Wednesday, October 28, 2009

ObamaNation

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Making the internet rounds, July 2013

If President Obama had a son, he would look like Trayvon Martin (pot-smoking, expelled/drop-out, hoodie); if President Obama had a city, it would look like Detroit (bankrupt), and if President Obama had a country, it would look like Cuba (with its wonderful healthcare system).

Making the internet rounds, April, 2013
This is who President Obama targeted during the budget ceiling discussions:
  • social security benefits
  • military retirees
  • social security disability
  • federal retirees  
This is who/what he did not address:
  • federal aid for illegal aliens
  • internet access for prisoners
  • federal workers
  • excessive First Family vacations
  • Congressional pay or the pay of Congressional staffer
  • food stamp programs
  • foreign aid
With the 2% sequester, he ran very, very close to significantly harming the US air industry, and everything that flows from that. I doubt he moved to address the issue because business men and women were complaining; he knew that any a/c mishap would be immediately connected to the substandard FAA staffing. Cutting FAA staffing was truly playing with American lives.


Barack Obama: aloof and omnipresent.
Never fully present and he won't leave.

Speaks constantly, endlessly,
But always seems to be withholding his true thoughts and plans.

The candidate of hope and change, of "Yes, we can," 
But the mood of his governance has been dire, full of warnings, threats, cliffs and ceilings, 
Full of words like suffering and punishment and sacrifice. 

Always the language of zero-sum,
Hardship that must be evenly divided,
Constriction and accusation.
It's all so frozen, so stuck.

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For those who support the president's policy on immigration, take a look at the #1 song in England, April 4, 2013:

I Got a Brand New Leather Jacket


Theme song



February 22, 2013: The Great Pretender



July 2, 2012: Classic movies redone.




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August 31, 2013: "the great procrastinator." For past six months questions, the Syrian missile crisis; now he goes to Congress for authorization. Congress doesn't come back from recess until September 9, 2013. 

August 26, 2013: why would anyone in his/her right mind think that President O'Bama would visit North Dakota -- 3 electoral votes? Why would anyone in his/her right mind WANT President O'Bama to visit North Dakota, unless they want the Bakken boom to come to a screeching halt?
 
August 25, 2013: Montana county official writes letter to Billings Gazette editor why he hates the Obamas; I agree completely.  Not once does the writer mention the Obamas' ethnic background; I was amazed how many folks wrote into say he was a racist and a bigot;  I have no idea what those comments were based on.

August 21, 2013: the Manchurian candidate.

August 14, 2013: lying, or out of the loop?
NBC News contacted around 20 small businesses and other entities for this report and found that employee hours are being cut to 29 hours because of Obamacare, despite the delay of the employer mandate. But the White House, NBC News reports, says that there is no systematic evidence that this is because of Obamacare and dismisses the report as anecdotal.
Does not matter. This administration threw the truth under the bus a long time ago.

August 8, 2013: President O'Bama is clearly the worst president in the modern era (since "Ike") and there have been some losers; in 2010, President O'Bama said he would double exports within 5 years; it was an unrealistic goal -- except for petroleum products;

June 11, 2013: this says it all -- the president doesn't want to tax all businesses out of business. Just some of them. Wow. I can't believe he said that. 

May 28, 2013: distracted by scandal, and in over his head. Visits the Oklahoma city destroyed by one of the worse tornadoes in US history and says the government will be there for Monroe. Unfortunately, the city devastated was Moore. I assume this was with a teleprompter: either he can't read, or his writers can't even get it right. I can't make this stuff up.

May 27, 2013: my thoughts exactly -- has there ever been a less serious president in our lifetime than BHO? By his own admission, he is lazy; and, every day, he proves it. Great speaker.

