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Weather: Partly sunny. A chance of rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 80s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent. Monday Night: Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 60s. Chance of rain 50 percent.
See the daily weather briefing from the National Weather Service in Jacksonville here. See the drought conditions here. (What is the Keetch-Byram drought index?). Check today’s tides in Flagler Beach here. Check tropical cyclone activity here, and even more details here.
Today at a Glance:
The Flagler County Library Board of Trustees meets at 4:30 p.m. at the Flagler County Public Library, 2500 Palm Coast Pkwy NW, Palm Coast. The meeting of the seven-member board is open to the public.
The Bunnell City Commission meets at 7 p.m. at the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell, where the City Commission is holding its meetings until it is able to occupy its own City Hall on Commerce Parkway likely in early 2025. The commission will recognize several of its law enforcement officers for various milestones and achievements. To access meeting agendas, materials and minutes, go here.
Vivian Richardson: Vivian Richardson, 83 died on May 6. Richardson served as president of African American Cultural Society (AACS), was a former first and second Vice Presidents, and Chairman of the Board of Directors. She ran for Palm Coast City Council in 2007, losing to Holsey Moorman. A viewing and reflections will be held today from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at First Church, the Rev. Gillard S. Glover, 91 Old Kings Road North, Palm Coast. A second viewing will take place Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 4600 Belle Terre Parkway, Palm Coast. It will follow with a funeral mass from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. A repass will be held at the African American Cultural Society 4422 US Highway 1 Palm Coast Florida 32164 Tuesday May 14, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Nar-Anon Family Groups offers hope and help for families and friends of addicts through a 12-step program, 6 p.m. at St. Mark by the Sea Lutheran Church, 303 Palm Coast Pkwy NE, Palm Coast, Fellowship Hall Entrance. See the website, www.nar-anon.org, or call (800) 477-6291. Find virtual meetings here.
Notably: The front page of the New York Times on Nov. 21, 1934, carried this headline: “Gen. Butler Bares ‘Fascist Plot’ To Seize Government By Force.” Amazingly, it was not the lead story. It wasn’t even in second lead. Stories about a city tax and an arms control proposal took those spots. But there was nothing secondary about the plot, which had a few proleptic similarities with our own January 6: the plot, led by “Wall Street interests” no less, would have been cloaked in a march on Washington of 500,000 ex-soldiers, a private army, some of whom (naturally) seeing General Douglas MacArthur as an “alternate head of the Fascist army” if a different general did not accept. The different general was Butler, who spilled the plot to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (that already-existing shard of fascism in our government). The plotters denied it all. Meanwhile Sinclaire Lewis was busy working on It Can’t Happen Here (it would be published 11 months later). But four months earlier Nathanael West had published A Cool Million, the lesser known novel similarly themed, but as a Voltairean satire: The American Leather Shirts, a fascist organization, wants to take over the country and does so by abusing the memory of a Lemuel Pitkin, exploited in life and death, and–this will make you not smile–with Shagpoke Whipple, a former president, rising to dictatorship. “As parody it is almost perfect,” the Times reviewer called it. Ninety years later, we cannot call it parody.
—P.T.
Now this: “A Semantic Analysis of Nathanael West’s ‘A Cool Million'”
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The Live Calendar is a compendium of local and regional political, civic and cultural events. You can input your own calendar events directly onto the site as you wish them to appear (pending approval of course). To include your event in the Live Calendar, please fill out this form.
Nar-Anon Family Group
Flagler County Beekeepers Association Meeting
Rotary’s Fantasy Lights Festival in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Bunnell City Commission Meeting
Palm Coast City Council Workshop
Book Dragons, the Kids’ Book Club, at Flagler Beach Public Library
NAACP Flagler Branch General Membership Meeting
Rotary’s Fantasy Lights Festival in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Random Acts of Insanity Standup Comedy
For the full calendar, go here.
He had been warned and had taken to his heels. Feeling that they ought to hang somebody, the crowd put a rope around Jake Raven’s neck because of his dark complexion. They then fired the building. Another section of Shagpoke’s audience, made up mostly of older men, had somehow gotten the impression that the South had again seceded from the Union. Perhaps this had come about through their hearing Shagpoke mention the names of Jubal Early, Francis Marion and Jefferson Davis. They ran up the Confederate flag on the courthouse pole, and prepared to die in its defense. Other, more practical-minded citizens, proceeded to rob the bank and loot the principal stores, and to free all their relatives who had the misfortune to be in jail. As time went on, the riot grew more general in character. Barricades were thrown up in the streets. The heads of negroes were paraded on poles. A Jewish drummer was nailed to the door of his hotel room. The housekeeper of the local Catholic priest was raped.
–From Nathanael West’s A Cool Million (1934).
