Someone googled that question: the source of fracking water for the Bakken? See question 50 at FAQs (I occasionally change the numbering, so the number could change; use browser to search water if necessary).
It's the Missouri River for the most part.
Well water is also used.
Through 2011, I believe most water was provided by independent water distributors and, perhaps, the city of Williston municipal water supply. Sometime in 2012/2013, I assume most fracking water will be provided by WAWS. I don't know the specifics on fracking water because I do not follow it closely. There is not a supply issue regarding water for fracking in the Bakken.
There is more than enough water in the region for fracking. The one thing the Bakken is not short of is water, regardless of what folks may tell you. One inch of water off the top of the Sakakawea Lake (the Missouri River behind the Garrison Dam) will provide all the water that is needed for 5,000 Bakken wells annually; and the operators can drill a max of about 2,000 wells each year. So don't let anyone suggest there is not enough water. Period. Dot.
For more, look at the tag "WAWS" or "water" below -- at the very bottom of the blog where the labels/tags are kept.
Monday, November 28, 2011
For Newbies, This May Be Best Snapshot Overview of Operators in the Bakken
The best snapshot overview of the operators in the Bakken may be at the link:
I do my best to keep this page up to date.
Most important metrics for me:
If you don't like the non-Bakken posts, simply skip those posts. For every post I blog daily (and I post as many as ten new stand-alone posts each day) I update another two or three previous posts. I often update posts I put up earlier in the day.
If you read only the latest post, you will miss all the other posts that have gone up during the day.
In addition, there is a huge amount of archived material at this site. There are multiple ways to locate what you might be looking for, using a combination of browser search applications.
I do my best to keep this page up to date.
Most important metrics for me:
- net acres
- daily production
- number of operated rigs (NOG is an exception; no operated rigs)
- number of dedicated frack teams (hard to find, document)
If you don't like the non-Bakken posts, simply skip those posts. For every post I blog daily (and I post as many as ten new stand-alone posts each day) I update another two or three previous posts. I often update posts I put up earlier in the day.
If you read only the latest post, you will miss all the other posts that have gone up during the day.
In addition, there is a huge amount of archived material at this site. There are multiple ways to locate what you might be looking for, using a combination of browser search applications.
Six (6) New Permits -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA
Daily activity report, November 28, 2011 --
Operators: BR (2), CLR, Petro-Hunt, XTO, and Whiting
Fields: Haystack Butte, Oliver, Clear Creek, Boxcar Butte, and the Sanish.
Whiting has another permit in its cash cow, the Sanish.
BR has a wildcat in McKenzie County.
All five (5) coming off confidential list were reported elsewhere and all five were completed, representing something of a milestone. It's been a long time since 100% of all wells coming off confidential list were completed.
Of the five Helis had a remarkable well:
Operators: BR (2), CLR, Petro-Hunt, XTO, and Whiting
Fields: Haystack Butte, Oliver, Clear Creek, Boxcar Butte, and the Sanish.
Whiting has another permit in its cash cow, the Sanish.
BR has a wildcat in McKenzie County.
All five (5) coming off confidential list were reported elsewhere and all five were completed, representing something of a milestone. It's been a long time since 100% of all wells coming off confidential list were completed.
Of the five Helis had a remarkable well:
- 19680, 2,246, Helis, Johnson 1-4/9H, Grail, Bakken; s5/11; t9/11; cum 35K 9/10; 28 stages, 2.7 million pounds sand.
How Many Dead Eagles? Apparently As Many As ....
This is truly incredible; I've blogged about this before: wind farm developers will be given a pass to kill unlimited number of golden eagles, bald eagles, and whooping cranes, among other migratory birds, and one oil company has already plead guilty to killing a solitary sandplover.
Here's today's story on "how many eagles will the wind turbines kill?" Of course, no one knows, and we will never know because coyotes, wolves, and other predators quickly dispose of any bird killed by a wind turbine.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, this story, where wind farm developers are being helped in mitigating bird deaths, including the sage grouse which has grounded almost every other pro-growth project:
The good news: it's gonna be difficult to convince a judge that a pro-growth project cannot go forward due to the endangered sage brush when the wind farms are killing them anyway.
Meanwhile in other Wyoming news: snowpack still above normal, but not by much. More global warming will change that by the end of January.
Here's today's story on "how many eagles will the wind turbines kill?" Of course, no one knows, and we will never know because coyotes, wolves, and other predators quickly dispose of any bird killed by a wind turbine.