April 20, 2013: this was the end of the week of the Boston Marathon bombing. Throughout his administration, the president has tried to minimize the use of the word "terror," calling what we used to call "terrorist events," simply crimes. John Kerry, his SecState was even more adamant that these were crimes and not terrorist events and should be treated as such. Now, after lulling Americans into thinking they were safe, and realizing that he was completely wrong, he now is back to referring to these events as "terrorists events." Had he come to Boston and argued that these were simply "crimes," he would have been booed out of the city. Interestingly enough, reporters picked up on this immediately when they noted that the Federal agents that "arrested" suspect #2 last night hiding in a boat and bleeding to death did not read the individual "his" Miranda rights, possibly because it was not required. The US Attorney on site said there was a "public safety" exception, but did not use the phrase "enemy combatant." One starts to think that the president might be getting the message, but paraphrasing, he once said if push came to shove with regard to Muslims, they would have his back.

December 30, 2012: Hollywood and guns

August 12, 2012: for all you folks getting excited about US exporting Alaska's liquid natural gas to Asia, it ain't gonna happen under the Obama administration. That can be guaranteed. Export requires the president's approval, and he will waffle and then deny. Let them eat cake.

June 17, 2012: Father's Day ... and President Obama's 100th golf outing

June 10, 2012: Americans lost 40% in personal wealth between 2007 (Bush) and 2010 (Obama), mostly due to house values. That's the good news. The bad news is that things seem to be getting worse, rather than better.

May 20, 2012: Flashback

May 10, 2012: Obama Hollande blames Bush Sarkozy: things are worse than we were told.

May 6, 2012: the hypocrisy of Buffett and other billionaires/millionaires -- giving less than ever before. 

April 22, 2012: all the baby steps forward, assisted by past US presidents; all for naught; under Obama's watch. Way to go. It all started with the Cairo speech. Relations between Israel and Egypt come to an end. It's actually pretty incredible when you think about it. All the work that had been done; all for naught.

April 15, 2012: some time ago I posted a comment about the number of jobs the president has killed (the Keystone) and the destructive nature of unemployment for husbands and fathers. I won't be able to find that post, but I think it was in regard to the Keystone. Now, look at the last paragraph in this article:
Forgetting what the boom has done for North Dakota, think once more about what it has done for others: all those Americans who are newly employed. Some of them were out of work for years. Unemployment can have nasty side effects, including depression, alcoholism, and divorce. It’s easy for the already employed to sniff at an oil boom. Men who have come to the Bakken are saying that, at long last, with work, they can look their children in the eye. That is really good news. 
Jay Nording gets it. President Obama and faux environmentalists don't.

April 13, 2012: $800,000 income; 20% tax rate. His secretary, $90,000; 24% tax rate. Obama doesn't "qualify" for the "Buffett rule"; his income is not above one million dollars.

April 10, 2012: The price of gasoline has more than doubled under President Obama. The percent increase under President Obama exceeds that of President Carter when it also doubled in price. Under President Bush it declined.

April 9, 2012: current oil prices and employment within the norm of the past 50 years -- Rigzone. With regard to the stimulus, "refreshing memories":
When President Barack Obama first took office, his administration passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This stimulus package grew to cost $840 billion, in which the objective of these funds was to create jobs. According to recent documents, over $749 billion of the funds have been distributed. If we very generously assume that these funds resulted in every job gained since the recent trough, then the cost per individual job gained subsequent to passage of the act is $243,267. If we take the average recovery from past cycles and net this figure against the current number of jobs recovered, then only 1.1 million jobs would likely be due to the Recovery Act. In this second example, each job "created" by the stimulus actually costs $751,174. Either way, these costs seem outrageous regardless of how many jobs were created.
April 9, 2012: Obama's GSA -- 115 iPods go missing, $20,000 in value.

April 7, 2012: Actions have consequences. "Arab Spring" in Libya has most likely resulted in a new al-Qaeda base the size of France. Once they get their passports ....
The rebels, armed with weapons stolen from Muammar Gaddafi’s formidable arsenal, took over an area of the Sahara as big as France in an astonishing 72 hours, taking advantage of the chaotic aftermath of an army coup. 
April 7, 2012: See entry below, April 6. NBC fired the producer.

