Let's Go, Brandon!

[merh]

Jan 21, 2022 13:46:37 GMT abbey1227 said:

Jan 20, 2022 20:53:46 GMT merh said:

Snickers from now vs 1980s (apparently someone found the 80s one in a time capsule)

 Yes I do use gas
However, not as much now I'm retired.

But I also figure we screwed the native Americans enough. Let them have their land.


So our parents fed us unhealthy food because that's what they grew up on & to stretch their wages. But sure.
Everyone deserves to die.

I drive 3.8 miles to work, just 4 days a week. And I rarely go anywhere on my days off. So I'd guess I'm using less fuel than most......it's part of the reason I sold my Prius to a friend's wife. She put 5 years worth of my driving on the odometer in under a year. So in effect I helped her save close to $3,000 last year.

Coulda always been worse. They could have been eliminated entirely. Could have also been better.......instead of suffering on many impoverished reservations even today, they could have been better welcomed into modern society and assimilated better into America. At this point, I see it as their choice........not anyone else's fault now.

Wha? Your parent's gave you unhealthy food? You weren't made aware of junk food being kinda bad for you? I seem to recall even school lunch back in the day was pretty good eats.......with a dinner roll, an entree and at least one vegetable every meal. And we weren't obese coming out of high school in the 80s.

No, everyone WILL die. How they die is very often thru choices they made over the years.    Americans aren't grossly overweight because they've been acting rational and responsible.

Your travel in 2021
7% around the world
Total travel
1,626 mi

Granted there were times my location was turned off, but still ...

I was taught they are sovereign nations so yeah. No mucking with their land just for your gas.


Oh, dude.
So much isn't exactly junk food, but hot dogs?
Pasta is carb city.
Gravies. 
Bread (more carbs)

My mom didn't fry stuff (shake & bake).
But there are people who deep fry everything.

[merh]

Jan 21, 2022 13:50:25 GMT abbey1227 said:

Jan 20, 2022 21:04:44 GMT merh said:

Wonder why?

WHY do you think?

There's really no reason for any of those 3 things.

They should be more educated than any generation before with all of this access to info on the internet.

More depressed? About what exactly? There's no worry of a Draft and life overall has gotten nothing but easier for most Americans.

Values? Who skipped that part on them? Their parents? Their own choice? While I'm not a big fan of religion........ I do think if that's removed from most people.......then what do they replace it with? Where do they find moral guidance anymore? No wonder they're all so easily offended and such delicate snowflakes.

NYPost.
Isn't that like a tabloid?

nypost.com/2021/08/21/gen-z-students-are-less-educated-more-depressed-and-lack-values/

Gen Z is made of zombies — less educated, more depressed, without values
By Todd Farley
August 21, 2021 8:27am Updated
High-school students spend more time connected to digital devices and less time with their families, leading to a hollowing out of the current generation, teacher Jeremy Adams writes.

Each new school year, Jeremy Adams, a teacher in Bakersfield, Calif., gives the same lesson. When he shows pictures of celebrities like Kendall Jenner or Miley Cyrus to his students on a screen, they immediately recognize them. But faced with photos of policymakers like Mike Pence or Nancy Pelosi, the children stare blankly.

That ignorance is no joke to Adams, he writes in his new book, “Hollowed Out: A Warning About America’s Next Generation” (Regnery Publishing), out now.

“We need to brace ourselves for what lies ahead. I write this book as an alarm bell … a project born out of worry, concern and frustration.”


A National Teacher of the Year nominee, Adams frets that today’s youngsters are “barren of the behavior, values and hopes from which human beings have traditionally found higher meaning … or even simple contentment.” Adams calls them “hollowed out,” a generation living solitary lives, hyperconnected to technology but unattached from their families, churches or communities. He cites statistics showing teen depression rose 63 percent from 2007 to 2017 while teen suicide grew 56 percent. Tragically, he writes, suicide has become the second leading cause of death for the young.

While teachers once helped students become their “best selves” by putting the focus on curriculums, lesson plans and test scores, he writes, that’s given way to trying to “understand” young people through programs emphasizing suicide and depression awareness, human trafficking concerns, or bullying, gangs and shootings.

Adams blames the dissolution of the American family for this shift, with marriage rates down and the number of traditional two-parent homes plummeting. Although studies have shown that regular family dinners leads to less youth “smoking, binge drinking, marijuana use, violence, school problems, eating disorders and sexual activity,” most of Adams’ students say they eat dinner alone each night, focused not on family but the device in their hand.

