In case you haven't noticed, it is costing a lot less to fill up your car today, almost a dollar less than last spring. To understand this situation and why it may not last, a bit of history is necessary. Oil has driven, no pun intended, the transportation industry since the invention of the internal combustion engine, gradually replacing coal for ships and trains. The end product of gasoline combustion is carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Oil exists on six continents and probably on Antartica. America has produced large quantities of oil, but after WW II our oil needs increased as American took to the roads and suburbs. Dependence on foriegn oil grew. In 1960, an oil cartel formed called OPEC (oil producing and exporting countries). The twelve current member of OPEC represent the continents of Africa, Asia, and South America. Like any cartel, they set out to effect the price of oil based on production, much of which they controlled. By establishing quotas for each member nation no oil glut could occur. In 1973 due to America's assistance of Israel in the Yom Kippur War, OPEC established an embargo that lasted for more than a year. As a result the price of gasoline rose to over a dollar in the USA and congress passed a law that oil pumped in the USA could not be exported. This caused the volume of oil pumped in the USA to vary based on its price as oil is for the most part is fungible, though some is purer and easier to refine than others. Over the years, OPEC has managed to control its members, but cheating has occurred and once in a while OPEC has responded to outside political pressure, mostly Saudi Arabia and mostly by the USA, to pump more oil and lower its price per barrel. Saudi Arabia is by far the biggest oil producer, but Iraq, Iran, and Venezuela don't always agree with them.
In the 1980s a theory called "peak oil" was formulated. This theory stated that nearly all the deposits of oil worldwide had already been discovered and that we were going to run out of oil. Smart people like T. Boone Pickens and Warren Buffett both fell hook, line, and sinker for this theory that is almost as ridiculous as global warming. In the 2000s horizontal drilling and fracking, put "peak oil" in the garbage can. The USA has already become the leading producer of natural gas in the world and is on the verge of becoming the leading producer of oil. Sarah Palin was right and Obama was wrong. "Drill, baby, drill" was the correct choice, not "you can't drill yourself to prosperity." As you might have guessed, the same people including Barak Obama, who still believe in "peak oil" also believe in global warming. This is because they go hand in hand in harmful disproven theories that destroy the American economy (how Obama wants to fundamentally change America). Government loves for oil to cost more as it means higher taxes, but this is not very good thinking. It is said that the economy benefits by a billion dollars for every penny the price of oil drops. Drilling, shipping, pipelines, refineries, and all aspects of the oil and gas industries create jobs and growth of the economy which also means more tax collection.
But none of this explains what is going on with the current price of oil. Some will tell you there is a worldwide recession in the making causing oil needs to slow down, but that is not really the whole story. China, for example, that had a slow down is cranking up again. One other factor that affects the price of oil, is the cost of bringing it to the surface and to a lesser extent the quality of the oil as "dirty" oil costs more to refine and less of the barrel is able to be refined. Saudi Arabia has some of the lowest costs for pumping oil out of the ground. Fracking, horizontal drilling, and deep water drilling cost much more. The Saudis want to retain their position as the leading oil producer in the world, so they have flooded the world with cheap oil. American oil production has slowed in response to the Saudi tactic. Fortunately this cannot go on forever, only for as matter of 6 months or so, because OPEC profits are used to finance their countries so their people will suffer. This also effects non OPEC oil producers like Russia, as they have to drop what they charge.
Governments plan their budgets ahead of time and base spending on the income they think they will garner. Several OPEC members, Venezuela, Iran, and Iraq are currently suffering and Venezuela may default on its international debts. Russia is in a recession, as much of its hard currency is from oil and natural gas exports. The price of oil will increase because of pressure from some of the OPEC members to slow production.
