Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Obama has succeeded in transforming the US: for 4th yr. in a row, US has fallen in global competitiveness-CNBC

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9/5/12, "US Slips Down the Ranks of Global Competitiveness," CNBC

"The United States has slipped further down a global ranking of the world's most competitive economies, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) survey released on Wednesday. The world's largest economy, which was placed 5th last year, fell two positions to the 7th spot - marking its fourth year of decline.

A lack of macroeconomic stability, the business community’s continued mistrust of the government and concerns over its fiscal health were some of the reasons for the downgrade, according to the annual survey."...via Hot Air


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Obama did build this bankrupt company and empty chair by stealing $500 million from hard working Americans and their kids to pay back his bundlers

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9/4/12, "Photo of the day," Ed Driscoll, PJ Media


photo Ed Driscoll, via Free Republic

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Obama bundler and Solyndra figure at democrat convention.

9/4/12, "Red Carpet for Solyndra Figure at Democratic Convention," ABC News

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Even now crony Solyndra liar is tops with Obama, is VIP at Democrat Convention, runs away from reporters when seen on Red Carpet tour-ABC News

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"After taking the job, Spinner had to sign a waiver saying he would not get involved in deliberations involving Solyndra...But when the White House turned over internal emails to Congress, the records showed that Steve Spinner figured prominently." Called for 'golden shovels.'

9/4/12, "Red Carpet for Solyndra Figure at Democratic Convention," ABC News

"The Obama campaign rolled out the red carpet this week for a former top Energy Department official who was at the center of the ill-fated government loan to Solyndra, a California solar panel firm that wound up in bankruptcy.

Steven J. Spinner joined other top fundraisers for a VIP tour of the Democratic National Convention floor in Charlotte Monday evening, posing and waving for a photographer while standing behind the podium. When he saw ABC News cameras, however, he ran for the exit.

Spinner was last in the headlines in October, when emails surfaced showing he had pushed for the Solyndra loan from his post in the Energy Department, apparently in an effort to score the loan as a political victory for President Obama.

READ the Original Blotter Story About Spinner's Emails

"How hard is this? What is he waiting for?" Spinner wrote in one of them. "I have OVP [the Office of the Vice President] and WH [the White House] breathing down my neck on this."

The fast-tracked Solyndra loan became the showpiece of the Obama administration's Green Energy loan program -- a plan to give a jolt of federal aid to firms developing new forms of alternative energy. Solyndra, the program's inaugural loan recipient, received $535 million....

INTERACTIVE: Meet the 2012 Campaign Superdonors

This week, Spinner has been attending a number of events organized for the campaign's top donors -- members of the National Finance Committee. He is sporting a badge that identifies him as a "Finance Guest."

He appears also to be a top donor to the convention's host committee, which accepts up to $100,000 from individuals to help offset the cost of the three-day Charlotte event. The host committee organized the podium tour that Spinner attended.

ABC News made repeated attempts to interview Spinner as the Solyndra saga unfolded, and he declined. When he was approached by ABC News on the convention floor Monday, he bolted for an exit.

A DNC employee blocked ABC News reporters from following Spinner as he broke into a run.

"You can't follow people," the aide said, as he held up his arms to keep the camera from filming Spinner as he left the venue.

Neither the Obama campaign nor the White House responded to requests for comment about Spinner.

This is not Spinner's first foray into fundraising for Obama.

Spinner was awarded his high-ranking post with the Energy Department after raising more than $500,000 for Obama's 2008 campaign, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

After taking the job, Spinner had to sign a waiver saying he would not get involved in deliberations involving Solyndra, because his wife's law firm represented the company in certain legal matters. Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that Spinner "had no connection to overseeing the loan guarantee program."Spinner's wife also pledged not to take proceeds from her firm's work with companies that had applied for loans, and a spokesperson for Allison Spinner's firm said she had not been involved in any Solyndra business.

But when the White House turned over internal emails to Congress, the records showed that Steve Spinner figured prominently into the Energy Department's efforts to promote the loan politically. When the loan was set to be announced, he pushed for a "big event" with "golden shovels, bulldozers, hardhats, etc.," according to one email he wrote.

