Do you believe Bush will open the oil reserves?

[still_one]

Poll question: Do you believe Bush will open the oil reserves?

[underthedome]

1. I have to vote yes, this is what they are for. *nm

nm

[asjr]

3. Not under Bush.

[still_one]

4. I hope you are right, but I don't think so

[Rageneau]

14. Remember when Bush blamed high gas prices on Clinton?

Back when gas was an unthinkable $1.35 a gallon.

Back when -- unlike now -- Bush was certain a president could hold down gas prices.

Back when stories like this were news -- before they were shoved down the memory hole.

http://www.evote.com/index.asp?Page=/news_section/2000-03/03132000Bush.asp

[Melodybe]

35. Fuck no! and miss the chance to rob us again, they would never do that.

Fuck'um!

[Lori Price CLG]

2. Bush just bought more oil for it, recently! At sky-high prices!! n/t

[rodeodance]

9. maybe they will self-open. aren't they in the vicinity of Katrinia?

[Lori Price CLG]

31. "Maybe they will self-open." LOL! Holy irony, Batman!! n/t

[Deja Q]

40. Stock up while it's cheap; I fear prices will skyrocket...

out of "tightness" (aka profiteering) and within a year or so, out of
Shortness..

So spread the word that it's tightness.

[acmavm]

5. They'll hold onto the reserves as long as they can, and if and when they

let any of it go, the cost will be exhorbitantly high. They'll milk this disaster for everything they can get out of it.

[Child_Of_Isis]

6. If he does,

it will only be long enough to raise his numbers. It won't be for the people.

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. chimp's advisers have determined that high oil prices have no effect

on the economy, and that has become official doctrine, no matter what happens, something else will be the cause.

[Zenlitened]

8. "Everything changed after Katrina."

:eyes:

[nankerphelge]

10. I'm not sure

Is there any way that he or his rich friends could make any money by doing so? That's the yardstick by which all things must be measured.

[Wickerman]

11. Yes, I actually do

So he can wait for the prices to get even higher then restock from his friends to increase their profit.

[BlueJac]

12. Only if he a Dick get some money!

And the American public get screwed for their dough!!!!

[TomInTib]

13. Hole card n/t

[rodeodance]

17. The reserve is stored at four sites on the Gulf of Mexico,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Petroleum_Reserve

The reserve is stored at four sites on the Gulf of Mexico, each located near a major center of petrochemical refining and processing. Each site contains a number of artificial caverns created in salt domes below the surface. (Note: Capacity numbers may be out of date.)

* Bryan Mound - located near Freeport, Texas. Has a capacity of 226 million barrels (36,000,000 m²).
* Big Hill - located near Winnie, Texas. Has a capacity of 160 million barrels (25,000,000 m²).
* West Hackberry - located near Lake Charles, Louisiana. Has a capacity of 219 million barrels (35,000,000 m²).
* Bayou Choctaw - located near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Has a capacity of 72 million barrels (11,000,000 m²).

Individual caverns within a site can be up to 1000 m below the surface, average dimensions are 60 m wide and 600 m deep, and capacity ranges from 6 to 30 million barrels (1 to 5 million m³). Almost $4 billion was spent on the facilities. The decision to store in caverns was taken to reduce costs; the Dept. of Energy claims it is roughly 10 times cheaper to store oil below surface with the added advantages of no leaks and a constant natural churn of the oil due to a temperature gradient in the caverns. The caverns were created by drilling down and then dissolving the salt with water.

A fifth site, Weeks Island in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, had a capacity of 72 million barrels (11,000,000 m²), but was decommissioned in 1999. Unlike the other facilities, the Weeks Island caverns were a conventional near-surface salt mine, formerly owned by Morton Salt. In 1993, a sinkhole formed on the site, allowing fresh water to intrude into the caverns.

Because of the caverns' construction in salt deposits, fresh water would erode the walls, potentially causing the structure to fail. The caverns were backfilled with salt-saturated brine. This process which allowed for recovery of 98% of the petroleum stored in the facility, reduced the risk of further freshwater intrusion, and helped prevent the remaining oil from leaking into the aquifer that is located over the salt dome.

[Maru Kitteh]

15. Yes, he's quite anxious to look like a hero and climb out of his hole

although it will kill him inside to do it. Business has been so very good, but this storm will make it impossible not to open them up. It will only help a little, and not for long.

[TheFarseer]

16. He won't and he shouldn't

although I hope to God they are not still 'topping it off' Thant would be freeking nuts

[kikiek]

18. He's saving it for the military....that's all that matters to him.

[tritsofme]

19. He did when Ivan disrupted supply

I see no reason why he wouldn't now.

