Motel musings
I’m staying in Jesup, Ga., for a couple of weeks, while I explore the local area.
In the afternoon I see the school bus drop off children loaded down with heavy backpacks. They run as best they can, chattering excitedly, to the single room where their single-parent mother raises them.
At night, after 9 p.m., prostitutes knock at my door, asking me if I want company. I’d like to talk with them, but realize how strange that would sound. So, I never open the door.
I have opened my heart to the schoolchildren, though, and helped their mother out with school supplies and needed clothes.
I wonder what happens to prostitutes when they get too old? I think perhaps, that bitterness knows.
Ron Warner
Bangor
The gas price game
Like other essentials, gas supply and price are closely manipulated to produce maximum profits. The narrative is high demand and low supply, but nothing could be further from the truth. There’s plenty, at least for now.
Demand is down in the U.S., yet price jumps persist. Any excuse will do. Unbeknownst to most Americans, finished gasoline and raw fuel are currently our No. 1 export. “Drill, baby, drill,” an easy slogan to sell to the anti-environmentalists, is a fool’s errand. The public will be gouged on our own oil, like any other oil.
George W. Bush (and his top aides, all oil executives) managed to double the price,
while telling us the Iraq war would “pay for itself.” Untold billions were raked in
by the U.S. oil cartel. Of course, you and I paid for the capture of Iraqi fields. Now they
can sell its gas back to us at top dollar.
Most countries nationalize at least a part of their oil infrastructure, to prevent this type of scenario. Not us. Set up again and again, Americans continue to fall for the game, even though it’s rigged. Even though it isn’t even real capitalism. That’s supply and demand, remember?
Dennis Lopez
Rockport
Protect workers
It’s time to reset the priorities of this legislative session in Maine.
Instead of focusing on creating good jobs and trying to improve workplace conditions, legislation has targeted injured and unemployed workers in attempts to try to “fix” systems, when in reality it would make these systems much worse. Time and resources are being spent to worsen the quality of life for these workers and that is simply unacceptable given the high unemployment and the compensation system for injured workers that is already against the workers as it exists now.
Unions, the last line of defense for the middle class and working people, also have been targeted in this session with legislation that either tries to weaken existing unions, or make it impossible for certain workers to unionize if they so choose. Organized labor has fought for decades to raise the quality of life in Maine, especially at the work site. Lowering that standard now by weakening or disallowing unions in a time where good jobs are needed is also unacceptable.
The future of Maine’s work force depends on our actions today. I urge you to contact your legislators and tell them that they need to oppose these attacks on working people and instead use the time left in the session to focus on creating and keeping good jobs and putting Maine back to work.
We can make a difference and we have the voice to do so, but it’s up to all of us to use it.
Jonathan French
Augusta
Selective outrage
I read the AP article in the BDN about Rush Limbaugh losing advertisers over his use of the term “slut” in relation to the girl who testified on birth control. In her testimony she said she was having sex over 20 times a month and was not married. That may not excuse Mr. Limbaugh’s use of the word but it does change the perspective. Rush can be chastised for his remarks but the whole story should be presented.
This is about the opportunity to silence a powerful conservative voice, not about outrage or fairness. If that were not the case, all of the vile things said about Andrew Breitbart last week would have been major news pieces. Where was that outrage then?
The story is about intolerance, not just for Rush, but for those of us who pay attention, it shows also the intolerance of the media. The media routinely reports half-truths and slanted news to influence their point. There is outrage over conservative gaffes and silence or explanations over liberal ones. That is why so many folks like me seldom buy your papers or watch your programming anymore. We do not trust you to give us honest reporting.
The AP article was not an honest reporting of the story.
Bob Mercer
Bucksport
Mammogram clarification
In her column of March 3, Renee Ordway stated that Planned Parenthood has always provided mammograms to its clients and funding for these recently was threatened due to action by the Susan Komen Foundation. In reality, Planned Parenthood has never offered mammograms. Mammograms are a type of X-ray and therefore require a radiologist to be on duty to read the film. Planned Parenthood does not employ radiologists and therefore does not offer mammograms.
It has offered manual breast exams, simple exams that can be done by any provider anywhere. They are part of every physical for females and are covered by insurance and Medicaid.
Claiming that PP provides mammograms is simply not true and PP has in the past year stopped stating that they do, but for years it spread this untruth. Whatever your views on abortion, the least the BDN and all other news outlets should do is be clear on what exactly goes on at Planned Parenthood.
Patricia Claus
Orrington
Invest, don’t punish
This legislative session we have seen a number of bills targeting the middle class and families. Right now there are three under consideration that affect workers’ compensation, unemployment and overtime at the former DeCoster egg farm in Turner.
Why is the Legislature spending so much time being punitive when it could be looking for creative ways to invest in Maine people through increased access to education, job training efforts and the like? I for one feel like there is a bully in Augusta who wants to punish. Anyone can do that. We need a leader who is working on behalf of all of us and in fact most of us — the middle class.
Jacquelyn Roach
Oakland
I’m sorry but I think the Ron Warner letter shouldn’t have been published. Is it no longer an honor to have your letter to the editor published?
It is definately bleak. But I have to work down in the South very often, and when I see people complaining about Maine, I think “if you could only see how bad it is in other places you would be glad to be here and deal with the problems we have in Maine”
I guess Mr. Warner is seeing that for the first time.