The available data, science and policy haven't caught up with the pace of wind energy development. Still, wind energy development is apparently killing golden eagles, which seem especially susceptible to collisions with the turbines.
"We really don't know how many birds are being killed by wind turbines," said Trish Sweanor, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist.
They are protected by three federal laws: the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Lacey Act. These laws prohibit possession or sale of eagle feathers and parts and have protected bald eagles since 1940 and golden eagles since 1962 by making it a crime to kill the birds.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, this story, where wind farm developers are being helped in mitigating bird deaths, including the sage grouse which has grounded almost every other pro-growth project:
Wind farms are often touted as producers of environmentally friendly energy. In recent years, Wyoming has seen a boom in wind energy development with about a dozen more projects in planning stages.It's unfortunate the oil and gas industry isn't provided the save opportunities.
Developers do seek to mitigate disturbances and deaths of animals, including sage grouse. But one of the biggest quandaries for those developers is the degree to which wind farms hurt federally protected golden eagles and how that damage can be decreased.
Right now the federal agency works with developers to limit development in crucial habitat as a way to mitigate effects on birds. But once a turbine is placed, there is little that can be done to alleviate bird deaths, said Trish Sweanor, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist.
The good news: it's gonna be difficult to convince a judge that a pro-growth project cannot go forward due to the endangered sage brush when the wind farms are killing them anyway.
**********************
Meanwhile in other Wyoming news: snowpack still above normal, but not by much. More global warming will change that by the end of January.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service in Casper said that the statewide average snowpack went from 110 percent last week to 101 percent on Monday.Last year at this time: 104 percent; this year: 101 percent; neither reproducible nor statistically significant, no doubt. Even if it is, still a very wet spring next year.
Last year at this time, the statewide average snowpack was 104 percent.
Six basins are above average and seven are below.
Garfield on the "Oil Crisis"
A lot of folks cannot understand how we came to have an oil shortage in the United States, a country uncommonly rich in natural resources.
Well, here's a very simple answer.
Nobody bothered to check the oil.
We just didn't know we were getting low.
The reason for that is purely geographical.
Our oil is located in: Alaska, California, coastal Florida, coastal Louisiana, coastal Alabama, coastal Miississippi, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Our dipsticks are in Washington, DC.
The Price of Gasoline, Michael Nesmith
The following, also by Michael Nesmith as seen above, was the first video ever to win "Best Video" award on MTV, if you believe what you read.
Lucy and Ramona, Sunset Sam, Cruisin', Michael Nesmith
West Hollywood, 1979. My daughter and I roller skated here on very rare occasions. That was in another life and a few years later. Michael Nesmith of the Monkees: his mother "invented," holds the patent for, "White Out," something we don't see much any more.
Mike Nesmith was incredibly talented. He also wrote this song:
Different Drum, Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys
Well, here's a very simple answer.
Nobody bothered to check the oil.
We just didn't know we were getting low.
The reason for that is purely geographical.
Our oil is located in: Alaska, California, coastal Florida, coastal Louisiana, coastal Alabama, coastal Miississippi, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Our dipsticks are in Washington, DC.
The following, also by Michael Nesmith as seen above, was the first video ever to win "Best Video" award on MTV, if you believe what you read.
West Hollywood, 1979. My daughter and I roller skated here on very rare occasions. That was in another life and a few years later. Michael Nesmith of the Monkees: his mother "invented," holds the patent for, "White Out," something we don't see much any more.
Mike Nesmith was incredibly talented. He also wrote this song:
New Truck Stop South of Alexander & West of Watford City -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA
This is more proof that the activity in the Bakken is moving south and west to McKenzie County next summer if the EPA doesn't shut it down.
About two miles south of Alexander, you curve left and head east toward Watford City on US Highway 85. If you were to continue south from Alexander you would end up on State Highway 68 which takes you to Sather Lake, "the grasslands," and then a gentle curve west to Sidney, Montana, about ten miles south from the US Highway 85 / State Highway 68 junction where this photograph was taken.
The sign is self-explanatory.
The 605-phone number takes you Wlk Construction in Hayti, South Dakota, in the eastern part of the state near Watertown, SD. The 360-number is from the Vancouver, Washingon (state) area.
The location is excellent: on the south side of Alexander, far enough away from town to deconflict traffic issues there; right at the junction of a very busy national highway and soon-to-be-very-busy state highway.
Hopefully I am fortunate enough to return to the Bakken in a year and take a photograph of the truck stop.
The sign is self-explanatory.
