WASHINGTON (AP) - Amid daily bipartisan sniping over high gas prices, Democrats and Republicans appear to agree on at least one thing: With oil over $120 a barrel, President Bush ought to stop buying crude for the government emergency reserve.

Both the House and Senate are expected to approve, with bipartisan support, legislation Tuesday directing Bush to temporarily halt the shipment of about 70,000 barrels of oil a day to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Bush has refused to do so, arguing that this small amount of oil won’t impact prices and that for security reasons he wants to increase the stockpile to its full capacity of 726 million barrels. It now has about 701 million barrels, equal to nearly two months of oil imports.

Lawmakers’ search for a response to high gasoline and oil prices comes as Bush is preparing later this week to travel to Saudi Arabia where he is expected to try to convince the Saudis to increase oil production. So far, Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries have refused to do so, arguing the high price of oil stems from other factors than a shortage of supply.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., plans to bring up for a vote Tuesday a provision to halt oil shipments to the federal reserve until the end of the year. Senate Republicans said they want shipments halted for six months, but are expected to support the Democratic measure.

The House is taking up a similar provision later in the day that also is expected to get broad support.

By all accounts, the president is standing firm.

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Lawmakers want to end oil shipments to US reserve

House prices are falling, food and energy prices are rising and consumers are gloomier than they’ve been in decades. But the latest data on the U.S. economy shows it still has a feeble pulse.

So which is it? Are we in the early stages of a full-blown recession? Or is this a brief downturn before the economy gets up another head of steam later in the year?

Though the start of a recession can only be seen in the rear-view mirror, many economists now believe the U.S. economy is close to recession or in one. That’s based largely on a string of monthly reports showing the economy has lost about 260,000 jobs so far this year.

“Since the 1950s we’ve never had a period of four months of job losses without that signaling that we were in a recession,” said Jared Bernstein, senior economist of the Economic Policy Institute. “If and when (a recession is confirmed), it will probably be dated based on these payroll numbers as starting sometime around December or January.”

But other economic signals are flashing yellow, not red. The government recently reported the gross domestic product grew slightly in the first quarter, while generally GDP shrinks in a recession. Last week’s employment report for April showed the economy lost only 20,000 jobs, fewer than in previous months.

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How far down is economy headed?

I’m not an economist, I don’t claim to be but I know what the current financial down turn is doing to us and our money…

Just like all Americans, we’re paying more for food and gas, as well as other items from retailers, and like many Americans, we’re on a fixed income, I am retired and unless we get an across the board increase in benefits, my check is fixed every month, I can’t work a few more hours of overtime to make up the difference in our disposable income…

I do have some investments, and they were growing, and doing quite well until 2007, we lost about $10K on our annuity, and that’s a big hit for someone that isn’t rich, it affects our overall lifestyle, as I am sure my readers are well aware, I know that most of my readers are hard working people too, and many are retirees and in the same boat as we are…

I don’t know what the solution is, my investment guy doesn’t know either, he thinks it’s a hic-up, at least he hopes it is, he has money tied up in ALL the same investments that we do…

The sad part is, none of these interest rate cuts the Fed has initiated have made any real difference so far, other than to affect the earnings of those that live off of their interest, and when it comes to a time when you have to start tapping into your principle, well, it may not be a recession, but it’s pretty close…

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are making such heavy use of the nation’s Green Berets and other elite warriors that they cannot fulfill their roles in other parts of the world, the military’s top commando told The Associated Press on Monday.

“We’re going to fewer countries, staying for shorter periods of time, with smaller numbers of people than historically we have done,” Adm. Eric T. Olson said in his first interview since becoming commander of U.S. Special Operations Command last July.

Olson, himself a combat veteran, saw little chance that the demand for his special operations forces in Iraq will decline anytime soon. Even as the overall American force there shrinks - from about 158,000 now to about 140,000 by the end of July - the number of special operations forces in the war zone is likely to increase, he said.

More of these specially trained, often secretive forces may be required in Iraq in order to fill a niche role in the development of Iraqi security forces as the number of conventional Army troops goes down, he said.

