Keith Sketchley writes:
Today the US State Department reported ‘no major environmental objections to the proposed $7 billion Keystone pipeline’. I wonder what Obamas and Kerrys reasons for further delay will be now?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared a major hurdle toward approval Friday, a serious blow to environmentalists’ hopes that President Barack Obama will block the controversial project running more than 1,000 miles from Canada through the heart of the U.S.
The State Department reported no major environmental objections to the proposed $7 billion pipeline, which has become a symbol of the political debate over climate change.
It is not one of delays, it is one of concessions. Some left wingers want Obama to Nationalize all oil companies and pipelines.
Good, awesome news. It’s long past due this country further develop it’s own energy resources.
Well I heard a radio broadcast re-run of a Q&A by the White House spokes puppet, as to what was holding up Keystone, if the President had said he wanted to create jobs.
The buffoon hemmed and hawed, and generally gobbledegooked his way through an ersatz answer, the apparent gis of which was that POTUS can’t just do things on his own when other countries were involved. He suggested it might be a matter for the State Department to look into.
He had no answer when asked howcome they hadn’t already looked into it.
Talk about bs.
One would think that Kerry could have leaned on the writers of the report, however “hands-off” (wink, wink, nudge nudge) he may have wanted to be perceived. And for that matter, he would have had a sense of what Obama wanted. So overall, maybe there’s a chance the Administration will for once do what’s best for the country instead of their useful (geen) idiots.
green
350.org (McKibben’s nutters) object vehemently to KXL.
That there was zero reality behind that objection, we skeptics already knew.
And the Obama Administration saw fit to spend our tax money on that study.
That is GREAT NEWS!
**************************************************
And, in other news….
Monday is Mario’s birthday!!!
Mario, gallant, greathearted, champion, scientist-engineer, and hero par excellence, who step up and say, “That was out of line,” when you see someone being treated unfairly, this song is for you.
It is also for ALL of you WUWT heroes, for all of you teachers fighting the daily fight against ignorance in the classroom (and in the faculty lounge), and for all of the excellent scientists, both those out there on the front lines, such as Murry Salby, and those who, like Bart and Konrad and Leif, patiently persevere, month after month, correcting error, and for A-tho-ny! and all you wonderful moderators who deal with all the filth so the rest of us don’t have to (thank you!), and for all you regular commenters who step to the plate and daily refute insidiously erroneous, green-eyed, beliefs that would devour our liberties and destroy our free market economy, and last but not least, for all the great cheer leaders like Stan Stendera! Go, Stan! (and Libby).
THANK YOU for fighting the daily fight of good against ev1l, of truth against l1es.
YOU ARE MY HEROES!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARIO LENTO!!!
Gratefully,
Janice
(Qualifier: any sexual innuendo the song may seem to imply is NOT part of my intended message)
“I wonder what Obamas and Kerrys reasons for further delay will be now?”
.
Because……..
Errr… Keith Sketchley commented on the lack of snow on Mount Washington, Vancouver, BC, in Tip ‘n Notes.
I take it that, if Obama has approved this pipeline, it is either going to move CO2 from the atmosphere to somewhere less “troublesome”, or the missing heat from the oceans to the atmosphere to prove the computer models are working?
Slightly off-thread, but I did predict it would happen; after our (UK) warm summer and mild and wet winter, the Met Office has announced that winters are going to continue to get milder and wetter and summers, warmer and wetter due to CO2 levels continuing to rise. They kept very quiet during the last four very cold winters, so obviously the scientific minds at the Met Office cannot differentiate between climate and weather!
george e. smith says:
January 31, 2014 at 10:45 pm
Well I heard a radio broadcast re-run of a Q&A by the White House spokes puppet, as to what was holding up Keystone, if the President had said he wanted to create jobs.
The buffoon hemmed and hawed, and generally gobbledegooked his way through an ersatz answer, the apparent gis of which was that POTUS can’t just do things on his own when other countries were involved. He suggested it might be a matter for the State Department to look into. He had no answer when asked howcome they hadn’t already looked into it.
George,
Odd, that. During the State of the Union diatribe, Our Dear Leader assured us that “if Congress won’t act, I will. I have my pen and my phone…...
I’m fairly sure Obama could take a couple of minutes between the front and back ‘nine’ to give a shout out to Stephen Harper, the Canadian Prime Minister, to say “Hey Steve! Yeah, it’s me, The Choom Gangstha! You know that pipe line thing you Canucks been asking for – It’s ON! Yeah! Hey Man – gotta go. The beer cart is here!
Want to bet that some ‘new concerns’ will suddenly surface that need to be addressed, say for the next 3 years, before Obama ‘n Kerry will be able to get to ita decision? I hope I’m wrong….
Mac
Hi, Mac the Knight in Shining Armor. #(:))
I’m still up — re-playing this page over and over to see if my 11:06pm post is out of moderation…. yet.
IS there a Mt. Washington near Vancouver, B. C.?! Never heard of it. Must be preeetty short. Like one of those hills they call “mountains” back east. I’ll always remember a woman from New York State saying how charming it was that I lived “nestled amongst the mountains.” I thought she was seriously mistaken about where my house was. Then, I realized that she wasn’t. lol
Well, I can report that this evening there IS snow down to about 3,000 ft. elev. on a very short mountain, indeed, 4,000-ft. Mt. Cultus, a good 60 miles south of Canada… .
Hi, Andrew Harding — How did (are?) you and your wife enjoy(ing?) Hawaii? Glad you enjoyed your drive from Las Vegas (?) to San Francisco. I am curious, though, where in the world in that stretch of driving did you see “lovely” country? My Washington State eyes are spoiled, or, rather, simply unattuned to the barren beauty of the desert, I think… .
Hope you had (are having?) a great vacation!
Janice
Next delay waits until after mid-term elections, that’s all.
Far be it for me to meddle in U S politics but I seem to recall the State Dept cleared this pipeline a couple of years ago and POTUS sent it back for review. It seems State did not do what it was [presumably] told. And cleared it again.
Or have i got that wrong?
I am sure the readers of WUWT know better than I.
Kindest Regards
For the odd off topic Mount Washington comments. I have skied Mt. Washington. It is on Vancouver Island. Recently the south west coast of B.C. has experienced an inversion of temperatures where it has been cold near the surface and warm at high elevations. Mt. Baker, which I have also skied and is several hours closer to me than Mt. Washington has had a lot of snow. My local mountains (Burke) have snow on them and that is rare but not unusual.
Oh, Mount, Gary, not “odd,” INTRIGUING (lol). #(:))
Thanks for the information. Much appreciated.
The sooner the KXL pipeline is constructed, the better. Also, export permits for US crude oil & gas.
And, while we are at it, rescinding of fraccing bans in France & Bulgaria.
Paul Pierett says: January 31, 2014 at 10:42 pm
“It is not one of delays, it is one of concessions.”
It’s not about delays. It’s in the pipeline.
He’s right, the weather is actually changing. Only in what direction? Certainly in Sochi not lack the snow and frost.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/stratosphere/strat_a_f/gif_files/gfs_t30_nh_f240.gif
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/intraseasonal/z200anim.gif
http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/atmosphere/radbud/gs19_prd.gif
John Kerry, US secretary of state, will consult eight government agencies over the next three months about the broader national security, economic and environmental impacts of the project before deciding whether he thinks it should go ahead.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
————
And if that doesn’t waste enough time, he will then appoint a blue-ribbon panel to determine just how many angels can dance on a CO2 molecule.
Good Evening, Sweat Pea!
Nice to hear from you! I’m sipping a short whiskey ‘n water and catching up on reading that was sadly postponed to support a very busy week.
Speaking for those of us that were raised in the heartland, far from ‘real’ mountains, looking at Mt. Rainier looming up from sea level to 14,000ft is pure eye candy! There are few other places on earth (Mt. Fuji, perhaps) that have such awe inspiring, massive, and stretching-to-heaven relief… and I never get tired of seeing it in all its majesty.
Hope the sun shines on you tomorrow, Janice!
Mac
It’s on Vancouver Island, “Mount Washington, BC V9J 1L0, Canada
+1 250-338-1386” for the resort. 6288′ height.
Definition of “insanity”: environmentalists commissioning assessment after assessment of the same project, hoping for a different result.
The State Department would not have made such a decision without Obama’s approval. He is, after all, the President, and he gives the State Department its marching orders. So this announcement essentially means that Obama approves of the Keystone pipeline, but wants to deflect at least some of the wrath coming his way from the left.
From the AP piece:
Sounds more like the endangered American burying Green dodge, they keep sidestepping the issues.
