Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less

Discussion in 'Politics' started by Yannis, Jun 19, 2008.

  1. Yannis

    Yannis

    IMAO: Act Now!!

    :) :) :)
     
    #51     Jun 30, 2008
  2. Yannis

    Yannis

    Democrat Plan: "Drive Less, Pay More" ...

    From Townhall.com

    "“Drive less, pay more,” Michele Bachmann, a first-term Congresswoman from Minnesota, said yesterday in describing the Democratic philosophy on the energy crisis. Bachmann, who hosted a energy crisis interview last week about how the Republicans would manage the energy crisis, used the phrase repeatedly again yesterday in describing the Democrat’s unsuccessful plans to handle the issue of $4 a gallon gasoline that has affected millions of Americans from coast to coast.

    Joined by GOP colleagues Congressman Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan, Congressman John Peterson of Pennsylvania, Congressman John Shimkus of Illionois and House Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri, Bachmann criticized the Democrats’ proposed energy plans.

    Congressman John Shimkus began his remarks about the Democratic plans by stating that “[T]he basic thing to say about it [the Democratic energy package] is just there is not a drop of supply in any of these three pieces of legislation.” (It should be noted that the Democrats have not yet released all of their energy plans thus far.) The released Democratic energy plans, which contain bills to prevent price gauging by oil companies and to force oil companies to either use or lose their currently-held federal leases for drilling before buying more properties, were criticized in the meeting for not addressing the basic concept of supply and demand.

    The bills themselves do not address the issue of the United States using more of its own domestic oil supplies to react to the current energy crisis. Many Republicans support the idea of more offshore drilling and allowing more domestic production of oil but many Democrats have spoken out against the idea reasons ranging from the environmental impact of such drilling to the timeliness of this solution. Democrats have argued that even if more drilling was allowed, the benefits would not be seen for several years.

    However, with the Democratic plans being pushed forward and more such Democaratic policies, McCotter stated that we will return to the days of the 1970’s, when Jimmy Carter was in the White House and another major energy crisis was in the headlines. In such a scenerio akin to what happened in the late 70's, McCotter argued, “[W]e are going to be sitting around in a bunch of sweaters hanging out by the thermostat hoping for the best and the big government bureaucrat over your shoulder telling you why you are destroying the earth.”

    Shimkus, when talking about how Republicans have continued to support adding to the limited supply of oil currently on the market summed up the situation and differences between the two parties in the energy crisis simply, by saying: “They are wrong, we are right, and the American people are with us.”"
     
    #52     Jun 30, 2008
  3. Yannis

    Yannis

    Special July 4th Edition: Remembering What Happened the Last Time The Governing Elites Ignored an American Declaration of Independence

    By Newt Gingrich

    Something is happening in America as this July 4th approaches.

    On the internet, they call it "going viral" when a video or an article begins to spread rapidly and widely with no promotion, just through the strength of its timing and message.

    This Fourth of July week, the idea that Congress is failing the American people when it comes to high energy costs - the idea that America can and should produce more of our energy needs - and the idea that there will be political consequences for the elected officials who ignore this sentiment - all these ideas are going viral.

    An Explosion of Interest on the Internet

    Consider this:

    In just two hours last Friday, an amazing 15,000 people watched this video on YouTube in which I discuss three ways Congress could act now to lower the price of gas. As of today, over 1 million people have viewed the video.

    Over 1.2 million Americans have now signed American Solutions' "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" petition calling on Congress to act immediately to lower gas and diesel prices and help achieve energy independence.

    American Solutions' new video on YouTube, "Energy Independence Day" was posted just yesterday and has already been viewed hundreds of times.

    And here's something that just crossed my desk. John Bredeson is a trucker who is sick and tired of higher and higher diesel prices but little action from Congress. So he's turned his trucks into moving billboards to encourage real change in our energy policy, including a massive "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" logo! Watch the video here.

    Our Chance to Make This Friday Energy Independence Day

    The challenge now - our challenge - is to take this spontaneous outpouring of energy and concern and translate it into action in Washington.

    So I'm calling on everyone one last time to act now, while there's still time. Call or email your representative or senators and let them know what's happening online.

    If they're coming home for the Fourth of July holiday, catch up with them in person at a parade or a backyard barbecue and ask them why they aren't taking these three simple steps to lower gas prices.

