Lesson Learned?.....

Local Newspaper assigns titles to "Letter to Editor" as they see it?....

The local newspaper printed my Letter to the Editor regarding the actual profit rates made by the oil\gas industry as compared to other industries. It also provided information on how much is paid to the government each day and it's about $86 million dollars a DAY. Unfortunately the newspaper chose to title the piece "Oil Companies have Consumers over a Barrel" instead of showing true theme of my letter.... Below is the submitted LTE and a link to the comments section online for the piece....

NewsLeader Section

Once again the drumbeat against oil company profits is getting louder with the release of profits and the high cost of gas to the consumers.

But let's get some info out there that you don't see in the attack ads or "targeted" reporting by some of the media outlets.

According to API (American Petroleum Institute) the 2010 earnings of the oil\gas industry was 5.7 percent net income per dollar of sales. Compare this to 21.7 percent for the Beverage\Tobacco industry or 17.3 percent for the Computer equipment companies. In fact the average for All Manufacturing industry is at 8.5 percent ....

Some claim that we need to tax more and\or cut "subsidies" to the evil oil\gas companies but the truth is they pay 41.1 percent income taxes as a share of net income as compared to 26.5 percent of the non-oil S&P industries. They also pay over $86 million every day in rents, royalties, bonuses and income tax to the government.

It seems the ever-hungry government is looking for even more money and the oil\gas industry is a favorite target of many in the government. The truth is affordable and easily available energy is important to our economy and national security and let's not forget the 9.2 million jobs that the industry provides and with that income tax paid by those individuals.

Fortunately Gov. Bob McDonnell understands the importance of developing the numerous energy sources we have here on land as well as the offshore potential of windpower and oil\gas resources.

2010 CEO Compensation... Not what you think !...

The Wall Street Journal has released the 2010 survey of CEO compensation and who are the top guys getting the BIG money for what they do... And to surprise many it's not the "Evil Oil company" CEO that mainstream media love to attack at this time of the year... Out of the Top Ten see if you notice a trend here....

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1. Phil Dauman of Viacom $84 Million+

3. Leslie Moonves of CBS $53.8 Million+

5. Michael White of DirectTV $32.6 Million+

7. Robert Iger of Disney $27.2 Million+

10. Jeff Bewkes of Time Warner $26 Million+

20. Rex Tillerson Of ExxonMobil $21 Million+

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The first "Evil Oil company" CEO that I saw was at the #20 slot with the first 19 spots covered mostly by financial, computer related, and even the Ford CEO (which did not take the bailout money)...

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Notice 5 of the Top Ten CEO's are from media\entertainment companies?

Remember that when you pay your cable bill this month.......

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Karl Rove ~Washington & Lee~

I had the opportunity to go over to Lexington Va, at Washington & Lee to see Karl Rove speak today on the front lawn in front of the chapel and found a large enthusiastic crowd that enjoyed spending one hour plus listening to Rove....

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Very interesting to hear Rove explain\discuss the current situation our country is in and headed towards with the current administration as well as the results of the 2010 election and what to look forward to in the 2012 election cycle.....

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What Trump did, was able to do, willing to do, and those who did nothing, not able to do, or not willing to do...

Obvious that is a ugly title with grammar and all but gets the point out there…

Trump was able to force the Birth certificate issue out there and keep it in the spotlight until President Obama finally had to bring out the hardcopy to limit the damage. Some out there are already questioning the document and look, even if it is found to have been “Made in China” and worthless, we are not going to throw the guy out of office where he has been for 2 ½ years already. The Supreme Court would ignore and delay that case like many of the cases already out there that they do not want to deal with…

The problem I have and have had all along is that our President refused to provide a simple, and required document, to the people that he represents as our leader when the question of authenticity came up…

Just like the guy with the funny hair said many weeks ago, if it’s not a big deal just show us the certificate… Many may feel that Trump is not true presidential candidate material and that may make him all the more valuable. Trump is able to attract the attention and coverage from the mainstream media outlets that others can not get. Competition is great for they have to cover him for fear of him doing something again and their news crew missing the story…

It is like the value of bloggers, the internet, and social networks were people can get facts and the truth out there after the “Campaign Spin” hit’s the local press with its limited facts and targeted agenda… Valuable indeed….

Obama will try to make Big Oil "Profits" a four-letter word...

Candidate to challenge Congressmen Goodlatte....

Andy Schmookler has thrown his hat into the ring and if the 6th District Democratic party agrees he will be running against Congressmen Bob Goodlatte to represent the 6th district of Virginia....
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Do not know this guy but from what I have seen in the papers and Internet over the last few days it appears he is no friend to the Republican party:

BASYE -- "The Republican Party is a destructive force the likes of which America has never seen, according to a local man who has announced his candidacy for Congress."
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He has already come out with some of the classic Dem-Talk-Points, which I guess they believe if you repeat the claim 3 times fast it makes it the truth and all will believe it, this is one they have been using often:

“What we need to close the budget isn’t cutting off programs like Head Start or heating help for the elderly that Republicans are going after. We need to get the economy out of the hole,” Schmookler said.
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Schmookler has come out with statements attacking both sides of the political spectrum in the 6th and with the political demographics it will be interesting to see the direction his campaign will take over the year or so....

