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START DRILLING AND TELL ABDULLAH TO POUND SAND OR TUNDRA -- NOW! (LINK)

June 21st 2008 03:44
LET’S BE HONEST, HAVEN’T YOU EVER WANTED TO HAVE A MOMENT WITH SAUDI KING ABDULLAH LATELY WHILE YOU’RE PUMPING YOUR $4 A GALLON GAS INTO YOUR FAMILY CAR THAT YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO DRIVE UP TO YOUR FAVORITE SUMMER RESPITE THANKS TO HIS MAJESTY’S GREED?

Abdullah's Digs
Royal Palace of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia



REMEMBER, THIS GUY GETS TO GO ANYWHERE AT ANY TIME AND IN ANY FASHION HE WANTS. AND WE'RE PAYING HIS BILLS!

AND LOOK AT HIS NEW FRIEND!

Abdullah's Buddy
Look At King Abdullah's New Friend!



REMEMBER THIS, TOO: HE THINKS WE’RE ADDICTED TO OIL CONSUMPTION.

WELL, YOUR (COUGH, SPUTTER) MAJESTY, MAY I REMIND YOU THAT YOU’RE BEGINNING TO SOUND LIKE A DRUG PUSHER WHOSE VICTIM IS ONLY ONE HIT FROM FALLING INTO NEVER LAND THANKS TO THE STUFF HE JUST “SOLD” HIM. AND YOU WANT TO LECTURE THE POOR BUM.

BUT-- WE’RE NOT POOR BUMS AND PRETTY SOON YOU’RE GOING TO FIND OUT THE HARD WAY. EVEN IF OBAMA GETS IN AND FINDS OUT HOW BADLY YOU’VE BEEN SCREWING US OVER AND HOW BADLY WE NEED ANWR AND OUR OIL THAT’S JUST WAITING FOR US TO PULL UP, YOU AND YOUR FATBOYS IN YOUR AIR-CONDITIONED TENTS AND MANSIONS ALONG THE MED ARE HISTORY. HISTORY. ENJOY YOUR RETIREMENT. IT’S COMING.

Oh, would I love to give that old fatcat of fatcats that piece of mind, and so would nearly 200-300 million other Americans, not to mention millions of other people affected by Abdullah’s and OPEC’s greed.

C’mon, fall in line and let him know. Maybe they get Orble.com in the Kingdom, if it’s not censored.

He won’t listen to his buddy George who can only speak out on something we have absolutely no leverage on, women’s rights in that hellhole. Maybe he’ll listen to a congress that’s been forced to wake up.

Oh, but George finally woke up and decided to push for oil drilling, and so did his tag-along new buddy, John McCain. The only two guys who had to swallow hard on this was W’s brother Jeb and Jeb’s successor Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, both of whom previously opposed offshore oil drilling. But had big brother W done what he promised to do eight years ago during another election campaign, we’d be in a much better position and most likely not paying such outrageous prices for gas at the pump.

Look Who's Drilling In The Gulf?
Look Who's Planning To Drill In The Gulf?


Since my missus and I are kind of glum about our chances of making it to where we spent our honeymoon some twenty five years ago for our anniversary next month, I’m not exactly in the mood for lectures from a fat old king representing one of the most debauched monarchies to “grace” the planet since the demise of the French Bourbons. And I’m only talking about a 150 miles trip (one way.) Maybe we’ll have to sell blood to get back, and that’s with a pretty fuel efficient sedan.

Underwater Palace
What's A Saudi Royal Without An Underwater Palace So He Can Hide From His Imam?


Just this morning I saw an intriguing column in Townhall.com "Tear Down This Wall," written by Michael Reagan, one of the late Pres. Reagan’s two sons. Using an effective allegorical connection between the Berlin Wall and a wall of invincible ignorance thrown up by our Greens controlling the Democratic Majority in both Houses of Congress, Reagan evoked that famous call by his father to Mikhail Gorbachev, “… tear down this wall.”

