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.

What is it about Sarah Palin that has the McCain camp running scared?  The election has been over less than a week and we have anonymous leaks from staffers throwing Governor Palin under the Straight Talk Express tour bus.

Where is Senator McCain?  The same McCain that chastised his supporters for shouts in rallies that might hurt the sensibilites of the Obama camp.  Strangely, he says nothing.  No, he’s back in Washington hangin’ with his peeps sitting in the aisle between the Republicans and Democrats.

I watched The O’Reilly Factor last night, and Bill said something that really hit home with me.  He mentioned the fact that as soon as Sarah was announced, every news organ in the country headed North to Alaska, they went North to find some dirt.  With all of their resources and money, they came up empty, there wasn’t any dirt to find.  And now, we are to believe stories from someone who won’t even give us his (her) name?  Let’s get real shall we?

Sarah Palin was the only conservative voice in the entire campaign.  It was her conservatism that energized the Republican base.  I know that I was disgusted with the Republican choice of McCain, and had made up my mind to vote my conscience and cast my vote for Bob Barr.  I knew he had no chance of winning the national election, but he came closer to my ideals than McCain did.  It was Sarah Palin that changed my mind.  Her speech when she was announced as McCain’s running mate sold me.  I heard and watched a woman come out on stage and deliver a tremendous speech that truly seemed to come from the heart, and reminded me of Ronald Reagan, not only in delivery, but in content.  Here was the new voice of conservatism.

This whole thing reeks of politics as usual in Washington.  No one liked the way Obama supporters and the media went after Joe the Plumber with a vengence.  Here is the Republican nominee for Vice President being attacked by a coward who won’t even identify him/herself who was a staff member.  Don’t worry so much about vetting the candidates, worry about vetting the staffers.

I hope this doesn’t sour Sarah Palin.  I know that this is one reason why it will take a lot of convincing to get me behind anything that goes on in Washington.  Sarah, Bill O’Reilly has offered you 30 minutes on Monday night’s program to tell your side of all this.  I, for one, hope you will take him up on it and at least let us hear your take on this whole experience.

But, that is just My Arrogant Opinion

Congratulations are in order. Barack Obama has secured the Presidency of the United States.  A feat that took some doing, considering that he had to beat the Clinton machine to get there.

Now that the race is over, there are a few of us wanting to know where we get in line for all the free stuff.  Will there be like, flyers in the mail with a list of providers or what?  I just want to know ’cause my tank is on the wrong side of middle and headed for empty.

Michelle Malkin wrote an interesting piece for The National Review reminding us about Peggy.  Check out the video, I think she has that same tingle going up her leg that Chris Matthews had, what do you think?

But, that is just My Arrogant Opinion

It has been a long race, filled with empty promises, surprises, and vitriol.  We have heard Jerimiah Wright tell us that the bombing of the World Trade Centers was no more than America’s chickens coming home to roost.  The Messiah’s high priest, Joe Biden has tried to heal cripples, calling for them to stand up from their wheel chair.  We found out that you can see Russia from Alaska.

Both of the major candidates have promised change.  A lot of promises with very little meat on them.  Either way you vote will be historic, either a black socialist will be elected to the White House, or a woman will be elevated to the position of being Vice President.  I guess either one is as good as the other as far as the historical value goes.  But is that what this election is all about?  Casting an historic vote?  I hope it has not come to such a low point for this country.

Personally, my first choice was Duncan Hunter for President, then Fred Thompson.  Both were out of the running almost by the time I cast my ballot in the Primary.  I screamed at the television when it became evident that John McCain would be the Republican nominee.  I couldn’t believe it when Obama knocked Hillary out of the running.

After it became apparent that it would be between McCain and Obama, I looked for someone else.  Bob Barr looked to be that answer and I was ready to cast my vote for him.  Unfortunately, the more I heard about Obama the more I feared for our Nation were he to be elected.  By the time McCain announced Sarah Palin, I was suffering inner turmoil, torn between voting Barr as someone who actually stood for what I believed in, or McCain, as the only one who had a chance to beat Obama.  Sarah and her history of conservative values and actions swayed me, and I reluctantly cast my ballot for John McCain during early voting.

That is where I am.  Unhappy with a choice I felt compelled to make, voting for someone who is, at most, a second choice.  I feel that our Nation is in for a bumpy ride.

But that’s just My Arrogant Opinion.

Why is it that common sense has become so uncommon in our society these days? It seems as if we need a new moniker for it since it has become so rare.

I would think that it would go without saying that when there is more of something, the price would be less than if it were rare. Take diamonds for instance. If you had to clean them up out of your yard in order to mow the grass, they would be a nuisance, and you would want to be rid of them. As it is, they are rare, and thus expensive to purchase.

Oil is no different. Well in some ways it is since we need oil to maintain our economy and way of life. The same principle applies though. If you had to wade through it to get to your car each morning, it would be cheap. It isn’t. Unfortunately, we have put up barriers to getting the oil that is available to us, therefore creating a shortage in our own backyard. The price understandably rises. We have to pay the price in a world market for a commodity that we are sitting on in our own backyard.

If, and I said if, we would make the determination that we were going to use the resources that God has provided us, and start making the move towards actually removing barriers and restrictions, the price would start to drop. The supply could be seen to be getting larger.

We have the technology to do it safely, and cleanly. The question is, are we going to continue to listen to green bullies and snake oil peddlers who tell us that we have no right to use our own resources? We have China, Viet Nam, and other third rate world powers preparing to drill for our oil, off our coast lines right now, while congress sits on their thumbs and twirls about trying to figure out which way the wind is going to blow.

We don’t need to stop looking for alternatives, it is our ingenuity that has made our nation great. We will find new fuels and technologies to run our nation, but it won’t happen if we are all sitting on the side of the road unable to buy enough gasoline to make it to work.

President Bush made a significant first step yesterday, but nothing can be accomplished if Congress doesn’t get off their collective ass and start removing the barriers to progress. Give them a call, I’m sure they would love to hear from you.

But that’s just My Arrogant Opinion.

Our Constitution has a clause in it that prohibits the use of ‘cruel and unusual punishment’. Over my lifetime, more years than I care to admit, I have heard that phrase bandied about in arguments against the practice of capital punishment. I really don’t see this a case against the death penalty myself.

I think the first thing that needs to be determined is what the framers meant by the terminology ‘Cruel and Unusual.’ We have methods of execution that are anything but cruel. Lethal injection is not cruel, anymore than being put under before surgery is cruel. Electrocution might be considered cruel, but it is probably harder for the witnesses to observe than for the condemned to experience.

Cruelty stems not so much from the method, but the intent. There are truly horrible ways to die, and some of those are being used in this day and age as a form of capital punishment. Take for example stoning. This is a method of execution currently in use in some Muslim Nations in the Middle East. Burying a man to his waist in the ground then throwing stones at him until he is dead is not something I want to witness, but it is an acceptable method for some crimes in Muslim countries.

Given the choice between lethal injection, even with dirty needles, or stoning, I think most people would choose the injection as a merciful way to be executed. Cruelty implies a desire to hurt or inflict pain. That is not what capital punishment should be, but a simple execution of the decision of the court.

If we are not going to actually use the penalty, we should not even have it available. That becomes cruelty to the victims and their families. If we are going to have it in our toolkit for punishing criminals, it should be used, and used consistently. When it is used consistently, it ceases to be unusual and thus becomes constitutional. Viola!

The biggest benefit to actually using capital punishment is that it reduces recidivism to 0%. There is no concern about a violent criminal being paroled years after the conviction, no continual drain on scarce resources eliminating pressure on the penal system.