Is that another one of those extremely rare “species” those eco-mentalist groups keep finding, that only lives in the proposed “impacted” area? That is genetically identical to populations of the critters found elsewhere, or perhaps with only a trivial difference that’s barely distinguishable and irrelevant? For which, despite their gene pool being more than adequately represented in un-threatened populations elsewhere, absolutely MUST be saved and protected solely because their population lives “only” in the proposed area of development?
“the pipeline was likely to have an adverse effect on the endangered American burying beetle, found in South Dakota and Nebraska”
That’s good enough for me, this pipeline has got to be stopped now!!!
Even with my ecoloon hat on, I still cannot see how any reasonable person can object to this pipeline. The environmental arguments are so flimsy, I would be embarrassed to use them, while the economic and strategic reasons are so compelling, there simply is no reasonable counter-argument.
Those who campaign against this pipeline must have morphed into something beyond ecoloon.
Government by superecoloon? If the USA wants that, then have a look at what this concept has done to the UK and Europe, blindly wandering into long term, self-inflicted, economic decline because of skyrocketing energy costs and imminent shortages of electrical power during winter.
Susan Casey-Lefkowitz
Seems as though the left of liberal married females most always have a hyphenated last name(s).
Speaking of ecos, here in WA state a similar delay tactic is in play, by the watermelons, a governor ordered ‘comprehensive’ study to determine the risk of coal trains passing through WA. The state department of ecology ( thank you Dixie ) is living in the limelight of the local green emotions – science and actualities have nothing to do with this dog and pony show. You can submit all the current climate science and/or solar physics you want, it will not be considered. On the other hand, a person can move to the head of the line of experts IF its a ‘she’ and her written page of comments drip with the emotions of how the future of her children and their pet goldfish will be imperiled by these menacing trains, carrying death.
Then why did you wait 40 years to object? The US has been doing it since at least 1973 through various pipelines, getting over 22% of the nation’s oil from Canada.
If building the pipeline will commence, it will be with the intention of never getting finished to not jeopardize Uncle Warren’s rail profits, but with the intent of filling the Union’s coffers.
In Germany, we currently have two eternal construction sites, one is a concert hall in Hamburg, one is an airport in Berlin. Both are vehicles to funnel off taxpayer money and are not intended to ever be finished. The state simply says, uh, looks like we signed a stupid contract, silly us. Sue us if you dare, we’re the state, see what it gets you.
The southern portion is already being used:
“The southern leg—the lesser known half of TransCanada’s pipeline—originates in Cushing, Oklahoma and passes through countless communities in Oklahoma and East Texas before arriving at refineries and shipping ports along the coast.”
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/01/22-9
Bonus, there’s a Weepy Bill McKibben tweet in that link.
you win some, you might lose some, too:
30 Jan: King5 News: John Langer: Washington lawmakers pursue Road Usage Charge .
SEATTLE — A plan to charge Washington drivers per-mile to raise more transportation money is getting a closer look from lawmakers in Olympia.
$1.4 million has already been spent studying the impacts and possible benefits of charging drivers to use the state’s roads. Late last week, a task force created by the Transportation Commission presented a report indicating this type of fee could bring in up to $3 billion.
Washington is now pushing forward with a pilot program to investigate further. It likely would not start until 2015…
Oregon is implementing its own version soon, charging some drivers a cent-and-a-half to use state roads.
http://www.king5.com/news/local/Washington-lawmakers-pursue–242884501.html
I admit that I have not been keeping very up-to-date with this pipeline but how would a ban have affected global warming or climate change? I understand there were always alternatives that came with unintended consequences.
And the following would have been even worse in more ways than we previously thought!
Would China have said no to the oil? Of course not. The China alternative route.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/01/obama-canada-alternative-route-keystone-xl/1#.UuzKR5zm5hc
If Canada has the oil and wants to sell it then that is what it will do. Blocking the pipeline is irrelevant and goes against what the environmentalists ‘want’ – to fight
global warmingclimate change. ;-pIf I were to bet, it will be along the lines of “now will refer it to normal channels for standard processing within the boundaries of the US”. This means that champion of hydrocarbon development, the EPA, would kick off the next round of assessments.
It would get past not only the 2014 midterms but at least well into the 2016 Presidential race. And then, regardless of how the EPA ruled, court actions against the EPA will delay it into 2017 as a minimum.
Posted two years ago. SSDD.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/01/22/weekly-climate-and-energy-news-roundup-38/#more-55226
Three weeks ago I wrote to a friend, who is one of the recognized true experts in global energy, as follows:
_____________________
I remain perplexed by Obama’s Keystone decision, which appears to be very much against the national interests of the USA.
The pipeline is clearly in the USA’s strategic interest. Given the Iran situation, it should have been built yesterday. Furthermore, it will create some jobs and tax revenue at no cost to the taxpayer.
The alleged environmental dangers of the pipeline appear wildly overstated.
I think overconsumption of water from the Ogallala aquifer due to corn ethanol overproduction is a much greater environmental threat. Removal of corn ethanol subsidies will not solve the problem as long a s the corn ethanol mandates in gasoline remain.
Am I missing something here?
His answer: Sadly, no.
I do hope that Bill McKibben’s flights are fueled by bio-diesel.
Bill McKibben is an ECO-HYPOCRITE
a jones says:
January 31, 2014 at 11:53 pm
Far be it for me to meddle in U S politics but I seem to recall the State Dept cleared this pipeline a couple of years ago and POTUS sent it back for review. It seems State did not do what it was [presumably] told. And cleared it again.
Or have i got that wrong?
==========================
Yes and no. This is the 5th Federal study … so far. I believe the administration plans to do what my fellow federal workers (before I retired) would often do when we faced doing something we didn’t want to do …. we’d ‘admire’ the problem and kill any action by repeated ‘feasibility studies’, which would drive up the cost to the point that we could say it failed a ‘cost – benefit’ analysis.
He’ll just study the problem to death by having one sub-agency after another spend a year developing a ‘study’. There’s LOTS of sub-agencies to go, probably hundreds.
Facts don’t matter to the environmentalists and the far left-wing.
It is slogans, and emotional initial reactions.
We need to change the message from facts and the economy to slogans.
It is no longer the Keystone pipeline, it is the KXL pipeline.
It will eventually reduce US oil imports from the dirty oil sands.
It will keep dangerous oil trains off the tracks and tanker trucks off the roads.
It is opposed by the rail Barron’s and the truck tansport monopolies who want to move more oil by tanker through our cities. And there are many more spills and fires from train and truck transport.
It will clean up the biggest oil spill in history, the oil sands.
Etc.
Well, if what’s his name doesn’t want it, it won’t get built, no matter how many studies are done.
Barack said, “No,” in January, 2012. What part of “no” do you not understand?
Nothing has changed.
Regarding climate issues we may have now entered a time of political double speak. Up front, politicians cant be seen to back out of grandiose green and AGW statements involving grandchildren etc. However behind the scenes, more and more governments will be trying to “get rid of all the green crap”.
Leon Brozyna on February 1, 2014 at 4:34 am
Well, if what’s his name doesn’t want it, it won’t get built, no matter how many studies are done.
You are referring presumably to Warren Buffet?
Obama is likely having a “not on my watch” legacy moment. He won’t be remembered (fondly anyway) as the President who brought in “free” health care to the masses. He won’t be remembered as having a strong “green” commitment if he approves KXL. So I would expect him to kick the can down the road as long as he can with the intention of deferring to the next Presidency. “I did not approve the Keystone Pipeline”.
Other than Obamacare and the green energy revolution (i.e. subsidizing solar and wind projects) what has this President really done that is memorable?
“Bill Adams on January 31, 2014 at 11:46 pm
Next delay waits until after mid-term elections, that’s all.”
What Bill said. This has always been about politics. So look for the political loss/gain inflection point for the Administration: it won’t come until mud-November, and maybe not even then.
This has nothing to do with ensuring that the laws are faithfully executed.
the sooner everyone understands CAGW is not a partisan thing, the better we will be able to defeat the scam. i do believe there are more CAGW sceptics than believers who already know this. this little saga is telling:
30 Jan: Reuters: US consultancy ICF wins bid to help plan China carbon market
U.S. consultancy ICF International has won a 5-million euro ($6.8 mln) contract to help the European Union advise China, the world’s biggest carbon-emitting nation, on designing a national emissions trading scheme (ETS).
