Snake Oil

Oh thank heaven. Not!

Gas price in metro Orlando on 3/5/2013

Pulling on to pit road for a fuel stop the other day was painful.  Gas prices are near historical highs, and nobody seems to care.  In fact, the average national price per gallon has been over $3 for well over a year now.

 

I recall when gas spiked last decade under President Bush, the mainstream media, including local network affiliates, worked the citizenry into a frenzy.  Details of how the misery of the high gas prices negatively affected family after family and businessman after business were the top news story nightly with reporters in the field at gas stations far and wide.

 

Not these days. With the anointed one in office, the media cannot be bothered by a story that casts negativity on their beloved president. These folks do not present the truth, only propaganda.

 

Do they want a story?  Well, light sweet crude, which reached $147 a barrel under the spike under Bush, is only approximately $90 per barrel now.  What gives?

 

 

Although the Democrats hammered Bush and the capital markets during the spike last decade, they could not recognize then what they deem true now; that much of the price of oil under the current environment is out of the presidents control. True then, true now.

 

However, while the president cannot directly control world prices dictated by OPEC, control over the blessings of our natural resources can be engaged.  President Obama has failed to do so and stands opposed to it, so part of the infliction of pain on gas consumers lies on his desk.

 

He has borrowed taxpayer money to gamble on experimental alternate sources of energy which have ended in bankruptcy more often than not.  An outspoken opponent of fossil fuels, Obama has failed to move forward on the Keystone pipeline and has decreased our production.  Actions in the aftermath of the Gulf Oil Spill were designed to decrease our production, never letting a crisis go to waste. In addition, the US being Brazil's best customer does not help Americans at the pump.

 

But Obama has stated he prefers gas prices to reach European levels in a methodical manner, and has placed regulatory action on vehicles aimed at nudging motorists into small engine block vehicles the majority of the populous rejects. 

 

Cities embracing sustainable development and principles found in Agenda 21 are rewarded, and the punishment absorbed by the citizenry due to the hidden tax of high gas prices is a orchestrated mechanism to nudge Americans away from the pump.

 

Pain for the public to achieve political gains is sadly part of the plan to transform the United States of American and transfer our wealth to nations perceived as victims of our economic advancement.

 

Described as a new normal, nothing could be further of the truth. Simply sold as snake oil.

A Matter of Trust

At the end of the day, I have always thought our President was born in Hawaii. No doubt, I have many questions about his upbringing, educational background, suspect activities and friendships he has had. Show me your friends and I will identify your character.

There are many who question the birthplace of President Obama. Birthers, as they are called, have been vilified from both sides of the political isle as kooks, along the lines of UFO supporters. Even Glenn Beck thinks the issue is a waste of time. For those who wish to spend the time, the questions are legitimate and I say question with boldness!

Among the elites who condescend to those in doubt, on Wednesday, CNBC's John Harwood, gleefully bathing in Obama bathwater, described those who questioned the birthplace of President Obama as uniformed and not very smart or rational. I was waiting for him to note our lack of fly swatting abilities.

Recently, potential GOP 2012 hopeful Donald Trump has been out front questioning Obama and his birth certificate. Jerome Corsi, of World Net Daily, has just released a sure to be best seller "Where's The Birth Certificate". Perhaps it was the scorching editorial in Investors Business Daily on Wednesday, but for whatever reason, President Obama abruptly held a news conference and produced his birth certificate.

President Obama said we got better things to do and we should not spend time on this crazy issue. I recognize the President is very busy with the problems our country is facing and cannot be saddled with questions from carnival barkers. Quiet on the tee box!

The President has used the birth certificate as a political pawn, for those who engage the subject pay a political price as they are overwhelmingly pounded as on the lunatic fringe. Until Trump, about the farthest a GOP candidate would go is Michele Bachmann, who said she takes the President at his word.

I know why President Obama played his Trump card and finally produced the document. It is a matter of trust.

On the heels of a long list of disturbing actions, Obama has lost the trust of the American people. Through the Czars, governmental agencies like the EPA regulating dead policy initiatives and executive orders rendering the Congress as impotent, Obama has made effort to transform our system of government into a dictatorship. This is not how the founding fathers drew it up. Obama engages in Alinsky tactics of ridiculing opponents, governing by thugocracy and speaking publicly in half truths while taking actions in opposite directions.

