Diesel Fuel Here Hits $4.15 A Gallon

February 27, 2008

Elaine Meinel Supkis

I had to put diesel in my plow truck today after plowing out people from the latest of many ice storms. I nearly fainted when I saw the price: $4.15 a gallon. Just last week, it was $3.56 a gallon! WOW. Then I went grocery shopping. WOW. OK, fellow Americans: we will see serious trouble soon. Everywhere I went, I met very angry people and they should be angry. Time to wake up from the dream of world conquest! Our money is dying. The dollar fell hugely against the euro today, more than 10¢ this month alone! Insanity. And then Herr Greenspendthrift goes off to the Middle East to echo what Iran Kitty has been saying all this last three months: dump the dollar! Well, we shall have fun over here. Time to hitch Sparky, my horse, to the truck and use him to plow. Also, I figured out the need for Bernanke to drop rates to 2.5%: this is the 'teaser rate' all those billions in Sub-prime mortgages rake in! So there will be no 'reset'! Cheap mortgages will save us! After the dollar dies.

Greenspan gives green light to depeg

His remarks about clarity arose from his habit, while in office, of making delphic comments that had the power to move markets and transform economic policy in the space of a few words. The famous 1996 remark about “irrational exuberance” was the best example of such a remark – it set the tone for US monetary policy for the next few years, until the American market got carried away in the
dotcom boom.

His opinions on the dollar peg with GCC countries seemed clear enough. In Abu Dhabi he said: “Depegging is probably the most useful thing that can be done to stop the increasing influence of foreign assets on the monetary system and therefore the monetary base, which is basically the major force in inflationary pressures.”

He seemed to reinforce this message in another speech in Jeddah: “In the short term free-floating [of the Gulf dollar-pegged currencies] will not fully dissipate inflationary pressures, although it would significantly do so.”

This snipped was published in the Emirates Business News. At the last two meetings of the oil pumping nations in the Middle East, Iran teased the others about their peg-leg relationship with the dying US dollar. Now Greenspan is echoing this? HAHAHA. Life is full of irony or maybe it is just flatulence? Greenspendthrift gets paid huge dollars or rather lots of Weimar dollars to talk and talk and talk. This man is a hoot since he feels that now he should tell the truth: he shafted everyone in the US and has utterly destroyed us and now he is going to sell us down the river so he can get rich in his dotage? Arrest this man! If the most powerful banker in America turns out to be a traitor, arresting him and making an example is very important. I feel that many people who loved guys like him back when it looked like we could make magic money forever should reconsider this. Reagan betrayed America and so did Greenspan. Both men as well as Bush Sr and Clinton, everyone but Carter has, upon leaving the White House or the Federal Reserve, runs off to the rest of the world to collect their pay from their true masters: the New World Order wants to own our Presidents. As well as Greenspan and his cronies. They all cock an eye, while in office, on these future pay-outs. And they collect. Reagan hardly waited a month to rush to Japan to get his millions, for example.

This form of treason has been going on so outrageously, the Chinese have used this to their advantage not to mention the oil sheikhs and kings. As well as other people who have interests in ruling us. All have been pulling the strings via virtually undisguised bribes. This is true of England, too. As well as most elected rulers of the 'democracies' in Europe and South America. Well, thanks to all these WONDERFUL people, the dollar is dying. The US is losing its industries. We are deeper and deeper into debt. We are seeing inflation in all the most dangerous parts of our economy and virtually none of this makes so much as a peep in this awful election cycle which focuses on hair cuts, photos of turbans, accusations of peeking up skirts or plagerizing platitudes: damn.

But then, every time Kucinich or Ron Paul did try to talk about the important things, the media shut them out. Or talked about stupid things about either man. This is democracy. Welcome to hell.

Oil Rises Above $100 to Record Close After the Dollar Declines

Crude oil rose above $100 a barrel to a record close in New York as the U.S. dollar fell to an all-time low against the euro, prompting some traders to invest in commodities as a hedge against inflation.

Reports today showed that U.S. home prices tumbled, consumer confidence weakened and producer prices rose last month. Hedge- fund managers and other large speculators increased net-long positions, or bets on higher oil prices, in the week ended Feb. 19, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission report showed.

