They should drop their objections and let new off-shore oil drilling proceed.
By Rick Santorum
It's the gas prices, stupid.
Every politician knows Americans want relief at the pump for their own sake and the sake of the broader economy. The Senate's continued inaction on this issue provides an insight into how the two parties hope to appeal to anxious voters and, more important, how they view high energy prices.
Democrats, including Barack Obama, support increasing taxes and regulatory costs (environmental) on energy producers and consumers (you), limiting exploration for new oil and natural-gas supplies, and mandating conservation. Liberals like Obama have long argued for higher gas prices to force conservation and reduce emissions. The only concern he has expressed recently is that prices have not gone up gradually and that the sudden spike has hit Americans hard.
It's no surprise, then, that the High-Priced-Energy Party has focused on finding a scapegoat for the rapid rise in prices. The culprits? For starters, greedy Wall Street speculators. So, the High-Priced-Energy Party tried to pass a don't-blame-us bill that further regulates the energy futures market, even though the trading activity on these exchanges during the crisis is at or below normal levels. Interestingly, the bill doesn't cover gold or silver speculators, whose commodities have seen similar price spikes.
Republicans, by contrast, favor lower oil and gas prices. Last week, they wanted to offer an amendment to the oil-speculator bill that would allow states to open up areas at least 50 miles off their shores for oil and gas exploration.
The Minerals Management Service estimates that 1.5 billion barrels of oil and 15.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie off the Mid-Atlantic coast. This is just a fraction of what could be produced if we allowed exploration and drilling along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Because these estimates are more than two decades old and based on 1970s-era technologies, these reserves may be underestimated by as much as 50 percent, if history is any guide.
But, no. Up to this point, High-Priced-Energy Party Leader Harry Reid has blocked a straight up or down vote on drilling. The Nevada Democrat's reasoning? Only about 25 percent of leases currently held by energy companies are being explored for development. You see, it's not just oil speculators who are to blame for high prices; it's the oil companies themselves. So High-Priced-Energy Democrats proposed a bill requiring that oil companies drill on their current leases before they gain access to other locations.
Why, you might ask, are energy companies not drilling on current leaseholds? Because they discovered there isn't sufficient oil or gas on these lands to justify drilling. So, the Democrats' second answer to high energy prices is to force energy companies to drill, but only on unprofitable poor-producing fields.
The High-Priced-Energy Democrats have used this unused-leases canard to block the More-Energy-Now Republicans' offshore-drilling amendment, and why not? It's a high-octane blend of politics and policy for them. High-Priced-Energy Democrats score cheap political points by beating up on Wall Street and Big Oil while blocking any price-lowering increase in domestic supplies of oil and natural gas. Neat if you don't have to worry about filling your tank or heating your home.
Securing an adequate energy supply is critical to the nation as a whole, but could prove especially important to the Delaware Valley in particular. Environmentally friendly exploration off our coast would mean economic development across our region. New Jersey and Delaware would see an infusion of oil and natural-gas jobs. Southeast Pennsylvania - already home to three oil refineries - would see an expansion of this key sector of our local economy. The ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington, as well as nearly every other port along the Eastern Seaboard, would see increased activity and employment growth.
Yes, it would take a few years for new refineries to come online. But by opening these areas to exploration, the price of crude oil would drop. It would signal to tyrants like Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and commodities speculators that we are serious about reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy. Once online, millions of barrels of our oil and natural gas would flood the commodities markets, allowing the economic laws of supply and demand to work in our favor.
Even more, the added influx of oil and natural gas would buy our nation time to develop the next wave of energy technologies. We need to use our vast coal reserves and encourage advancements such as waste coal-to-liquid fuels and coal gasification to strengthen our electrical grids. We need to invest in the next generation of biofuels to ensure they are energy efficient and not a cause of escalating food prices. And we need to follow the lead of France - yes, France - and build additional nuclear power plants, something we have not done in 30 years.
Now that would be a change in energy policy we could believe in.