April 6, 2012: NBC is just another left-leaning blog.NBC admits to editing a highly sensitive "911 call."
The sources at the network, who declined to identify the producer, said NBC News executives did not know the 911 call was misleadingly edited until news reports surfaced days later on right-leaning blogs including Newsbusters.org and Breitbart.com.
Either lying or incompetent.

April 5, 2012: Obama's Department of Justice needs three pages to tell American citizens that the Supreme Court can overturn laws deemed to be unconstitutional. Wow.
The Department of Justice is also expected to submit a three-page explanation later in day clarifying whether it believes the court can overturn laws passed by Congress, responding to the order of a federal judge in Texas who said Mr. Obama's comments cast his beliefs on that in doubt.
April 4, 2012: this has probably circulated for quite some time. I saw it for first time today: "Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured ... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen." I think that speaks volumes and separates those who speak the truth from those who do not.

 January 22, 2012: see December 25, 2011, note below. The Egyptian election results are in, and the Islamists are firmly in control, led by the Muslim Brotherhood. That puts an end to women's rights in Egypt and restores the balance of power in the war of terrorism. Is it just me or is there a reason the mainstream media refers to election results as "... more than two-thirds of parliamentary seats" rather than "firmly in control of the Egyptian government." My hunch is that most Americans, products of the public school system, a) do not understand fractions; and/or, b) glaze over when it comes to numbers.

January 18, 2012: Thank goodness for the internet. Potty training since the 1960'sLink inappropriate for children and Sunday School marms.
 
January 12, 2012: Obama's postmodern vision -- National ReviewObama has read Putin's playbook.

January 10, 2012: Obama's war on energy.

January 4, 2012: Democracy in action. Obama's recess appointment clearly unconstitutional; any rules, regulations coming from this "director" will be found to be "null and void."

December 25, 2011: This will bring Egypt up to the 1500's. Incredible but everyone could see it coming but the New York Times. So much for advancement of human rights; so much for advancement of women's rights.

December 19, 2011: Egypt coming apart at the seams. It's just a matter of time before Egypt is back in the medieval Dark Ages. It all started the president's visit to Egypt and "the speech."
December 17, 2011: "Iraq coming apart at the seams." -- CNN.  As the US pulls out, what would one expect? Maliki's days are numbered ... and then all hell breaks loose.  It looks like the president has thrown the country of Iraq under the bus.

December 15, 2011: Obama's Watergate: Fast and Furious
Operation Fast and Furious was run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives  and overseen by the Justice Department. It started under the leadership of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. Fast and Furious enabled straw gun purchases from licensed dealers in Arizona, in which more than 2,000 weapons were smuggled to Mexican drug kingpins. ATF claims it was seeking to track the weapons as part of a larger crackdown on the growing violence in the Southwest. Instead, ATF effectively has armed murderous gangs. About 300 Mexicans have been killed by Fast and Furious weapons. More than 1,400 guns remain lost.

Agent Terry likely will not be the last U.S. casualty.

Mr. Holder insists he was unaware of what took place until after media reports of the scandal appeared in early 2011. This is false. Such a vast operation only could have occurred with the full knowledge and consent of senior administration officials. Massive gun-running and smuggling is not carried out by low-level ATF bureaucrats unless there is authorization from the top. There is a systematic cover-up.

Congressional Republicans, however, are beginning to shed light on the scandal. Led by Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Rep. Darrell Issa of California, a congressional probe is exposing the Justice Department’s rampant criminality and deliberate stonewalling.
December 15, 2011: ObamaNews
September 22, 2011 -- three years into this debacle -- 
A woman in a hot-air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation fo 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude an 100 degrees, 40.90 minutes west longitude.

She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican."

