California Reaps What It Has Sown

My old home state is feeling the blow back after years of enacting every liberal policy they could. Bowing to the unions and giving them insane retirement benefits? Check. Allowing illegal aliens to have rights and burden the counties and municipalities with enormous costs? Check. Passing ridiculous environmental policies with no basis in fact? Check.

California's least detestable senator is up in arms because the price of gas has spiked to unheard of levels in the last few weeks. $6 per gallon gas is not so unthinkable now. Sen. Feinstein knows full-well that it is the environmental lobby that has led her state to this point but has opted to try to score points by blaming the gas companies. She's not once broached the subject that the gas blends sold in California are so restrictive that making any type of profit is difficult.

The best-case scenario is that gas from other neighboring states can be trucked in to help increase supply and knock the price down somewhat. However, neighboring state gas does not meet the standards set forth in California and can't be sold there.

Besides, remember when Obama's energy guy seemed to think that rising gas costs are a good thing? His own policies are playing a part in this as well. Hell, if I were a refiner, I'd abandon the state altogether. Why submit to the oppressive regulatory hassles when you can turn around and make more with a lot less annoyances elsewhere.

And for the record, the governor of California agrees with me as he has ordered the state to relax smog rules so that refineries can start running faster. I would say that is the greatest proof that the policies enacted by him and the lefties in thee state are causing the problem.

Unfortunately for those of us living outside DC, this is, in effect, a tax that has been thrust upon us by the policies Obama has put in place. Listen, it hurts me since I drive a long way to work, but imagine you are one the lost souls living in Obamanation who can't find a job and live on the crumbs thrown you by the administration. Do you think those poor folks can afford to pay more than double what they did when Obama took the oath? Me neither.

This is just another example of the shambles that California has become. I love that state and want it to be the national leader again. Alas, the chance of that happening again are slim and none and the real energy has shifted to red states like Texas where freedom is abundant and regulations are not.

Obama Getting Whacked By High Gas Prices

The old saying goes that people vote their pocketbook and apparently they are sick that their pocketbooks and wallets are getting emptier by the day. Obama trotted out his interior secretary to try to calm fears after brutal poll results were released (results that are skewed in Obama's favor):

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar took to the White House briefing room Monday to defend President Obama’s energy plan after a new poll suggested high gas prices are eroding the president’s approval numbers.

Salazar insisted that Obama is reviewing short- and long-term actions to lower gas prices, while also noting that there are no quick fixes to the problem.

“All options are on the table because the president obviously feels the pain that the American people are facing,” Salazar said when asked if the administration would tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a 696-million barrel emergency oil stockpile.

Salazar is a lying bastard, all option are not on the table and never will be. Obama will play the SPR card and use it for short-term gain but prices will not go down unless he announces a broad initiative that really throws everything on the table. Approve the XL Pipeline, open up offshore drilling, allow drilling in ANWR and cut federal gasoline taxes by half would be a first step towards showing us that he is serious.

Tapping the reserve is a ploy to only lower prices temporarily according to candidate Obama so what's the use? Plus, it's been Salazar's MO to restrict drilling wherever and whiner he can so why trust him now?

Obama will pill out any trick he can when he realizes that high gas prices will sink him faster than any other issue save another terrorist attack on our soil and Lord knows we don't need that.

Obamanation: Gasoline Prices at Record Highs

The Obama administration has no energy policy but then they have no real policy on anything else so no surprise. Yes, they talk of green power and electric cars they subsidize but have no coherent strategy for keeping fuel prices stable. Recent reports predict increases throughout the summer and Saudi Arabia is about to choke back on the taps guaranteeing an even quicker and greater increase.

Obama is complicit in this as he has destroyed American power in the region, has botched the Iran situation from day one and has neutered America's oil exploration and extraction capabilities. Not to mention the XL Pipeline debacle in which he kowtowed to the environmental lobby.

America is sitting on pools of oil that we cannot go after and massive amounts of natural gas that will allow us to flood markets thus reducing the price of oil but we can't export due to regulatory and other restrictions. Imagine if we export natural gas in large quantities and it is used to fuel power plants, thus reducing emissions while limiting the use of petroleum as a fuel. It's win-win and we get to give the Russians the finger at the same time.

It's time we get a rational, pragmatic energy policy but when we have a present who develops a budget that is beyond laughable, I'm really not expecting it.

GOP Gearing Up For Climate Change Battle

The two central issues facing the GOP right now are universal health care and global warming climate change spending. With the US credit rating dropping like a stone and enormous amounts of money still needed to pay for the two Obama programs, the GOP is starting to form a lucid battle plan.

On climate change, the Republicans are playing on the memories of $4 gas we experienced last year and using that to fight the Obama global warming agenda:

Republicans believe that rising gas prices are their trump card against a Democratic-sponsored climate change bill.

