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Saudi Arabia Shanks Joe Biden With Major Oil Announcement

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Joe Biden’s recent trip to the Middle East made many headlines, and none of them were particularly good. The president first landed in Israel where he promptly insulted Holocaust victims. At several other points during the week, he looked physically and mentally frail, appearing aloof and out of it. Then there was Biden’s stopover in Saudi Arabia, which led to a now-infamous fist bump that set teeth gnashing because the left hate the Saudis.

But the topline from the president’s tour was simple: It accomplished nothing. While the White House tried to hint that a deal for increased production had been reached, there was never any evidence offered. The reason why became clear on Wednesday after the Saudis stabbed Biden directly in the front as part of a big announcement from OPEC Plus.

Saudi Arabia is one of the original founders of OPEC, and they wield heavy influence over the OPEC and OPEC Plus nations. The entire point of Biden’s trip to the kingdom was to secure Saudi support for a large increase in production to help offset the global oil supply crunch that has driven up prices. Instead of getting a production boost of around half a million barrels a day, the president ended up with just 100,000, a massive reduction compared to the expectation. For context, the United States uses about 21 million barrels of oil a day, making a global increase of 100,000 a day nothing but a rounding error.

The situation gets dimmer, though. Apparently, that “increase” doesn’t even amount to any real increase.

That is what total failure looks like. The President of the United States went to the Middle East to beg a country he had previously tried to make a “pariah” for oil. Why? Because Biden’s own domestic energy policies have been so disastrous. The president then returned with no actual agreement, choosing bluster over substance. Now, the results of that are in, and the Saudis aren’t even pretending to have played along. It’s yet another embarrassment for Biden and the nation.

This is the danger of having the world’s worst foreign policy “expert” in the White House. Biden has famously been wrong on every major geopolitical issue for the last half-century, and you can add his plan to punish the Saudis while elevating Iran to the list. It didn’t have to be this way. Trump left an improving Middle East on the table, with the Arab nations and Israel moving toward a historic peace. All Biden had to do was eat his ice cream, keep the status quo rolling, and reap the benefits for everyone.

He just couldn’t do it, though. Instead, the president stuck his finger in the eye of the Saudis, causing them to cease their long-standing cooperation, harming American consumers along the way. And for what? To pursue some pointless nuclear deal with Iran? This is who Biden is. He’s a man always in search of failure, and he can turn any good into bad.

Saudi Arabia Humiliates Joe Biden With Major Oil Announcement

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Joe Biden’s recent trip to the Middle East made many headlines, and none of them were particularly good. The president first landed in Israel where he promptly insulted Holocaust victims. At several other points during the week, he looked physically and mentally frail, appearing aloof and out of it. Then there was Biden’s stopover in Saudi Arabia, which led to a now-infamous fist bump that set teeth gnashing because the left hate the Saudis.

But the topline from the president’s tour was simple: It accomplished nothing. While the White House tried to hint that a deal for increased production had been reached, there was never any evidence offered. The reason why became clear on Wednesday after the Saudis stabbed Biden directly in the front as part of a big announcement from OPEC Plus.

Saudi Arabia is one of the original founders of OPEC, and they wield heavy influence over the OPEC and OPEC Plus nations. The entire point of Biden’s trip to the kingdom was to secure Saudi support for a large increase in production to help offset the global oil supply crunch that has driven up prices. Instead of getting a production boost of around half a million barrels a day, the president ended up with just 100,000, a massive reduction compared to the expectation. For context, the United States uses about 21 million barrels of oil a day, making a global increase of 100,000 a day nothing but a rounding error.

The situation gets dimmer, though. Apparently, that “increase” doesn’t even amount to any real increase.

That is what total failure looks like. The President of the United States went to the Middle East to beg a country he had previously tried to make a “pariah” for oil. Why? Because Biden’s own domestic energy policies have been so disastrous. The president then returned with no actual agreement, choosing bluster over substance. Now, the results of that are in, and the Saudis aren’t even pretending to have played along. It’s yet another embarrassment for Biden and the nation.

