The Political Voices of Women

OPEC To Increase Oil Production. Will It Reduce Gas Prices? – by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at The Care2 Election Blog)

Check out the video clip, and let me know if you think this will help with our skyrocketing gas prices.

Also See:

Election Politics of Offshore Oil Drilling

Will Offshore Drilling Lower Gas Prices?

McCain Flip-Flops on Offshore Drilling

McCain Want to Lift Federal Ban on Offshore Drilling

Roundup: Election Politics of Offshore Oil Drilling — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at The Care2 Election Blog)

Yesterday was my first post in a series on the gas crisis and offshore drilling. For that reason, I decided today’s political blog roundup will focus on the different opinions and reactions from around the blogosphere on this issue. We have some for drilling, and some against it. Let me know what you think in comments.

I’ll start with my personal opinion/theory regarding the relationship between high gas prices and the recent announcement by Bush/McCain to lift a ban on offshore drilling…

With regards to the gas & oil crisis — Does anyone else get the feeling we have been manipulated and duped AGAIN by the Bush administration? It’s all starting to feel really familiar.

1. Scare the American people (in this case with increasing gas prices).
2. Appear to be doing everything you can to get to the bottom of the crisis (go to OPEC, hold hearings, etc.)
3. Just when there appears to be nothing anyone can do…The Bush administration comes to the rescue and announces a plan to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling, because it’s the only way to help the American people and lower the price of gas.

Sound familiar?

What came first? The crisis or the solution?

I think with closer inspection (most likely after there is nothing anyone can do to change the outcome) – Revelations will come to light, that the Bush administration manipulated the “speculators” to cause an unnecessary but dramatic rise in gas/oil prices…For the ultimate purpose of lifting the ban on offshore drilling, and giving the brass ring to the oil companies.

Additionally, this is going to be the GOP “ace” in the hole, and “the perfect storm” for facilitating a third Bush presidency. I imagine it will go something like this…

The Democrats want to continue making you pay high gas prices during a weak economy…But the Republicans want to help you keep more of your hard earned money….bla, bla, bla.

The trouble is…there is no evidence that offshore drilling will help in the short or even long term. But that is not the “spin” you will be hearing from Bush/McCain. What at first appeared to me as a campaign killer for McCain, could actually be part of a carefully orchestrated campaign winner. Give McCain the experience, the Iraq war, and now the illusion of helping the economy (the number one issue of the American people). I shutter to think.

So, that’s what I think. However, not everyone agrees with me.

Shocking!

Well, not really.

But, I do want to take a look at all sides of this issue. Admittedly, mine is a very visceral reaction to the news of possible offshore drilling.

Let’s take a look at what other bloggers are saying about this. We’ll start with my good friend, Kay B. Day, from Covering Florida and Right Commentary, who has a totally different opinion from mine.

Earlier in the week I reached out to a couple of people to see what their take was on offshore drilling, and she was kind enough to send me her thoughts in an email. Although I don’t completely agree with her on this one…I must admit, she has a much more thought-out response to it. Here it is…

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Will Offshore Drilling Lower Gas Prices? – by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at The Care2 Election Blog)

This will be part one in a series of posts I will be doing on gas prices and offshore drilling. I want to take a look at the facts, and attempt to separate the truth from the fiction. Would offshore drilling lower gas prices? Why do the oil companies need more places to drill, if they aren’t even using all of what they have now? How would more offshore drilling effect the environment? Does this have more to do with politics than the people? These are just a few of the many question we will try to answer here.

Let’s start with an article in today’s New York Times. Here are a few excepts from that article, I really recommend you read the full piece.


READ FULL POST AT THE CARE2 ELECTION BLOG

McCain Flip-Flops on Offshore Oil Drilling – by Catherine Morgan 

John McCain is using our sky-high gas prices to justify his flip-flopping on the issue of offshore oil drilling. I mentioned this yesterday in a post, and questioned why the MSM didn’t seem to notice. Today, they have noticed.

However, there is no evidence that allowing more offshore drilling will help in reducing the price of gas in the near future (as McCain is suggesting), or even the far future. But, I guess the McCain campaign is hoping you will be fooled, and vote for McCain in the hopes of lower gas prices.

