October surprise: Gas keeps rolling down
posted at 2:29 pm on October 20, 2006 by Ian
Gas prices in my neighborhood hit below $2.00 today, what a thill. I am so happy, I’m filling up in excitement.
Thank you President Bush!
Check out your local prices here.
Blowback
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I call conspiracy.
greenpiece on October 20, 2006 at 2:38 PM
Damn that Bush; it’s all his fault. His and Halliburtons.
dalewalt on October 20, 2006 at 2:38 PM
Geez Ian, don’t you know that the prices are going down due to George Bush and Dick Cheney’s command of BIG OIL, OPEC, and even [gasp!] Seven Eleven???? They command it all!
My God man, there’s a Conspiracy here! Karl Rove is behind this too! Where’s Dan, where’s Katie, where’s Olbergasm??
Free market my a$$, we gotta get the word out!
BacaDog on October 20, 2006 at 2:40 PM
Next thing you know the unemployment rate will be in the 4% range.
Evil, Pure Evil ;)
Tyrs Fury on October 20, 2006 at 2:40 PM
They’re only bringing down the price so you will buy more gas!! It’s part of their trick, see. Don’t be such a lemming and get all happy about the lower prices.
/* sarcasm rules */
greenpiece on October 20, 2006 at 2:42 PM
I question the timing…:)
bernzright777 on October 20, 2006 at 2:43 PM
TF, they’ll probably push the dow about 12,000 as well. Is there no end to their evil?!?!?
greenpiece on October 20, 2006 at 2:44 PM
Its coming down here in San Diego as well
Hallelujah! It pays to be a Republican
Defector01 on October 20, 2006 at 2:45 PM
Bush is making my 401(k) grow as well! Damn him!
SouthernGent on October 20, 2006 at 2:48 PM
This has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that this administration has been the greatest cash cow the petroleum industry ever had, from denying global warning to massive tax incentives. Now shut up, consume and vote the incumbent party of short-term memory in November.
Constantine on October 20, 2006 at 2:49 PM
I live in Missouri and we usually have the lowest gas prices in the nation (low gas tax). Claire McCaskill(D), who is trying to unseat our great Senator Talent, last week accused President Bush of deliberately lowering gas prices. Aside from the weakness Democrats exhibit on national security and their moral relativism, I think their economic illiteracy is one of the glaring differences in the two parties. They have no idea how prices are set or basic concepts of capitalism and economics.
liberty on October 20, 2006 at 2:52 PM
Since Bush is lowering prices; I certainly hope that after the election (and the republicans lose) he REALLY sticks it to everyone and raises prices to $5/gallon. That’ll teach americans to vote democrat! ;)
lorien1973 on October 20, 2006 at 2:53 PM
Even though OPEC announced it would be cutting production, the price of oil is headed down.
Thank God for the Bush/Cheney/Rove/ diety!
DannoJyd on October 20, 2006 at 2:54 PM
Constantine,
Please pick one. Either it’s he didn’t do enough to keep the prices low or he’s an evil genius bringing the prices down. Which is it?
greenpiece on October 20, 2006 at 2:54 PM
GOP should make a campaign commercial, based on democrat comments that Bush controls the gas prices:
(haunting music)
Do you like $2 gas or $3 gas? Vote republican and it stays $2. Vote democrat; and well, we’ll make you pay!
lorien1973 on October 20, 2006 at 2:56 PM
Facts, Constantine, where are the facts?
Specifically, what tax incentives? Also, explain to me how denying global warming would put cash directly in the pockets of the petroleum industry? Please don’t give me the “it encourages use of petroleum” refrain. That’s an opinion, not a fact.
BacaDog on October 20, 2006 at 2:58 PM
Can’t you neo-cons use your brains?
There is NO WAY Hannibal will cross the Alps and those Gauls in Tuscany are just trying to feed their families for goodness sake. Building Hadrian’s wall will do NOTHING to stop the Picts from trying to reach Britiannia. It will only increase their hatred of us.
And another thing, what the hell is wrong with letting everybody vote? This ‘class’ distinction thing about citizens and non-citizens only causes non-citizens to feel left out!
Then you want us to grow MORE of our own wheat, when all the worlds experts agree that doing so would only cause more Vesuvius Warming. The obvious answer is to work to reduce our calorie intake and NOT ruin our chances of appeasing Vesuvius! Your over reliance of imported wheat, instead of reducing the size of the average Roman, is what got us into this mess in the first place!