The 605-phone number takes you Wlk Construction in Hayti, South Dakota, in the eastern part of the state near Watertown, SD. The 360-number is from the Vancouver, Washingon (state) area.
The location is excellent: on the south side of Alexander, far enough away from town to deconflict traffic issues there; right at the junction of a very busy national highway and soon-to-be-very-busy state highway.
Hopefully I am fortunate enough to return to the Bakken in a year and take a photograph of the truck stop.
Chariots on Fire: The New Chevrolet Volt
Date-time stamp. Check.
Volt: Chariots on fire. Check.
Now to continue with the rest of the post. And check.
Alright. Now that the phrase is date-time stamped, we can see if anyone beats "me" to the punch on the new name for the Chevy Volt.
Don sent me that gem: the suggested new name for the Chevy Volt. I cannot take credit for it, but I have just googled "Chariots on fire" and "Volt" and nothing popped up on the first two pages. I added "Chevrolet" and still nothing popped up. So, we will see if anyone claims that new name. [Update: 4:32 p.m.: now there are more hits on google re: chariots of fire and the Volt, but this blog still holds the #1 and #2 spot on Google for this specific search. But the effort has brought me to a great blog: biggovernment.com and Detroit's hottest car.]
Speaking of which, and I did not know this until Don alerted me to it, General Motors is providing a loaner car to owners of the Volt until this is all sorted out.
Right now, General Motors is thanking their lucky stars (if this can really be called "lucky") they only sold 6,000 Volts, far fewer than the 10,000 they had projected. Some have suggested (certainly not me) about 5,500 of those 6,000 were sold to dealers; if true GM is probably only in the hole to the tune of about 500 cars.
From the linked story:
Okay, now google "Chariots on fire" and "Volt."
On a completely different note, I really do have to hand it to pundits how quickly they come up with these things: Chevy ... Camaro ... Corvette ... Chevelle ... Chariots ...
And I am not making this up, the Chevy Spark is due to be released in the summer of 2012. Yes, the Spark. Something tells me GM has formed a focus group to determine whether a different name might be warranted.
GM has scheduled a conference call to answer questions:
This is the last line of the article:
As noted above: the first thing I would do at GM is consider changing the name of the Spark due out next summer. Or change the name of the Volt to "Blaze" as another wit has suggested. Blaze and Spark.
Would you want a Spark sitting next to a Volt with a battery that tends to burst into flame because it has no steel protective covering which the Nissan Leaf has?
Volt: Chariots on fire. Check.
Now to continue with the rest of the post. And check.
Alright. Now that the phrase is date-time stamped, we can see if anyone beats "me" to the punch on the new name for the Chevy Volt.
Don sent me that gem: the suggested new name for the Chevy Volt. I cannot take credit for it, but I have just googled "Chariots on fire" and "Volt" and nothing popped up on the first two pages. I added "Chevrolet" and still nothing popped up. So, we will see if anyone claims that new name. [Update: 4:32 p.m.: now there are more hits on google re: chariots of fire and the Volt, but this blog still holds the #1 and #2 spot on Google for this specific search. But the effort has brought me to a great blog: biggovernment.com and Detroit's hottest car.]
Speaking of which, and I did not know this until Don alerted me to it, General Motors is providing a loaner car to owners of the Volt until this is all sorted out.
Right now, General Motors is thanking their lucky stars (if this can really be called "lucky") they only sold 6,000 Volts, far fewer than the 10,000 they had projected. Some have suggested (certainly not me) about 5,500 of those 6,000 were sold to dealers; if true GM is probably only in the hole to the tune of about 500 cars.
From the linked story:
The company says it will contact the owners to reassure them that the cars are safe. But it's making the offer to make sure Volt owners don't lose confidence in the cars.In lieu a copy of the actual contact letter, I am paraphrasing what is likely to be in the GM letter offering the loaner car (this is not the real letter; it is only my imagination):
Dear treasured Volt owner,The letter is made up. GM offering loaners for a perfectly safe car is not made up.
You have no doubt been reading in the newspapers, hearing on the radio, and seeing reports on television about the potential for the Chevrolet Volt to burst into flame if involved in a severe crash. To date, fender benders have not resulted in any exploding batteries or flash fires.
We want to reassure you that the Volt is entirely safe. Therefore, we are offering you a loaner car until this issue is resolved. Of course, that begs the question: if the Volt is entirely safe, why are we offering you a loaner car? For two reasons: a) we know you are no fool; and, b) our lawyers told us to.