Ray W. says
I have to wonder. Was the memory of the 25-year-long age of political violence between 1890 and 1915, the chaotic era that spread across Western Europe and America, still fresh in West’s mind as he wrote? Did the bombings of institutional buildings, of opposition newspaper offices, inform his words? Did the assassinations of judges, prosecutors, editors, government officials reverberate in his soul?
Does only academia today understand what effect campaign-prompted threats of “crushing vermin”, of “slitting throats”, of asking when will it be time to “behead Democrats”, of telling followers to “strap on Glocks” before voting, of instructing the disaffected to become vigilantes by throwing protesters off bridges, can have on a disintegrating social order? Or do the leaders of one of our two political parties know exactly what they are doing? That theirs is a strategy, one planned, refined, and implemented, spanning decades? That if it takes more decades, they can wait, because their cause is their idea of justice? That the goal is to destroy our experiment in a liberal democratic Constitutional republic, via mis- and disinformation, vengeance hidden under the guise of saving Americans from moral destruction?
Can just about anything be justified when enough people confuse vengeance with justice?
Laurel says
Ray W.: This is more like an addiction, where no amount of logic or reality is sinking in for some. There has to be a brain change. Recently, while on the phone, my husband asked a close person, person #1, a simple question without any preface: “Why do you like Trump?” Person #2, who was in the same room as #1, not a part of the conversation, but overheard the question, went off and started yelling! This person became enraged and starting ranting blaming Pelosi for the insurrection, and an assortment of other misinformation claims, that he had to run outside to attempt to calm down! WTF? What is normal about that? Person #1 stated “Now you’ve set him off!” No, he set himself off, over a very simple question he was not asked.
To me, this is a lack of logical, cognitive ability that is promoted by such outlets as Fox, Newsmax and social media. This is why many believe MAGA is very much a cult.
Yes, I believe this is presented by far right think tanks.
Sherry says
Dear Laurel,
Your story is incredibly powerful, scary, and worrisome!
Along those same lines, over the weekend, at two completely different events with different friends, we heard two truly heartbreaking stories. To be very brief, both stories had in common the traumatic and bewildering loss of extremely close, dear, lifelong friends and relatives to what was termed “the dark side”, “the cult”, “insanity”.
The stories had pleas for such things as “family counseling”, “looking up facts together”, “talking to a doctor about vaccines”, and “talking to a minister”. . . all to no avail. The trauma described to us included unwarranted anger and shouting, along with irrational thought processes and passionate defense of disproven “conspiracy theories”. “ALL” revolving around those lost to extreme right winged propaganda/misinformation/disinformation blasted out 24/7! The common “news” source was Fox. . . with Newsmax and some podcasts sprinkled in.
It’s as if 30% of our citizens have become somehow “possessed”. . . and, it’s spreading globally. Along with that, we heard a story of confederate flags being flown on the North island of New Zealand. My friend in the UK says those who wanted Britain to exit the EU are trump sympathizers because they want to keep England “white”.
I agree with you that this change in the emotional wellbeing and logical thinking ability of too many of our fellow citizen goes way beyond political theater, beyond reason, beyond anything I have experienced in my lifetime. In my opinion, there seems to be no other way of describing it except as a cult. A “Cult” that is at active war with the very fiber of the moral structures our civilization was built on.
When so many are willing to vote, for President, a person who has already been found “guilty”, in our courts of law, of sexual abuse and fraud. . . our society/democracy/nation is in very deep trouble! Today!
Pogo says
@Notably “…Ninety years later, we cannot call it parody. ”
Nor is it a part of the past:
As stated
https://www.google.com/search?q=project+2025
As stated
https://manhattan.institute/projects
Pogo says
@Ray W.
Thank you.
Is it possible that the best answer to your closing question is, I don’t know?
“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so. “
– Mark Twain
Ray W. says
Is it equally so that the phrase, “I don’t know”, can be the mother of invention?
Pogo says
@Ray w.
Amen.
Act 2 is being readied, and with the perpetrators’ benefiting from hindsight, unlimited resources, and paired with the conscience of a sociopath — truly frightening:
https://www.google.com/search?q=kelleyanne+conway+alternative+facts
Additionally, a very small sample of what has already happened before
As stated
https://www.google.com/search?q=chronology+trump+press+secretary
As stated
https://www.google.com/search?q=chronology+trump+cabinet
As stated
https://www.google.com/search?q=chronology+trump+inspector+general+firing
Ray W. says
Well, Laurel, I hope I don’t send anyone screaming out of a house into a yard with my reply to you.
I owe all FlaglerLive readers an apology. For three years now, I have consistently argued that OPEC+ is responsible for the rise in energy prices, alongside Russia, including the high gasoline and diesel prices right here in Flagler County. ‘
More recently, I argued that American energy companies had not participated in OPECs voluntary production cuts. Therefore, American energy companies should not be blamed for taking advantage of a worldwide shortage of crude oil; they were, therefore, entitled to their profits, no matter how obscene.
