Daily Show: An Energy-Independent Future

Every President since Nixon has promised an energy-independent future, most predicting a date when such a thing would take place.  Those predictions are just about exactly as good as doomsday predictions. Energy independence a nebulous notion, at least as long as we are dependent upon fossil fuels.  Without something concrete to replace oil and coal, we're stuck with them. With oil--despite the "drill, baby, drill" cries, all oil goes on the international market. In order to still use oil, we'd have to radically alter the oil market to keep what we drill. Which renders that whole mantra even more stupid than it sounds at first blush.

All of this is better handled through a comedic framework, and no one does it better than The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
An Energy-Independent Future
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Michele Bachmann Has Energy Solution: Drill Here, Drill Now!

Looking like a weird kind of showgirl, with a big plant growing out of her head, Michele Bachmann (R-Teabaggistan) is seen here signing on to Newt Gingrich's blah-bitty-blah group of some sort, encouraging drilling for oil all over the danged place. Never mind that any oil "drilled here" just goes on the global market and does very little for our price at the pump. Never mind the big, spewing BP oil geyser in the Gulf of Mexico. Of course, Bachmann is batshit crazy, so of course no one would take her seriously. Right? Right?

Drill Baby Drill Becomes Spill Baby Spill

Image from source, Huffington Post

I know, I know, President Obama recently committed to offshore oil exploration, so this is not exclusively a Republican thing. But Obama didn't have "drill baby, drill!" as a campaign motto like the GOP did in 2008. And Obama didn't declare that "study" was unnecessary, and that we just need to drill here, drill now, like Sarah Palin (R-Facebook) recently did.  The disaster is still growing, and I cannot claim schadenfreude on this one. Still, it bears pointing out that the mindless, simplistic drilling "solution" was misguided.  If anything good comes of this, I hope that offshore drilling be regulated so that no deep water drilling happens ever again unless there is a contingency plan to deal with deep water cleanup.

[Excerpt]

'Drill, Baby, Drill' Champions Silent On Gulf Oil Spill

More than a week has passed since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, killing 11 workers, injuring over a dozen more, and causing a massive oil spill that may eclipse the Exxon Valdez.


Yet the two most prominent political champions of offshore drilling -- Sarah Palin and Michael Steele -- appear not to have uttered a word about the incident. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Thomas Friedman and the Folly of "Drill, Baby Drill"

As I said earlier, I opted out of watching Sunday's Meet the Press, in exchange for a few more ZZZs. But I'm glad I found this clip of Thomas Friedman talking to Tom Brokaw about the chant (often heard--even at oddly timed moments) of "Drill, Baby Drill!" The crowd of Kool-Aid drinkers at the Republican National Convention were fully on board with Big Oil when it came to the drilling issue. Here, Friedman explains--in pretty easy to understand terms--why that refrain is not the answer.

Republican Stunt in Congress Not Very Convincing

Photo from source, Think Progress

As I've noted before, Republicans are quite fond of simplistic phrases that are full of "truthiness" but not necessarily much truth. The big one right now is "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less," the brainchild of Newt Gingrich (who had success with "The Contract on with America"). It's overly simplistic, and also larded with a a heap of untruth.

For instance, the implication is that drilling more oil is for us, when it in fact would be sold on the world market, further enriching Big Oil. It is also specious, since Big Oil already sits on countless acres that they are not drilling on. There are many other examples.

But Republicans in Congress are seizing upon the idea, and have been staging a stunt in the Capitol, chastizing Democrats for going on a planned vacation. But how convincing is this stunt when House Minority Leader John Boehner is off golfing instead of participating?

[Excerpt]

Boehner At Home Golfing While House Colleagues Conduct Oil Drilling Protest On Capitol Hill

Since last Friday, House Republicans have been engaged in a political stunt on Capitol Hill, staging fake sessions on gas prices while Congress adjourned for recess.

Over the weekend, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) urged Members to return to the Capitol, “although they themselves didn’t show up. . ."

Read more at: Think Progress

Exxon-Mobil's Historic Profits: More than Anybody Ever

Image from source, Los Angeles Times

Yeesh. ExxonMobile's profits lead me to ask a few questions of any conservatives who may have happened upon my blog on accident.

First, if demand is down, and supply is static, how do oil and gas prices remain so high? Second, if ExxonMobil only raised the price of gas enough to keep its profit margin, why did they make so much money? Shouldn't profits remain static? And third, while I understand why people like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are carrying water for Big Oil, why are you?

I've seen and heard ordinary Joe Citizen conservatives leaping to Big Oil's defense. Enthusiastically, they swallow whole the utter bull crap that off-shore oil leases and drilling in ANWR is the answer. They want to give Big Oil even more wealth. Assume it was all true, and that oil would flow freely. Do you think that's for us? No, it would be sold on the world market, and ExxonMobil gets even richer. I seriously don't see how this comes down to conservative vs. liberal.

[Excerpt]

If only Exxon could earn money like Disney

The net profit on those sales: $11.68 billion, which just happens to be the largest quarterly profit ever earned by a U.S. company.

But Exxon’s net profit margin of about 8.5% -- net income as a percentage of revenue -- pales when compared with what many other blue-chip companies earned in the latest quarter. . .

Read more at: Los Angeles Times

John McCain's Oil Drilling Hoax

Photo from AMS Bow Fishing

I think it was P.T. Barnum who said, "You'll never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people." Whether it was Barnum or not doesn't matter, because the sentiment is absolutely true. Dangle a bit of "truthiness" in front of the average American, and he'll swallow it whole.

Fortunately, this election season, it would seem that a few more than usual Americans are paying attention. I can only hope that's true, because the Frank Luntzian phrasing and logic are in overdrive at the moment, particularly as it applies to oil. We've got Newt Gingrich with his "drill here, drill now, pay less" campaign, and John McCain is trumpeting that line too.

Logically, it falls apart. But it makes a great soundbite. If you're one of those people who has swallowed that line though, take a read of this article, and then tell me if you still feel the same way.

[Excerpt]

McCain's Oil Drilling Hoax

Forced to cancel a planned visit to an oil platform off the Mississippi coast last week because of inclement weather — and the untimely leaking of hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil by a shipwreck in the vicinity — John McCain finally got his photo op at a Bakersfield derrick on July 28. Speaking on site, the Arizona senator delivered extraordinarily good news to the beleaguered gasoline-consuming public as he explained why we must drill offshore. . .

Read more at: Yahoo! News