World disappoints President Obama Again.
From The Washington Times: In a reference to the Syrian refugee crisis, he said “society has not passed this exam with good grades.”



Man, these guys don't like anybody.

If this is the Jayvee team I can't wait for the Varsity Squad. Thanks dude. And you know who I mean.

Think I just found my new favorite band.
They want to kill you no matter how cool you are.

Well, they're at is again. Perhaps the apologists can take up residence in the comments so we can be disgusted by them.
You think they might have some aggro issues?

Step on a crack............
Randy Becker, a hunter who saw the crack and took some pictures, was surprised to see it, “I was stunned. The magnitude of this shift in earth is dramatic. It blows you away to see it.”

Latino groups, among others, urge NBC to drop Donald Trump as 'SNL' host next month




Just a few months ago, NBC fired Donald Trump. Now it's giving him a coveted hosting slot on "Saturday Night Live" — to a growing chorus of criticism.
Latino advocacy groups, joined by Hollywood celebrities and others, are calling on NBC to disinvite Trump from his Nov. 7 appearance, citing inflammatory remarks Trump made about Mexican immigrants in the speech announcing his White House run in June.

I ain't got no cigarettes.

Goodbye Middle Class: 51 Percent Of All American Workers Make Less Than 30,000 Dollars A Year

 We just got more evidence that the middle class in America is dying.  According to brand new numbers that were just released by the Social Security Administration, 51 percent of all workers in the United States make less than $30,000 a year.  Let that number sink in for a moment.  You can’t support a middle class family in America today on just $2,500 a month – especially after taxes are taken out.

Government Collects Record-High Taxes in First 10 Months of FY 2015

 The federal government collected a record amount of taxes in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2015, exceeding $2.6 trillion in revenue, according to the latest monthly Treasury Department statement. Despite the record revenue, the federal government ran a deficit of $465 billion.



 From Breitbart today:

IMF PREDICTS SAUDI ARABIA BANKRUPT BY 2020

The IMF just confirmed Breitbart News’ October 5 warning that Saudi Arabia’s cash reserves are in free-fall, with a new estimate that the world’s richest kingdom may be bankrupt by 2020.

Each October, the International Monetary Exchange issues its World Economic and Financial Regional Surveys. For the first time since the 1960s, the region set to suffer the worst financial agony over the next five years is the Middle East. Ground Zero for that pain is Saudi Arabia.
 It goes on in that vein for a bit, even quoting Goldman Sachs projecting oil production out fifteen years. In the Middle East. Fer reelz. Anyway, back at the ranch we have reports out of the Vienna meeting.

From Reuters:

Venezuela's Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino presented his country's proposals for measures to bolster prices, such as an OPEC and non-OPEC summit and said the market equilibrium price for crude was around $88 a barrel.
Non-OPEC producers have refused to work with OPEC in cutting supply to reduce a surplus that has sent oil prices below $50 a barrel, from $115 in June 2014. OPEC has refused to cut supply alone and many members have raised output.
Oopsie.

From TeleSur:

OPEC, Non-OPEC Oil Producers Agree to Work on Stabilizing Prices

 Well, no not really, and TeleSur is out of Caracas. But there is this:


Many other experts believe the United States has coerced its allies in the Middle East – especially OPEC's largest producer of oil, Saudi Arabia – to put a downward pressure on the price of oil to directly affect countries that are not aligned with their policies, such as Russia, Venezuela, Iran, Bolivia and Brazil, while replenishing their own reserves at rock bottom prices.
 Conspiracy theories about the U.S. still sell, probably because we open ourselves up for it. But according to the next article above-named victim Russia has also told Caracas to pound sand.

From the WSJ:

OPEC Hosts Meeting With Oil Officials From Non-Member States


“We are concerned about the depletion of reservoirs and about the decline of production,” said Venezuela Oil Minister Eulogio del Pinoat a news conference in the Austrian capital. “We are talking here about an equilibrium price to sustain the production.”

But the idea of cutting production to lift prices wasn’t discussed at the meeting of OPEC staff and technical experts from five non-OPEC producers, officials said, though countries like Venezuela have called for Russia to slash output. Russia, the world’s largest oil producer, and the Persian Gulf countries that rule OPEC have said they aren’t interested in cutting output.

So Minister del Pinoat is worried about the "decline of production" while he lobbies for a reduction in production from other member states to prop up prices. This tells you all you need to know about left wing logic. Well, what they think of your comprehension anyway, because the production decline he's worried about is Venezuela's own as they have screwed over their own infrastructure so badly they can't produce more. Oopsie.

So there we have it pretty much exactly where I left it the other day. Saudi Arabia feels it can stand the heat. It doesn't need the IMF for anything and doesn't care about its predictions. But the IMF's raison d'etra are the basket cases like Venezuela so giving them hope that the Saudis will eventually come around whilst giving them an excuse for another round of "help" makes sense here.

