Relationship Between Big Oil, White House Angers Congressional GOP

Thought we were all Americans first and members of a political party way down the line.  I don't vote to send people to the House and Senate to be obstructionists but to get something accomplished.  Dr. Tom Coburn, our Oklahoma Senator, is a great example of someone who is willing to work with anyone to get something accomplished for the good of the people.

There has been such contentious relationship between the White House and Big Oil, that maybe I am nuts but I think it is great they are at least talking.  That is a huge step forward.   Before they were not talking.  When you see Big Oil, you can also assume it is oil and gas .

I have had a lot to say about the waste of stimulus dollars but I am seeing positive results here now from the conversion of the transportation fleets to compressed natural gas and other alternatives.  Here in central Oklahoma where I live many of the University of Oklahoma transportation fleet are run by alternative fuels.  The CART buses which go between the apartments and the university are run by natural gas.  The City of Norman has just dedicated  a compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station which has been in operation several months and was paid for by the stimulus.  Our fleet of trash trucks are being converted to CNG as new ones join the fleet.  There was a lot about the stimulus that was a waste but have to say that here in Norman between the University and the City, they have spent their stimulus dollars wisely.

IMHO we should applauding the White House for taking the first step in understanding oil and gas.  Maybe Obama's trip to Cushing, OK, actually did some good.  He has approved the southern part of the Keystone Pipeline which will help domestic producers in this part of the Country a lot in making the crude oil get to the refineries along the coast because our refineries here are at capacity.

Don't understand the email that was sent out by one of Senator Inhofe's staffers opposing oil and gas taking advantage of the outreach by the White House.  Are they supposed to only support the GOP and not even talk to Democrats?  Reminder that this was a staffer not the Senator who sent out the email.  Trying to get more information is like pulling teeth.  Will update if I can find out further information but for now this article from the National Journal paints a picture of selfishness on the part of some Republicans who put the Republican Party ahead the best interest of the American people.

I hope I am wrong in my analysis, but what I have found so far says unfortunately in this election year no one who is Republican is supposed to work with the White House as so many Republicans continue to demonize every last thing that President Obama does.  This is the exact same thing Democrats did to President George W. Bush in 2004 and again in 2008 when Obama ran the first time.  In fact you have some Democrats still bringing up how bad President Bush was in office and he has been out of office for almost four years.

Can we return civility to the Congress where they work together for us -- the American people to do what is best for America?  Putting political spin on everything is getting disgusting from both sides.

Relationship Between Big Oil, White House Angers Congressional GOP

By Andrew JosephMay 14, 2012 | 11:28 AM 

Our colleague Amy Harder reports (for members) on how a recent improvement in the relationship between the Obama administration and the oil and natural-gas industry is irking congressional Republicans:

In an April 23 e-mail obtained this week by National Journal Daily, a senior energy aide to Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member James Inhofe, R-Okla., criticized the oil and gas industry for working closely with the White House on a strategy for regulating natural-gas production. ... 

Senate Republicans, who led a successful fight this spring against Obama's proposal to repeal billions of dollars in tax subsidies enjoyed by major oil companies, felt betrayed by the industry's collaboration with the White House on fracking regulations. The e-mail to top oil and gas lobbyists made that unhappiness clear, and it suggested that the industry was being duped.

"Moving forward, we--your partners--would kindly ask for better coordination and communication from you to prevent the Obama administration from pulling similar stunts in the future," wrote Inhofe aide David Banks in the 800-word e-mail to two dozen lobbyists.

The reference in the e-mail to industry and Republicans being "partners" made some of the lobbyists who read it cringe, because it implies that the industry must always be aligned with congressional Republicans. That ignores the reality that major corporations, which are responsible to their investors, must sometimes work with the president when it suits their business interests, said Scott Segal, a lobbyist with Bracewell & Giuliani who received the Banks e-mail. 