``The continuing upward pressures from the weakening dollar, geopolitics, and the use of energy as an inflation haven continues apace,'' said John Kilduff, vice president of risk management at MF Global Ltd. in New York. ``There is an inflation wave ripping through commodities of all stripes.''

A Texan diesel refinery blew up and now my pocketbook is being picked due to price gouging. Thanks a lot, everyone at the top. The $5 gold coin that sells for $150 is sitting on my desk as an icon, a goddess, a plea for salvation. And it buys only slightly more than filling the double tanks on my Ford 350. And snow plowing ice eats energy like crazy. Even as gold struggles to get ahead of inflation, the oil guys, the guys paying Greenspendthrift, the people supporting the Iraq war, Bernanke and all of these jerks---they kill the dollar so fast, even gold won't be able to keep up at this rate. Everyone is now figuring out the obvious: the only way to save the collapsing housing bubble is to drop rates below the 'teaser' rates that are resetting. Then everyone can pretend all is well because no one will be kicked out of their grossly-overpriced mansions.

But this will cause ever more inflation. Bernanke assured everyone last Thanksgiving, the plans to save everything would not weaken the dollar. Since then, the dollar has gone from being sick to the verge of death. Will Bernanke continue? Will he hesitate due to tremendous inflationary forces being released by this action? Will the banks sit idle during this? They expect global wealth to pour in while offering insane interest rates? Are the Japanese savers putting their money into the Bank of Japan?

Hell, not even here, are people saving money! It makes no sense. The thing being saved is the huge derivative Beast that overshadows all the wealth in the world. This is shuddering and collapsing inwards, sucking down trillions in paper wealth. But the horror is, dropping interest rates won't save anyone. It actually makes things worse. For the dollar is losing value, too. If all these things end up being reset at zero, the economic system ceases. This is why Greenspan is warning everyone to cut their losses and flee.

Producer Prices in U.S. Increase More Than Forecast

Prices paid to U.S. producers rose more than twice as much as forecast in January, pushed up by higher fuel, food and drug costs, signaling inflation may keep accelerating even as growth slows.

The 1 percent increase followed a 0.3 percent drop in December, the Labor Department said in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists was for a 0.4 percent gain. Excluding food and energy, so-called core wholesale prices climbed 0.4 percent, the most in almost a year.

Combined with figures showing consumer prices also rose more than forecast, today's report may prompt the Federal Reserve to consider raising interest rates as soon as the economy stabilizes. Fed officials, including Governor Frederic Mishkin yesterday, have warned that higher prices may stoke inflation expectations.

MAY stoke inflation? What the hell has been going on all this time? Was I hallucinating this last 35 years? I reached adulthood only to be greeted by on sickening inflationary episode or massive dollar devaluation after another. Every 8 years, it seems. This so annoyed me that I decided to zero out my debts back in 1990. And succeeded finally a few years ago! This doesn't mean I avoid the downside of inflation. Even if people park money in 'safe' havens, they still are hammered by inflation on a daily basis. It is just that any savings they can eke out can be saved and not lost, too. When Bernanke took over the Fed, I went ballistic. Indeed, there were a number of us on the internet who did this back then. But NOT MANY.

Here is an article I wrote soon after Bernanke took over the Federal Reserve:

I warned everyone that Bernanke is an idiot. He celebrates the destruction of our manufacturing base, claiming that shipping jobs to China to scrub inflation due to energy hikes creates jobs here in America. Alas, the jobs created are also not "inflationary" since no one can ask for or get pay raises! Great. Sounds like a depression.

'Ben Bernanke, in his first public speech as Federal Reserve chairman, laid out a scholarly case Friday that keeping inflation low and stable tends to foster economic growth and jobs.

This sensibility — now largely a consensus view — marked an evolution in economic thinking, Bernanke said in remarks at Princeton University in New Jersey. '
*snip*
Well, I predicted from my very first article about Bernanke that he would be both insane as well as ill-informed. He is going to finish us off. We are so very doomed thanks to this idiot.

"Central bankers, economists and other knowledgeable observers around the world agree that price stability contributes importantly to the economy's growth and employment prospects," he said. "But that view did not always command the support it does today."

Well, he better consult with me! Or read this story of mine!