"I am, " replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be an Obama Democrat."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are are or where you are going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault."
August 17, 2011: On day 938 of his presidency, Mr Obama says he will give a speech on a new jobs program ... in a month or so. Meanwhile, he's on vacation. This is an incredibly fair and balanced opinion piece in The Los Angeles Times

August 14, 2011:  President Obama's approval drops below 40% for the first time.  Obama will always have a base that will support him no matter what, perhaps 15%; and another 10% that have no clue, but I think as we start to approach 35% even such supporters as MSNBC will have to reset their thermostats. MSNBC will continue to lose market share with the unabashed, bias reporting on the president.

July 10, 2011: Disappearing black middle class under Obama. It's just a matter of time before this group starts referring openly to Obama as an Oreo. On a related note, last night we walked along a very nice (newly renovated?) area along the marina in Long Beach. It looked like it might not survive the recession, but if it does, it will not survive as a hangout for "urban youth" who wear their pants well below their waists. The majority of folks walking along the promenade targeting upper middle class were urban youth. The area won't survive.

July 10, 2011: Some claim the US dis-respected Obama in killing him. I can't make this stuff up.

May 5, 2011: Some question whether killing bin Laden was legal under international law.
Bin Laden "was the head of al Qaeda, an organization that had conducted the attacks of September the 11th," [Attorney General] Holder said. "It's lawful to target an enemy commander in the field."

On the other hand, Attorney General Holder argues that holding "them" as "enemy combatants" at Gitmo is illegal.

He cannot have it both ways. Regardless, this pretty much closes the discussion on Gitmo.
April 22, 2011: Eating the rich to pay for President Obama's spending

March 24, 2011: President's Obama's reasoning (or lack of reasoning) never cases to amaze me. He says he is keeping his Nobel peace prize. He says he was awarded the peace prize even when he was commander-in-chief responsible for two wars (one in Iraq; one in Afghanistan). Actually, he inherited those wars and had nothing to do with them; in fact, he promised to end them -- or least get US troops out. Libya is completely different. That was his decision, and in retrospect, seems not to be either constitutional (did not confer with Congress) and have support of his own party.

March 21, 2011: Abu Ghraib all over again? Technically, it's worse. Mainstream media associates it with and compares it with Abu Ghraib to remind us of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld. With Abu Ghraib, the photos were of imprisoned enemy combatants. These most recent photos are of "innocent" civilians. Rumsfeld eventually lost his job over the Abu Ghraib photos; will Obama/Gates get a pass by mainstream media? So far the story is on internet sites, but I haven't see much on network television. Note the link: includes Abu Ghraib photos. Heaven forbid we not use this opportunity to try to tie these most recent photos with President Bush.

February 19, 2011: LA Times on President Obama's Budget Cutting ... even the LA Times is giving up on this president.

February 11, 2011: US Postal Service to default on some obligations later this year if Congress doesn't allow ObamaCare (health care) waiver.

February 9, 2011: Now that he is president, President Obama agrees with President Bush II' s "Patriot Act."

February 6, 2011: Op-ed on the extension of the unemployment benefits.

February 3, 2011: Gallup -- President Obama most divisive president since Eisenhower. Obama more divisive in his second year than in his first.

February 3, 2011: "Rolling brownouts" in Texas; lack of natural gas in the entire southwest; folks blaming President Obama. Link has YouTube video of President Obama's goal to destroy the coal industry.  Coal remains the fastest growing fuel worldwide.

January 31, 2011: I guess I wasn't the only surprised how fast President Obama threw President Mubarak under the bus. Israel was shocked by Obama's "betrayal" of Mubarak. Reuters.

January 30, 2011: Carter lost Iran. Under Obama, the US will love Egypt, Lebanon, and Turkey. [Update, March 24, 2011: add Libya to the list.]

November 24, 2010: Under Obama's watch -- China and Russia will now use their own currencies in bilateral trade; no longer use the dollar in bilateral trade.