E-mail Rick Santorum at rsantorum@phillynews.com.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Obama's Missing Ingredient: TRUTH
1.) Selma Got Me Born – TRUTH: Your parents felt safe enough to have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma was in 1965.
2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - TRUTH: Father was a privileged, well educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government.
3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - TRUTH: Father was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had.
4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - TRUTH: Your cousin, Raila Odinga, has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007 in Kenya. It was the first widespread violence in decades.
5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been a Christian - TRUTH: She does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity wouldn’t allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man.
6.) My Name is African Swahili - TRUTH: ‘Baraka’ (from which Barack came) means ‘blessed’ in Arabic. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama.
7.) I Never Practiced Islam - TRUTH: He practiced it daily at school, where he was registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years, until his wife convinced him to change so that he could run for office.
8.) My School in Indonesia Was Christian - TRUTH: He was registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making faces (according to his book).
9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - TRUTH: Not one of his teachers say he could speak the language.
10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia, I Have More Foreign Experience - TRUTH: He was there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn’t even speak the language. He did learn how to study the Koran and watch cartoons.
11.) I Am Stronger on Foreign Affairs - TRUTH: Except for Africa (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise), he has never been anywhere else on the planet and thus has NO experience with our closest allies or any other foreign government.
12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - TRUTH: He was quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya and no mention of struggle to identify - his classmates said he was just fine.
13.) An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - TRUTH: Ebony has yet to find the article he mention in his book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist.
14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook on Life - TRUTH: Life has yet to find the article mentioned in his book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist.
15.) I Won’t Run On A National Ticket In ‘08 - TRUTH: Here he is, despite saying, live on TV, that he would not have enough experience by then, and he was very clear in needing more experience first.
16.) “Present” Votes Are Common in Illinois - TRUTH: They are common for BHO, but not many others have 130 “Present” votes.
17.) Oops, I Mis-voted - TRUTH: Only when caught by church groups and democrats, did he beg to change his mis-vote.
18.) I Was A Professor of Law - TRUTH: He was a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - TRUTH: He was a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - TRUTH: He didn’t write it, introduce it, change it, or create it.
21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard to Pass - TRUTH: It took just 14 days from start to finish.
22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - TRUTH: His bill was rejected by his own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation - mainly because of his nuclear donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came.
23.) I Have Released My State Records - TRUTH: As of March, 2008, state bills he sponsored or voted for have yet to be released, so nobody can see any special interests or pork hidden within.
24.) I Took On the Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - TRUTH: He was part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens. He failed to mention anyone else but himself in his books.
25.) My Economics Bill Will Help America - TRUTH: His 111 economic policies were just combined into a proposal which lost 99-0, and even he voted against his own bill.
26.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois - TRUTH: Even his own supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action on his part.
27.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year - TRUTH: They were not his bills, but rather handed to him, after their creation by a fellow Senator, to assist him in a future bid for higher office.
28.) No One Contacted Canada About NAFTA - TRUTH: The Canadian Government issued the names and a memo of the conversation his campaign had with them.
29.) I Am Tough On Terrorism - TRUTH: He missed the Iran Resolution vote on terrorism and his good friend, Ali Abunimah, supports the destruction of Israel.
30.) I Am Not Acting As President Yet - TRUTH: After the NAFTA Memo, a dead terrorist in the FARC, in Colombia, was found with a letter stating how BHO and he were working together on getting FARC recognized officially.
31.) I Didn’t Run Ads In Florida - TRUTH: He allowed national ads to run 8-12 times per day for two weeks – and he still lost.
32.) I Won Michigan - TRUTH: He didn’t.
33.) I won Nevada - TRUTH: He didn’t.
34.) I Want All Votes To Count - TRUTH: On the record, he said, “Let the delegates decide.”
35.) I Want Americans To Decide - TRUTH: He prefers caucuses that limit the vote, confuse the voters, force a public vote, and only operate during small windows of time.
36.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate - TRUTH: He passed 26, most of which he didn’t write himself.