[underthedome]

20. With major travel occuring next weekend(Labor day) fallout from gas prices

is about to hit the fan. Bush will point to that he is doing all he can by opening the reserves, but it's not going to stop the bleeding. It's important to point out and remind everyone that oil companies are making record profits and was just rewarded Tax breaks by Bush via his the energy Bill. Time to capitalize on Bush's / The GOP's blatant pro-oil Industry agenda.

[durablend]

25. He'll just say to the masses

"If you complain about the prices, you're letting the terra-ists WIN"

The sheeple will EAT that up (then bend over and pay pay pay)

[ultraist]

21. No, because his cronies probably bought more oil stocks tonight

They will need to keep the reserves closed for a while to increase the prices so they can capitalize on this situation. It's all about the benjamins.

[HillDem]

23. His big oil buddies love the high price of gas

They've never been richer. Opening the reserve would hurt his elitist bases' bottom line. Although he consider opening the reserve before the 2006 congressional elections, that might save the repugs a seat or two. Remember, big oil and gas bankroll the GOP anyways

http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.asp?Ind=E01

[ultraist]

27. I agree. Welcome to DU, HillDem!

:hi:

[Massacure]

22. He won't if Katrina blows up all the pipelines to it.

The SPR is in Louisiana, remember.

I think there will probably be enough crude anyways. We will lack refining capacity though.

[HawkerHurricane]

24. Not only no...

but HELL NO.

He's still topping it off. That's right, the Government is BUYING oil at the current inflated prices to use to fill the reserve.

[RamboLiberal]

26. Yes - I think he will be forced to by or he's going to be

abandoned by a whole lot of nervous Repuke congress critters running in '06.

[political_invader]

28. "Do you believe Bush will open the oil reserves?"

Why would he open the reserves?

Bushnic NEO-CONS and there cronies wouldn't make any $$ if he did open them up !!

Have a nice day

[newyawker99]

36. Hi political_invader!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[political_invader]

43. Thank You

Seems to be a very nice place to hang out and vent. Lot of nice people here which is a relief,so many of the boards I have visited are just about bashing one another. So thank you again for your welcome

[Strelnikov_]

29. Yes. But I Don't Know Where They Are Going To Refine It

LA refineries produce 13.5% of US production. US refinery utilization was already near 100% before this storm hit. If it knocks out 1/2 of LA refineries, we are looking at a long term 7% shortfall, or a little less than the '73 Yom Kippur oil shock.

[jokerman93]

30. Unless forced by overwhelming public pressure

I doubt Big Brother will open reserves. Oceania needs oil for the wars in West Asia. But the good news is chocolate rations are up...

[Broken_Hero]

32. ah, no...

We all have a better chance of getting hit in the head with a suitcase full of money, with millions of dollars in it, and when we start to count the money, a genie pops out and says hey, you can have any man/woman on the planet...i think that would happen before our idiot president will open up the reserves....oh, by the way, my woman would be either Salma H, or Shannon Elizabeth...oh, oh oh...:)

[T Town Jake]

33. Reading through the thread it's obvious...

...that few have any idea of how the "oil reserves" really work. Once "released" from strictly military application & use, which this scenario envisions, they are simply placed upon the open market, and go to the highest bidder.

It's more complicated than that, of course, but that's the Cliff Notes version of how it works.

Remember the '92 recession under Bush I? He released a limited amount of oil from that "reserve," and it promptly made it's way to the open market and out of the USA. Didn't help the domestic economy a whit, and was more a public relations gesture than anything else.

[Lilith Velkor]

34. Who the hell knows?

He could do any number of things, since he's batshit crazy.

[underthedome]

37. Federal Oil Reserves to be opened -MSNBC nm

nm

[kikiek]

38. Yeah we'll see. PR only won't help a bit.

[Deja Q]

39. We'll know shortly, but I suspect he'll wait for a harsher catastrophe...

in other words, I don't think he will.

Let's hope I'm wrong.

[0007]

41. Are you kidding?

Those 13 folks that said junior would open the oil reserves are off their meds this morning.

[tom_paine]

42. No way. They may SAY they are going to open them

(based on the Rules of Totalitarian Tyrants that means the OPPOSITE)

but what comes out will be nothing because the whole purpose was to rob us, to refill the coffers of the slush funds so they can smear and destroy, without opposition, ANYONE the Democrats run in '08.

And God knows what else they are doing with their stolen TRILLIONS, bought and paid for with the lives of American Soldiers (not to mention a fair number of American arms and legs).

One thing you can count on with 100% certainty is the thefts will continue. Oh, they will likely reduce the amount of their stealing for special ccasions, like they did after 9-11 or before elections (and what a psychological boost, likle a heroin junkie getting his fix lowered in price from $1000 to $700 will still kiss the feet of the dealer who is sdelling him his own doom), but the Oil Reserves?

yeah, they SAY one thing, and the Corporate TV Pravda will launder the lie, as usul, but nothing will come from it.