He also corresponded with career Department of Energy loan officials who were making the final decisions on the Solyndra loan. In one instance, he wrote, "Hopefully, this might spur [the Office of Management and Budget] a little faster to help the closing."" via Climate Depot, via Tom Nelson

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Ed. note: Fox News parasites like Ed Rollins are working hard to re-elect Obama, lecturing us that 'Obama's a nice guy.' Rollins thinks stealing US taxpayer money and running a mob operation is 'nice.'


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Corporate donors give $20 million to Democrat convention-Bloomberg

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9/4/12, "Companies Pay $20 Million to Fund Democratic Convention," Bloomberg

"Companies including Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) have contributed $20 million toward the cost of the Democratic National Convention, helping fund an event that Democrats initially said wouldn’t accept corporate money, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Organizers of this year’s convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, turned to corporations after the city’s host committee struggled to reach its $36.7 million fundraising goal, according to the people, who requested anonymity."...


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Empty chair appears near California freeway next to Clint Eastwood figure-AP

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9/4/12, "Chairs placed by Eastwood cutout on Calif. trail," AP via SF Gate

"These days, wherever you see Clint Eastwood, an empty chair is sure to follow. Even if you're on a hike.

A life-sized cutout of a cowboy Eastwood has stood on a trail overlooking a Southern California freeway for months, but on Tuesday a pair of chairs were next to him, one also a cardboard cutout, the other an actual wooden chair.

They're a clear reference to Eastwood's interaction with an imaginary President Obama in an empty chair at the Republican National Convention last week.

Eastwood and the chair have fueled a social media meme that's shown no signs of slowing.

An artist erected the cutouts of Eastwood and other Hollywood western heroes along the trail in Glendale, but it's not clear where the chairs came from." via Free Republic

small photo from AP or SF Gate, larger photo, uncropped, at top via Free Republic


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Tuesday, September 4, 2012

US manufacturing shrinks again in August 2012, construction spending unexpectedly declines in July 2012, Europe stocks sink on bad US news

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9/4/12, "European Stocks Drop on U.S. Manufacturing Data; Vodafone Falls," Bloomberg, P. Levring, via SF Chronicle

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"U.S. Manufacturing Activity Contracted Again in August; Construction Spending Unexpectedly Declined in July."

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The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index posted a reading of 49.6 in August 2012, which was down slightly from 49.8 in the previous month and below expectations for an increase to 50.0.

Today's report on manufacturing activity was disappointing and corroborates last week's release of the Fed's Beige Book, which pointed to a broad softening of activity in the sector across the country due to weakening demand from Europe as well as Asia. Moreover, today's report suggested that recent weakness may continue during the near term as the spread between the "new orders" and "inventories" sub-indices (considered a key indicator of future activity) fell to its lowest level since January 2009, which was the height of the recent economic downturn.
  • In separate report, construction spending unexpectedly declined by 0.9% in July 2012 (market expectations were for a 0.4% increase).

Activity in the US manufacturing sector contracted for the third consecutive month in August 2012, and the pace of decline accelerated slightly as indicated by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index edging down to 49.6 from 49.8 in July (a reading below 50 indicates the sector is generally contracting). The reading missed expectations for an increase in the measure to 50.0 and represented the lowest level of the index since June 2009....

The "production" sub-index moved into contractionary territory for the first time since May 2009, down 4.1 points to 47.2 in August to indicate that activity declined in the month. "New orders" contracted at a faster pace than the previous month with the component falling to 47.1 from 48.0 in August. As well, the "employment" sub-index fell for the fourth consecutive month and reached its lowest level since November 2009, although remained in expansionary territory at 51.6 in August. Partially offsetting these declines, the "inventories" component jumped to 53.0 from 49.0 in the previous month, thereby indicating that manufacturing firms' inventories are growing for the first time since September 2011, while the "supplier delivery" component rose 0.6 points to 49.3. With respect to inflationary pressures, the "prices paid" measure jumped 14.5 points to 54.0 in August as respondents indicated that the US drought was severely affecting raw materials prices in the food, beverage, and tobacco sectors....

Overall, today's report indicated that the manufacturing sector, which provided a key support to economic growth early in the recovery, is losing steam and supported the Fed's intention of keeping monetary policy highly accommodative for the foreseeable future....

