Archive for July 26th, 2008
A Commander In Chief In Waiting and The Man Who Already Is
July 26th, 2008
Obama-mania is in full swing, and between catching up on reading and trying to decipher the real from the fiction, my head is virtually swimming.
Frankly, I don’t give a whit if the Senator visited the wounded troops in Germany as in my mind it is his loss not theirs.
There is nothing new about the DOD regulations in regards to campaigns so I really don’t understand why there was any doubt in the Obama campaign’s mind as to who may attend and how these visits are conducted.
While he may have made a few “important” contacts while touring Europe, the Senator will find relationships may change drastically should he be elected President. Then again, should he be fortunate enough not to be a war time leader, personality and charisma may just carry the day.
In any event, the Senator is not the Commander in Chief at this moment and this whirlwind trip will no doubt be long forgotten by the time November rolls around.
That said, The Anchoress points us to a few pictures (one posted below) which are characteristic of our current President. He has no need for photo-ops this late in his Presidency and yet takes the time to spend a few minutes with these children prior to leaving Illinois:
I already miss the genuineness of this President. It is something we see far too little of these days and while there are those who would strongly disagree with that assessment, I’m one hundred percent with The Anchoress when she writes:
I still like President Bush. And I don’t actually give a crap what anyone thinks about that.
Posted in 
Why We Didn’t Drill Our Own Oil—A Timeline
July 26th, 2008
I’m going to point you to three links on the same blog with charts to show why we haven’t begun to explore our own resources in getting oil so we wouldn’t have the prices at the pump and for heating we have now. Also remember that the price of oil affects the price of food. Think about this when you vote this year.
The first link is here.
The second comes from the same site and is here.
The third link also comes from the same site and is here with a timeline of the price of oil per barrel then and now.
Now, in case you missed the editorial I am going to point you to this Washington Post editorial.
WHY NOT have a vote on offshore drilling? There’s a serious debate to be had over whether Congress should lift the ban on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf that has been in place since 1981. Unfortunately, you won’t be hearing it in the House of Representatives — certainly, you won’t find lawmakers voting on it — anytime soon.
Instead of dealing with the issue on the merits, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a staunch opponent of offshore drilling, has simply decreed that she will not allow a drilling vote to take place on the House floor. Why not? “What the president would like to do is to have validation for his failed policy,” she said yesterday when asked that very question. “What we’re saying is, ‘Exhaust other remedies, Mr. President.’ . . . It is the economic life of America’s families, and to suggest that drilling offshore is going to make a difference to them paycheck to paycheck now is a frivolous contention. The president has even admitted that. So what we’re saying is, ‘What can we do that is constructive?’ ”
If there is an explanation buried in there about why that makes offshore drilling off-limits for a vote, we missed it. Ms. Pelosi is correct that drilling is no panacea for the nation’s energy woes. The short-term effect of lifting the moratorium, if there were any, would be minimal. That doesn’t mean the country shouldn’t consider expanded drilling as one of many alternatives. There are legitimate concerns about the environmental impact of such drilling — environmental concerns that, we would note, exist in other regions whose oil Americans are perfectly happy to consume. But have technological improvements made such drilling less risky? Why not have that debate?
Read the rest.
Pelosi, and to a little lesser extent, Reid are both leading their respective houses like dictators. No debate on anything they oppose and fear might be passed. Is this the purpose of Congress, or am I mistaken in believing they are there to represent their constituents, most of whom are suffering the effects of high oil and gas prices?
Think about this when you vote. It’s not just the presidency that’s important this year; the Congress is also important and if we allow the Democrats control or even greater control look for a depression instead of a recession.
Instead of humoring Kucinich with his mock impeachment hearing yesterday, why isn’t Congress working on the real problems of the country?
It would be easy to put a bumper sticker on my car stating “Don’t blame me. I voted Republican.” But that gets us nowhere unless we vote for the party not afraid to drill. With Hurricane Katrina not one drop of oil was spilled in the offshore platforms. This shows the knowledge is there and being used to make oil drilling more environmentally clean.
Call your congressman/woman and Senators and ask why we can’t drill for our own oil now so we can reap the benefits in a few years. Benefits we could have been reaping even now if not for stubborn Congresses and presidents.
