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Stop Oil Speculation

A

Anonymous

Guest
The following letter is being circulated on the internet on Letterhead of all the major airlines...This is the second of this type e-mails I have received from this organization www.StopOilSpeculationNow.com. , which has a location on its site to send e-mails to your congressmen....

Interestingly- because of the high fuel costs and the economy-- we no longer have Airline service to our area (anywhere north of Billings)- so effectively no north south mass transit- which has made it extremely tough on the elderly and the handicapped that have to Doctor in Billings...

Dear Mrs. Pamela S Vankekerix,

Last week, crude oil hit an all-time high of $146, and the skyrocketing cost of fuel is impacting our customers, our employees, the communities we serve, and the economy as a whole. United, and the majority of other major U.S. airlines, are asking our most loyal customers to join us in pushing for legislation to add more transparency and disclosure in the oil markets. Please see the attached open letter from the leaders of the U.S. airline industry.

-----------------------------------------------



An Open letter to All Airline Customers:

Our country is facing a possible sharp economic downturn because of skyrocketing oil and fuel prices, but by pulling together, we can all do something to help now.

For airlines, ultra-expensive fuel means thousands of lost jobs and severe reductions in air service to both large and small communities. To the broader economy, oil prices mean slower activity and widespread economic pain. This pain can be alleviated, and that is why we are taking the extraordinary step of writing this joint letter to our customers. Since high oil prices are partly a response to normal market forces, the nation needs to focus on increased energy supplies and conservation. However, there is another side to this story because normal market forces are being dangerously amplified by poorly regulated market speculation.

Twenty years ago, 21 percent of oil contracts were purchased by speculators who trade oil on paper with no intention of ever taking delivery. Today, oil speculators purchase 66 percent of all oil futures contracts, and that reflects just the transactions that are known. Speculators buy up large amounts of oil and then sell it to each other again and again. A barrel of oil may trade 20-plus times before it is delivered and used; the price goes up with each trade and consumers pick up the final tab. Some market experts estimate that current prices reflect as much as $30 to $60 per barrel in unnecessary speculative costs.

Over seventy years ago, Congress established regulations to control excessive, largely unchecked market speculation and manipulation. However, over the past two decades, these regulatory limits have been weakened or removed. We believe that restoring and enforcing these limits, along with several other modest measures, will provide more disclosure, transparency and sound market oversight. Together, these reforms will help cool the over-heated oil market and permit the economy to prosper.

The nation needs to pull together to reform the oil markets and solve this growing problem.

We need your help. Get more information and contact Congress by visiting www.StopOilSpeculationNow.com.





Robert Fornaro
Chairman,
President and CEO
AirTran Airways

Bill Ayer
Chairman,
President and CEO
Alaska Airlines, Inc.

Gerard J. Arpey
Chairman,
President and CEO
American Airlines, Inc.




Lawrence W. Kellner
Chairman and CEO
Continental Airlines, Inc.

Richard Anderson
CEO
Delta Air Lines, Inc.

Mark B. Dunkerley
President and CEO
Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.




Dave Barger
CEO
JetBlue Airways
Corporation

Timothy E. Hoeksema
Chairman,
President and CEO
Midwest Airlines

Douglas M. Steenland
President and CEO
Northwest Airlines, Inc.




Gary Kelly
Chairman and CEO
Southwest Airlines Co.

Glenn F. Tilton
Chairman,
President and CEO
United Airlines, Inc.

Douglas Parker
Chairman and CEO
US Airways Group, Inc.
 

fff

Well-known member
Yes, when they deregulated the airlines industry, the government agreed to subsidize airlines to provide service to smaller markets. But the price of fuel has overtaken those subsidies and they're bailing on those small markets. As you say, it makes life difficult for some people. I think it also hurts our ability to attract new business if we don't have air service and probably hurts the value of our land.
 

aplusmnt

Well-known member
OT help me out here. And this is a real question not a set up, I am having hard time finding info on it.

