Barack Obama’s Cabinet, who’s next?

Yesterday with the announcement of Bill Richardson to take Carlos Gutierrez’s spot as Commerce Secretary Barack Obama filled another spot in his cabinet. We’ve mentioned who is in. But who’s left? What positions are left that the President Elect has yet to fill?

Agriculture, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Interior, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs.

Now all cabinet positions are nominations and they have to be approved by Congress in order for them to serve in the cabinet.

Considering President-Elect Obama has such high ambitions for getting the United States off of Middle

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America)

Eastern oil the Energy Secretary will play a key role. It seems Dan Reicher has been getting some attention lately. This would be real change, seeing as how many see him as an environmentalist. He has pushed strongly for clean energy and has advised Obama before.

Obama also will need someone who has some respect and pull to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services. If he wants to pass health care reform and start building universal health care he is going to need someone he can trust and who is well known in Washington.

Former Senate Majority Leader

The rumors about are citing Tom Daschle as that person. Recent L.A. Times reports say he has already accepted the position.

Tom Vilsack, again and again and again has been mentioned as a possible nominee to head the Agriculture department. I won’t beat this dead horse anymore.

These seem to be the most pressing cabinet positions considering the President Elect’s positions and ambitions. We can only wait and see, and speculate, about who will be named next to the cabinet of President Obama.

Biden vs. Palin – Vice Presidential Debate

So the debate is over. Let’s start taking it apart peice by piece.

I have fact checks, and highlights.

Did Joe Biden have a gaffe? Surprisingly, no!

It seems that Sarah Palin was the attack dog tonight. She came out swinging when she pointed out that Joe Biden said Barack Obama was not ready to be commander in chief. Again quoting him saying he’d be willing to run with John McCain.

She attacked him when she stated Barack Obama voted against funding for our troops (without a time table) to which Joe counter punched by saying that John McCain himself had voted against funding for our troops. (with a time table) He went on to say John McCain was “dead wrong on the fundamental issues relating to the conduct of the war.”

When asked herself about Iraq she said she was from a team of “mavericks.” She said she along with John McCain were mavericks a lot. Last time I checked, she’s wasn’t a Maverick.

As for gaffes, well Sarah Palin twice referred to the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan as General McClellan. His name is David McKiernan.
It seemed for every punch Sarah Palin threw at the more experienced Joe Biden there was a counter punch which was stronger. Palin said Obama voted to raise taxes 94 times Biden said by that ideology McCain voted “477 times to raise taxes.”

On energy Biden said that in the last 10 years McCain had voted “20 times against funding alternative energy sources and thinks, I guess, the only answer is drill, drill, drill.”

Oil’s Well that Ends Well

President Bush, The Democratic Congress, The Saudis… what do they all have in common?

They’ve all tried to lower gasoline prices, and they’ve all failed… so far. Yes the Saudis are attempting to lower oil prices, why? Well when you think about it, if oil is so expensive no one wants to buy it, then it’s bad for business, I doubt many would lose sleep over the poor Saudis suffering a bit. Well recently they’ve called for talks saying that the current price of oil is unjustified.

The price of oil fell $4.19 to $134.35 today on the NYSE. Now you want to know what that means for you. Not much really unless you process and refine crude oil, you want to know how much gasoline costs. Well the price of gasoline doesn’t directly correlate with the price of oil. It will rise when oil rises, but usually after some time, it will also drop accordingly.

For every 30 dollars that the price of a barrel of oil goes up, add a dollar to the number at the pump. Just know that for the time being the price of gasoline shows no signs of dropping under $4.00 a gallon nationally. I know I personally pay around $4.21 for gasoline here in New York City.

There have even been talks about $5.00 a gallon gasoline soon, they aren’t too far off. In San Diego gas is around $4.50 a gallon, and we all know gasoline prices go up in the winter when most of that crude oil is used for heating.

In the near future we’ll be paying $6-$7 per gallon, so if you own an SUV I really hope you can sell it, or that lease is about to expire. Now is the time to buy a hybrid, to change your driving habits, and to even… dare I say it? Take public transportation, *gasp* even walking *oh no!*

Less than 10 years ago gas was 1.20 a gallon. Gas has passed an average of $4.00 a gallon nationally. You think your wallet is hurting? In the UK they’re paying £1.14 per liter, or $8.56 per gallon. In Norway, they’re shelling out $10.37 per gallon.

If you want some relief head to Turkmenistan which just guaranteed gas, water, electricity, and salt for the citizens of Turkmenistan until 2030.

I’m walking everywhere I can, and if I can’t walk I’ll bike. The MTA is number 3 on the list, followed by the car. What are you doing to save money on gasoline?