"The neglect of family life is one of the greatest causes of the hollowing out not only of students, but of American life,” Adams writes.

Adams writes that kids easily recognize celebrities, but have little familiarity with our country's leaders — and most couldn't pass a citizenship test.

He also bemoans the evaporation of religious life. While only 2 percent of Americans identified themselves as “atheists” in 1984, that number was 22 percent by 2020. A college religion professor notes that when he discusses Matthew from the Bible, many students think he’s talking about Matthew Perry of “Friends.” And Luke? His students assume it’s the guy from “Beverly Hills, 90210.”


Religion has been replaced by “a mass culture of ‘banality, conformity, and self-indulgence,’ ” Adams writes, not to mention an obsession with technology. He notes that in the 1970s, more than 50 percent of high schoolers hung out with friends “every day,” but by 2020, that number had dropped below 33 percent. Modern high schoolers regularly forgo traditional activities like Friday night football games to hunker down alone, “watching Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+.” That helps explain why in 2012, 49 percent of teens ranked “in person” as their favorite way to talk, but in 2018, only 32 percent did.

[abbey1227]

Jan 22, 2022 2:05:33 GMT merh said:

Your travel in 2021
7% around the world
Total travel
1,626 mi

Granted there were times my location was turned off, but still ...

I was taught they are sovereign nations so yeah. No mucking with their land just for your gas.


Oh, dude.
So much isn't exactly junk food, but hot dogs?
Pasta is carb city.
Gravies. 
Bread (more carbs)

My mom didn't fry stuff (shake & bake).
But there are people who deep fry everything.

So you're gonna put on about 20,000 miles this year? I've been averaging 5,000 a year recently. 

They're sovereign when they wanna be......and very dependent when they wanna be. So the whole discussion makes me chuckle.

What's wrong with hot dogs, you Philistine?    Oscar Myer makes a wonderful blend of lips and arseholes to slice up and add to my Mac & Cheese.

There absolutely are. Another reason I prefer the freedom for everyone to choose for themselves.........while not wanting to be responsible for their bad choices. It's a wobbly fence to sit on in this country.

Have you gotten around to getting yourself an air fryer? Those things do a great job of cooking up things......even some bad foods ........with less oil and better results.

[abbey1227]

Jan 22, 2022 2:15:48 GMT merh said:

Jan 21, 2022 13:50:25 GMT abbey1227 said:

Values? Who skipped that part on them? Their parents? Their own choice? While I'm not a big fan of religion........ I do think if that's removed from most people.......then what do they replace it with? Where do they find moral guidance anymore? No wonder they're all so easily offended and such delicate snowflakes.

NYPost.
Isn't that like a tabloid?

nypost.com/2021/08/21/gen-z-students-are-less-educated-more-depressed-and-lack-values/

Gen Z is made of zombies — less educated, more depressed, without values

Adams blames the dissolution of the American family for this shift, with marriage rates down and the number of traditional two-parent homes plummeting. Although studies have shown that regular family dinners leads to less youth “smoking, binge drinking, marijuana use, violence, school problems, eating disorders and sexual activity,” most of Adams’ students say they eat dinner alone each night, focused not on family but the device in their hand.

"The neglect of family life is one of the greatest causes of the hollowing out not only of students, but of American life,” Adams writes.

Adams writes that kids easily recognize celebrities, but have little familiarity with our country's leaders — and most couldn't pass a citizenship test.

He also bemoans the evaporation of religious life. While only 2 percent of Americans identified themselves as “atheists” in 1984, that number was 22 percent by 2020. A college religion professor notes that when he discusses Matthew from the Bible, many students think he’s talking about Matthew Perry of “Friends.” And Luke? His students assume it’s the guy from “Beverly Hills, 90210.”

Religion has been replaced by “a mass culture of ‘banality, conformity, and self-indulgence,’ ” Adams writes, not to mention an obsession with technology. He notes that in the 1970s, more than 50 percent of high schoolers hung out with friends “every day,” but by 2020, that number had dropped below 33 percent. Modern high schoolers regularly forgo traditional activities like Friday night football games to hunker down alone, “watching Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+.” That helps explain why in 2012, 49 percent of teens ranked “in person” as their favorite way to talk, but in 2018, only 32 percent did.

