Napolitano Pushes Myth That Increased Oil
Drilling "Would Lower The Price Of Gasoline Tomorrow"

post from Media Matters for America - Latest Items on 08 March 2011 11:43:05 PM. © Media Matters for America - Latest Items

Andrew Napolitano claimed that increased oil drilling "would lower the price of gasoline tomorrow." In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy and PolitiFact agree that increased access to offshore oil drilling would not have a significant effect on gasoline prices.

Napolitano Claims Announcing Increased Drilling WouldImmediately Impact Gasoline Prices

Napolitano: If Obama "Ordered Drilling ... That WouldLower The Price of Gasoline Tomorrow." Ina discussion with Fox Business contributor Phil Flynn, Andrew Napolitano said:

NAPOLITANO: Tell me if I havethis right. Even though the gasoline that we pump into our cars this veryweek has been here since before the crisis in Libya started, the cost will goup because the oil business knows that oilwill be expensive in the future. Hence, ifthe president, for example, stopped resisting a federal judge in New Orleanswho's ordered drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, or if the president authorizeddrilling in Alaska, that would lower the price of gasoline tomorrow, eventhough that oil wouldn't get out of the wells and intothe refineries and into our tanks for many years. Do I have that right?
FLYNN: Absolutely. You know, the bottom lineis this market is an anticipatory market, it looks ahead. And if they expectmore supply from a reliable source, not a one-time shot from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a change in policy would lower prices over thelong run. [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 3/08/11]

DOE, Experts Agree Domestic Off-Shore Drilling Won'tSubstantially Affect Gasoline Prices

DOE In 2009: Reinstating Offshore DrillingBan Would Increase Prices By Merely 3 Cents Per Gallon. According to the Departmentof Energy's 2009 Annual Energy Outlook, limitedaccess to offshore oil drilling would lead to "a small increase in worldoil prices,"including "3 cents per gallon" for gasoline in 2030. The DOE estimated that limited access tooffshore oil drilling would not affect the price of gasoline before 2020. [U.S. Department of Energy, Energy InformationAdministration, accessed 3/08/11]

PolitiFact: Experts Agree ThatExpanding Offshore Drilling "Would Have Little Effect At The Pump Any TimeSoon." InDecember, PolitiFact analyzed the statement that a "5percent increase in domestic production would increase the world supply by lessthan 1 percent and do almost nothing to our dependence on foreign oil. Thiswould also have virtually no effect on the price of gas at thepump." PolitiFact concluded:

Let's review:Wasserman Schultz's math adds up -- Gulf drilling does indeed represent about 5percent of current domestic production, and a 5 percent increase would barelyregister in terms of the world supply. And the experts we found for thisTruth-O-Meter as well as ones cited in the past about McCain's claim agree thatexpanding drilling now would have little effect at the pump any time soon.[PolitiFact.com, 12/1/10]

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.mediamatters.org/~r/mediamatters/latest/~3/BGwzOO64_oM/201103080050

Digg this

Open thread for night owls: Locking up financial
crooks

post from Daily Kos on 08 March 2011 11:30:03 PM. © Daily Kos

At Mother Jones, James Ridgeway writes, How to Put Wall Street CEOs in Prison:

In New York, Tuesday marked the beginning of the long awaited trial of hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, who ran the $7 billion Galleon Group and whose personal wealth is estimated at $1.3 billion. He is being prosecuted by the SEC for insider trade deals. Rajaratnam is said to have made $45 million in illegal profits. He has denied the charges and is free on $100 million bond. If he is convicted he could go to prison for as long as 20 years. The SEC historically has been such a handmaiden of the finance business that it's hard to imagine anything serious coming out of its prosecutions, but one never knows.
Whatever happens to Rajaratnam, it would be simple enough to prosecute many of the high rollers on first civil, then criminal charges, fining them millions of dollars and taking them out of circulation for up to 20 years.
"Contrary to prevailing propaganda, there is a fairly straightforward case that could be launched against the CEOs and CFOs of pretty much every US bank with major trading operation," writes Yves Smith in her popular Naked Capitalism blog. "I'll call them 'dealer banks' or 'Wall Street firms' to distinguish them from very big but largely traditional commercial banks.?? She proceeds to lay out the case, the key points of which I have excerpted below:
Since Sarbanes Oxley became law in 2002, Sections 302, 404, and 906 of that act have required these executives to establish and maintain adequate systems of internal control within their companies. In addition, they must regularly test such controls to see that they are adequate and report their findings to shareholders (through SEC reports on Form 10-Q and 10-K) and their independent accountants. ?Knowingly? making false section 906 certifications is subject to fines of up to $1 million and imprisonment of up to ten years; ?willful? violators face fines of up to $5 million and jail time of up to 20 years.

? ? ? ? ?

