Prices are rising because of uncompe ive actions by mega gas companies, not environmental regulations or lack of capacity.
The FTC concluded in March 2001 oil companies intentionally withhold supplies to drive up costs as a profit maximising tactic. 80% of big oil money campaign donations go to Republicans. The Republicans do not challenge the oil companies profit maximising strategies.
A March 2001 report that concluded this occurred during the Clinton administration. A similar report in 2006 found no evidence of the practice during the current Republican administration.
Big oil only owns 50% of the refining capacity in America; the rest owned by non-oil en ies. The reason capacity isn't being expanded is due to environmental restrictions and the costs associated with compliance.
Investing in Hydrogen power could end all this.
And, before anyone says that it's not realistic, I believe Norway has already done this.
We have a bigger economy than Norway and if our government gives incentives we could definitely get this done.
Hydrogen is the future.
Oil is the past.
Not entirely true if you look further into it. The 2006 report was led "Investigation of gasoline Price Manipulation and post Katrina Gasoline Price increases". It mainly dealt with price increases in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It only looked at areas that may have been directly affected by the hurricane over a months time.
It found 15 cases of local or regional price gouging but no price gouging by the oil companies in the weeks following Hurricane Katrina. Some speculate on the findings since the commissioner of the FTC at the time was Deborah Majoras who was the point person for Chevron Texaco and Halliburton.
Hillary weighs in on the discussion. And other interesting
remarks.
Clinton: Wright 'would not have been my pastor'
By Mike Wereschagin and David M. Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a wide-ranging interview today with Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporters and editors, said she would have left her church if her pastor made the sort of inflammatory remarks Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor made.
"He would not have been my pastor," Clinton said. "You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend."
Obama's lead in national polls has slipped since clips of the retired Rev. Jeremiah Wright began being played on national news programs. The uproar prompted Obama to give a wide-ranging speech on race in America a week ago. The Clinton campaign has refrained from getting involved in the controversy, but Clinton herself, responding to a question, denounced what she said was "hate speech."
"You know, I spoke out against Don Imus (who was fired from his radio and television shows after making racially insensitive remarks), saying that hate speech was unacceptable in any setting, and I believe that," Clinton said. "I just think you have to speak out against that. You certainly have to do that, if not explicitly, then implicitly by getting up and moving."
Clinton's 90-minute interview covered topics from pledged delegates to Iraq.
Among her statements this morning:
On saying last week that she landed under sniper fire during a trip to Bosnia in 1996, when she was first lady:
"I was sleep-deprived, and I misspoke."
• On superdelegates:
"The governor from Tennessee (Phil Bredesen) suggested that there be a convention of superdelegates, and I think that it is an intriguing idea. I have not considered it long enough to have an opinion on it."
On the possibility of Gov. Ed Rendell becoming her running mate:
"It's premature to say that I would have Gov. Rendell, but I have a lot of regard for the governor."
• On Social Security:
"We need to have a bipartisan commission much like President Reagan and Tip O'Neill had in the '80s where they worked together, and we have lived off of those efforts. But we need to do something now. One of the caveats that I would have is that people that are presently on Social Security or about to go on Social Security not be affected."
• On so-called earmarks, which are congressional appropriations to specific ins utions:
"I am proud of my earmarks," she said sarcastically. "Part of the reason that I won New York by 67 percent are my earmarks."
Staff writer Salena Zito contributed to this report.
The great uniter and his charitable side. He loves to help others,
just not with his money. Only yours and mine.
Obamas Donated Less Than 1% of Their 2000-2004 Income (Update1)
By Ryan J. Donmoyer and Julianna Goldman
March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his wife Mic e gave $10,772 of the $1.2 million they earned from 2000 through 2004 to charities, or less than 1 percent, according to tax returns for those years released today by his campaign.
The couple earned more than $2.6 million in 2005 and 2006, combined, after the Illinois senator published a bestselling book in 2005. They donated $137,622 over those two years and made their church, Trinity United Church of Christ, one of the biggest beneficiaries of their philanthropy, donating $27,500. Obama is under scrutiny for his ties to the church because of comments made by its senior pastor.
The Obamas' charitable giving history was revealed as he became the first presidential candidate to release his tax returns for the decade and called on his rival for the Democratic nomination, New York Senator Hillary Clinton, to do the same. Obama didn't release his 2007 return today.
``Releasing tax returns is a matter of routine, and we believe that the Clinton campaign should meet that standard and meet that routine standard now,'' said Robert Gibbs, Obama's communication director.
Bill Burton, a campaign spokesman, said the Obamas gave as much as they could afford.
``As new parents who were paying off their large student loans, giving $10,000 to charity was as generous as they could be at the time,'' Burton said.
Before April 15
Howard Wolfson, Clinton's communications director, said the campaign would release her tax information before April 15, the filing deadline for individuals. Arizona Senator John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee, hasn't released his tax returns.
Presidential candidates aren't required to release their tax returns, which by law are confidential. Most have chosen to do so since the early 1970s.
In 1998, then-Vice President Al Gore was criticized for donating only $353 to charity in 1997 despite earning $197,729. Gore, who was the 2000 Democratic nominee for president, responded by pointing to a history of philanthropy, including more than $50,000 in royalties from his book, ``Earth in the Balance.''
The Obama's giving pattern is consistent with that of most other Americans, said University of Georgia Professor Russell James, who has studied the issue.
`Par for the Course'
His analysis of more than 56,000 survey respondents from 1995-2005 found that 89 percent of donors give 2 percent or less of their after-tax income to charities, including their churches. Americans who earn more than $150,000 on average gave about 2.2 percent of their income.