Here is an interesting clip from The Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer…

SEE VIDEO AND READ FULL POST AT THE CARE2 ELECTION BLOG

McCain Want To Lift Federal Ban on Offshore Drilling — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at The Care2 Election Blog)

McCain announced today, that he wants to allow states to drill for offshore oil. You have got to be kidding me. The only clip I could find about this (below) is focusing on another one of his campaign supporter controversies. But, I think the real story here is his desire to lift the federal ban on offshore drilling.

From The Washington Post – The Trail…

Republican Sen. John McCain today called for an end to the federal ban on offshore oil drilling, a move that would let states decide whether oil rigs would sprout up along the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines.The move is a dramatic break with the environmental groups McCain has been courting for months, but is designed to reassure voters angry about rising gas prices. McCain said he would push for new incentives to help convince state officials to allow the drilling once the 27-year-old federal ban is lifted.

From Politics Junky…

With gasoline prices rising and the United States chronically dependent on foreign oil, the Republican presidential contender said his proposal would “be very helpful in the short term resolving our energy crisis.”

That of course is horseshit as oil is traded on a global market and any oil tapped from the ocean (or ANWR, for that matter) would have little if any influence on the price of oil. Even if it had a nominal effect it would be at least five years before US consumers saw it. It’s not like US oil companies would find new oil reserves and only sell it to Americans for a discount. They sell it to the highest bidder, which may be China or India. And then there’s the problem of refineries…But that’s a more complicated message than telling the American people that crazy environmentalists are keeping gas prices high by blocking exploration on our own shores. So much for straight talk.

From Michelle Malkin’s blog…

Just a recap: McCain was AWOL on the windfall profits tax debate in the Senate (a failed Carter relic that he says he’d be “glad to look at”). He had nothing to say about Rep. John Peterson’s effort to lift the offshore drilling ban when it was up for a vote last week. And as I noted back on May 22, he has channeled the entire Democrat presidential field’s class warfare rhetoric and repeatedly referred to the oil industry’s “obscene profits.”

Now, he’s announced he wants to lift the offshore drilling moratorium and will give an energy speech tomorrow. He was for it before he was against it before he was for it again. Positively Kerryesque:

From Tammy at Tammy’s Blog…

In light of our soaring energy costs, John McCain wants the federal moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling to be lifted, and individual states given the right to pursue energy exploration in waters near their own coasts. With gasoline prices rising and the good old US chronically dependent on foreign oil, McCain said his proposal would “be very helpful in the short term resolving our energy crisis.” He even wants to go so far as to offer the states incentives, including a greater share of royalties paid by companies that drill for oil, as an incentive to permit exploration. Asked how far offshore states should be given control of drilling rights, he said that was a matter for negotiation. Wow, imagine how delightful our beaches will be?! He offered no other details for his proposal, which he is expected to describe more fully on Tuesday in an energy speech. Stay tuned for that.

What do you think? Is this the most ridiculous thing you have ever hear?

Here is a guest post from Frances at Frances Ellen Speaks.

(If you would like to be a guest blogger on this site, please join our community)

Have you noticed whether your gas station is putting ethanol in their gas? Have you noticed that your gas mileage has decreased?

I get my gas at a Shell station and right there on the front of the pump is a sticker that says, Contains 10% Ethanol. My gas consumption has been rising by leaps and bounds lately, but I’m not driving any more than usual. Actually, because of the gas prices, I’m more selective about where I go and how I get there.

While I was pumping, I looked up at the sign to see if the price had come down since my gas was now being spiked with ethanol. What a joke! What made me think a gas company would dream of giving the consumer a break.

It appears I’m not the only person that’s miffed. Here’s an excerpt from Slow Food Waltz

Ethanol, isn’t it’s use supposed to lower gas prices? Huh??

Help me out someone, what am I missing here. I just noticed this Shell gas station uses 10 percent ethanol, but the gas prices are exactly the same as they are at other places. Will ethanol ever translate to a cost savings for the consumer??

Okay, so the price hasn’t come down. It’s still up there at $3.90 a gallon in my neck of the woods. To top that off, I recently purchased a fuel economy car, but now I’m getting less gas mileage. That’s a fact and I’m not the only one who’s noticed. See information from Punny Money.

It lowers fuel economy. That 10% ethanol being mixed into your gasoline might be helping to keep it 10 cents a gallon cheaper, but you’re probably getting 10-30% fewer miles per gallon because of it. Since all the gas stations around here switched to a 10% ethanol blend, my gas mileage has dropped by about 15%!