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/01/30/china-carbon-idINL3N0L412J20140130
April 2013: Desmogblog: Steve Horn: Ties That Bind: Ernest Moniz, Keystone XL Contractor, American Petroleum Institute and Fracked Gas Exports
As first revealed on DeSmogBlog, Moniz is also on the Board of Directors of ICF International, one of the three corporate consulting firms tasked to perform the Supplemental Environmental Impact Study (SEIS) for TransCanada’s Keystone XL (KXL) tar sands pipeline…
Moniz earned over $300,000 in financial compensation in his two years sitting on the Board at ICF, plus whatever money his 10,000+ shares of ICF stock have earned him…
Moniz’s American Petroleum Institute Ties to Shale Gas Export Advocacy…
http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/04/09/ernest-moniz-keystone-xl-contractor-american-petroleum-institute-fracked-gas-exports
29 Jan: News Ltd: The man who could be US president: Ernest Moniz, the country’s Energy minister
EVERY year when the US president gives his annual State of the Union address to Congress, there is a “designated survivor”.
This time, that man is a fellow named Ernest Moniz. He’s the country’s Secretary of Energy and also well known for having a distinct, wavy bob…
And despite the polarised nature of American politicians, the country’s Senate voted unanimously to confirm him to his position…
http://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/the-man-who-could-be-us-president-ernest-moniz-the-countrys-energy-minister/story-fnh81jut-1226812986353
31 Jan: UK Register: Andrew Orlowski: Tell us we’re all doomed, MPs beg climate scientists
Is a climate scientist a real scientist?
The majority aren’t angry climate sceptics. They are “So What?”-ers. “So what if humans cause the climate to change?”; “It isn’t it likely to be catastrophic here, we’re likely to cope, so what?” and “So what if it gets a degree or two warmer – I prefer a warmer climate.”
These are reasonable things to say.
MPs therefore had the perfect opportunity to reassess their junkie-like dependence on their hand-picked IPCC scientists. But they decided to hold onto Nurse for now – for fear of something worse. The establishment scientists, less surprisingly, appeared keen to maintain their influence on the policy being made. The unwritten pact between the scientific elite and the political elite which appoints them will go on for a little longer.
Here’s how an enthralling session unfolded….ETC
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/31/tell_us_were_all_doomed_mps_beg_climate_scientists/
Hi Janice! Thank you for asking about our trip.
My holiday (vacation) has just about ended. I am in a hotel in LA waiting for my overnight flight to Heathrow London and then another flight back to Newcastle tomorrow. The family are en route to Miami to pick up a Caribbean cruise for two weeks, sadly I have to work. We had one the best drives ever from Las Vegas to LA through Death Valley. I have never been anywhere where there is complete silence, no birds, no people, just us. In England even in the most remote of places there is always some noise, some people. The views were breathtaking up in the mountains. We did a tour of the Grand Canyon, fantastic! The drive from LA to San Francisco was of a similar length as the one from Vegas to LA, but we had to stop three times for coffee as I was starting to nod off at the wheel, there was just mile after mile of straight roads with either barren countryside or crops, no mountains, nothing. So for that part of the journey, I agree with you. Hawaii is beautiful, I never realised it was so far from mainland US! We fly to the Costa del Sol in southern Spain several times a year, from the NE of England it is a three hour flight. Hawaii is five hours and two time zones (I suspect it should be three, as the sun sets an hour later local time than it does in LA, but a three hour difference makes it difficult for businesses to operate).
We have had a fantastic time, the people here are lovely, very friendly, very helpful. We will definitely be coming back.
Keith Sketchley asks: “I wonder what Obamas and Kerrys reasons for further delay will be now?”
——-
Reasons? BO needs no reasons. He’s on record saying, “I have my pen and my phone …”
BO imperially believes, “It’s my bat, ball, and glove. We play the game my way, or the highway. Just who in he!! are you to think otherwise?”
Curtis says:
February 1, 2014 at 12:34 am
Definition of “insanity”: environmentalists commissioning assessment after assessment of the same project, hoping for a different result.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It is not insanity it works.
1. Endless Delays
2. Mounting costs
As an example the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission charges the plant operator $274 per hour per inspector.
Steve from Rockwood says:
February 1, 2014 at 5:15 am
“Other than Obamacare and the green energy revolution (i.e. subsidizing solar and wind projects) what has this President really done that is memorable?”
Creating more public debt than all other presidents combined? His term is not over yet; he’s got a good change of making it.
http://politicalderby.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/us-debt-graph-2020.jpg
John says:
January 31, 2014 at 10:42 pm
Good, awesome news. It’s long past due this country further develop it’s own energy resources.
Which country are you talking about? I can see this coming from a Canadian.
“I wonder what Obamas and Kerrys reasons for further delay will be now?”
Who needs a reason? He has a pen. He has a phone.
DirkH says:
February 1, 2014 at 5:51 am
” … Creating more public debt than all other presidents combined? …”
—-l
I believe this is one hockey stick deserving of research – it seems there is more blade than stick 🙂
The upper Midwest and plains states are criss crossed with pipelines. Some even come from Canada. The burying beetle apparently manages. The only difference with this pipeline is that it has come up on Obama’s watch, and he has turned it into the poster child of environmental protection and climate change.
“Creating more public debt than all other presidents combined?”
The republicans did that by tanking the economy prior to BO taking over. It the Repubs had been in charge, the USA would have 30% unemployment now. Yes, there is a huge debt, but an extra tax on the wealthy would keep that in check. All this has nothing to do with the need for a stable source of oil for the USA. BO is simply a willing captive of his many billionaire greenie friends.
This is the second Dept. of State study to conclude what anyone who knows about pipelines would conclude: They are not bad for the environment.
The irony of the most anti-energy President getting the benefit of private industry turning America into the largest oil producer is pretty strong. The reality that this President is more anti-science than any other recent President, in his opposition to Keystone, his pushing of failed AGW ideas, and his weakening of NASA is one that will hurt America for many years to come.
Ed_b,
Is this really the forum for you to demonstrate just how ignorant you are about recent history?
Obumer punted past his own final election to placate the Greens. He does it this election, he endangers three Democratic Senatorial seats up for re-election in states that want the KXL.
Plus, he already jeopardized Canada’s trust, and Harper has pledged remaining oil to China, in addition to allowing Chinese firms to buy into the tar sands in a big way. Capacity is being doubled on an existing right of way to Vancouver for Asian export as we speak. State knows this. I predict the greens will lose this unless Obumer loses control of his appointees at EPA and State in furtherance of their own political objectives at the expense of the unpopular lame duck. And green NGO court challenges about insufficient review will have difficult sledding given the re-review plus state level support including in Nebraska. Alleged review deficiencies are no longer colorable.
Steve from Rockwood says: @ February 1, 2014 at 5:15 am
Other than Obamacare and the green energy revolution (i.e. subsidizing solar and wind projects) what has this President really done that is memorable?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Torpedoed the US economy.
GRAPH: Payroll Employment by sector Changes from Dec 2007 -Oct 2011
Total Non-Farm Jobs Down by 6.5 Millions, Seasonally Adjusted (BLS)
GRAPH: Unemployment Rate – Oficial (U-3 & U-6) vs ShadowStats real unemployment rose from ~11% to ~24% during the Obummer years.
Explanation for difference: “GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC REPORTS: THINGS YOU’VE
SUSPECTED BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK!”
H/T to “John Williams’ Shadow Government Statistics”
Don’t mention Kerry. This is President Obama’s decision all the way.
Folks, that oil was pledged to China prior to Obama’s election. If you would read the early news stories of the field, being developed by one of the worst polluting companies on earth. America does not need KXL, China needs it. Canada don’t want the mess, so it won’t ship from Canadian ports. So pass it to America. Unfortunatly the fight has been that KXL is “pro” american, because the Koch Bros are american, no, they are Birchers, anti american, They have been buying votes in the name of facism for years now. Fachism is business controlling the life of the as in slaveowners. Remember how slaves were treated, especially in films, those were the good days, owners had to cloth and feed the slaves, now they just starve them,
By the way, check for the political influence, is that politician working for you, or for a bunch of money worshiping Pharisees.
This has always been a clear case of politics trumping economics. The idiotocracy of Environmentalism was born chasing the phantoms of a ” Silent Spring” and web-toed babies. Meanwhile China scoops up the treasures we carelessly toss aside.
To Hunter @6:37am:
Ed may have a point, just probably not the one he was thinking of. The Republicans would never have listened to their conservative wing that would have told them to cut the budget to grow the economy (as was done effectively in the 1920s and late 1940s.) The establishment types in charge would have simply done less of the same ineffective policies the Democrats did. Of course he is wrong about 30% unemployment, it would probably be about the same 7ish percent, but the labor participation rate would be far higher meaning many more people working and higher tax receipts. Of course some people don’t live in reality when it comes to economics, but would rather cling to cherished fantasies.