You neo-cons are shameless! Last election smearing poor Brutus as a coward with your feckless Pharsallas-vet campaign! Then you throw the Gracchi brothers off the Tarpian Rock just because they tried to redistribute your wealth to the poor! SHAMELESS! You should all be thrown off the Tarpian Rock and see how YOU like it! All you want is WAR, WAR, WAR! Your latest gimmick is trying to scare us all with your ‘The Parthians Are Building A Catapult” nonsense. It never ends.
The elections are tomorrow and the people and the tribes will vote. Then we will have real leadership, leadership who is NOT AFRAID of going down with the ship! We will drain the Tiber! We will restore honor to the Senate. We will work with our neighbors to ensure that all men and women can wear the toga anyway they like. Shameless, all of you neo-cons, just shameless.
Sincerely
Senator Pelosius, Senator Rangletonius, and Senator Reid-o-potomus
Limerick on October 20, 2006 at 2:58 PM
“This has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that this administration has been the greatest cash cow the petroleum industry ever had, from denying global warning to massive tax incentives. Now shut up, consume and vote the incumbent party of short-term memory in November.”
And it’s just people in the administration that are denying global warming too. You can’t find one scientist to dispute it…well maybe one or two, but Rove told them what to say. And cash cows…Republican cash cows are evil…Dem cash cows are good. It’s the evil cows vs. the good cows.
sdd on October 20, 2006 at 2:59 PM
Constantine,
No one has denied global warming but questioned how much of a role humans play in the process.
bj1126 on October 20, 2006 at 2:59 PM
Priceless, Limerick, priceless.
ReubenJCogburn on October 20, 2006 at 3:04 PM
That Bush, he truly is something else. He’s got to be the most powerful human to ever walk the planet. He can create hurricanes, tsunamis, global warming, earthquakes – he can control the stock markets, gas prices, etc. He must be a god or demon (probably the latter because it appears that everytime he says a lie, people die – he also looks and sounds evil).
Rick on October 20, 2006 at 3:05 PM
Damn those Republicans! Making life better for us all just so they can stay in power to….. well, make life better for us all. Is there no end to this evil treachery?
infidel4life on October 20, 2006 at 3:16 PM
bj1126–I wouldn’t say that’s entirely true; most available data (and it’s all so short term…) doesn’t support GLOBAL warming, which is why you’re starting to hear the term “climate change” more frequently–some localities are warmer but some are cooler. Just ask Moscow!
It amuses me to live in Wisconsin, where so much of the landscape was formed by glaciers that formed 15,000 years ago and retreated 10,000 years ago (mammoths driving cars?), and hear the local moonbats insist that the earth’s climate should not deviate from what it was when they were five years old. It’s so arrogant, so ignorant…
Radish on October 20, 2006 at 3:20 PM
If it wasn’t for global warming most of us would be under about a mile of glacial ice. The Earth has a wobble which gives us ice ages and nice warm times. I for one am going to enjoy the warm time. Now bring me another one of those drinks with the little umbrellas in it, while I dip my toes in this melted glacier.
Gooch on October 20, 2006 at 3:22 PM
Radish, those glaciers were clearly George Bush’s fault!
ReubenJCogburn on October 20, 2006 at 3:24 PM
To celebrate, I’m going to buy a fifty gallon drum of diesel, pour it on my neighbor’s yard, and then set it on fire.
Seeing and smelling that thick black smoke makes me feel so alive. It kinda makes the marshmellows taste funny, but the light-headed feeling is well worth it.
Thank you Halliburton.
natesnake on October 20, 2006 at 3:26 PM
Oh, I almost forgot gas is still $2.25 here and this Bush country. What the heck is going on?
Gooch on October 20, 2006 at 3:28 PM
I gaze out the window at all those barrels of oil my son snuck back here from his last tour in Iraq, which we shared with the Danish cartoonists and the Pope, while uncle Dubya fiddled with the voting machines, and mom polishes up her B52.
Limerick on October 20, 2006 at 3:32 PM
I found an old article on climate change, and gas …
On Wednesday, two geophysics professors at the University of Chicago warned those who eat red meat that their increased flatulence contributes to greenhouse gases.
Well, that stinks!
DannoJyd on October 20, 2006 at 3:33 PM
Don’t get too excited… Opec is cutting production to stop the falling prices. Bush WILL get blamed for that however.
RightWinged on October 20, 2006 at 3:35 PM
According to Bob Woodward, the Saudis upped production before the 2004 election to stabilize prices.
