Category Archives: oil

by Barry Kelly | October 1, 2015 · 7:43 am

INSIGHTS 234 — RUSSIAN EMPIRE MOVES INTO THE MEDITERRANEAN

“Mr. President, I want to read something you said last week when I asked, ‘Are you using the leading from behind strategy in the Middle East and primarily in Syria?’ And you answered, ‘Of course. My objective is to change or transform the world order. How could I do that if I was openly leading the action? I’m leading from behind. Iran, ISIS, and Russia are doing exactly what I want. If Russia ends up being a power in the Middle East with warm water ports for their warships and control of oil from the region won’t that end the strife and lead to a world society where the people will be much better off and the world’s wealth and resources will be more equitably distributed?

“‘Russia will have what they have always wanted. They have no desire to occupy Europe. The balance of world power will be forever changed for the better. The need for vast military expenditures will be gone. Colonialism, capitalism, and imperialism will be history. Those are the real evil “isms” of our world. Progressivism is the natural ideology for a world of equals.’”

“Given the very aggressive move by Putin into Syria in the last two weeks with his demand that U.S. aircraft no longer fly over Syria, will you need to change your approach?”

“Putin is following a long developed strategy followed by all the czars. He is the first to succeed in actually establishing a growing military presence in the Middle East. The Russian fleet will now have an all-weather sea port for their warships. He will be popular at home for a short time. Then the people will find out what it costs them to sponsor another client state. Control of Iraqi oil fields may provide some funds for Putin’s military build up and support for a bankrupt Syria but that will not be enough.

“He will soon have another Afghanistan on his hands. Remember how they moved into Afghanistan unopposed in President’s Carter’s one term? He was surprised. I am not. This a perfect response from Putin who is unknowingly assisting me in changing the current world order. Whether he stays for a decade or more in Syria, the Middle East will never be the same. The Christian, imperialistic, capitalistic western power will be balanced by the growing power of the Islamic nations who actually live in the Middle East. Those people will be governing themselves and using their wealth and intellectual resources for the good of a previously oppressed people.

“My concern is keeping the right wing ideologues from convincing my successor to oppose the Russian push into Syria. No matter what Putin does, I will not respond with American power. In a few more years American power both military and economically will be gone for good.”

“What about all the death and misery being inflicted on the people of Syria and Iraq?”

“It will pass in less than a decade. People always suffer when the tide of historical power shifts against existing rulers. Spreading Muslim people throughout the Christian world through chaotic refugee flows is not a bad thing. The shift in population demographics will actually act as a catalyst for a more rapid transformation in the Western world. I couldn’t be happier. Progress never takes place without chaos. The more chaos, the more rapid the pace of transformation can be.”

“Does anyone in your administration share your view of the world?”

“Really only one and she is constantly encouraging me to move more quickly. A few others think they know but they don’t. Their thinking is still mired down in the Western approach of looking at governing as the constant solving of issues. As long as they stay out of the way, they do no harm in playing with transient problems that have no solution without transformation.”

“Mr. President, I think I’m safe in saying no other president has ever shared your view of America and the world.”

“I agree. See you next week. You are the only person I can truthfully talk to besides my co-partner in transformation. Good night.”

This is an account written by a fictional advisor who doesn’t exist but should.

Check out the latest Jack Brandon mystery suspense novel at your local bookstore. Follow the author on Twitter @factsfictions80.

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Filed under Afghanistan, Barry Kelly, Capitalism, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, foreign policy, Intelligence & Politics, Middle East, Obama, oil, political solutions, Politics, Progressives, Putin, Russia

Tagged as current-events, Immigration, iraq, Islam, Middle East, military, Syria, transformation

by Barry Kelly | September 3, 2015 · 7:02 am

INSIGHTS 228 — GETTING READY TO TALK ABOUT THE ECONOMY

The Advisor was lost in thought, in between talks from his only visitor, the President.

The President has been so candid recently. I have to get ready to ask him some more challenging questions. I think he enjoys the challenge. He’s got to be immersed in the current economic crisis so I’ll start getting my background material ready. Many Americans do not see the economy, the process of making and selling things, as being different from the stock market. But they are two very different areas. While one affects the other to some degree, it is very difficult for experts to agree on the exact cause and effect of changes in the stock market. Economists talk knowingly about the state of the economy and what is needed to improve its performance. But in reality they should be called political economists because their analysis depends on whether they are supply-side economists or Keynesian economists.