Who calls them a tabloid? The exalted NYTimes haven of outright commies?

I left my last part because you never addressed that subject yourself. Where are they getting anything anymore?

As much as I bemoan organized religion......... I am starting to think that Khrushchev and others were right about how America would sorta destroy itself.

And I observe all of this as an anti-social person myself. You think I don't see what they're doing to themselves? 

[merh]

Jan 22, 2022 2:48:10 GMT abbey1227 said:

Jan 22, 2022 2:15:48 GMT merh said:

NYPost.
Isn't that like a tabloid?

nypost.com/2021/08/21/gen-z-students-are-less-educated-more-depressed-and-lack-values/

Who calls them a tabloid? The exalted NYTimes haven of outright commies?

I left my last part because you never addressed that subject yourself. Where are they getting anything anymore?

As much as I bemoan organized religion......... I am starting to think that Khrushchev and others were right about how America would sorta destroy itself.

And I observe all of this as an anti-social person myself. You think I don't see what they're doing to themselves? 

Ever see what the cover looks like?

The New York Post (NY Post) is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The Post also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.

Wikipedia also calls them a tabloid.

As such, I'm sure they're exaggerating the attitudes. 

What I have seen is more of a "fuck it, the past generations screwed us" attitude. Really, is it worse than the whole "Don't trust anyone over 30" bit from the 60s?

The tabloid's depiction feeds into the "they think they're too good to make my burgers for $15/hr!" argument.

They aren't going to make it to their parents' level according to some reports. Can't afford a house, kids, etc. Climate change has also screwed their prospects. 

So one can argue their values are more aligned with yours. What’s in it for them? Nothing? Fuck off & die.

[abbey1227]

Jan 23, 2022 10:44:04 GMT merh said:

Jan 22, 2022 2:48:10 GMT abbey1227 said:

Who calls them a tabloid? The exalted NYTimes haven of outright commies?

I left my last part because you never addressed that subject yourself. Where are they getting anything anymore?

As much as I bemoan organized religion......... I am starting to think that Khrushchev and others were right about how America would sorta destroy itself.

And I observe all of this as an anti-social person myself. You think I don't see what they're doing to themselves? 

Ever see what the cover looks like?

The New York Post (NY Post) is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The Post also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.

Wikipedia also calls them a tabloid.

As such, I'm sure they're exaggerating the attitudes. 

What I have seen is more of a "fuck it, the past generations screwed us" attitude. Really, is it worse than the whole "Don't trust anyone over 30" bit from the 60s?

The tabloid's depiction feeds into the "they think they're too good to make my burgers for $15/hr!" argument.

They aren't going to make it to their parents' level according to some reports. Can't afford a house, kids, etc. Climate change has also screwed their prospects. 

So one can argue their values are more aligned with yours. What’s in it for them? Nothing? Fuck off & die.

I've seen it...........it sorta resembles a Red colored National Enquirer. My point was simply that the NY Times has basically sold out on any credibility they had, though. So who are they? Like CNN or MSNBC and even PBS lately.........they're no longer valid news sources.

Actually, I think there's a great deal more depression today for some reason. Maybe because despite all the self-esteem building, kids are being told their entire country and history is flawed?

Well, with the attitudes I'm seeing ........they never will reach their parents' levels........cuz they aren't even trying. This goes to that question I asked about the loss of Shame in recent years. They have NONE.

Weird that they keep having kids despite all of that certainty that their future is screwed. Climate change is the biggest hoax being foisted upon them. And they eat it up.

You really mistake my Values, sometimes.     I do wish more of them would just F off and die, though.

[merh]

[merh]

Farmers

NBC News
Farmers flourish under Biden, see recovery from Trump-era trade wars
Teaganne Finn
Sat, January 29, 2022, 1:30 AM·5 min read
In this article:
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump often espoused his love for America's farmers during his presidency.

But after a year under President Joe Biden, farmers say they're actually feeling the love.

"Well, certainly the difference between 2019 and 2021 is the differences in administrations," Montana Farmers Union President Walter Schweitzer said in an interview. "In 2019, our administration was at war with all of our customers." Under Biden, he said, the nation is "rebuilding our relationships with our customers."

Trump courted support from farmers during his failed re-election campaign in 2020 and touted his administration’s trade relief, saying they were better off with government payments than relying solely on sales.