The weakness in construction spending in July was broad-based, with both private (-1.2%) and public (-0.4%) sector spending down in the month. As well, overall residential (-1.6%) and non-residential (-0.6%) construction fell on a monthly basis in August."


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Democrat platform in complete denial of current climate science, though Obama knows because he cited '20 yr.' atmosphere improvement in 8/28 speech

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9/3/12, "Democratic Party Platform Engages Climate Change," getenergysmartnow.com

"In contrast to its total absence from the Republican Party platform (as a sign of the GOP’s anti-science global warming denial), the Democratic Party platform directly engages on climate change issues — with the term appearing 18 times in the platform. Note: the photo to the right comes from the Democratic Party’s platform page....

The environment section has direct discussion of climate change issues.

"We know that global climate change is one of the biggest threats of this generation – an economic, environmental, and national security catastrophe in the making. We affirm the science of climate change, commit to significantly reducing the pollution that causes climate change, and know we have to meet this challenge by driving smart policies that lead to greater growth in clean energy generation and result in a range of economic and social benefits."...via Tom Nelson

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Ed. note: For those unaware of the good news, US CO2 emissions have dropped steadily since at least 2006 and are going lower. This has been acknowledged even in NY Times at least once. Other countries' CO2 hasn't dropped despite hundreds of billions spent on cap and trade and extra taxes. This isn't to say the US hasn't become partners with the 'climate' industry. Trillions have been taken from US taxpayers for climate expenses via outright agency budget allocations, tax subsidies, diversion of US military to climate or green projects, countless federal regulations, vast sums shipped out in foreign aid for 'climate' endeavors, etc. Devoting 13 federal agencies to 'climate' matters is hardly 'lagging' in action! Global Warming 'action' was institutionalized in US government in 1990 by George Bush the 1st in the "U.S. Global Change Research Act of 1990." (He mentions CO2 near the end). The US even exports fuel now.

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The US CO2 drop should be good news. At least some of the news has reached Pres. Obama because he made a passing reference to it on Aug. 28 without acknowledging its stunning meaning or that the findings referred specifically to CO2. He only used the term 'greenhouse gases,' and moved on allowing California's cap and trade profiteers to breath easy:

8/28/12, at Iowa State: "We’re on track to emit fewer greenhouse gases this year than we have in nearly 20 years. You can keep those trends going."

Even the NY Times noted Obama avoided connecting the meaning of these scientific findings to ordinary Americans on whose backs they were obtained. (Links listed below this post mention various reasons including greater reliance on natural gas and the economic recession).

The NY Times says:

8/28, "He did not note the role of the recession, with its attendant drop in manufacturing and car and truck trips."

Later in the speech Obama was back to lecturing us, lying about this huge topic that has hijacked the country for decades, cruelly telling us that we must continue to live with a ten ton boulder on our back, completely denying the drastic and long term US CO2 drop:

"Denying climate change won’t make it stop."

Billions of our tax dollars, 13 federal agencies, our military and our lives will remain in bondage to "fight" a catastrophe that doesn't exist when we have problems that do exist. The greens and Goldman Sachs will also ignore reality. People invested in CO2 endangerment whether financially or emotionally have been caught by surprise. No one expected the US to turn around it's CO2 emissions as fast and as continuously as it has (whether they needed to be turned around or not). With trillions at stake in the CO2 industry, Obama and the media will continue to lie at least until he's re-elected. But obviously it's over.

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8/28/12, "Remarks by President Obama at Campaign Event -- Ames, Iowa," enewspf.com (Iowa State)

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8/28/12, "On Our Radar: Green Tuesday at the White House," NY Times Green blog

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6/4/12, "Climate change stunner: USA leads world in CO2 cuts since 2006," Vancouver Observer, Saxifrage



"Not only that, but as my top chart shows, US CO2 emissions are falling even faster than what President Obama pledged in the global Copenhagen Accord."...

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7/15/12, "Recession Special: Cleaner Air," NY Times, Matthew Wald

"What the government has not mandated, the economy is doing on its own: emissions of global warming gases in the United States are down.

According to the Energy Department, carbon dioxide emissions peaked in this country in 2005 and will not reach that level again until the early 2020s."...