``It's not shocking,'' James said of the Obamas' philanthropy. ``It's about par for the course for Americans.''
The Obamas' donations to all recipients totaled $2,350 in 2000, $1,470 in 2001, $1,050 in 2002, $3,400 in 2003, and $2,500 in 2004. They also paid federal taxes totaling $311,044 during the same period on their $1.2 million of income.
The Obamas' biggest gift in 2005 and 2006 combined was $31,000 to Atlanta-based CARE, an organization fighting global poverty.
The Obamas also gave $13,107 to the Congressional Black Caucus in 2006 as well as $5,000 to the Muntu Dance Theatre, where Mic e Obama serves on a capital campaign committee with Bob Nash, a deputy campaign manager for Clinton.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ryan J. Donmoyer at e-mail [email protected]; Julianna Goldman at [email protected]/
Last Updated: March 25, 2008 15:20 EDT
Um, have people forgotten that Obama is as much White as he is Black genetically and he was raised by his White mother's side of the family? What's the problem here?
Oh damn I forgot... The whole "One drop rule" pretty much disqualify his White genes since White people apparently don't want to accept a biracial person as on of their own. My bad... continue this pointless drivel
Last edited by Spawn; 03-26-2008 at 01:43 AM.
why would one want to claim white if you cant say nagga.
Maybe he's ashamed of his White heritage. He had the chance to clarify the fact that he's bi-racial when Ferraro stated that he wouldn't be where he was if he weren't Black <actually, he can clarify it at anytime if he'd like>. All he had to say was, "hey, I'm just as White as I am Black".
But he didn't...
Everyone's aware of that...well, maybe he's forgotten.
Of course, that would make him a Tom, and cost him dearly with the Black solidarity voting bloc.
The race card has been deployed. Original! Powerful!Oh damn I forgot... The whole "One drop rule" pretty much disqualify his White genes since White people apparently don't want to accept a biracial person as on of their own. My bad... continue this pointless drivel
What, 45 percent of Caucasians have voted for the Black candidate and 6 percent of Blacks have voted for the White candidate, yet it's the caucasians who have a problem with race...got it.
Makes perfect sense to those who find reason and logic challenging.
<and thanks for the nominal deposit of drivel. Difficult though it may be, try bringing something other than ignorance to the table>
All this BS is freakin' ridiculous. I want to know about the issues.
WGAF who somebody's pastor is? WGAF how much somebody gives to charity or not? Does any of this matter as to who should be our next president?
Seriously?
I watching Fox & Friends this morning and they had actor Corbin Bernsen on and I agree with what he had to say. He said he is a registered Republican but he doesn't like the fact that the republican has to use the "fear factor" to win an election and that the time is NOW for Barack Obama. He said he doesn't want to hear about someone's pastor or a incorrect statement made by a candidate. All candidates have been successful in their careers and I think are ready for the office of the President.
We need to concentrate on the issues and I agree with him that while I like McCain I don't agree that it is all about National Security.
I don't have any doubts that both Obama and Clinton will do everything to keep America safe. I also feel they are more in touch with the middle class and what America wants.
Enough of this petty squabling over crap that will not matter when it comes to who is in the Oval Office.
I don't give a crap about what people who endorse candidates think or say but what the candidate thinks and says.
There is no way we can get inside a candidate's head and know what they think but I give people the benefit of the doubt.
I'd like to leave you all to your petty arguments but I know I'll be drawn in because...well, I'm a political junkie and I think it is fun but in all seriousness, talking about non-issues in such an important time of our lives is foolish.
That is true and I do feel she was trying to embelish her record but I don't think it has anything to do with her ability to be President.
Just like I don't think a few wrong statements by McCain do either.
I"m just tired of all the BS that people actually buy into when it comes to electing the President of the USA.
I concur.
Joe, I agree there is a lot of BS, as always in any election.
But I could care less who wins the dimm-o-crap
nomination. Both candidates, Hillary and Obama, are
firebrand liberals and will be bad for the country. McCain
isn't too much better, but he is better. We cannot
afford either Hillary or Obama. That is a fact.
We don't need another 4 years of Bush policy either. And that is a fact.
And I mean the facts as WE see them.
Um guy, you are familiar who came up with the "One Drop Rule" concept aren't you?Maybe he's ashamed of his White heritage. He had the chance to clarify the fact that he's bi-racial when Ferraro stated that he wouldn't be where he was if he weren't Black <actually, he can clarify it at anytime if he'd like>. All he had to say was, "hey, I'm just as White as I am Black".
But he didn't...
Everyone's aware of that...well, maybe he's forgotten.
Of course, that would make him a Tom, and cost him dearly with the Black solidarity voting bloc.
The race card has been deployed. Original! Powerful!
What, 45 percent of Caucasians have voted for the Black candidate and 6 percent of Blacks have voted for the White candidate, yet it's the caucasians who have a problem with race...got it.
Makes perfect sense to those who find reason and logic challenging.
<and thanks for the nominal deposit of drivel. Difficult though it may be, try bringing something other than ignorance to the table>
It's immaterial, I was responding to the overall tenor of your post.
Typical right-wing distraction. Wright has nothing to do with Obama, nor with being president.
McCain asked Hagee for and got an endorsement.
Does that tar McCain as believing Hagee's crazy ? And Parseley's, too?
dubya's economy is cratering,
dubya's Afghanistan is going and the Taleben,
dubya's destroyed Iraq is an unstable house of cards,
but the right-wing is screaming about a minister.
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