Is Oil A Problem Or Not?

BRENT CRUDE FUTR (USD/bbl.)
PRICE 139.830
CHANGE -0.480
%CHANGE -0.34

Have you heard the latest dramatic action that president Bush is taking to get oil prices under control?

Me neither.

The Bushes are self proclaimed "oil men" who have been sucking up to the Saudis and other oil giants for generations, so you would imagine that they would at least be able to call some kind of summit meeting for all of the big players to discuss what's happening. But nothing.

Not a word.

Perhaps I am mistaken, but I am under the impression that the tripling of oil prices is a world-wide economic catastrophe that could lead to a near global depression. Yes? No? Maybe?

Is anybody in our government paying attention? Well, apparently that task has fallen to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. Let's see what he's doing . . .

Monitoring Market Conditions

Courtesy of Bloomberg June 24, 2008 -

Paulson also repeated his view that high oil prices are a symptom of tight supplies, rather than a trend driven by financial speculators. ``I just think it's important that when you see a fundamental issue, that you don't get diverted with an issue that is not a key driver and is not central to the problem,'' Paulson said. When asked about the role of speculators, Paulson stuck by his insistence that it is not a big factor in current market conditions. ``I've seen no evidence that it is a major factor. And I've seen a lot of evidence that there's a supply-demand issue, and inventories are becoming tighter,'' Paulson said, adding that U.S. officials will continue to monitor market conditions.

Well, OK, I guess. But should something more be happening? For some reason, I personally am way more worried about oil prices that I am about Al Quaeda blowing me up, or Iran building nuclear power plants (actually seems kind of smart), or whether Mitt Romney will get to lose another election this year, or who's doping up at the Olympics.

I've had three of my clients go out of business this year. And I don't have a lot of clients. Our economy is about to go into the tank, and it already has for a lot of people. Meanwhile, folks in Dubai are skiing indoors. That's great for them. But it seems to signal a big shift in wealth. We say good bye, they say hello. Let's make it not so big.

George should at least call a big meeting to discuss it. He's done nothing! Instead I'm only hearing about what McCain or Obama will try to do about it next year. What about this year? Will somebody please go into the oval office and slap that fool awake!

Remember all that bullshit talk justifying the Iraq War II about oil being the fuel for the "engine of democracy" and so strategically we could not allow ourselves to be blackmailed with it? Well, guess what? We're not being blackmailed. We're being robbed.

Let's get it together here. The sellers should not have this kind of pricing power. We have other cards to play here besides just stupidly bidding our dollars away. Please tell me we are smarter than this. We, meaning you and I, can start by letting own pols know that we demand some action. And we don't mean invading Iran.

Wall St Wants Obama

Jim Cramer says that the investment community wants Obama. Appearing on The Chris Matthews Show on Sunday, Cramer said that under Bush we "have the worst of the worst" and that we "need a new broom." He also said that Obama's tax plan "will work." As for McCain's tax plan, Cramer said that the only to benefits would be to those "making over $2.8 million per year." He also tossed in that investors don't trust McCain.

That is pretty incredible. Cramer is the controversial, and possibly insane, host of CNBC's Mad Money. I don't know where he got that $2.8 Million number, but it's a pretty severe indictment of McCain's plans.

At the more serious and somber Bloomberg News, on last week's Political Capital with Al Hunt, intrepid financial reporter Alison Fitzgerald stated that under McCain's tax plan the top 1 tenth of 1% (o.oo1) of taxpayers would realize a tax cut averaging $800,000. This is in stark contrast to Obama's plan to allow many, if not most, of the Bush tax cuts expire, basically returning us to tax levels similar to Ronald Reagan's, while pledging not to increase taxes for families making less than $250,000 a year. That covers most of the folks I know. The tenor of the show seemed to be that Obama's plan was more realistic, though neither adequately addressed the looming budget deficits.

Bloomberg's Albert R. Hunt

In other news the Newsweek poll shows Obama ahead of McCain nationally ahead by 15%. Even my home state of Georgia is in play. Hey, we are the state of MLK, Jimmy Carter, and Sam Nunn. Why the big surprise?

