Why Do We Have An Energy Crisis? It’s Those Goddamn F&!%$#%!$ Treehuggers!!
How can we get gasoline back down to 32 cents a gallon? By drilling, drilling and more drilling. We have trillions and quatrabazillions of barrels of oil right under our feet, and it’s just sitting there.
National parks, national forests, wildlife sanctuaries, oceans — guess what’s underneath all those things? OIL! And we need it! NOW! And if it weren’t for those navel-gazing nature-worshipping PETA flag-burners, we’d have it. It’s all THEIR fault that gas is almost $5 a gallon and the economy is imploding.
According to this survey, 74% of likely voters actually believe the above bullshit. WTF??? Has American education really plummeted that far? Is somebody putting Stupid Pills in our drinking water? The term “critical thinking” is now officially an oxymoron.
No, the energy crisis has nothing to do with supplies and prices being manipulated by the international oil cartel. Energy speculators, you say? Bah! You’re just engaging in class warfare. Commie!
Undoubtedly the oil companies were anticipating — correctly! — that if they drove up the price of oil high enough, the American public would
And those survey respondents were likely voters?!?!?!? Aren’t there some sort of minimal requirements for being able to vote? If those people are really that gullible, somebody should direct them to the nearest outhouse and tell them it’s the voting booth. “To find the voting lever, lift up the lid and reach waaaay down…”
There probably isn’t a truth-in-labeling law for American currency, but why don’t we be honest with ourselves. It’s time to scrape off that “e pluribus unum” nonsense and replace it with the true voice of the American public: “DUUUHHH!!!”
cross-posted at Bring It On!
posted by Tom Harper @ 11:32 AM
25 Comments:
In the corporate media, liberals are to blame for everything. They have been slowly boiling every argument down to "It's the liberals fault" since the repeal of the equal time law spawned talk radio demagogues like Rush Limbaugh. And all he ever does is piss people off so they are unable to think clearly, making them more susceptible to his lies and disinformation. Any attempt to get the truth to the people is branded with the odious "liberal media"/"class warfare" tags.
Lew: Think tanks have spent the last 3 or 4 decades brainwashing the public into associating certain words with negative images. And it's worked. Liberal now equals "decadent," "soft," "elitist," "well-intentioned but fuzzy-headed," plus a few less printable adjectives.
Those of us who remember the 70's Oil Embargo (in which not only where the famous gas lines just in the east and the west - the Midwest and south were unaffected - but full supertankers were just sitting in the docks and the crews laid off), remember that it was used to bowl over the environmentalist and get the Alaska Pipeline built which was promised to meet all of our energy needs. What happened?
So all those who are thinking of more drilling should ask these questions:
If only about 37% of our oil is imported and that is primarily used for fuel then why is ALL oil related products going up including that which we supposedly get from domestic oil?
According to Chevron - the Alaska Oil has been trading to japan 2-1 for Iranian Crude because Iranian Crude is sulfur free and our refineries cannot refine the sulfur rich domestic crude something they knew about when they pushed for the Alaskan pipeline and should still be true if they plan to go for more domestic oil. Why haven't our refineries been converted? Are they waiting for a Government handout or an environmental by?
What about the productive Domestic Oil fields which have been capped? Why can't they be uncapped and pumped? Is it because the Oil companies got a sweet deal from Congress for better tax breaks for imported oil or is it because they rather pay cheap foreign labor oversees and not have to pay American wages to pump locally?
We learned back in the embargo 70's that the Persian Gulf nations were poor agriculturally and that in the case of Saudi Arabia we supplied them with almost 90% of their wheat. Those nations still can't produce enough and with the Warsaw pact out of it (like they were even in as we supplied them as well) why can't we use our food clout?
Why are Oil companies still getting an Oil Depletion allowance?
I wish people would start asking the same questions I've been asking for over 30 years!
Erik
Erik: Those are all excellent questions. They've never been answered in the past 35 years and probably never will be.
And these days, asking those questions will bring charges of "Class Warfare!" and "treehugger!" and "oh look, those moonbats have another conspiracy theory."