Neither Saudi Arabia nor Russia are going to budge here until they meet their objectives, whatever they may be, and with the U.S. having the prospect of being a net exporter in the not so distant future (under a Republican administration) OPEC's days seem to be numbered. We can only hope.

R.I.P. Cory Wells.

Bloomberg Fights the Good Fight

This will be a long rant.

This innocuous Bloomberg article, of only slight interest to the general public, had me re-reading it three times to try and figure out what troubled me. It's a simple rehash of what everyone knows already, that vanishingly small portion of 'everyone' that pays attention anyway, but the tone and phrasing bugged me. Indulge me.

Bloomberg is a U.S. company that delivers market news to subscribers in the investment community. It has grown tremendously over the years and is now also a huge 'news' organization. It was founded by Michael Bloomberg, the now former Mayor of New York City, and has a very strong credibility, based- I believe- mostly on its core product. This credibility akin to the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal is part of what the problem is. It begins with a problematic headline:

“After Year of Pain, OPEC Close to Halting U.S. Oil in Its Tracks.” 

Let's take just that apart for a moment. The phrase stopped, or halted in its tracks has a particular gist. It is a sudden action- or more correctly- a sudden cessation of action. It is also indicative of surprise. Other indications depending on context include fear, an inability for further immediate action and a promise of immediate consequence for the 'halted.' The context of this particular headline indicates that the halted, U.S. oil, had been targeted by the perpetrator of the halt: OPEC.

Furthermore, this situation seems to be warranted as U.S. oil is suggested to have caused OPEC 'Pain.' With me so far?

There is so much wrong with this premise that it hurts to think about it. Especially that the pain referred to was self-inflicted.

As for surprise, nobody who has paid the least attention to the subject is surprised. After all the article is talking about a meeting that was planned, everyone knows what they are going to talk about, and everyone knows which players are taking what sides in the debate. It is not only an editorial posing as a headline, it is a projection, and it is likely an incorrect one at that.

Now the subheds:

U.S. oil output almost back down to level of last OPEC meeting
Saudi-led strategy is paying off, says Societe Generale


The first subhed is informational but people paying the least bit of attention would have already known that. It's a rehash. No real news here. But the phrasing seems to celebrate the fact. Maybe it's just me. The second subhed is more interesting and leads me to remember another article I read a few days ago. Here's the Telegraph from October 18th:


“Almost a year ago Rafael Ramirez, Venezuela’s long-serving former oil minister, emerged from a tense meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) looking red faced and furious.”

Why was Rafael red-faced? Because Saudi Arabia refused to lower production to raise prices- which is slowly killing the Caracas regime. That is the Saudi-led strategy referred to.

Venezuela is particularly suffering because of its adherence to left wing policies that has pushed its output into the gutter. Though the country has the world's largest oil reserves it can only pump one-tenth of the capacity of Saudi Arabia. To add insult to injury Saudi Arabia has managed its wealth into a rather healthy cash reserve whilst Venezuela has squandered its good fortune.

So what is the point behind Saudi Arabia's current policy? The real story is that OPEC was once successful in killing a U.S. industry and is trying to do it again. Back in the late seventies and into the eighties America had found oil in Shale and other places that had been hitherto unavailable.

After a peak output of around 10 million barrels a day in 1970 easy oil began to get harder and output fell. Prices began to rise and then in 1973 the U.S. assisted Israel during the Yom Kippur war. This pissed off the Arabs in OPEC so they declared an embargo against the U.S. and spiked the price of oil by a multiple of four.

U.S. oil output declined until around 1977 when high prices encouraged more production from existing wells, and then there was shale. The U.S. spent billions ramping up shale oil production and total oil output rose until around 1980 when OPEC turned on the spigots. Prices fell dramatically and the shale industry died on the vine. Even so total output continued to increase until around 1985 to around 9 million barrels a day and then started to fall again. Then around 2009 we started fracking for realz.

Now for a simple fisking of the rest of this trash:

“After a year suffering the economic consequences of the oil price slump, OPEC is finally on the cusp of choking off growth in U.S. crude output.”

The painful imagery here continues with the choking and the suffering. The 'oil price slump' is a rather passive expression, and though one may attribute this slump to increased U.S. production, as our accompanying article shows, Venezuela is pissed at the Saudis for not fixing the suffering now.

“The nation’s production is almost back down to the level pumped in November, when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries switched its strategy to focus on battering competitors and reclaiming market share. As the U.S. wilts, demand for OPEC’s crude will grow in 2015, ending two years of retreat, the International Energy Agency estimates.”

Unlike the dictatorships of OPEC, American companies compete against each other. This is not kumbaya. This is not 'wilting.' The system has worked and production has adjusted accordingly. Far from 'battering' its competitors (oy vey, such violence), OPEC has done exactly zilch. Zero. Nada. As the assholes in Caracas fume impotently while the Arabs batter them I reach for the popcorn.