Source:  National Journal 

Rick Perry Creating Jobs

IBD: Perry's Jobs Plan: Drill, Baby, Drill

This is the key to why Governor Perry needs to become President.  He understands our energy industry and what it takes to make this Country self sufficient.  It is one thing to say "Drill Baby Drill" but if you don't have the background of governing a oil and gas producing state, it is pretty hollow words.  How many of today's candidates even realize we have not had a new refinery come on-line since the 1976 due to government regulations that make it too expensive and virtually impossible to build a new refinery.   Do people not realize the new jobs that would be created with building a new refinery plus it would be much more efficient.  These words are what is needed and because the Governor understands what has been happening with oil and gas, his words mean something.  Governor Jindal (LA) and Gov Fallin (OK) also understand what our three states have been going through with the overregulation of oil and gas.

"America should not be — and when I'm president of the United States, will not be — held hostage by foreign oil and federal bureaucrats," Perry promised.

What does Herman Cain know about oil and gas?  Maybe there is a video game like Sim City he could use for oil and gas like he has for his 9-9-9 plan.  Romney could care less as he has never made an attempt to understand the oil and gas industry and why he gets donations from Wall Street not oil and gas.  Wall Street gets the sweetheart deals from the federal government and oil and gas get more regulation so that OPEC can continue to supply our needs so gas prices stay high.

IBD has it figured out with the Perry plan but where are a lot of the MSM media?  Are they afraid to give Gov Perry any credit for fear he might be the nominee in spite of the Koch Brothers, Karl Rove, Roger Ailes and Fox News?

Perry's Jobs Plan: Drill, Baby, Drill
Posted 07:00 PM ET 

Election '12: A governor of an energy-rich state would use the "energy of the past" to create the jobs of the present rather than placing bets on solar panels and tilting at windmills. 

During the GOP presidential debates, Gov. Rick Perry was criticized for taking all the credit for Texas' job-creation record since he was not responsible for the oil and gas in the ground that created many of those jobs. 

True enough. But like Sarah Palin, the governor of another energy-rich state, he did foster a business-friendly climate as free from NIMBY regulations as possible, making the extraction of that energy a reality. He has fought the good fight against an Environmental Protection Agency that is at war with Texas — an EPA determined to shut down domestic fossil fuel production.
On Friday, Perry stood on a giant dock at a U.S. Steel plant in West Mifflin, Pa., to announce his plan to create an estimated 1.2 million jobs by freeing America's energy producers of burdensome federal regulations and reopening federal land and offshore water to energy exploration and production. 

The Obama administration says it's already doing this, even after EPA regulations such as its cross-state pollution rule threatens to eviscerate energy production from coal. And after Obama's de facto moratorium on oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico through a glacial permitting process. Plus, outright bans remain elsewhere, including ANWR. 

Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt issued a statement saying Perry's "energy policy isn't the way to win the future; it's straight out of the past — doubling down on finite resources with no plan to promote innovation or to transition the nation to a clean energy economy." 

Yet the administration's energy policy, if that's what you call it, clearly is not creating jobs — certainly not at solar outfits like the stimulus-subsidized Solyndra that went bankrupt and left 1,100 workers without work. 

Little in Perry's plan is new, merely a restatement of the obvious that domestic energy production has in the past generated jobs, revenue and economic growth and can do so in the future. 

"America should not be — and when I'm president of the United States, will not be — held hostage by foreign oil and federal bureaucrats," Perry promised.

Standing next to rows of steel coils and steel transmission pipe used for oil and natural gas pipelines, as well as a natural-gas-powered forklift, Perry said that in his first few days as president he'd strip the EPA of its regulatory power over greenhouse gas emissions and air-quality standards for power plants that shut them down, stifling job and economic growth while causing energy prices to skyrocket. 

Perry pledged support for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring Canadian tar sands oil from our North American friend and ally to Texas refineries. He argued for full exploitation of the natural gas resources of the Marcellus Shale formation under parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. 

"Right here in Pennsylvania, and across the state line in West Virginia and Ohio, we will tap the full potential of the Marcellus Shale and create another 250,000 jobs," he said. "We have the resources we need to fuel our cars, our homes and our power plants. They can be found in ... Oklahoma, North Dakota, New Mexico, Alabama, Kentucky, throughout the American West and, of course, Alaska."\ 

Certainly the development of the Bakken Shale formation centered in North Dakota proves Perry's point. At its current pace, North Dakota will produce more than 560,000 barrels of oil per day by January 2012, then will pass No. 3 California (540,000 barrels per day) and No.2 Alaska (550,000 barrels per day) to become America's second-largest oil producer. In the process, this one small state has added 16,200 oil-related jobs. 

