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12 May 2011 15:29

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Politics: Rep. Joe Barton, the white knight of “b** oil”

  • I don’t think it should be a pejorative. We’ve got this mentality on the liberal side of our political debate: big oil, big insurance, big this, big that.
  • Rep. Joe Barton • Sticking up for big oil (oops!) during a committee hearing today. In all honesty, it’s difficult to take Barton seriously on energy issues, and that’s not just a liberal taking a pot shot at the “R” next to his name. Barton is absolutely soaked in oil cash; if last year’s totals remain true, he’s received more contributions from big oil than any member of the House dating back to 1990, over $1.5 million in that span. That money can buy a lot of loyalty, from apologizing to BP over the gulf spill compensation fund, to trying to turn “big oil” into a slur, something we’ve never thought of as inherently pejorative. Barton also insisted the term wasn’t right, as the largest private oil company, ExxonMobil, is only the fifth largest worldwide, the other four being nationalized. Which makes it unfortunate for Barton that he decried “big oil” instead of “biggest oil.” Oh, and lest you think Joe Barton just hates labels, you know what he hates more? Obamacare! source

28 Apr 2011 11:11

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Biz: ExxonMobil, Shell making a crapload of money off high oil prices

  • 69% quarterly profit increase for ExxonMobil source
  • » And yet you’re paying $4 a gallon for gas: The world’s most iconic oil company scored $10.65 billion in profits for the quarter, which is at least in part due to the fact that oil is currently over $100 a barrel. While the company had other factors in play, other companies are getting same the oil-price bump: Shell, for example, had a 30 percent leap in profits. Maybe we’re crazy here or something, but … isn’t there a point where you hand these profits down to the consumer? You can afford it.

30 Jul 2009 09:56

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Biz: Don’t cry for Exxon Mobil and their huge decrease in profit

  • 66% lower decline in profits for Exxon Mobil in the second quarter
  • $3.95 billion current profit size for the world’s largest company source

19 Apr 2009 21:10

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Biz: The Fortune 500’s top five and how they got to the top

  • one ExxonMobil: Making money off of the world’s addiction to oil, their massive profits were up 19% in 2008.
  • two Wal-Mart: Making money off of the world’s addiction to cheap crap, their profits were up 7% in 2008.
  • three Chevron: People like putting gas in their cars, and indirectly, money in Chevron’s cash-lined pockets.
  • four ConocoPhillips: see all the stuff we just said about ExxonMobil and Chevron, then apply it here.
  • five General Electric: Nobody watches NBC, so we’ll assume it’s because of all the other stuff they make. source