Trump Is Trying To Sell ANWR To The Oil Companies

 Donald Trump seems determined to do as much damage to this country as he can before leaving office. One of the things he wants to do is sell oil drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and he is accelerating the process to get it done before leaving office.

Here is part of how Bloomberg News is reporting this:

The Trump administration is racing to sell oil drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge before Joe Biden takes office so the president-elect can’t revoke the contracts.

The Interior Department announced Thursday it will hold the auction on Jan. 6 -- an accelerated timetable meant to ensure the oil and gas leases are formally issued before Biden is sworn in Jan. 20. Biden has vowed to permanently protect the refuge, but formal leases are contracts with the federal government and are difficult to cancel. . . .

The Interior Department is posting the formal sale notice before it finishes soliciting input on what specific tracts should be up for auction. The agency had given oil companies until Dec. 17 to make recommendations and told a federal court that it would publish a notice of sale “subsequently” if it decided to hold an auction. . . .

The sale date gives the Trump administration two weeks to formally issue any leases sold at auction before Biden is sworn in as president. That process of vetting high bidders and subjecting them to a Justice Department review typically takes months, but Interior officials have been strategizing on ways to accelerate it.

It’s not clear which oil companies might show up for an auction, given the current economic environment, the regulatory uncertainty and the steep public opposition to Arctic drilling. Companies once viewed as potential bidders for Arctic acreage have slashed spending this year as the coronavirus pandemic eroded crude demand and prices. Conservationists have identified a handful of little-known oil explorers, speculators and Alaska interests that could vie for coastal plain drilling rights.

Why Shouldn't Oil Companies Pay Taxes ?

This is a very good question. Why are we giving oil companies billions of dollars of tax breaks while cutting money for education (and many other programs that help ordinary Americans)? Why shouldn't the hugely profitable oil companies pay their full share of taxes just like the middle class does?

We have a choice in the coming election. If the Republicans take control, they will reduce taxes for the oil companies (and other corporations even further (and some would eliminate ALL taxes for corporations). If the Democrats take control, they will reduce or eliminate those huge subsidies for the oil companies. If the status quo is maintained, then nothing will be done and the subsidies will stay in place.

That's a pretty good argument for kicking the Republicans out of office.

No More Environmentalism For New Mexico

The state of New Mexico is commonly called the "Land of Enchantment". There's a good reason for that. It's a very beautiful state with delicate ecologies ranging from desert to mountains. It also has a history that stretches over many centuries, and an interesting mix of cultures. When all of this ccomes together, it truly becomes an enchanting place -- both for residents and visitors.

But if you haven't enjoyed the beauty of that special state, you might want to do so quickly. It looks like the new Republican governor, Susana Martinez, is going to turn over the state to the giant oil and gas companies. And she's going to turn those companies loose without supervision or regard to what they will do to the environment. If you've ever seen what the oil and gas companies can do to the environment when they aren't strictly regulated, then you'll know how bad that can get.

Governor Martinez has appointed Harrison Schmitt to head the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. This is the state agency that is supposed to protect the environment in New Mexico. She wants Schmitt to immediately begin reviewing regulations on the oil and gas industry put in place by her predecessor, Governor Richardson.

And Schmitt doesn't need any encouraging. He is an avid opponent of the idea that global climate change is happening, and he believes all environmentalists are communists. Governor Martinez could not have picked a worse person to head up that state agency. Just listen to this piece of an interview Schmitt gave to right-wing radio:

"Number one we’ve been concerned with the misuse of science, but I think more fundamentally, this misuse of science has lead to politicians and ideologues to try to gain control of the American economy, and indeed the global economy, by scaring people….I think that there are individuals, [Obama science czar John] Holdren apparently among them, a very large number who have taken — shall we say captured the environmental movement and turned it into what was previously considered the communist movement. And that’s just something that people of common sense are going to continue to have to counter and wake up enough so that they can take control of their government again. [...]

