I leave economic expertise to Jerome, Bonddad, ASeigal and the many other regular dollar a day diarists.
Thankfully not much slips by us, the thousands of observant activists. I think it is neat to read something here two days before MSM picks up the clue. I hope Team Obama, Pelosi, Krugman et. al. are watching us too, because this may be a way recover some of the missing loot.
Let's talk "post-feast family discussion moments yesterday". We ALL heard some b.s. ideas and opinions at the get together on Thanksgiving, and maybe in the thread below, you will post some clever, surprising remark from the quiet cousin or the whacky aunt, truth out of the mouth of babes...here is mine.
My 50 year old brother, head purchaser for a very large hospital system, put forth a unique observation I never read or heard before, and worthy of throwing out onto the koscourt, for discussion, maybe elaboration, I don't think it can be dismissed as invalid.
He KNOWS where a lot of the missing billions went, in other words. He is sure July 11, 2008 was the day the US vault doors were thrown wide open. And he knows exactly where he was that day.
Do you?
He was "waiting at the mailbox", as the saying goes. Quick backstory: our dad sold Amoco gas at a country store for 10 years, (1971-'81), we were both newbie car driving AND gas retailing teenagers when the price jumped from .30 to .60 cents a gallon.
Getting cussed out at the register when that doubling took place is deeply imprinted on our mutual psyche, but our Dad was politically astute, we learned where to point the finger of blame.
My brother's commute to the UAB Hospital costs him 60 gallons per week. His "grouping" to receive the last wave of the Economic Stimulus Checks on was on July 11.
He knew when to confirm his checking account balance, when the funds would be available to complete the room addition to his kitchen.
At work he keeps his opinions close to the vest, listening to all the political and social conspiracy talk amongst mighty surgeons and lowly custodians for years. Be he cynic or skeptic, he tracked oil prices at the pumps, which also peaked on that very day, July 11, 2008.
Sit back and contemplate that coincidence a moment....
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Do you see it? This "pause" in the diary is my rendition of the arrow of truth hitting the bullseye, when my brother uttered this BigOil fact.
Repeating the pause, the last wave of stimulus checks went out July 11, the exact same day as was Peak Oil Pricing.
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Whatever Paulson is doing with TARP, or what happened with Standards and Poor's and those ratings agencies, where ever those pallets of money in Baghdad disappeared to, (shrug, I dunno.)
BUT, that economic stimulus package last year had to be on the chalkboard for months in advance, everybody knew $1,000 checks were going to be mailed out to millions of mostly suburban commuters.
Who got the biggest chunk? Big Oil.
This fits neatly into the meme that online porn also experienced a boom thanks to the stimulus program, the non-auto commuting urbanites are the biggest consumers of virtual stimulations.
While we were all busy electionizing, getting distracted, being "soccerbloggers" Big Oil took the gold. Laughably, pundits blame Americans "saving, not spending", that is pure-d-o-bullshit.
If Obama and Congress repeat that program, it will happen again.
I throw the floor open for elaboration, by closing this kernel of truthiness with a clip from September-
Oil price tumbles down
Submitted by Mikael Höök on Tue, 2008-09-16 07:40.
Crude tumbled over 4% to a seven-month low today as it fell for a second day after Lehman Brothers' collapse made investors ditch crude for safe-haven assets and on fears the credit crisis will hurt the real economy.
Reports that Hurricane Ike caused minor damage to US crude platforms and refineries also weighed on prices, adding to the previous session's more than $5 fall and almost 37% decline from its peak above $147 in mid-July.
One should however keep in mind that oil price and actual oil production do not need to follow eachother. Since 2005 the world oil production has been virtually flat, despite huge changes in the oil price. Peak Oil and Peak Oil Price is two very different things.