Obama blasted George W. Bush on the wars, but is still engaged in both and has us involved in another skirmish with little or no strategic plan. Sky high gas prices was a lack of leadership under Bush but no big deal as Obama sees it. Guantanamo Bay is thankfully still in operation. The wreckless abandon with which he is spending us into bankruptcy is frightening, and he had the gall to trash Paul Ryan, R:WI, who had the guts to put forward a plan of action to tackle entitlements.

Finally, the American people are freaked out by this President, who is nothing but a fast talking community agitator who is severely in over his head. On top of that, he does not see America as you and I do, rather just another flag on the flagpole.

Obama is arrogant, dishonest and pretends fact are not facts. Never has watching the other hand been more relevant than with Obama. Principally in part to the actions by Obama during his first term, America is in a precipitous decline.

Folks do not like it. In producing the birth certificate, Obama is attempting damage control as he recognizes that he has lost the American people. He has, and while the reasons why are numerous, at the end of the day, it is simply a matter of trust.

Bottom Fishing

Last week, new home sales shockingly fell to a historic low as new and existing home prices continued to fall. While pundits across the fruited plain, including the "academics" at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, were shocked, it was unfortunately what we expected.

Efforts to fix the problem have been temporary band-aids which have had little or no effect on shifting the curve. CNBC's Larry Kudlow, joined by outstanding colleague Diana Olick, engage Brian Wesbury, economist at First Trust Advisors and A. Gary Shilling, who was spot on predicting the downfall years ago. Take listen:



Certainly, there are two schools of thought represented in this discussion, and I know who is correct. A. Gary Shilling. Wesbury thinks housing is bad, but not central to the grand economy, representing only 2% of GDP. While true, there is more to the story, commonly referred to in economics as the ripple effect. Our economy is consumer driven, and those hurt in housing have suffered impaired credit, restricting the ability to purchase big ticket items. In addition, disposable income has taken a crushing blow, leading to downturns in household expenditures, including retail and small luxury items.

Just like two years ago, rising gasoline prices, which is essentially a tax, will add to the problem. Should the price of oil remain high, any potential recovery, both in housing and in the overall economy, will be dashed.

The absorption rate for housing is abysmal and new home construction barely has a heartbeat. Inventories are sky high, and many evicted from their homes are shacking up with family and friends, creating a negative impact on the rental market.

Quantity demand is handcuffed due to the aforementioned problems. Homeowners in negative equity, or those owing more on their home than it is worth, is understated. Add in governmental regulatory intervention, which is prohibiting the market from cleansing itself, and there is no port in the storm. Statistical measurements indicate we are just over 25% through the foreclosure process.

Unfortunately, the problem extends far outside real estate. The unemployment rate is significantly higher than reported in the media, due to those no longer actively seeking employment. Until we see the job market turn around, consumer confidence, purchasing power and credit worthiness will remain a stiff headwind into both housing and and the overall economic recovery, which is slight at best at the moment.

Forget the arguement about a double dip recession, it is already in progress. Retail dining numbers have recently turned negative, as has the home price index as seen in the chart below.

CHART: BLYTIC.COM

In the housing market, government needs to get out of the way, allow the market to wring out the bad players and find a bottom to build a base off of. Of course, the answer is free market capitalism and not government intervention and influence in the marketplace.

Ethanol Eating Away Propserity

Does Obama want $8 gasoline?

It certainly seems that is the case. During the 2008 campaign, video surfaced of Obama commenting that under his plan, energy prices would "necessarily skyrocket". Immediately upon taking office, Obama suspended oil and gas leases previously granted by the Bush administration. The handling of the Gulf Oil spill was juvenile, and just last week the first permit was granted to begin drilling again in the area.

The administration took initiative under the financial crisis to take over car companies and dictate to them to build cars that move away from high consumption of oil and gasoline. It has not been successful, as the love affair with the automobile is another piece of American exceptionalism Obama does not recognize.

No worries though. Corn based Ethanol is here and is a significant player in reducing our energy independence of foreign countries, which will culminate in lower gas prices.

Even the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, NASCAR, is on board.



Even though NASCAR is all thrilled with themselves for being a corporate leader in going green, there are issues, and they go far beyond the high banks.

At the Daytona 500, Glenn Beck had a chance to speak with NASCAR President Mike Helton and spent time with the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 88 Chevrolet Mountain Dew team, pole sitter for The Great American Race.