Drill, baby, drill to create jobs, baby, jobs. 

Read More at IBD

Japan: Nuclear Reactor Storage Pool May be Boiling

Tsunami Relief:  Network for Good

Yesterday afternoon as I was watching the cable news shows, was struck by the fact that they were all reporting that Tapco, the company in charge of these nuclear reactors most affected, has had a penchant for not telling the truth since 2002. Are they telling the truth now. With the evacuations ordered by the Japanese Government we have our doubts.

Prime Minister Kan and other officials warned there is danger of more leaks and told people living within 19 miles (30 kilometers) of the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex to stay indoors to avoid exposure that could make people sick.

"Please do not go outside. Please stay indoors. Please close windows and make your homes airtight," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told residents in the danger zone.

"These are figures that potentially affect health. There is no mistake about that," he said.

This video of Kan ordering the evacuations and sealing up of residences of those who cannot evacuate is chilling. The radiation levels have gotten higher in that area and evacuations have been ordered to evacuate. Would not have to tell most people twice to leave.




One of the first questions I would have is why are there so many nuclear power plants in Japan on what is known as an earthquake zone? This should be a message to the Obama Administration to take it very slow on nuclear energy and think long and hard before attempting to put any nuclear power plants in an earthquake zone or anywhere a disaster could strike like tornadoes or hurricanes. We never figured out why they were in California.

Call us a skeptic but we grew up with a small reactor in Piqua, Ohio. Took a tour of it while in high school. They gave us badges to wear during the tour which made us feel grown up as we saw them on the workers. As a teenager thought it was neat, but later when working at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, realized they were radiation dosimeter badges we wore for the tour. Then it hit me and the question was asked was "Why would you take school kids on a tour of a facility where there was a chance of radiation?" Four years it provided the power to Piqua in the 60's -- get that four years and they shut it down. Why close down after only four years?

Japan: Nuclear Reactor Storage Pool May Be BoilingMar 15, 2011 – 6:11 AM

Eric Talmadge and Shino Yuasa
AP

SOMA, Japan -- Dangerous levels of radiation leaking from a crippled nuclear plant forced Japan to order 140,000 people to seal themselves indoors Tuesday after an explosion and a fire dramatically escalated the crisis spawned by a deadly tsunami.

In a nationally televised statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation has spread from the four stricken reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant along Japan's northeastern coast. The region was shattered by Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that is believed to have killed more than 10,000 people, plunged millions into misery and pummeled the world's third-largest economy.

Japanese officials told the International Atomic Energy Agency that the reactor fire was in a storage pond and that "radioactivity is being released directly into the atmosphere." Long after the fire was extinguished, a Japanese official said the pool, where used nuclear fuel is kept cool, might be boiling.

"We cannot deny the possibility of water boiling" in the pool, said Hidehiko Nishiyama, an official with the economy ministry, which oversees nuclear safety.

That reactor, Unit 4, had been shut down before the quake for maintenance.

If the water boils, it could evaporate, exposing the rods. The fuel rods are encased in safety containers meant to prevent them from resuming nuclear reactions, nuclear officials said, downplaying the risk of that happening.

But they acknowledged that there could have been damage to the containers. They also confirmed that the walls of the storage pool building were damaged.

Though Kan and other officials urged calm, Tuesday's developments fueled a growing panic in Japan and around the world amid widespread uncertainty over what would happen next. In the worst-case scenario, one or more of the reactor cores would completely melt down, a disaster that could spew large amounts of radioactivity into the atmosphere.

"I worry a lot about fallout," said Yuta Tadano, a 20-year-old pump technician at the Fukushima plant, who said he was in the complex when quake hit.

"If we could see it we could escape, but we can't," he said, cradling his 4-month-old baby, Shoma, at an evacuation center.

The radiation fears added to the catastrophe that has been unfolding in Japan, where at least 10,000 people are believed to have been killed and millions of people have spent four nights with little food, water or heating in near-freezing temperatures as they dealt with the loss of homes and loved ones. Up to 450,000 people are in temporary shelters.