If you are interested in a loaner car, please have a friend drive you to your nearest GM dealer in his/her non-Volt car, or take public transportation, or walk. Under no circumstances should you be driving your Volt to pick up a loaner.
For those of you who do not desire a loaner, we will be sending out a lawyer to have you sign a waiver releasing GM from all liability.
Again, please be assured that the Volt is entirely safe.
s/Representative of Government Motors
Okay, now google "Chariots on fire" and "Volt."
***********************
On a completely different note, I really do have to hand it to pundits how quickly they come up with these things: Chevy ... Camaro ... Corvette ... Chevelle ... Chariots ...
And I am not making this up, the Chevy Spark is due to be released in the summer of 2012. Yes, the Spark. Something tells me GM has formed a focus group to determine whether a different name might be warranted.
***********************
GM has scheduled a conference call to answer questions:
This is why the head of GM North America, Mark Reuss, and the head of GM Global Product Development, Mary Barra, are holding a conference call to answer questions about the Chevy Volt.The article does not say: are those two talking to each other, or will other folks be invited in on the conference call?
This is the last line of the article:
GM and NHTSA have both said the Volt is safe.I guess that's why there is an ongoing federal investigation into this government-owned automobile manufacturer and why GM is providing loaner cars to Volt owners, because the Volt is safe.
As noted above: the first thing I would do at GM is consider changing the name of the Spark due out next summer. Or change the name of the Volt to "Blaze" as another wit has suggested. Blaze and Spark.
Would you want a Spark sitting next to a Volt with a battery that tends to burst into flame because it has no steel protective covering which the Nissan Leaf has?
Price of Bakken Oil -- Depends Where They Sell It -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA
Elsewhere they're talking about the price of Bakken oil but the police lady will put a stop to that, by golly. She must have missed the Dale Carnegie course somewhere along the way. Zman is probably the most knowledgeable investor regarding the Bakken and he's being asked to leave. Well, there you have it, by golly. Go get 'em, Dufus.
The price "they" get for Bakken oil depends on where it is sold. Right now, Bakken that makes it by rail to Louisiana can be sold as Louisiana sweet oil which is selling at a premium to WTI.
Just think, this information might have been provided had Dufus not cut off the discussion.
By the way, the spot price for oil is linked at "Data Links."
The price "they" get for Bakken oil depends on where it is sold. Right now, Bakken that makes it by rail to Louisiana can be sold as Louisiana sweet oil which is selling at a premium to WTI.
- Louisiana sweet crude spot price today (Bloomberg): $109.57.
- North Dakota sweet (Bakken) spot price yesterday, 11-27-11: $74.93 (SemCrude).
Just think, this information might have been provided had Dufus not cut off the discussion.
By the way, the spot price for oil is linked at "Data Links."
All Five (5) Wells Reporting So Far Today Have Been Fracked -- Helis Reports a Huge TF Well -- Huge -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA
This is a first in a long, long time. All five (5) wells coming off the confidential list so far today (over the weekend) have reported an IP. That means these five have all been fracked/completed within the six-month confidential period, something we haven't seen in a long, long time.
In addition, Helis reported an outstanding well, and it was a Three Forks well!
In addition, Helis reported an outstanding well, and it was a Three Forks well!
- 19680, 2,246, Helis, Johnson 1-4/9H, Grail, Bakken; s5/11; t9/11; cum 35K 9/10; 28 stages, 2.7 million pounds sand
Jane Nielson Blew It -- Or Her Timing Was Off -- She May Still Be Right Yet -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA
I'm in the process of deciding whether to continue the "milliondollarway" when I return to my granddaughters in Boston later this week.
I started the blog for a couple of reasons: a) for my own benefit, to learn about the Bakken, to see if I could make sense of it; and, b) to counter the folks who thought the talk of the Bakken was just "hype."
This was a typical post from those who felt the Bakken was just hype.
There are many ways to gauge the Bakken; investing in Bakken drillers is just one method.
The linked site was posted June 25, 2010.
On that day you could have bought a share of each of the four companies for the price shown:
If you bought before June 25, 2010, your returns are even bigger, and in some cases could be huge. One could have bought KOG for 60 cents at one time, I believe. If so, $6,000 investment would now be worth $48,000. That's not a "Peter Lynch 10-bagger" but it's not bad. Folks playing the lottery have not come close.
It doesn't matter to an individual investor how big or small the Bakken is; to the individual investor, it is one's rate of return, or something along those lines.
