5 Comments

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  Stephen Macklin 12/28/2005 at 7:50 pm

  For decades we tiptoed around terrorists because we need Arab Oil. The result was 9/11. Now we are finally fighting back against terrorist but the Arab states still have us over a barrel. Meanwhile, the environmentalists and the Democrats are doing everything possible to make sure we stay dependent.

  They disgust me.

  And yes, I know that even at the high end of the estimates ANWAR oil will not replace OPEC oil. But it will replace some of it. And every drop we don’t have to buy from them is a good thing.

  If this country made bold moves toward energy independence the Saudi princes could no longer hide behind their oil wells and they fund terrorists and export Wahabbism. Then we would see how truly brave they are.
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  Lee 12/28/2005 at 8:14 pm

  There is hope for optimism. Three votes were needed to break a filibuster on an issue democrats are over a barrel with because of their ties to enviromentalist groups.

  A three seat gain in the Senate is very possible in ’06 for Republicans. Five is possible (for a fillibuster-proof majority) but unlikely.
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  Paladin 12/29/2005 at 10:20 am

  I agree Stephen. We’re slowing losing our sense of nationalism. Having pride in your country is held by some as a “bad” thing.

  Part of the problem with this piece of legislation is that there are a few Republican senators voting with the Democrats.

  Another problem that’s existed for years is how the government now processes a great deal of their legislation in packages. Bills are piggy-backed on other bills. It’s a bit illogical to put it mildly. In this day and age we shouldn’t have to accept something bad just to get something good. At least, that would be the ideal.
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  Steve George 1/3/2006 at 1:36 pm

  As a European (the UK) I’m not really qualified to comment on this anyway, and it’s politics which is always dangerous. But here goes …

  I visited the US last year and saw some of the wonderful wild areas you have (in particular Alaska). You can’t imagine how rare and valued they appear in my eyes. Part of the reason being that much of Europe is small, densely packed and even the land shows how many of thousands of years it’s been lived on (i.e. farmed).

  So from my perspective the benefit of drilling in the last wildernesses is outweighed by losing something you’ll never have back: something that we CAN’T ever have in Europe. As pointed out drilling won’t solve your energy dependance and it’s only a short term win. You could probably spend the money more effectively developing energy efficency or other energy technologies. The wilderness is a resource you only get once, like oil when it’s gone it is gone forever.

  A thing I don’t understand about US politics is the emotive language used against opponents – for example your comment seems to paint people who don’t agree with you as unpatriotic and lacking “pride in your country”. Surely, demonising opponents doesn’t assist to converting them to your perspective!? If no-one really thinks about their position and takes on new information how does anything get resolved – it’s like shouting into the wind. Equally I don’t want to fall into the trap and offend anyone here as I’m just passing through … Maybe it’s cultural, but it always confuses me when I see political discourse in the US.

  Steve
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  Paladin 1/4/2006 at 11:30 am

  Steve, I appreciate your comments. I don’t see where I “demonized” my opponents in my post, perhaps you meant someone in their comments. But I agree; name-calling is anti-productive and quite devisive. American politics has become quite polarized.