(snip)

The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex, along that battered coastline, has been the focus of the worries. Workers there have been desperately trying to use seawater to cool the fuel rods in the complex's three reactors, all of which lost their cooling ability after Friday's quake and tsunami.

On Tuesday, the complex was hit by its third explosion since Friday, and then a fire in a separate reactor.

Afterward, officials just south of the area reported up to 100 times the normal levels of radiation, Kyodo News agency reported. While those figures are worrying if there is prolonged exposure, they are far from fatal.

Tokyo reported slightly elevated radiation levels, but officials said the increase was too small to threaten the 39 million people in and around the capital, about 170 miles (270 kilometers) away. Closer to the stricken nuclear complex, the streets in the coastal city of Soma were empty as the few residents who remained there heeded the government's warning to stay indoors.

Excerpt: Read More at AOL News

Each day the news out of the nuclear reactors in northern Japan seems to get worse. Are the people being told the truth or a version of the truth? Only time will tell which is a sad state of affairs. The way government officials are beginning to talk, it must be frightening to the people who live in that area.

People right now are having trouble getting water and food without having to face the the threat of nuclear radiation. Our greatest hope is that the Japanese people get the truth about what is going on with the radiation from these nuclear plants. They deserve no less. Until that threat is over, it will be hard to start the major rebuilding needed in Japan.


Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Japan as they continue to struggle with this huge disaster.

We are now totally opposed to any more nuclear power plants in the United States until a lot more is known about this tragedy. What we need right now is using more of our own energy resources something Obama and his Administration cannot seem to get through their small minded brains. To ignore the vast resources of oil and gas and push forward with the boondoggle of wind mills and nuclear energy is foolish.

Why should we also rely so much on foreign oil when we have the resources right here in the United States including offshore? The Obama Administration giving out one lease to BP and keeping on the moratorium in the Gulf should be an impeachable offense as they ignoring the order of a federal judge. He is harming the economy of the Gulf States and putting the future of gasoline in the hands of foreign countries from the unstable Middle East.

Time for Obama and his Administration to approve more oil leases NOW not sometime in the future.  Obama does not have the necessary experience to even be involved in running this Country as he is demonstrating on a daily basis.  Note to people considering running for President in 2012:  Do not apply unless you have plenty of experience.  One experiment with someone with little experience who seemed to quit jobs at will is enough for this Country.

Why are Obama and the Democrats stopping more oil drilling in the United States?

We agree 100% with this paragraph from The American Thinker:

It is beyond absurd that a country sitting on so much natural wealth refuses to exploit it for the benefit of its citizens and instead deliberately puts the nation in the position of being subjected to the whims of others and face national insolvency. It almost appears to be deliberate.

This morning as I was reading the American Thinker about the oil reserves here in the United States that are untapped, my thoughts turned to what is taking place a few miles from where I live at the University of Oklahoma. Over the years, have met students from countries like Columbia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Canada to name a few who are at OU because of the Petroleum Engineering degree.

University of Oklahoma Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Engineering is at the forefront of research as one of the top five petroleum research universities in the Country. Within the school which is now part of a new separate College of Earth and Energy you find:

Integrated Core Characterization Center(IC3)
The Integrated Core Characterization Center consists of the complete Amoco rock physics laboratory. This laboratory has unparalleled industrial, commercial and academic capabilities and offers the widest range of measurement and research opportunities in the industry. It evolved from a seismic velocity measurement laboratory to an integrated facility that provides a vast array of petrophysical, seismic and rock mechanics capabilities.

PoroMechanics Institute
Established in September 1992, the PoroMechanics Institute (PMI) is a multidisciplinary research unit of the University of Oklahoma, Norman. The PMI offices and laboratories are located in the Sarkeys Energy Center, a 340,000-square-foot complex at the northeast corner of the campus housing more than 200 teaching and research laboratories.

Well Construction Technology Center
The Well Construction Technology Center is an advanced technology research center that incorporates high pressure, high temperature fluid flow applications using both field scale and lab scale equipment for the oil industry.