I think the whole trend really began with the fall of the Soviet Union. Becausethe great champion of the opponents of liberty, namely communism, had to find some other place to go and they basically went into the environmental movement. That’s not to say there aren’t some major and significant environmental issues, particularly at the local level, but they converted environmental activism to a political movement and some would say a religious movement."

I fear for the environment of our beautiful sister state of New Mexico -- which is just a few miles west of where I live.

Oil And Coal Money Flows To Capitol Hill

When the gulf oil disaster occurred a few months ago, Republicans were quick to jump to the defense of BP and the other oil companies. Two of the biggest defenders were Texans. Senator John Cornyn backed up the Texas governor on his "accidents will happen" nonsense and fought every effort to make BP and Big Oil more responsible. Rep. Joe Barton was even worse -- apologizing to BP for President Obama's efforts to make them pay for the damage they had caused.

It should come as no surprise then that Cornyn and Barton lead all members of Congress in donations from big energy companies (and a third Texan, Kay Bailey Hutchison, is in the top six). Here are the six members of Congress receiving the most money from energy giants (mostly oil and coal companies) and the amount of money they have received:

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)..........$1,863,310

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas)..........$1,707,173

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky)..........$1,147,558

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma)..........$1,123,006

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Virginia)..........$1,094,811

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)..........$1,004,514

Our Republican U.S. Representative here in the Panhandle, Mac Thornberry, has also been grabbing as much oil and coal money as he can also. Thornberry, who has one of the safest Republican seats in the nation (since he doesn't even have a Democratic opponent this year), has received $265,800 rom the energy companies -- 84% of it from oil companies and 16% from coal companies.

If you'd like to know how much money your own senator or representative has taken from the energy companies you can go to this site and just type in your zip code in the search box at the top of the page. You might be surprised (and horrified) at the amount -- especially if you are represented by a Republican.

Here are the top six energy companies donating to politicians and the amount they have given:

1. Koch Industries (oil)..........$4,382,491

2. Southern Company (coal)..........$4,057,724

3. Exxon Mobil (oil)..........$3,947,840

4. American Electric Power (coal)..........$2,724,662

5. Valero Energy (oil)..........$2,477,100

6. Chevron Corporation (oil)..........$2,460,946

More Palin Lies

Once again we find that Sarah Palin has been playing fast and loose with the truth. She has always been bad about finding a tiny kernel of truth and turning it into a big fat lie. This time she is accusing President Obama of being paid off by the oil companies ( a strange assertion coming from one of the boldest of the oil company apologists, who says she still believes in "Drill, Baby, Drill").

Palin said, "I don't know why the question isn't asked by the mainstream media and by others if there's any connection with the contributions made to President Obama and his administration and the support by the oil companies to the administration." She went on to wonder if that oil company support had anything to do with "President Obama taking so doggone long to. . .grasp the complexity and potential tragedy that we are seeing here in the Gulf of Mexico."

She inferred that the oil companies had given President Obama more money than other candidates. That is just not true. As expected, the bulk of the oil company political contributions went to Republican candidates. The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics revealed the following contribution statistics:

- In 2008, 77% of the $35.6 million in oil company contributions went to Republicans.

- During the 2008 presidential campaign, President Obama received $898,000 from the oil and gas industry, while McCain received $2.4 million from them.

- In 2010, 71% of the $12.8 million the oil and gas industry has donated has gone to Republican candidates.

Looks like Palin has got the story backwards, but that is no surprise. Perhaps she would like to explain if all the oil and gas money contributed to her various campaigns has anything to do with her ridiculous "Drill, Baby, Drill" campaign.

More Government Malfeasance

This is the kind of thing that happens when you put a couple of oilmen in the White House. It was bad enough that the White House let the oil companies write our energy policy, but now we learn that the oil companies are also literally in bed with Interior Department officials who are supposed to be overseeing their actions.