While the focus of the Biden administration has been on its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, and more recently the global standoff with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, the farm sector has fared quite well under the new administration, as farmers ease off of government bailouts and see a boost in commodity prices.

"We had farm income that was up by a pretty fair amount in 2021, almost to the record level of 2013, but not quite," said Patrick Westhoff, director of the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute. "Part of that, of course, was continuing government payments, but there was a very strong recovery in both crop and livestock prices last year."

Soy and corn prices, two of the largest cash crops in the United States, have suffered slightly, falling below $9 and above $3 a bushel, respectively, during the pandemic. Now, exports have had an increase in demand, in part because of exports to China and poor weather affecting South American producers. Soy was up to $14 in 2021 and corn is projected to continue above $5 in 2022.

Net farm income, a broad measure of profits, is estimated to have increased by $15.7 billion in 2020 relative to 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service. The agency also forecast net farm income at $116.8 billion in 2021, the highest level since 2013.

Trade spats
Schweitzer points out that in 2021, the majority of net farm income came from commodity sales and actual production "off the farm." Whereas in 2019, a "big chunk" of the income was coming from Market Facilitation Program payments, which were at the core of the Trump administration's effort to mitigate losses from its disputes with China and other trading partners.

The cost of the second round of tariff aid was estimated to be about $16 billion and came with added provisions that aimed to address allegations that large corporations had disproportionately benefited over smaller farms in the initial phase.

Vincent Smith, a visiting fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, said the Trump administration "severely disadvantaged" farmers with an ill-advised trade policy.

"The Trump administration, in terms of these trade war subsidies, was entirely reactive to shore up support in the farm sector," Smith said, adding that both Trump and Biden remain interested in garnering the votes of farmers.

In 2020, Trump won a number of traditionally Republican farm states including Iowa, Texas, North Carolina and Nebraska.

Trump's administration faced criticism when critics said then-Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue used his position to promise more help for farmers during an August 2020 campaign event in North Carolina in a bid to woo voters.

Trump was able to prevail in North Carolina, one of the few swing states that he was able to win.

Playing fairly
While Biden is seeing a rebound in the farming sector, some of the improvement may not all be driven by his own policies.

On trade, his administration has been in a holding pattern, and officials have yet to outline how it intends to tackle a litany of leftover trade disputes with China.

But there are a number of farm-focused efforts underway.

Biden has tried to address nagging supply chain issues in hopes of boosting profits for family farms and lowering prices for consumers.

"I think the real optimism in agriculture is that we've got a president that is willing to stand up to these corporate monopolies and tell them 'enough is enough.' You need to play fairly, you need to share your profits," Schweitzer said.

Building on an executive order from July 2021, the Biden administration announced earlier this month it intends to provide $1 billion in American Rescue Plan funds to help expand independent processing capacity, and provide funding that would give independent meat producers access to cold storage and other equipment to improve distribution of their products.

It will also work with lenders to provide independent processors with credit and devote money to workforce training and safety, the White House said in a statement highlighting the project.

With meat and poultry prices leading the broader nationwide increase in the cost of groceries, the White House has spent months arguing that anti-competitive consolidation within the meatpacking industry is to blame for the soaring prices.

Four companies — Tyson, JBS, Marfrig and Seaboard — control as much as 85 percent of the nation's meatpacking business, according to a White House estimate.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack predicted in early January that there would be localized price reductions.

"People are eating more at home than they ever have and that has caused a slight disruption in the market," he said in an interview, referring to the initial impact of the Covid omicron variant.

He added, "It's going to take a little time, but I think you're going to see a moderation of prices over time by virtue of the fact that we're going to expand processing capacity in this country. We're going to make it a much more competitive market."

Westhoff says the farming sector is "watching to see just how that translates into practice."

"I think a lot of folks are skeptical of how much can be done to change that in the very short run, but certainly there's a lot of people who want to find a way to do that," he said.

Hmmmm.
But Trump! Farmers!

[merh]

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn says the US has far too many terrible CEOs — and blames them for spurring high inflation
Shalini Nagarajan
Wed, February 16, 2022, 3:03 AM
Carl Icahn is photographed speaking with CNBC
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn.Adam Jeffery/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Billionaire Carl Icahn said there are far too many "terrible CEOs" not held accountable in the US.

