The overriding issue in the forthcoming election is not the economy, even though the rise in today's announced unemployment rate represents the biggest jump since 1986. It's also not about the state of healthcare or the immigration issue and it's only partly about Iraq.
The real battle boils down to one question: Will the neoconservative movement and its philosophy continue to direct the foreign policy of this nation?
John McCain has made it abundantly clear that the neocons will maintain a strong influence in his administration, if he is elected.
How do we know this? Well, in addition to the fact that he has said so, there is that photo of his campaign bus revealing the designation "Neo-con Express." But, beyond that, there's also the little thing called common sense. In these days of misdirection and deception, our good old native intelligence may just be the most important compass we can follow. Simply put, McCain promotes a foreign policy consistent with the principles espoused by the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), the embryonic egg of the neocon movement.
Jacob Heilbrunn, author, editor and a former neocon himself, says flat out "If McCain becomes president, the neocons will be in charge." According to Heilbrunn, "McCain represents for the neocons the ultimate synthesis of war hero and politician."
As far as Obama is concerned, it's a little more difficult to get a direct read. He hasn't exactly disavowed the neocon movement, but his stated foreign policy objectives are definitely a world apart from McCain's. The old reliable native-intelligence compass clearly tells us that if Obama is elected the neocons' days of wine and roses may soon be history.
So, how important is this issue? Well, let's just say that much of corporate America, all of the defense industry, all of the oil and gas industry, other energy-related companies, the Christian right, the nation of Israel, the pro-Israel PACs, and many, if not most, Jewish Americans consider this election to be, arguably, the defining moment in terms of their objectives for America.
And given the billionaire ownership and track record of our mainstream media, I would definitely include it as well.
Israel is so concerned over a possible Obama election that it may not be able to wait for John McCain to ride in with his cavalry. Today, that country's transportation minister said with unmistakable clarity that Israel will attack Iran if Iran does not give up its nuclear program.
This added to a wave of selling that drove the Dow Jones Industrial Index down nearly 400 points and caused a 1% drop in the dollar against the euro, and an $11 rise in the price of a barrel of crude, to a record level of over $138. Morgan Stanley jumped in to predict that the speculator-driven oil price (my description, not theirs) would soar to $150 within a 30 days.
So, if it is true that the survival of the neoconservative movement is the principle issue at stake in the apparent turbulence we may see in the coming months, it may behoove us to take a more comprehensive look at its track record since its ascendancy into the halls of power.
And, basically, that track record is the record of the Bush administration.
There is no need to repeat the allegations spun by the neocon-controlled political apparatus in the months leading up to the war. We all remember them like a bad dream we can't shake.
However, it may be worth noting, once again, that the scenario was directed by the same group, essentially, that framed the Statement of Principles for the PNAC in the '90's, and that statement, you may remember, called for America to retain its position of global leadership through a policy of preemptive wars if necessary.
Incidentally, if you try to find information on the PNAC website now, you'll be disappointed. As of May 20, 2008, just when it was becoming clear that Obama would be the Democratic nominee, the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, reported that: "The Project for the New American Century website has become inoperable. A message saying that the account has been suspended and to contact the billing department was put on the site's page and www.archive.org no longer acknowledges any content was ever on the website."
Getting back to the point, since the launching of the propaganda program leading up to the preemptive war that has cost over 4,000 American lives and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives in addition to seriously destabilizing what had been a functioning country and actually increasing Iran's influence in the region, we have been treated to ample evidence that we were the victims of an insidious program of lies and misdirection, not to mention incredibly bad judgment.
First, there was our own slowly growing awareness that there were, in fact no weapons of mass destruction, a claim that had represented the centerpiece of the neocon-inspired program.
Then came that critical book by Richard Clarke, the former counterterrorism adviser, followed by the similar conclusions of numerous bipartisan investigations, including those by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (2004 and 2006), the 9/11 Commission, and the multinational Iraq Survey Group, whose "Duelfer Report" established that Saddam Hussein had terminated Iraq's nuclear program in 1991 and made little effort to restart it.
This was followed by the revelation, five months ago, that the administration had actually issued "at least 935 false statements" during the buildup to the war. Not surprisingly, it wasn't the mainstream press that tabulated these lies, but rather two independent, nonprofit journalism organizations (The Center for Public Integrity and the Fund for Independence in Journalism).
Then, last month, Bush's former press secretary, Scott McClellan, published a book accusing his ex-employers of fabricating a whole web of false statements to further their objectives, including the invasion of Iraq.
