Was it only a year ago when gas prices were reaching all-time record highs? Oil futures had gone through the roof to the point that people weren’t sure anymore if oil even had a future. It was about to price itself out of existance. Not really, of course, but people were seriously looking for alternatives and for solutions to the ‘crisis’.

Everywhere you turned, the hue and cry was either for or against the idea of Drilling ANWaR. Utilizing our own resources to take care of our own needs. The need is still there. The price of oil dropped and that seemed to quiet the big concern. But why? Has there been some sudden increase in the world-wide supply of oil? No, the price just dropped for a while, and people were so relieved they quit complaining about it. Suddenly $2.00 a gallon seemed like a bargain and the price starts to creep back up.

Think of the frog in the pan of water, drop him in hot water and he will jump out, put him in cold water and he will boil to death before he notices the water is getting hot. We are the same way, hit us hard with high prices and we jump to find a solution, drop it back down and we slack off from the search. Then let the price start easing back to where it was and no one notices quite so vehemently.

We need to keep focused on the temp of the water and continue looking for solutions. Not to put too fine a point on it, but our future as a world power depends on it.

I was leery of John McCain from the beginning. I was actually looking forward to voting for Duncan Hunter, but he dropped out of the race before I had a chance. I thought about becoming a Fred Head, but alas, he didn’t make it either. I ended up voting for Mitt, just a few days before he dropped as well. Right now, with my track record of every candidate I have gotten behind falling out of the race, I am thinking of supporting whoever becomes the Democratic Nominee. I am curious whether or not my support is actually detrimental to a candidate.

My blood runs cold at the thought of any of our present choices becoming the President. Both Hillary and Obama have openly stated that they want to turn our country into a Socialist Paradise starting with Nationalized Health Care and then moving on to stripping the profits (and incentives to produce) from our oil companies. Obviously the schools they attended didn’t have economics as a part of the curriculum.

What choices does that leave us with? Ron Paul? I am all about getting rid of the IRS and getting back to a smaller government which actually looks at the Constitution to see what it is supposed to do, but I think his chances are about as slim as a snowball in Global Warming. He also scares me with his ideas about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is just too much, too quick, our country is not ready for that amount of change in one big step.

Where does that leave us? John McCain, War Hero. The only thing I like about McCain is his stand on the war. But you have to wonder about him. War is a dirty business, and there are things done there that you really don’t want discussed in the parlor over tea. I can understand his personal position on torture and Gitmo, but I think that it is wrong to tell our enemies what we will or will not do, what lines we are willing to cross, and those we won’t, but if our Nation’s security is at risk, we should have the freedom to cross those lines if needed.

What about the price of gasoline? All three of the main candidates have proposed their solution for the high price of gas at the pump. The problem is, they are just pandering to the voters. They don’t have a solution. At most, they have a plan for very short term relief for a problem that has far reaching implications. We need to get out of the way and let our country do what our country does best, and that is, find a solution.

Stop this talk about confiscating profits. Stop trying to regulate every aspect of our lives. Give us the freedom to think and experiment. We will never find a solution to any problem when the government has us so tied up and regulated with petty rules that every time we try to do something we trip over the red tape.

Open up our oil fields to exploration. We have technology to drill without destroying the countryside now, let’s use it! John McCain said on the Glenn Beck Radio Program last week that he would as soon drill for oil in the Grand Canyon as to drill ANWR. I agree with Glenn’s commentary on his statement that he was all for it as well, if there was oil in the canyon. Of course, that is a gross example, but we have oil reserves in this country, we have huge coal reserves, we have some of the best scientific minds in the world here and the best facilities. LET US USE OUR OWN RESOURCES!

But, that is just My Arrogant Opinion.

April 22, 2008 Earthday. Everyone needs to call their legislators and tell them that it is time to SCREW THE CARIBOU and DRILL THE ANWAR! If we are so Earth conscious, and nature is what we are trying to get back to, I wish someone could explain to me what other animal in history has spent so much effort in trying to starve itself out of existence. Maybe that is what killed the dinosaurs, they realized that dino flatulence was a greenhouse gas and since they didn’t have opposable thumbs decided to just starve themselves into extinction rather than continue producing gases that polluted the pristine Earth they inhabited.

If we don’t wake up soon, that is what we are going to do in the name of global warming. We are turning all our corn into a very inefficient fuel, causing shortages of corn, wheat, rice, and soybeans. You can already feel these higher prices at the store. Countries in other parts of the world are having food riots because of shortages, how long will it be before the same thing happens here? How did one man touting junk science manage to become so influential? Al Gore will not face questions about this thing called Global Warming from scientists with opposing positions. If he was sure of the facts that would be the very thing to do in order to win more converts to his position, but it is an indefensible position that he has taken. There is quality research that contradicts this man made global warming theory, but the main stream media will not cover it. It doesn’t make headlines to tell people that everything is okay, and that there isn’t anything to worry about. It only makes the news when there is disaster looming.

Well, there is disaster looming! We will, for the first time ever become an importer of grain this year. America, the bread-basket of the world will have to import wheat. It isn’t that we don’t have the land or technology to produce it. Our government is paying subsidies to get corn for ethanol manufacture. We have vast oil reserves off our coasts, but we won’t allow ourselves to tap them. Of course that doesn’t stop anyone else from moving in and drilling, that way we can pay to import OUR OWN OIL!

I remember the Time article from the 1970′s warning us of a coming ice age and the dangers of Global Cooling. Luckily we woke up in time before some power hungry ex-vice President got on the bandwagon and found that he could finally get people to listen to him when he was talking about a fantasy. Waking up gave us about 30 years, but do our children have a future?

Call your legislators and tell them to stop the ethanol subsidies and start drilling where we know there are reserves, so that our children will at least have food to eat as the planet fries. 202-224-3121 Call them today, after all, it is EARTHDAY.

ANWAR – Nineteen million acres of controversy. According to a news bulletin released by the Department of the Interior in March of 2003, the potential for oil production from ANWAR exceeds the daily oil production for ANY onshore reserve thus far discovered in the United States.

Further, the bulletin states that with current technology, we can still protect the ecology, create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil supplies. Estimates from the Department of the Interior suggest production of 1.4 million barrels of oil daily, or approximately the amount we imported daily from Saudi Arabia in January of 2008.

One of our least visited public land sites, the ANWAR sits at the very top of Alaska where it connects to Canada. It is estimated that out of 19,000,000 acres of the reserve, no more than 2,000 would be needed to retrieve the oil reserves contained there. Why do we not have people there drilling as we speak? Eco-terrorism.

Groups like the Sierra Club, and the World Wildlife Foundation have made it politically incorrect to use our own resources. Throwing money and lobbyists against any attempt to develop our resources.

I believe it is time for us to take a stand, take back our country and kick these lobbyists out of Washington. If we will allow it, the free market will find a way to provide the things we need at the lowest possible price.