The Applied Surfactant Laboratory (ASL)
The ASL is located on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in the Sarkeys Energy Center. The ASL is composed of undergraduate students, graduate students, post doctoral students and researchers who conduct phase equilibrium, sand pack, and core flood studies for both environmental and crude oil recovery applications. ASL has labs in both Petroleum Engineering and Chemical Engineering Departments.

At Mewbourne, the students get a hands on experience on the rigs and for the last seven years have had a 100% placement rate for their students with over 90% going into the oil and gas industry. Students from oil producing countries around the world come to OU for their degrees in Petroleum Engineering. The faculty has been assembed from oil producing countries from around the world for their expertise.



When you combine the expertise of the University of Oklahoma and other major Petroleum Universities teaming with the leaders of oil and gas you are left with the question 'Why aren't we drilling more here and relying less on foreign oil?" The oil and gas fields are right here in the United States yet the Democrats oppose almost all drilling.

Yesterday the first drilling permit was handed out by Energy Secretary to British Petroleum -- get that BP -- same company that caused the huge oil spill in the Gulf and put a moratorium on oil drilling in the Gulf. What does that say about this Administration? Guess the rest of the Petroleum industry didn't donate enough to Obama's campaign.

When you read this article, you will see the large amount of resources we have in our own Country that are untouched because of the Democrats. Elections have consequences and we are seeing that today with the oil and gas industry that Obama has put on its back in the Gulf.

March 04, 2011
The Only Way Out for the American Economy
By Steve McCann

Economic despair reigns in America, as stagnation and mounting debt make our future look hopeless. Yet America is uniquely positioned to rebound and recover our economic preeminence. All that is necessary is a political decision to reverse our energy policy and stimulate domestic production of hydrocarbons. From that would flow a true economic stimulus that would mend many of our ills.

The United States is again, for the second time in less than three years, being reminded of its absurd dependence of foreign sources of energy, most notably, oil. The upheavals in the Middle East have driven up the cost of a barrel of oil into triple digits as it was in 2008. The increasing demands of countries such as China and India and the deliberate devaluation of the dollar by the Federal Reserve and the Obama administration are steadily pushing up oil prices in dollars.

The country's dependence of foreign sources has increased to 52% of the daily requirement as compared to 45% just 15 years ago. Over half of that amount comes from countries that are inherently unstable or ruled by despotic regimes whose interest it is to de-stabilize the United States.

Yet the United States is sitting on the world's largest untapped oil reserve. A natural resource that would not only mitigate the over $400 Billion sent overseas to other countries but could create untold millions of jobs and put the country on a sound financial footing.

The untapped reserves are estimated up to 2.3 Trillion barrels, nearly three times the reserves held by the OPEC countries and sufficient to meet 300 years of demand, at today's levels -- for auto, truck, aircraft, heating and industrial fuel, without importing a single barrel of oil.

The US could become the single largest exporter of oil and oil related products in the world, thus potentially eliminating its trade deficit, and increasing the national standard of living as well as making a massive dent in the national debt.

Here is a look at some of the largest untapped reserves:

The Bakken Fields in North and South Dakota. New drilling and oil recovery technology is making the capture of this oil feasible and some development is now underway. It is estimated that there is at least 200 Billion barrels of oil in this region. At a price of $100 per barrel the value of this find is $20 Trillion.

The Outer Continental shelf. It is estimated that around 90 billion barrels of oil sit beneath the ocean bed 50 to 100 miles off the shore of the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts. The value: $9 Trillion.

The Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. About 10 billion barrels are locked up here with a current value of $1 Trillion.

Tar Sands: Around 75 Billion barrels of oil could come from these areas which are similar to the Canadian tar sand fields and which now produce about 2 million barrels per day. The value: $7.5 Trillion

Oil Shale. This is the most massive area of potential oil production in the world with an estimated 1.5 Trillion barrel potential. The technology necessary to extract this oil is now in place and being operated on a pilot project basis. The value of this resource: $150 Trillion

There also the very real potential that further finds will be discovered as technology continues to improve.

In total the value of the potential oil reserves of the United States listed above exceeds $187 Trillion. The current national debt is $14.2 Trillion or less than 8%.