Friday's Random Thoughts

The week flew by and I can't keep straight in my mind what happened this week and what happened last week. I'm not sure what that means for my personal big picture, but maybe I've been taking anti-depressants for too long and they've affected my brain. I mean in a way they're not supposed to. On the other hand, almost nothing gets me worried these days.

Movie Reviews!

Iron Man - Man, this movie totally rocks! Robert Downey Jr. is GREAT in it. Gwineth Paltrow is sweetly alluring as his capable assistant, a sort of combination of Miss Moneypenny, Dr. Watson, Albert, and Agent 99. And Jeff Bridges is perfect. The plot's even good. And timely. Sneak a couple of beers into the theater and see it. Not for kids though. Too violent.

Kung Fu Panda - This one the kids absolutely loved. And my wife and I enjoyed it, too. An inspiring "Rocky" type tale of a chubby Panda who gets his chance to be a real life hero, and struggles to make himself ready.

Sports Update

I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to embrace the NBA even though the Celts are back in the finals, as long as lowlifes like Kobe Bryant are served up as the league's stars. Despite what they say, they are role models.

Big Brown ends his career in a pile of big brown. Last place? Really? How can that even happen?

But the big question about sports I have these days is why our Federal Government is spending my tax dollars investigating professional sports "scandals." Like whether or not NBA referees threw games. OK, maybe that's important to a lot of people, mostly professional gamblers and the "gaming industry. But I don't think it's something for the US government to be wasting time on. Since when did our government become the muscle for professional gamblers? Same point on baseball or football players taking steroids. What the hell do I care? I don't! It's a private sector matter. Suddenly our pols have no faith in the power of the market?

The feds should be spending their time and money finding Osama bin Laden, and stop fucking around with the likes of Barry Bonds. They've probably already spent more money chasing Barry Bonds that you and I paid in taxes last year. Do any of the federal prosecutors stop and ask themselves why their talents and abilities are being spent on such foolishness? Is that really what they signed up for? Or is getting their names in the paper any way they can the name of the game here?

Impeachments

Good for Dennis Kucinich in his Don Quixote attempt to bring accountability to our government by submitting articles of impeachment against George Bush. Wars of aggression are illegal. These articles of impeachment will go nowhere now, because of the lack of moral courage of our leading Democrats in Congress, and of course the blatant hypocrisy that we politely call "political partisanship" by Republicans. But he has set an historical record that will indict these dickheads in history for abusing our soldiers.

Looking to the Past for What the Future Holds

Pat Buchanan has a new book about the 2 world wars that reminds us of George Washington's admonition against foreign entanglements and Dwight D. Eisenhower's warnings of the military-industrial complex. The US is over-committed abroad today, and the conservative Ron Paul is correct on this, despite the attempts by Republicans who try to portray him as a laughingstock. For instance, would we really go to war with China if it invaded Taiwan? China, unlike Iraq or Iran, really could both attack us and invade the US mainland. Would we risk that for Taiwan?

Free Advice For Obama

Get the GI's on your side

Promise to raise military pay and support the proposed new GI Bill. Say that our service people are our greatest asset in our lines of defense, and they deserve to be treated as such. Improve military medicine, including providing mental health benefits for military children. Learn, acknowledge, and pay tribute to the very different culture that lifelong military members belong to. Allow "homesteading" where service families are allowed to serve from the same base for many years. This will earn the support of military families who suffer the disruption of the military policy of moving them every 3 or 4 years.

Re-evaluate and re-define our military posture in the world

Reduce the number of foreign bases. 700 is too many. This will save money, reduce resentment of foreign citizens, and improve military retention.

Take the position that we've already won the second Iraq War. Saddam is dead, there are no WMD's, and Iraq is not a military threat to anybody. There is no reason to stay.

Show leadership in moving toward new policies for new challenges

LEAD the democrats into accepting the necessity for an aggressive energy independence policy that will include increased oil drilling in the US, building 100 new nuclear power plants, "clean" coal plants, wind farms, and special mortgage programs for small, energy efficient homes. Geodesic domes. anyone? FYI, Jimmy Carter had a plan like this about 30 plus years ago.

LEAD us away from a "consumer economy" to an "infrastructure economy." An economy based on buying junk that we cannot personally afford is just silly.

Redefine the debates on social problems

Acknowledge that 1 million abortions a year is a social problem. Find solutions that don't involve the police or the courts looking into women's vaginas. Whatever happened to homes for unwed mothers? Break the logjam on the debate on this issue or it will cost you social conservatives.