    Ask them if they know the facts about offshore drilling, America's vast reserves of shale oil, and how opening up new areas to environmentally safe drilling would have an immediate impact on gas prices.

    We All Know What Happened the Last Time an American Declaration of Independence Was Ignored...
    However you're most comfortable doing it, make sure you deliver this message: This 4th of July isn't business as usual. Not this time. Not this year.

    This Independence Day the American people are declaring our independence from high energy prices, from foreign dictators, and from pathetic excuses for inaction in Washington.

    This 4th of July we're declaring our energy independence.

    And we all know what happened to the last ruling elite that ignored an American declaration of independence...

    Congressman Delahunt Should Apologize or Face Expulsion from Congress

    By far and away the most sour note struck this Independence Day holiday was the outrageously irresponsible and un-American comments made by Congressman William Delahunt (D-Mass.) to vice presidential chief of staff David Addington in a hearing last week.

    Rep. Delahunt repeatedly asked Mr. Addington about the use of waterboarding when interrogating enemy combatants. Mr. Addington replied that he could not discuss interrogation techniques because, as he said, "al Qaeda may watch C-SPAN."

    "Right," Delahunt responded. "Well, I'm sure they are watching, and I'm glad they finally have the chance to see you, Mr. Addington." View this disgraceful exchange for yourself here.
    http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=-j2uvxsCU_M

    For his unconscionable expression of pleasure at the prospect of murderous al Qaeda being able to identify an American public servant, Rep. Delahunt, in the very least, owes Mr. Addington an apology. If he refuses to apologize, his colleagues in Congress should move to expel him. There is no place in Congress for a pro-al Qaeda, anti-American public official.

    Watch My Rediscovering God in America Speech This Sunday

    On Sunday I had the pleasure of speaking to 6,000 people in two services at First Baptist Church Atlanta, where Dr. Charles Stanley is the senior pastor.

    I spoke about a two-fold threat to our civilization - one from within and one from without.

    The first threat is from the radical secular left who have been engaged in a sustained and systematic effort to remove God from the public square. These revisionists seek to redefine America by changing our very history, blocking the replacement generation - students - from learning about our Godly heritage. They have been winning, and America has been losing. We are losing our unique sense of who were are as a people by losing the centrality of God in our history.

    The second threat is from the irreconcilable wing of Islam which seeks to destroy and replace Western Civilization with its radical doctrines that oppress and subvert freedom.

    I was grateful to Dr. Stanley, who said about Rediscovering God in America, "No child or grandchild should be without this book" and that "arguing with this book is like arguing with stone." You can buy the book and DVD at the Newt.org store.

    My remarks will broadcast nationwide this coming Sunday on the Charles Stanley Ministries. You can check here to find a local station.

    Show Rediscovering God in America at your church

    We received an overwhelming response to the announcement last week that churches and community organizations can show my video, "Rediscovering God in America," for their congregations and interested members.

    If you're interested, just visit here to learn how.
    http://newt.org/EditNewt/ContactforviewingRediscoveringGodinAmerica/tabid/285/Default.aspx

    Finally, Thanks to the Men and Women Keeping Us Safe This Independence Day...

    I want to close today by thanking all the men and women who are sacrificing to keep us safe this 4th of July, and the families and loved ones who are sacrificing with them.

    Watching this video last weekend reminded me of how great the distance is between our troops serving overseas and the families at home who love them, miss them and worry about them.

    My father served in the infantry for 27 years so I know a little bit about what some of these families are going through.

    And I know that I speak for all of us when I say that this 4th of July, the men and women of the military, our diplomatic corps, our intelligence services, border patrol, drug enforcement, FBI and local police and fire departments are in our prayers - and so too are their families.

    May they and all Americans have a safe and happy Independence Day.

    Your friend,

    Newt Gingrich

    P.S. Obama Kills Thirty Years of Campaign Finance Failure: Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's refusal to limit his campaign spending in order to accept public financing in the general election - after promising to do so at the outset of his campaign - is the death knell of so-called campaign finance reform like the McCain-Feingold law. No further proof is needed that government limits on political speech have been a fiasco and a failure. Congress should replace McCain-Feingold with a simple system of unlimited personal after-tax contributions with real time reporting on the internet.