Despite the protestation of President Obama and the environmentalists the world and particularly the United States is not running out of oil. Their foolish tilting at windmills and solar will never produce energy sufficient to operate a $14Trillion and hopefully growing economy. It will be decades if not the rest of the 21st Century before any meaningful substitute for fossil fuels will be developed and additional time and investment will then be necessary to distribute the product.

Mankind's ingenuity has and will continue to develop technology to safely extract, process and market fossil fuels (which is a naturally occurring resource). But the United States must begin now to open the areas for exploration, and permit the construction of refineries and pipelines.

...

Excerpt: Read More at American Thinker

EPA Stifles New Energy Gains; $2 B to Brazil for Off Shore Drilling; Obama Surrenders Gulf Oil to Russia

These are just a few of the headlines as Obama has set course for the United States to remain dependent on foreign resources for our energy. The headlines don't include the recent ruling on Feb 11, 2010, by Interior Secretary of the Interior Salazar that put expanded offshore drilling on hold. Why is Obama surrendering the United States ability to explore and drill for new resources while Russia is going to be drilling offshore 40 miles from Florida, and he sent $2 billion to Brazil for offshore drilling?

Obama and his Administration are systematically tanking the domestic oil and gas producers and costing jobs throughout the Country. With cutting off the ability to explore for new resources, he is going to cause some smaller companies that depend on oil and gas production to go out of business.

Obama is passing up on creating jobs for US citizens in favor of the jobs and oil going to foreign countries. Why? The price we pay at the pump or what we use to cook and heat will eventually rise as Obama shuts off the ability of domestic oil and gas producers to explore and develop new resources.

Does Obama plan to Nationalize Oil and Gas next like he is trying to do with Healthcare? Is his ultimate goal to have the Government control all the oil and gas production in the United States?
Today we take look at what he has done with domestic oil and gas production in the United States and it sends chills up your spine. Obama is not creating jobs he is costing jobs in the United States to further send our economy down. EPA is now one of the most powerful cabinet positions in the Government as it sets out to tank our oil and gas industry now. Is Jackson following Obama orders? We believe she is along with Salazar.

Obama's EPA stifles new energy gains
Examiner Editorial March 19, 2010

It would be simpler if President Obama leveled with energy industry officials and the American people and admitted he's doing everything in his power to suffocate this country's ability to find and develop critically needed new energy supplies. But instead of being honest about it, Obama hides behind misleading rhetoric about the wonders of "green" energy, even as his minions erect a multitude of new bureaucratic roadblocks to the development of the oil and natural gas resources needed to keep American homes heated, factories humming, and laptops processing. These new resources could also create millions of new jobs, generate trillions of dollars in tax revenues, and spark economic expansion in rural areas like western Pennsylvania and upstate New York that have known only decline for generations.

(snip)

This week, it's Lisa Jackson, Obama's Environmental Protection Agency head, putting another pillow over the face of the energy industry: A "comprehensive research study to investigate the potential adverse impact that hydraulic fracturing may have on water quality and public health." Her agency will spend $1.9 million on the first year of the study and unspecified amounts in the years thereafter. Hydraulic fracturing is when water and minute amounts of nontoxic chemicals are injected deep underground into rock formations to free previously unreachable stores of oil and gas. The technology opens up immense natural gas resources like the Marcellus Shale area of economically blighted rural regions of western Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and West Virginia.

Jackson forgot to mention "concerns" about hydraulic fracturing come only from environmental groups seeking to stop all uses of fossil fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas. Jackson's announcement followed the Washington premiere of the anti-fossil fuel "GasLand" propagandamentary produced by some of these same groups. Two more facts Jackson didn't mention: Never in the 60-year history of hydraulic fracturing has it been linked to a single proven public health threat to water quality; and the EPA has already studied hydraulic fracturing, most recently in 2004, when it found no threat. Clearly, this new study is about stopping fossil fuel development, not protecting public health.

Excerpt: Read more at the Washington Examiner

Obama is against offshore drilling for the United States but he didn't hesitate to help his benefactor, George Soros. This report from Brett Baier from Fox News details the the $2 billion dollar investment in Brazil for their offshort drilling. Nice payback to Soros who is heavily involved in Brazilian oil production.

