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🇺🇸 Biden’s Barrels

🇺🇸 Biden’s Barrels

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Good morning, and happy Thursday! A farmer swerved to avoid missing a puppy and crashed – his community came together to take in his harvest…

Plus, ahoy mateys! Your merry band of pirates will feel right at home here…

Also, we’re going “nuts” over this Flag Find – which is perfect for holiday gatherings…

FLAG POLLS

📉 President Biden Job Approval: Approve 44, Disapprove 54 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 President Biden Job Approval: Approve 45, Disapprove 53 (Economist/YouGov)

📉 Congressional Job Approval: Approve 20, Disapprove 62 (Economist/YouGov)

🐘 2022 Generic Congressional: Republicans 47, Democrats 46 (Vote Economist/YouGov)

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QUICK CLICKS

Martial Law, SCOTUS and Student Loans, Abortion for Inflation

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Economy: IRS: Here are the new income tax brackets for 2023 (CNBC)

US: Supreme Court urged to halt Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan (The Hill)

US: ‘Bad boy billionaire’ Elon Musk deletes support of Kanye and Trump following accusations of anti–Semitism (Fortune)

Economy: Jeff Bezos warns of looming US recession: 'Batten down the hatches (NY Post)

World: Inflation triggers strikes across France: What to know about the protests (WaPo)

US: Stacey Abrams Floats Abortion as an Inflation Fix: ‘Having Children Is Why You’re Worried’ about Rising Prices (National Review)

Sports: Tua Tagovailoa recounts scary moments after concussion including blackouts and memory loss (Outkick)

ENERGY

Biden’s Barrels

Yesterday the Biden Administration announced it will release another 15 million barrels of oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, in a bid to lower gas prices. By increasing the oil available to the market, the goal is to undercut reduced production from OPEC+, helping to better balance the supply/demand equation.

Reporting from the Left: Biden tries to tackle his gas price problem by announcing sale of 15 million barrels from Strategic Petroleum Reserve (CNN)

Reporting from the Right: Biden taken aback by multiple reporters suggesting oil reserve release is meant to help Democrats (Fox News)

From The Flag: The White House first began releasing oil from the SPR this past Spring after the Ukraine-Russia war sent prices spiking. We recently covered the decision made by OPEC+ to cut production, which likely influenced this decision. Many note there's also a connection to the upcoming midterms. Here’s more from both sides.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Biden’s Using the SPR as a Political Tool, Putting the Nation at Risk

Releasing oil from the SPR is a political move that’s somewhat contradictory: but elections must be won.
The nation’s oil supply is at its lowest point in nearly 40 years, and Biden played a role in upending the supply-demand equation.
Biden has abused the SPR for personal gain, and we won’t know true pain until the well runs completely dry.

“The Strategic Petroleum Reserve Is At Its Lowest Level Since 1984” Robert Rapier, Forbes : “On March 31, 2022 — in an attempt to fight higher oil and gasoline prices — President Biden announced the release of one million barrels of crude oil a day for six months from the SPR. I remember when I first heard about it, I thought ‘Wow. That’s a lot.’ … Ultimately, drawing down the SPR was a political decision. Think about it. An administration that has frequently emphasized the importance of reducing carbon emissions is trying to increase oil supplies to bring down rising oil prices — which will in turn help keep demand (and carbon emissions) high. But even though the Biden Administration wants to address rising carbon emissions, high gasoline prices cause incumbents to lose elections. So, they try to tame gasoline prices even though it contradicts one of their key objectives of reducing carbon emissions.”

“Biden’s America Is Running on Empty” Alexander Zemek, Wall Street Journal Opinion: “Less than two years into his presidency, President Biden has released more oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve than all previous presidents combined. … The SPR is at its lowest level since 1984, when US oil consumption was considerably less and the reserve was initially being stocked. Mr. Biden’s rapid depletion of the SPR is a national-security risk. … Also troubling is Mr. Biden’s business with dubious regimes. He sold SPR oil to China and continued importing Russian oil weeks after the Ukraine invasion. He pandered to Saudi Arabia for oil, after promising to make the country a ‘pariah,’ and courted Venezuela in a bid to increase the authoritarian regime’s production. Mr. Biden played a main role in creating this precarious situation with his campaign promise to ‘end fossil fuels’ … with Mr. Biden essentially halting federal oil and gas leases.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Biden’s Political Abuse of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Sen. John Barrasso, National Review Op-ed

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Biden Has Voters and Saudi Arabia on His Mind

Releasing oil from the SPR is a wise political move ahead of the midterms, as many voters are increasingly worried about gas prices and the economy.
There’s a downside to this move because it discourages domestic oil producers from increasing the global supply of oil.
Biden is making the best out of a bad situation after the OPEC+ cartel decided to cut production.

“Biden just took a big swing at lowering gas prices ahead of the midterm elections” Juliana Kaplan, Business Insider : “President Joe Biden is once again stepping in to try and curb soaring gas prices, as Americans feel the pinch of higher prices and turn away from Democrats as the midterm elections approach. … Releasing millions of barrels of oil is an astute political move as economic pressures grow. … The fate of the midterm elections will determine if Democrats can cling to their razor-thin majority, which is far from certain right now. … Should Republicans retake the House, they plan on preserving Trump's tax cuts for the rich and potentially paring down funding for programs like Social Security and Medicare. What remains to be seen is if bringing down gas prices — a persistent concern among Americans, who still live in a heavily car-dependent society — might swing things towards Democrats.”

“Biden’s Barrels of Strategic Reserve Stifle Animal Spirits” David Fickling, Bloomberg Opinion: “The US established its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis as a weapon to be wielded against overseas producers. There’s a problem with that status in 2022: the oil producers most threatened by it these days are in North America itself. … When the White House orders the release of fuel from the SPR, it’s not just blunting the OPEC+ oil weapon — it’s also deterring local producers from pumping more barrels. You can see this change in the Energy Information Administration’s output estimates. Domestic crude producers will average 11.7 million daily barrels of production this year and 12.4 million barrels in 2023… down from estimates of 12 million barrels and 13 million barrels, respectively, in April, when the current releases started. As a result, a significant slice of the 1 million barrel-a-day cushion is being cannibalized by weaker domestic production.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: Dipping into its oil reserves is America’s strongest response to OPEC cuts for now Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz

FLAG THIS

Majority Backed Original SPR Release, but Biden’s Approach Is Questioned

This past spring when President Biden first announced he would begin releasing oil from the SPR, 52% of Americans supported the measure, compared to 29% who were opposed. Nearly 8 in 10 Democrats felt it was the right move, while just over half of Republicans felt it wasn’t (YouGov).

In a separate poll conducted this summer, only 27% of respondents said they approved of President Biden’s approach to gas prices (ABC News/Ipsos).

Do you agree with the decision to release more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Hollywood's Red Scare, Floppy Disc Relics, Fake Town

On October 20, 1947, the notorious Red Scare kicked into high gear in Washington, as a Congressional committee begins investigating Communist influence in one of the world’s richest and most glamorous communities: Hollywood. Above is a photograph including members of the Hollywood Ten and their families, protesting the group's impending incarceration.

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Today I Learned Boeing built an entire fake town on top of their Seattle area factory during WWII.

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