It is a telling observation that all those people in Washington State who oppose all those deadly coal trains passing through their cities and towns have no issues with all those Boeing airliners made in the Puget Sound region which spew all that deadly CO2 into the atmosphere all over the planet. None of these people is demanding that Boeing be prevented from building jet airliners in Washington State.
pat says: @ February 1, 2014 at 5:20 am
the sooner everyone understands CAGW is not a partisan thing, the better we will be able to defeat the scam. i do believe there are more CAGW sceptics than believers who already know this.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Case in point. The UK is considered to be “Leftists” by many “Conservative” Americans. The UK public is finally waking-up A recent poll found the just one in five people believe climate change is man-made, compared to one in three a year ago. The survey of 1,000 people found people over 65 were more likely to be sceptical. Considering UK pensioners are freezing to death it is not surprising they are the most sceptical.
(Ducks, spins and tries to out run RichardSC and DirkH)
Hmmm … which party was it that was for ‘giving everyone a home loan who wanted one’? Can you say Democratic Party? Put us in the ‘fix’ we are now with toxic mortgages packed-up as valuable ‘securities’ via the Community Reinvestment Act and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac distorting the housing credit system don’t you know …
THE TRUE ORIGINS OF THIS FINANCIAL CRISIS
As opposed to a desperate liberal legend.
Report to Congress on the Root Causes of the Foreclosure Crisis
By the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Thomas Sowell on the root causes of the mortgage lending crisis
.
Oh my God, the level of ignorance in some of the comments made here is blowing my mind. I see most are still falling into this trap of left vs right and shooting out terms like environmentalists, IPCC, EPA etc. How original……..please!- are those your thoughts or the ones the media seeded in your mind. How typical to fall under the spell of this Crown Corporation know as the Democratic United States of America (not the Republic) The typical divide and conquer technique used on the masses since the inner city of London got its hands on you wealth/resources. Wake up! Your amateurs in this game and the only way to win…. is none compliance.
Mike Bromley the Kurd says:
February 1, 2014 at 5:58 am
John says:
January 31, 2014 at 10:42 pm
Good, awesome news. It’s long past due this country further develop it’s own energy resources.
“Which country are you talking about? I can see this coming from a Canadian.”
We only hear about the KXL pipeline but, in 2014, there are over 12,000 miles of oil and gas pipeline projects planned for construction start in the lower 48 states, not including the Keystone XL pipeline. This is a “boom” year for oil and gas pipeline construction in the US which will continue into 2015. KXL would be icing on the cake.
Obama is between a rock and a hard place here. The objections to approving the pipeline are fading away with each report that green lights the project (along with other arguments). Yet, he is beholden to the green movement and lobby who mostly and vehemently oppose the project. The oil is going to go somewhere whether Obama approves the project or not, and Canada is not going to leave it in the ground — it’s too valuable. The oil or its refined byproducts are going to be burned somewhere and the CO2 is going to be released into the atmosphere somewhere — project or no project. This makes the climate change argument here pointless and ridiculous. Furthermore, moving the oil by pipeline is safer and thus more environmentally friendly. If Obama simply would make these arguments, the green movement really wouldn’t have much of a leg to stand on in my opinion.
It serves to prove the logic and common sense have never been two of Obama’s (nor the green movement’s) strong points. It’s long past time for the green movement to stop being heads-up-their-butts daydreamers and start facing the realities of today’s world, but I’m not going to hold my breath waiting to that to happen.
irony…tar sands oil will most likely INCREASE rail shipments soon due to ability to ship the bitumen w/o mixing in as much reducer. CP and CN are very actively working out details as we speak to increase shipments.
so the “dirtiest oil” there is will be increasing rail, rail also increasing due to east/west routings, pipelines do not have the directional flexibility. rail stands to make tons supporting building the pipeline (equipment/etc) and any loss of oil shipments they may see from pipeline offset by change in insurance and licensing/permit fees for the unit train hazmat shipments.
pretty good article in this months Trains Magazine (not available to non subscribers) about this and they have had some good articles before about it too. the warren buffet/bnsf crap is just that…crap.
and most of the pipeline already built and running already.
ecoloons make no sense.
Today the US State Department reported ‘no major environmental objections to the proposed $7 billion Keystone pipeline’.
Facts are pesky things. ;->
pat says: @ February 1, 2014 at 5:27 am
…. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/31/tell_us_were_all_doomed_mps_beg_climate_scientists/
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The UK journalists are writing some of the most entertaining articles right now.
Here is another: The weather prophets should be chucked in the deep end – Homeowners lumbered with useless swimming pools know precisely who they should blame
The Keystone pipeline proposed by ‘job creators’ will only create 50 actual jobs according to the State Dept. Not counting spill cleanup, then it come closer to the original job numbers from the Con men trying to sell the deal.
Good read on it.
http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/10/07/new-reasons-to-be-terrified-of-xl-pipeline-obama-is-considering-part-of-1-of-a-2-part-series/
Here is something I posted over at American Elephants while wierdo was snipping me out.
December only created 74,000 new jobs, far below payroll services company ADP estimate of 215,000. Hold on, I study economists, the Bureau of Labor Statistics number may well be revised upward later just as November was, adding an additional 38,000 jobs increasing the total from 203,000 to 241,000 jobs.
The Household Employment Survey unemployment rate showed a decline of three tenths to 6.7%. The rw talking point is that folks are discouraged from looking for work and thus aren’t counted anymore. Another talking point is that if unemployment is stopped they’ll all go out and find jobs. All those discouraged workers are not getting unemployment, or they would be required to look for work as a condition of ui, so… why isn’t the economy booming? Contradictory rw talking points, imagine that.
The Job Participation Rate continues to decline, the right makes much of lately, as if Obama was to blame for it. It declined all through the Bush Admin as the BabyBoomers began to retire. Every adult not in the Military or institutionalized is counted on the Participation Rate. So as long as your 90 year old grandparents stay out of prison they’re counted, no matter if they ever had a job or not.
A large number of family members of all ages have given up looking for work since their unemployment benefits have run out, simply to save their family money. With 5+ workers for every job opening, just giving up a fruitless hunt for work with costs involved may be the best option for the family as a whole.
It’s not to hard to figure out what the problem is, 2013 saw China pass the US as the world’s biggest trader with combined imports and exports of $4t. The entire US GDP is only $16t. Thanks to trickle down economics with no regulation on corporate mergers and disastrous trade policies the fate of the US gets increasingly hopeless. That is the jobs policy of the Conservatives, no jobs, everybody can just stay home. They believe you can just live off your trust fund, right?
http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/BL-REB-2534
Here’s a look at job creation under each president since the Labor Department started keeping payroll records in 1939. The counts are based on total payrolls between the start of the month the president took office (using the final payroll count for the end of the prior December) and his final December in office.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/sep/06/bill-clinton/bill-clinton-says-democratic-presidents-top-republ/
Remember all the cries from the Rightwing business pundits that hyper-inflation is just around the corner, or better yet that it’s already happening. This would mean that the government numbers on inflation are lies, all lies (lies, lies, I tell you). How many years do they think they can keep saying this without anybody catching on? Most people are starting to grasp that it’s nothing but ‘Horse Snip’.
The proof that the ‘untethered’ rw has been using throughout Obama’s two terms has been that steadily increasing gold price ‘proves’ inflation has been happening at a rampant pace. Kept saying this even as gold prices have fallen by a third. (oops) Now they’re proclaiming that ‘real’ gold, that is physical gold that you buy at the jewelry store or pawn hasn’t gone down, and it’s in short supply. Except that ‘real’ gold has gone down, the market is the market.
Oil is supposed to be the other harbinger of hyper-inflation, except oil hasn’t been going up either. Sure Bush taking Saddam’s massive oil production off the market did drive the price of oil from $18 a barrel to $140 a barrel until it collapsed the banking system, but that increase was incorporated into the price of everything like you’d expect, and has stabilized.
What is Hyper-Inflation really? It is the printing of massive amounts of money, and distributing it to people who will spend it to buy goods and services that are in ever shorter supply. This drives up prices in a fantastic way, but only if you keep printing money in ever increasing amounts. That problem we don’t have. There is really downward pressure on wages and that inhibits spending even if the workers have some money. We have far more goods than people can buy, you should expect prices to actually fall some before long. When you start seeing empty shelves at big box stores then you can worry.