On the other hand, a President Obama devotee would be down 60 percent year-to-date by having invested in a solar energy ETF. According to SeekingAlpha.com, the best nuclear energy ETF (NUCL) has lost 23 percent to date. I'm curious if Jane invests in solar or nuclear or anything.
There is another way to measure the Bakken. The Bakken will soon move North Dakota from the seventh in the nation to second in the nation in oil production, assuming the EPA doesn't shut it down, a huge assumption (and one I'm not willing to bet on).
Or you could measure the Bakken by the number of jobs it provides. North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation; there are currently 20,000 unfilled jobs in North Dakota. A new McDonald's employee can earn $48,000/year in the heart of the Bakken (Williston, North Dakota).
Or you could measure the Bakken this way: North Dakota is about the only state with no budget crisis or any debt. In fact, North Dakotans will vote on whether to eliminate -- not just lower, but completely eliminate -- the property tax starting next year.
So, if you read Jane Nielson and listened to her advice, well, what can I say -- she blew it big time -- or her timing was off. She can honestly say the jury is still out: if the EPA shuts it down, the Bakken will have been a flash in the pan.
But back to the original conundrum.
I feel I understand the Bakken about as well as I ever will. The Bakken has entered its manufacturing stage and its future is in the hands of the EPA. When something moves from science to politics, I become anxious. Jane Nielson could still be right; if so, her timing was simply off; it happens to the best of us. The Bakken will have been all hype if the feds shut it down. But I digress. I have satisfied one of the two main reasons for blogging on the Bakken: to help me understand it.
The second reason was to counter postings like those of Jane Nielson. To her credit, she blogged using her name (I assume it's her real name). But she was wrong. The Bakken lived up to its "hype" in many more ways that she can even imagine.
So, having satisfied the two reasons I started the blog in the first place, I now have to decide whether to continue. The first step was eliminating comments. I need to make the decision on my own. Thank you for understanding.
At least she was right on one thing: fast tracking wind farms on western lands was a bad thing. She lost that fight, also. They're building wind farms as fast as Congress can pass tax incentives. And now that whooping crane killing is no longer frowned upon by the feds, it makes wind turbines all the more appealing.
Based on a quick reading of her site, it looks like she has the same energy policy as the EPA, except she also disses wind, as noted:
Nuclear --> oil --> natural gas --> wind --> wood --> buffalo chips.
How To Light Your Wood Burning Stove
Or, if that takes too long, or is too complicated, or there are no more trees in your neighbor's yard, consider the alternative, electricity from the Bakken:
How To Set Your Thermostat
With regard to eliminating the property tax: North Dakota citizens vote in June; if passed, the property tax relief is retroactive to January 1, 2011. A while back I said eliminating the property tax was a dumb idea; with the likelihood that the EPA will shut down drilling in North Dakota, eliminating the property tax is a really dumb idea. Of course, by June, 2012, we will have a pretty good idea if the feds will shut down the ND oil patch. Lynn Helms thinks the oil patch could be shut down by January, 2012.
I started the blog for a couple of reasons: a) for my own benefit, to learn about the Bakken, to see if I could make sense of it; and, b) to counter the folks who thought the talk of the Bakken was just "hype."
This was a typical post from those who felt the Bakken was just hype.
There are many ways to gauge the Bakken; investing in Bakken drillers is just one method.
The linked site was posted June 25, 2010.
On that day you could have bought a share of each of the four companies for the price shown:
- KOG: $3.65
- BEXP: $16.94
- WLL: $42.37
- OAS: $14.75
- KOG: $8.16
- BEXP: $36.42
- WLL: $88.00 (split-adjusted)
- OAS: $28.54 (Oasis has been as high as $35.76)
- KOG: 123% (remember, 100% is doubling your money)
- BEXP: 115%
- WLL: 108%
- OAS: 93%
If you bought before June 25, 2010, your returns are even bigger, and in some cases could be huge. One could have bought KOG for 60 cents at one time, I believe. If so, $6,000 investment would now be worth $48,000. That's not a "Peter Lynch 10-bagger" but it's not bad. Folks playing the lottery have not come close.
It doesn't matter to an individual investor how big or small the Bakken is; to the individual investor, it is one's rate of return, or something along those lines.
On the other hand, a President Obama devotee would be down 60 percent year-to-date by having invested in a solar energy ETF. According to SeekingAlpha.com, the best nuclear energy ETF (NUCL) has lost 23 percent to date. I'm curious if Jane invests in solar or nuclear or anything.
