Thursday, April 19, 2012

BAM! YOU LOSE!

In January, the State Department advised the President to reject the proposal to extend the Keystone XL pipeline because it was not in the “national interest” at this time.

Now, according to TransCanada (that’s the company that was slated to build the pipeline), the pipeline would prevent transportation bottlenecks and significantly increase the amount of oil available, or at least decrease the amount we have to import, which is now at 10 to 11 million barrels of oil per day. (See Forbes.)

In addition, the pipeline would create between 7,000 and 13,000 new jobs with spin-off jobs at around 118,000.

But that would not be in the national interest. Of course it wouldn’t.

Would somebody please tell me why?

What do you think TransCanada is going to do with all of that oil? Do you think they will sit on it, or will they sell it to Saudi Arabia or some other Arab nation?

They are not dumbbells. They know we will still buy the oil.

So how will we get it?

Easy. The will send it via Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad...all the way to the Gulf of Mexico refineries.

Cool! We’ll train it in. And we all know how safe railroads are, with trains never jumping the tracks, crashing and spilling their contents (like chlorine gas and maybe oil). That’s a whole lot better than the pipeline that EPA has said is safe (Did you know that it will be encased in concrete?)


So Burlington Northern Santa Fe will profit from the pipeline not being built.

Nice.

Guess who, in 2009, bought 22% of Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. (Hint: It was not I, and it was not you.) It was Berkshire Hathaway, the Nebraska based company owned by none other than Warren Buffett.

Wasn’t he the lucky duck?

Well, maybe luck had little to do with it.

Seems that a certain Nebraska senator, Ben Nelson helped out more than a little.

To start with, he and Buffett go back a long way as friends and cohorts.

In 2010, Nelson pushed legislation that would benefit Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway.
Guess who also voted against the Keystone XL pipeline.

Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, that’s who.

He also contributed some $27,000 to Berkshire Hathaway, owns almost $6 million in its stock AND he voted for it’s huge government “bail-out.”

And would you care to guess what company contributed over $75,000 to Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson over the course of his political career? (Try Berkshire Hathaway on for size.)

Oh. And remember EPA said the pipeline was safe?

They have also admitted that diesel engines (you know…the ones that pull trains) emit significant atmospheric pollution, which pipelines do not do.

OK, let’s add it all up.

Who wins?

Warren Buffett, Senator Ben Nelson and Berkshire Hathaway.

Who looses?

You do.

And gas at the pump climbs to over $4.00 per gallon.

(Watch a couple of lengthy explanations HERE.)

13 comments:

Ducky's here said...

He also contributed some $27,000 to Berkshire Hathaway, owns almost $6 million in its stock AND he voted for it’s huge government “bail-out.”

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How do you "contribute" $27,000 to Berkshire Hathaway?

What bailout of Berkshire?

Ducky's here said...

Joe, why are we exporting refined petroleum product at this very moment?

Ducky's here said...

Cool! We’ll train it in.

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Or Canada will pipe it West where it's closer to its ultimate destination, Japan and China.

Ducky's here said...

Guess who, in 2009, bought 22% of Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. (Hint: It was not I, and it was not you.)

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I bought Genesee & Wyoming. It doubled.

Xavier Onassis said...

"...the pipeline would prevent transportation bottlenecks and significantly increase the amount of oil available, or at least decrease the amount we have to import..."

You clearly have no idea how the global market for oil works and how prices are influenced.

TransCanada isn't building the Keystone XL pipeline to supply the United States with oil.

It's building the pipeline to get the oil to refineries on the Gulf Coast where it will be turned into products that will be put on the global market at the going commodity price. We can buy it or China can buy it. TransCanada doesn't care.

If we choose to buy it, we'll be buying it at the same price we would buy it from Saudi Arabia or Venezuela or Russia. It will save us NOTHING.

"The will send it via Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad...all the way to the Gulf of Mexico refineries."

Here is where your train of thought has gone completely off the tracks.

They have no plans to ship it by train! They have proposed a new pipeline route that avoids the Ogallala Aquifer.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-keystone-nebraska-20120419,0,2964113.story

Once you remove BNSF from the equation (because it was never part of the equation to begin with), the rest of your ridiculous conspiricy theory goes straight down the toilet, which is where it belongs.

BAM! YOU LOOSE!

Joe said...

XO: "You clearly have no idea how the global market for oil works and how prices are influenced."

Yeah. I do.

Actually, they HAVE said they would ship it by train. You didn't read it in MainStream Media, so therefore it didn't happen.

"Here is where your train of thought has gone completely off the tracks."

Gotta admit...that's a good line. Untrue, but a good line.

Joe said...

Ducky: "So that's just two of Berkshire-Hathaway's biggest investments that collectively received at least $70 billion in government aid during the bailouts"

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/billionaire-bailout-recipient-to-america-suck-it-in-and-cope-buddy-20100921

Xavier Onassis said...

"Actually, they HAVE said they would ship it by train. You didn't read it in MainStream Media, so therefore it didn't happen"

Oh really? Other than Glenn Beck claiming that was the case, where is the actual source of that nonsense?

"Gotta admit...that's a good line. Untrue, but a good line."

I'm quite good at this. Kind of you to notice.

Lisa said...

I Guess we still have oil men in the White House.

Craig said...

according to TransCanada...at least decrease the amount we have to import

Um, Joe. Canada is a foreign country. Any Canadian tar sands Bitumen piped here is an import.

We've been over this before. We are already importing 99% of Canada's oil through existing pipelines that is being refined in the Midwest. Those pipelines are running at half capacity. Keystone would divert 700,000 barrels per day to the gulf refineries to be exported.

Whether it's refined here and stays here or is exported, it doesn't matter, it's still subject to world oil prices. You're a supply and demand guy, right? We've already increased our supply and prices have increased.

I read somewhere that Liberals lack common sense, Conservatives have it. Use yours, Joe.

Ducky's here said...

Hey XO, welcome back.

Ducky's here said...

Well Joe, Buffet buying up distressed assets that he knows are going to be part of the giveaway isn't exactly being "bailed out".

In Tea Bag land that's just sound business.

Berkshire Hathaway was never bailed out per se.

And here's a clue, Joe, it ain't gonna change under Romney.

Ducky's here said...

But Craig, if Canada is the source of the crude they'll sell it at below market rates and be free of any commodity speculation to boot.

Joe says so.