    P.P.S. Three YouTube Videos With Over One Million Viewers: Speaking of YouTube videos, there are now three videos of me on YouTube that have attracted more then one million viewers each. I'm both flattered by the interest and grateful they've garnered more views than my infamous Ali G interview.

    "Three Steps To Lower Gas Prices" has had over 1 million views.
    http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=UOpcPfAarjY

    "FedEx Versus Government Bureaucracy" - about moving government from the world that fails to the world that works - has had almost 1.5 million views.
    http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=15D3ElV1Jzw

    "I'm Deeply Worried" - about the threat of an American city being destroyed by terrorism - has had over 1 million views.
    http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=sZiw3qVdFzw
     
    #53     Jul 1, 2008
  4. Yannis

    Yannis

    McCain: Pump This!

    by Ann Coulter

    "Well, I guess we're all pretty relieved we didn't drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge back in 2002. What a disaster that would have been.

    The vote on ANWR was almost entirely along partisan lines, with all Republicans, except a handful of "moderates," voting for drilling, and all Democrats, except a handful of sane Democrats like Zell Miller, voting against drilling.

    John McCain opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because he polled soccer moms and found out they were against drilling. They thought it sounded too much like going to the dentist. McCain wanted to ensure that he remained beloved by the two pillars of his base: "centrists" and New York Times reporters.

    Even Sen. Chuck Hagel voted for drilling in ANWR. But John McCain, "our" candidate, voted against it.

    I guess we're beginning to see the problem of basing a political platform on the passing fancies of "centrists." These are people who have no opinions because they know nothing about national issues. They're the ones who check the "not sure/no opinion" box on polls regarding the legalization of cannibalism.

    You can't blame them: They're not being paid to know something about national issues. Those people we call "senators" and "representatives."

    But now, astronomical gas prices have forced even soccer moms to spend 10 minutes looking at a problem that their leaders were supposed to be thinking about for years. And the soccer moms are saying: Drill! Drill! Drill! Bobby, come down off of there! Stop hitting your sister! Where was I? Oh, yeah ... Drill! Drill! Drill!

    Consequently, McCain recently switched his position to go along with the centrists. See, that's the downside of having chosen all your political positions by polling centrists: The moment they acquire any knowledge, they'll realize you're an idiot.

    It's always the same argument. Year after year, the "moderate Republicans" so respected at The New York Times harangue us to dump the Christians, the conservatives, the Swift Boat Veterans, the "right-wing extremists," the gun-and-God clingers and the fanatical pro-lifers from our party so we can repel every American who voted for Ronald Reagan in order to win the votes of people like Christine Todd Whitman.

    Yes, by all means let's clear out all that deadwood and pave the way for a 49-state landslide! (For the Democrats.)

    McCain followed the Times' strategy to a T. He called Jerry Falwell an "agent of intolerance." He called the Swift Boat Veterans "dishonest and dishonorable." He has denounced every Christian minister who tries to endorse him. Over the years, McCain has ostentatiously attacked every issue of importance to conservatives and embraced every crackpot liberal idea, including the left's latest plan to exterminate the human race, called "global warming."

    Two weeks ago, McCain skipped the capitol prayer breakfast in California, instead appearing with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at an environmental event in nearby Santa Barbara. Schwarzenegger's absence marked the first time a governor skipped what has come to be known as "the governor's prayer breakfast." I guess in the world of moderate Republicans an environmental event qualifies as a religious observance.

    The keynote speaker at the breakfast, Hollywood producer Mark Joseph, quoted a recent cover article in Christianity Today by professors Daniel Taylor and Mark McCloskey that said:

    "In premodern times, the courage of a leader often had to be physical. In the last 500 years it is more often moral. Moral courage is the ability to do what's right even when it is deeply unpopular, even dangerous. Courage is only found where there is the genuine possibility of loss -- loss of friends, reputation, status, power, possessions or, at the extremes, freedom or life."

    No wonder McCain and Schwarzenegger skipped it.

    Moderate Republicans like McCain have taken to heart liberals' admonition that Ronald Reagan's appeal had absolutely nothing to do with his conservative philosophy. Don't be like him! You'll lose the soccer moms! Liberals assure us that Reagan won landslide elections because Americans were mesmerized by his sunny disposition and corny jokes. If that's true, why isn't Al Roker president?