At Daily Kos on this date in 2009:

It is difficult to muster any sympathy whatsoever for the goddamned banks. This is a crisis entirely of their own manufacture. Yes, the housing market went down -- which anyone with an ounce of sense could have predicted, and did. Any bank betting the entirety of its assets many-times-over on that not happening deserves to fail as spectacularly as possible, its corporate leadership condemned to no greater future responsibilities than bussing tables. ...
We are aware of Japan's "Lost Decade", a period of real estate collapse and economic stagnation. We have, though, been in our own Lost Decade since the turn of the millennium, and only now that the higher echelons of our society have found themselves in as unpalatable a situation as the rest of us have been in has anyone important deigned to notice. We have had a decade of doing nothing, and two decades of offshoring our every competence, leaving us to putter in our financial closets and declare ourselves kings of all we could see.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/lJWSFIMy6d8/-Open-thread-for-night
-owls:-Locking-up-financial-crooks

Digg this

Tuesday Stuff

post from The Liberal Doomsayer on 08 March 2011 11:16:00 PM. © The Liberal Doomsayer

Well, with Corbett's horrendous budget that he announced today (no surprise, I realize), I guess the unemployed in our beloved commonwealth can look forward to even fewer jobs that are supposedly "there," but aren't of course...and probably never were...and may never be again)...

...and I can hardly wait to see what Jon Stewart does with this latest nonsense from Alan Simpson (God, just so sad, seriously - I think there may be a few politicians out there who actually represent their constituents...people like us, basically...but at this point, you can count them on two hands on the federal level if you're lucky; hey Number 44, you want to kill enthusiasm from your "base" for real? Keep giving Grampa Joe "Where's My Stinkin' Geritol?" Simpson the time of freaking day, OK?)...

...and speaking of Stewart, it's time to go "down the rabbit hole" with more phony umbrage from Fix Noise...

...and in honor of the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, I give you the following from someone I consider to be a great artist regardless of gender.

Read The Full Article:
http://liberaldoomsayer.blogspot.com/2011/03/tuesday-stuff_08.html

Digg this

Deputy U.S. Marshal John Perry Dies After
Shootout In St. Louis

post from TPMMuckraker on 08 March 2011 11:00:57 PM. © TPMMuckraker

John Perry, a 48-year-old Deputy U.S. Marshal who had been with the agency for nearly 10 years, died at 7 p.m. local time on Tuesday night after being shot during a fugitive apprehension in St. Louis, Mo.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Theodore Abegg, a 31-year-old who had been with the agency for three years, and a task force officer were also injured in the shootout, the U.S. Marshals Service said.

The U.S. Marshals Service said Perry, Abegg and other Deputy U.S. Marshals were working alongside task force officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department this morning to apprehend Carlos Boles, who was killed when officers returned fire. Boles had been wanted on a state warrant for felony assault on a police officer and possession of a controlled substance.

"Our people and our partners are well trained and prepared, but it is impossible to predict when a wanted individual will make a fateful choice that results in the loss of life or injury,"
U.S. Marshals Director Stacia A. Hylton said in a statement. "When that happens, and the life lost is a law enforcement officer or other public servant, it is an immeasurable tragedy felt by all."

"Today, unfortunately, we again feel that pain," Hylton said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with our fallen deputy as well as the injured and their families."

ABC News radio affiliate KTRS reported that the suspect told authorities that he was "only going out in a body bag" when they arrived at his home.

A LinkedIn profile that appeared to be Perry's said he graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1984.

Before the death last month of deputy U.S. Marshal Derek Hotsinpiller, a deputy U.S. Marshal hadn't been killed by gunfire in the line of duty since 1992.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TPMmuckraker/~3/olj0hCngXuw/deputy_us_marshal_john
_perry_dies_after_shootout_i.php

Digg this

C&L's Late Night Music Club With Rebirth Brass
Band

post from Crooks and Liars on 08 March 2011 11:00:33 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Title: Do Whatcha WannaArtist: Rebirth Brass Band

It's Mardi Gras! I'll take any excuse to post the Rebirth Brass Band and tonight they're bringing the party to you.

Read The Full Article:
http://crooksandliars.com/jared-shade-reynolds/cls-late-night-music-club-reb

Digg this

Late Night: Ladies Night, International Womens
Day. Mardi Gras Join Us!

post from Firedoglake on 08 March 2011 11:00:28 PM. © Firedoglake

Today is the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day: "a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women's Day[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/B1HE0lh1O0s/

Digg this

Video: Kilauea volcano erupting in Hawaii

post from AMERICAblog News on 08 March 2011 11:00:12 PM. © AMERICAblog News

(H/t Huff Post Hill)

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Americablog/~3/FWyhvnDp6s8/video-kilauea-volcano-e
rupting-in.html

Digg this

GOP won't compromise with Earth

There are some core principles on which the GOP absolutely refuses to bend. One of those is: any time you have a chance to spit in Earth's eye, you have to take it.

