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(Pictured: George W. Bush jawboning the Saudis.)
George W. Bush, 1/26/2000:
"What I think the president ought to do [when gas prices spike] is he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots...And the president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price."
Oil prices reached a record close, surging above $104 a barrel after OPEC decided Wednesday to keep its production unchanged. The cartel ignored calls from President Bush to pump more oil into an ailing economy.
Oh well.
Incidentally, when Big Texas Oilman Bush was ankle-biting Clinton/Gore on gas prices in January 2000, crude oil was at $27 a barrell.
It's now $104.52.
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Bush’s meds may need tweaking
The solution to high gas prices is to drive less. It’s something people are going to have to get used to.
Oil hits record near $106 on dollar
How dare you question the American lifestyle.
Here’s a fun little map for you — color coded gas prices nationwide. It kind of puts the DHS Terror alert scheme to shame.
Prince Shiteel,has devastated families,and doesnt give a flip,smirking devil
i agree…but commuters need to carpool
And if you want the fuel price numbers themselves, here’s AAA’s fuel gauge report.
You can drill down (so to speak) to get metro area prices as well. It’s not a pretty picture.
Anybody thought to overlay red/blue states on that?
Now the Saudi’s are doing the boning.
Bend over for your daily light sweet crude injection.
-G
Good Morning Blue Texan and Firedogs,
have used that image in the past to make stickers/decals to put on gas pumps - guess it’s time for the Decision 08 version - Hobby Lobby here I come :)
In the 2000 campaign, Bush warned voters that if they elected Al Gore, gasoline would cost $2.00 a gallon!
Too bad no one believed him.
That moving photo should be framed and mounted next to “Washington Crossing the Delaware” in classrooms throughout the country.
Are they holding hands?!
It sure is interesting that Texas and Wyoming appear to be the cheapest in the nation.
Goes hand in hand with the reports that Texas and Wyoming have the least burdened national guards too.
-G
Forgot to mention:
“Best Friends Forever!”
dumbass Merkins put this shitheel in place,to devour our collective ass
and 20% still love his theiving ass
There are a number of states cheaper than Texas on the list. I guess we deserve a lot of blame, but not all of it.
wearing his 5,000$ silver cowboy buckle,and 10,000$ cowboy boots……..i vomit at the sight of him
Yep. Apparently it’s a middle eastern custom for men.
and Jello Jay is about to give BLANKET immunity to these gangsterz
My Bush colored glasses make everything seem red.
-G
That Bush fella sure has a man love crush on the Sheik.
The Sheik has other ideas: “Okay George, you can hold my hand — but there is no way you are getting under my robes.”
You can’t see their feet, but they are also tapping their toes.
-G
Quite amazing Blue Texan, you would lead the discussion bitch’n about oil prices when in the Bush Clinton era our dependence on foreign oil now has now grown to 66% while we have less than 3% of the proven oil reserves. The US is in the most precarious and dangerous position it has ever been in. We should be a lot more worried about 66% than 4 bucks a gallon. And the Clintons will surely do nothing about this. Obama seems a possibility.
In 2000, LimpBaugh said, “If Al Gore becomes president, in a few years you’ll be paying $2.00 a gallon for gas.”
Well, Limpbaugh was right. Gore didn’t become president, and we’re NOT paying $2.00 a gallon. What prescience, eh?
In 2000, a Euro was worth about 80 cents. Now it is at $1.52. In 2000, our DJ stock market was at about 11,000 (up and down). Now 11,200. If you calculate the decreased value of the dollar on the world market, our stock market is now at about 6,800.
Way to go, Shrubbie!
But the iraq war has nothing to do with the failing economy! More tax cuts for the rich! That’ll fix things!
The DOW is at 12,100 right now — 12,000 has proven to be a very resilient floor for stock prices.
http://finance.yahoo.com/
Well, can we just bitch about unfulfilled campaign promises, sorta like “a more humble foreign policy” and “no nation building?”