November 21, 2010: The "Fed" agrees that unemployment is structural; ain't gonna change any time soon. Think of all the jobs lost due to ObamaCare. Think of all the jobs lost due to misguided trillion dollar stimulus program. Think of all the jobs lost in Louisiana due to moratorium. Think of all the jobs lost in Las Vegas when corporations told not to host conventions. Think of all the jobs lost when executives told to drive instead of fly.

November 15, 2010: Troops will stay in Iraq past next year's (2011) "mandatory" deadline to leave.

June 7, 2010: The Nobel-Peace-Prize winning president vowed to end the war; he now presides over the longest war in US history. It appears no one cares. He can only react; cannot innovate. Most inept administration in modern history. June 7, 2010. 

April 19, 2010: President Obama canceled trip for the funeral of Poland's president due to volcanic ash, and then, I guess, to show his empathy and sympathy, went golfing. It is the 32nd time President Obama has played golf since being sworn in on January 20, 2009 -- about 16 months ago. In comparison, his predecessor player 24 rounds in eight (8) years. Based on medial reports, I had thought President George W. Bush played golf almost every day.

Initial post: What's on my mind, Facebook.com asks.

Answer: golf.

On the day that the US lost three helicopters and 14 patriots in Afghanistan, it was reported that President Obama had now golfed more in his first nine (9) months of presidency than President George W. Bush did in his first three (3) years.

Meanwhile, we're waiting for President Obama to announce his strategy: either all in or withdraw. I hope he's golfing with Afghan strategists.

(Oh, I forgot. One more option. The political option: send in fewer troops than the generals requested just to give the Taliban a fighting chance.)

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Reagan warned us:


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Shortest Books Ever Written 
  • My Black Girlfriends, by Tiger Woods, c. 2013 
  • Things I Love About My Country, essays be Jane Fonda and Cindy Sheehan; edited by Michelle Obama; illustrations by Michael Moore. Foreward by George Soros with a Barack Obama essay on his own country, Kenya 
  • My Christian Accomplishments & How I Helped After Katrina, by "The Rev Jesse Jackson" and "The Rev Al Sharpton"
  • Things I Love About Bill, by Hillary Clinton, with foreword by Monica 
  • Sequel: Things I Love About Hillary, by Bill Clinton, with foreword by Monica 
  • Things I Cannot Afford, by Bill Gates
  • Things I Would Not Do For Money, by Dennis Rodman 
  • Things We Know To Be True, by Al Gore & John Kerry 
  • Guide to the Pacific, by Amelia Earhart 
  • How to Live Life To The Fullest, by Dr Jack Kevorkian 
  • To All The Men We Have Loved Before, by Ellen de Generes & Rosie O'Donnell, with introduction by Elton John 
  • Guide to Dating Etiquette, by Mike Tyson 
  • The Amish Phone Directory 
  • My Plan To Find The Real Killers, by OJ Simpson & Casey Anthony 
  • How to Drink & Drive Safely, by Ted Kennedy 
  • My Book on Morals, by Bill Clinton, with introduction by "The Rev Jesse Jackson" and foreword by Tiger Woods and John Edwards 
  • How To Win a Super Bowl, by the Minnesota Vikings 
  • Just added: My Complete Knowledge of Military Strategy, by Nancy Pelosi 
  • The shortest of them all: Things I Did to Deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, by Barack Obama
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Food for thought
  • If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing without a license, but not for being in the country illegally ...you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. 
  • If you have to get your parents’ permission to go on a field trip or take an aspirin in school, but not to get an abortion ... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. 
  • If the only school curriculum allowed to explain how we got here is evolution, but the government stops a $15 million construction project to keep a rare spider from evolving to extinction ... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. 
  • If you have to show identification to board an airplane, cash a check, buy liquor or check out a library book, but not to vote who runs the government you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. 
  •  If the government wants to ban stable, law-abiding citizens from owning gun magazines with more than ten rounds, but gives 20 F-16 fighter jets to the crazy new leaders in Egypt ... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. 
  • If, in the largest city, you can buy two 16-ounce sodas, but not a 24-ounce soda because 24-ounces of a sugary drink might make you fat ... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. 
  • If an 80-year-old woman can be stripped searched by the TSA but a woman in a hijab is only subject to having her neck and head searched ... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. 
  •  If your government believes that the best way to eradicate trillions of dollars of debt is to spend trillions more ... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. 
  • If a seven year old boy can be thrown out of school for saying his teacher’s "cute," but hosting a sexual exploration or diversity class in grade school is perfectly acceptable ... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. 
  •  If children are forcibly removed from parents who discipline them with spankings while children of addicts are left in filth and drug infested “homes”... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. 
  • If hard work and success are met with higher taxes and more government intrusion, while not working is rewarded with EBT cards, WIC checks, Medicaid, subsidized housing and free cell phones ... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. 
  • If the government's plan for getting people back to work is to incentivize NOT working with 99 weeks of unemployment checks and no requirement to prove they applied but can’t find work ... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. 
  • If being stripped of the ability to defend yourself makes you more "safe" according to the government ... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. 
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Best definition: "Political Correctness"