This is the danger of having the world’s worst foreign policy “expert” in the White House. Biden has famously been wrong on every major geopolitical issue for the last half-century, and you can add his plan to punish the Saudis while elevating Iran to the list. It didn’t have to be this way. Trump left an improving Middle East on the table, with the Arab nations and Israel moving toward a historic peace. All Biden had to do was eat his ice cream, keep the status quo rolling, and reap the benefits for everyone.

He just couldn’t do it, though. Instead, the president stuck his finger in the eye of the Saudis, causing them to cease their long-standing cooperation, harming American consumers along the way. And for what? To pursue some pointless nuclear deal with Iran? This is who Biden is. He’s a man always in search of failure, and he can turn any good into bad.

'Dr.' Jill Biden Has Great Tips on Cutting Lemons and Tomatoes, but She Can't Cover up the Stink That Is This Administration

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“Dr.” Jill Biden said in an interview Tuesday that her husband, President of the United States Joe Biden, has “done so much” and that she wished “people could see more of what Joe has accomplished and how hard he’s working.”

The problem is, Joe may be working, but his policies are not, as gas prices are at an all-time high, the stock market is in crumbles, his approval rating is at historic lows, and the economy is officially in a recession by any rational definition. Jill’s own star has been fading recently, as she stepped on a rake with tacogate and her approval ratings crumbled.

“Sometimes it feels like we’re pushing this boulder up the hill, but progress is being made,” she said in an interview with Real Simple.

Real Simple magazine is a lifestyle mag dishing out cooking secrets and shopping tips. Why the First Lady is sounding out here is a mystery. The headline of the piece reads: “Exclusive: First Lady Dr. Jill Biden on What It Means to Be a Working Mom.”

Jill gets her “Dr.” moniker because she earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in educational leadership from the University of Delaware In 2007. I’m not one to demean someone’s credentials, but the title doctor is misleading as many people think she’s an actual medical M.D. (Check out Whoopi Goldberg’s priceless reaction, where she hopes Jill will become the next surgeon general because she’s such a “great doctor.”)

I’m sorry, but…. she’s a working mom? Her youngest kid was born in 1981. Meanwhile her stepson Hunter has not exactly turned out so well, so I’m not sure hanging her hat on that one is such a good idea.

Does she wish she had more time to spend on parenting? Yes:

Of course! Especially when you have kids, right? You’re always thinking, “Did I spend enough time at his game?” Or, “Should I have said that?” You’re always questioning yourself because you want to be the best mother you can be, the best teacher you can be.

Wait, what game did she not spend enough time at? Is Hunter in an over-40 softball league? She then goes on at length to describe her dinner-party habits, including her regular use of Post-It notes to remind people to cut the lemons and tomatoes. Finally she gets back to reality:

I don’t want to sound like a political ad, but we have done so much. Gas prices are a huge issue, and Joe is, every single day, on the phone talking to leaders about gas and oil. These problems are coming so fast and furious, and certainly a lot of it is dark, like you said. But I wish people could see more of what Joe has accomplished and how hard he’s working.

People can’t see what Joe has accomplished because he can call leaders all day and night about gas and oil, but his energy-killing policies are clearly what is to blame for the insane prices at the pump. Sure, they’ve been touting that prices have come down in recent weeks, but I took this photo Sunday, July 28:

California gas prices, as seen on July 28, 2022. Credit: Bob Hoge

Hardly something to brag about.

Most of the rest of the interview descends into cutesy, gossipy conversation about baking cookies and her candle-light dinners with Joe. It would be sweet if they were your grandparents or an older couple that you enjoyed spending time with. I actually applaud her for standing up for her husband; in the words of the great Tammy Wynette, “Stand By Your Man.” But her efforts at defending what is now being openly talked about as the worst-administration-of-all-time fall flat.

Quite simply, there is no defense of this presidency which is presiding over a tanking economy, an unhappy populace, a fraught world order, an out-of-control border, and so much more. I appreciated her tips on lemons, but they won’t solve our problems.

Biden Admin Selling Another 20 Million Barrels From Strategic Petroleum Reserve Amid Questions on Sale of Oil to China

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The Biden administration continues to drain the Strategic Petroleum Reserve of emergency oil barrels in an effort to curb gas prices.

The White House announced Tuesday that the Department of Energy will be ordering the release of an additional 20 million barrels for sale.