Was Clinton President when they changed the rules that allowed anyone to trade in oil as a commodity?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
aplusmnt said:
OT help me out here. And this is a real question not a set up, I am having hard time finding info on it.

Was Clinton President when they changed the rules that allowed anyone to trade in oil as a commodity?

Yep- passed by a Repub Congress- signed by Clinton- then after the Enron Scandal and convictions the Dems tried to repeal it- but were blocked by the Repub majority- and last month when the Congress passed a law to repeal it- GW vetoed it.....

The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 or CFMA (Public Law 106–554, §1(a)(5) [H.R. 5660], December 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A–365, 7 U.S.C. § 1), was passed by the United States Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in December 2000 in large part to allow for the creation of U.S. exchanges for the listing of a new sort of derivative security, the single-stock future.

The CFMA has received criticism for the so-called "Enron Loophole," 7 U.S.C. §2(h)(3) and (g), which exempts most over-the-counter energy trades and trading on electronic energy commodity markets. The "loophole" was drafted by Enron Lobbyists working with senator Phil Gramm seeking a deregulated atmosphere for their new experiment, "Enron On-line".

The legislation was passed by the Republican controlled Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in December 2000 to allow for the creation, for U.S. exchanges, of a new kind of derivative security, the single-stock future. An attempt to reverse this policy was vetoed by President Bush in 2008. Several Democratic Legislators introduced legislation to close the loophole from 2000-2006, but were unsuccessful due to Republican control of the House and Senate.
 

aplusmnt

Well-known member
Thanks! That will give me enough info to research it more.

Ps. According to the way fff looks at things it would be Clinton's fault she holds the President liable for issues not congress. So Clinton signed the bill a couple months before leaving office.

If only Clinton would have vetoed it then we would not have this speculation problem now. But now fff wants to blame a couple oil men for not reversing something the Clinton did.

Lets see we have Clinton vetoing legislation to drill more, and then allowing oil to be traded as a commodity.

Sounds like not only did the Subprime and banking mess go back to Clinton but so does our current high oil prices. :?

What say you fff?
 

fff

Well-known member
aplusmnt said:
Thanks! That will give me enough info to research it more.

Ps. According to the way fff looks at things it would be Clinton's fault she holds the President liable for issues not congress. So Clinton signed the bill a couple months before leaving office.

If only Clinton would have vetoed it then we would not have this speculation problem now. But now fff wants to blame a couple oil men for not reversing something the Clinton did.

Lets see we have Clinton vetoing legislation to drill more, and then allowing oil to be traded as a commodity.

Sounds like not only did the Subprime and banking mess go back to Clinton but so does our current high oil prices. :?

What say you fff?

I say you're a bold faced liar, A+. I've always included the Republican Congress as to blame for much of the problems that we have today. But they only did Bush's bidding. They refused to perform any oversight. According to what OT has posted, Republicans haven't changed since Dems took control. Thank God that next year we'll have a real Democratic Congress and, with luck, a Democratic president, too. "Happy Days are here again."

Are you now saying we have high oil prices because of speculators? I thought you were a supply and demand guy? :lol:
 

aplusmnt

Well-known member
fff said:
aplusmnt said:
Thanks! That will give me enough info to research it more.

Ps. According to the way fff looks at things it would be Clinton's fault she holds the President liable for issues not congress. So Clinton signed the bill a couple months before leaving office.

If only Clinton would have vetoed it then we would not have this speculation problem now. But now fff wants to blame a couple oil men for not reversing something the Clinton did.

Lets see we have Clinton vetoing legislation to drill more, and then allowing oil to be traded as a commodity.

Sounds like not only did the Subprime and banking mess go back to Clinton but so does our current high oil prices. :?

What say you fff?

I say you're a bold faced liar, A+. I've always included the Republican Congress as to blame for much of the problems that we have today. But they only did Bush's bidding. They refused to perform any oversight. According to what OT has posted, Republicans haven't changed since Dems took control. Thank God that next year we'll have a real Democratic Congress and, with luck, a Democratic president, too. "Happy Days are here again."

