President Obama trolls the Republicans by using their own predictions of doom and gloom against them.

I like how this video plays the Republicans actually making the statements as Obama shoots them down word for word.

And yes I think this President deserves to take a little credit. Hell he deserves to take a mountain of credit.

Michele Bachmann credits her presidency for bringing gas prices down to under $2.00 a gallon. Wait, what happened?

$2 gas, anyone? pic.twitter.com/JM2ibeP4mE
— Michele Bachmann (@MicheleBachmann) January 2, 2015

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Outgoing Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R) took to social media late this week to congratulate herself for bringing the price of gas down under two dollars per gallon. 

The erstwhile 2012 presidential contender posted a photo of herself standing under a gasoline station’s pricing sign on Friday via the social medium Twitter. She captioned the image “$2 gas, anyone?” 

Bachmann was referring to a campaign promise from her failed run at the presidency in which she vowed to bring gas prices back down under two dollars per gallon. 

“Under President Bachmann you will see gasoline come down below $2 a gallon again,” Bachmann said at a South Carolina rally in 2012. “That will happen.”

So, who do you think gets the job of telling Bachmann that she DIDN'T win the White House in 2012?

You kind of think she might have noticed that by now, but nope.

Gee just when I think we can all agree that Sarah Palin is the most ignorant ex-politician in the world something like this happens.

Simply can't catch a break with conservatives.

You know it's true.

More good news for the President.

Courtesy of Bizjournals:

Gas prices have been dropping steadily in Florida since April, and according to at least one analyst, that may just be the tip of the iceberg. 

Energy analyst Philip Verleger told Bloomberg TV that U.S. drivers could see $2.50-a-gallon gas prices by November, the Boston Business Journal reports. 

The cause is two-fold, he said: The price of oil has fallen sharply recently due to overproduction in Saudi Arabia, and falling demand due to Europe’s economic slowdown is also a factor.

The Republicans have been attempting to hang the high gas prices on the President, in an attempt to drag down his popularity, for months now, if the prices are indeed dropping this quickly watch for the Right Wing to start throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him as they become more and more desperate to find something that will stick.

In fact the Romney campaign has already asked the Republican governor of Florida  to stop talking about how well his state is recovering:

Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign asked Florida Governor Rick Scott to tone down his statements heralding improvements in the state’s economy because they clash with the presumptive Republican nominee’s message that the nation is suffering under President Barack Obama, according to two people familiar with the matter. 

Scott, a Republican, was asked to say that the state’s jobless rate could improve faster under a Romney presidency, according to the people, who asked not to be named.

kind of sucks when the facts don't match your talking points doesn't it Mittens?

"You hang in there kiddo, I am doing the best I can to give you a better future."

President Obama announces crackdown on oil speculation, gas prices fall. But where's the love?

Courtesy of Mediaite:

On Friday, we reported that gas prices had tumbled from an early-April peak of $3.93 per gallon to a $3.80 per gallon national average. Since then, the national average has fallen another few cents, but the media who happily bantered about the political consequences of rising gas prices on President Obama‘s reelection prospects have, thus far, remained silent about this drop, which coincides exactly with the President’s remarks about reining in oil speculators. 

The national media, especially Fox News, were quick to report that the sky was falling when Republicans tried to make rising gasoline prices a political liability for President Obama. The conversation dominated political news for weeks, as the national average gasoline price peaked at about $3.93 per gallon. Since President Obama“waved the tar baby” of oil speculation on April 17, though, gas prices have fallen from a national average of about $3.92 on April 16, to less than $3.78 per gallon today, and are expected to plunge below $3.50 by July. (It’s worth noting that even the Obama-era peak of $3.96 per gallon is still lower than the $4.12 per gallon national average under George W. Bush in the summer of 2008.) 