The DOE said the following in a statement:

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) today announced an additional Notice of Sale of up to 20 million additional barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This Notice of Sale is part of President Biden’s announcement on March 31, 2022 authorizing the sale of crude oil from the SPR to address the significant market supply disruption caused by Putin’s war on Ukraine and help lower energy costs for American families.

The President’s announcement called to release one million barrels of SPR crude oil per day over six months. This historic release of SPR crude has provided a record amount of crude oil supply to the U.S. economy and will continue until the end of October 2022.

DOE plans to release, from the SPR, up to 2.8 million barrels of sour crude oil and 17.2 million barrels of sweet crude oil, totaling 20 million barrels with deliveries from September 16 until October 21, 2022. DOE must receive bids for this notice no later than 10:00 a.m. Central Time on August 2, 2022. Contracts will be awarded to successful offerors no later than August 11, 2022.

Although the original intention of the SPR is to save a certain amount of oil in case of a natural disaster or an attack on the homeland, the administration has decided this was a better solution than simply drilling for more oil on American soil.

“This is the FIFTH TIME Biden has sold oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Instead of dipping into emergency reserves, Biden should empower American workers & unleash American energy. We are ready, willing and more than able,” Rep. Pete Sauber (R-Minn.) tweeted Tuesday.

There are also questions surrounding where the oil is being sold after it is released from the SPR. RedState’s Bob Hoge reported that the House Republicans are investigating if the United States is exporting some of these barrels to China. According to RedState’s Nick Arama, earlier in July, 950,000 barrels went to Unipec, which is part of the Chinese-government-owned China Petrochemical Corporation. While it may be a small amount in comparison, it’s concerning as a matter of principle that this would even be a possibility.

The White House stated Tuesday that 125 million barrels had “already been sold.”

High gas prices now impacting first responders

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Gas prices are getting ridiculous. My wife filled up on Thursday, then spent a fair chunk of her first hour home complaining about those prices.

I can’t say I blame her. I’m just glad I work from home.

Many Americans aren’t so lucky. If there’s been an upside, it’s only in that the problem isn’t worse. Unfortunately, due to those gas prices, it’s getting worse.

Gas prices have become so high that one Michigan police department says they have “blown through their fuel budget” and cannot respond to all 9-1-1 calls in person, ABC News reported Thursday.

…

“Isabella County Sheriff’s Office is feeling the pain at the pump as well,” Sheriff Michael Main said in a statement. “We have exhausted what funds were budgeted for fuel with several months to go before the budget reset.”

“I have instructed the deputies to attempt to manage whatever calls are acceptable over the phone. This would be non-in-progress calls, non-life-threatening calls, calls that do not require evidence collection or documentation,” he said.

I feel for the sheriff. I truly do.

I also think he’s made about the best call he can under the circumstances. Budgets are what they are and there’s only so much you can do when the money starts to run out. You can pull from other places, but those needs are still needs, too.

That said, I have concerns.

What may start as a call that isn’t an emergency may well end up becoming an emergency call before you know it.

Further, where do we go from here? After all, gas prices aren’t exactly showing any signs of dropping anytime soon. Quite the contrary, actually. Not only is the lack of Russian oil driving up prices internationally, but the fact that domestic production has been throttled over the last couple of years sure hasn’t helped.

This suggests this is just the first of many departments that will have to struggle with the rising cost of fuel.

While I think the sheriff is doing the best he can, and I also think the worst-case scenarios are unlikely to occur, it’s only a matter of time before other tough choices have to be made, such as limiting patrols or adjusting patrol patterns to minimize fuel usage. If that happens, it may make it easier for criminals to commit crimes, many of which are likely to turn violent.

Let’s go, Brandon, right?

Regardless of how we got here, it’s well beyond time to start taking steps to increase our supply so none of this actually happens.

We’ve got enough crime right now. The last thing we need is gas prices making that even worse on top of everything else it’s doing to the country.

It’s just too bad I don’t see anyone actually doing anything to address this particular problem. They’re all too busy pretending this is really all Russia’s fault despite prices increasing prior to the invasion of Ukraine. But hey, the police don’t have gas, so why quibble about little things like the truth, right?