He blamed them for driving economic problems like high inflation and the widening wealth gap.

He spoke ahead of an HBO documentary called "Icahn: The Restless Billionaire" that premiered Tuesday.

Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has warned the US has too many "terrible CEOs", whose performance is harming the economy by driving high inflation and income inequality.

Speaking ahead of the premiere of an HBO documentary on his life, Icahn – nicknamed the "Lone Wolf of Wall Street" — said productivity at large corporations is suffering because their boards of directors aren't overseeing CEOs enough.

"A major reason for my participation in the film was that I wanted to convey the following message: There are many good CEOs and boards, but there are far too many terrible ones that are hurting our economy…" the Icahn Enterprises chairman said in a tweet Tuesday.


"Even though we have great corporations, the boards of these companies don't hold their CEOs accountable, and we are therefore not nearly as productive as we should be, which is a major reason for inflation and the wealth gap," he added.

US consumer price inflation — which takes into account costs of everyday meals to apartment rents — hit its highest level in nearly four decades in January, at 7.5%.

Meanwhile, the gap between the rich and the poor in the US has widened during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent report from Oxfam America. Although a wealth gap existed before the outbreak, the rich only got richer when millions of people were hit with job losses, wage cuts, and furloughs, it found.

Activist investor Icahn, whose net worth is estimated at $23.6 billion, has spent years trying to get CEOs and boards to fall in line with his demands, made in the name of shareholder profit. He famously urged Netflix to find a buyer in 2012, but abandoned the idea after seeing a showing of "House of Cards."

Icahn didn't single out any CEO by name, nor did he point to any particular company's board in his tweets.

HBO's "Icahn: The Restless Billionaire," which premiered Tuesday, features comments from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin.

www.yahoo.com/finance/news/billionaire-investor-carl-icahn-says-110316360.html

[abbey1227]

Feb 17, 2022 5:33:34 GMT merh said:

<abbr data-timestamp="1645076014000" title="Feb 16, 2022 23:33:34 GMT -6" class="o-timestamp time">Feb 16, 2022 23:33:34 GMT -6</abbr> merh said:

US consumer price inflation — which takes into account costs of everyday meals to apartment rents — hit its highest level in nearly four decades in January, at 7.5%.

Meanwhile, the gap between the rich and the poor in the US has widened during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent report from Oxfam America. Although a wealth gap existed before the outbreak, the rich only got richer when millions of people were hit with job losses, wage cuts, and furloughs, it found.

Activist investor Icahn, whose net worth is estimated at $23.6 billion, has spent years trying to get CEOs and boards to fall in line with his demands, made in the name of shareholder profit. He famously urged Netflix to find a buyer in 2012, but abandoned the idea after seeing a showing of "House of Cards."

Icahn didn't single out any CEO by name, nor did he point to any particular company's board in his tweets.

HBO's "Icahn: The Restless Billionaire," which premiered Tuesday, features comments from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin.
www.yahoo.com/finance/news/billionaire-investor-carl-icahn-says-110316360.html

is that inflation still Obama's economy?    Cuz I know Biden won't be blamed. 

Of course the rich only got richer.........THEY know how to handle money thru good times and bad. And the average American's savings went up during covid because of all that stimulus money......how does that not go against all these assertions?

The guy's got $23 Billion but he's griping about the rich getting richer? He could make it on just 2 or 3 Billion? Give the rest away?

I'd agree with him on CEOs.........but I'd also suggest it's pretty much the same in a lot of other places, like restaurants, schools, Govt, etc etc etc

Awful lotta mediocre people

[merh]

For Immediate Release, January 21, 2022

Contact:

Taylor McKinnon, [phone], [e-mail]

New Data: Biden’s First Year Drilling Permitting Stomps Trump’s By 34%

Thousands of Permits OK’d Despite President’s Authority to End Drilling by 2035

WASHINGTON— New federal data shows the Biden administration approved 3,557 permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands in its first year, far outpacing the Trump administration’s first-year total of 2,658.

Nearly 2,000 of the drilling permits were approved on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management’s New Mexico office, followed by 843 in Wyoming, 285 in Montana and North Dakota, and 191 in Utah. In California, the Biden administration approved 187 permits — more than twice the 71 drilling permits Trump approved in that state in his first year.

