Media spin and offshore drilling...what do you think????

[YvonneCa]

...:7 My thoughts:



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It would seem to me that by this time…after 7+ years of this Bush Administration…that the pattern they follow to get their way on policy is very clear. They create propaganda (a false intent) spin it and sell it…to the detriment of the American people. Their goal is ALWAYS the same: 1) Move responsibility off the shoulders of government and on to the backs of the American people, and 2) Make money for big business as former oilmen.

It would seem to me that the media…especially television news who has covered this administration (sort of) for 7+ years would not only SEE the pattern, but feel a duty to point it out to the American people. But I watched them ‘catapult the propaganda’ on energy policy again this morning. If you doubt the pattern this administration uses to get its way, here are a few examples:


Example # 1 Social Security. Their plan was privatization from the beginning. But they mislead everyone into thinking they were trying to ‘save’ it. Put all our money in stocks…that would have worked. Have you see the stock market lately?

Example # 2 Public Education. They try to sell us vouchers. As with Social Security, the plan has always been privatization…not making schools better.

Example # 3 Katrina. Bush never wanted government to help us during natural disasters, so he created Homeland Security (hey, Mr. Orwell) and put FEMA under that umbrella…stripping a once great agency down to nothing. No wonder it failed…but then it’s easier to get rid of a failing agency than a good one. Again, privatizing an agency meant to be a support for the public.

Example #4 The war in Iraq or the military in general. They knew the only way to make it happen was to mislead us on purpose. Bush balked at helping our veterans, and tried to privatize a war with KBR, Blackwater, etc. Lots of money made there.

Example #5 Our current economic crisis…notice who his actions have bailed out. Homeowners again are left holding the bag…many without their homes.

And there are really too many to list…the Justice Department, CIA, FBI, NSA…many of whom are supposed to keep us safe (Richard Clarke has a great book on this subject).



So now, before he leaves office, Bush wants an energy policy. He has always wanted to drill for oil everywhere…and now he is renewing his push to do so. His great intentions are not to help clean up the environment. Nor are his intentions to help average Americans struggling with the high cost of gas for their cars or energy to heat and cool their homes…he is holding out and DEMANDING that Congress drill in ANWR and off our coasts…period.

Anyone who does not see the pattern here hasn’t been paying attention. Anyone who sees it and BELIEVES Bush is doing this to help the country is blind. Anyone in the media…who HAS been paying attention to his methods…who spins this in his favor is irresponsible. This administration wants to drill off our coasts and in ANWR, because…they say…we need every last drop of oil to help us through this ‘transition’ to renewable energy. That argument misleads us, the American people, and insults our intelligence. There are already U.S. lands…yet undrilled…that we can and should explore. Any oil we drill out now, won’t help gas prices…indeed, it won’t get to market for YEARS...and then much of it would be sold to other countries. We should ‘transition’ to renewable energy, like solar and wind, etc…but we SHOULDN’T take the advice from former oilmen like Bush Cheney, and T.Boone Pickens blindly.

This administration wants to drill off our coasts and in ANWR because it will make MONEY for oilmen. Period. Pickens promotes ‘his plan’ because if cars go to natural gas he will make money. Period.

The American people get to decide who to listen to about energy. I hope the media…CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC and others …will make sure they get ALL the facts. (I know that’s tough, when some are owned by energy companies.)


But look what happened when the case for going to war in Iraq was whitewashed.

[YvonneCa]

1. Shameless...

...kick. :7

[twiceshy]

2. My house is heated with Oil..........

I don't have $5000 for a Gas Furnace or $20,000 for solar or $100,000 for wind - even if we had good wind or solar conditions in NE. I would rather pay US companies on US soil to drill our resources than people who dislike us in the Middle East. There is nothing wrong with making money - I work for money, don't you?

[YvonneCa]

3. Yes, I work for...

...money. :7 I also think it's fine to "pay US companies on US soil" for resources...I just want them to be renewable resources going forward. I also don't have $$$ to buy my own gas furnace or solar panels (or, lately, even gas for my car :) ), but I would like to see SC Edison switch its resources to solar and wind and away from oil produced by people who dislike us in the Middle East or anywhere else. And, I think SCE is already starting to do so.


I think Bush's argument is a 'straw man' argument. He's saying this is all about national security (the fear card) and it is a about that...but it's also about a cleaner environment. I think we can safeguard our energy supply AND clean things up at the same time.

The other point I was making was the pattern of this administration to mislead people to the benefit of big business.

[twiceshy]

4. I agree about the electric grid...

to the point we can fill in or augment electricity with alternative sources, fine. But it's not going to fill my oil tank this Winter - people (mostly elderly) are going to fucking freeze to death this Winter in NE. All the rosy scenarios in the world are not going to help, just lower prices. Drilling domestically will lower prices - even the real threat of drilling as OPEC wants to keep us dependent.

