Posted by
Rich on Monday, June 23, 2008 7:11:12 AM
The editorial, "
How to cut foreign oil imports" by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune is a masterful piece of propaganda straight from Barack Obama's talking points.
There
are key questions that the editorial board doesn't ask like: How did we
get to this point? How did we become so dependent on foreign oil? How
is it that we are annually sending over $650 billion overseas to buy oil from
those who want to kill us? How is it that Cuba and China can drill in
the Gulf of Mexico and we can't. Why does gasoline cost so much?
The answer: We have been doing exactly what the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and their environmentalist friends have wanted!
Since
the late 1970s we Americans: Don't drill for our own oil. Don't build
new refineries. We have increased regulatory requirements on the
production of gasoline to reduce carbon emissions. We have taken lead
out of gasoline to reduce pollution and added ethanol to our gasoline.
We have increased the efficiency of our cars. Forced the production of
45 different grades of gasoline to meet EPA and state laws on
pollution. And finally of course - we have conserved as pointed out in
the editorial.
All of these liberal strategies have made us energy independent, right? Wrong.
We
have done exactly what the environmentalists, their Democratic allies
in Congress and the media have wanted and here we are with gasoline at
$4.10 for unleaded regular. Do you know why? Because that is what they
have wanted all along.
Environmentalists, the liberal left and
the media want our gas prices high! Stop using gasoline, that is their
goal. For you see fossil fuels are evil. Oil companies are evil. Moms
driving SUVs are evil. We are evil because America "consumes 25 percent
of the world's supply [of oil]".
Maybe it is time for a slightly different strategy?
How
about we continue to do what the environmentalists want, even though it
hurts us economically, but also do the following: What if we lift the
ban on drilling for oil in ANWR, the Outer Continental Shelf and the
Gulf of Mexico? What if we explore and drill for our own oil at a
greater pace? What if we begin mining the trillions of gallons of
liquid oil contained in the shale in the Bakken Formation? What if we
build new refineries to produce more gasoline?
If we did these things we would increase supply! When you increase supply the price comes down.
We
would stop sending our money overseas and create jobs and wealth here
in America rather than in Saudi Arabia and Iran. We would stop being
held hostage to the whims of OPEC. We would stop supporting Communist
regimes like that of Hugo Chavez. We would begin to tap our oil in the
Gulf of Mexico, which Cuba and China have already agreed to do. We
would buy ourselves time while we stop using oil to fuel our power
plants and move toward nuclear, clean coal, solar and wind power. We would buy
ourselves time as we look at alternative fuels for our transportation
industry like biofuels that do not pollute more than oil.
I say
we do it all. Clearly the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and their allies only
want half of the pie. I say we take the whole pie because we have already paid for it.
What do you think?