The party of fiscal responsibility? [Party of Higher Debts | The Baseline Scenario]
The conquest continues. [Conquest]
Rick Santorum, [making shit up for money and power]
Iran, "about two years away from having a nuke" for most of my life. [Iran: Two years from a nuke - 1] [Iran: Two years from a nuke - 2]
2.26.2012
2.25.2012
More on gas prices
I saw Rand Paul on my local news claiming that the Fed's easy money policy is responsible for higher gas prices. I thought it sounded like a bogus claim at the time. This post helps confirm my suspicions. Rand, like his father, hates the Fed and he'll work hard lie to connect any problem, any .. problem... back to the Fed.
Is the Federal Reserve Responsible for High Oil Prices? - Jordan Weissmann - Business - The Atlantic
Now, this post does allow the for the possibility that Fed actions might spur speculators but this seems small in comparison to the other things that can hit oil prices.
What I find most when looking for drivers of the recent price increases are 1. the world's economies are coming back raising world demand for energy, 2. the still looming European financial crisis and 3. what I think is the main driver for the recent increase, the feeling that the middle east could burst into flames at any minute.
Hell, look at what's going on in the Middle East. Syria's at war with itself and outside forces. Egypt is still very shaky. We've left a mess in Iraq and Afghanistan that may not be sorted out for years. Libya and Bahrain may yet see more problems. The Saudi's have to be a little worried that the Arab awakening will spill over into their people. The US and Israel are threatening Iran daily with Iran making counter threats daily. I think most of the world believes there could be a good sized, regional war in the Middle east at any minute. With all that going on in the region that supplies about 60% of the worlds oil it's no wonder oil prices are on the rise.
Rand Paul should be put on the hot seat and grilled on why he thinks the Fed has more of an affect on our oil prices that these.
A couple of related points.
The economicwar sanctions that AIPAC, the US congress, and President Obama unleashed on Iran has forced some countries to begin buying oil with non-dollar currencies. This seems damned scary to me. We've heard for the last few years that the reason our level of debt is not as critical as it would be for other countries is that the dollar is the world's reserve currency. We can print dollars to pay our debt no matter who we're paying. But now it looks like we're putting our reserve currency at risk with these sanctions on Iran. The rest of the world needs Iranian oil and if our sanctions prevent them from buying it with dollars they will find some other way to buy it. When enough countries are buying oil without dollars it won't be the worlds reserve currency. These sanctions could be the beginning of the end of the dollar as a reserve currency. We're shooting ourselves in the foot
For those who think drill-baby-drill or the Keystone Pipeline is the answer. Sure we have oil and could open up the spigot but what do you think would happen to that oil. Would any self-respecting capitalist keep that oil in the US at say 100$ a barrel when he could sell it on the world market for 120$? There's no way in hell. That oil would hit the world market in a minute and with only 16% of the globes known oil reserves, I don't think we could supply enough to dramatically lower the global price. US gas prices would stay high, an oil company would get richer and complain that if they could just drill a little more our high gas prices would go away.
Personally, I'd like to treat our oil reserves like a savings account, keep it in the ground until we really need it,... like when everyone else is running out.
tnb
Is the Federal Reserve Responsible for High Oil Prices? - Jordan Weissmann - Business - The Atlantic
Now, this post does allow the for the possibility that Fed actions might spur speculators but this seems small in comparison to the other things that can hit oil prices.
What I find most when looking for drivers of the recent price increases are 1. the world's economies are coming back raising world demand for energy, 2. the still looming European financial crisis and 3. what I think is the main driver for the recent increase, the feeling that the middle east could burst into flames at any minute.
Hell, look at what's going on in the Middle East. Syria's at war with itself and outside forces. Egypt is still very shaky. We've left a mess in Iraq and Afghanistan that may not be sorted out for years. Libya and Bahrain may yet see more problems. The Saudi's have to be a little worried that the Arab awakening will spill over into their people. The US and Israel are threatening Iran daily with Iran making counter threats daily. I think most of the world believes there could be a good sized, regional war in the Middle east at any minute. With all that going on in the region that supplies about 60% of the worlds oil it's no wonder oil prices are on the rise.
Rand Paul should be put on the hot seat and grilled on why he thinks the Fed has more of an affect on our oil prices that these.
A couple of related points.
The economic
For those who think drill-baby-drill or the Keystone Pipeline is the answer. Sure we have oil and could open up the spigot but what do you think would happen to that oil. Would any self-respecting capitalist keep that oil in the US at say 100$ a barrel when he could sell it on the world market for 120$? There's no way in hell. That oil would hit the world market in a minute and with only 16% of the globes known oil reserves, I don't think we could supply enough to dramatically lower the global price. US gas prices would stay high, an oil company would get richer and complain that if they could just drill a little more our high gas prices would go away.
Personally, I'd like to treat our oil reserves like a savings account, keep it in the ground until we really need it,... like when everyone else is running out.
tnb
2.23.2012
Gas Prices
Everyone agrees higher gas prices will hurt the economy [LA Times - Gas Prices]
The GOP and Bill O'Reilly blame Obama [Bill O] [GOP] others blame, the Greek bailout, Middle East tension and speculation.
I think the Middle East tension is the main driver. The speculation is a direct result of the unrest in the middle east with the big money betting on escalation and disruption of the oil flow from the region. Of course, the Israeli demand that the world clamp down on Iran is the main driver of tension. The US congress did as they were told by the Israeli lobby and increased the sanctions , Obama signed it, and the result was an economic war that increased oil prices. We shot our economy in the foot to protect Israel.
[Iran] [Iran 2]
tnb
Lawmaker won't honor 'radicalized' Girl Scouts | The Journal Gazette
[Lawmaker won't honor radicalized Girl Scouts | The Journal Gazette]
Personally, I don't like the Girl Scouts because they're always trying to turn our daughters into little capitalists with that constant cooking-selling crap. There has to be a better reason to exist than to sell cookies.
tnb
Rep. Bob Morris, R-Fort Wayne, sent a letter to his fellow House Republicans on Saturday explaining why he would be the only member in the House not to endorse the nonbinding resolution.
He said he did some web-based research and found allegations that the Girl Scouts are a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood, allows transgender females to join and encourages sex.
Morris also said the fact that First Lady Michelle Obama is honorary president "should give each of us reason to pause before our individual and collective endorsement of the organization."
Personally, I don't like the Girl Scouts because they're always trying to turn our daughters into little capitalists with that constant cooking-selling crap. There has to be a better reason to exist than to sell cookies.
tnb
Money and Politics
Gingrich backer willing to give $100M to benefit former House speaker - Political Hot sheet - CBS News
Expect to hear some pro-Israel quotes from Santorum and Romney in the near future.
tnb
Adelson has previously indicated his support for Gingrich is based on their shared commitment to Israel. But the billionaire has also indicated that despite his ongoing support for Gingrich, he will maintain a commitment to whoever becomes the Republican nominee.
"If Ron Paul is chosen I certainly wouldn't do that," he said, prompting the editor to ask about former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
"I don't want to say. Newspapers said I had two meetings with Romney and Gingrich (on Feb. 3), which is untrue. Most of what is being said about me in this current brouhaha is just not true. I know Romney; I like him. I know (former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick) Santorum; I like him. ... The likelihood is that I'm going to be supportive of whoever the candidate is. I just haven't decided that yet and will wait to see what happens," Adelson said.
Expect to hear some pro-Israel quotes from Santorum and Romney in the near future.
tnb
2.15.2012
Marketing Israel
Marketing Israel in America [The Israel Project: ‘American Hispanics are the most hostile toward Israel’ - Haaretz]
2.07.2012
Karl Rove - Clint Eastwood
Karl Rove didn't like the Clint Eastwood-Chrysler Super Bowl ad at all so No More Mister Nice Blog is trying to figure out what kind of ad Karl would have liked.
I guess I'm trying to figure out what sort of Chrysler ad actually would have met with Karl Rove's approval. I suppose it would have said something like this:
Look, that evil Kenyan put a gun to our heads and forced us to take his filthy socialist money. We never should have done it -- in fact, we never should have tried to survive at all. We should have been left to die. Creative destruction, y'know? That's really the American way.
We're sorry we exist. We're sorry we're still making cars, and directly and indirectly keeping hundreds of thousands of people employed. A real American president would have kicked our union thugs to the curb and cut them off without unemployment benefits. But since we're all still here wasting America's money by working and producing actual consumer goods rather than exotic financial instruments, maybe the few bleeding-heart liberals out there who aren't too effeminate to be watching the Super Bowl could throw us a few bucks and buy a car. If you do that, of course, it's because you hate America. But we know all you goddamn liberals really do hate America, so this is a perfect opportunity for you.
We're Chrysler. Regrettably for America, we're not going anywhere.
Is that more or less what you would have preferred, Karl?
2.05.2012
Israel-Firsters ?
Israeli-Firsters and the dreaded, "Anti-Semite" charge. [The predictable aftermath of the anti-CAP smear - Salon.com]
Also, a view from Israel.[The downside of unbridled support for Israel] subtitled... "Israel-firsters' are not those who put Israel first, but rather those who put an Israeli right-wing agenda first, even at the expense of American interests."
[Gingrich supporter Sheldon Adelson] seems to be the definitive "Israeli-Firster". [Adelson #2]
Dennis Ross, private citizen, neo-con, and strong supporter of Israel, has a red line to the White House. Why? [Diplomania-Israel News - Haaretz Israeli News source.]
[GOP Candidates Harm Israeli Security by Pushing for Impractical “Greater Israel”| Informed Comment]
Convincing Americans that a war with Iran would be OK. [Link1 - Mondoweiss] and [Link2 - NYT by Ethan Bronner], who sees the world thru Israeli-colored glasses. [Ethan Bronner #1] [Ethan Bronner #2]
tnb
Also, a view from Israel.[The downside of unbridled support for Israel] subtitled... "Israel-firsters' are not those who put Israel first, but rather those who put an Israeli right-wing agenda first, even at the expense of American interests."
[Gingrich supporter Sheldon Adelson] seems to be the definitive "Israeli-Firster". [Adelson #2]
Dennis Ross, private citizen, neo-con, and strong supporter of Israel, has a red line to the White House. Why? [Diplomania-Israel News - Haaretz Israeli News source.]
[GOP Candidates Harm Israeli Security by Pushing for Impractical “Greater Israel”| Informed Comment]
Convincing Americans that a war with Iran would be OK. [Link1 - Mondoweiss] and [Link2 - NYT by Ethan Bronner], who sees the world thru Israeli-colored glasses. [Ethan Bronner #1] [Ethan Bronner #2]
tnb
Israel and Palestine
A one state solution could be the answer though Israel would never agree to it. Here's a good Juan Cole post on the subject. [The way Forward]
Does Israel play Nice? Check out these links to see what's been going on lately in the Palestinian areas occupied by Israel.
Here's a map showing how Israel has slowly taken over Palestine. found [here]
tnb
Does Israel play Nice? Check out these links to see what's been going on lately in the Palestinian areas occupied by Israel.
- [Link - Mondoweiss]
- [In the last 24 hours an orgy of land theft and political arrests of children | Mondoweiss]
Here's a map showing how Israel has slowly taken over Palestine. found [here]
tnb
War Drums
Convincing Americans that a war with Iran would be OK.
[Link1 - Mondoweiss] and [Link2 - NYT by Ethan Bronner], who sees the world through Israeli-colored glasses.More here Ethan Bronner here [EB #1] and here [EB #2]
About those War drums [Iran is the root of all evil - Greenwald]
I'm not too worried about Iran, we have them surrounded. [The Growing Iranian Military Behemoth - Greenwald]
Also check out the worlds military spending courtesy of [Juan Cole at Informed Comment]
Those war drums are also [pissing off the world] and are driving the world away from the dollar as a reserve currency.
How could that in the best interests of the US?
tnb
[Link1 - Mondoweiss] and [Link2 - NYT by Ethan Bronner], who sees the world through Israeli-colored glasses.More here Ethan Bronner here [EB #1] and here [EB #2]
About those War drums [Iran is the root of all evil - Greenwald]
I'm not too worried about Iran, we have them surrounded. [The Growing Iranian Military Behemoth - Greenwald]
Also check out the worlds military spending courtesy of [Juan Cole at Informed Comment]
Those war drums are also [pissing off the world] and are driving the world away from the dollar as a reserve currency.
- [India to pay gold instead of dollars for Iranian oil. Oil and gold markets stunned.]
- [Iran sanctions backlash-- oil buyers ditch dollar]
- [To Yuan or not to Yuan, that is the question]
How could that in the best interests of the US?
tnb
2.04.2012
Republican Voter Turnout
[From Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight Blog]
I agree, the republican base will turn out in 2012. After three years of constant propaganda from Fox News and the Right, the wingnuts have been brainwashed to hate, absolutely hate, every thing about Obama, true or not. Fox will make sure the hate builds through November so the wingnuts will turn out in droves. Its going to be an ugly election.
tnb
The Telegraph’s Mike Smithson wondered whether the depressed turnout was a product of an unusually negative campaign. “A number of pundits are suggesting that this has been the most negative campaign ever…,” Mr. Smithson wrote. He also suggested that lower Republican turnout was good news for Mr. Obama.
But, on that note, the FiveThirtyEight post had words of caution for giddy Democrats: “It is not entirely clear what implications this has for November. Rallying the party base is often easier than persuading independent voters, and levels of voter engagement sometimes become clear only late in a presidential campaign.”
Indeed, Sean Trende, at RealClearPolitics, went back and looked at primary turnout for both parties going back to 1972 and found that a party’s primary turnout was not a good predictor of general election success or failure.
I agree, the republican base will turn out in 2012. After three years of constant propaganda from Fox News and the Right, the wingnuts have been brainwashed to hate, absolutely hate, every thing about Obama, true or not. Fox will make sure the hate builds through November so the wingnuts will turn out in droves. Its going to be an ugly election.
tnb
Buffet Tax vs Social Security
A nice, short [post at FDL] comparing the Buffet tax against raising the retirement age one year and how political ideology gets in the way.
tnb
$35 billion a year from increasing taxes on those most able to afford it: Too trivial and insignificant to be worth the trouble.
$14 billion a year from forcing seniors to work until they’re 69: Woohoo, big money! Let’s do it!
tnb
2.02.2012
Big Trucks
[New transportation bill creates safety concerns over bigger rigs - CNN.com]
If we allow larger trucks then we need fewer truck drivers so this would kill some jobs. Larger trucks would be harder on roads so cost taxpayers more in road maintenance. The current trucks can make driving on he interstates a little scary, bigger trucks would be worse. It's hard to see how safety would be affected. Bigger trucks would probably be in more accidents due to less maneuverability, longer breaking distances, etc but there would be fewer trucks on the road which might actually decrease accidents. Could be a wash, time will tell. It would make getting products to consumer more efficiently but who would get the savings, the consumer or the trucking company owners. I'd bet on the owners.
So, it would kill some jobs, make driving on our roads less enjoyable, cost the taxpayers money while increasing profits of the trucking companies, it may or may not decrease road safety. Since the owners make additional profits at the expense of truck drivers it probably increases our nation's income inequality. Overall it sounds bad to me but it sounds like a law our leaders would pass in a minute. Idiots.
tnb
If we allow larger trucks then we need fewer truck drivers so this would kill some jobs. Larger trucks would be harder on roads so cost taxpayers more in road maintenance. The current trucks can make driving on he interstates a little scary, bigger trucks would be worse. It's hard to see how safety would be affected. Bigger trucks would probably be in more accidents due to less maneuverability, longer breaking distances, etc but there would be fewer trucks on the road which might actually decrease accidents. Could be a wash, time will tell. It would make getting products to consumer more efficiently but who would get the savings, the consumer or the trucking company owners. I'd bet on the owners.
So, it would kill some jobs, make driving on our roads less enjoyable, cost the taxpayers money while increasing profits of the trucking companies, it may or may not decrease road safety. Since the owners make additional profits at the expense of truck drivers it probably increases our nation's income inequality. Overall it sounds bad to me but it sounds like a law our leaders would pass in a minute. Idiots.
tnb
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