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US CO2 has dropped steeply and is going lower:

6/26/12, "The Incredible Shrinking Carbon Pollution Forecast - Part 2," switchboard.nrdc.org, Dan Lashof

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6/29/12, "US Carbon Output Forecasts Shrink Again," American Interest, Walter Russell Mead

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8/16/12, "AP IMPACT: CO2 Emissions In US Drop To 20-Year Low," AP via NPR

"In a surprising turnaround, the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere in the U.S. has fallen dramatically to its lowest level in 20 years."...

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6/22/12, "U.S. cuts greenhouse gases despite do-nothing Congress," CNN, Steve Hargreaves

"Even factoring in a stronger economy, forecasters see greenhouse gas emissions continuing to fall....Others take the U.S. success in reducing its energy sector emissions as a sign that its fragmented, state-based, regulatory approach has worked better than Europe's market-based cap-and-trade approach."

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4/21/12, "Why [CO2] Emissions Are Declining in the U.S. But Not in Europe," by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, newgeography.com

"As we note below in a new article for Yale360, a funny thing happened: U.S. emissions started going down in 2005 and are expected to decline further over the next decade."

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A 2011 report noted EIA results through 2009, US CO2 emissions dropped steadily since 1999. If, hypothetically, US temperatures have been on the increase, they couldn't possibly be related to US carbon dioxide emissions:

4/14/11, "Biggest Drop in U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions," World Climate Report

"In 2009, greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. experienced their biggest drop since the U.S. Energy Information Administration began tracking them during the 1990-2009 timeframe."

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CO2 alarmist 'glory days' are over in the US. Congratulations to the greens, you won, best of luck in your future endeavors:

"But there is one group (other than the Russians and the Gulf Arabs and the Iranians) that isn’t sharing in the general joy: the greens. For them, the spectacle of a looming world energy crisis was good news. It justified huge subsidies for solar and wind power (and thereby guaranteed huge fortunes for clever green-oriented investors). ...But those glory days are over now, and the smarter environmentalists are bowing to the inevitable."...

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1/25/2009, "Global warming industry becomes too big to fail," Timothy Carney, Washington Examiner

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4/20/10, "Buying Carbon offsets may ease eco-guilt but not global warming," by Doug Struck, CS Monitor

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11/23/11, "Europe's $287 billion carbon 'waste': UBS report," The Australian, by Sid Maher

"SWISS banking giant UBS says the European Union's emissions trading scheme has cost the continent's consumers $287 billion for "almost zero impact" on cutting carbon emissions."...EU CO2 trading provided "windfall profits" to participants paid for by "electricity customers.""

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A 2011 report noted EIA results through 2009, US CO2 emissions dropped steadily since 1999. If, hypothetically, US temperatures have been on the increase, such couldn't possibly be due to US carbon dioxide emissions:

4/14/11, "Biggest Drop in U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions," World Climate Report

"In 2009, greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. experienced their biggest drop since the U.S. Energy Information Administration began tracking them during the 1990-2009 time frame."

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A few examples of climate cash sought in 2011:


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"Organized crime may be responsible for theft of European Union emission allowances this month, and national authorities are working with Europol...a top EU climate official said." Sweden admits it has Austria's stolen 'carbon credits' but says it might just be 'a coincidence.'

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8/10/11, "U.S. Army Creates Renewables Office: Billions to Be Spent," GreenTechMedia.com

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1/21/11, "Analysis: U.S. government a tenuous beachhead for biofuel firms," Reuters

"The U.S. military has emerged as a key ally for fledgling producers of non-food-based biofuels."...

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3/26/12, "Obama Requests $770 Million to Fight Global Warming Overseas," CNS News, Matt Cover

"The Obama administration has requested $770 million in federal funds to combat the effects of global warming in developing countries, a new congressional report details, continuing its policy of using foreign aid to combat the effects of global warming in the developing world.

The figure, from a recent report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), shows that despite another year of $1 trillion deficits, the Obama administration continues to pursue its policy of using foreign aid funds for anti-global warming measures – known as the Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI).

According to CRS, the government has spent a total of $2.5 billion on GCCI since 2010 on overseas anti-global warming efforts in Latin America, Asia, and Africa."...

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"Only 12% (of net US petroleum imports) came from Saudi Arabia last year, down from nearly 19% in 1993."...

