For almost a week, practically foaming at the mouth media members scared the heck out of the American people presaging doom and gloom in New Orleans as well as rising oil and gas prices all at the hands of a hurricane that hadn't even entered the Gulf of Mexico yet.
Of course, let's not forget the reports about Hurricane Gustav destroying the Republican National Convention thereby damaging John McCain's chances of winning the White House.
Now, as Gustav has been down-graded to a tropical storm, having caused less damage in New Orleans than anyone anticipated, America is quickly getting back to normal likely much to the disappointment of those on the left and in the media that hoped for a replay of Hurricane Katrina weeks before Election Day.
And, as Bloomberg reported Tuesday, energy prices are plummeting (photo courtesy CNN Money):
Crude oil led a decline in commodities as Hurricane Gustav spared the U.S. Gulf states the destruction caused by Katrina and Rita in 2005.
Oil slid to a five-month low and gasoline plunged as much as 13 percent, easing concern that inflation will choke global economic growth and pushing copper, gold and soybeans lower. The dollar's rally to the highest level in almost seven months against the euro hurt commodities priced in the U.S. currency.
``Gustav was much tamer than it might have been, and that led to a drop in oil, which triggered a commodity sell-off,'' said William O'Neill, a partner at Logic Advisors in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. ``Across the board, it's bad news for commodities, and that's changing the money flow. Commodities have fallen out of fashion with investors.'' [...]
Crude-oil futures for October delivery fell $7.04, or 6.1 percent, to $108.42 a barrel at 11:42 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price touched $105.46, the lowest since April 4.
Natural gas for October dropped 68.5 cents, or 8.6 percent, to $7.258 per million British thermal units.
Gasoline futures for October tumbled 31.99 cents, or 11 percent, to $2.69 a gallon. Earlier, the price touched $2.6082, the lowest since April 1.
This is all spectacularly good news for consumers battling with high prices at the pump, and concerned about their heating bills this winter. The only question is how much focus this will get today and this evening as Republicans move forward with their convention.
After all, will media that were hoping to present dreary, gut-wrenching images of Gustav's wrath in order to destroy the GOP's festivities in Minneapolis-St. Paul be willing to share the great economic news with the populace as the President addresses the convention via satellite, and folks like Laura Bush, Joe Lieberman, and Fred Thompson rally the troops during prime time?
Stay tuned.
—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters. Follow him at Facebook and Twitter.
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Comments Policy
And their latest "Gott
September 2, 2008 - 13:43 ET by IgnatzJFahrquarAnd their latest "Gott Damit" moment ... Hanna has weakened to a tropical storm.
"All generalizations are false, including this one.” Mark Twain
As the message "Drill Here,
September 2, 2008 - 13:43 ET by liberal_bug_zapperAs the message "Drill Here, Drill Now" gets more play, and more politicians get more pressure, I think we'll see prices go below $100.00 and stay below $100.00 for the foreseeable future.
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"A society that puts equality...ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom." ~ Milton Friedman
lbz, that is my wish too, however nature has another plan
September 2, 2008 - 14:06 ET by upcountrywaterHeating oil and snowplow fuel use will be up way up..
100 year record, no change...
gust-off was not a Katrina, because the gulf waters are cooler..
oh yea it snowed 2 weeks ago in Colorado...
Liberals62%
IranianUranium
Not till next July
September 2, 2008 - 13:49 ET by dboAfter all, will media that were hoping to present dreary, gut-wrenching
images of Gustav's wrath in order to destroy the GOP's festivities
What ever happened to those good ole days when the media just sensationalized hurricanes to push their global warming agenda?
I was tickled a few hours
September 2, 2008 - 13:58 ET by bigtimerI was tickled a few hours ago when I saw the price had dropped over six bucks a barrel today...giggling at the thoughts the poor leftists must be thinking today, nothing went right, there wasn't any Katrina, although it was sickening how the msm all tried their best, with their sick hopes and dreams, so they had to replay Katrina late last night here...I was furious about it...