That’s an interesting take on it. Thanks.
I agree that the BDN has lost its way in deciding what to publish. Two minutes of fact-checking the Mercer letter by the BDN would have told them that Mercer had misrepresented EVERYTHING about Ms. Fluke’s testimony.
This was a fantastic paper when names like Marshall Stone, V. Paul Reynolds and A Mark Woodward were on the masthead.
That’s an excellent point.
I just remember back in the old days (the 70’s) people used to work really hard at drafting a good letter to the editor on a topic that was important to them, and if the letter was published it was considered a badge of honor, with attaboys all around. I can’t for the life of me understand why such a letter as Warner’s would have been considered worthy of publication, or even why Warner would have written it in the first place.
Maybe the BDN just has a “bot” plucking out letters with the word “prostitute” in them.
In middle school one of my teachers had us pick an issue that concerned the community and write a letter about it to the editor (was the St. John Valley Times). The kids who got their letters published got automatic A’s and bragging rights.
I agree with you. Seems like these daily letters are more about satisfying some phony requirement that all opinions, even erroneous, fringe, and illegitimate ones deserve to be amplified. This attitude probably comes from trying to appease the fringe commenters who screech about BDN being biased and a “liberal rag.” Thing is though, you can’t ever satisfy those people unless you’re saying exactly and only what they want to hear.
Ah, Mr. Mercer, the only half-truth is yours. Indeed, your entire description of Ms. Fluke’s testimony is an ugly lie. READ HER TESTIMONY! Not once does she talk about her own sexual activity or her own need for contraception. If you continue being spoon-fed Rush’s outrageous lies you will continue telling your friends nothing but lies. It is sad that you cannot think for yourself.
Thank you for saying the truth. She said nothing about her own sex life, Rush and Fox News spoonfeeds lies to those gullible enough to listen and never question. They are ruining America.
Mr. Mercer, since he doesn’t, by his own admission, read the papers very often, will continue in his gullible ways.
And lest we forget, Limbaugh’s worst comment that he never apologized for was his comment that Fluke should provide us with videos of her sexual exploits. He’s a jerk.
But if it was a lefty commenting on a female GOP party member? I mean, not like I support the GOP or anything, but don’t forget what’s been said about GOP females by your own camp.
Link me to one site where a female GOP party member/spokesperson was called a Sl*t, a prostitute and asked to show videos of her having sex on the internet…. please.
Ed Shultz called laura Ingram a $lut on MSNBC… I wrote a number of other instances but the BDN didn’t like them so They won’t appear.
and he promptly, sincerely and publicly apologized to her
So did Limbaugh. So that should be that. Right?
WRONG,
To say that Limbaugh was sincere is absurd and while it was prompted it was certainly not prompt.I do not believe that you actually heard his ‘apology’ because if you did and you still equate them then you have even more issues than you have already exhibited in your posts.
Of course Shultz was threatened by his PC bosses with permanent retirement if no apology was forthcoming. So maybe he “sincerely” wanted his job?
I do not believe you.
The left only forgives the left.
More nonsense from you, you are giving ‘the right’ a bad name.
So what? Did the victim of the Shultz attack accept the apology which would indicate she felt OK with being called a $lut?
I’m not defending Limbaugh. No real man should speak about a woman in such a manner.
The question was asked if I ever heard a liberal personality use that word against a woman. I have.
And he was suspended for it. Now how many were called sl*t, a prostitute and asked for their sex videos to be posted on the internet?
Ceegen:Chenard tried to explain it to you. You didn’t listen. You actually are not interested in the reason why Ms. Fluke’s treatment by Limbaugh is outrageous and the name calling of public figures like like Pelosi, Malkin, Palin, Maddow is boorish but not outrageous. You simply want to stay ignorant and indignant.
No, I condemn Limbaugh’s actions, as well as people like Bill Mahr.
I have to take off my shoes to count how many times a liberal media personality has made the same comment, if not worse, about Sarah Palin. Not one peep from the left.
I love the feigned outrage from the left, just confirms my perception of them.
Pray, please refer me to a single site where Palin has been called a sl*t, a prostitute, or a woman who has men lined up around the corner to have sex with her by a “liberal media personality.” Just one site is all I ask.
Bloggers in her home state may have said unkind things about her, and an unauthorized biography suggested she may have had an affair or two, but an affair is not the same as being called a hooker.
This false equivalency between Limbaugh and unspecified “liberal media peronalities” doesn’t cut it.
I don’t see you denouncing Limbaugh.
I have denounced people on this site who have called conservatives “Nazis” or “fascists.”
Why does anyone have to defend or denounce what Rush says? He can do it himself. I don’t apologize for what anyone else does, neither should you.
Because he has been the ‘voice’ of the republican party, that is why.
How about Ed Shultz’ attack on Laura Ingraham? (Used the same word)Does that count? how about Eds other angry Rush-like comments;
we should ‘rip out’ Dick Cheney’s heart,
He called Liz Cheney “shooter’s little girl,”
He said Republicans enjoyed “watching people with cancer die,”
Rush is a pig and I do not support any part of him or his show, but to say he’s alone out there is to ignore the obvious…. These “opinion shows” are all the same.