And besides, why ask meaningful questions when it's so much easier to find a scapegoat to lash out at.
Call me a quack, but Me, and Mine will be alive. The Bush Cabal is doing this on purpose. They are going to militarize are country. all the way to the point that the military is your only career choice. If you want to learn a technical skill now; you practically are stuck going military.
Dumbing down of the people Tom? The literacy rate in the country is below 80%! Washington D.C.'s literacy rate is below 40%! They already have dumbed us down. Again on purpose!
The detroit dinosaurs tell "We The People" it will take years to develop economically environmentally clean cars. Why in the hell all the way from Mexico, to god knows where can you get a ford crew cab RANGER 4x4 diesel. These are cute they say Powerstroke even, but they get like 35 mpg. All manufacturers have these here. We are being manipulated into World War! Right now there is a quiet World War with quiet check mates by Russia, and China. Read the news; look at the suddle happenings in the world; ya know, the ones that you shake your head at, and go gee that was odd! Yes, they are shutting the insane Bush Cabal down to a degree, but that can also make them desperate. I don't want The fucking Bush Cabal blowing up any city; especially where I got family, but they will for Power and control! Call me a fucking quack, but I am right!! Look how far we've come in just the last 7 years. Blogging is good. It shares info, and gives it to the people waking up, but We need to all make an effort to go out and talk to people. In order to slowly restart their thinking skills, but time is of the essence. I talk to people all the time, and my wife tries to get me to shut up. She does this because she doesn't want me hurt by these fucking insane bastards with a dozen, or more countries with secret prisons, and torture ships on the high seas. This is why she wants me to tone it down, but dammit what about everyone's children, or your own damn hide!!
Peace and Freedom
AHB: The military as the only career choice -- LOL. If they reinstate the draft, it could come to that. And they probably will need a draft if we invade Iran/Venezuela/Syria...
Yeah, America's literacy rate is pretty low compared to most of the developed world. I did a post about it a few months ago; I don't remember when exactly. But in every way that counts -- education, literacy, health care, quality of life -- the U.S. is falling further and further behind.
If people are uneducated they're easier to manipulate.
I don't doubt Big Oil's willingness and ability to play hardball during the final throes of the New Dark Age of Bush. I'm sure they've pressured the administration and congressional Republicans to use runaway oil prices as leverage to get access to offshore tracts and ANWR.
But that's secondary. The biggest reason oil prices are so high is speculation by huge-volume investment funds and maybe individuals as well. Secondarily, there's the weakened dollar.
SW: You've got it. I think the 2 reasons you named are the biggest reasons for the price of oil. Unfortunately for both parties, it isn't easy to make a soundbite out of either of those causes.
The two easiest scapegoats are treehuggers and those swarthy Arabs, so that explains most of the soundbites and slogans that are being flung around.
This is why, unlike many, I can easily see a McCain presidency becoming a reality.
Yes, the media is a huge part of the problem, but can we expect a smidgen of responsibility on the part of the voters to know at least a tiny bit?
If it wears a beard, it's probably their fault!
Randal: Yes, there's a very strong possibility of a McCain presidency. Matt Taibbi had a really discouraging article in Rolling Stone, basically saying that people's optimism about Obama winning are "a lot of bunk."
Here's the link.
Maybe he's a better writer than political forecaster, but in any case the last thing Democrats and liberals should be doing is getting complacent and over-confident. Republican power brokers still have a lot of influence, no matter how much of a loser McCain is.
Relax, take a deep breath. This poll is Zogby, posted on Newsmax. I smell a jiggered poll.
Anonymous: True, Newsmax doesn't have much credibility. Those numbers were still pretty alarming though, and the public is too easy to manipulate during times of crisis.
I can't wait until we are at war with not only Central, and South America, but Mexico. Bush wants their portion of the "Gulf of Mexico" as well
Peace and Freedom
I'm too depressed after reading this to make a witty or pointed comment. [sigh] But I have to say I've wondered about some of the things you said in your post, and that the other commenters brought up.
McCain '08: When eight previous years of GOP butt-fuckery just aren't enough.