What is going on? I understand it’s imperative that we cultivate some type of alternative fuel, but why am I suffering while the gas companies are reporting record-breaking profits? Oh yeah, I forgot–I don’t have a lobbyist. Drat!

So, it appears that you and I will be at the pumps more often, paying the same ridiculous prices. And I don’t expect to hear too much squawking from anyone because the change is couched in “alternative fuel” rhetoric. I suppose the media will somehow find a way to make it sound unpatriotic if anyone speaks out against it, too. What a racket!

READ MORE BY FRANCES AT FRANCES ELLEN SPEAKS

Also See:

How High Will Gas Prices Go?

Taxes on Big Oil

$4+ Gas Prices

Windfall Tax on Big Oil is Blocked By Senate Republicans — Posted by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at The Care2 Election Blog)

From The Associated Press…

Senate Republicans blocked a proposal Tuesday to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies, despite pleas by Democratic leaders to use the measure to address America’s anger over $4 a gallon gasoline.

The Democratic energy package would have imposed a tax on any “unreasonable” profits of the five largest U.S. oil companies and given the federal government more power to address oil market speculation that the bill’s supporters argue has added to the crude oil price surge.

“Americans are furious about what’s going on,” declared Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and want Congress to do something about oil company profits and “an orgy of speculation” on oil markets.

But Republicans argued the Democratic proposal focusing on new oil industry taxes is not the answer to the country’s energy problems.

“The American people are clamoring for relief at the pump,” said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., but if taxes are increased on the oil companies “they will get exactly what they don’t want. The bill will raise taxes, increase imports.”

The Democrats failed, 51-43, to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP filibuster and bring the energy package up for consideration.

Separately, Democrats also failed to get Republican support for a proposal to extend tax breaks for wind, solar and other alternative energy development, and for the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation. The tax breaks have either expired or are scheduled to end this year.

The tax provisions were included in a broader $50 billion tax measure blocked by a GOP filibuster threat. A vote to take up the measure was 50-44, short of the 60 votes needed.

The windfall profits bill would have imposed a 25 percent tax on profits over what would be determined “reasonable” when compared to profits several years ago. The oil companies could have avoided the tax if they invested the money in alternative energy projects or refinery expansion. It also would have rescinded oil company tax breaks — worth $17 billion over the next 10 years — with the revenue to be used for tax incentives to producers of wind, solar and other alternative energy sources as well as for energy conservation.

The legislation also would:

Read more »

Barack Obama: Speech On The Economy – by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at The Care2 Election Blog)

Barack Obama spoke today on the economy…

READ FULL POST AT THE CARE2 ELECTION BLOG

How Bad Are Gas Prices Hurting You? — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at The Care2 Election Blog)

How high are gas prices where you live? How bad are record high gas prices hurting you and your family? Have you needed to cut back on your driving? Has the cost of gas affected your ability to buy food or medication?

From The New York Times…

Gasoline prices reached a national average of $4 a gallon for the first time over the weekend, adding more strain to motorists across the country.

But the pain is not being felt uniformly. Across broad swaths of the South, Southwest and the upper Great Plains, the combination of low incomes, high gas prices and heavy dependence on pickup trucks and vans is putting an even tighter squeeze on family budgets.

Here in the Mississippi Delta, some farm workers are borrowing money from their bosses so they can fill their tanks and get to work. Some are switching jobs for shorter commutes.

People are giving up meat so they can buy fuel. Gasoline theft is rising. And drivers are running out of gas more often, leaving their cars by the side of the road until they can scrape together gas money.

The disparity between rural America and the rest of the country is a matter of simple home economics. Nationwide, Americans are now spending about 4 percent of their take-home income on gasoline. By contrast, in some counties in the Mississippi Delta, that figure has surpassed 13 percent.

As a result, gasoline expenses are rivaling what families spend on food and housing.

From Pam at Pam’s Coffee Conversation…

It was inevitable — the Era of $4.00+/gal gasoline is officially here. And it may not entirely be a bad thing.

After months of debate on the floors of Congress, it seems that the politicos in Washington are no closer to being honest with the American public that before. The GOP wants to convince you that if only the oil companies were allowed to drill in ANWR and off the coasts of Florida and California that gasoline prices will come down. They want you to believe that Exxon will choose to only supply oil to US consumer if a foreign entity like China or India offers to buy it at a higher price. Do you believe that Exxon will turn down a profit?