There is another way to measure the Bakken. The Bakken will soon move North Dakota from the seventh in the nation to second in the nation in oil production, assuming the EPA doesn't shut it down, a huge assumption (and one I'm not willing to bet on).
Or you could measure the Bakken by the number of jobs it provides. North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation; there are currently 20,000 unfilled jobs in North Dakota. A new McDonald's employee can earn $48,000/year in the heart of the Bakken (Williston, North Dakota).
Or you could measure the Bakken this way: North Dakota is about the only state with no budget crisis or any debt. In fact, North Dakotans will vote on whether to eliminate -- not just lower, but completely eliminate -- the property tax starting next year.
So, if you read Jane Nielson and listened to her advice, well, what can I say -- she blew it big time -- or her timing was off. She can honestly say the jury is still out: if the EPA shuts it down, the Bakken will have been a flash in the pan.
But back to the original conundrum.
I feel I understand the Bakken about as well as I ever will. The Bakken has entered its manufacturing stage and its future is in the hands of the EPA. When something moves from science to politics, I become anxious. Jane Nielson could still be right; if so, her timing was simply off; it happens to the best of us. The Bakken will have been all hype if the feds shut it down. But I digress. I have satisfied one of the two main reasons for blogging on the Bakken: to help me understand it.
The second reason was to counter postings like those of Jane Nielson. To her credit, she blogged using her name (I assume it's her real name). But she was wrong. The Bakken lived up to its "hype" in many more ways that she can even imagine.
So, having satisfied the two reasons I started the blog in the first place, I now have to decide whether to continue. The first step was eliminating comments. I need to make the decision on my own. Thank you for understanding.
At least she was right on one thing: fast tracking wind farms on western lands was a bad thing. She lost that fight, also. They're building wind farms as fast as Congress can pass tax incentives. And now that whooping crane killing is no longer frowned upon by the feds, it makes wind turbines all the more appealing.
Based on a quick reading of her site, it looks like she has the same energy policy as the EPA, except she also disses wind, as noted:
Or, if that takes too long, or is too complicated, or there are no more trees in your neighbor's yard, consider the alternative, electricity from the Bakken:
******************
I'm getting a kick out of watching the faux-environmentalists cobble together an ad hoc energy policy to fill the Obama void. Saying "no" to everything pretty much brings us back to burning trees, and when those are gone, buffalo chips. I believe it is against the law (a felony) to remove buffalo chips from the Theodore Roosevelt National Park here in North Dakota -- and as far as I know that's about the only place we have any significant amount of buffalo chips.
******************
With regard to eliminating the property tax: North Dakota citizens vote in June; if passed, the property tax relief is retroactive to January 1, 2011. A while back I said eliminating the property tax was a dumb idea; with the likelihood that the EPA will shut down drilling in North Dakota, eliminating the property tax is a really dumb idea. Of course, by June, 2012, we will have a pretty good idea if the feds will shut down the ND oil patch. Lynn Helms thinks the oil patch could be shut down by January, 2012.
Still Looking for That Perfect Christmas Gift -- Here It Is -- "Chicks With Guns"
Just when I thought I didn't know what I wanted for Christmas!
I told my younger daughter all I wanted for Christmas were books, although I didn't have my list yet.
If Books on Broadway, Williston, North Dakota, can get it by Wednesday, I'll buy it there. Otherwise gotta wait for Christmas and a gift from my daughter.
The book is Chicks with Guns, by photographer Lindsay McCrum, Vendome, $45.
I told my younger daughter all I wanted for Christmas were books, although I didn't have my list yet.
If Books on Broadway, Williston, North Dakota, can get it by Wednesday, I'll buy it there. Otherwise gotta wait for Christmas and a gift from my daughter.
The book is Chicks with Guns, by photographer Lindsay McCrum, Vendome, $45.
The women hail from different social levels, cultures and regions. They range from a tween-aged Rachel from Montana whose favorite gun is the .250 Savage "because that's the gun I used when I killed my first elk,'' to the grandmotherly Ellie, a sweet-looking former Merced, Calif., mayor surrounded by her doll collection and a Taurus Titanium .38 by her side.Cute. But this is the one I like, "a beautiful blond bride from San Antonio....." you have got to be kidding. I did not recognize her from my adopted home town. It was the lamp that threw me off.