“Nothing I’ve been told leads me to believe that there will be a reduction” in special operations forces in Iraq, “and the door is always open for an increase in demand, so we’re just trying to prepare for that the best we can,” Olson said.

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Top US commando says strain of war limits forces elsewhere

I sincerely hope the ‘powers that be’ are listening, Spec/Ops guys are stretched, that’s one of the reasons there are so many top shelf ‘private’ contractors out in the field now, our entire military is stretched, and that is a dangerous position to be in…

Special Forces, SEALS, Recon, Rangers and the like are ALL troopers, they can and will fight just like the grunts, when they have to, but that’s not their intent and purpose, it’s called Spec/Ops for a reason, these guys are set up to do things that the average troop will only dream of and civilians think only happens in the movies, garrison life dulls a Spec/Ops warrior, long and drawn out deployments to places like the streets of Baghdad only dull them even more, they have risen above the rather mundane, day to day duties of the regular troops, that’s why they are Spec/Ops…

Our military needs to be expanded but the ‘all volunteer’ system doesn’t generate the numbers needed, it does, or should I say, did generate a more well educated and highly motivate troop but there’s just not enough of them to go around, the guys and gals we DO have are awesome but they need some relief too, not just the Spec/Ops folks, the grunts, the sand and mud Marines, all of them, you can run a good horse to death, and that is something we can’t afford to have happen…

The Army has lowered it’s standards of acceptance as I understand it, they are overlooking minor arrests and drug charges, they are accepting what was once considered to be a less than desirable candidate, and granted, many of these guys turn out to be great troops, some just need a chance at making a new start, but for the most part you’re not finding guys with college degrees hitting it every morning for PT at Benning, enlisted Infantry can’t draw that caliber of soldier…

I have close personal friends and relatives that are soldiers, some full time, some reservists and some are National Guard troops, Guard that’s doing 50% of the work in Iraq and Afghanistan, National Guard troops, and right now our U.S. Army would be up the creek without a paddle if it weren’t for the Guard and their magnificent troops and officers…

But even our Guard troops are stretched now, some are on their 2nd and 3rd deployments, just like the regular troops, the big difference is, these ‘citizen soldiers’ make even more of a sacrifice when they deploy to Iraq or other parts of the world, they leave behind their civilian jobs for months at a time, in most cases jobs that pay them and their families a much higher wage and afford them a much more lavish lifestyle, but they and their families make whatever sacrifices they must make for this nation…

But here’s my big question, what do we do when the regular troops are too exhausted to go?? And then our Guard and Reserves are pushed way past any expected limits of human endurance?? What do we do when our depleted forces are so run down that they just don’t have a lot left to give this nation??

And think about this, the Spec/Ops guys are a small force, and they can do some pretty amazing things, but they can’t take up all the slack that we are leaving out there…

It can happen, our guys and galls will give it a 110% effort, but they can run out of gas, and unless our government has some grand scheme to enlist more volunteers, fresh meat so to speak, we’re either going to have to scale back somewhere or risk the loss of even more troops due to sheer mental burnout and physical exhaustion…

And when the troops are too tired, too sick, too old or they are suffering from severe PTSD and can’t serve anymore, what then?? Do we expect that the V.A. is going to provide for them and take care of them??

You can read all the ‘rah-rah’ so-called military support sites you want to, some serve a great purpose, but some are blowing smoke up your lacy bloomers, that’s not going to happen here, I ask the questions some folks are afraid to ask, I call it when others ’spin’ and tout the Bush administration as the greatest warfighting group America ever had, well folks, most of us know that’s not the truth, we need to listen to these warriors that return from Iraq, Afghanistan and other places, these guys that have dedicated their lives to fighting for this nation, we need to listen when they tell us of the strain, we have to get our forces ‘fresh’ and at full strength, and it just isn’t going to happen in today’s economy…

There ya go, I said it, it’s ALL about the money, and if you doubt it, you aren’t paying attention, folks don’t soldier for the money, they soldier out of dedication, money keeps the ranks running, and sadly, the all American taxpayer is stretched pretty thin right now too…  

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NEW YORK (AP) - Retail gas prices could climb as high as $4 a gallon this summer, but prices at such lofty levels will make many Americans think twice about hitting the road this summer, the Energy Department said Tuesday.