The Democrats want to convince you that they will one day find the gumption to take on “Big Oil” and their windfall profits and government subsidies.

What neither side of the aisle wants to tell the American public is that it’s time to get a new attitude about fossil fuel consumption. Proposals like drilling in ANWR and a gasoline tax can only offer temporary relief from pump prices, at best. In order to address America’s fuel needs Americans need to begin rethinking how they live and even where they live.

From Off The Cuff…

While I do know that because the greedy oil jerks in the middle east are sending the prices through the roof as in $138 a barrel and telling us that the reason is demand, it is also evident that they could, if they so chose, drop the price just as fast according to demand. Just as evident, is the fact that the greedy oil companies in this country could, if they so chose, drop the price of gas at the pump so that the financial bleeding that’s going on could have a breather. At this time, AAA says that the national average on gas is $4 a gallon. Is this criminal or what?

The problem that I see is that though congress has some say in this, they are doing nothing or nearly nothing. Although they had the top 5 CEOs of the greedy oil companies in front of them for a big show, the truth is that congress apparently cannot afford, in an election year, to piss off the oil companies so they put on the show and let us all hang by our fingernails.

Also See:

How High Will Gas Prices Go?

Skyrocketing Gas Prices

What Is The Real Reason Gas Prices Are So High

Are Speculators Manipulating The Price of Oil? – by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at The Care2 Election Blog)

Apparently, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has been investigating this since December. Is there really anyone that thought the prices haven’t been manipulated?

The Great Oil Swindle: How much did the Fed really know?

The Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating trading in oil futures to determine whether the surge in prices to record levels is the result of manipulation or fraud. They might want to take a look at wheat, rice and corn futures while they’re at it. The whole thing is a hoax cooked up by the investment banks and hedge funds who are trying to dig their way out of the trillion dollar mortgage-backed securities (MBS) mess that they created by turning garbage loans into securities. That scam blew up in their face last August and left them scrounging for handouts from the Federal Reserve. Now the billions of dollars they’re getting from the Fed is being diverted into commodities which is destabilizing the world economy; driving gas prices to the moon and triggering food riots across the planet.

For months we’ve been told that the soaring price of oil has been the result of Peak Oil, fighting in Iraq, attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria, labor problems in Norway, and (the all-time favorite)growth in China. It’s all baloney. Just like Goldman Sachs prediction of $200 per barrel oil is baloney. If oil is about to skyrocket then why has G-Sax kept a neutral rating on some of its oil holdings like Exxon Mobile? Could it be that they know that oil is just another mega-inflated equity bubble—like housing, corporate bonds and dot.com stocks—that is about to crash to earth as soon as the big players grab a parachute?

Who Killed the Electric Car?

During the same period, the further development, marketing and production if the Electric Car was being stifled. This was ominously explained in the 2006 Documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car”. The film explores the birth, limited commercialization, and subsequent death of the battery electric vehicle in the United States, specifically the General Motors EV1 of the 1990s. According to the documentary, GM claimed there was no demand for this product and they then took back every single vehicle (which were only available on lease – none were actually purchased from GM). Despite many owners wanting to purchase their vehicles outright, GM would not respond to these drives, and at the end of the leases the vehicles were taken back and crushed. (Yes physically destroyed!)

From The Tampa Tribune…

The sudden, shocking increase in the price of oil is a market failure that resembles the damaging excesses of the dot-com bubble, Enron scandal and housing meltdown.

Speculators, loosely regulated, have bid up crude-oil prices to illogical highs. There is no oil shortage. You don’t have to wait in lines at the pump. The cost of bringing oil to market has not changed.

. . .

Part of the problem is that the Federal Reserve has kept money flowing, empowering consumers to bid up the price of food and oil. The easy-money policy helped the economy, but at the price of a weaker dollar, which adds to the rising price of oil and invites a surge of money into inflation-resistant commodities, such as grain, gold and oil.

Reining in speculators is key to returning the price of fuel to a fair level. Frenzied buying with borrowed money by people who never take possession of the oil does no good for either producers or consumers.

Also See:

How High Will Gas Prices Go?

Skyrocketing Gas Prices

How Green Are The Oil Companies?

What Is The Real Reason Gas Prices Are So High?

What do you think? Are gas and oil prices being manipulated? If so, what can be done to stop it? Does anyone think that the prices aren’t being manipulated?