[YvonneCa]

5. I know...

...that's the trouble IMO with this whole conversation...real people are being hurt.

It's why I was so ticked by what Enron did out here in 2001...people couldn't pay bills. It hurt the elderly. Small businesses were lost. Cheney wouldn't let FERC help and just said, basically, we were on our own.

Now these same people want to convince us to drill...as the only way out? I don't believe a word of it.

What WILL convince OPEC that we won't stay dependent is a REAL change in our energy policy. Not a Bush-Cheney change...an Al Gore change. JMHO.

[twiceshy]

6. The Japanese, French, and even the Chinese ....

Have gone large scale nuclear, I think we should too.. The Other thing is running cars on LNG or CNG less pollution both in drilling and in burning and we have lots of natural gas. I was in Peru 6 months ago and two weeks ago in that span of time they have gone from almost no LNG/CNG autos to having the fuel available everywhere in Lima. They are offering incentives for cabbies (of which there are 10,000s) to convert, they get a fuel discount until they pay off the loan. Less pollution, less cost, use of Peruvian resources. We have to be crazy in this country - we can't seem to do a damn thing new or sensible.

Actually looking into teaching at "The Roosevelt School" in Lima, my wife is from Peru.

[YvonneCa]

9. I'm very hopeful...

...that we will do something sensible, and sooner rather than later. I'm not against NG or nuclear as part of a transition off fossil fuels. I just think the goal has to be renewable, clean sources of energy. We have the resources. The time is right. :)

Good luck on the teaching...I'm a teacher, too...recently retired. :7

[Vinca]

7. My biggest complaint with the media and coverage of offshore drilling

is they never mention the number of years it will take before that oil can be gotten and never mention the paltry sum of money it would save when you go to buy gas some 12 years from now. They never mention the millions of gallons of oil exported from the United States to foreign countries, either. It seems to me if there was a true shortage of oil, we'd be keeping that oil at home. Anyone seen any gas lines? I'm telling you this is all cooked up because big oil knows it's their last chance to glom onto every piece of unspoken for real estate, on and offshore.

[YvonneCa]

10. Exactly...

...and it would be nice if the media could be objective, instead of only presenting one side of the issue. That's what I think we need to 'encourage' them to do. We need to be annoying little gadflies. :7

[KharmaTrain]

8. They Also Create A False Sense Of "Urgency"

When this regime was hellbent to start bombing Iraq, they cooked intel and warned about "mushroom clouds"...it whipped up the corporate media and soon Iraq=9/11 and the invasion and war for profit was on. A masterful PR job that not only pushed bullshit, but made it seem like so black and white the options were limited and action had to be taken fast.

This game played again with FISA and now with oil. It's as though off-shore drilling is the panacea for our energy problem. Just start drilling and we'll be back to $2 gas in a week (right Michele Bachmann?). Forget investigating past leases or the the financial practices of the oil company...and definitely pay NO attention to the money these companies are throwing both at politicians and the corporate media...it's all about a ticking energy time bomb...

[YvonneCa]

11. Yes...they play the fear card...

...quite well. :)

[spin]

12. Experts disagree on how long...

it would take for new oil to come online. Some say 10 years, some say one to five years especially if we start the new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico where infrastructure is available.

It's difficult to sort out the bullshit from the truth.

But there is absolutely no doubt that if oil prices continue to rise, our economy will suffer until we start drilling for new oil or set up alternative energy sources.

If we would have allowed drilling ten years ago, we wouldn't face the problems with supply that we face today. And there is also little doubt that the longer we wait, the longer it will take to get new oil online.

I believe that Big Oil has a vested interest in keeping supply tight and making as much money as possible without killing the goose that lays their golden eggs.

But, if we elect intelligent politicians who have more interest in serving the people of this country rather than big corporations, we may be able to form a energy policy that will reduce prices by allowing drilling and supporting the development of alternative energy. We may be able to insure that Big Oil doesn't merely sit on the new leases. We may be able to tax Big Oil to fund alternative energy.

Any new energy policy will probably have to be a bipartisan effort. We seem to have a dysfunctional congress that is totally incapable of doing anything productive. Perhaps with some luck, the Democrats will gain full control of Congress and the Presidency. But if the Democratic leadership focuses on developing only alternative energy we may find ourselves paying seven to ten dollars per gallon at the pump. If Israel attacks Iran or vice versa and the Strait of Hormuz closes down for a few months the price might even rise higher.

And if the Democrats do take control and the price of oil continues to skyrocket, they can expect to lose control of Congress when the mid term elections happen.

I believe we need to appoint an independent commission to research the energy problem and recommend solutions both for the short and long term. Then we all need to push the people who represent us to implement these solutions. Congress currently is generating a lot of hot air that unfortunately can't be tapped as an energy source.

[YvonneCa]

13. Great post...

...especially this line: "Congress currently is generating a lot of hot air that unfortunately can't be tapped as an energy source." :7