And the next sentence is just economically illiterate. There is no such things as OPEC crude versus U.S. crude. Crude is crude. Period. The only way OPEC crude demand would grow out of proportion to U.S. crude is if the U.S. left the market. Oil is fungible. Like tin, or steel. Or pork bellies. The author is projecting his ignorance. Or not. I report you decide.

“While cratering prices and historic cutbacks in drilling have taken their toll on the U.S., OPEC members have also paid a heavy price. A year of plunging government revenues, growing budget deficits and slumping currencies has left several members grappling with severe economic problems. The fact that the U.S. oil boom kept going for about six months after the group’s November decision also means OPEC has so far succeeded only in bringing the market back to where it started.”

The historic cutbacks they talk about are only possible from the historic increase. And as we've seen, as more oil hits the market, prices retreat. This is the way it's supposed to work. The 'success' of the policy is certainly debatable, and is being debated, by the member countries. And don't forget, most of the market is in futures, not just the spot market where the little guys must play. And as damned near every OPEC country is at odds in some way with the U.S., and nobody here has yet lost his shirt, the suffering of the fools that are losing theirs is a happy occasion for us.

“It’s taken a hell of a long time and it will continue to take a long time -- U.S. oil production has been more resilient than people thought,” said Mike Wittner, head of oil markets research at Societe Generale SA in London. “The bottom line is the re-balancing has begun.”

Mmmm, could that sentence have included the word 'unexpectedly?” Well if your frame of reference is that of the market manipulating OPEC members sitting in their palaces, folks that could not even run their oil business without the outside help of market countries, this is a problem of perspective. The American businesses knew from the get-go that the market price would fall with increased production and planned accordingly. We are resilient because now we know what we're doing. This ain't your father's shale play. We invented this business. If the lesser members of the club get their way and production is lowered, the price will jump back up, and the Americans are ready-willing-and-able to ramp up production.

“OPEC abandoned its traditional role of paring production to prevent oversupply last November as a tide of new oil from the U.S. eroded its share of world markets. The group chose instead to keep pumping, allowing the subsequent price slump to squeeze competitors with higher costs. Its representatives will meet in Vienna Wednesday with non-member countries including Russia for technical talks.”

So the author uses weasel words like 'oversupply' to mask not just the traditional role, but the only role that OPEC performs, to prop up prices for a market that they control. When new competition comes in they drop prices to make entering the market a loser. They take a short term income hit but when the competitor drops out they jack up the prices again. The problem is that the market has changed and the socialist despots and dictators have not kept up. The squeeze is being felt elswhere.

It's interesting to note the inclusion of Russia in the talks. Russia has enjoyed an out-sized influence in events, especially Eastern European events, through their near monopoly on natural gas to the West. The U.S. is now producing so much natural gas from 'fracking' that it has converted two LNG port facilities to export from import. The Russkies aren't too happy with our success either.

“The plan appears to be working. Oil remains 33 percent lower than when OPEC revealed its strategy on Nov. 27, trading for $48.46 a barrel in London at 5:28 p.m. Tuesday. U.S. crude production has retreated about 500,000 barrels a day from the three-decade peak reached in June to 9.1 million a day in the week to Oct. 9, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.

The losses will accelerate next year with a drop of 390,000 barrels a day in annual average production to 8.86 million barrels a day, according to the EIA. OPEC’s fortunes will improve as the U.S. declines, with the IEA predicting demand for the group’s crude climbing to 31.1 million barrels a day next year from 29.3 million in 2014.”

Here's the thing about competition, it makes prices lower, that is the job of competition. Competition breeds new ideas, new manufacturing techniques. It's why the market system works and raises everyone's standard of living. When it is no longer economically beneficial to compete the actor drops out of the market. Many countries are chock-full of natural resources but have no way to exploit them usually because of government policies.

Venezuela is a typical example. Though they have the world's largest oil reserves they cannot get it out of the ground without assistance. Because of that government's incompetence they have ruined their own oil industry and have alienated all but the most foolhardy available help. Thus the red faces. $48.46 a barrel will not kill the U.S., it will kill Venezuela and some others. It will severely damage another few economies. Like Russia and Iran. Iran of course is a special basket case and it also does not have the infrastructure to refine its own oil into gasoline.

As far as the EIA predictions I'll bet a shiny drop of oil that they are based on the current pricing status quo and nothing more. The minute oil prices rise U.S. industries will ramp up supply and retain their market share.

““Their strategy is still working for them,” said Miswin Mahesh, an analyst at Barclays Plc in London. “It means pain now, but in the medium-to-long term they will reap the fruits of a more balanced market, moderated shale supplies, growing demand for oil and ultimately a higher price.”