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11/30/11, "U.S. Nears Milestone: Net Fuel Exporter," Wall St. Journal, by L. Pleven, R. Gold

A combination of booming demand from emerging markets and faltering domestic activity means the U.S. is exporting more fuel than it imports,

  • upending the historical norm.

According to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday, the U.S. sent abroad 753.4 million barrels of everything from gasoline to jet fuel in the first nine months of this year, while it imported 689.4 million barrels."...

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7/28/10, "The secrets 10 states and Wall Street don't want you to know," by Mark Lagerkvist, NJ Watchdog

"Secrecy and greed are polluting the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the nation’s first
  • mandatory cap-and-trade system.
Under the RGGI scheme, the smell of profiteering is powerful. New Jersey and nine other Northeast states have sold The bidders at RGGI auctions include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase and other Wall Street heavyweights."...

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1/30/2012, "Americans on pace to have driven 40 billion fewer miles in 2011 vs. 2010," GasBuddy (Fed. Hwy. Admin. data)

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7/5/2008, "30 billion fewer miles driven, and counting," McClatchy via Seattle Times

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If US temperatures go up for a day, a month or 6 months, US human-caused CO2 is not, can't possibly be the reason.

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7/02/09, "The Great American Bubble Machine: How Goldman Sachs has Engineered Every Major Market Manipulation Since the Great Depression," Rolling Stone, by Matt Taibbi

"A groundbreaking new commodities bubble,

  • called cap-and-trade.
The new carbon-credit market is a virtual repeat of the commodities-market casino that's been kind to Goldman,

If the plan goes forward as expected, the rise in prices

  • will be government-mandated.
  • Goldman won't even have to rig the game.
It will be rigged in advance."...

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8/23/11, "The Alarming Cost Of Climate Change Hysteria," Forbes, Larry Bell

"The Small Business Administration estimates that compliance with such regulations costs the U.S. economy more than $1.75 trillion per year — about 12%-14% of GDP, and half of the $3.456 trillion Washington is currently spending. The Competitive Enterprise Institute believes the annual cost is closer to $1.8 trillion when an estimated $55.4 billion regulatory administration and policing budget is included."...

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9/3/12, "California Ramps up Policy That's Taboo on Campaign Trail," Bloomberg, Eric Roston

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2/15/2011, "Trillions of dollars at stake from climate change over next 20 years ," mercer.com







Gas Fracking seen aiding Pres. Obama in several states including all important swing state of Ohio-Bloomberg

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9/4/12, "Ohio’s Gas-Fracking Boom Seen Aiding Obama in Swing State," Bloomberg, J. Snyder


"The boom in oil and natural gas is setting up an election- year irony: a green-energy president who is getting a boost from fossil fuels.

Oil and natural gas output is on the rise largely because of hydraulic fracturing, which has given drillers access to reserves in shale rock formations once too costly to produce. The so-called fracking injects millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals thousands of feet below the surface to free fossil fuels trapped there, a process that

  • Obama’s environmentalist allies say increases air and water pollution.

Fracking is unlocking oil in North Dakota and Texas. More important to Obama’s re-election chances, it’s aiding natural gas production -- and Obama’s poll ratings -- in Ohio and Pennsylvania, swing states with 38 electoral votes combined."...via Tom Nelson

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Ed. note: The left hates fracking but will wait til after Obama is re-elected to destroy it. Obama ex-Green Czar Van Jones freely admits environmentalists held off criticizing Obama during the BP oil spill but would have been all over a Republican president:

5/16/12, "Van Jones Cops a Plea," Powerline blog, Steven Hayward

"A sharp-eyed Power Line reader directed us to this C-SPAN video featuring Van Jones, President Obama’s short-lived “green jobs” czar, admitting around the 19:14 mark what is plain to anyone who pays attention, namely, that the environmental movement is basically an adjunct of the Democratic Party:

“I’m critical of myself, first, and the environmentalists. When the oil spill had happened in the spring of 2010, there was another moment to say, ‘Hold on a second, let’s relook at energy policy in America. Should we be subsidizing companies who are risking our health immediately and in the long-term?’” We didn’t do it. You’ve never seen the environmental movement more quiet during an oil spill. I guarantee you, if John McCain had been President, with that oil spill, or George Bush had been President with that oil spill, I’d have been out there with a sign protesting. I didn’t, because of who the President was."...

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