Those gasoline prices are a ticking time bomb for the American economy. Ordinary people driving ordinary cars to take their kids to soccer games, do the shopping, drive to church, and get stuck in traffic, cannot afford $4.00 gasoline and still pay for much else. Did I mention heating and air-conditioning? Oh well. This is like a huge tax, and to judge from what happened to Citicorp’s attempt to get some of the oil loot recycled through their liabilities, it is not going to be coming back to the United States.
I suppose the good news is that as the dollar falls against the Euro, German and French firms will find it advantageous to outsource some of their less high-tech-heavy work to the United States. Our education system is made for step-n-fetch-it work.
The solution to high gas prices is to drive less. It’s something people are going to have to get used to.
When there is NO public transportation you still have to drive your kids to school and yourselves to work. Gas is killing us without driving anywhere but work and school. In Central California, 87 Octain gas is 3.72.
test 2, 3, 4,
Brokeback Bluebonnets
can’t seem to get links to work in preview - just testin’ it out
My new and improved GOP talking point.
The Republicans are going to run a campaign based on the promise of the future, not one that is mired in the past.
So please support John McCain, a man who was a war hero in the 1960’s.
-G
High gas prices also increase the cost of food. And there’s no way to avoid that extra Bush Tax.
I’ve seen this picture before, but I never noticed how tense the prince’s left hand looks. He’s really holding it awkwardly. It seems strange.
im very sorry……..when the hell will people TAKE to the freakin streets?
lemons are a dollar apiece here…1 lemon
hey there Blue Texan–
that link takes me to the youtube, but then there’s just a circle spinning around in the middle and it never starts playing.
pineapples F I V E dollars
Why is that ‘amazing’? Do you think I’m a Bush Clinton (whatever that is) partisan?
tomatos same price as beefsteak
The lemon in the WH has cost three trillion already
Bush himself may be ‘tweaking’.
By the way: concerning what even Alan Greenspan admitted was the real reason Bush invaded Iraq, here’s a blast from the past.
Seems that, in an April 14, 2005 press conference, Bush himself said that there was no need for subsidies or incentives to the oil companies if oil hit $55 a barrel. (”I will tell you with $55 oil we don’t need incentives to oil and gas companies to explore. There are plenty of incentives.”) Well, guess what? It will never be less than $55 a barrel — or even $65 a barrel — ever again. So why are Bush and his Republican colleagues in Congress so flatly opposed to the Democratic bill that takes the $18 billion in free money away from Big Oil and gives it to companies developing and selling renewable energy?
from Blue Texan’s post:
One progressive Blue Texan gives a shoutout to a very very bad Red Texan….*G*
(sorry folks, couldn’t help that one!)
a short loaf of 8 grain bread 3.50…lets not disscuss milk
Merkins will diet,not by choice
tell Nancy to get him outa there ASAP
im helping several famlies with food donations…im angry
I know it’s a middle eastern custom, but Bush doesn’t look the least uncomfortable. He even looks like he’s ready to take the lead if dancying breaks out. He’s far more awkward in public speaking or reading children’s books.
While banks tighten credit and oil and food prices skyrocket(Inflation) we are in for a world of hurt. Opec does not care(they have China and India),
the war has bankrupted us, Our debt is owned by China, Japan, and OPEC,and our infrastructure is collapsing while the crooks take 20% off the top through corruption and Tax cuts. Disaster Capitalism at its predatory best or worst depending on your status.
Praedor is right.
sometimes I REALLY miss “edit”
and one person,helping get his perscriptions….i hate this
I have many a time with other members of Peace Fresno. problem is it’s a red as hell region. You can still drive around and see more than a few of those damned W stickers on cars.
Grain speculators have shot the price of wheat up from $5 a bushel to $25 a bushel (it’s currently around $17), and only about $5 of that increase is due to oil costs. But yes, the high cost of oil affects everything. About the one thing that will have less of a hurt put on it is locally-grown organic food; since machinery and oil-based fertilizers and other chemicals are largely eschewed anyway, there’s less of a hit on these producers. But they still have to get their produce to market.