37.) My Campaign Was Extorted By A Friend - TRUTH: His friend is threatening to sue if he does not stop saying this. UPDATE: Obama has now stopped saying this.
38.) I Believe In Fairness, Not Tactics - TRUTH: He used tactics to eliminate Alice Palmer from running against him.
39.) I Don’t Take PAC Money - TRUTH: He take loads of it.
40.) I don’t Have Lobbyists - TRUTH: He has over 47 lobbyists, and counting.
41.) My Campaign Had Nothing To Do With The 1984 Ad - TRUTH: His own campaign worker made the ad on his Apple in one afternoon.
42.) My Campaign Never Took Over MySpace - TRUTH: Tom, who started MySpace, issued a warning about his advertising to MySpace clients.
43.) I Inspire People With My Words - TRUTH: He inspires many people with other people’s words.
44.) I Have Passed Bills In The U.S. Senate - TRUTH: He has passed ONE BILL in the U.S. Senate - for Africa. NO bills for the benefit of any Americans.
45.) I Have Always Been Against Iraq - TRUTH: He wasn’t in office to vote against it AND you have voted to fund it every single time, unlike Kucinich. He is also stepping back from his departure date - AGAIN.
46.) I Have Always Supported Universal Health Care - TRUTH: His plan leaves the majority of us to pay for the 15,000,000 who don’t have to buy it.
47.) I Only Found Out About My Investment Conflicts Via Mail - TRUTH: Both companies he sites as having sent him letters about this conflict have no record of any such letter ever being created or sent.
48.) I Am As Patriotic As Anyone - TRUTH: He won’t wear a flag pin and he doesn’t put his hand over his heart during the National Anthem.
49.) My Wife Didn’t Mean What She Said About Pride In Country - TRUTH: His wife’s words follow lock-step in the vein of Wright and Farrahkan, in relation to their contempt and hatred of America.
50.) Wal-Mart Is A Company I Wouldn’t Support - TRUTH: His wife has received nearly a quarter of a million dollars through Treehouse, which is connected to Wal-Mart, so they support him.
2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - TRUTH: Father was a privileged, well educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government.
3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - TRUTH: Father was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had.
4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - TRUTH: Your cousin, Raila Odinga, has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007 in Kenya. It was the first widespread violence in decades.
5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been a Christian - TRUTH: She does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity wouldn’t allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man.
6.) My Name is African Swahili - TRUTH: ‘Baraka’ (from which Barack came) means ‘blessed’ in Arabic. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama.
7.) I Never Practiced Islam - TRUTH: He practiced it daily at school, where he was registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years, until his wife convinced him to change so that he could run for office.
8.) My School in Indonesia Was Christian - TRUTH: He was registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making faces (according to his book).
9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - TRUTH: Not one of his teachers say he could speak the language.
10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia, I Have More Foreign Experience - TRUTH: He was there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn’t even speak the language. He did learn how to study the Koran and watch cartoons.
11.) I Am Stronger on Foreign Affairs - TRUTH: Except for Africa (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise), he has never been anywhere else on the planet and thus has NO experience with our closest allies or any other foreign government.
12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - TRUTH: He was quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya and no mention of struggle to identify - his classmates said he was just fine.
13.) An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - TRUTH: Ebony has yet to find the article he mention in his book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist.
14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook on Life - TRUTH: Life has yet to find the article mentioned in his book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist.
15.) I Won’t Run On A National Ticket In ‘08 - TRUTH: Here he is, despite saying, live on TV, that he would not have enough experience by then, and he was very clear in needing more experience first.
16.) “Present” Votes Are Common in Illinois - TRUTH: They are common for BHO, but not many others have 130 “Present” votes.
17.) Oops, I Mis-voted - TRUTH: Only when caught by church groups and democrats, did he beg to change his mis-vote.
18.) I Was A Professor of Law - TRUTH: He was a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - TRUTH: He was a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - TRUTH: He didn’t write it, introduce it, change it, or create it.
