In an excellent opinion piece, Deroy Murdock hits on the absurdity of the liberal-left stranglehold on energy production that will decrease dependence on foreign oil from countries that are far from being our friends.
Throughout his op-ed, Murdock describes the horrors being endured by Americans today, such as: four U.S. airlines going belly-up during this month alone. Frontier declared bankruptcy, but will continue flying. Even worse, Aloha, ATA, and Skybus blamed unaffordable fuel as they grounded their jets. Aloha said sayonara to 1,900 employees, NBC News reports. ATA's demise destroyed 2,200 jobs, while Skybus sacked 450 workers, atop the 80,000 positions lost across the economy as unemployment spiked from 4.8 percent in February to 5.1 in March.
One could make a case that in order to win elections, Democrats want to create these horrible situations by stonewalling any attempts at drilling for oil on American territory, and then pointing their fingers at the greedy oil companies and Republican politicians.
Losing these airlines likely will boost plane-ticket prices, which already have climbed alongside fuel bills. "Having ditched complimentary meals, movies, and even pillows on many flights, there is little left for embattled carriers to curtail, as their chief expense goes sky high. What's next? Bring your own seat belt," quips Murdock.
Murdock also points out that:
* Truckers have staged work stoppages to showcase their plight. Typical big-rig drivers who spent $837 to fill 250-gallon fuel tanks a year ago pay $1,189 today -- up 42 percent.
* As of April 14, automobile drivers paid an average of $3.39 per gallon for self-serve gasoline, up 51 cents in 12 months, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.
Yet, once again, faced with this real human suffering, the Democrat-led Congress merely whines about oil companies' "obscene" profits or about the need to conserve energy and they'll make suggestions such as increasing gas taxes.
"This whole situation has been nothing more than manipulation around greed," Rep. Joe Larson (D., Conn.) bellowed at a March 31 House hearing.
Politicians and journalists see the energy crisis as an opportunity to brush off their socialist and Marxist economic plans and present them as viable alternatives to heating up your home.
Murdock writes that Democrats and liberal Republicans in Congress should behave constructively:
* Approve new Alaskan oil drilling already. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's pertinent parcel covers just 2,000 acres -- a veritable raindrop in the Olympic swimming pool that is Alaska's 365-million-acre territory. ANWR's estimated 10.4 billion barrels could match or replace for 19 years the 1.5 million barrels of Saudi oil that America imports daily.
* ANWR also could equal or provide a substitute for American purchases of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez's oil for 25 years. Interestingly enough, Democrat Rep. Ed Markey (Mass.), who presided over the House's late-March public dunking of top petroleum executives, applauds former Rep. Joe Kennedy's (D., Mass.) program to provide poor people with Venezuela's anti-American heating oil. One year's worth of Chavez's authoritarian charity equals just one day's worth of ANWR's all-American output. Guess which one enjoys the approval of the chairman of the House Energy Independence and Global Warming Committee?
* As for America's 49th state, no one wants to rape Alaska's wilderness. Environmentally friendly techniques direct numerous drill bits sideways, like covert tentacles, from a handful of surface holes. The allegedly fragile caribou seem quite aroused by all this; their Central Arctic Herd has quintupled from 6,000 in 1978 to 32,000 today. Meanwhile, petroleum development hums at Alaska's nearby Prudhoe Bay.
* Deregulate the construction of new oil refineries, something not seen since 1976.
* Halve the gas tax, making the average gallon 9.2 cents cheaper. Congress would have less to spend, but they should tighten their belts anyway.
* To encourage new atomic-power plants, stop debating and start storing radioactive waste at Nevada's Yucca Mountain facility. In return, give Silver State residents free electricity.
* If it's too much to drill more offshore oil, at least withdraw more natural gas. At worst, natural gas leaks do not blanket beaches or smother seagulls.
The International Energy Agency's 2007 World Energy Outlook claims that fossil fuels will still generate 82 percent of Earth's energy in 2030, with 9 percent from biomass. "Solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, and other renewable sources will satisfy just 2 percent of demand. Refined petroleum propels vehicles today, and yet oil languishes beneath our sovereign soil, even as Americans go jobless and our republic meanders into recession," writes Murdock.
"Will we finally grow up and harness our resources, or will we childishly weep over imaginary threats to wildlife, dispatch supertankers of cash to the Middle East, and watch our petrodollars sponsor bomb belts and exploding aircraft?" he asks his readers.
"Merely asking this question illustrates how desperately this nation needs adult supervision."
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he's the new editor for the House Conservatives Fund's weblog. Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.
He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer for TheConservativeVoice.Com and PHXnews.com. He's also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com. Kouri's own website is located at http://jimkouri.us