Brazil Oil August 19, 2009

When the rumors first struck in the summer of 2009, it was the Chinese were going to be drilling off Cuba coming 40 miles from the Florida coast tapping into what should have been oil drilled by US companies. It turned out the Chinese had negotiated some oil leases but now the truth has come out -- Russia is reestablishing itself in the Western Hemisphere in Cuba and will be drilling for oil not China. Even though the oil rigs will be 40 miles from FL, the Russians will be doing horizontal drilling to capture oil much closer to the US shore.

Are we also going to turn over GITMO to the Cubans and then they lease GITMO to the Russians? It is a fair question based on the actions of this Administration to date. All signs are pointing to Obama's intent to destroy the United States superiority in Defense. What concessions did he make to the Russians during his visit that the American people know nothing about?

Obama Surrenders Gulf Oil to Russia

The Obama administration is poised to ban offshore oil drilling on the outer continental shelf until 2012 or beyond. Meanwhile, Russia is making a bold strategic leap to begin drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. While the United States attempts to shift gears to alternative fuels to battle the purported evils of carbon emissions, Russia will erect oil derricks off the Cuban coast.

Offshore oil production makes economic sense. It creates jobs and helps fulfill America's vast energy needs. It contributes to the gross domestic product and does not increase the trade deficit. Higher oil supply helps keep a lid on rising prices, and greater American production gives the United States more influence over the global market.

Drilling is also wildly popular with the public. A Pew Research Center poll from February showed 63 percent support for offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. Americans understand the fundamental points: The oil is there, and we need it. If we don't drill it out, we have to buy it from other countries. Last year, the U.S. government even helped Brazil underwrite offshore drilling in the Tupi oil field near Rio de Janeiro. The current price of oil makes drilling economically feasible, so why not let the private sector go ahead and get our oil?

The Obama administration, however, views energy policy through green eyeshades. Every aspect of its approach to energy is subordinated to radical environmental concerns. This unprecedented lack of balance is placing offshore oil resources off-limits. The O Force would prefer the country shift its energy production to alternative sources, such as nuclear, solar and wind power. In theory, there's nothing wrong with that, in the long run, assuming technology can catch up to demand. But we have not yet reached the green utopia, we won't get there anytime soon, and America needs more oil now.

Excerpt: Read The Full Article

We were shocked last month to learn that Interior Secretary Salazar was putting offshore drilling on hold but we should have expected that with this Administration. What we did not expect was Salazar freeing up water for the Central Valley of California in what looks to be an exchange for Yes votes for their Congressmen.

Salazar puts expanded offshore drilling on hold

The Interior secretary says a 'headlong rush' by Bush officials to open new areas to exploration 'torpedoed renewable energy.'
February 11, 2009Jim Tankersley
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration put the brakes on a push to expand oil and gas drilling off America's coasts Tuesday and promised to speed development of offshore wind farms.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced he will extend public comments for six months on a last-minute proposal by the Bush administration to open swaths of the California, Alaska, Atlantic and Gulf coasts for drilling.

Excerpt: Read More at Los Angeles Times

All of these articles point to the tanking of the domestic oil and gas production causing the loss of thousands of jobs. As we have mentioned before, we have to wonder if this is done on purpose to eventually nationalize oil and gas production in the United States.

From everything we see Fox News with Major Garrett and Bret Baier, and Jack Tapper of ABC are the only broadcast newsmen consistently digging for the truth on this Administration and what they are doing. Washington Times and Washington Examiner of the print media continue to investigate and are not afraid to state the truth of what they find.

As a side note on the media -- Yesterday I wrote the writer of an article at the Los Angeles Times about the COB estimate for healthcare sayting that it was not a final number as the CBO had not finished scoring although the Democrats were reporting it like it was the final CBO number. Within five minutes I received an email back with Thanks, I will make the correction on the on-line addition that it is a preliminary number. That is what I would expect a journalist to do but it is so rare, I was shocked. I have made it a point to tell everyone I know about what happened as it was so refreshing.