And now, just yesterday, the Senate Intelligence Committee released yet another study rebuking the president, vice president and other members of the administration for their prewar claims that were not supported by available intelligence.
In particular, the report mentions the claim of an Al Qaeda connection within Iraq as one that was in complete disagreement with known information at the time. You can read more details on this matter in an excellent article posted on Gather today by Felix R. entitled Thickening the BushCo Dossier.
This litany of critical accusations is overwhelming in its totality. However, it appears that, although grievous crimes may have been committed, no one will be called upon, apparently, to pay the piper, except, probably, in the chronicles of future historical records.
However, the question that brings this topic, at this time, to the very surface of the boiling pot we call our national election cycle, is - Do we want a continuation of an administration controlled by the neoconservative movement?
When Obama calls for change, I believe this is the most significant aspect that he has in mind. It is the key issue of our time.
As Jacob Heilbrunn said: "It's no small irony that (the neocons) may well end up destroying the very American empire they seek to expand, just as the British empire collapsed during the past century."
(And we still have seven more months.)
Dave McGill, News Correspondent
Dave's column, "The Contrarian," generally published every Friday, to Gather Essentials: News will sometimes present a contrary view to various aspects of the news, or an alternate take on the conventional wisdom of the day, and will occasionally appear on other days of the week
Dave has been a senior officer of a large eastern insurance company, involved in economic projections and investment strategy, president of a Midwestern mortgage banking company, and a financial consultant in Southern California, serving clients in the field of commercial real estate development
You can find all of Dave's "The Contrarian" columns at: http://gather.com/thecontrarian...... Keep up with Dave's other postings and Gather activity by joining his Gather network - just click here: http://atadaskew.gather.com........ You'll find Dave and other News Correspondents, plus celebrity content and plenty of other News experts at News.gather.com.
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Comments: 108
John McCain understands war as few civilians do. He is the son and grandson of admirals; he is a war hero and he has years of experience in the Senate.
In these dangerous times when terrorists could strike anywhere, I trust John McCain.
If you are talking only about Al Qaeda in Iraq, it's well to bear in mind that it was virtually non-existant there under hussein.
Perhaps you should look at Iraq as an example of a nation accused of weapons grade nuclear enrichment by the Bush Administration while weapons inspectors said that it wasn't even possible for them to do it as the IAEA has found with Iran as they found with Iraq. It is also a good example of what might be wrong with your idea when the international community refuses to back you.
Be advised that when you go to war on false premises that war IS a war of aggression, and when you have an aggressive posturing to a smaller nation that stands right up to you and that nation is vindicated as Iran has been by the IAEA's findings, you just made the leader of that nation into a regional hero. That's considered a huge mistake in study of the art of war because it inspires more enemies to come out against you and if you think a good strategy is to inspire new enemies and uplift the morale of current ones, then four more years of the McSame is how you should vote.
As a liberal I understand why pointing to conservative faults is your focus. Pointing to the liberal agenda never ends well for political aspirations.
Once again thank you for the education.
If you have read the book "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" by Jared Diamond, you will soon realize that the neo-cons have put us on a path to fail through their unmitigated greed.
i really hope the Dems win, because otherwise we will be in deep, deep doo doo for a very long time.
Barry better pick a perfect running mate.
That's a HUGE insult to liberals considering that high-ranking Neo-Cons are guilty of treason, perjury, obstruction of justice, manipulating intelligence, politicizing government institutions, silencing whistleblowers, subverting the Constitution, subverting democracy, handing the treasury over to people they are in business with etc.
Of course, Obama would have it made. If things get better, he's a genius; if things stay the same, or get worse, it's all Bush's fault.
"""" Liberals come up with ideas like taking OPEC to court because of high gas prices (they forgot to fact check to see that OPEC is less than 40% of oil producers). They demand that Saudi Arabia pump more oil but refuse to allow America to pump their own oil. They claim that raising taxes on oil companies will lower prices.
As a liberal I understand why pointing to conservative faults is your focus. Pointing to the liberal agenda never ends well for political aspirations.""""
This is a huge tell. Israel has no weapons that will reach the hardened facilities of Iran. Guess who does, and who must have already committed some of them to Israel, or the transportation minister wouldn't be rattling that particular sabre?
AIPAC!
John McCain, by the way, has voted with Bush on ninety-five percent of issues before the senate in the past year. That's a better Bush centric record, than many of Bush's formewr most ardent supporters. A vote for McSame, truly is a vote for a third Bush term, and I think people know that. In the end, he'll get the thirty percenter's vote, but I truly wonder who else will be stupid enough to support him all the way to November.