Court the libertarian vote. These are the 25% of Republicans who, after John McCain won the nomination, still continued to get out of bed to go stand in line to fruitlessly vote against him. You can get these people. Liberty used to be a Democratic party line. Reclaim it.

Acknowledge that many people view their right to bear arms as a civil right. Taking away a person's right to self preservation is not right.

Get the doctors and the clergy onboard your universal healthcare program. It's a natural fit for both.

Count the votes

You've got to get the Jews on your side. Consider Bloomberg for VP. Visit Israel.

Show that you can use your own brand to restore America's standing in the world

Use the excitement of your nomination in the Mid-East to improve relations there now with the Arab nations. Push Bush out of the spotlight, take a fact finding trip, and start to act as the de-facto President. Show that you will be able to cool off the US - Arab tensions to get a fresh start and re-assert America's influence in the region peacefully.

When signing foreign aid treaties or weapons sales agreements, make it a condition that the counter-country add English to their school curriculum and protect the rights of Christian churches and missionaries. The only way the US will survive and thrive for centuries to come is to export our culture worldwide, like Rome did. And this doesn't mean having McDonalds and KFC restaurants in Beijing.

Don't spend our money

Don't raise taxes. We can't afford it now.

If we've gone global, talk about "Team America"

Don't go after big American companies. In a global economy, Exxon Mobil is our team. They are already minuscule compared to PetroChina and Aramco. We need American companies to be big and strong to compete in a world economy.

Attack Hugo Chavez as America's newest enemy. Everybody hates him, especially the Cubans and expat Venezualians. Paint him as the new Castro.

Call out McCain

Make McCain angry. He'll expose himself for the intemperate lunatic he is, and the press will turn against him. Yes, he was a POW, but that doesn't mean he's not a jerk.

Good luck.

World Hunger and the U.S.

World Hunger Fights Back

Just last year people were commenting that one of the big stories of our time that didn't get any press was that world hunger was no longer a necessity because we (human beings) now produce more than enough food to feed everybody on Earth. That's pretty impressive. Peoples who did suffer from starvation were mostly victims of war or political repression, and, of course, poverty. And it was the starvation of people who went hungry because of poverty that seemed the post preventable.

Well, it appears that world hunger is making a comeback. And it's not because of biofuels.

If you care about world hunger, check out these Bloomberg articles, (well written by a reporter with no apparent public photo):

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aAbQtBfGM.mI

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aFRoij5an3fg

So, since this blog is mostly about domestic American politics, let's rope that in. As "The Greatest Nation In The History Of The World" I'd like to see more talk in this presidential election about what we, As A Nation, can do about world hunger. Maybe we could carve off 5 minutes in one of the next debates from the segment reserved for "what dirty Arab country will you bomb next?" and "if your sister was tied to an atom bomb, how much would you torture Cat Stevens to save her?" questions, and ask about feeding the hungry.

It might even be what Jesus would do. You know, be the good guy. Aren't we the good guys?

I'm off to get a bagel. Jesus always makes me think of bagels. I'm thankful to have them.

Jesus feeding people.

Worldview Mid-Week Update

Newsies Still Getting It Wrong - Both CNN and Politico continue to report that Hillary "won" Texas, despite Obama getting 99 delegates to her 94. What's up with that? Maybe the Atlanta Braves "won" last night because they got more hits.

Best Comment on Hillary's "White Strategy" - If she had any character at all, she would reject the votes of bigots and say as John Edwards said, “If you’re planning to vote against Senator Obama because of his race, I don’t want your vote either”.
— Posted by sparky, in the NYT, 5/21/08, commenting on Timothy Egan's blog

Clinton Campaign Strategy Manual

GOP Election Expectations this Week - The Republicans head man in the House of Representatives, John Boner of Ohio, predicted last month that Republicans would gain Congressional seats this November. This week he has backed off that bold prediction, but said he still "hopes" that Republicans will win more seats. Boner is the House Minority Leader, but is best known for bursting into tears whenever a bill to fund the Iraq War comes up for debate. He is also a staunch suck-up to President Bush. Under his leadership, the Republicans have lost three interim elections in a row, so he'll probably be shit-canned from his leadership position fairly soon.