Imagine my surprise Sunday afternoon when I found out I had probably been wrong all that time.
I read a Wall Street Journal article. The editor had approved a headline stating it really wasn’t all that bad for an American oil company to collude with OPEC. The author/reporter referenced an early May Federal Trade Commission action that had found that the CEO one of the larger American shale oil producers had colluded with OPEC to keep domestic oil prices high for profit. As I read more and more of the article, I formed the sense that the Journal was publishing a “puff piece”, that things weren’t adding up to my way of thinking.
As I commonly do, I decided to fact check the source, in this case the Journal.
Scott Sheffield, the CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, was the subject of the FTC action. The Journal’s reporter accurately relayed that much. So, I started with Mr. Sheffield. What wasn’t told to Journal readers was that the FTC had, concurrent with its findings, also referred Sheffield’s case to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution for collusion. How could the Journal miss that fact? How could a potential criminal prosecution of a major shale oil company CEO be characterized as really not all that bad?
Digging further, I found a January 2024 federal civil action that was filed against eight (not just one) major American shale oil companies, alleging that all eight of them had colluded with OPEC+, starting with their preliminary informal meetings in 2017, and gaining consensus toward an ultimate goal of restricting American crude oil production, which was implemented in February 2021.
I read most of the 76-page complaint (I skimmed a few pages). If what is claimed is true, Americans have been gouged out of billions of dollars due to collusion between OPEC and the eight major American shale oil producers. How the Journal missed the possibility of there being eight CEOs, not just one, colluding with OPEC is beyond my understanding? If they knew, would the editor still approve a headline proclaiming that it still was not bad?
The good news for FlaglerLive readers is that the plaintiff’s asked the court to find that their action meets the statutory definition of a class action suit. The original plaintiffs seek damages from the eight American shale oil producers, i.e., they want to be reimbursed for the extra money they spent for gasoline and diesel fuel over the last three years due to the collusion. While not every state was named in the suit, Florida is. If I understand class action law accurately, if the trial judge grants class action status to Florida residents, perhaps some FlaglerLive readers can join the suit and seek reimbursement for their own damages.
Perhaps JimboXYZ and Dennis C. Rathsam could join as plaintiffs. Of course, if they did join the action, they would have to risk being sworn under oath should the case have to be tried instead of settled. They would have to abandon their claims that the Biden administration is responsible for the rise in Flagler County gas prices, else they lose their claim for damages against the energy companies. What a delicious irony that would be! Inflation due to colluding oil companies cannot also be due to the Biden administration at the same time. High gas prices due to colluding oil companies cannot also be due to the Biden administration at the same time.
The chronology outlined in the complaint details multiple meetings between OPEC leaders and American shale oil company executives, beginning in 2017. From here on out, if I already kn0w an industry fact, I will say so. Otherwise, the facts below come from the text of the complaint.
For context, the plaintiffs allege, it is important to list the background of the American oil industry.
For the first 45 years of OPEC, American shale oil companies were niche players in the overall industry. Technological limitations kept shale wells from consistent inexpensive production. The major players were those that looked for large, pooled deposits of oil. This type of exploration was expensive and time consuming. It commonly took years to find and develop such large reservoirs of pooled oil. Shale oil is not pooled. The slow response rate of American oil companies meant that OPEC had the upper hand in manipulating international crude oil prices.
According to the complaint, three technological factors emerged at around the same time that changed forever the imbalance between OPEC and American oil producers. Improvements in horizontal drilling technologies meant that new efficiencies in shale oil extraction brought down the cost of producing oil. Improvements in 3-D seismic imaging technology meant that shale oil deposits could be more easily located and gauged for quantity, meaning fewer wasted drills and more productive wells. If you can predict where to most efficiently drill, costs of extraction go down. Improvements in chemical compounds used in fracking meant that a single hydraulic shock would release greater amounts of oil for extraction. These three concurring breakthroughs led to a rapid growth in fracking efficiencies. From 2008 to 2014, American shale oil companies drilled for so much oil that industry observers began calling it the “Shale Revolution.” What used to take years for companies to ramp up production became a few months.
OPEC, now facing a rapid response by American oil companies whenever OPEC tried to manipulate oil prices, started a price war to force American oil companies out of business; they flooded the international market with cheap oil. OPEC, primarily through Saudi Arabia, still held one important advantage. Even I know that Saudi Arabia does not have to frack for oil. Its oil is easily pumped out, because it is pooled. From my own reading, I know that it costs on average about $8 per barrel to extract a barrel of Saudi oil. Even with advances today, I know that the average cost of extracting American fracked oil is just over $25 per barrel. Ten years ago, in the early fracking years, the average cost was well over $50 per barrel.