Are you now saying we have high oil prices because of speculators? I thought you were a supply and demand guy? :lol:

I know you have always blamed any Republican, but never a Democrat rather President or Congress. You defend the Democrat congress now and blame all on Bush.

Remember Clinton had a Republican Congress to accomplish all them good things you think he did.

As for Speculators vs Supply and Demand, I am all of the above. A short supply and large demand helps the speculators to play with the market.

But can you admit that Clinton Signed the legislation that allowed the Speculators to manipulate things? Can you admit that Clinton signed the legislation that combined investment banking and commercial banking that led to Subprime mess.

Come on for once accept some blame on Clinton! The facts have been showed you on how Clinton started a lot of these messes. Rather Bush corrected them does not change that Clinton signed the legislation that set things in motion.

And if all the bad that happened under Clinton is the Republican Congress fault then maybe all the good that happened under Clinton was the Republican Congress fault also?

I am starting to think you must take your Kool-Aid intravenously instead of the sippy cup as I originally thought.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Apparently that letter put out by the airlines is legit- as this afternoon when they had a tape problem on Superior- I kicked over to CSPAN- and Senator Levin was reading it into the Congressional Record- as he introduced another bill to close the Enron Loophole and shut down the Speculators...But 10 seconds later he was already getting flak from the Oil Lobbyist bought out Senators on the opposing side, so I doubt nothing will happen again....
 

aplusmnt

Well-known member
I wish the government would do like Newt suggested. Start selling off some of the strategic reserves every day. Like 2 million barrels every day, but do not tell anyone before they do it. It would catch the Speculators with their pants down and they would lose money and start backing off. He believed it would drop oil prices drastically and quickly.

That would help for the short term, but then they should make it were you have to be ready and able to take possession of the oil to buy it as a commodity. Trucking companies and Airlines being able to speculate is probably not a bad thing. But some stock broker on wall street that never had any intentions of taking delivery needs to be stopped!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Yep- A+, I think that would work for the short term too.....

For the life of me, I can't believe why the Republican Congressmen are fighting so hard against putting these regulations back on- and doing some oversight again to keep those that are just transfering paper and hoarding from doing so...

Is there that many Repubs in the K street and Big Oils pockets.... :???:

Levin hadn't even got set down before an oil state Republican was attacking it ....

And of all the industry involved people- ALL (except the Bush bureaucrats, which no-one trusts anymore anyway) over numerous hearings have testified that Speculators were having an effect on causing the high price- altho they differed on the amount of the effect from minimal to half the price-- while most agreed it was probably raising the price by about 1/3...

If gas prices even dropped by 1/4, it would do wonders to bringing back the economy much quicker-- but I don't think these elitist D.C. politicians have any idea what is happening in the economy...

But those folks trying to sell their calves on Superior today- definitely do...
 

aplusmnt

Well-known member
I have heard that there is like 30 different bills floating around. You may be right maybe it is the Republicans blocking things. Like I have said before I do not trust any of them.

But I would also not be so quick to say it is just a Republican problem in solving it. Maybe these bills are to radical, maybe they have stuff in them that hurt the average investor. Maybe the have pork in them. I have not personally read all 30 different proposals.

Maybe it is a fight for wording, maybe someone is trying to keep from going over board and in the end hurting Truckers or Air lines that benefit by future buying.

Things are rarely so simple as to just flat out blame the Republicans. There is always a lot of small print. And vary few people have even read it.

So I need more info before passing the blame!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
aplusmnt said:
I have heard that there is like 30 different bills floating around. You may be right maybe it is the Republicans blocking things. Like I have said before I do not trust any of them.

But I would also not be so quick to say it is just a Republican problem in solving it. Maybe these bills are to radical, maybe they have stuff in them that hurt the average investor. Maybe the have pork in them. I have not personally read all 30 different proposals.

Maybe it is a fight for wording, maybe someone is trying to keep from going over board and in the end hurting Truckers or Air lines that benefit by future buying.

