October 20, 2022

tv: Let's see what real Americans are concerned about...

tv: economy INFLATION gas prices abortion laws INFLATION groceries INFLATION gas prices INFLATION economy INFLATION gas prices INFLATION groceries INFLATION gas prices INFLATION economy INFLATION gas prices INFLATION groceries INFLATION voting rights gas prices INFLATION economy INFLATION gas prices INFLATION groceries INFLATION gas prices INFLATION economy INFLATION gas prices threat to democracy INFLATION groceries INFLATION gas prices INFLATION economy INFLATION gas prices record profits INFLATION groceries INFLATION gas prices INFLATION fascism economy INFLATION gas prices INFLATION groceries INFLATION gas prices INFLATION economy INFLATION gas prices INFLATION groceries INFLATION gas prices INFLATION

tv: What is your primary concern, going into the midterms?

real 'Murkin: INFLATION!

tv: And there you have it, folks! After the barrage of 50 commercials for overpriced pharmaceuticals you don't need and health insurance that will bankrupt you, we'll be back for an update on INFLATION.

October 19, 2022

Remarks by President Biden on Actions to Strengthen Energy Security and Lower Costs

From https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/10/19/remarks-by-president-biden-on-actions-to-strengthen-energy-security-and-lower-costs/

1:28 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. Ready, get set, go? Well, good afternoon.

Earlier this year, because of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the price of oil and gas increased dramatically, and I acted decisively at the time. And thanks in part to those actions, the price of our gas has fallen 30 percent from the summer highs.

Now it’s down about $1.15 a gallon from their peak during the summer, and gas prices have fallen every day in the last week. Let me repeat: Gas prices have come down, and they continue to come down again. They’re now down more than 27 cents a gallon in Wisconsin this past week, 27 cents in Oregon, 16 cents in Ohio, 25 cents in Nevada, 17 cents in — in Indiana in just the last 10 days. And that’s progress.

But they’re not falling fast enough. Families are hurting. You’ve heard me say before, but I get it. I come from a family — if the price of gasoline went up at the gas station, we felt it. Gas prices hit almost every family in this country, and they squeeze their family budgets.

And when the price of gas goes up, other expenses get cut. That’s why I have been doing everything in my power to reduce gas prices since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine caused these price hikes — these prices to spike and rattled international oil markets. (Clears throat.) Excuse me.

I focused on how we can protect American families from that spike and give folks just a little bit of breathing room, as my dad would say.

Today I’m announcing three critical steps that my administration will take to reduce gas prices at the pump. First, the Department of Energy will release another 15 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, extending our previously announced release through the month of December.

Independent analysis they — excuse me, independent analysts have confirmed that drawdowns from the reserves so far have played a big role in bringing down oil prices — bringing them down. So, we’re going to continue to responsibly use that national asset.

Right now, the Strategic Pol- — the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is more than half full, with about 400 million barrels of oil. That’s more than enough for any emergency drawdown.

With my announcement today, we’re going to continue to stabilize markets and decrease the prices at a time when the actions of other countries have caused such volatility.

And I’ve told my team behind me here to be prepared to look further — look for further releases in the months ahead if needed. We’re calling it a “Ready and Release” plan. This allows us to move quickly to prevent oil price spikes and respond to international events.

Secondly, we need to responsibly increase American oil production without delaying or deferring our transition to clean energy. Let me — let’s debunk some myths here. My administration has not stopped or slowed U.S. oil production; quite the opposite. We’re producing 12 million barrels of oil per day. And by the end of this year, we will be producing 1 million barrels a day, more than the day in which I took office. In fact, we’re on track for record oil production in 2023.

And today, the United States is the largest producer of oil and petroleum products in the world. We export more than we import. And I still heard from oil comp- — and I’ve heard from oil companies that they’re worried that investing in additional oil production today will — will — in case of the — in case demand goes down in the future, and they’re not going to be able to sell their oil products at a competitive price later.

Well, we have a solution for that. Today, I’m announcing a plan to refill the Strato- — the Strategic Petroleum Res- — Oil Reserve in the years ahead at a profit for taxpayers. The United States government is going to purchase oil to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when prices fall to $70 a barrel. And that means oil companies can invest to ramp up production now, with confidence they’ll be able to sell their oil to us at that price in the future: $70.

Refining and refilling the reserve at $70 a barrel is a good price for companies and it’s a good price for the taxpayers, and it’s critical to our national security.