The OPEC price war drove international crude oil prices below $30 per barrel for a brief time. That was when I purchased gasoline at BJ’s for $1.49.9 per gallon, though only once. The price went up a few pennies, but it stayed below $1.60 per gallon for some time.
A number of American shale oil companies failed. Some merged with other companies. Others sold off their assets and ceased operations. The price war hurt every company. But it hurt OPEC, too. OPEC decided to switch tactics. First, it invited ten nations to join as non-voting members. OPEC became OPEC+. Second, OPEC invited for the first time American shale oil company executives to meet with them.
In February 2017, after the first meeting, it was announced that oil inventories were to be limited to “better balance” markets. On its own, this was a small but important step. Another report detailing the results of the meeting was that during that initial meeting, “OPEC told U.S. shale producers that they (OPEC) would not maintain high oil prices if shale producers kept adding production to take advantage.” In other words, OPEC officials warned American shale oil executives to stop riding OPEC’s coattails. OPEC said if shale oil producers kept profiting off OPEC price manipulations, OPEC would start another price war.
At the next meeting, in February 2018, the lead OPEC representative said that the meeting was to “further explore the mechanics of achieving our common objective.” After the meeting, OPEC Secretary General Barkindo openly stated during a panel discussion that included Hess Oil CEO John Hess: “We have to continue to collaborate. It’s one industry. It’s a global industry and I think our colleagues in the U.S. are on the same page with us and we will work together to exchange views.”
In July 2020, OPEC’s Secretary General said: “Everybody has a role to play. We are very much appreciative of the support and cooperation we are getting from the U.S., both at the level of policymakers as well as from industry.” This comment really caught my attention. Was the Secretary General saying that U.S. policymakers, meaning the Trump administration, were colluding with OPEC? It can be read that way, but there is more than one inference that can be drawn from that statement.
On November 23, 2020, one of the major American shale oil company CEOs said: “We don’t want to put OPEC in a situation where they feel threatened, like we’re taking market share while they’re propping up oil prices.” This, too, can be taken two ways, because economies around the world were emerging from the pandemic, a time when crude oil prices actually went negative for a short time. But it also can be inferred that American shale oil producers had reached an agreement not to interfere with OPEC’s future efforts to raise crude oil prices.
At around the same time that OPEC announced its 6 million barrel per day production cut, with Saudi Arabia voluntarily cutting another one million barrels per day, several American shale oil executives stated that major American shale oil producers would not raise production.
In June 2021, Scott Sheffield spoke of his confidence that U.S. shale producers “will not respond” to high crude oil prices by increasing production; they would instead focus on shareholder profits.
On October 3, 2021, Scott Sheffield said Pioneer Resources would not try to curb soaring oil prices, stating that his company would cap any increase in oil production at 5% for the year, regardless of price. “[E]verybody’s going to be disciplined, regardless whether it’s $75 Brent, $80 Brent, $100 Brent.”
During the 2021-2022 year of scarce OPEC oil, a minor American shale oil company, Tall City Exploration, responded to the higher crude oil prices by tripling its production. The major shale oil producers all limited production gains to no more than 5%.
In February 2022, Scott Sheffield commented that U.S. oil independents were “staying in line.” Crude oil prices were steadily rising, peaking at over $120 per barrel in June 2022. Sheffield went on to add: “Whether its $150 oil, $200 oil, or $100 oil, we’re not going to change our growth plans.”
At the time of Sheffield’s comments, Russia was in the final preparations for war. Other American shale oil company executives said that they intended growth discipline, that 5% growth was the target, that the goal was “returning capital to investors.”
In March 2023, two dozen oil executives met with the president-elect of OPEC “to reaffirm their mutual commitment to withholding production, ‘despite record profits.'”
On April 3, 2023, Bloomberg News reported that U.S. shale oil companies would not increase production, would not “rescue” U.S. consumers from high gas prices, despite record profits and abundant cash reserves. One industry expert was quoted: “OPEC and shale are very much on the same team now, with supply discipline on both sides.”
Bill C says
The WSJ is a division of Dow Jones, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The Murdochs also control Fox News.
Sherry says
Thanks so much, Bill, for pointing out that the Wall Street Journal has a Murdoch ownership and is known to lean conservative in its spin.
Laurel says
Well, Trump (Putin’s useful idiot) did literally do a dance with the Saudis, swords and all, and Jared Kushner got $2billion dollars from them as an “investment,” which he received immediately upon leaving the White House as “Senior Presidential Advisor.” He and Ivonka (another “Senior Presidential Advisor”) are living quite lavishly, in their newly built mansion, on one of Miami’s exclusive islands.
For some odd reason, Fox Entertainment, et al, do not seem to mention these facts to their loyal audience. Huh. Should I be the one running out the door screaming?