There is a *legal* difference between attacking a public figure (who chooses to become public and about whom lots is known, therefore people can make at least relatively informed decisions about what is/isn’t slander or libel) and attacking private individuals. This is why you see so few public figures (political, artistic, athletic, etc.) filing lawsuits for slander or libel — the standard of proof is much higher.
The left was only telling the truth about Sarah Bara Cootta that is why
Have you watched Sarah Palin on Fox News? I have, for as long as I can stand it. Her idea of “analysis” is an unending stream of platitudes and (mostly false) generalities. I agree that she should not be called dirty names, but she is every bit as dumb as her critics have claimed since a desperate McCain campaign pulled her out of well-deserved obscurity four years ago. She represents the segment of the electorate that dismisses education and intellectual curiosity as the province of “elitists.” Palin might’ve made a good sideline interviewer on ESPN, but I am thankful every day that she is nowhere near the reins of power.
To me Palin is sort-of-like a right wing Chris Matthews in drag? The endless stream of platitudes is not a right wing exclusive. Lou Dobbs, Rachel Maddow, Glen Beck, Al Sharpton…. and on and on. Lots of noise no news.
Lumping all the above together as you have done discredits all that you have written.
Does that mean I’ve finally pi$$ed everyone off? Gawd that was hard work.
Bob Mercer, “the girl” who testified on birth control? Give me a break.
Mr. Mercer, I don’t know where you got your information but it certainly wasn’t from a transcript of her testimony:
http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/statement-Congress-letterhead-2nd%20hearing.pdf
OK Dennis Lopez you successfully blamed President G.W. Bush. Does President Obama have any blame for the doubling of gas prices at the pump since he took office?
of course not! he just passes the buck back to Bush.
I miss voting for that man…
You are a fool because you elected Bush the guy who ruined America by getting us involved in two poorly planned wars, gave away our surplus through two tax cuts mostly for the rich, then mismanaged and tanked our economy. You sir deserve some blame for your two foolish votes for the worst President in the past 70 years, George W. Bush.
Sorry Obama now holds that title
Really? according to what empirical data? or is that just lame GOP idiocy?
Continued rendition
continued torture (although now deniable due to some stinking agreements between our country and vicious dictatorships)
The military are now allowed to arrest US citizens on US soil for the first time ever.
Additionally they are allowed to detain them forever without a trial, lawyer, or appearance before a judge.
The Patriot act wass reauthorized,
The war in Afghanistan has expanded even after Osama was killed.
Osama was killed without any attempt to bring him to trial. Who knows what he would have said?
Now drones can fly over the USA seeking SUSPECTED terrorists to kill.
All these actions taken with the approval of a sitting President… Actually should he still be called a president? or is he now the Czar of spending money and lives on stupid stuff. I know one thing for sure, this sure isn’t my father’s USA.
Obama is Bush on steroids… Can’t see it? You must have a piece of partisanship in your eye.
Bin Laden was given a chance to surrender but resisted. Do you really expect Seal Team members to sit down and negotiate with a known murderer who was armed and resisting? I am sure everyone would have liked to take him alive and put him on trial. It would have been an even better propaganda tool to have him alive.
Taking him alive was never an option, and I don’t know what “resisted means when someone is unarmed, and outnumbered.
He had stuff to tell us… Too bad NO ONE in power ANYWHERE from London to Riyadh, from Washington to Teheran wanted the unwashed masses to know what he knew.
Ditto
Feel free to vote for him on a write in campaign
No. Republican congressman watered down the Dodd-Frank so badly that speculating is still unchecked. Obama increased drilling more than Bush and implemented plans that have reduced our demand and increased gas mileage in motor vehicles, not to mention all the efforts towards alternative energy.
It wouldn’t surprise me that the rich are manipulating oil prices NOW just to hurt Obama’s re-election chances!
President Truman had a sign that used to sit on his desk. It said “The Buck Stops Here”. Doesn’t matter the reason, he wanted the responsibility and he is now responsible.
Who manipulated the the price 4 years ago during the last election?
4 years ago Bush was just learning of the impending doom coming in Sept 2008 and then DID NOTHING to prevent it!
Moving passenger car mileage around is good political theater.
Moving power companies, diesel trucks, and and home heating to natural gas (or better yet Hydrogen) would free up lots of extra crude.
No, oil is sold in a world market. No American president controls that market.
Like E.J. Parsons I have to give you an asterisk for that statement. When a US president contributes to destabilizing governments in countries where crude in located the “world market” gets jittery, and the price increases. Every single president since Gerald Ford has contributed to the increase in oil prices through policy. So Yes, they can’t call up the C.E.O.’s at Shell, Chevron, and Gulf and say “lower the price of oil.” but they CAN choose to trade with countries where trading is currently prohibited, and they can make tax breaks available in return for lower prices.
Jonathan French, the current power group in Augusta are taking their orders directly from MHPC/ALEC/Tea Party who are funded by the Koch brothers. Their focus is to beat down the working people of this country and to tear down the pay structure to a level comparable to third world countries.
You have to wonder why two brothers that were born into insane wealth and have never done an honest day’s work in their lives would want to attack the working men and women of America? I guess that the love of money does strange things to people.
BOB,
Sharing the truth with a liberal is like asking a pig to stay out of the mud, it’s just not worth the time.