To put it in context, since March, the average price of oil has been more than $90 a barrel, the highest since 2014. By selling from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at the higher price of $90 earlier this year and then refilling it in the future at a lower price, around $70, it will actually make money for the taxpayers, lower the price of gas, and help bolster production, all while totally consistent with my commitment to accelerate to transition to clean energy.

So my message to oil companies is: You’re sitting on record profits, and you’re — and we’re giving you more certainty. So you can act now to increase oil production now.

The third thing I’m doing is I’m calling on oil companies to pass the savings on to consumers.

Consider this: In the second quarter of this year, profits at six of the largest produce- — publicly traded oil companies were more than $70 billion. That’s $70 billion in just one quarter — 90 days. Seventy billion.

So far, American oil companies are using that windfall — the windfall of profits to buy back their own stock, passing that money on to their shareholders, not to consumers.

In fact, in the first half of the year, those same companies spent over $20 billion buying back their own stock and, most importantly, buying back — a buyback that — the most significant buyback in the last — almost a decade.

That’s great if you own a lot of stock in oil companies or if you’re an executive in an oil company. It puts a lot of money in your pocket. That — it’s how you get paid. But it’s not the case for the vast majority of Americans paying at the pump.

Here’s another thing: When the cost of oil comes down, we should see the price at the gas station — at the pump come down as well. That’s how it’s supposed to work. But that’s not what’s happening.

In the past two weeks, the price of oil has fallen $4 a barrel. And you think — and thanks in large part to steps we’ve taken this year, the price of oil has fallen nearly $40 a barrel since mid-June. That’s a 30 percent drop in the price of a barrel of oil.

But guess what? Gas prices haven’t fallen that much. And it’s not right. Gas prices at the pump should be lower.

In fact, if retailers and refiners were earning the average profit they’ve made over the last 17 years, Americans would be paying at least 60 cents less per gallon for every gallon they buy. Say it again: 60 cents less for every gallon they buy. That makes a big difference in a family.

My message to the American energy companies is this: You should not be using your profits to buy back stock or for dividends. Not now. Not while a war is raging.

You should use those record-breaking profits to increase production and refining. Invest in America for the American people. Bring down the price you charge at the pump to reflect what you pay for the product.

You still make a significant profit. Your shareholders will still do very well. And the American people will catch the break they deserve and get a fair price at the pump as well.

One more thing I want to mention today. Our country needs to pass permitting reform to accelerate the development of clean energy.

Right now, the process of getting clean energy projects approved is too cumbersome and too time consuming. So, I’m asking the Congress: Pass a permitting bill to speed up the approval of all kinds of energy production from wind, to solar, to clean hydrogen. Because we need to get this moving now, quickly — now.

It would take — you know, this — if we do this, it would take the historic clean energy investments that I signed into law and put them into action.

In fact, one independent analyst has already estimated that the $369 billion we’re making in federal investments that will generate — if we just — just that will generate $1.7 trillion in total public and private investments in the years ahead.

You can increase oil and gas production now while still moving full speed ahead to accelerate our transition to clean energy. That way — that way, we can lower energy costs for American families, enhance our national security at a very difficult moment.

Let me close with this. I know it’s been a rough four or five years for the country. For a lot of families, things are still tough.

The choices made by other countries are affecting the price of gas here at home. That’s why I’ve been acting so aggressively.

Without the steps we have taken over the past several months to ramp up production and lower prices and get relief to consumers, gas prices would be higher than they are today.

And we’ll keep doing everything we can to keep it going to ensure our energy independence and security is available and to lower gas prices here at home and to give folks a little bit of breathing room.

We just have to remember who we are. We’re the United States of America, for God’s sake. There’s not a single thing we can’t do when we put our minds to it. And we can strengthen our energy security now, and we can build a clean energy economy for the future at the same time. This is totally within our capacity. Totally within our capacity.

Gas prices are coming down. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure they continue to come down and companies act responsibly so it’s reflected at the pump.

Thank you all. And may God bless you. And may God protect our troops. Thank you. Appreciate it.

October 4, 2022

The Gangsters Of Putin merged with the American Taliban, under Fascist Oligarch eXtremists

October 1, 2022

My fellow boomers, wouldn't you love a good race ...

September 22, 2022

How do we teach body autonomy when old men in legislatures claim that power?