Most of the $75b (was 85b) per month in new money that the Federal Reserve (a private bank) is printing is going to people that already spend millions each month to maintain their ‘lifestyle’. Buying a new large Italian yacht or new French helicopter isn’t going to produce any inflation. Most likely the rich just launder their increased cash flow through a Cayman Islands bank that they may even own & that is really held in New York so as to not pay any taxes, but not actually buy anything.
The real goal of the Fed is to convince the super rich that the Fed is printing sufficient money so that it will lead to inflation and cause their wealth decline in real terms. The idea being that the rich will need to actually get out and ‘make’ some money, to engage in some sort of real commerce that will ‘inadvertently’ do us ‘little people’ some good. There have been some signs of this in inventory builds, primarily in the easing of mortgage requirements so that a few more people can buy homes. Thus the taper test.
In short, you can forget about buying a wheelbarrow to carry your loaf of bread money, but being prepared to transport your hoard of canned goods while you still have some money might be prudent. Deflation is still the real fear, this is what has always defined a Depression, and we’re going to have another, no ifs ands about it. Why? Because billionaires flush with cash love a good bout of deflation so as to buy up your assets for 10 cents on the dollar, they still hold sway.
Most of the really vast fortunes that old white wealthy are sitting on today came from their daddies taking advantage of the last massive deflation in 1930. In short, we can take control our future, but only if a significant fraction of people come to understand the things the rich don’t want you to know anything about.
If you like your bridges shut down as political payback (NJ) or neglected until they fall down (MN) then keep voting GOP.
Most of the really vast fortunes that old white wealthy are sitting on today
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ain’t jealousy a bitch…
Ed, apparently this really is the forum for you to show your ignorance.
Like many on the far left, you ignored entirely the linked comments responding to your first absurd comment, where you blame the right for the mortgage collapse. Ed, your not responding to direct and informed counter arguments, and then moving forward to make many more false assertions, moves you rapidly into ignore the troll territory.
Let’s use some logic (such is indeed rare or non-existent in the brain of most left-wingers; truly a mental disorder is operating).
Is a spill of major proportions more likely from the Keystone pipeline, or from a 60-year old Liberian tanker holding a couple million barrels of oil coming from Venezuela or Saudi Arabia?
Of course, NOTHING compares to the inconvenience of a three lane highway merging into a two-lane highway. This is the horror of all heinous horrors!
What a maroon…
Canada is the 6th largest oil producer in the world, and the largest foreign supplier of oil to the USA.
The Obama / Keystone XL Pipeline debacle sends a clear message to Canada:
“Develop all-Canadian oil export routes to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and do so ASAP.”
Despite our long friendship, Canada can no longer count on the USA as a dependable energy partner.
By catering to enviro-extremists, Obama has damaged our relationship.
Strategically, he has ensured that the USA will lose guaranteed access to its largest foreign supplier of oil.
For the record, I have lived in New York and Houston and am a friend of the USA.
Regards to all, and enjoy the SuperBowl!
Jim vs Ed for dumbest posts of the day. Jim: why would we ship oil to US Gulf Coast refineries to ship to China (which is against US law anyway) when we can just ship crude directly to China (its called the Pacific Ocean). Ed: love your acceptance of Obamanomics…billions of dollars of private investment in strategic resource development produces 30 jobs…billions of fiat funded dollars to repaving roads, green energy, etc. saves the US economy.
I think Canada should raise the stakes here and if KXL doesn’t get approved now we negotiate a currency swap with China for our future oil/coal/etc. exports (like Australia and other resource producers have done)…screw the petrodollar!
Allan M. lets not forget reversing the East-West pipeline so we can feed our refineries with Canadian crude.
P.S. one more visit from that clown John Kerry and I am voting for shutting down the current Keystone pipeline (/sarc off)
pat says:
February 1, 2014 at 5:20 am
“the sooner everyone understands CAGW is not a partisan thing, the better we will be able to defeat the scam.”
I agree it isn’t 100% partisan, but if you vote for a democrat in the upcoming midterms or in the next presidential, probably at least a 90% chance he will vote and push to continue the scam.
Good news about the pipeline. Now, since Hansen say’s if it gets built it’s “game over”, shouldn’t that mean they should just shut up about CAGW and resign to die in a Venus like world… to just enjoy what little time mankind will have left? Game over should mean GAME OVER, but somehow I just know they will just keep protesting and coming up with new “game over ifs…” because it really isn’t about the climate at all.
“Steve in Seattle says:
February 1, 2014 at 1:11 am
Susan Casey-Lefkowitz
Seems as though the left of liberal married females most always have a hyphenated last name(s).”
Odd…Seems to be a feminista thing.??? I too recogize that trend…if a trend.
“Speaking of ecos, here in WA state a similar delay tactic is in play, by the watermelons, a governor ordered ‘comprehensive’ study to determine the risk of coal trains passing through WA. The state department of ecology ( thank you Dixie ) is living in the limelight of the local green emotions – science and actualities have nothing to do with this dog and pony show. You can submit all the current climate science and/or solar physics you want, it will not be considered. On the other hand, a person can move to the head of the line of experts IF its a ‘she’ and her written page of comments drip with the emotions of how the future of her children and their pet goldfish will be imperiled by these menacing trains, carrying death.”
Yep, ok to have the oil refineries in Anacortes and Cherry Point, et al, but woe to those with coal trains passing. And the eco threats against the Trans-Alta evil coal burning power plant, whence the oil money pours into the WA state greener coalitioners to with relentless vigor lobby the state legislature into forcing a planet saving conversion to natural gas. Say to me oh planet saving greeners how natural gas is greener than coal? The hypocricy is rampant on every turn.
Then the pipeline. Tell me again how many greeners have a garage with a petrolem burning vehical parked?…and use toilet paper??? Poor tree…only to see its last moment to a view we shall not describe. Ecos sit on a wooden chair at a wooden table and nibble down greener greens. The hypocricy… One should prepare for the “happy hopy change.”
@Bill Illis 4:17am,
Says it all.
The idiocy of Obama and the American eco-loons, will be a longterm benefit to Canada’s bottom line.
Currently McMurray Oil is technically stranded and buyers get a 30 to 50 dollar per barrel discount/subsidy.
End result the lack of transport alternatives costs Canada and benefits American buyers.
Thanks to President Obama, canadians can see the risk of having only one trade route.
I suspect the east and west pipelines will now be built as they are clearly defined(By Obama’s inaction) as in our national interest.
For even tho Obama will be gone in another3 years, canadians now know that any kind of ideologue can be elected president, if they have sufficient financial backing and presstitute support.
Nationalization of foreign pipelines may not be an absurd fear.
Of course it is possible we canadians will elect The Shiny Phoney, in 2015 and join you in wallowing in a delusional redistributive heaven.
Perhaps we need to ban from politics any who have never done real work,nor produced any thing of value.
A tax on do-gooders are necessary for the survival of civilization?
Mr. Ed says: “The Household Employment Survey unemployment rate showed a decline of three tenths to 6.7%. ”
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm
Of course, the federal government relies on the sheeple to just blindly follow. Are you a “sheeple” Mr. Ed?
The flaws in the official unemployment rate are well-known: It counts people only if they’ve actively looked for work in the past month. People who’ve given up on getting a job, even temporarily, are considered to be out of the labor force.
In the past few years, the unemployment rate has come down in large part because of movements OUT of the labor force. Since the recession began, the number of people who ARE NOT in the labor force has increased by 12.6 million to 91.8 million.
Now Mr. Ed. Please do your self a favor. READ. 🙂
Hi dear Janice. Thank you, my friend from the ether 🙂 And – this is indeed very good news. I need to read up on this post… but first, I’m off to a meeting.
Mario
“… climate,” said Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, the
NRDC’sChina’s internationalprogrampropaganda director. “That is absolutely not inourChina’s national interest.”{Yup, Jimbo, you are correct: China is very interested. Thanks for more great info.!}
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HI, MAC! Thanks!
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@ Brian H. — thank you for more info. re: Mt. Washington on Vancouver Island which does exist, lol.
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@ Allan MacRae (2:48am today) — Hi, O Friend! And I am a friend of True Canada!
re: “I remain perplexed by Obama’s Keystone decision, which appears to be very much against the national interests of the USA. … Am I missing something here?”
Yes. Barack HUSSEIN’s words and deeds prove that he is “very much against the national interests of the USA.” Thus, it is only logical. Disgusting, but not perplexing, unfortunately.
