Washington Post Avoids F-Word in Story About Falling Oil Prices

NewsBusters ^ | December 15, 2014 | P.J. Gladnick

[PJ-Comix]

It is the F-word that dares not speak its name at the Washington Post. At least not in the WonkBlog story about plunging oil prices by Chris Mooney. That word is "fracking."

Mooney is notorious for his antipathy towards fracking but his failure to attribute the large increase in U.S. oil production to it is laughable. Here is Mooney noticing that oil prices are going way down but fails to credit it to you-know-what due to his ideology:

[PJ-Comix]

OUT: Peak Oil

IN: FRACKING

[AppyPappy]

Falling oil prices may kill fracking.
One company pulling oil in the US has gone belly up. These fracking companies have a trillion $ debt foundation.

[thackney]

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks PJ-Comix.

[PJ-Comix]

The oil REMAINS in the ground...until the price rises and they can frack again.

[Lorianne]

Fracking = peak junk bonds

[Triple]

OPEC can selectively lower prices to bankrupt competition in start-up phase.

When threat subsides, then they can raise prices again.

Rinse Repeat - keep competition at bay

[Tenacious 1]

One company pulling oil in the US has gone belly up. These fracking companies have a trillion $ debt foundation.

We'll just have to do some government bailouts. Look how well it worked for the auto industry.

[central_va]

I don’t remember ONE story about how high oil and gas prices were hurting the middle class consumer when the price of gas was shooting north of $4.00 .....

[Theoria]

Oil at $300 (Democrat-controlled Congress intends to destroy the middle class)

[central_va]

I meant a story from the Compost.

[mmichaels1970]

OPEC can selectively lower prices to bankrupt competition in start-up phase.

When threat subsides, then they can raise prices again.

I tend to agree. But I'd hold out hope that when the fracking companies are forced to halt production, they throw what resources remain into making extraction even more economical, thereby forcing OPEC to go even lower the next time. Eventually, if you technologically advance far enough, it begins to hurt OPEC more than it hurts you...that's how you win, no?

[RayChuang88]

In the end, the whole idea of peak oil has been "busted," to quote the TV Series Mythbusters.

Between better extraction techniques and the opening of new oil fields all over the world (including the deep oceans), the supply of oil has rocketed through the roof. And that's not including improved methods of coal-to-liquid conversion developed in recent years and the exploitation of methane hydrates, all of which will result in a gigantic spike in the hydrocarbon sources needed to make gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel and heating oil.

[Theoria]

How gas prices are killing the middle class

[central_va]

Thanks, no reader comments on this story. Interesting.

[Paladin2]

"Look how well it worked for the auto industry. "

And for the Bankster Gangsters and AIG....

[MileHi]

PHRACKING!

(oops, can I say that?)

[TheThirdRuffian]

“These fracking companies have a trillion $ debt foundation.”

Not really. Most are independent and free of debt.

Yes, you have AEP with a lot of debt, but most are very solid.

[Doctor DNA]

Would the White House deliberately crash the Stock Market and create financial chaos, just to hurt the country?

What else could he do?

[jacquej]

Are you sure? I thought that many of them were hedging, or getting money from derivatives, and might be way short on what they have borrowed.

But, I really don’t understand any of this stuff, so could be wrong