It's been a while since I asked, so ....

[JohnnyRingo]

36. We have to protect the oil market.

Unlike some others, I'm not being flippant about this. When the US left the gold standard in the '60s we began backing our cash on the value of a barrel of crude. I'm sure at the time that seemed like a good idea since we were the major player in the energy game, but more and more oil was discovered in the Middle East and the situation changed.

Now known as the Petrodollar, every global purchaser of oil must first convert their currency to the US dollar at the current exchange rate. That is the only form of currency accepted by all oil producing countries. If something happens to the free movement of oil from the countries that produce it, or if a leader or royal family should lose control of said crude, it directly affects the value of every dollar in our pocket in an adverse way

The only country in the world that has a nuclear aircraft carrier force is the United States, not because we have money to burn, but because we're the only country that needs one to project our influence halfway around the world. We're the reason Sheiks and Kings don't need defense factories to protect their fragile reign from fanatics that would like to wrest control of oil production.

I'm not endorsing the policy, but until we can switch to a marijuana based economy or something, it's what we're stuck with. Oops, there's that flippancy.