JACQUELYN,
It’s getting old listening to you union liberals constantly whining about how hard life is at whatever company it may be. For once why can’t you be thankful that some individual invested their life savings in some sort of venture and provided you and the rest with a job. I have a great thought. How about union workers working only at union owned businesses? For the rest of us we don’t want the likes of union employees around. Oh I forgot, the unions don’t own any companies because they’d go under having to hire union employees.
Amcon, you would not ever recognize the truth, because you gullibly believe all that Limbaugh spoon feeds you.
A poster below provides you with access to a complete transcript of Ms. Fluke’s testimony. Read it. Then read Mr. Mercer’s letters, then write a post explaining how Mercer and Limbaugh have lied to you. Doesn’t it make you angry that your hero takes you for a fool?
Was it a public assistance wage job? No? Okay then why would a union be necessary? If workers feel they are being treated fairly they will see no benefit is paying union dues. However, if the employer is raking in the dough at their expense then unions have a place. Your life savings are yours to spend anyway you want. You cannot use that to justify callous treatment of workers. If they are working for you then you have a responsibility to provide them with a living wage and decent working conditions. If you can’t do that then you shouldn’t be in business because obviously you do not know what you are doing.
AmCon thinks minimum wage is outrageous. I wouldn’t work for a skin flint like him just on principle. Doing anything to put money in his pocket is akin to giving a junkie more heroin. That is not how you help them with the monkey on their back.
Ron Reagan would not have been elected without union households. I’ll tell you what… I have no idea what a “liberal’ is to you, but;
I support gun ownership,
Dislike the welfare system (Time to end it)
Voted for McCain /Palin
Believe the government is too large, and we should downsize.
and I hope for an end to the current administration..(Unfortunately the opposition party is acting like Curly Larry and Moe.
But I’m Union, always have been and damn proud of it.
What is the Republican party’s idea this time? You guys trying to alienate everyone? Are we racing to the bottom? You have already shucked middle-class white women, Anyone who earns under $50,000 a year, Minorities, and those folks who work for the State or Federal Governments. All the Republican Party has left is old white guys (like me) so are you now attempting to dump us too?
Listen to Rick Santorum. He carefully stays away from the union bashing done by Mitt and Newt. That is why he moved up in the polls. He’s the son of a coal miner and knows the value of union membership.
Come to think about it, are you a Democrat plant?
I, personally, believe unions have helped, and in many cases, still do. But, you have to admit, that the unions, like the Teamsters, the UAW, and the Teacher’s Unions have far too much power. They should not be allowed to lobby or endorse politicians, because they very often do not properly represent their members. They should do what they were created to do, and take care of their own.
Here’s a compromise:
I would be happy to have the unions stop endorsing politicians IF Management and owners stop endorsing politician.
Deal?
Mr. Lopez: what you’re missing is that countries that nationalize their oil industry also explore for oil(to support the confiscatory government) anywhere and everywhere, making “drill, baby, drill” seem tame.
Mr. Mercer says, “We do not trust you to give us honest reporting.” after he has repeated total rubbish from, who knows what bigoted conservative site.
I find it hard to believe there are people so naive. Perhaps the letter is a hoax. Nobody is that unaware.
Nobody outside of the hard right core of the Republican Party (about 25 % of America, sad to say) who still believe: the President was born in Kenya; Saddam had WMD when we invaded Iraq in 2003; Saddam was behind 9/11; global warming is a hoax; tax cuts lead to growth in tax revenues; and Rush is being persecuted.
You ever look at Obama’s birth cert? The type font technology used in today’s computers can put letters closer together to save space, which you can see on any web page or while you’re typing a reply, is called “kerning”. No such technology existed in the 1960’s for a typewriter. It’s an obvious forgery. But we can’t impeach a black president, it wouldn’t be politically correct, and it might cause rioting.
Saddam didn’t have WMDs, 1999 IAEA report confirms this, and he sure as hell wasn’t responsable for 9-11. That whole thing was an “inside job”– a conspiracy of some type. Steel-framed reinforced concrete buildings falling straight down through the path of most resistance, because of fire? Black boxes never being recovered? Witnessess/victems mysteriously dying? Yeah I remember my first beer, too.
I’m all for clean air and water, and global warming might not be a hoax, but anthropomorphic climate change is a hoax. Humans are not responsible for polar ice caps melting or freezing. CO2 is the least of your worries. Science has yet to observe eels spawning, what makes you think they’ve unraveled the mysteries of the universe based on such small data samples? We’re no where close to figuring out how the climate works. All the models are based on data sets, that if off by a margin of 0.001, is the difference of catastrophe or balance, because we really DO NOT know how it works. This isn’t a “settled science” matter, very far from it.
Tax cuts do improve revenue, depending on the product or service being taxed. You bring down the tax on cigarettes to lower levels, and I bet you everyone will be smoking again! The more people buying lower tax items, the more tax overall is generated. It just depends on the situation, really. But taxing personal income, is illegal and stupid. Why we’ve come to taxing personal income, is beyond me. We should have stopped taxing income back in the dark ages, it’s how the corrupt church system kept the common man dumb, poor, and dependant on the system… Much like what socialism is doing to us today.
No one cares if Rush is being persecuted or not, really. It’s all hype, and people finding reasons to bicker just to bicker. Who cares if the girl he called a slut really is a slut or just plays one on TV? Not me.