I apologize to DUers -- I don't have links and authoritative dissertations. I'm "3 sheets to the wind" and the madder I get the more incoherent I become. I've watched an episode of "US and the Holocaust" and "Latinos in America" and read abortion bans that match up with slave states and I'm pissed off at fascist Republicans.

How dare these assholes try to turn women and girls into government-owned incubators! I was married the year Roe v Wade was decided. I remember coat hangers. We fought this evil shit in the '70s and shouldn't have to fight it again. Women and girls own their bodies. It's not government's prerogative to control citizens' bodies; it's government's obligation to protect!

August 27, 2022

Katherine Johnson, first African-American woman NASA scientist, born this date...

Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights.[1] During her 33-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. The space agency noted her "historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist".[2]

Johnson's work included calculating trajectories, launch windows, and emergency return paths for Project Mercury spaceflights, including those for astronauts Alan Shepard, the first American in space, and John Glenn, the first American in orbit, and rendezvous paths for the Apollo Lunar Module and command module on flights to the Moon. Her calculations were also essential to the beginning of the Space Shuttle program, and she worked on plans for a mission to Mars. She was known as a "human computer" for her tremendous mathematical capability and ability to work with space trajectories with such little technology and recognition at the time.

In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2016, she was presented with the Silver Snoopy Award by NASA astronaut Leland D. Melvin and a NASA Group Achievement Award. She was portrayed by Taraji P. Henson as a lead character in the 2016 film Hidden Figures. In 2019, Johnson was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress.[3] In 2021, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[4]

Katherine Johnson

[ Edit to add clickable image of Katherine Johnson's autobiography: ]

July 29, 2022

Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war killed in Russian captivity

Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war killed in Russian captivity

Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war have reportedly been killed in what is believed to be a Russian attack on a prisoner camp in Russian-occupied Donbas, and possibly the worst crime against captive combatants since Russia’s war began.

Ukrainian intelligence said that a “powerful explosion” occurred on July 28 in a former jail that had been serving as a prisoner camp for Ukrainian soldiers.

The prisoner camp was near the town of Olenivka, some 20 kilometers south of Donetsk, the main stronghold of Russian proxies since 2014.

[ ... ]

Many of the prisoners held at the Olenivka camp belong to the Azov Regiment, which played an important role in the Battle of Mariupol between March and May. Russia and Russian-led militants repeatedly vowed to execute the Azov combatants.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, said that Russia’s version of events of Ukraine killing its own combatants in captivity makes no sense.

"In Olenivka, there are no operational military targets for the Ukrainian military," Podolyak said on July 29.

"Moreover, our armed forces have all capabilities necessary to identify targets for precise destruction of munition depots, command and control posts, and fuel dumps."

The broad and swift Russian media campaign around the incident also indicates that it was a "planned and organized action," Podolyak said.

"We know that several days before the crime, part of the inmates had been relocated to the barrack that was hit later," Podolyak said.

" (It's) a classic, cynical, thought-out false flag operation."

[ ... ]

July 25, 2022

The radicalized Republican party causes abortions to be later term than before.

Things that can help...

Abortion pill, safer than penicillin and viagra, restricted by FDA for decades
https://www.newsy.com/stories/the-abortion-pill-may-be-safer-than-penicillin/

DIY Collective Embeds Abortion Pill Onto Business Cards, Distributes Them At Hacker Conference
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216959127

July 20, 2022

Newsy reporting on the 52-bus convoy

Just saw a report on the 52 bus NRA Children's Museum on broadcast tv. The report included remarks from Sen. Chuck Schumer pleading with Senators to put themselves in the parents' shoes and put them above the NRA money.

First time I've seen this on broadcast tv since learning about it here on DU -- A Mile-Long Procession Of Buses Is Carrying Items From School Shooting Victims To Ted Cruz's House

See also, https://changetheref.org/

Founded in the memory of their son Joaquin who was one of the 17 Parkland victims, Manuel and Patricia Oliver are committed to ensuring real change in gun laws.

July 12, 2022

tv talking heads say "chain" -- it's a WEB of seditious conspiracy

I flipped channels in the aftermath of the January 6 committee hearing. Several had commentary about the Department of Justice and questions about how far "up the chain" the DoJ might go. With 7 televised hearings thus far, it should be clear even to the talkers that it is a tangled web of conspiracy. It's not a simple chain of command as in the military.

I want to see them follow each strand of the web. They can start with Jones, Stone, Flynn, Trump, and the named members of Congress and see where each thread leads.