Perhaps you’ve already heard that parts of America can’t get a refill on propane for heating fuel. Such is the case for some people in Florence County, Wisconsin where the temperature will dip to -20 degrees F. on Monday night.

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As noted by Reuters, “Unlike crude oil and natural gas, both of which are now at the center of a national debate over restrictive export rules, LPG and other fuels can be freely shipped abroad.”



Source for Propane Exports graph: Market Realist Dec 30, 2013

The U.S. exported 294,000 barrels a day of propane and propylene in August, or about 735,000 tons, 90% more than a year earlier, Energy Information Administration data show.

Several articles I’ve read today state that initially there was not enough export infrastructure at the Gulf Coast to handle exporting all the new propane that became available after companies began fracking the hell out of Oklahoma, Texas, Pennsylvania, and North Dakota. But where there’s a deregulated will and a rich guy or two, there is a way. The infrastructure to export was built so that cheap U.S. propane could be sold at a higher price elsewhere and the floodgates opened.

The recertification elections were plagued with problems throughout the process. Those who did not vote or could not vote or whose vote did not register, were counted as “no” votes against their local associations. The full extent of the problems is still not known. These included:

* Timing – Despite claiming in October that the elections could not take place if they did not begin by November 11, the WERC began the elections on November 29, the day after Thanksgiving. The process was clearly rushed and took place during the holiday season, an extremely difficult time of year for most local associations to succeed.

* Jammed Phone Lines – Teacher representatives received hundreds of reports that people who attempted to vote encountered busy signals. Many reports detailed multiple attempts to call in over periods of hours. We have no way of knowing how many votes were deterred and lost.

* Voter Rejection – Many dozens of voters reported that when they attempted to vote, they were told their identifying information was incorrect. Almost all reported problems were eventually corrected, but we have no way of knowing how many people were deterred from voting as a result.

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* Deceased Voters – On several occasions, local associations learned of allegedly eligible voters who no longer worked for a school district, were supervisors and not eligible to vote or even had passed away. Since all eligible voters who don’t vote are counted as “no” votes, this is a potentially significant problem.

MADISON, Wisconsin, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Over the past year Wisconsin's Republican governor, Scott Walker, has worked his way down a checklist of items commonly associated with a run at the U.S. presidency. He has written a campaign-themed book and visited Iowa, New Hampshire and other pivotal election-year states. He has stumped for candidates nationwide. He even has criticized conservatives who challenge moderate incumbents, pleasing party elders.

With a growing pre-presidential checklist, it is little wonder Walker is beginning to emerge as a top-tier candidate in a potentially crowded field in 2016. But first, he must win a tough reelection race in 2014, against Democratic businesswoman Mary Burke, his only announced opponent.

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Walker is best known nationally for turning back a recall vote in 2012 after his battle with the state employee unions. His surprisingly strong 53 percent to 46 percent margin against a well-organized union effort won him followers among conservatives nationwide.

The recall campaign also helped Walker build a national fundraising apparatus that could prove helpful in the 2014 election and beyond. He raised $37 million to defeat the recall, a substantial figure for a Wisconsin candidate, and as of last June had $2.26 million cash on hand for his campaign. The figure will be updated on Jan. 31.