I know it can rise for various reasons, but this is great fodder for the convention, let alone Sarah Palin and part of here speech if she touches on the subject...hehehee
I cannot wait to see the debate with her and Biden....he will be toast...burnt toast to-boot.
Drill Often...Drill Everywhere!
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Thank You George Bush!
September 2, 2008 - 13:59 ET by PeterDWell, if Katrina was all Bush's fault, then the Fact that Gustav fizzled out is because our President saved us. Gustav was scared of Bush!
Plus the Left says the fact that Gustav was on the way and timed for the Republican convention shows, as Michael Moore said, "there is a God." Well the fact that Gustav fizzled while the Left was gleefully waiting for a disaster shows that Moore was right, there is a God!
Finally, PMSNBC says Keithie was pulled from the convention to anchor hurricane coverage from New York. Will he go to the convention now? Or is the real reason he is back in New York is because he is scared stiff of real people?
...then the Fact that
September 2, 2008 - 15:04 ET by soulpile...then the Fact that Gustav fizzled out is because our President saved us. Gustav was scared of Bush!
Heh. Thanks for this!
Thank goodness for all those
September 2, 2008 - 14:02 ET by BruzillaThank goodness for all those hours of achival Katrina footage that all the media outlets ran over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over... All that video allowed them to convey a sense of urgency and danger after Gustav let them down.
Media
September 2, 2008 - 15:05 ET by okiehawk44These giants of the media ran shots of among other things:
1. plastic visor off a traffic signal blowing down the street
2. one (1) down traffic signal (old span wire type)
3. old roof tin blowing up on roof of ancient & vacant building still with shreds of blue FEMA tarp roofing on it from Katrina (2005)
4. mobile home blown on its side -- no "hold-down" anchors can be seen -- most building codes don't allow this (then again this is Nagin's New Orleans)
5. water in streets and in street side ditches (I think that's where it's designed to be in a HURRICANE
6. plastic garbage can blowing down Canal Street -- lordy, lordy a garbage can blowing in a wind -- what's next?
7. a vinyl sign peeled off its temporary billboard -- you got TEMPORARY right?
8. a tree limb down on the street -- sure hope FEMA and the Federal Government can mobilize 10,000 troops and others to get that cleared before a N.O. resident is traumatized -- I think it's in front of Brad Pitt's new house in the Garden District
9. numerous street name signs were seen "quivering" in the hurricane force winds
Well I can go on and on but most of you witnessed the same ridiculous tapes. Next time, you media types need to pool your coverage and be a little more selective -- Katrina did do amazing damage -- Gustav did not! Do you folks know the difference?
the Storm of the Century
September 2, 2008 - 17:55 ET by jwm45...according to that ignoramous Mayor Nagin
The left had dreams of
September 2, 2008 - 14:03 ET by deerjerkydaveThe left had dreams of another Katrina like catastrophe. Wasn't it Michael Moore who said earlier that this hurricane was proof that there is a God? Only problem is, Gov. Jindal (R) was on top of the evacuations unlike his Dem. predecesor, and the levees held up to the storm. So instead of the Republicans looking bad, they now look like the heros!
Don't you love it when something blows up in the face of these libs?
Did Rove visit WH before Gustav?
September 2, 2008 - 14:06 ET by acumenWouldn't be a bad idea for the GOP to use demedia hysteria over Gustav supposedly causing gas prices to increase by suggesting a good solution would be to open up drilling to all of the US instead of primarily in the Gulf or other regions with warm water conducive to sustaining hurricanes.
From what I understand there is a very reasonable governor up north that strongly supports drilling in her state which has very impressive gas and oil reserves...and very cold water. If this insightful governor can increase our energy in just this one state imagine what she could do as say.....Vice President of the US. Worrying about gas prices shooting up everytime a hurricane comes near the gulf would be a thing of the past. The demedia should get behind drilling elsewhere than primarily the Gulf - I'm confident they have plenty other things left to handwring over. Like how mystifying it is that Gustav wasn't near as large of a hurricane as Katrina was now that Rove doesn't have access to the White House weather machine any longer.