While visiting with Steve Latarte and the crew of the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his 88 Chevrolet team, Beck found out that the team is experiencing a 12% decrease in gas mileage in testing thus far in 2011. This does not sound good.

The government has admitted that cars built before 2007 may have issues with the gas. Maybe the only way Obama thinks he can pry us from our muscle cars is to destroy the engines with ethanol?

Furthermore, there is compelling evidence that the ethanol based gas is creating a real problem for small engines, like lawn mower and weed eaters. Although I can attest to this personally, The Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV-Channel 9, recently had a very troubling report on the impact of ethanol on these small engines.

Rather than using our own supply of oil as we turn the private sector loose on the challenge of discovering cost effective fossil fuel substitutes, we have taken to using our own food supply to fuel our thirst for oil by using corn based ethanol. Do you suspect food prices might rise in response to this development?

Indeed. While this is a welcomed development for all my Cornhusker farmer friends in Nebraska, unfortunately, rising food prices across the globe is having a rather nasty residual. One of the reasons we have seen an uprising in the middle east is due to a sharp rise in food prices in nations who already had significant economic difficulty.

Even though government is involved, could it be possible the use of ethanol has lowered oil and gas prices? Click on the chart below for a closer look to the answer you already know.

Even Van Jones, a smart left wing Communist who I rarely if ever agree with, has issues with corn based ethanol.



Certainly, taking a hard look at possible counterparts to oil is applauded, but forcing corn based ethanol down the throats of American citizens is not sound economic or moral thinking. With our economy barely standing, we cannot be so stupid as to burn up our own food supply, destroying carburetor engines and raising the costs of the food along the way, in order to quench our thirst for oil when all we have to do is Drill Baby Drill.

Or can we?

Time for Impeachment

We are now 80 days since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and sinking, which killed 11 workers and continues to cause an environmental, ecological and economic catastrophe.

Unfortunately, instead of promptly exhausting all options for stopping and containing the spill, amongst several concerts, political campaign stops and the presidential golf association tour, the administration is openly combating the very folks, like Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who are working feverishly to contain the damage. Astonishingly, this includes muzzling what few media outlets are actually attempting to cover the continuing story. Sean Hannity discusses this with Kate Obenshain and Sandra Smith of the FOX Business Network.



In an obviously unconventional way, this is an attack on our shores ruining perhaps forever the lives of many along the Gulf Coast. A prime directive of our President is to protect us from such attack, and the failure of President Obama in this regard is staggering, and for this dereliction of duty, impeachment proceedings should begin.

And just when you thought it could not get worse, the Mighty Mississippi is now in jeopardy as oil is now showing up on the Pontchartrain, in the light of day and in the heart of the night. The nightbird is crying!

Water Hazard A Top Flite Crisis

Everyone from Foghorn Leghorn to Wile E. Coyote recognizes we have a economical, environmental and ecological catastrophe taking place in the Gulf of Mexico with this oil spill.

While BP certainly appears to be criminally negligent and throwing darts on what to do regarding the capping of the well and and the cleanup efforts, they are not alone. Our Federal Government is failing miserably as well, led by our inexperienced leader Barack Obama and his team of librarians, professors, authors and global warming alarmists. Conspicuously missing from the team is anyone with any experience in offshore drilling, or running a business for that matter. Although Obama has reached out to Hollywood director James Cameron and actor Leonardo DeCaprio (???) for their vast experience, if he had to engage the entertainment community he could have called country singer Trace Adkins, who actually worked on these rigs.

But no problem. “I will not rest until the leak was stopped“ Obama said on May 14, 2010 as reported by Gateway Pundit.



Not the least bit embarrassed, Obama continues to take in entertainment in various forms while untold damage continues to evolve in the gulf coast. Just this weekend, Obama found time to golf with VP Joe Biden ( could not one of these idiots even act like they are attempting to solve the problem ) and take in a Washington Nationals baseball game. Meanwhile, LA Governor Bobby Jindal continues to battle the Federal Government in his effort to contain the oil.



One would think most all Americans are torqued at the incompetence of our government in the slow and weak response to this crisis, from the inability to establish a chain of command to the Coast Guard checking oil skimmers for life jackets. Even with a news media cheering Obama on, it is quite obvious he is in the weeds on this. But in an incredible demonstration of media bias, note the Washington Post, who threw out this opening paragraph to an article: "After hunkering down for several weeks to deal with the oil spill, President Obama finally made it out of the house for some fun - and showed up at the Nationals game on Friday night."

