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LAR: 3 Reasons for Hope: Oil, Gas and Coal

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Americans for Limited Government robert@algnews.org via publicaster.com	2:12 PM (8 hours ago)
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Dec. 29, 2011 3 Reasons for Hope: Oil, Gas and Coal America has the resources, the manpower, the economic system and the initiative to make the 21st century the next American century, if our political leaders will only let her. Cartoon: Happy New Normal! Tired of misery? Better get used to it! Video: Were the Mayans right? Is 2012 the end of the world? A lighter look at a dire prophecy. China a Paper Tiger? Will China protect Iran if its nuclear capabilities are attacked? Why you should be concerned. Fund: Resisting Euro-Bailouts GOP legislators are addressing the issue; presidential candidates should too. New poll finds Iowans and New Hampshirites opposed to European bailouts. 3 Reasons for Hope: Oil, Gas and Coal By Rick Manning The payroll tax debate has been and will continue to be at the forefront of the political back and forth in Washington, D.C., with Republicans continuing to agree with President Obama that a full year extension is the best alternatives, and President Obama and the Senate Democrats refusing to take yes for an answer. Over the past month, Obama made grand, uncontested public pronouncements about what people could do with an extra $40 a month through his legacy media messaging partners. What those partners were either too lazy or deliberately missed is that the payroll tax cut that is being extended for at least another two months has already been spent by consumers. At least that is what Obama himself admitted as far back as March of 2011, when he said, "Gas prices are hurting individuals right now and obviously taking some of that tax cut that we gave them and forcing them to use it on gas, as opposed to buying other items." In fact, Obama's own Department of Energy estimated that gasoline price increases alone would cost the average U.S. consumer around $700 per year. And many analysts believe that oil prices will continue to rise significantly in the upcoming year based upon supply and demand factors. Get full story here. Happy New Normal! Get permalink here. Were the Mayans right? Is 2012 the end of the world? Video by Frank McCaffrey Get permalink here. China a Paper Tiger? By Robert Romano With all that could go wrong in 2012, one troubled hotspot to keep an eye on is Iran, a country the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says is on pace to develop a nuclear weapon in the near future. If that happens, it is widely expected Israel would militarily strike against Iran in a preemptive move to protect itself from a nuclear attack. But not so fast. China has warned that it would protect Iran if it came to war. In an interview with NTDTV.com, Chinese general Zhang Zhaozhong has said that "China will not hesitate to protect Iran even with a third world war." China is currently Iran's number one destination for oil and gas exports, making it a strategically important country for the Chinese. In fact, the relationship goes back many years. In the Iran-Iraq War, Iran bought Chinese weapons, and is considered to be a Chinese satellite. But would an attack on Iran's nuclear capabilities really provoke China? It may depend on how much time and money the Chinese have spent developing those capabilities over the years. Several Chinese firms are said to be aiding the program's development according to the Obama Administration, lending credence to the fears. After all, why would the Chinese invest billions in developing a program just to watch it all go up in smoke? Get full story here. ALG Editor's Note: In the following featured column from the National Review, John Fund reports on new polling commissioned by Americans for Limited Government from the polling company, inc, which finds 76% of Iowans and 68% New Hampshirites oppose bailing out European banks that bet poorly on the sovereign debt of socialist governments like Greece through the IMF. Resisting Euro-Bailouts By John Fund Margaret Thatcher, who is the subject of a new film starring Meryl Streep that will premiere in theaters this Friday, once said that the problem with European socialism was that it would eventually run out of other people's money. That is a good summation of what has happened with today's euro crisis. The politicians across the water have run out of other people's money in their own countries, so now they want other nations to foot the bill. Topping the list of potential suckers is the United States. Our Treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, has been in constant motion shuttling between the U.S. and Europe in recent weeks trying to contain the euro crisis. A study by the Fitch ratings agency warns that the exposure of the U.S. financial sector to European countries and banks is "sizable." The Obama administration realizes that if Europe's economies get sicker, the U.S. economy will catch cold and see unemployment rise. But one method of staving off that prospect that is being pushed behind the scenes by the Obama administration is increased U.S. funding of the International Monetary Fund, which is already on the hook for previous massive bailouts of European banks and financial institutions. Many Republicans in Congress want nothing to do with any more taxpayer bailouts. They say that would only avoid the painful decisions Europeans have to make to rein in their profligacy. Over 60 House Republicans have signed on to legislation to pull back on U.S. funding of the IMF. Get full story here.