There's an annual contest at the Griffiths University, Australia, calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term.

The term: "political correctness."

The winning student wrote:
Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely  possible to pick up a piece of shit by the clean end.

North Dakota: #4 in Oil Production

It's official: North Dakota is # 4 in oil production, overtaking Oklahoma a while back and now surpassing Louisiana. (This is for May, 2009, production and I assume the ranking will move back and forth this next year.)

North Dakota would have to triple its production to match that of California's. With environmentalists in control in California, don't count North Dakota out. Yet.

[It doesn't seem all that long ago that folks were arguing over the importance of the Bakken. Maybe in the big scheme of things -- solving world hunger, and the nation's total use of energy -- the Bakken doesn't mean all that much. But for those in North Dakota, it's a big, big deal. North Dakota is the only state that has not lost jobs during the recession; and, is one of the few states with no budgetary concerns.]

Welcome to the "new" Million Dollar Way

Things seem to be a bit quiet in the oil patch.

Note the dates for the earnings call for Bakken companies. NOG has already reported. WLL will report tomorrow; the rest November 5 - 6. NOG missed analysts' expectations but had a great report. (Note: I assume there are very few analysts following NOG, as compared to, oh let's say GOOG, so the expectations are more likely to be off. Law of large numbers.)

BEXP's recent share offering seems to have gone very well, but I haven't paid much attention, so I don't know for sure. KOG announced it is also offering up to 10,000,000 new shares. KOG has 100 million shares outstanding, so this is not particularly huge dilution, especially considering what BEXP has done recently.

There are two ways to raise money: bank loans and stock offerings. Maybe more on that later.

It appears oil has hit a new trading range, $78 - $82. Short term I could imagine oil dropping again if the dollar strengthens, but I still feel the long-term trend is higher. Regardless, if oil stays above $65 the Bakken will remain active.

The most interesting news in the oil patch for me was the announcement that a Korean company will buy Harvest Energy Trust (HTE), a Canadian shale oil trust. I invested in HTE a couple years ago for the dividend; have since sold. For me, that represents another data point that Asia is buying hydrocarbon resources wherever they can, while they're cheap (while western world looks toward much more expensive solar and wind energy -- perhaps more on that later).

After a complete overhaul of this site, things are starting to fall into place.

Daily updating of "new" wells reporting is probably of the most interest, as well as "wells to watch." The IPs have been very nice, averaging over 500 bbls/days, but we have not seen any IPs greater than 2,000 bbls/day in quite a long time. EOG has 76 wells on the confidential list; and, most of these appear to be coming off the list between now and February, 2010.

If your enthusiasm for the Bakken weakens, check out some of the really good wells still producing. I think there is more to come.

Good luck to all.