Heard Madeleine Kunin speaking on Democracy Now the other evening she said that we have “too much to do” so that impeachment would not be so good right now. WTF.
no worries folks - congress is on it.
why just yesterday the house passed H.R.951, “Condemning the ongoing Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli civilians by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations, and for other purposes” (roll call vote was 404 - 1)
here’s a bit to demonstrate how seriously our congress is dealing with ME violence, instability and human rights violations. i’m sure they will have it all sorted out sorted out soon. how reassuring to know that pelosi, hoyer et al are in charge.
Pepe Escobar at Asiatimes writes about Chimpy being outwitted at every turn by the wily Iranians.
If it weren’t so tragic and bloody, it would be funny.
-G
it is the answer to a myriad of problems…FISA,and another war(Iran) being front and center
i used to know some Iranians,they are extremely smart and wiley coyote
Regime Change Now!
OT
Funny thing, I just got home and someone sent flowers and an unsigned card. Certain language on the card leads me to believe that there is a Laker at the bottom of this caper! Thanks to any and all.
Forget about now, I’m talking yesterday.
If this had happened during a Democratic administration, the Propaganda Media would be howling to the moon. Instead, it’s treated as some kind of inexplicable natural phenomenon that can only be blamed, very carefully, on OPEC.
We have GOT to pass campaign finance reform, then revitalize the FTC and force balance upon the media.
i need more coffee for yesterday
While in Gaza the people suffer. But according to an overwhelming majority of our elected Representatives, they deserve it…
the dem party needs a major overhaul too.
sorry greenwarrior,
it was working 10 min ago. there’s a bunch over at youtube under: Bush and Saudi Prince, but that one emphasized the Lovestruck Chimp
The jawbone of an ass
Sometimes it is appropriate to take the Bible literally. When Dubya does any “jawboning”, a term taken from the manslaughter Samson wreaked on scores of Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, he is inherently limited to using the jawbone of an ass. Thus is the Word of God fulfilled! Amen.
OK A moment of good news
Yes, it looks to me like the injury you sometimes see on people whose arms were yanked as small children(that’s a nerve injury) or perhaps Parkinsons. Then of course, there is Bob Dole’s injury, but that was different.
Sadly, yes.
I have Iranian friends, and I have never yet met an Iranian who was anything but kind and courteous. In fact when I’ve dealt with Iranians I have always been struck by their “old-world” classic courtesy.
The idea of bombing Iran is as appalling as if someone told me they were going to burn down my neighbor’s house. My good neighbor, not the guy who plays 3 a.m. rock music. In fact, to beat the metaphor to death, it’s as appalling as if my 3 a.m. rock music neighbor told me he was going to burn down my good neighbor’s house.
PW @ 45…
ever the one NOT to learn the lessons of history, Bushie is apparently also “tweaking” his general who opposes action against Iran.
Prairie Today: Oil on his Hands
Amazin because the real problem is not gas prices, lower gas prices at the pump are just the opiatic solution to lead the American public way from the real problem which is 66% dependence ( and growing) on foreign oil. The Clintons talk about their surpluses and dot com economy when they were in the White House as mask to our dependence on foreign fossil fuels. The MSM which draws what percentage of its advertising revenues from the oil companies? The Clintons have never addressed our dependence on foreign oil in a meaningful way. And will not, because solving the problem will be expensive and will involve great hardship.
some more jawboning
Hey, now that Warren Buffett is back at #1 in the Forbes ranking of gabillionaires, and seemingly is making money faster than he can give it away, maybe he should set up a competition for something that retrofits all gas guzzlers and improves their fuel efficiency ten- or 100-fold.
He’s an admiral, I believe. At least the opposer who made the news yesterday. Undoubtedly there are more than a few generals who also oppose the insanity of war against Iran.
Or get us to the farm. I normally buy from a local, organic farmer. It’d be quite a ways by bike, but it could be done. As not young as I am, I haven’t had the courage/desperation to try that yet, but we may well get there.
you rang?
and what? nothing praising how israel is bombing and starving the palestinians in gaza?
Selise was commenting how the Dem party needed an overhaul and I replied sadly, yes. Great name btw.