The GOP is struggling to regain footing after two successive electoral blowouts, but party leaders are relishing an opportunity to debate what they call a “national energy tax.”

The Democrats’ plan of moving a cap-and-trade bill this summer plays into GOP hands because as the cost of gasoline spikes, so does the public’s awareness of energy prices, Republican leadership aides say.

The prices of everything will rocket up once inflation kicks in but gasoline is an easy one to focus on as people fill up every week and see the prices going steadily north. If we approach $3 a gallon, most people will listen and the passage of any legislation raising prices will be vehemently fought. The GOP needs a clear, coherent strategy that conveys to the public exactly what the Obama plan will cost.

The health care battle will be tougher but this one is a good beginning.

Update: Oops, spoke to soon. Rep. Jeff Flake is signing on to a carbon tax with other Republicans. What the hell are they thinking? Count on the GOP to screw up any advantage.

Saturday Afternoon News and Notes

How's everybody doing? here's what's going on:

The NY Post is having too much fun reporting on the NY Times credit rating getting slashed to junk status.

Obama's Little Red Book? Remind you of anything? Alright, these people are just plain creepy right about now.

Liz Sidoti gives Obama a "Lewinsky". These people are shameless.

Things you didn't know you didn't know.

Huh, more misleading data on global warming. They must really be desperate.

The Law of Unintended Consequences: For years liberals have tried to get us to stop driving so much, conserve gas and drive more fuel-efficient vehicles. Surprise, now that we've done so, they need to make the money up somewhere.

Juxtaposing Two Political Issues

I just paid $3.49 for gas, a massive drop in just weeks from the $4.10 peak. I'm a bit bummed by this because it may cause the public to stop clamoring for domestic drilling even if it will help those who have been struggling through this increase.

I guess I kind of, sorta understand what liberals were feeling when they realized that we won in Iraq.

The difference is that with my political wish, soldiers sailors, airmen and Marines didn't have to die to bring it to fruition unlike the left's wish where every death was another reason to cheer.

I'll never forgive those fuckers for that.

Picture courtesy of the great Zombietime.

Good Gas Price Drops and Bad

From today's Inqy we have this rather sunny portrait of falling gas prices:

Prices at the gasoline pump came down again yesterday in the Philadelphia area, and another big drop in crude-oil futures means motorists could see the price break continue.

The average price for regular-grade gas fell a penny from Monday - to $3.92 a gallon in Philadelphia and the four suburban counties in Pennsylvania and to $3.72 in the three South Jersey suburban counties, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

The cumulative drop over the last month amounts to a significant savings for drivers - 23 cents a gallon in the five Pennsylvania counties, and 24 cents in the three South Jersey counties.

But wait, didn't the Inqy scold John McCain for calling for a "tax holiday" on the $0.184 the government makes on every gallon? Why yes, yes they did. If 24 cents is good, wouldn't 42.4 cents be even better? Not according to the Inqy's analysis I suppose.

Perhaps the Inquirer is shedding readers at an alarming rate because they just don't understand that dropping gas by 18.4 cents by reducing taxes is just as good as dropping it by market forces. In the eyes of the Inqy Editorial Board, no taxes should ever be repealed, even it were to benefit every single subscriber they have.

News and Notes

For one of the few times this month, I have the house to myself (well, besides the dogs, cats and birds). So I figured I peruse the web and point you in interesting directions.

Hitchens on the religious elevation of Tim Russert.

An American hiker in the German Alps is saved by her sports bra. Will they ever cease finding uses for those things?

Gas would fall to half the price it currently is if Congress cracks down on speculators. I'm hoping it stays high until we force the don-nothing Congress to approve drilling off the coasts and in ANWR.

Judge smacks down environmentalist's on border fence lawsuit. Maybe they plant clematis or some other vine to make it more aesthetically pleasing.

The beautiful Terri on Obama's premature race card dropelation:

I would have suggested that he drop that card sometime in October. That’s when he could snag those on the fence by suggesting that Republicans have made them fearful of the black man and they would go….”oh yeah, that must be what’s happened, I’ll pull the lever for Obama”.

When you run out of ideas, you gotta dig deep and that's where the Obama camp is at this point. By election time, using race will be a huge detriment as people are sick of things in two days in the Internet age.

A sort of Independence Day for Tim Blair down under. He can actually...wait for it...wash his car. In his own driveway and everything. I think I'll go wash mine twice just because I can.

And finally, word is that supporters of the Constitution as a whole (and not just bits and pieces like libs) and the 2nd Amendment in particular may be in for some good news manana. We'll wait and see if the Scalia rumor is true.

Picture at right from this site and included for no reason except it was posted by a fellow Deadhead.