“Biden’s runaway drilling approvals are a spectacular failure of climate leadership,” said Taylor McKinnon at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Avoiding catastrophic climate change requires ending new fossil fuel extraction, but Biden is racing in the opposite direction.”

biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/new-data-biden-slays-trumps-first-year-drilling-permitting-by-34-2022-01-21/

OH NO!

I thought Biden CUT oil production...

[abbey1227]

Mar 6, 2022 23:39:43 GMT merh said:

For Immediate Release, January 21, 2022

Contact:

Taylor McKinnon, [phone], [e-mail]

New Data: Biden’s First Year Drilling Permitting Stomps Trump’s By 34%

Thousands of Permits OK’d Despite President’s Authority to End Drilling by 2035

WASHINGTON— New federal data shows the Biden administration approved 3,557 permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands in its first year, far outpacing the Trump administration’s first-year total of 2,658.

Nearly 2,000 of the drilling permits were approved on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management’s New Mexico office, followed by 843 in Wyoming, 285 in Montana and North Dakota, and 191 in Utah. In California, the Biden administration approved 187 permits — more than twice the 71 drilling permits Trump approved in that state in his first year.

“Biden’s runaway drilling approvals are a spectacular failure of climate leadership,” said Taylor McKinnon at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Avoiding catastrophic climate change requires ending new fossil fuel extraction, but Biden is racing in the opposite direction.”

biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/new-data-biden-slays-trumps-first-year-drilling-permitting-by-34-2022-01-21/

OH NO!

I thought Biden CUT oil production...

Amazing the sheer flood of info that may or may not be factual these days.

Spin Masters abound

[merh]

Mar 7, 2022 4:32:40 GMT abbey1227 said:

Mar 6, 2022 23:39:43 GMT merh said:

biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/new-data-biden-slays-trumps-first-year-drilling-permitting-by-34-2022-01-21/

OH NO!

I thought Biden CUT oil production...

Amazing the sheer flood of info that may or may not be factual these days.

Spin Masters abound

Yeah.
This is a group that's pissed off that he's done it.

JPat was bitching we were pumping 13 million barrels a day, now it's just 11 million, but that's up to the companies, isn't it? They cut back because of the pandemic so maybe they haven't gotten it back up to prior levels?

[abbey1227]

Mar 7, 2022 9:22:47 GMT merh said:

Mar 7, 2022 4:32:40 GMT abbey1227 said:

Amazing the sheer flood of info that may or may not be factual these days.

Spin Masters abound

Yeah.
This is a group that's pissed off that he's done it.

JPat was bitching we were pumping 13 million barrels a day, now it's just 11 million, but that's up to the companies, isn't it? They cut back because of the pandemic so maybe they haven't gotten it back up to prior levels?

I literally/figuratively? just heard the other day that Biden had shut down even more production of US suppliers..........while Russia is certainly benefiting from the rise in prices.

I just filled up with $3.899/gal Regular      ouch.........and it's only going to get worse

[merh]

Mar 7, 2022 9:39:18 GMT abbey1227 said:

Mar 7, 2022 9:22:47 GMT merh said:

Yeah.
This is a group that's pissed off that he's done it.

JPat was bitching we were pumping 13 million barrels a day, now it's just 11 million, but that's up to the companies, isn't it? They cut back because of the pandemic so maybe they haven't gotten it back up to prior levels?

I literally/figuratively? just heard the other day that Biden had shut down even more production of US suppliers..........while Russia is certainly benefiting from the rise in prices.

I just filled up with $3.899/gal Regular      ouch.........and it's only going to get worse

Poor baby.

Thursday
$50 for 10.38 gallons.
$4.89/gallon.

According to the news last night it went up 11 cents in one day. It's around $5.15 apparently. 

oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Has-Biden-Brought-An-End-To-US-Energy-Independence.html

Most people view energy independence through the lens of our oil and gas production and consumption. These two sources represent 68% of U.S. energy consumption. When they see our net exports are positive, it is viewed as “energy independence.” When they turn negative, we are once again partially dependent. (In reality, we are always partially dependent, because even when our exports exceed our imports, we are still importing oil from other countries).

It is true that in 2019 our net imports of crude oil and finished products flipped from positive to negative. By that metric, we became energy independent (at last as far as our oil consumption goes). It is also true that Donald Trump was president when this happened for the first time in October 2019.