Well if stupid pills are not in the water there sure is a lot of presciption drugs in them. Does that equate to stupid pills? I think so.
Drilling for more oil is not the best and only answer. It takes years to find it and if they do find it there is no chance that it will offset anything in terms of cost. Put it this way, by the time they found something, we'll be paying 8 bucks a gallon which will go up to 9 bucks because the oil companies have to pay for all their drilling here. what I'm saying is, no matter where we get our oild from, these clowns will find an excuse to drive it up.
finally, lets not forget that these oil prices are going up due to speculation. And the speculators (cock suckers) love it all the way to the bank.
Several experts testified before congress today and they all said if laws were passed and enforced to stop the speculators of oil, then within 30 days gas would fall to $2 per gallon.
Of course congress will never allow that to happen.
AHB: Hell yeah, bring 'em all on. We can take 'em. We may have a crumbling infrastructure and a tanking economy, but we're still the biggest sonofabitch in the valley. If other countries have resources, we want 'em and we're gonna git 'em.
Miss Kitty: I'm afraid buttfuckery is addictive for some people. And addicts are always needing stronger doses more frequently. I just hope these addicts don't outvote the rest of us this fall.
Ricardo: You're right. If they are permitted to tear up a wildlife refuge, it'll take years for them to find whatever oil is there, process it, transport it, etc.
And like Erik said (earlier comment), the Alaska pipeline was supposed to solve our energy problems and prevent crises like the one we're in now. If the oil companies are allowed to dig up the last tree looking for oil, we'll still have shortages and sky-high prices.
Larry: That's probably true, but nobody in the government will touch those oil speculators. Congress is owned and operated by the oil industry (and the finance industry and Big Pharm...)
Larry, Congress is well stocked with people who'd like to keep their job. That, if nothing else, gives me confidence a majority of the members will get behind closing the Enron loophole and doing other things to put the slats to speculators.
The problem lies at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., where the occupiers' days in power are numbered. Need I remind you the Bush family fortune was made in the oil bidness (as they say in Texas), and that our creep veep came to the White House from Halliburton, the biggest oil-services company? It doesn't take a Ph.D. in psychology or political science to figure out where their sympathies and loyalties lie.
I look for Congress to pass remedial legislation in fairly short order. The problem is that Bush is likely to veto the legislation, and there might not be enough votes in Congress to override his veto.
In that case, get out the pitchforks and torches, and bring a wooden stake and mallet.
"There probably isn’t a truth-in-labeling law for American currency, but why don’t we be honest with ourselves. It’s time to scrape off that “e pluribus unum” nonsense and replace it with the true voice of the American public: “DUUUHHH!!!”"
My point all along concerning the cancer on the body democratic which keeps on spreading ...
One more question:
Why would anybody expect an administration jam packed with ex oil and energy men (starting from the President - VP on down) to have the consumer's best interest in mind?
Erik
Mentarch: Yup, the truth isn't pretty, but we all need to acknowledge it. The first step to curing this cancer is to be aware of its presence.
Erik: I doubt if anyone expects that. But somehow it's still shocking when this administration (and the spineless lawmakers who go along with them) keeps getting more and more blatant. Bush used to cloak his corporate agenda in folksy platitudes; now he doesn't even bother with that any more.
The best argument for opening up more area's for exploration is twofold in my humble opinion. First there are over 60 million acres that are already under lease that have not been tapped yet. Second, even if we opened up the entire coastline and ANWAR there are not enough tankers to deliver this oil anywhere. The New York Times recently did a story on this. The ships that are inline for deliver already have contracts that tie them up for decades.
Travelingman: I'm all in favor of the oil companies exploring and drilling in some of those areas that are already under lease. I think they need to do that before they start jeopardizing oceans and wildlife sanctuaries.
I think Big Oil is more interested in just expanding their turf, to include offshore areas and wildlife refuges, so that they can drill (or not drill) as they see fit. This will make it easier for them to manipulate supplies and prices.
Never underestimate the stupidity of the American people...
Mauigirl: Yes, sad but true.
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