Of course, correlation doesn’t equal causation, and some are even trying to spin lower gas prices as a negative for President Obama (hello, Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal), but if rising gas prices are the President’s fault (at least when his name is Barack Obama), then falling prices at the pump ought to be a positive. While most people agree that there isn’t much a president can do to affect gas prices, the current drop isn’t being chalked up to supply and demand, but to the psychology of the oil futures market.

So for those of you keeping score remember:

Gas prices go up, President's fault.

Gas prices go down, President had NOTHING to do with it.

So obviously this drop cannot be credited to the fact that oil production in America, as a direct result of this President's policies, is the highest it has been in eight years either. Right?

In other news the President was seen walking on water.  Credit given to water for working so hard to make him look good.

Another GOP talking point bites the dust. High gas prices have NOTHING to do with domestic production.

Courtesy of SF Gate:

The Alaskan Explorer had sailed to a Washington refinery, but was forced to return to Alaska with 300,000 barrels because the onshore storage tanks were too full to accept the oil, Anil Mathur, CEO of the Alaska Tanker Co., which owns the ship, confirmed last week. 

"Not the normal course of business," said John Kotula, one of the few outsiders privy to the incident because of his position as manager of the state of Alaska's environmental office in Valdez. 

The tanker's inability to unload its oil underlines a startling reality: Crude oil supplies in the United States have been at historic highs for two years, while Americans are using less of its most important product - gasoline. The Gulf Coast is particularly glutted with crude, due in part to a pipeline bottleneck. But federal statistics show another recent development: West Coast refineries are decreasing their production as the domestic demand for gasoline shrinks. 

"If there is so much crude oil around, why is the price of gasoline so high? Why is the price of heating oil so high?" asked Dan Lawn, an environmental consultant who was in the same job as Kotula for decades before he retired in 2005. 

Government statistics show that gasoline isn't selling the way it used to, and on any given day, crude oil could be backed up in storage tanks from Valdez to San Francisco Bay to Long Beach. 

"Valdez inventories are pretty high. Our inventories are high. Nobody is taking much crude on the West Coast," said Kidd. 

So why aren't gasoline prices pushed down by the forces of supply and demand? 

"You've keyed into an interesting puzzle, a paradox," said Richard Newell, professor of energy and environmental economics at Duke University and until last year the head of the federal Energy Information Administration, which tracks statistics generated by the oil industry. 

Well why doesn't somebody ask the GOP's leading "expert" on energy in America, Sarah Palin?  Surely SHE could explain this conundrum to the American people.

Greta?

 Sean?

Anybody?

President Obama discusses the rising cost of gas in his Weekly Address.

Since the economy has improved, the job market has seen a steady increase, and the President has established himself as a great Commander-in-Chief when it comes to national security, the Republicans are desperately hoping that high gas prices are one thing he cannot fix before the election.

The fact is he is doing more than just about any of his predecessors in addressing the problem, but his opponents and critics are confident it will not be fast enough. It is kind of like bitching that you don't have any fresh vegetables to eat while the farmer is at that moment still planting the seeds.

Of course the truth is that these GOP windbags could not do a SINGLE THING to lower gas prices either. But then they don't have to since they are not now, nor ever will be, the President.

By the way did you all catch the recent report that says Bin Laden was actively plotting to kill the President before he was killed?

“The reason for concentrating on them is that Obama is the head of infidelity and killing him automatically will make Biden take over the presidency,” the message said, according to the account by Ignatius, who said he was given an opportunity to view the records. “Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the U.S. into a crisis.”

He thought Joe Biden was "unprepared for that post?" Really?

You know what that tells me? That Bin Laden hoped that Biden would lose in the 2012 elections and that he would only have one of these bumbling Republicans to deal with afterward.

Knowing them they would probably launch a war on Iran, Syria, and re-invade Iraq again, while once again pimping the idea of a "War on terrorism." And of course THAT is exactly what Al-Qaeda wants their American puppets to do.

After all George Bush jumped through every hoop they held up. Why expect anything different from this crop of losers?

About those high gas prices.

I thought we would take a break from the Palin e-mails to address another yet attack against our President.