The President’s progressive wing of the Democratic Party is nearly exclusively Keynesian. Those people believe the level and management of government spending is the key to growing the economy. The opposing side of free market/supply side economists believe growth can only come through the capitalist process of making and selling products outside the governing process. The fewer the regulations and the lower the taxes, the more the economy is free to grow. In their minds, a growth rate of between 4 percent and 8 percent is ideal with a tax rate on corporations around 15 percent.

The Keynesian monetary policies have never worked anywhere, though they were tried extensively during the Roosevelt era. Since government spending on sectors such as infrastructure can only be financed from taxes from people and corporations, Keynesian management of the economy inhibits the growth that is necessary to finance needed infrastructure, human services, and the military. Most everyone is in favor of these items but only the progressives with their Keynesian finance managers believe spending on social welfare and infrastructure stimulate the economy to grow. The first place they look for money for social services and infrastructure is the military budget. Few progressives believe in maintaining a strong military. I must remember to ask the President about his views on Keynesian economics.

Regardless of the financial philosophy, effectiveness of the process must be based on a real reporting and understanding of the facts. When the administration and talking heads go on about the well-being of the economy, they are mostly talking about the stock market that has done very well. Indeed it should with the Federal Reserve printing $86,000,000,000 per month for a program called Qualitative Easing. This level of printing money went on for many months. If you could afford to invest, you did well. The President’s program, instead of distributing wealth to narrow the gap in income between economic classes, actually widened the gap. Turning from the stock market to the business of making and selling things, the real economy, you see a much different picture. Real unemployment is closer to 12 percent than the 5 percent the progressives claim. Employment participation rates are lower than at any time since the 1970s. There are more people on food stamps and welfare now than ever before and that is not just due to the growth in population. Health care costs are growing. Wages are stagnant. Graduating college students cannot find jobs. Student debt is way up. People have given up looking for non-existent jobs. The economy is way below the growth rate needed to sustain services and our national debt. The only measureable that is up is the number of people on welfare. I wonder what the President will say about his commitment to the redistribution of wealth.

The last area to ask him about will be the energy sector. I wonder what he’ll say about the Saudi’s program of pumping oil at a level that is continuing to increase the glut of crude on the market today. Doesn’t he realize the Saudis dumping oil on the energy market is motivated by their need to remain the predominated supplier of the worlds oil and to weaken Iran, Iraq, ISIS, Russia, and the United States? Their strategy is working. Many oil drillers in the United States are gone. They and others like them around the world cannot profitably sell oil much below $60 or $70. Unless the Saudis change their strategy, the current glut of oil may be with us for a few more years.

The Advisor stopped his pacing and his thought process.

I think that is enough for more than one session with the President, he thought, feeling more prepared.

This is an account written by a fictional advisor who doesn’t exist but should.

Check out the latest Jack Brandon mystery suspense novel at your local bookstore. Follow the author on Twitter @factsfictions80.

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Filed under Barry Kelly, Capitalism, class warfare, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, financial policies, foreign policy, Intelligence & Politics, Iran, Obama, oil, political solutions, Progressives, Russia, Saudia Arabia

Tagged as economy, free market, government, keynesian economics, Progressives, qualitative easy, socialism, supply side economics

by Barry Kelly | June 30, 2015 · 7:30 am

INSIGHTS 215 — THE ADVISOR’S TURN

As soon as the president came in, the Advisor could tell he had a surprise planned. Seated at the table with his customary cigarette, the president said, “The last time I was here, I told you my behind-the-scenes plan for America. I could tell it bothered you. Today, I’m going to give you the floor. I want to hear what you think the next president should do.”

The Advisor smiled a knowing smile. He had suspected that eventually the president would give him the floor. The president is a man who likes to talk, and to hear himself talk, but politics over time had taught him the importance of listening, too. The Advisor folded his hands together and placed them on the table in front of him and took a breath before speaking.

“If the next president is from the progressive wing of the Democratic party, he or she will basically follow in your footsteps no matter what counsel I — or anyone else — provide. So let me talk about what I expect from a conservative president, should he win the next election.

“Firstly, I would not advise him or her to abandon health care. The nation’s citizens need affordable and excellent medical care and that means restoring the doctor/patient relationship without government control or constant regulation. Let the states be the government that intrudes, if necessary, into the doctor/patient relationship. If the motive for health care regulation is to improve care and reduce costs instead of bringing one-seventh of the economy under government control, popular bi-partisan pieces of legislation are possible. Nothing comprehensive. One piece at a time. When that piece starts working, add another piece. Allow insurance companies to compete across state lines. Limit tort proceedings. Patients and physicians are more important to national health than trial lawyers.

