Re: Shocking New Video: Why McCain Wants to Drill Up Our Tourist Beaches

On 2008-08-01, Ben Wade <three@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Alfred Falk wrote:
>> "The Moderator" <sparky@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in
>> news:5YWdneK3n9fSSw_VnZ2dnUVZ_rPinZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 
>> 
>>> <hpope@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
>>>
news:c07ac027-5fc3-4d50-abfa-f33dc6733188@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>> . On Jul 29, 4:17 pm, Blubbering Cry Baby McCain <n...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>>> wrote: 
>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkUj9EIINIs
>>> I didn't find it shocking.  The Global Warming alarmists could not be 
>>> happier that gasoline is four or five dollars a gallon.  The Democrats
>>> in Congress are blocking new drilling.
>>>
>>> Get ready to pay $10.00 a gallon.  Thanks Democrats. 
>> 
>> Got some new for you: Oil prices - and hence, gasoline prices - are 
>> determined by global trade, which is not controlled by U.S. Democrats
or 
>> anybody in particular.  Free market at work.
>
> Got news for you:
>
> 1.) Don't set the replies to go only to yourself - that's chicken.
>
> 2.) Anytime Dems OBSTRUCT oil production they immediately INCREASE 
> market prices by creating false scarcity.

Somewhere between mostly and completely wrong.

In terms of drilling, there's virtually nothing we can do that
would much affect total world supply, and hence the global price
of oil.  First of all, it's elephant-rabbit stew and we're the
rabbit.  Second, enough of the major producers belong to (or
cooperate with) OPEC that any increase in production on our part
can trivially be wiped out by minor supply restrictions on the
part of other producers.

The reason you aren't utterly wrong is because we (the US and
Canada) do have enough oil shale and tar reserves that we could
cap the price of oil at the recovery price of shale/tar, if
we're willing to pretty much destroy the southwestern corner of
America to produce oil for international consumption.

Since that still guarantees a high price for oil and since I
live in Los Angeles and like having tapwater, that doesn't
seem like a wonderful solution to me.

BTW, if you want to blame someone for the short-term run-up
in oil prices, blame Republicans.  What's going on right now,
for the folks extremely short on clues, is that the industry
is profit-taking in a major way while there's no meaningful
oversight or threat of excess profits taxation.

The industry can do this because the Republicans have been
fighting off CAFE standards and other sensible energy
conservation standards with almost as much zeal as they've
shown in bugging our phones.

This is exacerbated by the falling dollar, with is an
inevitable result of the irresponsible Bush borrow-and-spend
fiscal policy that has basically debased our currency.

This, in turn, is exacerbated by the speculators who the
Republicans have refused to discipline who have piled on
during the industry feeding frenzy.  The speculators didn't
create the current price spike, but at the moment they're
certainly adding a fair number of dollars per barrel to the
cost of oil.

Anybody who lays the current situation at the doorstep of
the Democrats is just plain stupid.

                      ###

> 3.) If the market were truly "free" there would be no OPEC cartel and no

> state-owned oil companies, would there?
>
> ...now the next time you post, you'll be better educated...

Right, it shure aint a free market.  ;)

Cheers, Wolf.


--
Dr. Brian Leverich       Co-moderator, soc.genealogy.methods/GENMTD-L
Angeles Chapter LTC Admin Chair    http://angeles.sierraclub.org/ltc/
P.O. Box 6831, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6831       leverich@[EMAIL PROTECTED]