Hunkering down? Are you trying to fricking kid me? What a terrible insult to Larry Munson and the junkyard Dawg defense of the Georgia Bulldogs, and all Americans for that matter. Between the concerts, campaign stops, the NBA Finals, several rounds of golf, Broadway plays, knocking back a few cold ones and attending baseball games, Obama begrudgingly had to take time to deal with this spill. Our citizens along the gulf coast have had their lives perhaps forever altered negatively and our President thinks it is a good opportunity to push cap and trade. By the way, did the administration know how vulnerable this rig was?

Did I mention the oil is still gushing? Not only is the leak still gushing, containment efforts are holding serve at best, no thanks to Obama, and the damage is adding up quickly, certain to exceed the market cap of BP. Additional potential issues, health concerns, the spill hitting Florida's beaches to oil impacting shipping up the Mississippi River, remain. And dare I even mention the Doomsday scenario being discussed?

Dereliction of Duty

As the oil continues to gush from the collapse of the Deep Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, President Obama sits down with Matt Lauer of The Today Show to express his anger:



Obama indicates he is not talking to experts in some sort of college seminar, which is a major departure from how he has governed throughout, but looking to identify whose ass to kick. After BP CEO Tony Hayward, perhaps a mirror would be useful. Pamela Gellar of Atlas Shrugs agrees

The continued insistence that the administration has been on top of things is deceitful. Here on the blog I hammered Obama on this and among others, Investors Business Daily has followed up. From The New Zeal comes this video:



Unfortunately, while Obama is looking to kick someones ass, the environmental and economic fallout of this spill are almost immeasurable. What is needed immediately is leadership, as the implications of this going forward appear catastrophic.

A report from Texas A&M outlined by CNN Money tells a dire tale of the economic impact. The four biggest industries in the Gulf of Mexico are oil, tourism, fishing and shipping, and they account for some $234 billion in economic activity each year, according to a 2007 study done by regional scholars and published by Texas A&M University Press. In the Gulf, each of these industries have perhaps been dealt a fatal blow. We all might get hit if the oil travels around Florida and up the eastern seaboard. And what if the inlet to enter The Mighty Mississippi is compromised and shut down shipping?

When you think about it, this is beyond alarming and comes at a horrendous time economically, given this administration has escalated our nations debt to unsustainable levels. This kind of unforeseen disaster presents the kind of problem a prudent government would consider borrowing to assist, not pushing thorough a partisan health care bill 63% of Americans want repealed while tripling debt levels.

The world appears on fire, and the idiotic decisions being made by this administration on just about every front makes the case for a dereliction of duty by our elected leadership and leave this nation in great peril. When a disaster of the the magnitude of the Gulf Oil Spill is added to the mix, perhaps forecasting a double dip recession, this country is left quite vulnerable. Don't think for a moment we are not the only folks who recognize it.

Diary of a Wimpy President

Americans are watching with extreme sadness the effects of the ongoing BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, the Obama administration is treating the spill as a political event and not the economic and environmental catastrophe that it is for America. It is immoral for our government to not treat this spill as an emergency extending every imaginable effort to plug the hole and contain the spill.

There will be time for pointing fingers, but in thinking how our President ran off at the mouth at every opportunity to berate George W. Bush during the response to Hurricane Katrina, his response to this spill as our Commander and Chief is appalling.

Reflect back to Obama running his mouth:



Amongst all the basketball games and concerts, even some of the strongest supporters of the anointed one have called his competence into question, including Peggy Noonan and James Carville.



HT/GatewayPundit

The areas of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi are already unnecessarily damaged, and Florida is next. What is immediately needed is some leadership, something that is quite obviously lacking with President Obama. Leadership is something America's Mayor knows something about, and he indicates that the response to the spill by Obama has been horrendous. Take a listen:



As the good ole boys often say heading down the backstretch; lead, follow or get out the way! Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal should have sideswiped Obama and gotten busy weeks ago on his strategy, letting the chips fall where they may. Florida Governor Charlie Crist had better urgently get to work as well. Someone needs to display some intelligent leadership immediately. Our President, who is busy engaging in sports, partying, concerts and assisting political partners while the oil just keeps gushing, is seriously lacking in leadership and given his propensity to blame everyone else for the problems, is a wimp.