I wish I had the link but limbaugh said “if gore is president don’t be surprised when you see 2 dollar gas
someone needs to find that quote
can you imagine, we invaded an oil rich nation and wound up with hire gas prices
these are maggots running this country
What’s the language Raven? Enjoy your flowers, dude.
my idea of a retrofit for a gas-guzzling SUV.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
the only thing that will save this nation
I am appalled, but not suprised ;(
bizniss as usual– as I said earlier this morning, the rest of the world is watching.
What is also appalling to me is that there is no daylight to be seen between the recent public statements from the candidates…
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/03/hbc-90002538
I’ve looked for it a lot of times. Unsuccessfully. I heard it on the radio back in the summer of 2000. He used it more than once back then.
OT but the Neocons haven’t taken over our Courts … yet …
From Newsweek … “The Canadian government is no longer using evidence gained from CIA interrogations of a top Al Qaeda detainee who was waterboarded.” Link
They obviously know the evidence won’t stand up in our courts … please toss out the Repugs in November and work hard to get more and better Dems in Congress … the Neocons are working hard to take over Canada …
Yes, but first comes habeas corpus - so we won’t get permanently arrested doing it. And then comes unconglomerating the media so we can get support and news out. And then comes creating non-computer fair elections to be able to elect people to do it. Then we can, with more hard work, do whatever needs to be done. That’s my strong opinion these days. I used to be an environmentalist before more urgent matters intruded on that work.
Thanks, that clarifies it.
Weel they mentioned mrs boo boo and I called her that here this morning. Boo boo was actually what we called Raven (our late cocker). We have called each other mr and mrs boo boo for years (I know, insane childless couple)but not that many people know about it. Pretty smart huh?
cute!
That works for me too!
Bush speaking March 5, 2008 at a conference in DC. From the official transcript. Audio and video also available.
First a moment of clear thinking:
…listen, let me start first by telling you that America has got to change its habits. We’ve got to get off oil. And the reason why is, first, oil is — dependency on oil presents a real challenge to our economy.
But only moments later this gem:
Now, all the countries we import from are friendly, stable countries; but some countries we get oil from don’t particularly like us. They don’t like the form of government that we embrace.
and a bit further on this:
Now, look, I understand stereotypes are hard to defeat. People get an image planted in their head, and sometimes it causes them not to listen to the facts. But America is in the lead when it comes to energy independence; we’re in the lead when it comes to new technologies; we’re in the lead when it comes to global climate change — and we’ll stay that way.
mirror, mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all?
Correct me if I am wrong but were us gas prices ridiculously low. . .and still are?
“The solution to high gas prices is to drive less. It’s something people are going to have to get used to.”
Jeez, if it were only that simple. Our economy relies on easily accessible energy-that’s what makes oil/gas so efficient. It runs cars, trucks, planes, trains. We make plastic out of it. The fertilizer for our food is petroleum based. The roads themselves have oil in them. Petroleum based products are so ingrained in our economy that weaning ourselves from oil dependence will be very, very painful.
It will take a wholesale restructuring of our society, where we work, live, play, what we eat and how we get it to break our addiction to oil (foreign and domestic).
Driving less has very little to do with it.
Very smart. What did you say about her?
Actually, i think he is holding his robes, i’ve seen that before.
sadly yes, sadlyyes.
Pulling up weeds to day to prepare for our garden (luckily we have a lemon, lime and orange trees) As for gasoline, we try and bike when we can. I suppose with the ‘touchy’ situation down there is southern oil land, it won’t get any better
I think you’re mixing up necessary & sufficient conditions. Conservation (driving less, for example) is a necessary condition for reducing energy use, an a powerful one. Also one of the best near-term tools. But you are right that it is not sufficient, given the magnitude of the problem. To fully correct the problem technology is required to restrurture the use of energy, in all its manifestations.
Three differing approaches to Oil Prices. Real life examples.
1972 -OPEC Embargo- Gas prices shot up to $1.50 in US when you could get it.
Reaction, Carter administration got tax credits for solar and other alternative energy. Reagan came in, credits gone Big oil rules.
Brazil, 1979, goes to switchgrass E-85 and now they laugh at us
Britain, kept prices arificially high and spent the money on energy independence, mass transit, and windpower.
We are a nation bred on overindulgence living beyond our means energywise.