The Long March Toward Independence

But note that this was the culmination of a trend that started in 2006 when U.S. net imports topped 13 million BPD. Most of that march to energy independence happened under President Obama. All President Trump (and President Obama before him) had to do was avoid driving the bus into the ditch, and they would continue to benefit from the hydraulic fracking boom that enabled all of this.

Note near the end of the chart above that we started oscillating back and forth between a net importer and a net exporter. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the trend. The energy independence that we gained in 2019, was lost in the second half of 2020 as energy production plunged, but energy demand recovered. In May 2020, we had flipped back to a net oil importer, and we have oscillated since.

To be clear, I am not giving credit (or blame) here to President Obama or President Trump. Their policies weren’t responsible for the underlying plunge in our crude oil imports, which is the primary factor in our march to energy independence.

However, one thing President Obama did that helped oil production continue to expand under President Trump was in the energy bill he signed in late 2015. One stipulation in that bill allowed domestic producers to export their oil. To that point, finished products like diesel and gasoline could be exported, but not crude oil. That depressed U.S. oil prices, which benefitted refiners but not oil producers.

This comprehensive energy bill that President Obama signed helped open up new markets for domestic oil producers, who had suffered from depressed prices due to their inability to export their oil. That stipulation — which was a trade-off for getting some renewable energy provisions — helped extend the fracking boom. Prior to 2015, U.S. oil exports were insignificant. By 2019, we were exporting 3 million BPD of crude oil.

Are We Energy Independent?

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) tabulated U.S. energy consumption in 2019 and 2020 and determined that for both full years, counting all energy sources, we were energy independent. Even though U.S. energy production declined by 5% in 2020, energy consumption also declined by 3% as the pandemic impacted the economy. So, our energy independence was shrinking as the pandemic unfolded.

As I noted above, the EIA wrote:

“Annual crude oil production generally decreased between 1970 and 2008. In 2009, the trend reversed and production began to rise, and in 2019, U.S. crude oil production reached a record high of 12.25 million barrels per day. More cost-effective drilling and production technologies helped to drive the production increases, especially in Texas and North Dakota. U.S. crude oil production declined to about 11.31 million barrels per day in 2020. A large drop in U.S. petroleum demand in March and April 2020 as a result of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic led to a decrease in U.S. oil production.”

So, in 2009 we began the march to energy independence. Those wishing to credit President Trump for this need to take another look at that net imports graphic to grasp the full picture.

But we don’t actually know if, once the full year of 2021 has been accounted for, we lost our energy independence for the year. If it turns out that we did, the single largest factor in that will be that oil and natural gas production have yet to return back to pre-Covid-19 levels. But demand has recovered, and therein lies the reason.

By Robert Rapier

[abbey1227]

Mar 7, 2022 17:31:22 GMT merh said:

Mar 7, 2022 9:39:18 GMT abbey1227 said:

Poor baby.
So you'll always beat me?   

[merh]

Mar 8, 2022 0:55:41 GMT abbey1227 said:

Mar 7, 2022 17:31:22 GMT merh said:

Poor baby.
So you'll always beat me?   

Spitfire says she misses you.

There are 2 or 3 threads of people whining about gas prices over there.

San Diego gets hit with another record breaking hike in gas prices
The average price rose 11.1 cents Saturday and recorded its second-largest increase since July 14, 2015, rising 11.2 cents on Sunday, according to AAA.
Author: City News Service
Published: 9:01 AM PST March 6, 2022
Updated: 11:27 AM PST March 7, 2022
SAN DIEGO — The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County rose 5.6 cents Monday, to $5.383 -- its 18th record high in the past 20 days.

The average price rose 11.1 cents Saturday and recorded its second-largest increase since July 14, 2015, rising 11.2 cents on Sunday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

The average price has risen 32 of the past 35 days, increasing 75.9 cents. It is 53.6 cents more than one week ago, 70.4 cents higher than one month ago and $1.592 greater than one year ago.

Oil industry analysts attribute the price spike to the possibility of a supply shortage because traders, shippers, insurance companies and banks are avoiding Russian oil transactions for fear of running afoul of Western sanctions.

The price spike "is not exactly surprising -- it is the cost of choking off Russia from energy revenue," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations.

San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond posted the following letter to his Twitter page on Monday requesting temporary suspension of California's gas tax for one year.