Lately the GOP machine and  Republican candidates have been hammering Obama on the only perceived chink in his armor they can find anymore, high gas prices.

Except as it turns out that is not exactly a winning argument for them either.

This from the President's blog:

Along with President Obama’s initiatives to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels, this increase in domestic production is moving us towards energy independence and saving American consumers at the pump. 

• 640,000: Increase in the average number of barrels of crude oil produced per day since 2008 
• 4 X: Factor by which the number of oil rigs operating in the United States has gone up under President Obama's administration 
• 1.5 million: Decrease in the average number of barrels of crude oil imported per day since 2008 
• 16: Number of years since the United States’ dependence on foreign oil was as low as it was last year 
• 54.5 mpg: Performance equivalent that will be required for model year 2017-2025 cars and light trucks—nearly doubling the standards that were in place when President Obama took office 
• More than $8,000: Savings at the pump per vehicle by 2025 thanks to steps the Obama administration has taken to increase efficiency 
• More than $1.7 trillion: Total amount consumers will have saved at the pump by 2025 thanks to President Obama’s fuel efficiency program

It certainly appears that the President has done FAR more than most of his predecessors to reduce our dependence on fossils fuels, increase domestic production, and increase fuel efficiency.

So I guess the only question left to ask the GOP is, "What else ya got?"

RNC issues political ad attacking Obama for singing. Uh, I don't think you're doing this right.

It cracks me up that all of the sudden the GOP is COMPLETELY focused on the high price of gas. Which as we most of us know is not really something that the President can exert any control over.

A point, by the way, that he made in a speech just today:  

"It's the easiest thing in the world (to) make phony election-year promises about lower gas prices," Obama said, offering his most comprehensive rebuttal yet of the intensifying Republican criticism. 

"What's harder is to make a serious, sustained commitment to tackle a problem that may not be solved in one year or one term or even one decade," he said.

But what else do the Republicans have to work with?

They thought they had a bad economy on their side, but it's improving.

They have attacked the bailout of the car companies, but if you look at it that is clearly an Obama success story.

They at one time hoped to attack him for being weak on defense, but he has too many dead terrorist notches on his belt for them to even consider doing that anymore.

So all they have are the gas prices, which for some low IQ folks might have actually worked.

However in my opinion using the President singing "Sweet Home Chicago" as a backdrop for this ad is an EPIC FAIL!

I would be willing to bet that only about one in ten actually bother to look at the graph, or read the message at the end, and that all most people are going to take away from this is the knowledge that their President has a damn fine singing voice.

Are you guys even trying to win this election?

As Sarah Palin whines the Alaska village of Emmonak is dying right before our eyes.

Here is a portion of a letter sent out by Nicholas C. Tucker, Sr., a resident of Emmonak a village of 800 mostly native people in Alaska's southwest.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

From several years ago, our heating fuel and gasoline costs have doubled in Emmonak. Current retail prices are $7.83 per gallon for heating fuel and $7.25 per gallon for gasoline, including the city sales tax. Our village has run out of heating fuel and the first airlift shipment has arrived at the airport. As early as today, the retail for our winter shipments is expected to be anywhere from $9 - $11 per gallon or higher.

Last summer, we experienced a king salmon fisheries disaster. We did not have any king salmon commercial openings. We had a chum salmon commercial harvest which is nothing compared to the king fishery. Chum harvest traditionally covered our king salmon fishing start-up costs, most of the purchase of new equipment, repair and maintenance, supplies, and operating expenses. Our commercial fishermen did not make any money. Our income from this meager, small-scale commercial harvest is basic to and vital to our seasonal subsistence fishing and hunting, berry picking, plant gathering, motor oil and gas, supplies, equipment, and cash for repairs of our outboard motors and our snowmachines used for winter wood gathering. This income pays for our many household bills.

