Comments on: T. Boone Pickens “Encouraged” by Obama’s Energy Speech

By: Rick the wise and to the point

Rick the wise and to the point — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:30:03 +0000

If you don’t agree with this you’re brain dead

> Oil is a finite commodity

> We (US) need to move toward renewable types of energy

> We (US) are reluctant to change our oil consuming ways (i.e. we want Hummers not Hondas)

> The move to energy independence is necessary in order to keep wealth in this country

Regardless of where you come up on the political spectrum, the above issues need to be at or near the top of the issues facing the country.

A move toward alternative energy means economic improvement by creating more jobs domestically; better national security by needing to import less oil from unfriendlies; personal wealth for US all by reducing the price we pay for energy to power our homes and cars.

We need the right leadership to take us in this direction because there will be resistance all along the way both form big oil and hard headed Americans!

Pick your candidate wisely on this issue, for me it’s the unknown Obama! McCain has shown us what he is all about and I don’t like it! However you vote, push your party and your candidate to move in the direction that is best for US all when it comes to energy!

By: Don Rouselle

Don Rouselle — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:21:37 +0000

So….Just how much did it cost the DNC to “buy” Boone Pickens?

By: Eco Dream Job? Less Oil, More Fulfillment? « Brian Kurth

Eco Dream Job? Less Oil, More Fulfillment? « Brian Kurth — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:14:05 +0000

[...] http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/08/04/t-boone-pickens-encouraged-by-obamas-energy-speech/ [...]

By: Alex Rivas

Alex Rivas — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:43:34 +0000

I heard a Pickens interview on talk radio interview which puts things in a different perspective from this article.
Pickens said this morning (August 5, 2008 on the Laura Ingraham show) that Obama was wrong in not opening up Anwar Alaska to drilling. Pickens was careful not to criticize either side in the matter. His main point was that the U.S. should get off foreign oil as much as possible and that all means and ways of producing domestic energy should be explored, INCLUDING DRILLING. Obama tried to paint Pickens position as his own, but Pickens pointed out that Obama is not pushing drilling enough. Enough said!

By: Rick the Moderate

Rick the Moderate — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:04:23 +0000

Despite are best efforts to do everything wrong on energy policy, we will come around to the right solution out of necessity. We have been buying suburban and bigger houses farther from work while we have been watching banana republics around the world gain a stranglehold on the worlds dwindling oil supply. Americans desperate to protect their shrinking lifestyle because of energy and food price spikes will vote with their remaining dollars. Overtime Americans will shed their SUVs that they are upsized down on debt and the free market will prevail.

The best policy is “all of the above”, with some tilt towards American produced solutions. Just going nuclear, or only drilling makes as much sense as just driving little cars that look like a Shiner’s parade. We need to level the playing field and create incentives for American solutions and technologies so we are not dependent on the people who hate us for energy. Just as Bill O’Reilly says it is wrong to have a special tax on one industry (windfall profits tax), I would argue it is wrong to give the oil industry the current preferential tax treatment. We need to level the tax code on energy importers AND give preferential treatment to American industries, be it solar, biofuel, nuclear or wind. I agree more oil will help but we are only hastening the day when we will have none and giving more power in the short-term to oil companies and countries that hate everything about America except our money.

By: RejectObama

RejectObama — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:59:40 +0000

Obama wishes to take the profits of oil companies. Taking private property for government control sounds like communism to me.

How about some statistics on how well the windfall profits tax worked under the Carter administration?

From http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1605

“In 1980, President Carter signed into law the Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act, which established excise taxes as high as 70 percent on the difference between the market-determined price of oil and a (lower) price set by law. The tax was dropped in 1987, but according to the Congressional Research Service, almost $80 billion was drained from the industry’s income statements while it was in effect.

Money that could have been invested in new oil and gas production and to expand refining capacity was instead diverted to Washington. It should come as no surprise that oil production fell. In fact, 1.6 billion fewer barrels of crude oil were produced in the United States from 1980 to 1987 than would have been produced otherwise. American dependence on foreign oil rose apace.

However tempting it may be for populist politicians to meddle in energy markets, almost anything Congress does will only make a bad situation worse. Oil and gas production is a risky business, as Katrina and Rita demonstrated so vividly.

Despite the industry’s above-average risk exposure, Big Oil is not extraordinarily profitable. According to Business Week and Oil Daily, average industry earnings were 7.7 cents per dollar of sales in the second quarter of 2005, also a time of relatively high gas prices. During that same quarter, by comparison, banks earned 19.6 cents; pharmaceuticals 18.6; software and related services 17; semiconductors 14.6; household and personal products 11.3; insurance 10.7; telecommunications 9.6; food, beverage and tobacco 9.4; and real estate 8.9. The corresponding figure for U.S. industry as a whole was 7.9 cents per dollar of sales.”

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:51:56 +0000

Way to go Obama… you finally got it right… this is our country’s biggest challenge and opportunity. We’re at economic war with OPEC and it’s time to get off of oil completely. If we follow Obama we’ll suceed but we need to go even quicker than Obama wants to. McCain all of the sudden gets interested in this subject after 26 years of neglect… give me a break. Too bad we spent 1 trillion in Iraq, it would have come in handy spending it at home on energy independence. On other thing for all you fox noise lemmings… anybody who voted for Bush in the last election should not be allowed to vote in the next election because you proved your lack of intelligence.

By: Flander Annapollis

Flander Annapollis — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:09:23 +0000

Well at least there were no stupid juvenile ads with Britney and Paris. I really belive McCain is “losing it”. I hope the Republicans get Romney before the convention starts. John shows the early stages of dementia. BTW great plans from Obama/ Pickens

By: GOOD GUY

GOOD GUY — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:06:59 +0000

If you actully read what Boone Pickins is about he supports drill here and every where and drill now. He also supports alternative energys. He says we cant drill our way out but he also know they alt eng. will not ever be able to supply our needs. So his belief is we get every energy source we can and all of them now. so if Obama want to go the pickens way ok, let get the wind , lets get the solar and as boone says drill everywhere and drill now. so now BO do you still support boone Pickens?

By: J.M.

J.M. — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:58:43 +0000

You know, I’m actually a little shocked that good people are going around laughing about Obama saying that we should do maintenance on our cars and keep our tires inflated in order to help offset the price of gas. Now, I’m not fully in line with Obama on all the issues, nor am I in line with McCain on everything, but THIS is a good idea. We as Americans, are a people that don’t sit back idly waiting for someone to fix everything for us. Yes, the government should start doing things to help with gas prices, but, as a people, as a society, we’re strong enough, and wise enough to realize when we should start pushing our sleeves back to pitch in. And if keeping better maintenance on my car is all I have to do to help save 3% in fuel, and if walking to the corner store instead if driving, or taking my city’s public transportation system whenever I can will help not only me, but also my country, then I’m going to be doing that.

This is something a leader DOES! A leader works on fixing things, but also helps to guide people to do things to help themselves and their countrymen. Maybe keeping my tire pressure up might not be a big drop in the bucket, but if I do it, and if you do it, and other people do too, not only for ourselves, but also for each other, then as a country, as a community, we really can help! And all these little tire gauge jokes, they feel like a slap in the face to my efforts, and the efforts of my neighbors who I’ve been so proud to see walking/biking/bus riding when they can.