“Then onto energy. A broad energy policy can come from the government. But not management or the selection of what kind of energy is developed. This is a clear case for letting the free market decide. Large parts of the EPA and the Department of Energy need to be abolished. They are the enemies of energy self-sufficiency. We now have the energy resources and reserves to be the world’s primary producer of oil, natural gas, and gasoline. The development of these resources is clearly in our national interest and will allow America to use its resources to ensure world peace. With the support of both parties, America can have economic growth and prosperity for its citizens without endangering the environment.

“Immigration policy emanating from the federal government should be broad and general in nature. A couple of decades of presidential promises to secure our southern border have only been rhetoric. It is time the border is secured. After that we can have incremental legislation to establish a fair process for everyone who desires to come here. I feel strongly that they must learn English and American history. Let the legislature debate the process for dealing with illegal residents who are here now and have been for some years. Whatever the outcome it must be the result of bipartisan legislation. Not the court which is acting like a non-elected legislature of nine people or a presidential directive using executive powers not granted to the executive by the Constitution.

“I see you are looking at your watch. It might be better to break now and continue later with the rest of my recommendations to your successor.”

“Yes, I agree. There is also a limit to how much of this traditional version of America’s role I can handle in one sitting.” The president huffed a puff of smoke from his last drag and smashed out his cigarette, not letting the door hit him on the way out.

The above is a fictional account of the writing of a legendary but fictional Advisor.

“ISIS: Quiet Justice,” a new Jack Brandon novel by Barry Kelly dealing with ISIS in America, is now available nationwide from your local book store, This is the fifth novel in the “Justice”series. Follow the author on Twitter @factsfictions80.

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by Barry Kelly | June 16, 2015 · 7:01 am

INSIGHTS 212 — THE ADVISOR AND THE PRESIDENT’S “HIDDEN’ LEGACY

Advisor's vault door

The Advisor wasn’t pleased with the way The Council controlled and published his essays. They took far too much time to publish them and many had been censored or slightly rewritten. At times, they said, his essays were so unique that people would wonder about the sources of the essays. The title under which The Council published his essays had grown upon him. EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS wasn’t bad and the web page was very well done. It came right up when he Googled it. The pages of the website made it sound as if a group of elderly scholars sitting around a gentleman’s club had pooled their collective wisdom and published it for the benefit of the American people. The images used called up the deep roots of American history and their fierce rallying around the banner of freedom. Actually, it was better than he could have done. If only they weren’t so fearful and bureaucratic.

He busied himself with tidying up and getting ready for the president’s sudden notice that he would come down after ten o’clock tonight. At ten he heard the coffee finish brewing and a few minutes later his screen showed the president and Chris, his Secret Service escort, coming down the subterranean passageway. Like most people, the president was a creature of habit. He always sat in the same chair, pulled the ashtray a bit closer, and lit his cigarette with the same series of steps, the tapping of the pack to get a single cigarette to pop out of the pack, a few quick taps of the cigarette’s tobacco end, a strike of the wooden matches he liked to use, and the deep satisfied inhale of the blessed nicotine-filled smoke. Only then was he prepared to talk.

“Tonight, I want to go over my accomplishments going into my last phase of the presidency. I know nothing I say will leak out of here, unlike my above-ground world where everyone is thinking ‘spin and leak.’ My first goal was to seize as much of the economy as I could from the private sector and bring it under the control of the central government. The first big move was the Affordable Care Act where I brought nearly 7 or 8 percent of the economy under government control. I chose Cabinet officers who would follow my lead without question and begin to craft and disseminated a deluge of regulations to destroy capitalism and the free market. Nothing as big as my health care move but perhaps more effective due to the incremental steps of agencies like the EPA, Treasury, the IRS, and Energy.

“Most of my moves went unnoticed by most but they have been very effective in inhibiting national energy production. The constant delay of the Keystone Pipeline, even against the wishes of organized labor, has sent a clear message. Now we have to kill the recent surge of natural gas and oil, through fracking and drilling in privately owned land. I don’t want the United States to become energy self-sufficient. Nor do I want to use America’s potential to be a major exporter of natural gas, gasoline or crude oil be used to further American nationalistic foreign policy objectives. I want to end Western domination and change the existing world order. Iran and Russia are pleased and the Sunni old world order is very unhappy. Good!