AIPAC!"
You forgot the CFR, Felix.
I sure hope so. David, I think they have done so much fearmongering that they are now running scared. That's probably why PNAC is MIA. Obama is a community organizer, it's why he beat Hillary, and it's why he will beat McCain and the neocons. Yep, I think they're scared, they wanted Hillary and got Obama.
What will come after that is not only the steady disintegration of the America most of you have known all your life, to be replaced by a poorer and less free society, but also there is probably a very nasty war coming. One in which America will not be leading "the allies" but facing them.
How very, very tragic this all is.
Thanks to G.W. Bush, McCain does not have a prayer in November.
I hope you're right. The last thing we need is a continuation of Bazooka Bush.
There is little or no chance they plan to use troops against Iran, Ruth, but you may be right about the nuke. The key facility in Iran's program is sixty feet under ground with a thick concrete shield, and more. I don't know if the bunker busters would be effective and it would be very embarassing to bomb it unsuccessfully.
Also, Iran has said that an attack by Israel would be considered to be an attack by the U.S. as well and that it would retaliate accordingly. Actually, it seems as thought there would have to be some coordination between Israel and the U.S. For example, Israeli planes would likely have to fly through Iraqi airspace.
That's a good point, Rosa, and well said, as always, Rory.
Jim, you picked up on the "seven months" and, yes, that can be a long time, especially when the leadership is motivated to promote a climate of fear in order to benefit its favored successor.
Thanks for adding that information on McCain's voting record, Ron W.
For what it's worth, Felix, Congress has consistantly rated the PAC you mention as one of the four most powerful, even ahead of the NRA. I have a feeling you might feel that's even understating its power.
Jeff, it's true that many non-OPEC countries are oil exporters and I appreciate your pointing it out. Some of them are actually taken advantage of by big oil which pays them no more than a small percentage for the right to explore and construct pipelines and secure oil. I have a feeling that the decision makers in those countries may be taken care of, but that's just a guess. The pipeline crossing two countries from the Atlantic into Chad and the related activity in Chad is a good example. The countries get a very low percentage, around 5%, and you can imagine what the company accountants do to reduce the base number.
OPEC gets the brunt of the bad press and bad feelings, I believe, because all its filthy rich member-representatives get to dictate how much agony the world will bear and when we see how they live and spend in the face of the poverty that exists in their countries it is very annoying to say the least.
The price of oil has now doubled in the past year and it is NOT because of shrinking supplies or growing demand, as we have been told. Worldwide demand is down and production is up, according to the data. Also, according to our government's own weekly data, the oil stock in the U.S. - excluding the strategic petroleum reserve - was higher last Friday than it was for any week in 2003 or 2004, when the price per barrel was more than $100 less than it is today. The current price is being driven by commodities speculators who are making a fortune and by OPEC's greed. In my view, it's just another bubble that can't pop too soon.
Thanks for your comments as well, Kathryn (I played against Roxbury Latin in football when at Rivers), Spencer, Jeff, necee, Sigriet, Francis H. (love the icon), Cheri Cabot (thanks for the book recommendation), Sam C. (good point, Sam), Susan K., and Vivian P.
And to Don H., John P. and Mary Ann S., alternate points of view are more than welcome here and I appreciate your input.
Excellent report of the situation! I believe Sam stated my thoughts as well as if he'd read my mind , so I'll not repeat.
However, the thing the US must do in the future is to bring nations together and to agree that other nations do have different agendas as well as religions, and that discussions, and resolutions of those differences and disagreements, are much more important than wars.
Exactly... McCain Is a military man, the son and grandson of admirals. There inlies the problem. When you've been trained by the military, naturally you have the mind set that says the way to solve problems is with a military solution.
I scares the hell out of me I hear McCain say he "will win this war" because I'm afarid his idea of winning will end up being an escalation of violence and a build up of American troops in Iraq far greater than has been seen so far.
As I watched the news and the financial markets yesterday, it was apparent that Israel's threat to bomb Iran had a significant impact on the price of oil which in turn added materially to the scope of the selloff.
This morning, I was amazed - if not almost stunned - to discover that the L.A. Times, which was recently purchased by billionaire Sam Zell, did not make one direct mention of Israel's threat.
On page 17, in the third from the last paragraph of a long article, the only indirect mention was: "Other factors (in the oil price increase) included unrelenting oil futures speculation by large investors, a suggestion that Iran's pursuit of nuclear technology could trigger an attack by Israel and the $150-a-barrel prediction from
Something to watch for, the 'October surprise'.