Price stability exists? What the farking hell? I see none, none at all!

I wanted to get more past stories from Blogger but as usual, it is crashed. So I dragged that story out. It certainly nails everything on the head as well as rear end! What can we say? I knew more of what was going to happen than Bernanke! Why doesn't the Fed and everyone bang down my door, asking me to help?

Yes, the mountain here is very icy and you need a truck with chains on the tires to make it up the hill. But then, in all stories about wisdom, one has to climb a mountain, anyway. Or maybe it is my crazy cackle, the 'Hahaha' stuff? Well, I try to be funny. What else can we do?

The fact is, I have said since day one, inflation in fuel and food are THE most important things to track. France didn't fall into riots and revolution because the price of laces rose! Indeed, the price of laces FELL. What rose were the prices for food and fuel! Always, always and even more often, all riots and revolutions happen when food and fuel suddenly spurt in price. This should be hammered into the heads of these idiots running things. Far from minimizing it or even outright, ignoring this, they should be focused on this like a laser.

People can double up in houses and so the loss of a home isn't so hideous. But we all have to eat! And not freeze to death! So the loss of food and fuel bites directly. It is, in other words, literally life and death. Already, food riots are spreading across the third and some second world nations. Today, Congress passed a bill increasing....BIOFUELS! This is fueling food inflation. Yes, farmers will be happy with higher prices but they all buy what I bought today: diesel fuel! And if it rises twice as fast as the value of their harvests, guess what?

They don't make a profit. If the price of corn shoots upwards faster than diesel prices, then we have food riots. The farmers in the US represent a small minority. The teeming masses in the cities on the other hand, are far, far greater in number. I have been in cities that were burning down in the past. It is not a pretty thing. Indeed, it is teeth-grindingly horrible. The only store in my community that survived was the one where the owner ran out with a rifle and shot a rioter dead. It was, needless to say, a liquor store. The paint store in another neighborhood survived only because the owner had four huge sons armed with pistols who shot into the air and said, they would kill anyone who came within ten yards.

All the others went up in smoke. I picked through the ruins. We had no police, no fire department. The mayor refused to call the National Guard. I had to hike to City Hall in Manhattan to demand the military support! The social disorders continued for months afterwards. This is why I prize some sense of balance. We cannot let things slide off of cliffs here. And ignoring or mocking people talking about inflation in essentials is provocative in the extreme. Note today's latest example from the Fools in the Fed:

Fed's Mishkin: Core inflation focus best for economy

Federal Reserve Governor Frederic Mishkin on Monday defended the central bank's emphasis on core inflation, saying an emphasis on less volatile prices produces a stronger economy in the long run.

"Stabilizing core inflation ... leads to better economic outcomes than stabilizing headline inflation," Mishkin said in a speech at East Carolina University.

Core inflation strips out volatile food and energy costs.

The bastard. How dare he! The extra $25 I paid to fill my fuel tanks compared to just last October is no joke in my household. Already, I don't use any fossil fuels to run my heating system. I use only the woodstoves and wood from the trees in the forest. I am running out of things to cut here. I can only imagine the pain and suffering of people on fixed incomes who have NO raises in Social Security who are told that inflation is only 2% or 3%. My god, are they going to be starved to death?

YES! This is the plan! I see little inflation in their fake 'core'. I see infinite inflation outside of this 'core.' And anyone with a brain can see this! If they didn't see this back in 2006 when I wrote so scathingly about all this, they damn better know it now! There have been NO price 'fluctuations' in essentials. They have ONLY gone up and up and up! For the last 7 wretched years! Never have they fallen. Sometimes, they pause only to resume their climb. But we are not seeing 2% inflation in these areas.

Bernanke Fails to Cut Loan Rates for Most Americans

Ben S. Bernanke, who has reduced interest rates faster than any Federal Reserve chairman since 1982, is failing to bring down the cost of credit for most American homeowners.

The average fixed rate for a 30-year home loan rose more than half a percentage point during the past four weeks to 6.04 percent, according to Freddie Mac, the world's second-largest mortgage buyer after Fannie Mae. The increase occurred after the Fed lowered its benchmark rate by 0.75 percent on Jan. 22 and cut the rate by a further half-point eight days later.