Obama looks at the price of oil, high or low, as a win-win situation. If oil prices are high, it slows the American economy that to Obama is a good thing as it fits in very well with his plan to collapse the American economy. If oil prices are low, then he can claim the credit, which, of course, is not true. Our economy has been slowly improving despite his attempts to destroy it. The regulation furor, that has characterized the regime, is in response to the resilience of the American people and our economy.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
My Trip to St. Louis, the Real Story
I took a dangerous trip to St. Louis last week on Wednesday in order to let my readers know what was really going on with this media driven event in Ferguson, Missouri and to take the risks to keep you informed. On Monday the St. Louis County Grand Jury voted not to indict officer Darren Wilson on any charges in the shooting of Michael Brown. Encouraged by the New Black Panthers, Al Sharpton, and numerous anarchists and communists, destructive demonstrations not only in the St. Louis area but throughout the country were triggered. In Ferguson, Missouri, the site of the original incident, there was burning and looting that went pretty much unchecked. There were also demonstrations outside the courthouse located about 15 miles away in Clayton, Missouri, the county seat. On Tuesday the Missouri National Guard, that had been available on Monday but was ordered to stand down (sounds like Benghazi doesn't it), was called out and that combined with very cold weather and snow saw a marked decline in demonstrators and destruction. By Wednesday only the hardiest of demonstrators took to the streets in snow covered Ferguson, although in some cities outside of Missouri the demonstrations continued. The failure of the Democrat governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, to use the National Guard on Monday was thought due to pressure from the Obama regime and may lead to his recall. The burning and looting covered about three blocks in Ferguson and destroyed its business district of mostly small businesses vital to the community. Many local citizens lost jobs just before the holiday season as their work place was burned down.
My photograph of the St. Louis County Courthouse. Note the temporary fence and light snow covering the ground.
It amazes me that the race baiters and Obama, a race baiter himself, always pick the wrong fight. (For Obama to say if he had a son that he would be like Trayvon, is like him saying he hopes his daughters would be like Twana Brawley. Off course, intelligence has never been Obama's forte, but prematurely jumping to conclusions is.) Michael Brown's shooting, though tragic, didn't have to happen at all. Brown, like Trayvon Martin, had a better choice than confront the police officer, namely to get out of the street. Trayvon could have ignored George Zimmerman and just kept walking to his destination. Instead both chose violent confrontation that ended badly as they made the mistake of bringing fists to a gun fight. Though Martin did not necessarily know that his adversary was packing (legally), Brown certainly did. Neither of these young black men were paragons of virtue. Martin had his share of minor problems including a school suspension, and Brown, a mountain of a man at 6'6" and 300 lbs., was a local bully and thug who had just stolen cigars from a local convenience store and strong arming the owner on his way out. Walking in the middle of the street, in defiance of authority, is a well known gang behavior. Brown refused to move to the side walk and instead confronted the officer, punching him in the face and trying to steal his gun. The gun went off and Brown was hit in the finger. Brown began to run and Wilson pursued him. Suddenly Brown turned and charged the officer who fired his weapon and apparently hit, but only momentarily stopped Brown who lowered his head and continue toward the officer. Wilson fired again and again stricking Brown in the head and killing him. The jury concluded that this was the correct sequence and description of the shooting and found that Brown's shooting was justifiable.
I say, "why all the fuss." The Ferguson incident was not racial, only the media and the racists made it seem that way. Brown's race was inconsequential to Wilson's shooting him. Attacked by a huge man, who refused multiple police orders and continued to charge the officer who he had already punched, was the reason for the shooting. Unfortunately police shootings occur everyday and if the races were reversed or both the same, maybe a fifteen second sound bite on the local late night news or a short paragraph on a back page of he local newspaper would have been all that made note of the incident. In fact, on the same day of Brown's demise, a black police officer near Salt Lake City, Utah shot and killed a white thug with a criminal record who was unarmed, but move forward at the officer in a threatening way and acted as if he had a concealed weapon. You would only have heard about this event because I just informed you that it happened. The white thug's family got no call from Obama nor did the KKK bother to protest.
In Obama's adopted home town of Chicago, a dozen or so young black men are killed every week by other young black men and no one, especially Obama, Sharpton, or even Jessie Jackson who lives in Chicago even care. The black community, either by fear or misguided lack of trust won't cooperate with the police. This is where this so called black leadership ought to be directing their efforts. Unfortunately they realize that if they are successful, they would loose some of their power.
