Alaska Crude Oil Being Exported To South Korea; First Oil Export From Alaska In A Decade -- September 30, 2014

ConocoPhillips tanker carrying Alaska crude oil for South Korea

• A ConocoPhillips tanker ship full of crude oil is on its way to South Korea from Alaska, the first oil export from Alaska in a decade.
• Alaskan oil exports are a sign that domestic demand for the state's crude is drying up as production rises in the continental U.S.
• The U.S. has had a 39-year ban in place barring the export of domestic oil, but exports from Alaska are one of the few exceptions; still, the last time oil was exported from the state was in 2004.
• COP says future shipments would hinge on market conditions and tanker availability.

This is a great example of one of the "loopholes" or exceptions in the US ban on exporting crude oil

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The Road To New England Is Becoming Less Traveled

The Washington Examiner is reporting:

The Northeast, once the nation’s political engine that produced presidents, House speakers and Senate giants including the late Edward M. Kennedy, is losing clout in Washington as citizens flee the high-tax region, according to experts worried about the trend.

The Census Bureau reports that population growth has shifted to the South and the result is that the 11 states that make up the Northeast are being bled dry of representation in Washington.

Critics blame rising taxes in states such as Massachusetts and Connecticut for limiting population growth in the Northeast to just 15 percent from 1983 to 2013, while the rest of the nation grew more than 41 percent.

The biggest impact comes in the loss of congressional representation.

Deep in a recent report, for example, the American Legislative Exchange Council tabulated how the drop in population relative to the rest of the nation cut the region’s power in Washington. While the states from Pennsylvania to Maine had 141 House members in 1950, they are down to 85 today, a drop of some 40 percent.
California and Texas combined have more House representatives.

In addition to high taxes, those remaining behind can expect to pay ever-increasing utility bills due to a) dumb decisions in the past; and, b) dumber decisions to come (Elizabeth Warren assures us of that). A hop, skip, and a jump from the Marcellus/Utica, and "they" don't want natural gas. Go figure.