21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard to Pass - TRUTH: It took just 14 days from start to finish.
22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - TRUTH: His bill was rejected by his own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation - mainly because of his nuclear donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came.
23.) I Have Released My State Records - TRUTH: As of March, 2008, state bills he sponsored or voted for have yet to be released, so nobody can see any special interests or pork hidden within.
24.) I Took On the Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - TRUTH: He was part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens. He failed to mention anyone else but himself in his books.
25.) My Economics Bill Will Help America - TRUTH: His 111 economic policies were just combined into a proposal which lost 99-0, and even he voted against his own bill.
26.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois - TRUTH: Even his own supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action on his part.
27.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year - TRUTH: They were not his bills, but rather handed to him, after their creation by a fellow Senator, to assist him in a future bid for higher office.
28.) No One Contacted Canada About NAFTA - TRUTH: The Canadian Government issued the names and a memo of the conversation his campaign had with them.
29.) I Am Tough On Terrorism - TRUTH: He missed the Iran Resolution vote on terrorism and his good friend, Ali Abunimah, supports the destruction of Israel.
30.) I Am Not Acting As President Yet - TRUTH: After the NAFTA Memo, a dead terrorist in the FARC, in Colombia, was found with a letter stating how BHO and he were working together on getting FARC recognized officially.
31.) I Didn’t Run Ads In Florida - TRUTH: He allowed national ads to run 8-12 times per day for two weeks – and he still lost.
32.) I Won Michigan - TRUTH: He didn’t.
33.) I won Nevada - TRUTH: He didn’t.
34.) I Want All Votes To Count - TRUTH: On the record, he said, “Let the delegates decide.”
35.) I Want Americans To Decide - TRUTH: He prefers caucuses that limit the vote, confuse the voters, force a public vote, and only operate during small windows of time.
36.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate - TRUTH: He passed 26, most of which he didn’t write himself.
37.) My Campaign Was Extorted By A Friend - TRUTH: His friend is threatening to sue if he does not stop saying this. UPDATE: Obama has now stopped saying this.
38.) I Believe In Fairness, Not Tactics - TRUTH: He used tactics to eliminate Alice Palmer from running against him.
39.) I Don’t Take PAC Money - TRUTH: He take loads of it.
40.) I don’t Have Lobbyists - TRUTH: He has over 47 lobbyists, and counting.
41.) My Campaign Had Nothing To Do With The 1984 Ad - TRUTH: His own campaign worker made the ad on his Apple in one afternoon.
42.) My Campaign Never Took Over MySpace - TRUTH: Tom, who started MySpace, issued a warning about his advertising to MySpace clients.
43.) I Inspire People With My Words - TRUTH: He inspires many people with other people’s words.
44.) I Have Passed Bills In The U.S. Senate - TRUTH: He has passed ONE BILL in the U.S. Senate - for Africa. NO bills for the benefit of any Americans.
45.) I Have Always Been Against Iraq - TRUTH: He wasn’t in office to vote against it AND you have voted to fund it every single time, unlike Kucinich. He is also stepping back from his departure date - AGAIN.
46.) I Have Always Supported Universal Health Care - TRUTH: His plan leaves the majority of us to pay for the 15,000,000 who don’t have to buy it.
47.) I Only Found Out About My Investment Conflicts Via Mail - TRUTH: Both companies he sites as having sent him letters about this conflict have no record of any such letter ever being created or sent.
48.) I Am As Patriotic As Anyone - TRUTH: He won’t wear a flag pin and he doesn’t put his hand over his heart during the National Anthem.
49.) My Wife Didn’t Mean What She Said About Pride In Country - TRUTH: His wife’s words follow lock-step in the vein of Wright and Farrahkan, in relation to their contempt and hatred of America.
50.) Wal-Mart Is A Company I Wouldn’t Support - TRUTH: His wife has received nearly a quarter of a million dollars through Treehouse, which is connected to Wal-Mart, so they support him.
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