The Neo-con game will swing into full action mode the last two weeks of October.
Watch for this nation to be uplifted with pride, due to the conviction of the Mastermind of 911
He went on trial yesterday after having been confined (and tortured) for the past 5+ years. I predict his trial will last long enough to be finalized in the waning days of October. This will send people out into the streets waving American flags in joyful celibration over this victory (of sorts).
The Neo cons will use this time to their advantage and tout people like McCain kept america safe from bad men like these !
This was a case of blatant filtering of the news and it is something that I have come to be aware of on a continuing basis.
This mind control and opinion shaping strategy being conducted by the mainstream press should make us all the more thankful for sites such as Gather. The internet remains one of the last vestiges of our freedom of the press, so we should probably enjoy it while we can...
This election especially, the people do need to focus on electing a Commander in Chief who shall also serve as President.
Naw ... don't think so ... there will always be wars and rumors of war where there is fear, hatreds, and greed. Gee, that sounds just like our world ... a world divided and in fear of one another ... why ???
Because there are peoples who have had sufficient fears in their lives, as to have sought power via extreme wealth in order to insure that they will be insulated from those that might adversely affect them. Yes, they have become entrenched as "conspiring" leaders, basically unknown to us via intended design ... yes, conspiracy does exist ... of course "they" (the conspirators) have the wealth to actually own the media that informs us all, controlling the editorial content such that they have convinced most people that CT (conspiracy theory) is just delusions of left-wing kooks and peer pressure involving egos do the rest to keep most believing the disinformation.
Anyway, these "folks" actually own the major think tanks that plan their operations for them, giving them the truths to work with, and us the half truths to confuse us ... and most importantly, to keep us divided (conquered) and controlled as we are given a "media story" for each "side" to get behind and debate each other with, keeping us busy focusing on the political parties that are also mostly controlled also from above, their being effectively just puppets meant for us to keep our eyes upon and praise or blame accordingly ... a huge charade ! Puppet show, including the selection process of who is running as our presidential candidates right now ... promise this to some, promise that to others, something for everyone ... supposedly.
Well, time will tell ... but I am always hoping, but after nearly 69 years of watching these things, I will NOT hold my breath. Talk is cheap ... and some presidential candidates really have no real concept what-so-ever as to how deep and controlling this "system" I am speaking of really is ... most will never know ... ever.
And if those political folks who make politics their life do not know, then you can probably guess that the average American does NOT know either ... you might well ask how it is that I think that I know such things ... and if I went into detail about that I would have to write more than the one book that I already have, which tries to explain that ... but suffice to say, that it is a deep intuitive SPIRITUAL knowing ! (and that can be backed up with written historic information also for those truly interested).
I also know from personal spiritual experience that most people have NOT had that experience ... and that there are two distinctly different kinds of such experiences also, one, what the major religions "claim" (often falsely) to speak for, the experience of a truly loving and beneficent God ... and the other, one that is claimed to be rather evil in comparison, one more involving fear and selfishness ... in it's more extreme forms involving the practise of the pejorative meanings of "occult" ...
The "point" being, that the average person has no real conception of the power leveraged upon the minds of the practitioners of such spiritual experiences ... and the "other worldly" help that is available to be utilised for the furtherance of such "ideologies" ... not to mention the long range time implications of eternal meanings and rewards (or punishments in some cases of concern) ...
The bulk of us more or less "normal" people in between all of that, really have no concept as to depth of the power that drives people to do things beyond our ability to understand or even believe ... but there is a real God of Unconditional Love that never forces anyone ... but does give us the ability to see and understand all truths ... that called wisdom.
There is also the "allowance" by the very same God to grant those "others" to seek their relationships in the "darker" aspects of spiritual potentials ... the direction that those I speak of who are attempting to control this physical world have taken and employed in "their" endeavors ...
It is simply (not so simple on the "surface" it seems) our position to see through the false promises and find the real (spiritual) truths that will eventually set us free ... free from the fearful reactions to those that lie to us to keep us subservient to them and their goals ...
There may well be a climax of sorts in our relatively near future that will pressure people to make the decisions of their own volition that will determine their eternal paths as to whether they go with the good gods or the bad gods ... all of whom work with the One God who is all Love ... but who via that Love gives us the free agency to choose as we see fit ... we live here in a very fallen world that has used lies and disinformation almost forever to fool and control us all ... many who claim, even religiously, that they have chosen wisely and righteously, are deep among those deceived from way back ... it is time folks to think far "deeper" than you have been used to doing ... the truth IS available, but it will seldom be found in the promises of those outside of yourself ... the greatest truth is Intuitive and comes from your own INternal Soul connection direct to God ... seek withIN !!!