If one wants to inject a racial element into these events, it should ask the question as to why young black men resort to violent rather than peaceful confrontation. Rev. M.L. King did not believe in violent confrontation. Thugs like drug gangs, the New Black Panthers, Sharpton, and Jackson, are the ones who encourage violence. This severely damages the causes for which they claim they are supporting. This begs the question, why. The answer is rather complex, but first begins with lack of education. When one is unable to explain his argument and debate one's case, frustration sets in and violence results. Leadership encourages the "burn baby burn" option. Maybe a high school course in conflict resolution might be more beneficial for high schoolers than some of the ridiculous courses they are taught. Liberalism is what is behind all of this as it has destroyed the black family and forced generation after generation to accept the liberal view that they are victims and can't help themselves. In the end Michael Brown's death is the fault of Liberalism and Obama and his ilk.
It amazes me that the race baiters and Obama, a race baiter himself, always pick the wrong fight. (For Obama to say if he had a son that he would be like Trayvon, is like him saying he hopes his daughters would be like Twana Brawley. Off course, intelligence has never been Obama's forte, but prematurely jumping to conclusions is.) Michael Brown's shooting, though tragic, didn't have to happen at all. Brown, like Trayvon Martin, had a better choice than confront the police officer, namely to get out of the street. Trayvon could have ignored George Zimmerman and just kept walking to his destination. Instead both chose violent confrontation that ended badly as they made the mistake of bringing fists to a gun fight. Though Martin did not necessarily know that his adversary was packing (legally), Brown certainly did. Neither of these young black men were paragons of virtue. Martin had his share of minor problems including a school suspension, and Brown, a mountain of a man at 6'6" and 300 lbs., was a local bully and thug who had just stolen cigars from a local convenience store and strong arming the owner on his way out. Walking in the middle of the street, in defiance of authority, is a well known gang behavior. Brown refused to move to the side walk and instead confronted the officer, punching him in the face and trying to steal his gun. The gun went off and Brown was hit in the finger. Brown began to run and Wilson pursued him. Suddenly Brown turned and charged the officer who fired his weapon and apparently hit, but only momentarily stopped Brown who lowered his head and continue toward the officer. Wilson fired again and again stricking Brown in the head and killing him. The jury concluded that this was the correct sequence and description of the shooting and found that Brown's shooting was justifiable.
I say, "why all the fuss." The Ferguson incident was not racial, only the media and the racists made it seem that way. Brown's race was inconsequential to Wilson's shooting him. Attacked by a huge man, who refused multiple police orders and continued to charge the officer who he had already punched, was the reason for the shooting. Unfortunately police shootings occur everyday and if the races were reversed or both the same, maybe a fifteen second sound bite on the local late night news or a short paragraph on a back page of he local newspaper would have been all that made note of the incident. In fact, on the same day of Brown's demise, a black police officer near Salt Lake City, Utah shot and killed a white thug with a criminal record who was unarmed, but move forward at the officer in a threatening way and acted as if he had a concealed weapon. You would only have heard about this event because I just informed you that it happened. The white thug's family got no call from Obama nor did the KKK bother to protest.
In Obama's adopted home town of Chicago, a dozen or so young black men are killed every week by other young black men and no one, especially Obama, Sharpton, or even Jessie Jackson who lives in Chicago even care. The black community, either by fear or misguided lack of trust won't cooperate with the police. This is where this so called black leadership ought to be directing their efforts. Unfortunately they realize that if they are successful, they would loose some of their power.
If one wants to inject a racial element into these events, it should ask the question as to why young black men resort to violent rather than peaceful confrontation. Rev. M.L. King did not believe in violent confrontation. Thugs like drug gangs, the New Black Panthers, Sharpton, and Jackson, are the ones who encourage violence. This severely damages the causes for which they claim they are supporting. This begs the question, why. The answer is rather complex, but first begins with lack of education. When one is unable to explain his argument and debate one's case, frustration sets in and violence results. Leadership encourages the "burn baby burn" option. Maybe a high school course in conflict resolution might be more beneficial for high schoolers than some of the ridiculous courses they are taught. Liberalism is what is behind all of this as it has destroyed the black family and forced generation after generation to accept the liberal view that they are victims and can't help themselves. In the end Michael Brown's death is the fault of Liberalism and Obama and his ilk.
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