Things are rarely so simple as to just flat out blame the Republicans. There is always a lot of small print. And vary few people have even read it.

So I need more info before passing the blame!

Oh Yeah- both parties are playing patty cake games...You wouldn't think it would be that hard for a couple leaders from both parties to sit down- and hash out a bill they all can live with-- but neither party has any leadership...

In years past that was the Presidents job- like FDR did when he locked the bankers in a room- but we have no leadership there either...Besides he wouldn't want to interfer with the profiteering of his K street and oil buddies- as they come before the people of the country....
 

fff

Well-known member
aplusmnt said:
[ know you have always blamed any Republican, but never a Democrat rather President or Congress. You defend the Democrat congress now and blame all on Bush.

You're a dishonest person, A+, suggesting I say things that I haven't. The Republicans held complete control of the government for most of Bush's term. And look what we've got. The Dems took control about 18 months ago. The "swing" vote for the Dems in the Senate has been Joe Liberman. And who is he supporting for President? John McCain. So even though they have the numbers, they don't have control in the Senate. The Republicans have set records for obstructing work in both houses of Congress. You bet I'll defend the Democratic Congress. I think they'll do much better next year when they have a real majority and Bush is gone.

Remember Clinton had a Republican Congress to accomplish all them good things you think he did.

And remember Ronald Reagan had a Democratic Congress. I haven't seen you mention that in your praise for the senile old man.

As for Speculators vs Supply and Demand, I am all of the above. A short supply and large demand helps the speculators to play with the market.

Of course you are. You're a conservative. But the rest of the country is finally waking up to what that actually means.

But can you admit that Clinton Signed the legislation that allowed the Speculators to manipulate things? Can you admit that Clinton signed the legislation that combined investment banking and commercial banking that led to Subprime mess.

No. Yes, he signed the law. It was drawn up in a Republican Congress. Will you admit that? It didn't lead to the subprime mess we're in now. That law has been on the books for years. Lack of oversight has lead to the subprime mess we're in now. People lied, cheated, altered and faked financal reports. The FBI is investigating hundreds of cases. I saw a former VP of Countrywide Financial on TV the other day discussing what they called "liar loans." They simply changed the income the buyer had listed to make him eligible for the loan! He objected to his bosses and was fired. That's not Bill Clinton's fault. Or the fault of the law. It's George Bush's fault for not appointing people to oversee the financial markets like they should have done! It's like immigration. People rant about new immigration laws. There are laws on the books; the Bush Administration simply chose not to enforce them.

Come on for once accept some blame on Clinton! The facts have been showed you on how Clinton started a lot of these messes. Rather Bush corrected them does not change that Clinton signed the legislation that set things in motion.

I'm waiting for you to stop blowing hot air and show me where Clinton started a lot of these messes.

And if all the bad that happened under Clinton is the Republican Congress fault then maybe all the good that happened under Clinton was the Republican Congress fault also?

What "bad" thing happened under Clinton? Let's find out what you're talking about. Specifics, please.

I am starting to think you must take your Kool-Aid intravenously instead of the sippy cup as I originally thought.

And I'm wondering when you'll actually put out a documented fact to back up these claims instead of hot air. Waiting.....
 

aplusmnt

Well-known member
fff..........you are so clueless one day all blame falls on the President, then another day when it is Clinton you want to point out who had the Majority in congress. You do not even look to see if the Democrats pushed a bill and a few Republicans jumped ship, or rather it was the Republicans that pushed it and a few Dems jumped ship. Majority control does not always mean that that party is the Majority of the voters to vote on it. You can have 100% dem support and 10% Republican support and a bill will pass even if Republicans control that Senate.

Disclaimer, I am not sure how the vote went The point is you have no idea how the legislation process works! When it is pointed out how little the Democrat Congress is doing now, you still blame Bush and say he is President. But you do not return that same view with Clinton.