Rep. John Boner, R-Ohio

Privacy Rights Lost this Week - Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, famous for his verbal temper tantrums, whining about his paycheck, acting like a pompous jackass, and his pro-privacy jurisprudence, has a scaredy-cat son, Christopher, who's teaching creative writing at the University of Virginia these days. Well one of Christopher's students, doing his assigned homework, wrote a very scary story about murder and suicide. It was so scary that Christopher ran and told the Principal. Then they had that scary student expelled, and sent to an insane asylum for the weekend. I suppose it didn't occur to them to actually teach the student about what was apparently so wrong with his writing. He must be one hell of a good writer to scare people that much. Or Christopher must be one hell of a pathetic little pussy. Or perhaps both. There's a lesson in here somewhere about privacy rights, or censorship, or the state's misuse of mental health labels as punishment, or something, and I think the news is bad. Maybe Christopher should check out the crazy scary books by Stephen King, or James Patterson, or Thomas Harris, or Bret Easton Ellis, or . . . well, you get the idea. You can check out the WSJ story here.

News That Might Be True - Speaking of the WSJ, this clip of Rupert Murdoch was making the rounds a couple of weeks ago. I can't tell if it's real or not, but I hope it is. I can't imagine Michael Bloomberg using this kind of language. In case this upload doesn't work, CLICK HERE to link directly to it on Youtube.

Madman Murdoch

Odd Political Dream of the Week - Speaking of bored newsmen, imagine this: Hillary convinces the Super Delegates to give her the nomination. Obama says "Adios" and teams up with Michael Bloomberg for an independent third party run. That would be cool. Plus, Bloomie's white, and pro-business, and may even be Jewish! All groups that Obama could use some help with.

The New Dream Ticket

Odd Political Moment of the Week - A meeting of Russia's opposition party, The Other Russia, headed by Gary Kasparov, was briefly interrupted by this flying dildo. To my practiced eye, it appears to be a western dildo, as Russians tend not to go in for circumcision. However the copter is a Russian contra-rotating rotor design, not generally used in the US or Europe. So we may have here a unique marriage of the best of Eastern and Western technologies.

Flying Dildo - No known relation to Rep. Boner

Separated at Birth? -

Wally

Tommy

Oldie of the Week - Spill the Wine - by Eric Burden & War, 1970. I used to listed to this in a "fort" with my friends when I was 10 or 11 years old on a transistor radio I got for Christmas. It was our favorite song. We had no idea why we liked it so much. I still love it and I'm still not sure why. The rumor was that it's about taking heroin. Though now I think I detect a vaguely Christian theme that hadn't noticed before.

Lyrics

I was once out strolling one very hot summer's day
When I thought I'd lay myself down to rest in a big field of tall grass.
I lay there in the sun and felt it caressing my face.
As I fell asleep and dreamed,
I dreamed I was in a Hollywood movie,
And that I was the star of the movie.
This really blew my mind,
The fact that me, an overfed, long-haired, leaping gnome,
Should be the star of a Hollywood movie...

But there I was....
I was taken to a place, the hall of the mountain kings.
I stood high upon a mountain top, naked to the world,
In front of every kind of girl...
There was long ones, tall ones, short ones,
Brown ones, black ones, round ones, big ones, crazy ones...
Out of the middle, came a lady,
She whispered in my ear something crazy,
She said...

"Spill the wine and take that pearl,
Spill the wine and take that pearl,
Spill the wine and take that pearl,
Spill the wine and take that pearl,

"I thought to myself what could that mean?
Am I going crazy or is this just a dream?
Now, wait a minute,I know I'm lying in a field of grass somewhere,
So it's all in my head,
And then...
I heard her say one more time...

"Spill the wine and take that pearl,
Spill the wine and take that pearl,
Spill the wine and take that pearl,
Spill the wine and take that pearl,"

I could feel hot flames of fire roaring at my back,
As she disappeared, but soon she returned.
In her hand was a bottle of wine, in the other, a glass.
She poured some of the wine from the bottle into the glass,
And raised it to her lips,
And just before she drank it, she said...

"Spill the wine and take that pearl,
Spill the wine and take that pearl,
Spill the wine and take that pearl,
Spill the wine and take that pearl."