I noticed that the link provided by jacnlyn is to “ABC news,” concerning Ms. Fluke’s statements(she was not testifying before a Congressional hearing, but a mock gathering of elitist D’s), thus, we really should question the veracity of this reporting.
This is the text of her statement on her organization’s letterhead! Did you bother to actually go to the link?
Did you read the statement or did you decide it wasn’t worth your time or attention because it was an ABC news link? It was not “reporting” but the text of her statement.
There are none so blind as those who refuse to see.
They are not blind. They are just so brainwashed, they refuse to believe anything not poured into their brains by Fox “news”, Limbaugh and the rest of the crazy right wing misinformation machine.
4life: ABC printed a verbatim copy of Ms Fluke’s speech. Verbatim means word for word exactly as stated. ABC was not printing their version of her speech. Why would you doubt a verbatim account?
Mr. Mercer, you, sir, are either gullible or a liar. Not once in her statement to Congress did Fluke say anything about her sex life. I think it’s reprehensible that in light of that truth you would claim she said she has sex at least 20 times per month. I also question why the opinion editors would go ahead and print a letter that contains such a flat-out falsehood.
But she did sir. Through the admittance of the costs involved coupled with today’s prices for contraceptives AVAILABLE TO ALL at most any convenience store. Perhaps SHE should have chosen her words more carefully. She was nothing more than than what she personally admitted to, and she deserved to be treated like one. ( That would be a shill, not what you were originally thinking I was referring to.)
How exactly do you compute the frequency of sex from cost of contraceptives? The pill is taken once per day whether you have sex or not. And how do over the counter contraceptives treat ovarian cysts? Her testimony was about how birth control pills are used to treat feminine disorders like ovarian cysts; BTW these pills are also used for treatment of endometriosis and dysmenorrhea among many other conditions.
All to me to raise my brow in response to such baloney. Actually, it’s not even baloney. It’s downright ridiculous. Nothing of what you say makes one iota of sense. It’s a mystery to me why two people even clicked on “like” for such an absurd example of double-speak.
Whatever it is you’re trying to say, cite specific sentences from Fluke and explain (if you can; god luck) how her words mean something else.
I’ll save you the trouble: At no time did Fluke ever refer to her sex life. At no time did she ever say how often she has sex.
With contraception you get what you pay for. Over-the-counter devices have far higher failure rates than the methods that involve doctors’ prescriptions, etc. One would think that in the interest of preventing far-more-expensive unplanned pregnancies, one would want to see that women got the most reliable contraception available.
For the uninformed posters, the amount of contraceptive used is not dependant upon the amount of times a person has sex.
If you use a condom then the number of times you have sex determines the amount of money required for said protection but condoms are not covered under health insurnace nor is a prescription required for them.
If you use oral contraception or the three month shot, the cost of contraception is the same whether you have no sex or sex multiple times a day. You either take a pill every day regardless of sexual activity or you take the shot. Plus a prescription is required and thus it should be covered under a healthcare plan.
As for Sandra Fluke’s testimony, she was not talking about taking contraceptives for sexual activity but to treat a disease that ultimately took the ovary of a friend. Condoms are not the cure for any disease.
This is not about the cost of birth control available at most any convenience store ….. one does not need a prescription to buy condoms. This is 100% about physician prescribed contraceptives. Condoms are also not suggested for treating abnormal menstrual cycles, polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, heavy bleeding or other female reproductive issues.
Oral birth control pills are taken generally for 21 consecutive days with 7 days of inert pills or 7 days with no pills to be effective. They are not taken only on days when one is having sex. Please educate yourself on the use of oral contraceptives.
His ignorance of how contraceptives are used remind me of a comment I once heard regarding self-adhesive feminine napkins, when they were new: Doesn’t it hurt when you take them off?
Rebecca your post is so filled with misinformation it’s hard to know where to begin. Let’s just address what you call “shillIng” and leave the rest of your nonsense for someone else to refute.
Here’s what is funny about calling Ms Fluke a shill. You are apparently unaware that Republicans do exactly the same thing , expressing concern about an issue to a committee, but when Republicans do it you call it participatory democracy. You are essentially saying Democrats do not have the right to come before Congress and express their views about an issue.
This is a very anti-American thing to claim. Everybody has a right to speak before the government and seek redress. It’s in the First Amendment. You do believe in the Constitution, don’t you?
Dennis Lopez – Over the last 8 years, oil production in the US has risen. Because of the hoops that have to be jumped through before a drill bit can hit the dirt, this rise can be credited to the latter years of the Clinton administration and the continued efforts of the Bush administration. But that rise peaked last year and is starting a downward slide. And that is because Obama came into office and immediatly closed off the west and east coast sites, and slowed down any new production by adding increased regulations and paperwork.
Here are some more facts to chew on:
– Since Obama took office, the price of gasoline has doubled, and is expected to reach 5 bucks by the end of the summer.
– Permits for new drilling have slowed to a crawl.
– Nearly a third of our Gulf of Mexico rigs have moved out of the Gulf or are drilling for other countries.
– Obama pledged 2 billion to Brazil to boost their oil production and promised them that we would become their biggest customer.
– No drilling in the ANWAR, of the East or West coast, in the shale fields of North and South Dakota, and no Keystone pipeline.