The pain has been considerable. The average price of a selection of OPEC’s crudes has been about 46 percent lower this year than in 2014, equivalent to a loss of export earnings of roughly $370 billion.
Saudi Arabia, the main architect of OPEC’s new strategy, will have a budget deficit of 20 percent of gross domestic product this year, the IMF estimates. While the kingdom has been able to tap foreign currency reserves and curb spending to cope with the slump, less wealthy OPEC members have fewer options. The threat of political unrest is mounting in the “Fragile Five” of Algeria, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria and Venezuela, according to RBC Capital Markets LLC.”

That first part sounds like cheer-leading to me. A more balanced market? Moderated shale supplies? WTF? What about that political unrest in the Fragile Five? And the political unrest isn't mounting- it's there already. Russia is already distracting its population with anti-American rhetoric and adventurism in Crimea, Ukraine, Syria and not so veiled threats to the Baltic region. For the nonce it is leaving the rest of Eastern Europe alone, but winter is coming. If Russia and OPEC can draw down gas operations in the States it would be to their benefit.

“Venezuela, whose currency has lost 87 percent of its value on the black market in the past year, is urging fellow OPEC members to reverse course and curb production to support prices. Eulogio Del Pino, the nation’s oil minister, will propose the reintroduction of a targeted price range – a policy the group abandoned in 2005 -- at the meeting in Vienna Wednesday.

Iran agrees that OPEC ought to reduce output to engineer a price recovery to $70, but it’s doubtful the group will enact any measures to do this, the nation’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said Oct. 19. The Persian Gulf nation is planning to boost its own output by 1 million barrels a day next year if international sanctions are lifted.

Faltering U.S. supplies show the Saudi-led strategy is paying off, said Societe Generale’s Wittner. “If there are folks in the oil market who expect this is going to end with a new game plan, they’re going to be very disappointed,” he said.”

So again, so sad for the assholes in Venezuela. I'll get extra butter for my popcorn as I watch your corrupt government overthrown. At least the Iranians are honest. If Obama manages to lift sanctions, thankyouverymuchmr.asshole, they are going to ignore the policy that they are asking to implement. I wish we'd listen to them when they shout 'death to America!'

Which leads to the most interesting and out of place quote in the whole piece from Mssr. Wittner. With all the jaw-jawing going on here nothing is going to change according to him. The U.S. will keep on doing what it does best and reduce prices through competition, the Saudis will continue to screw over their fellow OPEC members and hope to catch up later and boneheads like the article's author will continue to misunderstand, misinterpret and expose his own prejudices.

That the editors at Bloomberg let this tripe through the editorial process either shows a profound disinterest in decent reporting and the need to fill 'column inches' or they are simply of the same ilk as the rest of the mainstream liberal media. Cheer-leading anything but America and hoping for its comeuppance.

Lucky for the rest of us there doesn't seem to be anything the lefties can do to stop the fracking, though they have tried mightily. If the industry and the country at large was worried about lower prices, which we're not, we wouldn't be trying to get the damned Keystone Pipeline put in and Hillary and Obama wouldn't have blocked it. If the administration wanted to help it could make it legal for us to export our own crude oil. Oh, you didn't know? Well, now you do. You're welcome.


This earworm has been with me for three days and the only way I know to get rid of it is to give it to you. I've got to get away.

This guy is not part of the consensus
It is a proven fact that plants, including trees and all our food crops, are capable of growing much faster at higher levels of CO2 than present in the atmosphere today. Even at the today’s concentration of 400 ppm plants are relatively starved for nutrition.

DEAR FAG HAGS: I WANT A DIVORCE
But it’s time for a divorce. You see, sadly for you feminazis, there was a prenup we forgot to tell you about, and feminists have a hell of a lot more to lose. So you can keep the Warhol prints you think make you “artistic” and “interesting”; we’ll keep the bachelor pad you could never afford in the Meatpacking District.

This story was actually offered via Yahoo News.

The story claims that 30 percent of the male population in China will die from smoking. If you even think about believing this you are just stupid. From the department of 'who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?' Which gives me the idea for a new label.

Charts and Data Stolen from Twitter.
Most people waking up in the morning find out the daily temperature from the news in Celsius as the following graphic shows.

The U.S. is apparently the outlier here. The following graphic shows that for usefulness however Americans get a quicker grasp of how things really are.

Folks will be hard pressed to dig up dirt on this guy and with vocal immigrant support from Latinos his numbers can only climb. He appeals across party lines and and has support from women.

Retail Politics Chops on Display.

Hoover Fellow Stephen Kotkin Discusses Stalin’s Rise To And Consolidation Of Power.

 Part One above, Part Two below.

Of course the first photos are of Nicholas and Alexei- but you knew that.

Is a rate hike in the future? Maybe She Will, Maybe She Won't Version.


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