Last fall, we weren’t delivered our usual fall fuel orders due to early freeze up. Following this, we got hit by a rare weather anomaly: It has been very, very cold since last part of September. This cold snap still persists as of this day. Households have tell me that there is more snow covering the driftwood out in the tundra and the coastlines, making it difficult finding the logs for firewood. A lot more gasoline and motor oil is being used in search of the driftwood. This winter-long, extreme cold snap is causing the furnaces and boilers to run constantly and to their maximum.

My family of ten, with a household of six adults and four minors, is one of the causalities of our current high costs of heating fuel and gasoline that are devastating families and households here in Emmonak of 847 residents. I am 63 and my wife is 54. For the first time, beginning December 2008, I am forced to decide buying between heating fuel or groceries. I had been forced to dig into our January income to stay warm during December. Again, for this month, same thing happens. I am taking away my February income this month to survive. Couple of weeks ago, our 8-year old son had to go to bed hungry. My wife and I provide for our family with disability, Veterans’ benefits, social security, and unemployment incomes. We are several months behind on our city water and sewer bills. We had originally used up all our $1,200 energy subsidy to prepay electricity for the winter and other bills in hope of surviving for this winter due to these high fuel costs. We didn’t anticipate the early freeze-up that prevented our native corporation getting its winter supplies of fuel. We didn’t anticipate an unexpected winter-long bitter cold. I don’t recall anything having occurred as cold as it has been and its length that we have to endure. The following are the costs of heating fuel and a 100-lb bottle of propane between December 12, 2008 and yesterday, a period of 29 days:

December 12, 2008, Stove oil, 55 gals: $ 440.54
December 14, 2008, 100# propane: $ 173.04
December 31, 2008, Stove oil, 55 gals: $ 440.54
January 9, 2009, Stove oil, 59 gallons: $ 471.85
Total: $1,525.97

Nicholas used a VHF radio announcement to reach out to other villages to find out how bad their situation was as well. Here is just a portion of what he heard back:

P. & K. A.: Middle aged couple, family of five. They are forced to buy heating fuel over food.

M. & M. G.: Middle aged, family of six: No wood at all; hard time buying stove oil.

L. M.: Young single parent, mother of one. On her last energy assistance, 10.2 gallons left, Dad in Anchorage for medical check up; his snowmachine and a 4-wheeler are frozen.

E. & A. U.: Elders, ages 68 and 65, family of eight and helping daughter in another house with food; gets no food stamps and both have no work. They have to buy heating fuel and gasoline for snowmachine over food.

T. & J. L.: Young couple, family of four. Hard time getting heating fuel; have no gasoline for their snowmachine to get wood and credit line at the local fuel tank farm is over limit. Family gets some food stamps but goes fast due to high cost of groceries in the village. Sometimes, having just little bit of food in the house because whatever money they have is used primarily for buying hearting fuel.

R. & T. A.: Young couple, family of seven. Family is having difficult time getting heating fuel. They are having hard time getting any jobs in the village. They are forced to get heating fuel and have little bit of food. Wife has to get heating fuel from her father to keep their house warm and keep the hot water heater turned. Both are having very hard time keeping up with electricity and water/sewer bills.

G. & K. F.: Young couple with family of five. Wife is unable to sleep and stressed out not knowing when they will be able get their next heating fuel. A 100-lb. bottle of propane gas that usually lasts four months is now lasting only two months because they use it to heat water. This costs them $200 every two weeks. They do not have hot water heater. Wife has very little income and uses $375, the one-half of her gross income every two weeks, to get heating fuel. She has no food for her family sometimes, because, she has to split the rest of what little is left for water/sewer and electricity. Gasoline for her 4-wheeler is very expensive. Her parents help her with food and firewood. They cannot afford a snowmachine or a boat to get logs. Heating fuel and propane is taking her food money away. Her added worry is that the village native corporation is running out of heating fuel and is being airlifted in. New cost is expected to be near $9 - $11 per gallon or higher.

And where is our Governor during this time of crisis? She is whining to anybody who will listen about unfair media coverage and those "anonymous bloggers"!