What is all boils down to is that Obama is anti-oil, anti-business, and anti-capitalism. And, when you add all of that up, he’s anti-American. Can’t wait until November.
I’m glad to see you excited about President Obama’s re-election, White Queen. It will be an interesting time seeing the Right reach peak frothing level.
Not once did I call President Bush anti-American, despite my opposition to him. However, I wasn’t dealing with hydrophobia as would seem to be the case with you.
How much oil is worth is based largely on psychological forces, not on a president’s policies. But since you like to blame Obama for the price of oil, see http://www.factcheck.org/2011/03/is-obama-to-blame-for-4-gasoline/
Whoa I love that list. You go Obama! Maybe I will vote for him after all. Thanks for letting me know. Oh and add to that the fact that he wants to end subsidies…. yup, he’s got my vote on that alone.
I’m for ending subsidies, too. But I’m for ending ALL subsidies. Oil subsidies are only 13% or the total subsidies, and they get the most bang for the buck. Most of the rest are a waste of our taxdollars. So, all or nothing, not just oil.
Totally agree. I want an end to corporate welfare.
So you guys are for “ending subsidies?” Subsidies are tax breaks of equipment used to find and exploit resources. tax breaks for hiring US citizens, tax write-offs for paying other US taxes (on property etc)
These are tax breaks every large or small business receives. ExxdonMobil has 150,000 retirees and survivors who get retirement checks from that company. one of the “subsidies” is that the company can write off that expense… They also pay health care (through Aetna) for their employees, and retirees, and their minor children. They get a tax write-off for that too. Do people think these services benefit the Country enough so they deserve these tax breaks?
Please people take action because that is what free people do, but don’t get knee-jerk reactions because some no-nothing is fanning the flames.
Also, know this, both the State of Maine, and the US government make more profit on each gallon of gas and Diesel than do the oil companies.
The money the US and the states get go into infrastructure maintenance and building new infrastructure. The profits of the oil companies go to mainly a few very rich people.
You are incorrect and a victim of that knee-jerk reaction I wrote of above. In truth most of Exxonmobil is owned by teacher’s pension funds, and other retirement and savings vehicles. The dividend returns are not large enough for a rich guy’s portfolio. The reason its stock is a good bet for pensions is that it is a safe secure piece of a well-run company. If ExxonMobil ran as a non-profit, gas would be exactly 6.5 cents cheaper.
….and gas tax is not all used for “…infrastructure maintenance and building new infrastructure.” here in Maine it is used for recreation and as partial funding for the State Police. In New York it is used to subsidize mass transit fares so city folk can get to work cheaper. In Montana it is used to attract tourists to the State, and in Californis (get this) it is used to by advertisements telling people to drive less.
I don’t really care about subsidies, one way or the other. What bothers me is that oil only makes up 13% of the total energy subsidies, and it’s about the only subsidy that works. Solar and wind are complete wastes of our tax dollars, but they keep shoveling that money into a bottomless pit.
All or none, I say. And I lean on the side of none.
You are wrong EJ. Subsidies for education, health and transportation give bigger bangs than oil subsidies.
Only talking about energy subsidies, of which, oil is only 13%.
Once again EJ you are lying. Under Obama drilling is up and so are the GOP daily dose of lies.
And yet, we still pay half what the rest of the world pays for gas. When adjusted for inflation, gas is about where it should be. It is the total failure of the wages to keep pace with inflation in the last 30 years that is taking this country down. Unless, of course, you are in the top 1%, then $4 a gallon gas or heating oil is no big deal.
Google gas prices by country and you’ll find out you’re wrong.
I Googled gas prices by country and the US is below the average for the world. The US is the 101st country with a 0.77 mean average for gas prices. (1 being average)
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_gas_pri-energy-gasoline-prices
Google it for us EJ! Prove you’re right for once.
From CNN/Money
NetherlandsAmsterdam$6.48
NorwayOslo$6.27
ItalyMilan$5.96
DenmarkCopenhagen$5.93
BelgiumBrussels$5.91
SwedenStockholm$5.80
UnitedKingdomLondon$5.79
GermanyFrankfurt$5.57
FranceParis$5.54
PortugalLisbon$5.35
HungaryBudapest$4.94
Luxembourg$4.82
CroatiaZagreb$4.81
IrelandDublin$4.78
SwitzerlandGeneva$4.74
SpainMadrid$4.55
JapanTokyo$4.24
CzechRepublicPrague$4.19
RomaniaBucharest$4.09
Andorra$4.08
United States$3.78
EstoniaTallinn$3.62
BulgariaSofia$3.52
BrazilBrasilia$3.12
CubaHavana$3.03
TaiwanTaipei$2.84
LebanonBeirut$2.63
SouthAfricaJohannesburg$2.62
NicaraguaManagua$2.61
PanamaPanama City$2.19
RussiaMoscow$2.10
Puerto RicoSan Juan$1.74
Saudi ArabiaRiyadh$0.91
KuwaitKuwaitCity$0.78
EgyptCairo$0.65
NigeriaLagos$0.38
VenezuelaCaracas$0.12
So do you still stand by your claim?
I was contesting the, “we still pay half what the rest of the world pays for gas” statement. It’s just not true. No one is paying $7.56 a gallon.
Well yes, but you do see that we pay less than many other countries.
I notice you neglect to mention Israel???