    The irony is, the only people McCain can count on to vote for him are the very Republicans he despises -- at least those of us who can get drunk enough on Election Day to pull the lever for him. In fact, we should organize parties around the country where Republicans can get drunk so they can vote for McCain. We can pass out clothespins with his name as a reminder and slogan-festooned vomit bags. The East Coast parties can post the number of drinks necessary for the task to help the West Coast parties. For more information, go to getdrunkandvote4mccain.com.

    Not being ignorant "centrists," we know what a world-class disaster B. Hussein Obama will be. Meanwhile, the centrists McCain spent years impressing with his outraged denunciations of conservatives, Swift Boat Veterans and Christians will be voting for Obama. They think he's cute.

    How many times do we have to run this experiment?

    Taking the advice of Democrats, Republicans ran "moderates" for president in 1944, 1948, 1976, 1992 and 1996. All lost. Republicans also ran a "moderate" for president in 1988, but that was unwittingly -- both to us and, fortunately, to the voters. In other words, in the language of the market, the best tip on "moderate Republicans" is: SELL!

    But now, apparently, we have to run the experiment again. This year, moderate Republicans have hit the jackpot. John McCain is the Platonic ideal of a "moderate Republican."

    To paraphrase Richard Nixon on George McGovern in 1972: Here we have a situation where moderate Republicans finally have a candidate who almost totally shares their views. Now we'll see what the country thinks."
     
    #54     Jul 3, 2008
  5. Yannis

    Yannis

  6. Yannis

    Yannis

    IMAO - In My World: Drill!

    ""Drill! Drill!" President Bush shouted as the people put together the drilling equipment.

    "What are you doing in my house?" Harry Reid demanded as he walked up to Bush.

    "I lifted the ban on off-shore drilling, and I'm starting with your house," Bush said.

    "My house isn't off-shore!"

    Bush shrugged. "I was going to move your house off shore and then drill it, but that seemed excessive."

    "Why do you want to drill my house?!"

    "Because I hate you, stupid." Bush punched Reid in the face, knocking him to the ground. "You're stupid!"

    "I'll get you for this!" Reid ran off.

    "And do what? Get me thrown out of office within a year? Lower my approval ratings." Bush chuckled and made a call on his cell phone. "How's the drilling in San Francisco going? ...Well, if any hippies start to give you trouble, just drill in their heads... Of course it's legal. I told you you could do it, so it's legal!" Bush hung up the phone and walked over to Dick Cheney. "So do you think we'll strike oil soon?"

    "With all the drilling we're doing, it's inevitable," Cheney said. "And then we'll steal it and watch the puny humans suffer!"

    "No!" Bush yelled. "We're supposed to get more oil so the American people will love me again and burn Democrats in tribute to me."

    "Halliburton was under the assumption this was an evil, no-bid drilling contract," Cheney explained. "If you want them not to be evil, that costs extra."

    "How much extra?"

    "Twenty percent."

    Bush thought about that. "That's too much. Well, if the American people really are going to elect Obama, I guess they deserve to suffer."

    "Whatever. I'm way passed the point of feeling I need to justify my action." Cheney rubbed his hands together greedily. "I love evil!"

    Bush shrugged. "Evil is alright. Time to try and explain things to the press."

    Cheney continued to watch the drilling equipment. "Puppets are in the car."

    * * * *

    "Obama is such a tool. I want to cut his nuts off."

    "Uh... the mike is on," one of the reporters said.

    "Why do you think I'm reading the teleprompter?" Bush shouted in response. He looked back to the prompter. "But enough about Obama's nuts; I'm here to talk about drilling. People don't like high gas prices, so the obvious thing to do is drill for more oil. Anyone who whines about gas prices and isn't for drilling is a stupid annoying person who should be drilled in the head -- maybe by one of those flying silver sphere things from the horror movie Phantasm. Did you see that? Anyway, we should make those and release them at the Democrat National Convention. That would be fun." Bush stared at the screen for a second. "I guess that's all I wrote. Any questions?"

    "Are you going to drill in ANWR?" a reporter asked.

    "Why wouldn't we? Who would stop us? Moose? Eskimos? We can handle them. I'm thinking we'll also drill in Canada. I hear they have oil there and they don't have any use for it because they're not technologically advanced enough."