This week's actions go beyond Styrofoam cups replacing biodegradable versions. It's more than just forcing inefficient light bulbs back into the limelight after they were on their way to history's dustbin. It's more than even drill, baby, drill.

It's become an article of GOP faith that not only is it not worth spending a penny to protect the environment, a real conservative has to go out of their way to show their disdain for the environment. From the changing climate to the most delicate species of endangered flowers, there is no aspect of the planet, no matter how large or how small, on which the GOP isn't ready to devote their time and attention to ruin. This Earth-hatred drives their policy at every turn. Why have efficient transportation? There's always more land to pave. What good is a park when you can have a parking lot?

It's one thing to hate the EPA, and quite another thing to hate the environment. Today's GOP has passed from one to the other, and their efforts to show their pure contempt for the world costs far, far more in both lives and dollars than the pennies they're pretending to save.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/yMzQLnea1fc/-GOP-wont-compromise-w
ith-Earth

Digg this

The soldier that prays together slays together.

It looks like there is a staff Sergeant in the US Army who takes that song "Onward Christian Soldiers", literally.

"RICHMOND, Va. ? A staff sergeant erred when he banished dozens of soldiers to their barracks and ordered them to clean up after they refused to attend a Christian concert on a Virginia Army base last year, an investigation concluded.

When the Army learned the soldiers were punished, the company commander apologized to them the next day, according to the investigation's findings, released Tuesday to The Associated Press.
The actions of the staff sergeant, who was not named, were referred back to his battalion commander for nonjudicial action, according to Col. Daniel T. Williams, a spokesman for the Army's Document and Training Command, who detailed the findings of the investigation in a telephone interview. He said any punishment, if it occurred, would be kept confidential.

The sergeant's actions in May 2010 at Newport News' Fort Eustis were not consistent with the voluntary nature of the concerts, Williams said.

The command did not find sufficient evidence to indicate there was any malicious intent and therefore deferred any discipline down to the battalion command,' Williams said.

Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which first reported complaints by the soldiers, described the investigation's conclusion as typical for the military.

'Blame some lower-ranking enlisted guy who didn't know any better,' he said in an interview. 'That is just a completely inappropriate and disgraceful statement.'

Weinstein called the Christian concerts 'an absolute attempt to establish fundamental Christianity in the military.'

Williams described them as "nondenominational with no particular religious affiliation."

Two soldiers who were punished told the AP they felt pressured to attend a performance by the Christian rock group BarlowGirl, as part of what was billed as the 'Commanding General's Spiritual Fitness Concerts."' [Source]
"Spiritual Fitness Concerts"? OK, so I guess all those jumping jacks while they listen to "Rock Of Ages" is really good for morale.

Finally, I need you all to help me with something. I am sure you have heard about Evan Emory by now. He is the man who thought he was being funny by tricking a school into letting him sing for a bunch of first graders, and then, thanks to some new age trickery, dubbed in some explicit lyrics in the songs and posted the video on the web. [I would show it to you, but I don't think it is available anymore] It was a hit with his friends and on You-Tube, but, unfortunately for him, not with the authorities.

So here is what I need to know from you: The DA in Muskegon, Michigan is throwing the book at him, and I want to know if you think it's excessive. My man is looking at 25 years in the big house and having to register for 25 years as a sex offender. (Talk about a practical joke gone wrong.)

Now what he did was appalling, and if I had a child in that class I would want to go all Mike Tyson on him my damn self. But did he actually abuse these children with his digital prank? Or is this uncharted territory calling for careful navigation on our part? Let me know what you think.

Read The Full Article:
http://field-negro.blogspot.com/2011/03/soldier-that-prays-together-slays.html

Digg this

Interest plummets in having Obama at
commencements

CBS got their hands on a memo showing a marked decrease in interest in having the President speak at college commencements.

"As of yesterday we had received 14 applications and the deadline is Friday," the memo said. The memo also urged recipients to, "please keep the application number close hold."

A follow-up memo on February 28 reported receipt of 68 applications. Noting the competition among more than 1,000 schools last year, the memo said, "Something isn't working." It called on staffers to ask "friendly congressional, gubernatorial and mayoral offices" to encourage schools to apply.

I think this story matters as an example of growing disaffection with the President. Now, it's entirely possible the GOP demonization campaign is what's at play, or it's possible that students feel the President's shine has simply worn off. It's hard to know. But I think the White House would be remiss to simply write this off as "the honeymoon is over." It's not just the honeymoon. A lot of damage was by done, by the White House, to the President's relationships with core Democratic constituencies. That is finally being addressed, but it's hard to completely fix something like that once you break it.