I think it is important to realize the elaborate kabuki that is going on. OPEC is not going to open the spigots because they are pretty much flat open right now. There is myth that OPEC and Saudi Arabia in particular have 2-3 million bbls/day excess capacity, but the Saudi elephant fields have been pumping for decades and are either in decline or soon to be. Could they pump more? Probably, at the margins, but not in a way that would change market factors which are now dominated by the irrational bid ups of hedge fund speculator without any knowledge of or interest in market fundamentals.
The simple truth is that if we want to stabilize the price of oil, we need to develop a coherent economic policy instead of persisting in Bush-Republican goofiness. We need to put major restraints on hedge funds: force them to hold on to positions for up to a year, restrict their ability to leverage by requiring full collateralization on their loans, increasing the capital gains tax, and treating profits of hedge fund managers as income. And of course, we need to create a coherent and realistic energy policy.
Oil is going to go up no matter who is in the White House- why? Cause we’re runnin out. Under Bush we have had eight years of AVOIDING the problem. Eight lost years. Billions spent on bribes to oil companies to give us more oil-billions spent on ethanol- that doesn’t work. STUPID- beyond comprehension. Eight years in which we could have dramatically reduced cafe standards, reduced consumption, and be well on our way to replacing much of electricity generated through fossil fuels with wind, wave, and solar generation.
I don’t think that the next prez will reduce oil prices- but they damned well better begin the transition process away from oil and coal.
yo raven
ygm
At $4.00 a gallon, the only piece of paper you need to show you own someone, of course, is a share in an oil company. Minimum wage is a slavemaster and you don’t need to cut down a tree to prove it. Nice thinking Repubs.
A major issue that I see that is usually not discussed is the fact that in the northern half of the country, if you are outside of a city, you can heat your home with - fuel oil, LP, or wood(or corn or one of the other pelleted fuels). The last time I checked fuel oil, it was $3.99 a gal. A lot of houses in rural areas are old, energy-inefficient, uninsulated, etc. …and usually owned/rented by people who don’t have the means to insulate, get new windows, a new furnace, etc. etc. And no, at least in my area of Upstate New York, none of the utilities are doing “free home energy audits” any longer and are not offering low cost loans to do the work.
Thought the fuel in Brazil was coming from sugar cane.
You’re right. I stand corrected.
Brazil’s 29-year-old ethanol fuel program uses cheap sugar cane, mainly bagasse (cane-waste) for process heat and power, and modern equipment, and provides a ~22% ethanol blend used nationwide, plus 100% hydrous ethanol for four million cars. The Brazilian ethanol program provided nearly 700,000 jobs in 2003, and cut 1975–2002 oil imports by a cumulative undiscounted total of US$50 billion.[1] Today, Brazil gets more than 30% of its automobile fuels from sugar cane-based ethanol.[2]
The Brazilian government provided three important initial drivers for the ethanol industry: guaranteed purchases by the state-owned oil company Petrobras, low-interest loans for agro-industrial ethanol firms, and fixed gasoline and ethanol prices where hydrous ethanol sold for 59% of the government-set gasoline price at the pump. These pump-primers have made ethanol production competitive yet unsubsidized.[1]
In recent years, the Brazilian untaxed retail price of hydrous ethanol has been lower than that of gasoline per gallon.[1] Approximately US$50 million has recently been allocated for research and projects focused on advancing the obtention of ethanol from sugarcane in São Paulo.[3]
wiki
Ewwww.
Still, nothing annoys like seeing a Hummer with a Support our Troops sticker.
I fully agree, didn’t mean to imply conservation is not part of the equation. The solutions involve both technology and behavior changes.
Actually they use bagasse (sugar cane waste)
Gas is at a buck twenty in montreal. That’s for a liter. Multiply that by 3.8 to get a gallon. That’s 4.56 a gallon.
I hate giving my money to oil men.
I drive a basic four cylinder, manual transmission. When I’m going for a freeway jaunt, I’ll leave at one or two in the morning. That way, I don’t have to drive fast because every other driver is in a hurry. I’ve done a few trips to Atlantic City to see friends