OPEC Countries expect to Take Home $1.6 TRILLION This Year

That’s right … $1,600,000,000,000 (TRILLION).

I just checked in on CNBC to find out what was happening at the close of the New York Merchantile Exchange (NYMEX) today with the price of crude oil and was struck by this little tidbit.

View the segment of CNBC’s “Street Signs” with this prediction for OPEC:

http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=4d209572-ae65-475a-9bb4-d75e496026e2

I wonder how much of that $1.6 trillion is going to be pulled out of the U.S. economy … along with our trade deficit with China.

Doesn’t it make you wonder how Congress can sit idly around while the country is being drained?

Since Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have effectively said they aren’t going to listen to any of President Bush’s proposals, basically stripping him of most power other than the veto, this fundamentally puts the responsibility of what is happening squarely on their shoulders.

Note in the clip that Goldman Sachs has predicted that crude oil will reach $200 a barrel within two years. Imagine the effect that will have on the U.S. economy. I’m assuming that their prediction is based on Congress continuing to do nothing and may possibly take into account the possibility of the White House and Congress being controlled by Democrats … probably, at a minimum continuing to do nothing or possibly exacerbating the situation by doing the wrong things.

The 50% increase in the cost of living within a year of the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973 will look like a picnic compared to the effect of oil prices increasing 250%  with a concurrent increase in the cost of living between 2007 and 2009.

I wonder how much that will increase the poverty level?

Jeremiah Wright’s Speech at the National Press Club on 4/28/2008, Video Clips

The following video clips represent the entire speech that Jeremiah Wright gave on 4/28/2008 at the National Press Club in Detroit, Michigan as shown on CNN. Each comprises a ten minute segment of the speech followed by the question and answer period and some CNN commentary:

#1: http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=f4de6b30-d7ae-4cc4-96b4-5c254f438d95

#2: http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=1093d189-51ee-494c-ac6d-c8169e2f1624

#3: http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=9871184d-5b72-46c5-ac26-0046f0e61ee5

#4: http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=6001e10c-2d7b-4480-8772-7c663566cb52

#5: http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=bdf391d6-d8e5-4570-891e-527532fe9e1e

#6: http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=89fec36c-d434-43b5-bd05-b25264271936

If any descrepencies are noted in the clips, let me know. Clip #5 is about 7 seconds shorter than the others so I may have missed a little in trying to tie these together.