High prices and a weak economy are expected to cut demand for gasoline by about 0.4 percent during the peak summer driving season, the department’s Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report on petroleum supplies and demand. Overall consumption of petroleum products will drop by 90,000 barrels a day this year. Previously, the EIA had projected petroleum consumption would rise by 40,000 barrels a day.

Average monthly gas prices will peak around $3.60 a gallon in June, the EIA said. However, prices could rise much higher than that at times.

“It is important to note … that even if the national average monthly gasoline price peaks around $3.60 per gallon this summer, it is possible that prices at some point will cross the $4 per gallon threshold,” the EIA said.

The government had previously estimated that average monthly prices would peak near $3.50 a gallon. Many analysts predict prices will peak close to $4 a gallon.

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Gov’t Says Gas Prices Could Hit $4

I guess this pretty much puts the libbers LIE to rest, the one that said Iraq was a ‘War for Oil’, because if it really was all about the oil, then Iraq has been a dismal failure.

I never did buy into the libber BS mantra of ‘War for Oil’, Bush isn’t that smart, he is a vindictive guy though, and that is the reason we’re in Iraq, and in MY opinion, us being in Iraq is the reason OPEC and Company have the price of crude oil at over $100 a barrel, and here’s something else to consider, the U.S. military is being hit HARD by the price of fuel to keep the war machine running, Military feels hit from fuel costs.

We are being bankrupted by the Bush administration and his Debacle in Iraq, and it’s going to get worse, everything you wear, eat, drink or whatever you buy at a store, ANY store, was brought TO that store by a truck, likely a BIG truck, a Class 8 18 wheeler that gets maybe 7 to 7.5 miles per gallon if he is a good driver and keeps his foot out of it, and with 300 gallons of fuel capacity, it takes over $1,000 to fill the fuel tanks so deliveries can continue, and take a guess at WHO is paying for that increased fuel expense.

Yeah, you guessed it, it’s us, ALL of us, you and me, as well as the families of the drivers, and the drivers themselves, ALL of us suffer from this out of control economy and high oil prices and the trickle down costs that are added to the price of goods brought by trucks, the cost have got to be absorbed, passed on to the consumer, and that means higher prices to consumers, or the drivers will not be able to keep on running and making those deliveries, and I am pretty sure that it’s not going to get any better, not any time soon.

Maybe we DO need to take the oil, maybe that would be the best thing to do, at least we would see some real gain and a return on the BILLIONS of tax dollars we’ve wasted in Iraq, but remember this, NO amount of oil will EVER make up for our troops losses.

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FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (AP) - President Bush worked to reassure Americans on Monday about the economy but said “there’s definitely some storm clouds and concern” because of the nation’s credit crunch and mortgage problems.

“But the underpinning is good,” Bush told business and community leaders at a gathering of Rotary Club members.

“We’ve had a pretty good economic run,” the president said in a speech intended to show he is aware of the public’s edgy mood these days. Consumer confidence has eroded as turmoil in the housing and credit market have battered the economy.

Bush tried to position himself as an advocate for working families by taking aim at his favorite target: the Democratic Congress.

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Bush Says US Economy Is Safe and Sound

The economy has been the one thing that Bush hasn’t drawn a lot of criticism over in recent times, the economy has been very good but the stock market is going through a highly volatile stage right now, huge swings, mood swings maybe??

In any case, Bush needs to be very careful about what he says, how he says it and when he says it, his enemies have a way of striking at times when Bush has given them the biggest invitation..

Does ‘bring it on’ bring back any memories?? He told the insurgents to ‘bring it on’ and they did…

If he says the economy is ’safe and sound’ it tends to make me worry, I have calls in to my wealth management folks now, and the calls aren’t being returned…

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