IMnsHO.
In my own heart I only wish it was that easy to dismiss the disgraceful situation at the center of this article...
What will come after that is not only the steady disintegration of the America most of you have known all your life, to be replaced by a poorer and less free society, but also there is probably a very nasty war coming. One in which America will not be leading "the allies" but facing them."""""
Wow Rory you mean we actually might end up like Canada?
As for neocon foreign policy I think that is dictated by the effect it has on their personal economic situation. In that sense, It's still about the economy, stupid. I hope you don't take that personally, Dave, it is just a saying, I do believe that neocons' domestic policy is what drives their foreign policy, not the reverse and what drives both is what they think best for their own personal pocket books.
Oh, I'm enlightened. I can see how that's comparable to committing treason, perjury, obstruction of justice, manipulating intelligence, politicizing government institutions, silencing whistleblowers, subverting the Constitution, subverting democracy, handing the treasury over to people they are in business with etc.
As a liberal I understand why pointing to conservative faults is your focus. Pointing to the liberal agenda never ends well for political aspirations.
I see. "Liberals" oppose treason. Conservatives oppose attempts to collect damages from despotic cartels.
Francis, I would love to get more information on your faith based beliefs about Liberals and criminal behavior. Please, let me know when you write an article explaining how Liberals Think and Behave, and while you are at it, tell me how Conservatives Think and Behave too. I really need to know. Those labels have become less meaningful than 19th century Political Slogans.
Nothing like a quick fix right? Unfortunately pushing environmentalists out of the way is what has gotten us into the mess we are in. If it weren't for the propaganda and lobbying of the Oil Cartel we would had entrepreneur-led clean, efficient energy independence years ago. We had fully electric cars but they were all rounded up, brought to the California desert, and systematically executed even though the people who had leased them begged to buy them in excess of their retail worth. Now we are being bled for gas while the value of our money drops and given the respect worthy of a junky because we have no alternatives, and that's not for a lack of trying.
Then, Obama could have tea with Iranian leaders to his heart's content, and he'd have the upper-hand for a change.
That's actually a very funny statement but it incorrectly implies that he's never had the upper-hand, yet he's the one who gets attacked and all the demagogues have got to keep up with him.
"Hillary supporters for McCain" merchandise available at cafepress.com.
I got pins, but they have t-shirts, bumper stickers, baby, and pet wear.
I don't really think that conservatives do not oppose treason, but he replied as though he took what I wrote about Neo-Cons as conservative faults as if they applied to all conservatives and was actually true. I'm sure he miswrote. I just wanted him to see that and say something applicable and maybe even intelligent for the sake of the discussion.
I tried Zazzle first, but they only have coffee mugs.
Francis I simply stated some recent policy ideas regarding oil prices by democrats. If you think they are good ideas then you should stand behind them. I think they are asinine and more dog and pony shows for the moonbats that actually think things are getting done. If it's going to be McCain and Obama at some point you have to compare policy not moonbat conspiracy theories about conservatives.
Let's discuss the issues, not campaign propaganda.
I understand the impetus, but you're headed in the wrong direction.
I guess the real problem becomes the divide in thinking. I do not want America to be a warring country that pre-emptively 'strikes' and occupies. Ergo, I don't want a war president. McCain of all people should know the underbelly of war, yet he thinks this is his 'ticket' and has made another complete flip-flop to become a neocon right before our eyes. I am sickened, truthfully. The maverick I once considered a possible contender has sold out. Sad for a war hero. Sad for any American.
The problem may be, however, that Big Oil and Big Energy may also be in the way. I drive past the wind farms near Palm Springs on many windy days and routinely see only about 10% of the windmills turning. What's up with that? What convoluted policy would cause this potential source to be seriously limited, as it so obviously is?
Randy W., you said "McCain, the maverick, is no more a neo-con than Obama is a Clintonista. The 'Neo-Con Express' sticker you mention was slapped on McCain's bus by party or parties unknown." You are obviously correct about that sticker, but there was a very good reason for it to be there.