Thank Goodness for Drudge -- This Would Never Have Seen The Light of Day -- Nothing To Do With the Bakken Unless You're A Terrorist Visiting an Oil Well
Update
November 29, 2011: the Senate passes the bill 61-37; the House passed bill with similar language; headed to President who says he will veto it. It takes 67 votes to overturn a veto; Congress cannot overturn a pocket veto. More political theater.
Original Post
Carl Levin's bill would repeal the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 by authorizing the U.S. military to perform law enforcement functions on American soil.About time. No water boarding, though.The Senate is set to vote on a bill today that would define the whole of the United States as a “battlefield” and allow the U.S. Military to arrest American citizens in their own back yard without charge or trial.“The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself...
The bill was drafted in secret by Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), before being passed in a closed-door committee meeting without any kind of hearing.
This bill ain't gonna pass. It makes too much sense.
At Least One Obama Supporter Is Willing To Tell It Like It Is -- Energy Policy Screwed Up
A reader alerted me to this article in the LA Times. Wow, this op-ed piece plus the hard news article that man-made global warming is a bunch of bunk, and we (maybe) got a real newspaper. All of this, and Obama's #1 fan, Chris Matthews, turning on the president -- talk about seismic shifts.
Let me say upfront that I have always been a Democrat. However, I also vote my conscience and have supported independent candidates. Today, energy policy is one area where I think my party is wrong.Oh, back to CM. I assume the host of Screwball looked at his ratings, and knew he had to get on a new horse. He's still looking for that horse. I doubt it will be Mitt. I think the Gecko and CM would make a good pair; they're starting to look alike as CM ages a bit.
I wasn't always a disillusioned Democrat. For decades, the party's policies ensured that the United States had adequate supplies of domestic oil, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric power and uranium to fuel our growing economy while providing good-paying jobs to the men and women who produced our energy and transported it. These policies helped create America's affluence of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.
Even before then, it was a Democratic president — Franklin D. Roosevelt — who transformed the lives of many of our poorest citizens by creating the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Bonneville Power Administration. These projects brought electricity and industrialization to areas that lagged the rest of the country economically. It was Lyndon B. Johnson and not a "free-market" Republican who transformed East Texas through electrification, setting off an economic boom responsible for the economic success of Texas to this day.
Beautiful, Balmy Day in the Bakken -- Barney Won't Seek Re-Election -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA
6:30 a.m. -- local radio voice-over said it's 47 degrees. A slight wind makes it feel a bit cooler than 47, but if this is global warming, let's hope it sticks around a few more weeks.
Barney won't see re-election. They're startin' to bail; nine Dems leaving politics altogether.
Obama campaign will push the white working class under the bus. Meanwhile the black unworking class is at its highest in 27 years.
Diesel truck filling up the tanks at Cenex; every day at this time they are there. I don't know if they make multiple trips during the day.
Overheard at the Cenex; US Bank in Williston charges $10/month for opening an account without DirectDeposit. And I thought it was just Bank of America that had those fees. It appears that kids with paper routes aren't going to be opening any accounts at US Bank if that's true. I don't know. Didn't ask. Not on my list of things to do today. The good news: if you can save the $10 by having DirectDeposit, you can use that $10 for a downpayment on your baggage fees when flying back home this holiday season.
Active drilling rigs: we start the day at 202.
I wonder if the oddsmakers in Las Vegas have a line on the likelihood of EPA shutting down the Williston Basin. Elsewhere it looks like at least one person is worried about the EPA doing just that. If you're worried about it, sell your Bakken-related shares and buy Big Oil; price of oil AND natural gas will surge. In fact, one wonders....nah, I'm not gonna go there.
Remember: this is not an investment site; see disclaimer at the top on the sidebar at the right. This site is purely a blog for my personal archives, education and entertainment. If you choose to read it, do so at your own risk.
Speaking of shutting down the Bakken, I see Debbie Downer finally got her fifteen minutes of fame. No link; don't want to give her more clicks than she already has. I remember her from the 1970's -- she was fighting fluoridated water.
The Dickinson Press reports an increase in local crimes -- assault cases increased by 300 percent, and sex offenses increased by 314 percent.
For the folks in Almost, North Dakota, if you aren't doing anything December 3, there's a building up the road you can visit where there are 59 men all living together. Open House.
John Wayne
Barney won't see re-election. They're startin' to bail; nine Dems leaving politics altogether.
Obama campaign will push the white working class under the bus. Meanwhile the black unworking class is at its highest in 27 years.
Diesel truck filling up the tanks at Cenex; every day at this time they are there. I don't know if they make multiple trips during the day.