Before anybody gets me wrong on this, I strongly support sensible environmental efforts to protect wildlife and as much open spaces as possible. BUT -- there are limits. And I hope somebody points this posting out to some armchair environmental strategists, or Green Lobbyists in Washington and other East Coast hideaways, given my druthers to ensure the safe passage of reindeer for breeding purposes on a relatively small patch of very inhospitable land that’s also crucial to our nation’s economic and perhaps even military security--and/or watching people freeze in their homes or businesses having to go belly up because we couldn’t afford to keep the wheels of commerce sufficiently oiled, I’ll gladly join in with Michael Reagan’s Amen Choir and shout …

TEAR DOWN THAT WALL--THE WALL OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC IGNORANCE.

ANWR Winter Wonderland
ANWR WInter Wonderland For Anti-Drillers: Let Them Explain Saving THIS To People Freezing In Their Homes

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4 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Two Guys Sports

June 21st 2008 08:20
Well, using 2006 figures, The U.S. is the #1 consumer of oil and petroleum base products, but only the third largest producer. That problem isn't really where we want and don't want to drill, but just the fact that since 1991 U.S. oil production did NOT increase once until 2006, even then it only went up about 185 million barrels per day. (Keep that number in mind, because it becomes even more significant in a minute)

We produced 5.1 million barrels, but needed 20.7 million. So, we needed to import the majority of it, however we still exported 1.3 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products. Why export if you already don't have enough?

In 2006 we also only got 10.7% of our oil from Saudi Arabia. Whereas we got 17.2% from our neighbors to the north, Canada. Maybe you are calling for the head of the wrong person? Second on the list was Mexico at 12.4%. So, Saudi Arabia isn't our problem. As a matter of fact, Saudi Arabia realizes prizes are out of whack and way too high. They increased their production by 200,000 barrels a day in the month of June, that is more than the previously mentioned amount that U.S. oil production increased in 2006, which was the first increase in a decade and a half. The Saudis have also announced that in July they will be increasing their production by an additional 300,000 barrels per day to try and help the prices get back in line. Granted they are doing this to control the prices for the purpose of making people feel more comfortable buying oil rather than look for alternative forms of energy. Which in the long run helps their kingdome. Regardless of that though, THEY realize prices are too high and need to go down. Unlike an Exxon CEO which recently on some news show, possibly the Today Show, sat there and flat out said, "I run a business. My job is to make money for my shareholders" He had no concern for the price of gas, only that his company had just posted a $40 billion profit.

Plus, Bush has been pushing all along to drill in all sorts of places, wildlife areas and such. His calling for drilling in some areas now is nothing new, he just has a little more backing now because the prices have climbed so high. He has also held back millions of barrels of oil in the U.S. Oil Surplus, which is stocked up for "emergencies", probably somewhere on the land of his Crawford, Texas ranch.

In the end, I agree with you that something needs to be done with gas prices, it is utterly ridiculous that people have to choose between gas and things like food, or medicine. It is ridiculous that you can't make enough money at work to pay for the gas you need to get to work. The problem isn't Saudi Arabia though, it is here, and the oil companies like Exxon. (Who btw announced they are going out of the business of selling retail gas... it isn't profitable enough for them (see the above $40 billion amount) so they are selling control of the remaining stations they own to individuals.)

That same Exxon official and another "oil price specialist" both said they expected $5 a gallon gas befor the end of the summer. . . not if the Saudis have anything to say about it!

Also, as I write this gas prices here (Tulsa) went DOWN three cents today on the strength of the Saudi's announcement to increase production for the second time in two months.

Gene

Comment by Jen

June 21st 2008 14:25
$5 a gallon? Not if I have something to say about it. I have significantly reduced my gas consumption and I will continue to do so. If it comes down to it, we will go to a one car family like you saw in the 50s. I probably have some of the cheapest gas to buy (in Missouri it's 3.88 a gallon now) but still this is a joke.