Your comment to the effect that McCain is not a neocon sympathizer would come as a great surprise to his official and unofficial advisers, including Joe Lieberman, Randy Scheunemann, James Woolsey, Bill Kristol, Robert Kagan, Mark Salter, John Bolton (who credits McCain for getting him his post at the UN), Gary Schmitt and others who were either directly connected to the PNAC or have close ties to the neoconservative political faction. McCain's "There will be more wars" speech in Florida fed directly into the neocon agenda, as have many of his remarks.
So, again, this seems to be the key issue. Do we have "more wars," or do we have a leader who will attempt to avoid wars with diplomacy?
And thanks for your most interesting observations, Diana Raabe, Judi J., Carol Lehane, Debra C., Karl Leuba (hang in there, Karl - we're pulling for you), Libramoon and Elizabeth Madrigal.
Also, thanks for your additional commentary, Jerry, Rory, Francis, Tim and Jerry...
And, good to see you as well, Pamela R.
We are basically screwed when it comes to oil prices because it is our own idiotically misled foreign policy that shifted the power balance in oil distribution. I personally do not blame OPEC for using the power the Neo-Cons gave them with the ill-gotten consent of the American People.
And when I was discussing my Conspiracy facts (Treason- Outing of Valerie Plame [for starters], source: Scott McClellan; Perjury/ obstruction of justice- in investigation of VP outing: Scooter Libby CONVICTED ; manipulating intelligence: "Satellite Images of Mobile-Biological labs, WMDs, Iraq's supposed nuclear capabilities, Hussein's supposed links to 9/11 & Al Qaida" ALL NON-EXISTENT; politicizing government institutions- the Justice Dept, attorney firings for not prosecuting bogus cases, flooding the dept with grads from Pat Robertson's Law School; silencing whistleblowers- former FBI translater Sibel Edmonds comes across evidence of high treason [ie- the source of AQ Khan's Nuclear Knowledge from State Dept officials] and infiltration of Turkish and Israeli agents into the American Intelligence community in backlogged intel- silenced by gag orders, the most gagged person in US History- 60 Minutes interview classified by Homeland Security post-broadcast; subverting the Constitution- suspension of Habeas Corpus, engaging in extraordinary rendition, engaging in torture, sending people to be tortured at black sites; subverting democracy: spreading black propaganda to gain consensus in Congress for Iraq invasion, a Neo-Con goal since Clinton Administration- source of objective: PNAC; handing the treasury over to people they are in business with: no bid contracts with "cost-plus" provisions giving incentive to contractors to waste and waste to be paid to them tax-free allowing taxpayers to be overbilled by hundreds of millions to billions), it was in response to you saying you trust the Neo-Cons more than liberals, but since you mentioned policy issues of McCain and Obama, then YES McCain will execute four more years of failed Neo-Con policy by keeping the Neo-Con power grab intact.
"Appropriate, but naive"? OK... That aside- Yes they must be phased in and that was Phase I. Prices would have come down once they were more prevalent. The problem was that they did too well. The "Oil" or fossil fuels that you alluded to are already used to create the electricity we already use in our households and fuel for trucks to ship the cars which today only ship gas-consuming vehicles. It's not like the electric cars actually need oil-based fuel to run. It depends on what kind of powerplant is supplying the electricity. True: having an electric car may not reduce your carbon footprint as much as most people think but it still makes you independent from foreign oil. The story about those cars being rounded up for eradication in the California desert is true.
Nobody disputes it, Jeff. Oil prices change on the margins. If a single group controls 40% of supply that's a huge driver of market price. And if no other supplier loves low prices, what do you think happens when OPEC declines to increase production?
BTW, the total storage capacity from oil wells to gas stations is a few weeks, maybe 3 months. Look for prices to plummet before long...not back to $50/barrel, but $90 wouldn't surprise me at all.
John P: "The price of fuel would be cut by 80%, and eliminate the need to protect middle-east oil."
I don't know where you get the idea that the US has oceans of oil just waiting to be produced, but no reputable source would support your claim of an 80% reduction.
There is so much information available which points to the conspiracy involved in such control ... countless books and Internet sources that point it out. But it seems that the average person is so wrapped up in ego concepts of being right versus being wrong, that they have taken the route that seems the most sure, that conspiracy is nothing more than kook left wing off the wall silly theories ... not worth the time to even consider or investigate, that all world business is just simple honest supply and demand competition, exactly like it appears on the surface and just as the media always portrays it ...
That OPEC is really a bunch of independent Arabs and that Saudi Arabia really actually calls all the shots and controls their own oil fields ... that the world major oil companies who set all of that entire industry up, just sat back and let it go to privatisation of the Arab "owners" ... talk about simple minded naivety ...