"Today, I will be submitting a Board letter to the County asking for a 1-year suspension of the Gas Tax. It's inexcusable to see pictures of gas prices in the $6 and $7 range. I cannot stand by and let San Diegans suffer while Sacramento politicians build up their coffers."

[abbey1227]

Mar 8, 2022 2:01:32 GMT merh said:

Mar 8, 2022 0:55:41 GMT abbey1227 said:

Spitfire says she misses you.

There are 2 or 3 threads of people whining about gas prices over there.

Tell her I miss her, too  

We bumped up to $4.099 today  

and there's this from Bloomberg.........

Biden Administration Is ‘Misusing Facts’ on Oil Permits, API Says
Oil pump jacks operate&nbsp;in Culver City, California.

Oil pump jacks operate in Culver City, California.Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg
ByPaul Takahashi March 7, 2022, 2:31 PM CST

The head of the biggest U.S. oil lobby groups said the Biden administration is “misusing facts” when it claims the industry has more than 9,000 federal drilling permits on which it can drill to boost supply and ease soaring energy prices.

Mike Sommers, the chief executive officer of the American Petroleum Institute, who was in Houston Monday for CERAWeek by S&P Global, said the industry is using a higher percentage of federal onshore and offshore leases than at any time in the past, and it’s continuing to increase production to meet surging demand.

The Biden administration has repeatedly pointed to the number of approved but untapped drilling permits on federal land when questioned about how U.S. production can rise, and what the federal government can do to help.

“There’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the administration as to how the process actually works,” Sommers said in an interview on the sidelines of the conference.

“Just because you have a lease doesn’t mean there’s actually oil and gas in that lease, and there has to be a lot of development that occurs between the leasing and then ultimately permitting for that acreage to be productive,” he said. “I think that they’re purposefully misusing the facts here to advantage their position.”

Sommers said the Biden administration should support policies that promote U.S. oil and gas production over OPEC+, which includes Russian oil. The U.S. and its allies are considering banning imports of Russia crude after the country invaded Ukraine.

[merh]

Mar 8, 2022 3:04:12 GMT abbey1227 said:

Mar 8, 2022 2:01:32 GMT merh said:

Spitfire says she misses you.

There are 2 or 3 threads of people whining about gas prices over there.

Tell her I miss her, too  

We bumped up to $4.099 today  

and there's this from Bloomberg.........

Biden Administration Is ‘Misusing Facts’ on Oil Permits, API Says
Oil pump jacks operate&nbsp;in Culver City, California.

Oil pump jacks operate in Culver City, California.Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg
ByPaul Takahashi March 7, 2022, 2:31 PM CST

The head of the biggest U.S. oil lobby groups said the Biden administration is “misusing facts” when it claims the industry has more than 9,000 federal drilling permits on which it can drill to boost supply and ease soaring energy prices.

Mike Sommers, the chief executive officer of the American Petroleum Institute, who was in Houston Monday for CERAWeek by S&P Global, said the industry is using a higher percentage of federal onshore and offshore leases than at any time in the past, and it’s continuing to increase production to meet surging demand.

The Biden administration has repeatedly pointed to the number of approved but untapped drilling permits on federal land when questioned about how U.S. production can rise, and what the federal government can do to help.

“There’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the administration as to how the process actually works,” Sommers said in an interview on the sidelines of the conference.

“Just because you have a lease doesn’t mean there’s actually oil and gas in that lease, and there has to be a lot of development that occurs between the leasing and then ultimately permitting for that acreage to be productive,” he said. “I think that they’re purposefully misusing the facts here to advantage their position.”

Sommers said the Biden administration should support policies that promote U.S. oil and gas production over OPEC+, which includes Russian oil. The U.S. and its allies are considering banning imports of Russia crude after the country invaded Ukraine.

What i saw simply said his administration had approved more leases than Trump had. 

Really?
Accusing them of lying?
Like Trump didn't manipulate info?

What do you want?
Biden to send government workers out to drill the oil?

[abbey1227]

Mar 8, 2022 4:46:12 GMT merh said:

What i saw simply said his administration had approved more leases than Trump had. 

Really?
Accusing them of lying?
Like Trump didn't manipulate info?

What do you want?
Biden to send government workers out to drill the oil?

you'll notice.......the MSM isn't accusing him of lying or even keeping a daily count. That alone is a different environment in which to work under.