US Begins Exports Of Natural Gas To OPEC Countries In The Mideast -- November 17, 2016

Earlier in passing I posted this brief note, sent to me from a reader.

Forbes: reversing Middle East dependence: U.S. begins exports of shale gas to oil-rich UAE And Kuwait.

Two cargoes of shale gas liquefied at Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana were exported to Kuwait. A third went to the United Arab Emirates. Jordan imported two more.

It's an incredibly interesting story. Folks trying to figure out the US oil and gas industry need to read the linked article. If you want to know why Kuwait, UAE, and Jordan would import natural gas from the US, it's a must read.

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The Wall -- Part II

Some years ago Vanity Fair had a two-page photograph of the incoming George W. Bush cabinet with Condoleezza Rice, et al. I always thought it was quite a photograph. For the Clinton administration, one photograph included James Carville (I think).

Earlier I talked about how interesting it will be to watch the Trump presidency.

I had not thought about it until now, but after hearing Ivanka Trump school Leslie Stahl, it dawned on me that in addition to everything else, Trump will be organizing and/or prioritizing his operations differently than past administrations. I think Trump will have a formidable wall: his three older children and wife among the inner circle; and then Bannon, Pence, and Flynn in the next circle; and then, his Chief of Staff, in the third circle out.

It is going to be very interesting to see the wiring diagram.  It may look like any other conventional West Wing wiring diagram but the key will be the stemwinders and the doorkeepers, not necessarily identified. One may get a better idea of how stemwinders and doorkeepers work by watching Veep rather than watching House of Cards. I wonder if Pence won't take a more active role than most vice presidents. I don't know. I just have that feeling.

It is very possible Trump will face the same "problem" as Abraham Lincoln, with a slight twist: it won't be a team of "rivals" but a team of huge, huge personalities, many of whom will have future political plans.

Jared Kushner and father-in-law will want to organize the administration along the lines of a holding corporation with four or five operating divisions. Meanwhile, he will have the military organizational input from Lt Gen (Ret) Mike Flynn in his role as National Security Advisor, a post that does not need Senate confirmation.

It's also going to be "fun" to watch a melded family in the White House: the older three, a young adult coming of age and then the 10-year-old son, and his mother.