Overheard at the Cenex; US Bank in Williston charges $10/month for opening an account without DirectDeposit. And I thought it was just Bank of America that had those fees. It appears that kids with paper routes aren't going to be opening any accounts at US Bank if that's true. I don't know. Didn't ask. Not on my list of things to do today. The good news: if you can save the $10 by having DirectDeposit, you can use that $10 for a downpayment on your baggage fees when flying back home this holiday season.
Active drilling rigs: we start the day at 202.
I wonder if the oddsmakers in Las Vegas have a line on the likelihood of EPA shutting down the Williston Basin. Elsewhere it looks like at least one person is worried about the EPA doing just that. If you're worried about it, sell your Bakken-related shares and buy Big Oil; price of oil AND natural gas will surge. In fact, one wonders....nah, I'm not gonna go there.
Remember: this is not an investment site; see disclaimer at the top on the sidebar at the right. This site is purely a blog for my personal archives, education and entertainment. If you choose to read it, do so at your own risk.
Speaking of shutting down the Bakken, I see Debbie Downer finally got her fifteen minutes of fame. No link; don't want to give her more clicks than she already has. I remember her from the 1970's -- she was fighting fluoridated water.
The Dickinson Press reports an increase in local crimes -- assault cases increased by 300 percent, and sex offenses increased by 314 percent.
For the folks in Almost, North Dakota, if you aren't doing anything December 3, there's a building up the road you can visit where there are 59 men all living together. Open House.
CO2 Not That Big a Deal -- Los Angeles Times -- Hell Must Be Freezing Over
Link here.
Validates everything I've been saying for two years, except for the part about "man-made global warming," but that phrase had to be in the article if the author hoped to have a journal publish it.
"Man-made global warming" is the politically-correct phrase that no longer holds any water; it's the mantra for no-growth cultists.
Two findings from the study: a) even the direst projections of future CO2 concentrations won't bring about the changes preached by the no-growth cultists; and, b) the direst projections of future CO2 concentrations ain't gonna happen in the first place.
Bottom line: global warming is the new bogeyman for modern-day cultists.
It's been seventeen years since we were first warned about anthropogenic global warming and except for this wonderful weather we're having in North Dakota this autumn, no one is noticing any change. Seventeen years. Earth Day was 1970. That was forty-one years ago.
Validates everything I've been saying for two years, except for the part about "man-made global warming," but that phrase had to be in the article if the author hoped to have a journal publish it.
"Man-made global warming" is the politically-correct phrase that no longer holds any water; it's the mantra for no-growth cultists.
A new study in the journal Science suggests that the global climate may be less sensitive to carbon dioxide fluctuations than predicted by the most extreme projections, and maybe slightly less than the best estimates of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Yup.
Two findings from the study: a) even the direst projections of future CO2 concentrations won't bring about the changes preached by the no-growth cultists; and, b) the direst projections of future CO2 concentrations ain't gonna happen in the first place.
Bottom line: global warming is the new bogeyman for modern-day cultists.
It's been seventeen years since we were first warned about anthropogenic global warming and except for this wonderful weather we're having in North Dakota this autumn, no one is noticing any change. Seventeen years. Earth Day was 1970. That was forty-one years ago.
Oil Prices May Fall For Third Straight Week -- CNBC
Link here.
Despite the administration's best efforts to thwart the recovery,
Benchmark crude oil prices may post their third consecutive week of declines as credit markets continue to punish debt-laden sovereigns in Europe, and even the stronger economies like Germany and France, as contagion fears spread, CNBC's weekly survey showed.Oil futures are up $3.00 this morning. (Is this the real reason? Arab winter? More Arab winter? Or this?)
Despite the administration's best efforts to thwart the recovery,
there are tentative signs that the U.S. economy is staging a rebound...Despite the administration's best efforts to thwart the recovery,
Sales rose an estimated 6.6 percent to a record $11.4 billion on Black Friday, typically the busiest shopping day of the year for Americans, while the traffic at stores rose 5.1 percent,That was Friday; the whole weekend was even better:
The day's sales growth was the strongest percentage gain since 2007, when sales rose 8.3 percent on the day after Thanksgiving, ...
Total spending over the four-day weekend following Thanksgiving reached a record $52.4 billion, up 16% from $45 billion last year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation released Sunday.But at least in one state the administration is meeting/exceeding its goals:
The number of New Jersey residents receiving food stamps has doubled in the past four years and is at its highest level in more than a decade as the nation’s still sputtering economy continues to take its toll on the poorest residents of the Garden State, ....