Both major parties – Republican and Democrat – are part and parcel to the problem. The GOP, to Schmookler, is a “destructive force,” while “Democrats have let us down because they have been wimps in terms of standing up and defending.”

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With Schmookler being new to the process he will have to tailor his campaign to gain the most votes in the end. As with several recently announced Candidates in the local area, it will be interesting to discover and watch the campaigns "Progress" and change as issues, interviews, debates, and history of the candidates becomes available to the voters....

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"Beware of the Spin"...





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2011 Shad Planking....

The "Planking of the Shad" event for 2011 had a smaller attendance than many in the past but those who came out enjoyed nice weather and good conversation. Shad Plank 2010 had rain and a somewhat larger crowd with numerous familiar display tents missing this year but the 2011 shad event was still enjoyable...

Governor Bob McDonnell, Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, and Senate Candidate George Allen were in attendance and Governor McDonnell was the guest speaker...

Shad Planking speeches tend to be less serious and a opportunity for the speaker to take the familiar "Jabs" towards opposing political parties, their Representatives, Candidates, and of course the Shad itself....

Governor McDonnell spoke for about 15 minutes and had some good lines that got the applause he was looking for from the crowd. I particularly liked the one about the practice of cooking the Shad over the open fire pit and how it was fortunate that the EPA was not aware of the event and what was being done to the Shad. For the true name of the EPA is "Employment Prevention Agency" which is so true if you look at the history of this agency.....

Governor McDonnell took the usually opportunity to talk about the actual Shad fish and stated that he wished the members of the U.S. Congress had as much backbone as the Shad "This country would not be in such a mess"..... Oh, so true......

He also talked about how when he became elected as Governor of the State of Virginia he moved into the house that both former Governors Tim Kaine and George Allen once lived in and left items behind. It appears George Allen left a autographed football signed by himself and Tim Kaine left a $2 Billion tax hike when he left office.... Both items have been removed by the present Gov.....

Former VA Governor and now Senate candidate George Allen....

Virginia Tea Party tent...

The Tea Party has become a valuable asset for it keeps pressure on both parties and their representatives to address and make the necessary changes that are needed in government. It has become the voice of the people that the "Inner Beltway" representatives have learned to ignore in the past and now listen to for the numbers have grown, organized, and are now LOUD enough to get attention.....

Ben Marchi

Unfortunately one of the familiar tents that I missed from not being there was the Virginia Energy Independence Alliance tent which I have visited in the past and have enjoyed the conversation and information they provided...
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This year I found the "Va4wind" booth which is a organization of several environmental groups including the Sierra Club who's representative was manning the tent when I got there. I was encouraged and interested in seeing the support of Wind farms off of the Virginia coast but was disappointed when I found the main effort being made was to get people to sign a petition urging Dominion Power to develop, construct, and maintain the desired wind farm project. Seems I recall the Sierra Club jumping ugly with Dominion Power in the past?....

Also found after a little research that the Sierra Club had a year ending revenue (2008) of $56,313,595 and that maybe they can throw a little bit of this towards the development of wind farms instead of petitioning the "Evil Energy Companies"...

I stopped back at this booth several times to join in and listen to the conversations regarding placing wind farms off the Virginia coast and there were numerous good points made by those stopping by the booth. I left once the Sierra Club representative mentioned how disappointed she was in President Obama but she was still going to support him in the future...

Did I mention gasoline prices were $3.89 for regular in the Wakefield area?.....
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Virginia Lt. Governor Bill Bolling...

Senator Mark Warner...

It was actually good to see one of our U.S. Senators from the Democratic party at the 63rd Shad Planking. It was asked and pointed out many times how former DNC Chairman and now Senate candidate Tim Kaine was not at or represented at the Shad Planking. No signs. No people. Nothing.

Being the former Governor of Virginia and the history of the Shad Planking over the years you would think it would have made it onto the "To Do List" for somebody campaigning in Virginia?....

All together it was a good event and it is also beneficial to see who is out there running for what. A great opportunity to meet and talk with those of familiar and same opinions and beliefs as well as to speak with those of opposing opinions and beliefs.
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Also a great opportunity to get out there and talk with familiar people from the past and to catch up on what is going on in Virginia politics now and on the horizon. Informal gatherings such as the Shad Planking provides a valuable opportunity to catch up on current events, talk "politics", and to provide truth and facts regarding the "Spin" that is out there and surly to come in the upcoming campaign season....

(Such as)

"Spin"

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Where is your Tax Money headed?.....

The Tax Man hit us all yesterday, well those of us who pay Federal taxes after deductions and the likes, and it is reported that Washington will spend $32,137 per household as shown in the attached article....

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Of that $32,137....

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Social Security\Medicare $10,458

National Defense $6,645

Anti-poverty programs $5,374

Interest on Federal debt.. $1,739

Veteran's benefits $1,190

Unemployment benefits $1,135

Education $698

Health Research\regulation $552

Highways\transportation $522

Justice administration $510

Numerous other federal programs $3,494

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