But here are citizens of her state who are literally freezing and starving to death and she does nothing! Nothing!

This poor man has to beg for handouts to save himself and his neighbors because of the cost in Alaska of heating oil and gasoline. And where is his government? Where are his legislators? Where are his Senators? Where is his Congressman? And where in the hell is his Governor?

Sarah Palin is the one who is supposed to declare a state of emergency and get help to these people. Does she not have enough time between interviews with People magazine, Esquire magazine, and John Ziegler to do her goddamn job? Do the needs of our citizens interrupt her social calendar?

Well if our Governor will not help our people I guess it is up to us. Listed below is the contact information that you need if you want to help save the lives of these people before it is too late.

I have already written my check and I am asking for your donations as well. I do not usually use this blog to request money, but these are special circumstances and I cannot just sit idly by and let this horrible situation continue. Thank you for any help you can give.

To help, please call:
City of Emmonak, (907) 949-1227/1249
Emmonak Tribal Council, (907) 949-1720
Emmonak Corporation, (907) 949-1129/1315/1411
Emmonak Sacred Heart Catholic Church Pastoral Parish Council Chairman, (907) 949-1011.

Update: I just got off of the phone with Nick Tucker, the author of this letter, in Emmanok.

He told me that the best way to get them help fast is to send a check to this address:

Emmonak Tribal Council
P.O. Box 126
Emmanok, AK 99581

I asked Mr. Tucker if he had contacted the Governor yet and he said that the Tribal Council had just agreed to make a formal request based on the king salmon fisheries disaster. According to Mr. Tucker the lack of heating oil and food resulting in residents barely clinging to life DID NOT COUNT AS AN EMERGENCY TO THE STATE OF ALASKA! Can you believe that shit?

So maybe you would like to ask the Governor's office how this situation is NOT considered an emergency yourself by calling (907) 269-7450. Let me know what their explanation was to you.

Update 2: For those who asked me if there is a faster method of getting money to the city, Mr. Tucker tells me that if you call the City of Emmonak (and the numbers are listed above) they will accept credit card information over the phone.

By the way Mr. Tucker also informs me that his phone has been ringing off of the hook and he had the ADN on the other line as he was speaking to me. He sounds much more upbeat then earlier today.

Update 3: AKM, of the wonderful blog Mudflats, has posted her version of this story over at Huffington Post. Please do me a favor and click on over there and give it a "buzz up" and leave a comment and see if we can't get this story onto the front page. We want this story to get as much attention as possible. And if I can speak for my Alaskan neighbors for a minute I would like to say thank you very much to those who donated to help the people of Emmonak.

Obama would like the oil companies to share their profits with us. Now that is an idea that we can ALL get behind.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Friday announced an “Emergency Economic Plan” that would give families a stimulus check of $1,000 each, funded in part by what his presidential campaign calls “windfall profits from Big Oil.”

The first part of Obama’s plan is an emergency energy rebate ($500 to individual workers, $1,000 to families) as soon as this fall.

“This rebate will be enough to offset the increased cost of gas for a working family over the next four months,” Obama said. “Or, if you live in a state where it gets very cold in the winter, it will be enough to cover the entire increase in your heating bills. Or you could use the rebate for any of your other bills or even to pay down debt.

After eight years of an administration that puts big business and oil company interests first it is more then refreshing to have a candidate who thinks it only fair that a company that is raping America be asked to make restitution. Oh, and perhaps he can make them stop raping us as well.

I have to imagine that the McCain campaign will find itself receiving a deluge of oil company donations in the very near future. These companies absolutely do not want to share their profits.

Oh and by the way for those who cannot tell the difference between this plan and Hillary and McCain's tax break plan, THIS plan makes the oil companies pay and THAT plan asked the government to pay for the overpriced gasoline. The McCain tax break would have hurt the budgets that individual states use to pay for roads and bridges and other infrastructure while Obama's plan simply keeps the oil company bigwigs from getting gold faucets installed on their yachts. Got it now?