Countdown begins to when CNBC tells us that BP stock is a 'real bargain'

"It's only natural... in a period of transition for the more timid element to run for cover."

- Sidney J. Mussburger, Hudsucker Industries

Bringing home the bacon

Responding to the McCain campaign's claim that Sarah Palin is the foremost energy expert in government today, Yglesias remarks, correctly that "She’s someone who knows how to turn the sky-high revenues generated by being an oil producing region at a time of high oil prices into political popularity, but not someone who knows anything about energy policy or even, it seems, oil market."

On Yglesias' first point, take a look at this Friday's Anchorage Daily News.

An estimated 500,000 Alaskans received up to $3,269 in their bank accounts today, thanks to direct deposits of their annual PFD and one-time "resource rebate" payments from the state, meant to offset high energy prices.

About 100,000 other Alaskans will receive their payments by check starting the week of Sept. 30.|ADN|

For those of you not doing the math at home, that's $2 billion windfall for Alaska's economy. Don't know how the rest of us are supposed to pay for $4 gas.

A culture of ethical failure

Between 2002 and 2006, members of the 55-person Denver office of the Minerals Management Service received gifts, such as ski trips and dinners, as well as straight-up cash tips while the head—Gregory Smith—used "illegal drugs and had sex with subordinates." The MMS awards and oversees the ability to take oil, natural gas, minerals and other goods from properties controlled by the federal government, such as offshore waters or federal lands in the West.

The scandal is not just confined to Denver, either, the report says. At least 12 other Interior Department employees rigged contracts in favor of particular oil companies, were employed by said companies as consultants and/or had sex with oil company employees. |Scientific American|

"The government employees who oversee off-shore oil drilling are literally and figuratively in bed with big oil," said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

The reports from the OIG are available here.

John Sidney McCain III and the Republican Party are Bad for America

I think many have been distracted by the polarizing figure of Sarah Palin. Please recall:

George W. Bush and the Republican party started an unjust war with Iraq based on fabricated evidence. John Sidney McCain III has been a vocal proponent of continuing the war. Barack Obama opposed the war from the start.

George W. Bush and the Republican party have made kidnapping, torture, and indefinite imprisonment without habeus corpus "business as usual". John Sidney McCain III, a former POW, opposed legislation that would ban specific torture practices. Barack Obama opposes torture and supports the Unites States Constitution.

George W. Bush and the Republican party took over a country with record budget surpluses and economic growth and created staggering debt, unemployment, and recession. John Sidney McCain III supports the current economic policy. Barack Obama supports windfall taxes on oil company profiteering, creating new jobs by developing green technology, supporting small business, fair trade, workers' rights, and other measures.

George W. Bush and the Republican party have enacted an energy policy written by oil company executives. The current energy policy has driven rapid increases in energy prices, increased reliance on foreign oil, and record profits for oil companies. John Sidney McCain III supports the current energy policy and supports increased domestic drilling for oil. Barack Obama supports rapid development of alternative energy sources.

John Sidney McCain III is inextricably linked with the current Republican administration's failures. He plans to continue these failed policies, and so would his vice president. 

What other failed policies do you want to see stopped? Post them in the comments.

Hey!

Why isn't anybody in these parts posting about Peak Oil?

Relatedly, I read somewhere -- maybe Harper's -- that an underground colony of a single celled eukaryote had been determined to have more biomass than exists on the surface of the planet. Don't know if that's true, but it seems consistent with this:

The recent discovery of unusual microbes that thrive at these depths today has greatly expanded our notion of earth's biodiversity and has forced us to re-draw the evolutionary tree of life. Many scientists now believe that the total amount of biomass underground exceeds that of the surface.

If I recall correctly, one of the anti-Peak Oil crazy sciences theories postulated that oil is, contrary to appearances, a renewable resource. The precise crazy science mechanism for oil formation escapes me, but didn't it require that huge reservoirs of as yet undiscovered biomass exist deep underground? If it did, then I say this is a coupe for crazy science!

Also, the Peak Oil guys totally have a feather in their cap right now. I meant to mention that earlier in the post.