The media has been very lax except for a few to delve into and report Obama's background and find out just who is this man in the White House. It is obvious that he is not a lover of the United States Constitution, our Rule of Law, or much of anything else American as he attempts to turn this County with the help of the Progressive Socialists in Congress into a socialist nation. He wants everything controlled by the Federal Government. Now is the time for major media to get their act together and realize this Nation is facing a crises with Obama and his Administration in control along with the Progressive in Congress. They need to start investigation and start reporting on what is happening including the buying of votes for healthcare by the President not just the Speaker and Majority Leader of the Senate.

We are being saved right now by some very courageous Republicans in Congress along with some Democrats helping them to keep Obama from nationalizing our healthcare. How long can they hold off Obama/Pelosi/Reid and all the deals they are offering the Democrats for a "YES" vote. Buying votes against the will of the American people is so wrong but now we find out while the healthcare debate is raging, that this Administration has domestic oil and gas production in the bullseye. What else are we missing with the healthcare being the topic 24/7?

The media needs to ask who is the power behind Obama? We are speculating that it is the 60's radicals of the Weather Underground and Black Panthers along with George Soros. It is more obvious by the day that Obama doesn't care one bit about any rules in Congress as long as he gets his agenda rammed through which if they use the Slaughter Rule will be Unconstitutional.

Was ACORN started by Wade Rathke, a former member of the Weather Underground, to have voter fraud as part of their mission? When did their voter fraud originally start. We surmise that a test case may have been Bill Clinton's run for Governor after he was defeated after one term and came back to run in four years. Everyone needs to remember that originally Soros backed the Clintons not Obama. In 2004, his allegiance switched to Obama when Obama was running for Senate from Illinois from Hillary Clinton for President in 2008. Research is turning up that Soros was a friend of Tom Ayers, Bill Ayers Dad.

Evidence is also beginning to mount that Obama was chosen by Franklin Marshall Davis, a known Communist from Chicago, along with the Ayers, Dohrn, Rathke and others to be President someday and fulfill their wish of making America a socialist country. Is that day at hand? More and more we are beginning to think it is.

We ask once again - Where is the Mainstream Media (MSM) in investigating all these ties of Obama? We are not birthers but frankly we think it odd that Obama has spent over $1M to hide his $15 birth certificate. Just what does that certificate contain? Why isn't the MSM interested -- is it because they know the truth? Inquiring minds wants to know.

Phony 'Emergency'

IBD Editorials ^ August 1, 2008

Stimulus: Barack Obama's newly unveiled "Emergency Economic Plan" is quite a document, sounding more like the rantings of an extremist fringe candidate than a serious contender for the presidency.

The six-page package is a doozy, replete with populist ideas that will wreck the economy and leave us poorer. The only real emergency we should worry about is the debacle that would follow its passage.

It's shocking that a mainstream candidate, with so many supposedly well-regarded economists advising him, would produce such a shoddy, poorly thought-out plan.
Take his proposal to send every family a check for $1,000. Don't worry, he assures us, we won't have to pay for it. "Windfall profits from Big Oil" will pick up the tab — in this case.

Sen. Obama seems to be trying to take advantage of reports that Exxon Mobil reported record second-quarter income — indeed, the highest quarterly profit for any corporation ever.

But the reality is that as Obama and his equally unknowing friends push windfall taxes, Exxon Mobil has already given the U.S. a massive windfall. As economist Mark Perry has noted, Exxon Mobil will pay more taxes this year to the U.S. Treasury than the bottom 50% of all taxpayers — combined.

In the first half, Exxon Mobil's after-tax income rose 15% to $22.6 billion. A lot of money, to be sure, until you consider that Exxon Mobil paid $61.7 billion in taxes — also a record.

(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...

NOTE: If the marginal wells in Oklahoma and Texas were reopened (closed by Executive Order), according to Sen Inhofe there is more crude then what we import from Saudi Arabia. Drill NOW and reopen wells if you want the price to go down. No new refineries in over 30 years thanks to regulations and cost. For the first time oil companies are seeing light and the Feds are getting rich off the profits and yet the oil companies get blamed. Shame on the Dems in Congress who went home and refused to take up the drill for oil bills. Want to blame someone for high prices, blame the 'NO DRILL' Democrats!