Republican Party, Teabag Party and the Libertarian Party absolutely SUCK!

[me]

"Since taking office, President Obama and his Administration have actively blocked, hindered and delayed American energy production. With gasoline prices quickly headed to $4 per gallon, the Obama Administration must abandon their policies and regulations that are costing American jobs, increasing energy prices, hurting families, harming our economy and threatening our national security by deepening our dependence on foreign energy."

LOL...nothing partisan about pointing out only those permits that weren't granted (and conveniently failing to explain why) and avoiding any discussion of those that were; is there?  The bolded section above is an outright lie as it has already been illustrated that our dependence on foreign oil is less now than it was under the previous administration.  In light of that, wouldn't you think it prudent to question the information presented on your link or is it easier to accept it because it says what you want to believe...even if it isn't true?

Oh I'm sure you can click on the provided links and come up with answers to your questions unlike the PDF you provided.  Now I did check the individual states and noticed where they had issued permits which would have nothing to do with Obama much like the pipeline.

[Exterminator]

do YOU really believe we are LESS dependent? or lets say signifcantly less dependent or is that just another lib talking point?

I know it; look it up.

[Exterminator]

Oh I'm sure you can click on the provided links and come up with answers to your questions unlike the PDF you provided.

Not much on data analysis; are you?

Now I did check the individual states and noticed where they had issued permits which would have nothing to do with Obama much like the pipeline.

If it has nothing to do with Obama, why are you posting links to web pages blaming him?  Oh, I forgot, you need desperately to find something...anything...that will let you claim that the reason you don't like him is because of his, "policies."

And yes, the southern portion of the pipeline has nothing to do with Obama; the northern portion does because it crosses our country's border.

[Henry Hawk]

"President Obama's public relations exercise in Cushing, Oklahoma, does nothing to change the fact that he is blocking a vital project that would reduce our dependence on hostile oil producers and create thousands of private sector jobs at no taxpayer expense," Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), a vocal proponent of the pipeline, said in a statement. "This incomprehensible obstructionism by the president will weaken our economy and our security."

[Exterminator]

Lugar is senile and the pipeline does nothing except help Cnaadians get their oil to port so they can sell it to China.

[Henry Hawk]

Lugar is senile and the pipeline does nothing except help Cnaadians get their oil to port so they can sell it to China.

and You have "emperical evidence" of this?  or is just your opinion?

Lugar is senile?
It does NOTHING except help Canadians get their to China?

[me]

Not much on data analysis; are you?

If it has nothing to do with Obama, why are you posting links to web pages blaming him? Oh, I forgot, you need desperately to find something...anything...that will let you claim that the reason you don't like him is because of his, "policies."

And yes, the southern portion of the pipeline has nothing to do with Obama; the northern portion does because it crosses our country's border.

Those links are to web pages stating what he has done to stop and hinder oil production.

[Exterminator]

and You have "emperical evidence" of this?  or is just your opinion?

You should avoid trying to use big words that you can't spell.

Lugar is senile?

Indeed he is.

It does NOTHING except help Canadians get their to China?

What do you think it's for?  It's a direct line from Canada to the gulf...think about it...not rocket science.

[Exterminator]

Those links are to web pages stating what he has done to stop and hinder oil production.

Do you really think that's his goal?

[me]

Do you really think that's his goal?

I just posted the links you have one opinion on them and some have other opinions.  All I will say is we'd better hope that isn't his or his appointee's goal.

[Exterminator]

I just posted the links you have one opinion on them and some have other opinions.  All I will say is we'd better hope that isn't his or his appointee's goal.

And I posted link to substantive data proving that is clearly not his goal so there must have been some reason or reasons to deny the permits that were denied...drilling on a fault line, for example, would probably not be a great idea.

[me]

And I posted link to substantive data proving that is clearly not his goal so there must have been some reason or reasons to deny the permits that were denied...drilling on a fault line, for example, would probably not be a great idea.

You posted a PDF print out from different states which the ones I checked had nothing to do with Obama but were approved by the states.