Is the price being manipulated? See what happens after the election, should be a pretty good indication.
honora on October 20, 2006 at 3:39 PM
My mom blamed Bush for higher gas prices at the beginning of this year (yes, she’s a Democrat, he says shamefacedly). I asked her if he’s now lowering prices, and why he didn’t lower prices right before the 2004 campaign. Of course she has no answer. I’m trying to teach her right, but sometimes you’ve just gotta let go and hope they learn right from wrong.
dalewalt on October 20, 2006 at 3:42 PM
Barack Obama. D’uh!
wordwarp on October 20, 2006 at 3:43 PM
Gas prices go up. Bush is to blame. Motivation? Evil.
Gas prices go down. Bush is to blame. Motivation? Still evil, apparently.
This data suggests to me that Bush is evil regardless of what gasoline costs, so there is no correlation between his level of evilness and the cost of gasoline. But no, it couldn’t be that simple. Take it home, Cartman.
Mark Jaquith on October 20, 2006 at 3:43 PM
honora, you’re proving the point I made earlier, liberals have no concept of supply and demand. Gas prices are primarily set by futures traders. Your ignorance of economics is glaring.
liberty on October 20, 2006 at 3:44 PM
Ah, if BobW said it…
Honora, the prices started RISING immediately prior to the 2004 election… so if the Saudis did it to help Bush, then they failed.
dalewalt on October 20, 2006 at 3:45 PM
BacaDog:
Bush signs energy bill – August, 2005
“The new 1,724-page energy law, four years in the making, will provide $14.5 billion in tax breaks. The recipients will include producers of oil, natural gas…”
The bill exempts oil and gas industries from some clean-water laws, streamlines permits for oil wells and power lines on public lands…
And this legislation was crafted with input from whom? The oil industry, of course. In closed-door meetings with Cheney.
I never criticized Bush for not keeping oil prices down, or making them higher. It’s just a bad idea to have a tax giveaway to an industry that’s making record profits in a time when we’ve got record deficits. Obviously big oil wants to keep their sweetheart deal going, so they’re minimizing discontent by keeping prices low during election season. That’s the point.
Constantine on October 20, 2006 at 3:46 PM
Not at all; motivation for lowering prices is to get the Rs who are much more to the liking of the oil companies and Saudi (think about that for a minute). This I suspect is the doing of the Saudis if it is being done at all which a I don’t really believe.
Bush? Naaah. Doesn’t have the balls.
honora on October 20, 2006 at 3:46 PM
Well he definitely said it, though it could have been the 2000 election, but I thought it was 04.
honora on October 20, 2006 at 3:47 PM
OPEC is currently saying they are going to lower production (prices will go up). We are three weeks before election. If your implied collusion is true, why didn’t they wait until after the election to make the announcement?
Logic is wasted on you honora.
natesnake on October 20, 2006 at 3:49 PM
And what do future traders look to for their cues to buy or sell? If you are going to address me, please don’t call me ignorant.
honora on October 20, 2006 at 3:50 PM
So why don’t you husband yours and parse it out to the more deserving?
honora on October 20, 2006 at 3:52 PM
I live in the N.W. and I am greatful for global warming I would find it hard to see the sound looking thru a mile of Ice. And did you know about 800 years ago it was warm enough to grow grapes in England? 150 yeas ago we were in what was called the little ice age? That Greenland was Green about 1000 years ago? Those danmed SUV. Let the Gas prices fall, fill up those SUV, and the beach front property in Halifax Canada is cheap these day.
Gwillie on October 20, 2006 at 3:52 PM
I deny global warming. Don’t deny that it happens – the world has fluctuated millions of times over millions of years; perhaps its warming now. But global warming, as a political issue, solely puts the blame on humans. And that is hardly accurate.
I simply ask all global warming believers – What temperature would you like it to be?
lorien1973 on October 20, 2006 at 3:53 PM
Hence the reason very few liberals are captains of industry.
Head shops are such lucrative business ventures.
Damn hippies.
natesnake on October 20, 2006 at 3:55 PM
They look to many things; production increase/decrease, demand increase/decrease, geopolitical trends, natural disasters than could influence oil demand, weather patterns, etc. As natesnake said, OPEC is going to lower production, which will mean prices may go up. I said “may” go up; it’s not definite. Some forecasters are calling for a warm winter in the northeast US; if this happens then demand will be down/supply will be up, and prices won’t rise as fast as the otherwise could.
dalewalt on October 20, 2006 at 3:57 PM
bob woodward…hmmm….now THAT’S someone without an agenda…
sarcasm off/
pullingmyhairout on October 20, 2006 at 3:57 PM
Huh? Could you please restate your question in English?