Comment by Two Guys Sports

June 21st 2008 21:27
I agree Jen. Here in Tulsa we refine somewhere around 85% of our own gas, and it is usually one of the cheapest prices in the country too due to that fact, as you will see in just a second when I say how much we are paying. We get our gas at Quik-Trip because it is always "guaranteed"... which means if their gas causes a problem in your car, they take care of it. Their current price is $3.73 a gallon. At Wal*Mart's gas station we could get it at like $3.69, but we avoid that.

I couldn't imaging paying what people in places like California are currently paying. If prices here get to that point I think my wife and I would be using a lot of walking and buses. the bus is actually already becoming a possibility at $3.80 a gallon.

Gene

Comment by Steven P. Barrett

June 21st 2008 22:44
I agree with both of you Jen and Gene. I've just been informed that gas is still hovering above 4 bucks up here in so. New England. (But we also have a "greed tax" that's endemic to the Northeast. Whenever somebody does something or nature throws a wallop--and of course Wall Street and Main Street fall in line in most other places by maybe (for the sake of argument) a quarter on the buck, add another fifty cents. Something about our "business temperament."

I'm still upset at the Saudis for their arrogance, spewing of hatred through the madrassas while our soldiers are overseas having to clean up the messes caused by the Wahabist clerics these sybaritic slobs refuse to keep in line, and using our money pumped directly out of our wallets to do so. And yes, Mexico and Canada remain our biggest oil trading partners.

But there's just something about this Saudi connection that's gotten out of hand. I've felt fhis way for some time, long before 9/11. That attack shoulv'e surprised nobody who's been watching that area more closely; but apparently it sure surprised the guy from Crawford and his crowd.

We saved their hides in 1990-91 and what have we received in return? A one way mishandling of what should've been a far more cooperative arrangement. The Saudis, thanks to many graduates from a college in the next town over to me, Amherst College, have many influential friends in the State Department, far more than the long suspected and so-called "jewish lobby" many of Israel's loudest critics love to complain about. Not that Israel doesn't pull its share of its State-excused blunders, either.

See, what makes Saudi royals and oil ministers squirm the most is bad public relations, thanks to their overly luxurious lifestyles paid for by many Americans. Even if we pay just a smaller portion, say the lower amount you cited, and I'll certainly be glad to give you the benefit of the doubt and accept this figure, it's still a craw in our throats, especially for the vast majority of Americans who just get by on paycheck to paycheck, or from one trip to the pump after another as Jen described!

We can work with Canadians, although they may not appear to be so cooperative in years to come if China continues playing a bigger role in their newer form of shale or oil scraped from topsoil thanks to new technologies. Watch even India get in on the act. And now China might be in cahoots with Cuba and Venezuela? No wonder they bought THE Canal. Just owning the land next to the ditch is worth it to them for building a very short pipeline.

What to do about Mexico? We need to buy their oil; they need the opportunities our economy presents. If we can get their pols and our pols to stop the damn grandstanding and replaying the Alamo and Mexican American War of 1848, who knows, maybe we can solve both problems, and clean up the drug-lords who control the border cities and towns. And we'd better do it PDQ because nothing would give Osama more cover than some shameless drug lords who'll take his money and other America-hating Saudis waiting to cross our very porous southern border. All the walls we build, just like the East Germans and Israelis won't stop this kind of determined foe.

Have to admit, this isn't going to go away soon. But it will move much faster if Congress gets off its duff and stop paying attention to Rudolph the Reindeer's Lobbying Firm on K(laus) St.

And as for our friend from Exxon, (what a piece of work he was, and I saw him on C-Span a few weeks ago--he'd fit in well with Big Tobacco, too), he can freeze with the people he'd leave out in the cold no matter whether or not we drilled ANWR.

Jen, it's one thing to go back to like it was in the 50s with one car, but none of us could afford those big huge 400 hp rolling oil derricks Detroit used to make. That's why we have to buy Japanese and German cars. Next up: Chinese, Indian and yes, Saudi cars.!
(Humps and long necks optional.)

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