Entries in many diaries, and/or blogs, will document this disgraceful behavior during a real American crisis. Think folks are pissed now, wait until the economic effect of this , along with all the other moronic economic decisions, becomes apparent in the form a double dip recession.

Fixin A Hole

Quite obviously, the Gulf Oil Spill is an alarming environmental and economic disaster that unfortunately continues daily. However, in a staggering lack of leadership, the Obama administration seems more interested in the political events of the day and finger pointing rather than engaging all options in an effort to take command and plug the devastating leak. Sean Hannity, joined by Deneen Borelli and Sandra Smith, has more:



Certainly, all Americans recognize President Obama should not be down there with a shovel and a bucket. However, the constant running at the mouth that the administration is "in charge" and has been on top of this situation "since day 1" is not true, and everyone knows it. Whoever is in charge is failing miserably.

An outspoken voice among the entire left lambasting President George W. Bush over his handling of Hurricane Katrina was Captain Pop Off himself, Barack Obama. I remember him blasting John McCain's reaction to the financial crisis as a "Katrina like response, sort of stood there", "shifting positions these last two weeks looking for photo-ops trying to figure out what to say and what to do". Seems to me Obama has pulled out that playbook, and so does Drinking With Bob:



I am a supporter of offshore drilling, and drilling everywhere possible. Drill Baby Drill! The reason we have to drill in 5000 feet of water is because left wing environmentalist have won the day and we are not permitted to drill in Alaska, Colorado or offshore areas in more shallow water.

It is far time for our President to show some leadership on this economic and environmental disaster. This is not the fault of Bush, and Obama is not helping by flying across the country to do campaign events for Barbara Boxer (D) in California, shooting hoops, watching the NBA finals or attending a the concert of a guy who has experience in Fixin A Hole, Paul McCartney. In fact, Obama has been plugging up some holes. Unfortunately for America, these holes are found on the golf course, not in The Gulf of Mexico.

Maybe us Americans are in fact fortunate in one regard. It is clear to anyone paying attention that our Commander in Chief is not getting the job done, is lacking in leadership qualities and is promoting disingenuous rhetoric (propaganda) at a minimum, attributes not becoming a President of our once great nation.

Casting the Blame

While there is nowhere close to the media howl in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there are rumblings that the Obama administration has been a failure in addressing the most unfortunate oil rig explosion and resulting spill of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Among those asking questions, and rightfully so, are The New York Times, Rush Limbaugh, and even left wing moonbat Bill Maher. On FOX News, the lovely Megyn Kelly discusses the issue with Juan Williams and Brad Blakeman. Take a listen:


To recap, President Bush was excoriated for his administrations response to Hurricane Katrina, unfairly as I saw it. The National Weather Service had it nailed, and the Emergency Alert System kicked in. New Orleans residents were told to evacuate, even by Bush himself in a pre-landing announcement. Most who stayed weathered the hurricane itself, but the devastation that came after the levee broke was severe. When the levee breaks, you got no where to go. Bush and the FEDS were held back by state and local governments (recall NO Mayor Ray Nagin), who were totally inept.

When the oil rig platform explosion happened, it seemed the situation would be handled. However, as shown in this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration video, officials were worried about extensive oil leakage as reported by theblogprof.com. It has been reported that the congress was by law supposed to have fire booms and failed to do so, in yet another example of governmental ineptitude. If true about the fire booms, someone in government is criminally negligent.

Obviously, in retrospect, both the Bush administration and the Obama administration would handled some things differently. In my view, the big difference is the arrogance of Obama, who was among the many mouthing off at the actions of Bush but feeding us the load of crap over the weekend that his administration was on this "day 1", which if it were not so serious, would be laughable. And, I cannot help but think this may be another emergency the Obama administration wants to take advantage of, what with cap and trade on the horizon.

A big difference is the media coverage, as there are very few questioning Obama on this. From Sheppard Smith to Kayne West, Bush was getting an absolute earful. Obama?

Meanwhile, Obama's Katrina is taking place and he out is telling jokes, attacking Wall Street, calling out Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck at U Michigan and firing distasteful jokes about the Jonas Brothers while yucking it up at the National Correspondents dinner. But don't worry, it is British Petroleum's job to clean it up and Obama has his foot on the neck of BP (BP:NYSE).

Wow! Even though we have an environmental disaster and substantial forthcoming economic damage, I feel much better.

Advantage Bush. Again!

HT Gateway Pundit, Doug Ross and The Blog Prof.