Are you a liberal Turing machine?
natesnake on October 20, 2006 at 4:01 PM
honora, I didn’t call you ignorant, I said your “ignorance of economics.” There is a difference. BTW, futures traders look at all factors in determining commodity prices. I should know, I used to be one. Even though OPEC announced production cuts, gas futures continue to be depressed. That’s partly because they see a gradual slowing of demand for oil worldwide going forward. That’s why they’re called future traders.
liberty on October 20, 2006 at 4:01 PM
If it was truly supply and demand oil would be cheap. The futures traders look for anything that they think might make them a little extra cash, they all jump on the wagon and enjoy the ride. Unlike orange juice that could be ruined by disease or freezing, there is plenty of oil if you just drill for it and pump it out of the ground!
See you all later.
Gooch on October 20, 2006 at 4:01 PM
Huh? Aren’t these prices set by the Joooooooos?
EFG on October 20, 2006 at 4:01 PM
Damn Jeff Goldstien!
Arrrrggghhhhhh!!!!
natesnake on October 20, 2006 at 4:05 PM
Prices have plummeted. Now learn to deal with it! Whining libs bitch when prices go up and when prices go down.
But be prepared folks, the day the price of gas goes up two cents a gallon they will proclaim, “see I told you so”, and they will cheer and rejoice the victory that is duly theirs as higher gas prices once again drain their coin purses. And then they will ask, can we please reduce the tax incentives so that we might achieve an even greater victory, and wallow in the euphoria as gas prices skyrocketing to $4.50 a gallon. And when 50% of their monthly budget is dedicated to gas purchases they can then say with certainty, “now we got that darn Bush”, and walk away knowing they are the winners.
Cuckoo.
fogw on October 20, 2006 at 4:06 PM
This is about the time honora will call liberty “obtuse”, invent some strawman argument, and make examples with data points that are completely irrelevant … aka, moonbat economics.
(Good job, Chimpy and KKKarl, manipulating those oil prices – no matter which way you do it, it always seems to help your electoral prospects!)
thirteen28 on October 20, 2006 at 4:15 PM
No there isn’t. If one is ignorant, one is ignorant of something or somethings in particular. It’s not a state that exists in a vacuum.
I know how commodity markets work. Production cuts or increase will affect futures, granted not in a straight line manner for the reasons you state, but everything else being equal, production cuts will drive up prices at the pump. Geez.
honora on October 20, 2006 at 4:20 PM
No. And I am hoping you’re not serious.
honora on October 20, 2006 at 4:22 PM
Oh honora, you’re living up to your reputation. I’ve just started posting to this site, but I’ve read your comments before. You’re living in your own little world.
liberty on October 20, 2006 at 4:25 PM
Honora,
Visited the TNR blogs. First Liberal site I’ve ever seen where debate is civil, even for conservative like me.
Thanks for the tip. Didn’t think you would meet the challenge!
BacaDog on October 20, 2006 at 4:30 PM
Darnit, natesnake, you just made honora look correct about something :-)
dalewalt on October 20, 2006 at 4:43 PM
I’m as serious as a heart attack.
So why don’t you (conserve) (your logic) and (be in agreement with the rules of grammar) to the more deserving?
Did you possibly mean “parse” as a means to “distribute”? Problem is that “parse” does not have a definition that includes “distribute.” Let’s go with your non-word and try it again:
So why don’t you (conserve) (your logic) and (distribute your logic) to the more deserving?
Your question now esentially states the following:
#1 I (natesnake) have logic.
#2 I need to conserve my logic.
#3 I need to distribute my logic. (do I keep it or distribute it?)
#4 I need to distribute my logic to the more deserving. (I assume at this point the you are requesting my logic. I now assume that you requesting my logic is an admission that you have no logic.)
That honora is an abortion of logic and grammar.
natesnake on October 20, 2006 at 4:55 PM
And we’ve got a 9.8, 9.7, 9.8, and from the German judge, 6.5. Oh well.
Nice natesnake :-)
dalewalt on October 20, 2006 at 5:01 PM
Course, this is getting waaay too deep for me on a Friday afternoon.
dalewalt on October 20, 2006 at 5:01 PM
SouthernGent on October 20, 2006 at 5:12 PM
It’s a good thing the oil companies are the only ones to get any type of tax break or incentive! No other industries gets them! How shady!
Global warming……if it gets hot in the summer then it’s global warming. If it gets cold in the winter then it’s global warming. No matter the temp it’s global warming. BLAH BLAH BLAH.