When Bernanke faces Congress tomorrow and Feb. 28, he will be questioned about why long-term bond yields are moving in the opposite direction to the Fed funds rate, said Credit Suisse Group Chief Economist Neal Soss. Lower fixed mortgage rates would avert foreclosures and give consumers more money to spend, said Diane Swonk, chief economist of Mesirow Financial Inc. in Chicago.

Bonds and mortgages are not dropping because there is inflation. DUH. Does Congress, one of the chief causes of this inflation, not understand? But they should set up a row of mirrors. 'Did I vote to increase military spending and money for the Iraq occupation?' they can ask themselves. Then they can all take a knife in hand and slit their wrists and bellies or chop each other's heads off, perhaps. The shame of what they have done should overcome their souls and they should feel an obligation to make restitution. And not what Diane Swonk said! Give people cheaper loans so they can go out and spend more money?

Why is there inflation? Gads! Mirrors! We need more mirrors here. If the point is to spend why not give me a billion dollars? And give all my readers a billion dollars? Heh. That will be less than the cost of the occupation of Iraq. Unless everyone on earth decides to read here so they can get a free billion dollars. Only this won't buy the $5 gold coin a reader sent [thanks for that coin, it will be a great item to chat about here for the next umpteen years!]. Right now, I burn the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times when I need to relight the fires that heat my home. With a billion $1 bills, I can dispense with that.

C.A.R. Reports Sales Decrease 29.8 Percent, Median Home Price Falls 21.9 Percent

Home sales decreased 29.8 percent in January in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 21.9 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS(R) (C.A.R.) reported today.
"This most recent decrease in the median price is yet another result of the liquidity crunch, which has choked off sales in recent months for nearly half of California's housing market," said C.A.R. President William E. Brown. "Sales do appear to be edging up, but recent declines in the median price have been due to a lack of sales in the over $500,000 range, where funds are extremely scarce and jumbo loan rates are at near-record margins compared to conforming loan rates."

It is already too late. House prices are falling. Even if people want to buy these cheaper houses, they can't. Why? The inflation eating up their money! They need to EAT and use ENERGY. And with these going sky high, they can't afford mortgages they could have afforded just three years ago. When one must spend $250 a month for a commute that cost only $80 a month back in 1999, well! That is impossible. Many of the houses languishing in value are in areas requiring long commutes! They were built when oil was much cheaper. Now, they are death traps. Starving to death in some exburb while also freezing or dying of the heat, isn't a life style choice many will make. The only road back is the one that tames food and fuel inflation, not makes them worse. So far, all the solutions including the $150 billion Federal give-away are all very inflationary.

States Seek Congress's Aid as Subprime Boosts Costs

U.S. governors including New Jersey's Jon Corzine and New York's Eliot Spitzer may ask Congress to help reverse rising municipal debt costs stemming from the subprime mortgage market's collapse, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire said.

Gregoire, Corzine and Spitzer joined other governors Feb. 24 in forming a group that will ``produce something that gets us out of the problem, but most importantly produce something for Congress'' to deter a future borrowing squeeze, Gregoire, a Democrat, said during a National Governors Association meeting in Washington yesterday.

What is squeezing the states? Fuel costs! Food costs! Inflation forcing workers to demand raises! Loss of tax revenues as families flee their exburbian housing! Everything will spiral downwards just like it did back in the 1970s. And the cure back then was to bite the bullet and raise interest rates. It hurt a lot. But continuing down the food/fuel inflation route hurts even worse in the long run. But then, no one has dared to stop the true problems which is all about the US wanting to control the earth via military spending and military adventures. The War on Drugs and the war on unions are killing us. The refusal to understand nature and how energy works is killing us. Our refusal to understand the Hubbert Oil Peak is weakening our nation as a whole.

And we must understand that we cannot rule this planet. No one should rule it. It should be a global democracy. Everyone matters. Everyone should have a voice in how this world is run. The US is going to lose its grip anyway so we may as well control how we exit the world stage. Spending like fiends only hurts. Ask the Russians. They tried this. They invaded Afghanistan...and had a nuclear power plant blow up. Do we have to do that, too? We already are making all the other mistakes Russia made.

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[diesel gasoline refinery]

such a great post!