[Bo D]

Question ... what was America's top export in 2011?

[Exterminator]

You posted a PDF print out from different states which the ones I checked had nothing to do with Obama but were approved by the states.

States do not have the final authority to approve drilling on BLM (federal) land.

[Exterminator]

The Oil Industry's Plan To Lower Gas Prices


The oil industry recently laid out a set of proposals it believes will instantly lower gasoline prices.

The proposals call for more domestic oil production, fewer environmental regulations on refineries and fuel, and for not raising taxes on the industry. They're basically what the Republican presidential candidates are calling for.

But analysts say those ideas will do little to lower gas prices in the short term. Here's why: 

More drilling: The industry has long held that this is key to lowering prices, and "unlocking America's energy potential" is a theme all the Republican candidates are touting.

The industry has studies saying that if it was allowed to drill off both the East and West coasts, on all federal land that isn't a national park and in Alaska's national wildlife refuge it could produce another 10 million barrels of oil a day by 2030 -- double the nation's current oil output.

Eighteen years is a long time to wait for gas prices to come down. But the industry says that if Obama merely announced such a plan oil prices would drop overnight in anticipation of this new production.

"Markets are driven by expectations," Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, said on a recent conference call.

Gerard noted that oil prices fell $16 in the two days after George W. Bush lifted a moratorium on drilling off the coasts in 2008, a moratorium that was effectively reinstated after BP's Gulf of Mexico disaster.

But oil traders are skeptical.

"Just because a policy is announced doesn't mean it can be easily or quickly attained, and the markets will discount that," said Addison Armstrong, director of market research at the brokerage Tradition Energy.

Those against more drilling note that U.S. oil production has increased by about 15% since Obama took office, and prices have only gone up.

Obama himself likes to take credit for this production increase, although actual federal acreage available for drilling is down slightly from the Bush administration.

The extra production comes mostly from private land and is spurred by higher prices, new technology and the expanded use of hydraulic fracturing.

Known as fracking for short, the process is highly controversial as many fear it is contaminating the ground water. Yet Obama has allowed it to continue mostly unfettered -- and has taken flack from his left flank as a result.

In the medium term it's hard to say what impact increased production from the United Sates would have on oil prices.

Ten million barrels a day is a lot of oil, though critics say the industry would never be able to generate that much and note the potential high environmental costs of drilling everywhere.

Plus OPEC might simply cut that amount of production to keep prices high.

Either way, it's unlikely more drilling now would lower gas prices anytime soon.

Fewer regulations: Cutting regulations is another mantra of the American Right, and more regulations are indeed looming for the oil and gas industry.

It's thought that Obama's Environmental Protection Agency will propose new standards designed to cut air pollution and global warming on both refineries and fuels.

The oil industry says the new fuel standards alone could add anywhere from six to nine cents to a gallon of gas.

Yet not implementing those regulations wouldn't lower the price of gas now -- analysts aren't expecting them to be put in place until after the election.

Plus, it's uncertain they will really cost that much.

"Historically, the cost impacts [of additional regulations] have been estimated to be higher than they really are," said Joseph Stanislaw, founder of J.A. Stanislaw Group, an energy and investment advisory firm.

Less taxes: As any good lobby group would, API has used every chance it gets to rally against proposals from the Obama administration that would eliminate up to $4 billion a year in tax breaks for the oil industry.

"No economist in the world will tell you gas prices can be reduced by increasing taxes," said API's Gerard.

Eliminating the tax breaks has been opposed by nearly every Republican politician as well.

But while eliminating those tax breaks might be bad for oil company shareholders, it's hard to see how they would have much of a bearing on raising or lowering gas prices.

What is driving prices: Fundamentally, what politicians on both sides of the isle are missing is the fact that gas prices are not being driven by domestic policies.

They are being driven by oil prices, which are in turn rising mostly on fears over a confrontation with Iran.

"There's a lot of oil out there right now, but people are scared," said Stanislaw. "This is largely outside of the control of the United States."