I glad the USA is the sole party responsible for “global warming.” I feel like I accomplished something each week by driving to work in my SUV while not recycling anything.
Sarcasm, Just one more service I offer.
VikingGoneWild on October 20, 2006 at 5:18 PM
Bush according to the moonbats:
Dumb and incompetent as a chimp, yet wily and evil enough to control the earth’s atmosphere, global economics, and every election! What an enigma!
NTWR on October 20, 2006 at 5:42 PM
We have been below $2.00 for the last three weeks here in West Texas. We were as low as $1.83 late last week.
JB on October 20, 2006 at 7:16 PM
Don’t you people get it?!
The “blood for oil” thing is finally starting to pay off!
irishsquid on October 20, 2006 at 7:34 PM
The older I get, the less patience I have for the Grand Unified Conspiracy Theory of Economics.
p.v. cornelius on October 20, 2006 at 8:16 PM
Oh, and btw, oil is blood.
p.v. cornelius on October 20, 2006 at 8:18 PM
Hmmm, just like with your wealth. Now they want your logic.
TheSev on October 20, 2006 at 10:41 PM
We are now *occupiers* of an oil-friggin-rich nation.
Were I president, Americans would all be driving Hummers around with the E-brake jacked on because gas would be 5 freakin cents a gallon!
Dopey hippies.
Alden Pyle on October 20, 2006 at 10:53 PM
Au contraire Constantine – they advertised the massive tax incentives globally, via CNN International. For the global good!
Entelechy on October 21, 2006 at 1:32 AM
The italics didn’t show well that it’s warning and not warming.
Entelechy on October 21, 2006 at 1:35 AM
parse it out means to break down or dissect and hand out. Look in the big dictionary.
honora on October 21, 2006 at 11:02 AM
honora, check my latest post on the ‘evangelicals’ thread.
Entelechy on October 21, 2006 at 3:31 PM
You guys are crackin’ me up today! I lost track of who I wanted to pat on the back for excellent writing and hysterically funny and sarcastic one liners because there were so many. Good work Troops, keep it up.
Be nice to Honora, she may be a liberal, but she’s also very nice and very polite. Wrong, but nice and polite. We should encourage friendly debate, not name calling.
Tony737 on October 21, 2006 at 4:55 PM
Oh yeah and gas is down to $2.01 in “Dela-WHERE?”.
Drill in ANWR and watch those prices drop even more! Scrou the caribou!
Tony737 on October 21, 2006 at 4:57 PM
Gas here in Western NY is still $2.42-$2.45 a gallon…why are prices here still higher than the rest of the country? Of course, stupid NY taxes on Gas might have something to do with it…
DakRoland on October 22, 2006 at 10:50 AM
New SUVs for everyone! Only 2700 U.S. soldiers dead – what a bargain for cheap, reliable oil! If we get up to 5000, it might be on $1.29!
BigB on October 23, 2006 at 12:28 AM
…denying global warming…
================================
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Sorry, I get a little hysterical whenever I talk about global warming.
JackM on October 23, 2006 at 7:42 AM
Only 2700 U.S. soldiers dead – what a bargain for cheap, reliable oil!
==================
No blood for oil!!!!
JackM on October 23, 2006 at 7:43 AM
honora, congratulations! You found one definition, in one dictionary, to make your use of “parse” sound reasonable.
A problem still remains.
Your question is still an abortion of logic and grammar.
Let me give you a tip honora. When speaking in a public forum, refrain from using million dollar words. Your attempt to sound intelligent by using such words will eventually backfire. Someone in the crowd will call your bluff and reduce your pontifications to a heap of mindless ramblings.
BigB, I can visualize the smile on your face every time the U.S. troop death statistic rises. You should go to Iraq and enlist with the “resistance.” At least the soldiers would have the opportunity to meet you on the battlefield instead of having you stab them in the back here at home.
200 years ago they had a name for your activity. It was called sedition. If found guilty in a court of law, it was punishable by life in prison or death.
natesnake on October 23, 2006 at 9:31 AM
The recent flucuation of oil and gas prices shows that the oil/gas commodity is truly elastic as the market has adjusted for the price increases with increased production which then caused the prices to be reduced. Oil and gas is so readily available around the world from so many sellers that the OPEC cartel cannot easily influence the price. As you ecomonic gurus know a freely competitive market requires many sellers vying for the same consumer base. Free markets – what the capitalistic system is all about.
docdave on October 23, 2006 at 9:07 PM