“My efforts to further spread America’s wealth through international agreements on climate change and international trade agreements needs more pushing but they are progressing. Both of these measures will enhance the strength of the United Nations and world law. I will continue in the next year to support Iran, China, Russia, and Cuba in ways that level the world playing field and re-distribute wealth.

“The last, large, and most important step in diminishing America’s power to project selfish nationalistic goals is still incomplete. Even though I have severely weakened the American military, it is still far too strong. In what’s left of my tenure, I will continue to weaken America’s military so that they cannot do anymore evil in the world.

“You have been very quiet. Any comments?”

“No, Mr. President. I believe you are aware that your goals are unique for an American president in our history.”

“Yes, I am and am proud to be doing what so many have neglected. I’ll be happy to discuss this with you next week. Now I have to go.”

“Goodnight, Mr. President.”

The above is a fictional account of the writing of a legendary but fictional Advisor.

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Filed under Barry Kelly, Capitalism, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, foreign policy, global warming, Intelligence & Politics, Iran, Obama, Obamacare, oil, political solutions, Politics, Russia, Sunni

Tagged as America, Obama, politics

by Barry Kelly | April 1, 2015 · 7:16 am

INSIGHTS 196 — CONSISTENTLY DESTRUCTIVE

If it is consistency you value in a president, Obama is your man. He hasn’t changed his goals or his policies to reach those goals since he was elected twice by an electorate desperately wanting change.

We got change. Only, it was change the left-wing progressives wanted, a very vocal group. A very high percentage of journalists, editors, and publishers welcome Obama’s transformation of America. When you add the Teachers’ Union, university professors, and Hollywood’s entertainers to the power of the press, it is no wonder so many Americans wonder what is happening. What is actually happening is so far outside the American experience that those of us who try to explain the goals of radical progressivism seem like right-wing conspiracy nuts.

How is it possible that a president who handily won two national elections is dedicated to destroying the America he took an oath to protect? By any of my standards, the nation is weaker economically and militarily and more divided than it was before anyone ever heard of Barack Obama. None of the problems that need fixing have been addressed by President Obama. They are not part of his agenda. He uses the issues of immigration, health care, welfare reform, taxation, military strategy, education, racism, jobs, energy development, and international affairs to destroy domestic or foreign opposition, increase government control of all aspects of our economy and way of life. He doesn’t seek to problem-solve. He only wants to move forward with the development of socialism in America under the control of a progressive elite.

There is no other way to explain his actions. It is clear to me that he has corrupted the civil service of all government agencies to support his socialist agenda. Energy is a perfect example. He has done and is doing everything he can to hamper the development of natural gas and oil production in the United States. He mouths the words of national self-sufficiency in energy but uses the EPA and other agencies to block and delay efforts by the private sector (capitalism) to produce and export energy.

The Keystone Pipeline gave him a chance to create jobs, improve national self-sufficiency in energy, help our Canadian neighbors, reduce China’s control and stockpiling of energy, and improve the safety of transporting oil by ships, trains, and trucks. Even most radical environmentalists admit pipelines are safer than ships, trains, or trucks in the transportation of oil. The truth, I believe, is that our president does not want America to be energy self-sufficient. He wants to weaken our economy and our military by reducing our forces to pre-WWII levels and forcing us to rely on the United Nations to establish a new world order. You need to look no further than look at the president’s Iranian policy.

He has no intentions of bringing Congress into the agreement he is begging Iran to sign. President Obama will ignore the Senate’s Constitutional right to ratify an Iranian nuclear agreement. Instead, he will display his one-world ideology by taking any agreement to the UN. By the way, what the president is calling an agreement is, in fact, a treaty that must be ratified by the Senate. Whatever is good for the pre-Obama America, either domestically or internationally, he will remain consistent in his drive to move the country toward socialism and the traditional one-party rule. There will be no problem solving. But he will continue to befuddle Republican leaders. That is also a consistent part of his imperial presidency.

Written by the author of the Jack Brandon thriller/suspense novels and “Insights: Transforming America — Is This What We Fought For?” available now as an e-book, in paperback or hardcover on Amazon.com or BN.com. Another analytical book on the transforming process, “Insights: Stepping Stones to Tyranny,” is now published and available in paperback at $9.95 and on nook and kindle at $3.99. Follow the author on Twitter @factsfictions80. “ISIS: Quiet Justice,” a new Jack Brandon novel dealing with ISIS in America, will be out in early April.