Why do you feel compelled to lie so often? and you hold yourself out to be a moral person??????
get your spam check from the RNC yet EJ. how much do you get for posting your bull?
More lies. Drilling is up multiple times over since Bush left office and the price of gas has absolutely NOT doubled. Stop lying.
You know absolutly nothing about the oil industry. It takes from 4 to 8 years to get the paperwork and permits approved before a well can be drilled. Who was in office 4 to 8 years ago. Not Obama.
Obama has removed 90% of off shore drilling sites since coming into office. He has put over 70% of land locations off limits. The only reason production is up is because of Clinton and Bush. But Obama will use the stats to promote the lie that he’s for oil. And people like you will believe him without taking the time to check any facts.
EJP, that’s enough. All your comments are essentially entire strings of lies. Drilling IS up. And the price is absolutely NOT double. That is a lie. It’s a blatant lie. Just stop already.
First of all, I never said that drilling wasn’t up. I simply explained that it wasn’t because of anything Obama did. And the price of a gallon of gasoline has doubled since Obama took office. Even the liberal news backs that one up.
Liar.
Again, you are right with an asterisk. During George Bush’s second term the price fluctuated wildly. At one point folks in California were paying over $5 a gallon, and here in New England it was over $4.50. It happened to be at a low ebb at the time George left office, but that was because the economy had slowed both here and in China, and the price followed that economic decline.
There will never be stability in the crude market as long as there is instability in the area where the crude is extracted. Because we watch out for the interests of everyone else before US citizens we will be continually buffeted by the ups and downs of China, Brazil, Indonesia and the middle east.
What the President (and congress) COULD do is give trucking companies, and power plants ….and even homeowners economic incentives to switch over to natural gas (cheaper, cleaner, and abundant domestically)
You are prevaricating E.J. If you DO know the industry you also know that most wells being used today got permits from the 1970’s through 1992. When the price or demand goes down, the wells are capped. when the price and demand return to profitability the caps come off… for this only an extraction permit is needed, and those are issued (usually) from the municipality where the well is located. If the wells are located more than 12 miles off shore no permit to reopen is required.
Thanks for backing me up. Obama can claim no credit for the increase in oil production, yet, his blind followers seem to believe he’s the reason. Even Obama has never claimed responsibility, only that oil production is up. People need to listen to what he doesn’t say as well as what he does say.
Dennis Lopez, where did you come up with that garbage?
Dennis it is funny how you throw Bush into the article, He is no loonger the president and has not been for 3 years, How could you have forgotten to mention Obama when talking about the high gas prices?????? The prices are much higher than they were with Bush Please explain this
Wrong! We still haven’t reached the highs under Bush….over $4 per gallon.
everything is up since Bush left office except morale. Why cant you people simply accept the fact that your community organizer simply does not have a clue how to do his job. Look at the deficit and the real numbers and start taking responsibility for where the country is and stop blaming Bush it is getting a little old.
Only a fool will ignore what Bush did to us and you fit the bill…two unpaid for poorly planned wars, unpaid for prescription D drug plan, two tax cuts mostly for the rich, one which he called a Jobs Bill, Bush turned a SURPLUS into a deficit hemorrhage, he tanked our economy necessitating bailouts and stimulus plan, we were losing 700,000 jobs of month when he left office. Under Obama we now have two years of steady job growth, we are making much better progress than after the Depression which took us 15 years to recover from. Things are starting to improve, but GOP fools will continue to slam Obama for what Bush caused.
From overtaxedagain ……………. crickets LOL
what’s really up since Obama took office is the lies per day from the GOP lackies and their lame rhetoric.
I am willing to wager two weeks pay that President Obama will take ZERO responsibility for the increase in gas prices. He will then blame everyone and everything aside from himself and his administration.
Excuse me, don’t you read the explanations of how oil prices get to be what they are? It all happens on Wall Street. And, of course we consumers with our gas guzzlers and single car occupancy have something to do with it, too. This has nothing to do with Obama. This is a “free market” issue. Pretty well explained here: http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2012/02/21/gasbag-why-no-president-can-bring-us-2-gasoline/
A “free market” with communist competitors, and Obama DOES have something to do with it… Just not as much as some people believe.
I find it funny that most folks who complain about high gas prices fail to place the bulk of the blame where it belongs.
Richard Nixon deregulated oil and allowed speculators into the price mix.
Jimmy Carter failed to Stand up to Iran when we still had a chance to stop them from politicizing their oil and their geographic position on the planet.
Ronald Reagan capitulated to Israel, and placed us on record as being anti Arab
George Bush brought fighting forces into the middle East to defend Kuwait and keep the king there on his throne (in his bathrooms with the golden faucets.) Kuwaiti citizens (of fighting age) fled the country and spent their nights in Egyptian nightclubs.
Clinton continued Bush policy of Iraq fly-overs preventing Saddam Husein’s oil from reaching the marketplace This policy was good for Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, not so much fro US citizens. He also presided over a US cash-flow to China while his Arkansas friends the Walton’s got righ. This money China used to compeat with us in the oil market.
George W. Bush started a war to free Iraqis which he promised to pay from Iraq Oil revenue. The new Iraqi government disagreed and gave us no benefit for our years of fighting, our dead service people or our expenditure of funds.
Obama is just more of the same.
Why should he take responsibility for something he didn’t cause and can’t fix all by himself.