You have no clue as to how it would take time for them mortgage messes to snowball after Clinton changed the laws. You think if he signed the Bill on Monday and the Subprime mess did not happen on Wednesday then it was not his fault. It does not work like that, it is usually always years later before the affect of appealing regulations like that happen.

You really are thick skulled, I am starting to wonder if the problem is your Democratic party line loyalty or lack of reasoning ability!

And you once again show your Party Line reasoning, Bush is bad because he does not enforce immigration laws, but Clinton is good when he did the exact same thing. The immigration problem was just as bad under Clinton as now, just the media did not go after Clinton for it. Granted I wish Bush would do something, but the Democrats are the Party of Illegal immigration, they want them future voters. You are a Hypocrite!
 

aplusmnt

Well-known member
read it slowly fff


Judith Moriarty writes in Foreclosures - The Untold Story that the chief aim of the money men (assisted by both Republicans and Democrats) for decades was to roll back FDR's New Deal. Anti-government rhetoric ( distracting labeling) has hidden this from public view. The 'Banking Act' of the New Deal was a priority by vested interests in being repealed. The undoing of this Act took decades and approximately $200 million in lobbying funds to accomplish.

"Billionaire Sanford Weill made 'Citigroup' into the most powerful financial institutions since the House of Morgan a century ago. A major trophy of Sanford's is the pen Bill Clinton used to sign the REPEAL of FDR's Banking Act - a move which allowed Weill to create Citigroup. " Sanford Weill called President Clinton to break the deadlock after Senator Phil Gramm, chairman of the Banking Committee, warned Citigroup LOBBYIST Roger Levy that Weill has to get the White House moving on the bill or he would shut down the House-Senate Conference. A deal was announced at 2:45 a.m. Just days after the Clinton administration (including the Treasury Department) agrees to support the REPEAL, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, the former co-chairman of a major Wall Street investment bank, Goldman Sachs, raises eyebrows by accepting a top job at Citigroup as Weill's chief lieutenant. The previous year, Weill had called Rubin to give him advance notice of the upcoming merger announcement. When Weill told Rubin he had some important news, the secretary reportedly quipped, "You're buying the government." Progressive Historian

With the stroke of a pen, Bill Clinton ended the long saga of Republicans and Democrats, working in concert, for their puppet masters (the bankers) with his signing of the 'Financial Modernization Bill' (Nov 12, 1991). Clinton ended an era that stretched back to William Jennings Bryan and Woodrow Wilson and reached fruition with FDR and Harry Truman. As he signed his name, William Jefferson Clinton symbolically signed the death warrant of a level playing field that had guided the Democratic Party. Clinton (both parties) knew better than FDR and our Supreme Court. Nov 12-1999, President Clinton stated, " Glass- Stegal (FDR Banking Bill) is no longer appropriate for our economy. This was good for the industrial age. The (1999) Financial Modernization Bill is the key to rising paycheck and great security for ordinary Americans". Tell this to Michigan - NH - California - Georgia etc. The public was distracted from one of the most important pieces of legislation in this nation's history being signed by Bill Clinton, with round the clock coverage, of the Monica debacle. Seeing how Clinton came out of this shameful episode lauded as heroic - super stud - and a multi-millionaire, why one one would almost think that the whole sordid affair was contrived? Most especially with Lieberman acting as the holier than thou apologist ! Missed was Clinton's reason for the undoing of FDR's landmark bill Press release: http://Treas.gov/press/releases/ls241.htm

What does this repeal mean? The hedge fund industry and subprime mortgage market is out of control. The New York Times in a June 2007 profile of Goldman Sachs: "While Wall Street still mints money advising companies on mergers and taking them public, real money - staggering money - is made trading and investing capital through a global array of mind bending products and strategies unimaginable a decade ago."

http://my.opera.com/richardinbellingham/blog/show.dml/1796860


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


You say Bush does not provide oversight to the Banking industry, well part of that power was taken away with the swipe of Clinton's pen. How can Clinton sign a bill to deregulate something and then you blame Bush for not regulating it? :roll:
 

aplusmnt

Well-known member
How you like this part fff

Just days after the Clinton administration agrees to support the REPEAL, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, raises eyebrows by accepting a top job at Citigroup as Weill's chief lieutenant.