    "Will we be drilling in Iraq?"

    Bush looked confused. "There's oil there?"

    "What about research into alternative fuels," another reporter asked.

    "I have a clock that runs on a potato," Bush said. "It's pretty neat."

    "I mean how about paying others to do research into alternative fuel?"

    "Oh. Well, we're doing that. The drill we're using in Yellowstone runs on ethanol. With research like that, we'll be able to continue to drill for oil even if we run out of oil."

    "What about alternative fuels for cars?"

    "It's has always been the position of my administration that that is gay." He checked his watch. "I'm getting tired of this. Is my presidency over yet?""

    :) :) :)
     
    #56     Jul 17, 2008
  7. [​IMG]
     
    #57     Jul 17, 2008
  8. Great post. Only in socialist Krugman world does increasing the supply of a commodity not lower it's price.

    Oil rallied from the moment it became clear that the Dems would win the 2006 Congressionals. OPEC knew that no new U.S. supply would be in the pipeline. (no pun intended).
     
    #58     Jul 17, 2008
  9. Yannis

    Yannis

    LOL - that's a good one! But, all things being equal, one of the donkeys (Nancy) should be wearing a skirt, right? :) :) :)
     
    #59     Jul 17, 2008
  10. Thursday, July 24, 2008

    ANWR's Place In Our Energy Picture

    by Mary Fallin

    Opponents of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge suggest that developing new oilfields there would damage wildlife and the environment. Sadly, few of those opponents have ever seen ANWR in person, and even fewer have seen the remote, empty coastal plain where drilling would actually occur. It takes an eyes-open trip to this region to clearly see why those opponents are wrong, and why we can no longer afford to block ANWR drilling as gasoline touches five dollars per gallon. This weekend, myself and 10 other colleagues had the privilege of embarking on such a trip.

    Flying over ANWR’s coastal plain, I could only think of one word to describe it: barren. On the particularly small section where abundant oil rests, there are no mountains and no trees, just a flat frozen tundra. The photos of a wondrous, pristine national park, often displayed by drilling opponents, are taken miles to the south, far from any future drilling location. Having been to the more picturesque locations in ANWR, teeming with wildlife and beautiful scenery, I can tell you that the proposed drilling site looks nothing like this.

    Under this barren land lies ten billion barrels of recoverable oil. Eighty miles to the west is the famed Prudhoe Bay oilfield, which at one point was supplying some 25% of all our domestic oil production. The ANWR coastal plain holds a similar potential if we have the will to explore and develop it. If we don’t, we will continue to rely on foreign oil for far too large a share of our ever-growing energy needs.

    Drilling opponents love to float myths about what would happen to ANWR if we opened it to energy production. Happily, there are some real facts that put those myths to rest. For example, there are 19 million acres in ANWR. However, proposed drilling would only take place on about 2,000 acres of barren coastal plain – the size of a postage stamp on a football field. That’s how much of ANWR would actually be drilled to reach the vast pools of oil that lie underneath it.

    Many citizens have posed reasonable questions about the threat that energy production may have to wildlife. After speaking with native Alaskans as well as people in numerous government agencies, I know the experts feel as I do – that responsible measures can be taken to protect our wildlife while drilling for oil. Furthermore, wildlife is scarce in the area of ANWR where drilling has actually been proposed. We saw no caribou or polar bears in this part of the frozen tundra. At Prudhoe Bay, where drilling started 30 years ago, wildlife is thriving. In fact, caribou populations have increased dramatically in that region. I saw caribou walking right along the oil pipeline, and locals warned us of polar bears lurking next to parked vehicles. In that region, like elsewhere in the United States and all over the world, wildlife and modern technology are peacefully coexisting.

    Is drilling in ANWR the sole answer to our looming energy crisis? Of course not. Our Congressional delegation also visited the National Renewable Energy Laboratory operated by the Department of Energy in Denver. Scientists and engineers there are doing vital research into solar and wind power, hydrogen fuel cells, hybrid vehicles and much more. We support those efforts, along with every reasonable conservation measure to reduce energy use.

    But the stark fact about America’s energy picture in mid-2008 is that we are years away from replacing our large dependence on fossil fuels like oil and gas. If you doubt that, go out into the parking lot and count the wind and solar powered cars.
     
    #60     Jul 24, 2008