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Thank you, Andrew Harding, for responding! Glad you all had such a lovely holiday. Oh, yes, I remember the one time I flew to Hawaii — it seemed to take for-ever (out of Sea-Tac). The people there are, for the most part, VERY friendly. I, too, love that not-a-single-sound-of-humanity silence. I can get to it by hiking up the lower part of Mt. Baker. Every so often, I stop and just “listen” to the silence. Even though I grew up in the countryside, there is still occasional road traffic, or a small plane, or our wonderful U. S. Navy’s “sound of freedom” – GO, NAVY!. Take care and I hope that your happy memories give you an enduring joy that far outweighs the “back to the ol’ grindstone” feeling. Oh, and btw: Is Rogers, Booksellers, of Newcastle Upon Tyne still in business? C. S. Lewis was always recommending them in his collected letters that I enjoy reading over and over.
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@ Mario Lento: Received. #(:))
Here’s the morning news:
Keystone opponents vow civil disobedience, vigils starting Monday
Published February 01, 2014
FoxNews.com
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/01/keystone-opponents-vow-civil-disobedience-vigils-starting-monday/?intcmp=HPBucket
Unfortunately, there are still two other hurdles to be cleared before KXL is approved: objections from John Holdren, the so-called “science” (recte “witchcraft”) adviser to der Fuehrer, and John Podesta, his chief of staff (of George Soros fame) whose objective is to do away entirely with energy in any form.
Since there is no question that der Fuehrer would only approve the KXL over his own desperate personal objections to it, under pressure from the rest of the world, the influence of these two mollusks cannot be counted out, as to tipping him against approving it. The fact that they would be delivering a gratuitous slap in the face to our best and most valuable ally, Canada, will not deter the two gastropods from nixing it. Reason does not rule here.
DirkH says:
February 1, 2014 at 5:51 am
Steve from Rockwood says:
February 1, 2014 at 5:15 am
“Other than Obamacare and the green energy revolution (i.e. subsidizing solar and wind projects) what has this President really done that is memorable?”
Creating more public debt than all other presidents combined? His term is not over yet; he’s got a good change of making it.
http://politicalderby.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/us-debt-graph-2020.jpg
That was odd – got my blockquotes reversed. Please read the above comment as follows: Dirk’s comment is in plain type, my own in the blockquote. Sheesh. Out of practice.
Ed_B says: @ February 1, 2014 at 6:34 am
“Creating more public debt than all other presidents combined?”
The republicans did that by tanking the economy prior to BO taking over….
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sorry Ed that is a legacy of Clinton. I can not stand the Bushes but Clinton set-up the current economic mess.
CLINTON AND TRADE TREATIES:
Clinton pushed the ratification of WTO, NAFTA, the entry of China into the WTO.
According to Johmn Williams the job loss for 2007 to 2011 is 6.5 million as I showed in the other chart. The reason is because the tariffs for each country were set and could not be increased thanks to World Trade Organization agreements. This means it was no longer a gamble to build a plant overseas because Congress could not INCREASE the tariffs to prevent job loss.
And China’s WTO Violations Threaten [an additional] 1.6 Million … American jobs in the auto industry, according to the Alliance for American Manufacturing…. (Jan 31, 2012)
[b]Clinton KNEW US jobs would be exported and made sure the blame would not fall on him.[/b]
Also of interest, no sooner than Bush entered the White House the Banker Owned News Media started screaming RECESSION!
CLINTON AND FARMING
The WTO Agreement on Ag and the “Freedom to Fail” 1996 Farm bill that bankrupted American farmers and farmers overseas allowing the Ag Cartels to move in and grab power over the world food supply were both written under Clinton by Cargil VP Dan Amstutz (I am hoping he is roasting in Hades.)
As an example NAFTA:
Rothschild cashes in by Investing in Farmland
Credit Suisse: The Hunt for Land Has Already Started
CLINTON AND BANKS
Clinton’s signed the laws that repealed the McFadden Act of 1927, the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 and the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 lead to the Formation of Mega Banks. He is also responsible for the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 that was responsible for marginal mortgage loans doomed to fail and the unregulated CDSs used to insure the banks against foreclosure.
The Federal Reserve Act was signed into law by a Democrat on 1913.
The US public was against the resulting Bank Bailouts but we got them anyway and then got the additional shaft from the Obama’s Mortgage Modification Program. Families on the edge were lured into the modification program, their mortgage payments lowered and then a year or so later the banks tell them the do not “Qualify” and hand them a HUGE bill due in 30 days consisting of all the money shaved off the year’s morgage payments, penalties AND LAWYERS FEES. If you manage to scrape the money together you hit Act II. The bank refuses to hand you a bill. It took us hiring a lawyer and a six months of dancing to get the !&%$ bank to actually name the amount needed to pay to keep us out of foreclosure!!!
The US public was against the resulting Bank Bailouts but we got them anyway. The Fed refused to allow Congress (Ron Paul) to see where the money went When the Fed finally answered the question several year later, it turns out it went to the EU to bailout THEIR BANKS! Wall Street Journal: The Federal Reserve’s Covert Bailout of Europe
Americans then got the additional shaft from the Obama’s Mortgage Modification Program. Families on the edge were lured into the modification program, their mortgage payments lowered and then a year or so later the banks tell them the do not “Qualify” and hand them a HUGE bill due in 30 days consisting of all the money shaved off the year’s morgage payments, penalties AND LAWYERS FEES. If you manage to scrape the money together you hit Act II. The bank refuses to hand you a bill. It took us hiring a lawyer and a six months dance to get the *&^$! bank to actually name the amount needed to pay to keep us out of foreclosure!!!
..
There was no law to back-up Obama’s loan modification plans so the banks could determine whether or not to foreclose and collect not only the house but the taxpayer funded credit default swap insurance and you can bet your boots the more credit default swaps on you mortgage the more the bank WANTED to foreclose. It PAID to make risky loans. Obama’s mortgage modification program was a colossal failure, with hardly any principal modifications occurring. But the banks won big as marginal loans were forced into foreclosures that would otherwise not have occurred.
Obama’s Mortgage Modification Program A Colossal Flop
If you want to bash Republicans than bash Bush for the Patriot Act (that Obama and his Democratic Congress left intact) or Reagan and his Corporate Raiders and Leveraged Buyouts that took the accumulated assets of companies with NO DEBT and transferred the wealth to raiders and banks while wiping out the corporation or leaving it so heavily in debt that salaries had to be cut.
_Jim says: @ February 1, 2014 at 7:20 am
Thanks _Jim for those pointers. I will read them later this week when I am not working. (I work weekends)
“I can not stand the Bushes but Clinton set-up the current economic mess.”
Well, hold your nose and get ready for “Bride of Clinton”, soon in a theater near you.
CD (@CD153) says: @ February 1, 2014 at 7:35 am
Obama is between a rock and a hard place here. The objections to approving the pipeline are fading away with each report that green lights the project (along with other arguments). Yet, he is beholden to the green movement and lobby who mostly and vehemently oppose the project….
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
As kenin says @ February 1, 2014 at 7:22 am “…. I see most are still falling into this trap of left vs right…”
It does not matter whether it is the the ‘Controlled Opposition” aka the Republicans or the Democrats. The guy on the street gets raped then trampled. We have no money therefore we have no power. It is just that simple.
Read: America’s Ruling Class
Also read E. M. Smith’s “Evil Socialism” vs “Evil Capitalism” which explains why big corporations love socialism. (At least their version of socialism) Dwayne Andreas of Archer Daniels Midland Co. is one example. and Maurice Strong’s Molten Metal Technology Inc. is another.
And as I said before Warren Buffet, Obama’s good buddy who controls Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire Hathaway owns GEICO, BNSF, Lubrizol, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Helzberg Diamonds and NetJets, owns half of Heinz and an undisclosed percentage of Mars, Incorporated and has significant minority holdings in American Express, The Coca-Cola Company, Wells Fargo, and IBM. Berkshire Hathaway just bought Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.
Because the US Supreme Court just ruled a Corporation is a ‘Person’ EACH of those entities can donate a $123,200* overall biennial limit: of $48,600 to all candidates and $74,600 to all PACs and parties. That means Buffet can see that up to $985,600 per year or more can be donated to a political party. Thats a nice chunk of change.
As Top Senate Democrat: Dick Durbin’s confessed
Mike says: @ February 1, 2014 at 9:09 am
….P.S. one more visit from that clown John Kerry and I am voting for shutting down the current Keystone pipeline….
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Why don’t you just take Kerry on a tour of a nice DEEP tar pit and leave him there. IMAGE Do the world a favor.
Bill Parsons says: @ February 1, 2014 at 2:43 pm
….. but it was more than just peacetime that yielded three decades (til Carter, say?) of halcyon stability and growth afterwards. I really wonder if we have what it takes to repeat that performance…..
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In a word NO!