EJ you really need to stop using your own facts or are they from Fox News.
Fuel prices have doubled no question and what has Obama done to cause this, nothing, it is a world wide price so nothing he does effects the price.
In 2010 4900 permits were issued for drilling according to the Bureau of Land Management and there were 7200 unused permits as of Mar. of 2011, how many more should they issue if there are that many unused. The deepwater permits were 6 less in the year Feb. 2011 to Feb.2012
for a total of 61. There are many others in the pipeline but call the administration crazy but they for some reason think it should be done safely rather than follow the BP way. I am sure the gulf coast states want no more of oil balls rolling up on their beaches. If I am wrong let me know which states say that is OK.
You really should look up the Brazil deal, I wrote you all about that and I can see you rather spread lies then use facts.
The ANWAR deal has been going on since 1977 and now it is Obama’s fault that there is no drilling, think about it. North Dakota produced 80 million barrels in 2009 I wonder if it is just gushing out of the ground, or what?
Keystone was stopped by the Republicans as they wanted a decision made before the safety issues were resolved.
I am glad you are looking forward to Nov. and Obama’s victory.
Bravo Jonathan and Jacquelyn. Did you overhear me telling someone I was going to wear black until politicians stop beating up on the American worker? No, probably not but it is so good to know that others have had enough. My period of mourning has now entered year two.
decoster is an agricultural facility. i used to work there. the rules have always been no overtime in agriculture so setting such up at decoster is singling them out across the nation
Should Limbaugh be silenced? No because, after all, one of the basic tenets of our country is freedom of speech. That said, Limbaugh is certainly contributing to the “us vs. them” attitude that is rampent in this country, both in politics and in the citizenry. And he’s not alone, there are plenty of conservative and liberal “commentators” who say some pretty outrageous things all in pursuit of the almighty dollar. And the people who listen to them and boost their revenue are equally responsible.
@Bob Mercer: here is a text of Ms. Fluke’s statement (on her organization’s letterhead) provided by ABC news. You’ll note that there’s nothing there about her own sexual activity.
http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/statement-Congress-letterhead-2nd%20hearing.pdf
If he takes the opportunity to actually read the transcript do you think he’ll compose another letter to the editor to correct his untruths?
Yeah, right. I think we could grow old waiting for that correction.
Ron Warner
Actually some prostitutes do like to talk, and really, who cares what others think.
Back in the early 80’s I lived briefly in Dick Stacy’s motel in Brewer. There was woman who used to knock on my door about 9PM, and bring me a coffee, and talk. after getting to know her, I was somewhat shocked by her revelation that she “hooked” for a living. She also had two children who lived with her, she explained it was a heavy expense to have to rent an extra room over at the old Twin City, but she didn’t want her children growing up like her. She grew up in Auburn with her mother doing the same thing, only in the same room where she was sleeping.
Sometimes life is real tough.
Dennis Lopez
Some of your letter contains falsehoods, some is over generalized, and some is a simple slight-of-hand trick. Currently Canada has an excess of tar-sands crude, and a dearth of refineries which can process it. They ship it to the US refineries in Texas, Louisiana, and South Dakota, then ship it out to Brazil and China. It is a US export, but it is not our product. The way “crude” is bought and sold is a Byzantine process which could confuse anyone not closely linked to the business.
Speculators are currently bidding up the price of crude due to the threat of Iran going off-line (for any number of reasons.) The price of crude is totally unrelated (at this time) to the concept of supply and demand.
Jonathan FrenchYou’re gonna get crap for that letter, BUT not from me. The State of Maine is currently more “anti worker” than it is “anti business.
Bob MercerI see NOTHING in my reading of the testimony which tells about Ms Fluke’s sexual habits. BUT Frankly it is NO one’s business but hers. Also, no real man would defend Rush on this issue. They call a woman who has a lot of sex a slut…. so what do they call a man with the same habits? This ain’t your grandfather’s puritan Nation.
The incredibly stupid censors at the BDN block the word $lut when it appears on line, but allow it in their letter section.
Dennis Lopez,
Great points, but don’t just limit this to “G W B The Lesser”– keep going with it! Tell us all about Obama’s pointless wars for profit and stuff! Don’t be duped into thinking that America still has a “two-party” system, it’s just one party really.
Patricia Claus
My sister worked for Planned Parenthood in Hawthorne New York. They had a radiologist on staff and a Mammogram machine most of the “film” was read by a non-radiologist technician. In Littleton New Hampshire, P.P. gave “vouchers” to women for “free mammograms at other facilities. Both Littleton Hospital, and Mary Hitchcock (at Dartmouth) honored these vouchers.
Bob Mercer: Yup…right from the old right wing psycho playbook…First there isn’t a lick from her sex life at all in the testimony…Nice repeat of a Faux “News” lie though.
Yeah…we wouldn’t want to just step up and tell Rush Windbag that he was disgusting and crude in attacking a person for three days to the point of demanding that he be able to view tapes of her having sex, no no no…instead we’ll just cry about, “Well the other side has said bad things too!”
Any women in your life? Probably not. If so, I would advise them to run for their lives.
Hey, BDN. When you gonna’ start enforcing your own rules?1. Keep it civil and stay on topic2. No vulgarity, racial slurs, name-calling or personal attacks.
3. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked.