Oil prices… [hit new record highs] Friday on an analyst prediction that prices could hit $150 by July 4 and also continued upward pressure from comments made by the president of the European Central Bank regarding an interest-rate hike.
Ole Slorer of Morgan Stanley said he expected a “short-term spike in oil prices,” on the back of rising demand in Asia, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
We know why the oil prices are going through the roof……the immoral and gloating speculators and investors are getting rich off us……and all to make a buck!
Well, now that there is that huge oil strike in [url=http://www.startribune.com/business/19577194.html?location_refer=Your%20Money]North Dakota[/url] that dwarfs the largest of Saudi Arabia’s oil fields (over 400 BILLION barrels potentially); AND have permission to drill; AND have permission to build a new refinery; AND have reached a very profitable agreement with the Three Tribe Indian reservations (which sits atop part of the field), we may have a ray of hope.
libraryjim, I certainly hope so. Although the mother earthers and their liberal lapdogs in the congress & senate will resist it with every fiber of their collective being, the only way out of this oil blackmail being conducted by the Islamic states and Hugo Chavez is to develop our own resources-and quick. God has graciously placed plenty of oil, gas, and coal under our feet and off our shores to extract, refine, and use to fuel Americas legitimate energy needs. Combined with nuclear & wind power, the United States can be energy self sufficient. The image of President Bush crawling on his knees to the Saudis, begging them to increase production, only to be shot down-what in the world are we coming to? Disgraceful!!
If indeed this field can be developed and put into production, it could conceivably put a large dent in our dependency on foreign oil, while at the same time giving us additional time to develop alternative energy sources, since even THIS field isn’t going to produce forever.
The development of all alternative energy technologies cannot be ignored nor delayed any longer, and we continue to lag in doing it at our peril.
I would like nothing better than for us to be able to tell OPEC “Sorry, boys, but we’re not buying as much of your oil as we used to.” And to those so-called “environmentalists:” “Got any better ideas on how to improve the oil supply and keep YOUR cars and trucks…..which even YOU need…..running at a price that you can afford? If you’ve got any, let’s hear ’em! Otherwise, shut up and get outta the way!”
And I didn’t like President Bush’s having to “crawl on his knees” to the Saudis either! Maybe we should consider stopping their food imports from our country for a while and see what their tune is THEN?
And my next runabout car? It’ll be a Smart Car!
Cennydd: Oil consumed in the USA is only about 10% from Saudi Arabia. This has been true for many, many years. Most USA oil comes from: Mexico, Venezuela, USA and Canada. It’s easy for Bush to bash the Saudis, because the Israel lobby here loves it. (Note that he made his latest remarks days after visiting Israel). Instead, he should be demanding political and economic reform in Mexico and Venezuela. But he doesn’t do much there, because there are MANY Hispanic voters in the USA, and he doesn’t want to look ‘biased’. I don’t know how much food the Saudis import from the USA. I do know that the Saudi Peace Plan proposed some time back was a solid one, but went no where due to intransigence from the Bush Administration. (They’ve missed SO many chances for some sort of peaceful resolution over the past 8 years).
Your comment also overlooks the fact that something like 40% of the outrageous jump in oil prices in the US is due to the plunging value of the US dollar under the Bush Administration. The dollar’s value has plummeted, making speculators nervous and more eager to invest in commodities like oil and food than in the dollar. ANY imported item, from spaghetti to bicycles, has jumped in price for USA consumers.
I certainly agree with you on the desperate need for the mighty US R&D;resources to focus on the development of alternative fuels. Too bad so much cash that SHOULD have gone into that has gone down the rathole in Iraq. Heck, their own people can’t even account for some BILLIONS of our taxpayer money that was shipped over there! Heck of a way to run the country!
Cennydd
I saw one of those the other day in Target’s parking lot! It was sooooo cute!
Unfortunately, if we bought anything, we couldn’t all fit in the car to come home with the purchases! 🙂
Speaking of Iraq, I thought one of our deals with Kwait was that they would pay down our national debt in exchange for liberating them? I wonder what happened to that deal?
libraryjim, I honestly don’t recall that one, but I VIVIDLY recall the Bush/Cheney promise that ‘the Iraq oil revenues will pay for the war there’. You remember it too, right? Just one more lie to get us into an unending war.
well, we are still in the wars that Clinton lied to get us into.
What I want to know is this: Since we’re supposedly in control of things, why don’t we seize the Iraqi oil fields for ourselves? After all, we ARE paying for them with our servicemens’ lives, aren’t we?
The Saudi peace plan was not accepted because it is a bad one as it now stands. The Oslo accords were a step in the right direction, but the rise of Hamas to power and continuing “intifada” put a stop to any progress that could have been made there.
Requiring the Israelis to give up control of their eternal capital is as unrealistic-and improper-as asking the Muslim world to give up control of Mecca.
Under Israeli governance, all religious groups control their respective holy sites [something Jordan had certainly not allowed previously]. In fact, after Israel fought off Jordan in 1967, taking the temple mount, they allowed it to remain in Muslim control.
Surrendering the Golan heights to Syria would be quite unwise for Israel. Hezbollah would not be brought under Syrian control (and Syria doesn’t really want to ‘control’ them anyway, as long as they seek Israels destruction).
The situation, at its heart, is spiritual. The deeding of the land of Israel to the descendants of Abraham, Issac & Jacob is a permanent one. The sons of Ishmael control 21 sovereign nations comprising a HUGE land mass, roughly 800 times the size of Israel. The sons of Abraham, Issac, & Jacob have only ONE homeland, and only ONE holy capital-Jerusalem. This is Gods order, and any attempt to infringe upon it will only result in terror and bloodshed in the Jewish homeland-courtesy of Hamas, Hezbollah & other like minded groups-perpetrated by those who do not have a right to it.
Now as for a solution to gas prices at the pump, I think returning to the idea of a national 55mph speed limit is a smart one. Use less gasoline, reduce the market for imported oil as a result, and the result could mean lower prices. It’s happened before, and it could happen again.
60 MPH speed limit please.
I heard that CT congressmen are introducing legislation to require those “bidding” on oil/gasoline commodities take delivery of at least 10% of the product. If that goes through, this idiotic speculative bubble should crash and oil should drop to about $70 per barrel. Contact your representatives and ask them to sign on with the plan.
OK, 60mph……I think we could live with that. And I like the Connecticut congressmen’s legislation. Where can we learn more about it, and what’s the Bill number?
Oh, and if you contact your representatives, call them or write them via snail mail; email isn’t considered “personal enough.” Fortunately, my representative is a friend of mine.
I am still looking for the bill number. Here is a link to the news story:
http://www.nbc30.com/news/16456078/detail.html
Another article about the same thing, but with more detail:
http://www.nbc30.com/news/15754581/detail.html
The bill hasn’t been introduced yet. Here is another article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/business/25maker.html?ref=business
Thanks for the info! I’m going to do some digging myself……starting with my congressman’s Merced office!
55 was a pain in the you know what. Let’s not do that again.
Sure it was a pain! But if we are ever going to see any real reduction in oil imports and conservation, we’re ALL going to have to make some adjustments in the way we drive…….and a sensible national speed limit is ONE of them. I agree that 60 mph would be better, but the problem is, how will we ever get everyone to agree to stick to it? We are selfish people! We want what WE want! Far too many of us aren’t willing to sacrifice for the common good, and this has got to stop!
Strangely, studies found that when the speed limit was raised to 70, traffic accidents declined, as did the number of speeding tickets issued. And that was contrary to the conventional wisdom raised by opponents of raising the limit.
“Far too many of us aren’t willing to sacrifice for the common good,”
[i]all together now:[/i] [b]The Common Good![/b]
(Hey, am I the only one who saw [i]Hot Fuzz[/i]???)
Sorry, I still disagree. Let the cost of gas slow people down. The federal govt. has no business in setting speed limits or coercing the states to the same end. If you want the govt. to set limits then let the govt. ration gas to 10 gal. a fill up.
And to borrow from the gun control people limit fill ups to one a month.
I like the Connecticut congressmen’s approach better!
By the way I do like the Smart car. And I do think you are right on the oil speculation. If what we are seeing is speculation driven then the sooner this is punctured the better.
I would really like to see some serious debate on this, but both parties demogogue this shamelessly when it works to their advantage.
I like the concept of the Smart Car. It just needs a trunk. 🙂
Speaking for handicapped drivers who need an automatic transmission, the transmission in the Smart Car isn’t what we need. Ever try using a stick shift with only a right leg? The one in this car isn’t much better!
Ok,
a trunk and an automatic transmission.
maybe a station wagon option?