At the time, after WWII we had an intact country while Europe, Japan and other countries had been bombed into rubble. We also did not have all the regulations Federal regulations have lowered real GDP growth by 2% per year since 1949 and made America 72% poorer
The time, manpower and money spent on regulations does zero to increase the actual wealth of a nation. it is a net negative to the point where over regulation and a burdensome bureaucracy can literally kill a country. Keystone is of course a glaring example.
That should make people sit up and tale notice but most never see the information.
Here is another study:
Hey, I didn’t say that.
I may have posted a note saying the extended Keystone pipeline was now flowing oil to the Gulf refineries, having been extended from Cushing. (IOW, tar sands oil is now flowing by pipeline through the US.)
The one needing approval is the shortcut well to the north, and perhaps enlargement. (I gather, but could be wrong, that a big part of the State Department’s rational is the “lesser of two evils” of pipeline than rail transport.)
Or are there two Keith Sketchleys? (Possible, it’s not a rare last name, but I’ve not heard of one before.)
Oh! thanks Mac the Knife, yes I did report on the lack of snow on the mid-wet coast, where Mount Washington is.
Bill Parsons says: @ February 1, 2014 at 4:31 pm
…Well, hold your nose and get ready for “Bride of Clinton”, soon in a theater near you.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I am hoping that Benghazi comes back and takes a huge chunk out of her rear end. Some of the more entertaining skuttlebutt was Benghazi was supposed to be a choreographed kidnapping to make Obama look like a hero when he rode in on his horse to save the day but it went wrong because the Marines did not stand down as instructed and the Arabs thought they had been double crossed. link
Hey, Keith Sketchley! Thanks for saying THAT. I wouldn’t have thought there were two in the world… .
Thanks for showing up to let us know. A little mystery (partially) solved.
Gail,
WRT federal regulation… thank goodness they meticulously “study” an issue before they regulate it.
The earth-shattering revelation of this report:
In other words, this 11-volume tome apparently just clears the way for a lot more expensive waffling by the Obama government. If ever approved, we must breathlessly await the regulation and its concomitant costs.
Regards.
I think I am pretty sure that Keystone approval is never going to happen as long as a Democrat is in office. Reason I say this is by looking at the organization of the anti-Keystone groups. For example, a group calling itself “All Risk, No Reward Coalition” made an ad buy in the DC market. Their communications is managed by a group called New Partners. New Partners is run by Robert Gibbs, Obama’s former press secretary and bills itself as being run by heavy hitters for the Democratic Party. So basically, the Democratic Party is running the resistance to the Keystone XL pipeline. There is no way Obama is going to approve it.
Mike says on February 1, 2014 at 9:09 am
“Allan M. let’s not forget reversing the East-West pipeline so we can feed our refineries with Canadian crude.”
_____________
Good point Mike – the following post is from Sept2012 – with new comments included in CAPS.
The enviro-extremists have fought hysterically to prevent the reversal of lines 9A and 9B move Western Canadian Crude from Sarnia to Nanticoke and Montreal. As I recall, these pipelines originally flowed east, and were later reversed to flow west, and are now being reversed again to flow east. There is NO real environmental issue here. To understand the extremists’ views in their own words, see http://www.green-agenda.com/ Obama should pick his friends more carefully.
Regards, Allan
http://www.jeffrubinssmallerworld.com/2012/09/06/why-i-am-canadian-for-the-great-bear/
The logical export point for oil or products is not Kitimat or Vancouver; it is Prince Rupert. Look (Google Map) at the narrow passages that tankers have to negotiate out of either Kitimat or Vancouver. Prince Rupert has a wide open run to the sea – it appears to be much safer. imo.
Regarding the oil price differential: In April 2012, UK Brent crude was approx $120 per barrel, US West Texas Intermediate was about $100, and Edmonton Light was about $80 per barrel. These are similar quality crudes. April 2012 was an unusual month, but it demonstrates the problem of inadequate crude oil transportation and export capacity out of Canada.
Regarding building more refineries in Canada: How are you going to ship your products, since Canada does not have a system of product pipelines? Mixing of various crude streams in pipelines by batching is established, but one cannot batch products in crude pipelines – the cross-contamination is too great. So you would end up shipping products by rail tank car, which is more likely to result in spills due to derailments, etc. Maybe this is an acceptable risk – I don’t know.
WE KNOW NOW – SEE 6JULY2013 LAC MEGANTIC DERAILMENT DISASTER – 47 PEOPLE INCINERATED.
http://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas-overview/transporting-oil-and-natural-gas/pipeline/~/media/Files/Oil-and-Natural-Gas/pipeline/Liquid-Petroleum-Products-map.ashx
Eastern Canadian consumers are now paying high Brent prices for their gasoline, because our Alberta- Saskatchewan crude only goes as far east as Sarnia. This is changing, as two pipelines (9A and 9B) to Nanticoke (Hamilton) and Montreal are now being reversed. If BC continues to block a sensible westbound crude export pipeline route, then perhaps we should extend the eastbound crude line to Quebec City (Valero Ultramar refinery) and Saint John (Irving refinery) and thence to tidewater for export. It is a long shipping distance, but it also gives Eastern Canadian consumers access to our less expensive Canadian crude oil.
http://www.enbridge.com/ECRAI/Line9BReversalProject.aspx
http://www.enbridge.com/ECRAI/Line9ReversalProject.aspx
ADDENDUM: ONCE TO MONTREAL, I UNDERSTAND CRUDE CAN BE SHIPPED BY TANKER TO QUEBEC CITY AND ST JOHN REFINERIES AND ALSO FOR EXPORT.
We could also reverse the Portland (Maine) to Montreal crude pipeline for export purposes, but that route is being effectively blocked by environmental extremists. To understand their views, in their own words, see http://www.green-agenda.com/
Canada is now the 6th largest oil producer in the world and the largest foreign supplier of oil to the USA. Canada has the strongest economy in the developed world, This is due to the Canadian oilsands, now the mainstay of the Canadian economy. To understand how we got here, see http://www.OilsandsExpert.com
“I wonder what Obamas and Kerrys reasons for further delay will be now?”
KXL will revive dinosaurs ….
“””””…..DirkH says:
February 1, 2014 at 1:32 am
If building the pipeline will commence, it will be with the intention of never getting finished to not jeopardize Uncle Warren’s rail profits, but with the intent of filling the Union’s coffers.
In Germany, we currently have two eternal construction sites, one is a concert hall in Hamburg, one is an airport in Berlin. Both are vehicles to funnel off taxpayer money and are not intended to ever be finished. The state simply says, uh, looks like we signed a stupid contract, silly us. Sue us if you dare, we’re the state, see what it gets you…….”””””
Well DirkH, I can recommend that you read the fine print in the principal German construction legislation (easier for you than for me), and see if you can flush out the appropriate “Mexican Clause.”
You see, every time I visit my favorite Mexican fishing town of Loreto, on the Sea of Cortez, I see signs of new construction, indicating economic prosperity for the region. There is also a vast amount of older construction; much older.
Seems like every villa and hotel, or internet bar, Tecate shop, and the like, still shows a lot of bare hollow concrete blocks, and naked steel rebar sticking out of the roofs. Yet inside, these places are palaces, and very cosy .
It seems like the explanation is the Mexican Clause in their construction tax laws. Any newly constructed building, is exempt from taxation while it is still under construction, and that roof iron sticking out from some bare concrete block, is ample evidence, that we ain’t done with the building yet. Besides it’s siesta time, so we would rather drink some Tecate, than raise the flag on the roof.
So look into that Dirk; maybe some Bavarian Beerhall folks, took a trip to Baja, and brought back the magic recipe.
Hi Janice, back home now, not too jet lagged, pleased about that as I will be at work in about 90 minutes! As far as I am aware, Rogers the bookseller is no longer in Newcastle. I would guess they were taken over by a company called Waterstones, who, despite being a large chain are very good at selling books, with knowledgable and enthusiastic staff.
Gail the article you placed the link to in the Telegraph was written by Boris Johnson, our Mayor of London. He talks a lot of sense and many people (including myself) would like to see him as PM, because he is one of the rare politicians who actually when in power, does what he said he would do, before he was elected. The only PM in my lifetime to do that was Margaret Thatcher!
One sees analogies between green energy schemes (scams?) and Sunday’s Superbowl blowout.
Lots of hype leading up to the kickoff, but a really disappointing result.
Superbowl Score: Seattle wins 43 – 8
Wind Power Score: Another blowout – see below.
