, you better watch out what you're gettin' on your hands.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Lotsa “F” Words
Some Very Important People are letting fly with “F” words these days.
There’s Keith Olbermann in a Special Comment calling out George W. Bush as a Fascist and a Liar. Welcome aboard, Keith.
And then there’s Michael Bloomberg, labelling the U.S. economy a Failure...likening it to a Third World Economy.
But there’s another “F” word that caught the eye of Prairie Country today, and that’s Flex-Fuel...and how it can Free all of us from dependence on Foreign Oil. An article in Esquire magazine reports on Gal Luft's simple 4-part proposal for Flex-Fuel Freedom. Instead of ethanol, recommends Luft, the Focus should be on methanol.
Now here in Farm country, them could be Fightin’ words. We raise corn and that makes great ethanol, except...hmmmm....in North Dakota, we have coal, tons and tons and megatons of coal...we see it heading east on milelong trains more times a day than I care to contemplate. And you say, Gal Luft, that coal can be made into methanol? And garbage and paper recyclables can, too? And it starts with mandating all cars must be flex-fuel-able? And that's about a C-note to do? Hmmm, something even a gentlemanly C-type should be able to understand.
Now that’s an “F” word to spread around. Go for it. Before some other budding super power—we name no names—beats us to it.
[h/t to Farm Island Girl for the news tip.]
And then there are the Feckless Folks from FEMA, who Finally this week after years of stalling had to 'Fess up that those Fine trailers that over 100,000 Katrina victims still occupy are laced with 5% to 40% more Formaldehyde than "normal" homes. A dangerous level that causes immediate side effects and may have long term consequences as a known carcinogen. Give to George Bush's administration another Grade F.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Let Them Eat Mud Cookies
This morning in Prairie Country, the usual parade of honkin’ big Hummers and SUVs bearing one parent-one child were on their way to the school we pass by daily. This being Country, there’s plenty of talk around here about energy costs, and are those out in the western oil patch a getting a fair price for their crude, and should we build a refinery…hey, we have our own state-owned bank and state-owned mill. That’s us, a little bit
Will there be a surge in gas prices again this spring? Will it hit $4 a gallon? How’s that going to affect the farmers growin’ for biodiesel? Yeah, there’s a whole lotta talk about energy around here.
This day in
The local daily, part of a network of family owned newspapers, published the same story as you’ll find at the link to National Geographic News. Funny thing, though. Apparently they figured we readers couldn’t understand the story without a third of a page photo of the “cookies.” Unfortunately, something had to be cut…and for them it was the section about the impact of Big Oil prices on food in the
So for any readers out there who live in Prairie Country, here’s what you missed:
Food Prices Up
Food prices around the world have spiked because of higher oil prices, needed for fertilizer, irrigation, and transportation. Prices for basic ingredients such as corn and wheat are also up sharply, and the increasing global demand for biofuels is pressuring food markets as well.
The problem is particularly dire in the
For too long we’ve been led around by a business philosophy that neatly—for themselves—looks at the quick fix, short term profit numbers and ignores the real costs of doing business. And that’s not just about people starving because their food costs are too high because Big Oil is profiteering from their puppet in the White House. Remember, it was George himself who described the “haves and the have-more’s” as his base. He should’ve called ’em the Vampire Capitalists that they are. Sucking the lifeblood from people literally and economically.
These guys are feeding off themselves, though, too. And that’s the bitter pill that will ultimately catch up on all of us unless something changes. While poverty festers around the globe, the fat hogs of Big Oil and the Tweetymedia, which divert attention from reality with American Idol-style tracking of political campaigns, take away from what could be savvy business for the long term.
Bring people up out of poverty, here and abroad, and you create a global population of consumers who can afford to buy your products. Sustain the planet with wise use of resources and innovative technologies, and you can begin to reach out to the stars…literally, not just in nostalgic replays of “one small step for mankind….” Or the latest sequel to Star Trek.
We lost the hemp industry to timber lobbying crying crocodile tears about marijuana menace—a big lie, and now renewable crops/agricultural income are lost. Vast swaths of timber are razed to make paper that crumbles into dust within short years while the air breathes a little harder without the trees’ recirculating power.
The cycle repeats itself now with Big Oil with its grotesque profits and still we subsidize and the President holds hands with the subsidizers of those who have already tumbled our
At the end of the day, all these issues are interwoven. There is no energy policy without impact on food. There is no trade policy without impact on the pockets of
The president’s favorite philosopher said: whatsoever ye do to the least of my brethren. And Do Unto Others. So, how’s that Stewardship of the Planet thing workin’ out?
Yesterday was a disappointing day because John Edwards suspended his presidential bid. But my disappointment is tempered with the fervent hope that the Vampire Capitalists out there—and the politicians and media who harbor them—will have a lot more to fear from John Edwards, the proven champion already, as Paladin fighting poverty than as President sitting in the Oval.
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