According to three reports released by Interior Department Inspector General Earl Devaney, the oil companies are insuring cooperation of government regulators by plying them with illegal drugs, illicit sex, meals and drinks, tickets to sporting events, gifts worth more than the federal gift limit, and good old-fashioned cash.

These companies haven't stopped at buying the White House and Congressional Republicans. They've made sure they can get what they want by buying lesser government officials also. This is just more proof that when you have lying and corruption at the top, it will filter down to all levels of government.

It should come as no surprise that Republicans have taken up the call to let oil companies drill in our pristine national reserves and our off-shore areas. They know it won't have any effect on gas prices, but it will create the opportunity for future payoffs and "campaign donations".

As Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "The allegations of illicit and unethical behavior detailed in the inspector general's report are directly related to the energy debate taking place in the Congress this week. Little did we know how cozy the relationship between Big Oil and the administration's regulators have been."

We have to get the Republicans out of power in the coming election. Maybe then we could develop an energy policy that consists of more than just selling out to the big oil companies.

Gas Prices -- Don't Be Fooled

Sometimes newspaper headlines can be downright irritating. I know this Fort Worth Star-Telegram headline irritated me:

Gas prices way down from peak

Who are they trying to kid? Are they trying to convince us that we're actually getting a good deal on gas from the giant oil companies? This is just the kind of thinking the oil companies are hoping for. They raise the price a large amount and everyone gets upset. Then they lower it a tiny amount and everyone thinks they're getting a good deal. Well, you're NOT!

Let me point out a couple of things. While you're celebrating the fact that gas is now only about $3.55 a gallon in Texas, let me remind you that last year at this time gas was selling for around $2.70. And in January of 2007, the price was around $2.00. Do you still think $3.55 is a good price?

And the price of a barrell of oil is creeping up again, so don't expect the "low" price of $3.55 to last very long. The oil companies have a good thing going right now and they're not about to give up their record-breaking profits. We'll probably be looking at $5.00 a gallon gasoline next year.

But I don't expect the prices to rise too much until after the election. These big oil companies know who their friends are -- Republicans. They'll probably temper any price raises until after the election in an attempt to get McCain and as many Republicans as possible elected.

After all, the Republicans have given big oil companies about $33 billion in government handouts over the next five years. Check out the blog Bluedaze for an excellent accounting of the Republican handouts to big oil. It's downright shocking! Republicans can't find the money to help people in this country who are hurting, but they have tons of money to throw at big corporations (who are already making record profits).

Of course, once the election is over and they continue the march toward $5.00 a gallon gasoline, they're going to continue to blame Democrats for not letting them destroy our national preserves and coastlines with new drilling. But they won't tell you about the millions of acres in leases they already have that they're not drilling on. Why don't they drill on the leases they already have before they demand more.

The reason is politics. The "we need new drilling" mantra is just a ploy to try and stave off a Democratic victory in the coming election. The American people would be damn fools to fall for this political ploy. Even if the new drilling was approved, it would be five to ten years before the new oil hit the market.

There's something else they're not going to tell you, also. A huge portion of the oil produced in the United States is SHIPPED TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES by the oil companies. Why should we believe the new oil produced here would stay in this country? If we stopped shipping American oil overseas, we would have plenty of oil. But they're not about to do that, because then the prices would really drop and they're profits would also.

We have to face facts. Big oil has one hand on our throat and the other in our pocket, and they are not about to let go of either.

Gas Prices Still Rising & So Is My Stress Level

Well, I've just been raped by the oil companies again. I had to fill my car with gas again today. The price here in Amarillo is now $3.29.9 (and this was at a place that advertised "discount gas"). Nowdays the price has risen every single time I have to gas up.

I think we probably have the highest gas prices in the state (anybody out there have to pay more?). This is at least a dime over the national average. I still don't understand, with all the oil and refineries in this state, how ANYPLACE in Texas should be paying more than the national average.

I'm already furious with this situation, but I'm afraid I'll probably pop a blood vessel when the oil companies announce their record profits at the end of the summer (and you know they will).