Just days after Clintons Secretary of Treasure Rubin pushed this bill through, he quit to go work citigroup now the most powerful financial institution in over a Century.

The man could not wait weeks, months or even a year. He jumped ship and cashed in his IOU's in a matter of days.

Come on fff, if this was a story about Bush you would not let up!

Come on the first step in getting help is saying it out loud, can you repeat after me? "Clinton was a Crook just like all the other Politicians! Clinton may very well be the problem for some of the things I blame Bush for"!

You work on this first step and then we can work on the remainder steps needed to help you fight that liberal cancer eating away at your mind!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Phil Gramm sucks - everything he touches costs you money

Sunday, July 13, 2008
Who is Phil Gramm? You might have heard his recent statement that America is a “nation of whiners” about the economy. He is a co-chair of McCain’s presidential campaign and arguably his main economic advisor — McCain once called Gramm his “financial guru”. So let’s look at Gramm’s economics:

Gramm was responsible for the “Commodity Futures Modernization Act” in 2000, which unleashed risky new investment instruments (which Warren Buffett called “financial weapons of mass destruction”) that led to the Bear Stearns bailout and the current epidemic of mortgage foreclosures.
Enron CEO Ken Lay was chair of Phil Gramm’s 1992 re-election campaign to the US Senate. Gramm’s wife was a director of Enron from 1993 to 2001.
Gramm co-authored Reagan’s first budget, which drastically cut Social Security benefits.
According to former official of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and current law professor Michael Greenberger “Gramm has been a central player in two major economic crises — the credit crisis and the incredibly high price of energy.”

So when Gramm tells you to stop whining, it is because you are getting in his way of becoming McCain’s Secretary of the Treasury and costing you even more money.

http://www.alternet.org/election08/87999/?ses=0618493a853c88bc0e896bed4d8f6d7d

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/sunday-roundup_b_112337.html
 

fff

Well-known member
OK, A+. Let's be clear what you're arguing about here. You said:

But can you admit that Clinton Signed the legislation that allowed the Speculators to manipulate things? Can you admit that Clinton signed the legislation that combined investment banking and commercial banking that led to Subprime mess.

and

Come on for once accept some blame on Clinton! The facts have been showed you on how Clinton started a lot of these messes. Rather Bush corrected them does not change that Clinton signed the legislation that set things in motion.

I responded

What "bad" thing happened under Clinton? Let's find out what you're talking about. Specifics, please.

So before I get into this, are you talking about the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act? Is that the bad thing that happened under Clinton? Are you saying that it led to the subprime problem we're facing today? And that Rubin left the Administration soon after the bill was signed to take over Citicorp is proof that Clinton sold out to the bankers?

I'm just trying to keep up with your wild accusations and ramblings.
 

aplusmnt

Well-known member
I have listed Clinton's failures more than once on here ranging from his lack of leadership in going after terrorist every time they attacked us, to his cooking of the books and putting of spending so he could claim a balanced budget and also including his signing of the Glass-Steagall Act. There are plenty more I have listed before and have not listed. But I am tired of showing you the same facts and you never acknowledge them.

So we can just leave it at the fact you believe Clinton was a great President and will never honestly look at his failures. You are like a baseball mom that thinks her kid is best kid on little league team even though he has not got one hit all season. To blinded by your love for the Democrats!
 

kolanuraven

Well-known member
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/464439.html


North Slope oil production has received a slight boost.

Houston-based Conoco Phillips said Monday that it has begun producing oil at the Qannik field two months ahead of schedule.


By next year it will reach peak production of about 4,000 barrels of oil per day. That represents about 0.5 percent of the 730,000 barrels of oil that flows from the North Slope down the 800-mile trans-Alaskan pipeline.
 
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