Sad Day For Media
September 2, 2008 - 14:09 ET by mbs6Members of the MSM must be really disappointed today. They were hoping for another Katrina type disaster to help Obama get elected. Can you imagine, literally hoping for a hurricane to help your political cause?
Noel...
September 2, 2008 - 14:22 ET by AgentAmericanIs this the Mainstream Media in it's twilight? Perhaps the left's last desperate attempt to cement their crumbling position?
It appears they're doing themselves in. I don't see anyone taking them seriously for years go come.
It's a serious observation. Are they toast?
Drill ANWAR
No AA
September 2, 2008 - 14:33 ET by MrShyWE'RE the toast.... they're the ham(s) and cheese, and we've got them covered! :p
Someone pointed out that this country, outside of the elitist-influenced coasts, IS predominently Republican in nature (based on many core values this country was founded on), and that only when a very good Demo campaign is run (Clinton in the 90's) combined with a poor Repubican one (Bush-1 and Dole) do they ever have a chance.
* * * SOCKS THE CAT '08 * * *
For REAL Change
...yeah...
September 2, 2008 - 14:41 ET by AgentAmericanWe're having them for breakfast...
Drill ANWAR
Any idea how Port
September 2, 2008 - 14:29 ET by danboAny idea how Port Fourchon and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port faired? They were near the eye. I haven't heard yet. They're major cogs in energy.
I also suspect the sugar cane crop is laying down. The cost of harvesting will go up. This might put upward pressure on the price of ethanol.
If Fourchon took a big hit (it didn't in Katrina) we might pay a price for the democRATS inaction.
Just found the answer. "The port and LA 1 are not severely damaged, and water has receded"... "Eighteen percent of the entire nation's energy supply flows through Port Fourchon..."
Limited Disclosure: I used to belong to the Sierra Club untill they went crazier. Worse of all, I was bribed by Exxon with free New Orleans Saints glasses with fill ups in the 70's.
Republican National Convention
September 2, 2008 - 14:35 ET by SchnikeysI'll be watching the convention this week, not strictly to see what sort of spin the media puts on it, but to see how well the Republicans use the issues- which are mostly in their favor- to their advantage. I'm not holding my breath, either.
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"My morality is your morality."
About the storms
September 2, 2008 - 15:07 ET by cocodrieIt is a real blessing and comfort to know that y'all were praying for us. Some areas were hit rather hard but nothing like Katrina, even the oil rigs in the gulf were spared. The left wing extremists along with the MSM were actually praying for us to be devastated. Who they pray to is anyone's guess since they don't appear to believe in God. Gov. Jindal is handling everything just fine. Thank God we have him and not the vacuum head we used to have. Thanks again to all.
I totally second that! The
September 2, 2008 - 21:04 ET by RukusI totally second that! The outpouring from the NB's here was very special and appreciated. There are still three more out there so the prayers are/were especially appreciated. Glad to hear from you.
"Nuke 'em 'til they... oh hell, just shoot 'em!"
Gustav Now A Swedish Media Meatball
September 2, 2008 - 16:13 ET by CapitalismRulesI was shocked by the lack of destruction that media could have (falsely) reported on. This was a huge opportunity for the MSMs to show some dead people (doesn't matter if they died from the storm or not) and blast McCain and Bush's "failed" policies. I really was waiting for them to place some dead bodies in the canals just to try to get something going. What a dud for these guys, they woulda been able to derail McCain much better in Minneapolis.
We have become a nation of weather wussies. I live in FL, a tropical storm means and crappy day down here, a cat 1or 2 hurricane means a windy and rainy day and you stay off the roads for the most part and cat 4 or 5 means you just get out of the way and shore up the homestead- I don't need a bunch of idiots in over-sized raincoats standing on top of our hotels to yell at me that it's raining!!!!