Gone With the Wind: Weak Returns Cripple German Renewables
Investments in renewable energy were supposed to be a sure thing, with wind park operators promising annual returns of up to 20%. More often than not, however, such pledges have been illusory－and many investors have lost their principal to boot. The latest example is the German renewable firm Prokon, which, despite being backed by €1.4 billion of investments, declared bankruptcy, leaving 75,000 stakeholders out in the cold.
In courts around the country, complaints are mounting from wind park investors who haven’t received a dividend disbursement in years or whose parks went belly up. A study based on 1,150 annual reports found that, on average, investors got an annual return of 2.5%, despite prospectuses promising them returns of 6% to 8%.
Europe’s Green Frankenstein Monster
“We can avoid what could well be a human calamity,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in 2007 after EU leaders decided to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% and to generate 20% of the EU’s energy from renewable sources by 2020. While these policies might have no discernible effect on the climate, they are a calamity for the EU. Like Frankenstein, the EU has created a renewable-energy monster it does not know how to tame.
The European Commission has just published an analysis showing that the US cut its emissions by 12% since 2005, with American firms paying 2.6% less for energy, while the EU cut its emissions by 14% while European industry paid 16.7% more. Currently the energy price differential is 45%. With Europe home to 44% of the world’s renewable capacity, the Commission acknowledges that, because member states over-incentivized investment in renewables, they compounded the challenges posed by weather-dependent electricity generation.
The article ends with a pithy observation: “For the rest of the world, Europe offers a stark lesson. When it comes to unilateral cuts in greenhouse emissions and aggressive incentives for renewables, this is a global race you don’t want to win. As Europe shows, the winner loses—big.”
From http://www.friendsofscience.org
@ Allan M.R. MacRae says:
February 3, 2014 at 2:03 am
You’re right about one thing: our Denver Broncos got their butts kicked yesterday. A blow-out memorable for… actually, it was highly forgettable. However, you mentioned that Europe had a slight edge in carbon reduction (at, of course, a higher cost to taxpayers – I understand your point…) Nevertheless…
Different figures comparing U.S. and European energy prices, and their respective emission reductions, appeared here in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal in an editorial by Robert Bryce. An opinion writer in the journal concludes:
Earlier in the article he notes:
.
Robert Bryce: The Real Climate ‘Deniers’ Are the Greens
While renewables subsidies have punished Europe, shale gas has cut U.S. emissions.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304007504579346774109467020
So, for what it’s worth, chock one up for the home team! But then the race is hardly fair. While U.S.sprints ahead with a new and successful technology, European energy companies must pair themselves with green initiatives in the equivalent of a potato sack race.. or Peyton Manning with one foot on a banana peel.
Regards.
Thank you Bill – good comments.
Robert Bryce wrote a good article. I must however disagree with Bryce on one point:
The reality is simple: The U.S. is the world leader in carbon policy. It has cut carbon-dioxide emissions more effectively than the EU while generating an economic boom from the shale revolution.
I suggest that the CO2 reduction from the shale gas revolution was entirely accidental, a by-product of the shale gas revolution that was strenuously opposed by the Obama administration until ~late 2013.
Low-priced shale gas energy is a game-changer that could drive a major recovery in the US economy, but the numerous phony challenges by alleged “environmental groups” are stalling the recovery and should cease now.
I was involved in the early days of one of the first environmental groups in Canada in the late 1960’s. It is disappointing to see how the “green movement” has become increasingly controlled by ultra-left fringe elements, who use the environmental smokescreen to advance their extremist economic agenda.
Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace wrote an essay in 1994 that describes the situation.
For more evidence, read http://www.green-agenda.com/
Regards, Allan
[excerpt]
The Rise of Eco-Extremism (Patrick Moore, 1994)
Two profound events triggered the split between those advocating a pragmatic or “liberal” approach to ecology and the new “zero-tolerance” attitude of the extremists. The first event, mentioned previously, was the widespread adoption of the environmental agenda by the mainstream of business and government. This left environmentalists with the choice of either being drawn into collaboration with their former “enemies” or of taking ever more extreme positions. Many environmentalists chose the latter route. They rejected the concept of “sustainable development” and took a strong “anti-development” stance.
Surprisingly enough the second event that caused the environmental movement to veer to the left was the fall of the Berlin Wall. Suddenly the international peace movement had a lot less to do. Pro-Soviet groups in the West were discredited. Many of their members moved into the environmental movement bringing with them their eco-Marxism and pro-Sandinista sentiments.
These factors have contributed to a new variant of the environmental movement that is so extreme that many people, including myself, believe its agenda is a greater threat to the global environment than that posed by mainstream society. Some of the features of eco-extremism are:
• It is anti-human. The human species is characterized as a “cancer” on the face of the earth.
The extremists perpetuate the belief that all human activity is negative whereas the rest of nature is good. This results in alienation from nature and subverts the most important lesson of ecology; that we are all part of nature and interdependent with it. This aspect of environmental extremism leads to disdain and disrespect for fellow humans and the belief that it would be “good” if a disease such as AIDS were to wipe out most of the population.
• It is anti-technology and anti-science. Eco-extremists dream of returning to some kind of technologically primitive society. Horse-logging is the only kind of forestry they can fully support. All large machines are seen as inherently destructive and “unnatural’. The Sierra Club’s recent book, “Clearcut: the Tragedy of Industrial Forestry”, is an excellent example of this perspective. “Western industrial society” is rejected in its entirety as is nearly every known forestry system including shelterwood, seed tree and small group selection. The word “Nature” is capitalized every time it is used and we are encouraged to “find our place” in the world through “shamanic journeying” and “swaying with the trees”. Science is invoked only as a means of justifying the adoption of beliefs that have no basis in science to begin with.
• It is anti-organization. Environmental extremists tend to expect the whole world to adopt anarchism as the model for individual behavior. This is expressed in their dislike of national governments, multinational corporations, and large institutions of all kinds. It would seem that this critique applies to all organizations except the environmental movement itself. Corporations are criticized for taking profits made in one country and investing them in other countries, this being proof that they have no “allegiance” to local communities. Where is the international environmental movements allegiance to local communities? How much of the money raised in the name of aboriginal peoples has been distributed to them? How much is dedicated to helping loggers thrown out of work by environmental campaigns? How much to research silvicultural systems that are environmentally and economically superior?
• It is anti-trade. Eco-extremists are not only opposed to “free trade” but to international trade in general. This is based on the belief that each “bioregion” should be self-sufficient in all its material needs. If it’s too cold to grow bananas – – too bad. Certainly anyone who studies ecology comes to realize the importance of natural geographic units such as watersheds, islands, and estuaries. As foolish as it is to ignore ecosystems it is absurd to put fences around them as if they were independent of their neighbours. In its extreme version, bioregionalism is just another form of ultra-nationalism and gives rise to the same excesses of intolerance and xenophobia.
• It is anti-free enterprise. Despite the fact that communism and state socialism has failed, eco-extremists are basically anti-business. They dislike “competition” and are definitely opposed to profits. Anyone engaging in private business, particularly if they are successful, is characterized as greedy and lacking in morality. The extremists do not seem to find it necessary to put forward an alternative system of organization that would prove efficient at meeting the material needs of society. They are content to set themselves up as the critics of international free enterprise while offering nothing but idealistic platitudes in its place.
• It is anti-democratic. This is perhaps the most dangerous aspect of radical environmentalism. The very foundation of our society, liberal representative democracy, is rejected as being too “human-centered”. In the name of “speaking for the trees and other species” we are faced with a movement that would usher in an era of eco-fascism. The “planetary police” would “answer to no one but Mother Earth herself”.
• It is basically anti-civilization. In its essence, eco-extremism rejects virtually everything about modern life. We are told that nothing short of returning to primitive tribal society can save the earth from ecological collapse. No more cities, no more airplanes, no more polyester suits. It is a naive vision of a return to the Garden of Eden.
**************
E&ETV presents an interview on Keystone XL with ClearView Energy’s Kevin Book, on the timing of a KXL pipeline decision:
http://www.eenews.net/tv/videos/1780/transcript
[begin quote]
Kevin Book: Well, if we do follow the words of Executive Order 13337, in 90 days plus 15 days from February 5 takes us to late May, and late May is just before the June 1 existing-unit proposal for NSPS for existing power plants. And that would be really sort of an interesting trade-off, ’cause now you’ve got a very big carbon bucket that’s number-one target probably for most environmental groups and the crown jewel of the Obama administration’s environmental policy, and then it’s just a little pipeline next to that. It might be a nice way to sort of match up the purposes and explain that all of the above is compatible. On the other hand, if they don’t do it at the same time, for some reason, then it’s probably a post-election issue.
[end quote]