In this image released by the Saudi Royal Palace, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right, greets President Joe Biden with a fist bump after his arrival at Al-Salam palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Friday, July 15, 2022. (Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP)
Column By Mike Bibb
I thought President Joe told us tapping into our nation’s strategic emergency oil reserve was supposed to help ease sticker shock at the pump, not help China.
Another whopper in a continuing series of whoppers.
According to a Reuters report, on July 6, 2022, more than five million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has gone to Asian and European countries.
The oil is stored in large underground salt caverns in the Gulf Coast region of Louisiana and Texas, to be extracted only in a national emergency.
While Joe has restricted drilling in certain oil-producing areas of the United States, he praises the glories of green energy alternatives, and encourages folks to trade in their gas-powered Chevy’s and Ford’s for electric cars and scooters, but neglected to tell us his plan to draw more oil out of the SPR would also benefit the Chinese Communist Party’s oil stockpiles.
Apparently, this nonsense has been going on for a few months.
In an attempt to find out what the Biden Administration’s motive is in sending our reserve oil to China, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-R) and U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (MI-R), penned a letter in early June to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, inquiring why such a policy is being permitted?
More specifically, how is transferring millions of barrels of SPR oil to China benefiting American consumers?
To date, Sec. Granholm hasn’t responded.
Not being privy to the wheeling and dealing of our nation’s national and international business agreements and treaties, I cannot comment upon the integrity of the pacts, or the integrity of the individuals involved in the contracts.
Previously, I assumed most citizens believed their leaders and officials wouldn’t compromise their positions by telling us something that wasn’t based on fact and truthful reporting.
However, during the COVID hysteria, lockdowns, and continuing open borders fiascos, many of those assumptions were exposed to be predicated upon false information.
Actually, we were intentionally duped. Lied to, if you prefer.
A condescending mainstream media, predominately staffed by woke Democratic sympathizers, kept the Biden bogus narrative going until even they began to figure out ludicrous policies were drastically warping national interests and safety.
Of course, they couldn’t actually come right out and admit their involvement in promoting this orchestrated agenda, instead now saying Joe is too old for the job. His brain is not functioning as well as it was when they were praising his presidential victory over Donald Trump less than two years ago.
Clearly an ultra-rare example of HSDS – Hyper Sudden Dementia Syndrome.
It is believed HSDS is brought on by continued exposure to SWMP-1(a)&Fe-(vr) – aka Swamp Fever – a perennial infectious virus inhabiting the lowlands and government offices of Washington D.C.
When President Joe looks into the camera and informs us he is going to release hundreds of millions of barrels of stored oil, under the pretense of relieving fuel shortages and rising pump prices, most folks probably thought he would actually do what he said.
Up to a point. Unfortunately, as in many deals, the details are spelled out in complex legalese – or not mentioned at all.
To Joe’s credit, I doubt he is singularly responsible for the confusion permeating his administration. He’s assembled a cabinet team and various liberal advisors who share his increasingly socialist political ideologies.
Consequently, it’s no surprise uncertainty and incompetency have become a hallmark of this administration. It’s not just Joe who seems clueless, his entire organization appears disconnected from the real world.
The only difference is Joe’s played the political game for 50 years – about twice as long as some of his associates have been alive.
All of this is happening when inflation is soaring and consumer prices are at a 41-year high. His popularity polls continue to plummet, especially among Hispanics and Blacks, once considered a Democratic rock-solid base.
This latest goof-up is a perfect example. By what logical and rational reasoning would a president of the United States limit our ability to explore and develop our nation’s natural resources as fuel prices are rapidly rising because of declining supplies, at the same time draining our oil reserves and giving a sizeable portion to China?
Then, he flies off to Saudi Arabia to fist-bump the Crown Prince, begging him to pump and sell us more oil to replace the oil Joe is not allowing us to pump from our own domestic sources.
What the #*&% is going on?
There can only be two answers to this riddle: Incredible stupidity or it’s deliberate.
Coincidentally, with continuing revelations from son Hunter Biden’s “Laptop from Hell,” it’s looking like Hunter, Joe, and Joe’s brother Jim were all involved in several nefarious business dealings with multiple governments and national corporations, including a few in China.
It is not unlike Hunter’s association with a Ukrainian natural gas company, in which he was paid tens of thousands of dollars a month to sit on the board of directors. His knowledge of foreign business affairs is about as empty-headed as his natural gas experience.
Hunter’s real claim to fame is his dad was formally vice president of the United States. Now, he’s the president, and Hunter appears to be the conduit, go-between, or bagman for dealings he and his dad may have concocted over the years.
This arrangement is due, as Joe assured us, because Hunter “is the smartest man” he knows.
But fatherly love and admiration can only go so far. President Joe has repeatedly denied he has any knowledge of Hunter’s overseas business affairs in spite of the evidence, witnesses, and videos to the contrary.
As in many questionable deals, it’s always prudent to follow the money. Perhaps a change in Congress this November will reawaken attention to Biden’s “family business.”
Maybe, even the IRS will begin questioning where all the money is coming from and where it’s going. More importantly, is it being dutifully reported as income?
Curiously, the only profitable product and service the Bidens appear to offer is influence and favors. It would be interesting to learn if any of these Chinese agreements involved shipments of oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve and who negotiated the deal?
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author.
