The No Zone
Gateway Pundit alerts us to yet another hypocritical position on the part of the ostensible Democratic leadership. Yes, I know, the Democrats? Hypocritical? I'm sure you're stunned at the prospect.
Democrats claim they want energy independence, but their strategy is nonsensical, to say the least. Their so-called strategy? I encourage you to read their position paper because I'm not making this stuff up.
* Tax and fine oil companies, most of which are public companies and owned by any investor who cares to purchase shares and receive profits in the form of dividends. Taxes, fines, and legal fees are certain to hamper American oil firms' R&D and exploration. Even a caveman can arrive at the sum of this equation: it will end up costing consumers even more at the pump.
* Democrats also want to create a new strategic oil reserve in addition to the existing one. This will, of course, be paid for by the American consumer and require more government bureaucracy to administer. Presumably this will "smooth out" spikes in gas prices that seem to occur every ten or twenty years. Oh, but a brand-spanking new Government agency will be worth it, I'm sure!
* Democrats want to create yet another Government agency to create "Revolutionary Energy Technologies" (as if there aren't already enough free-market incentives for new energy alternatives). This boondoggle is a lock to flush billions of dollars of taxpayers' hard-earned funds down the commode and is certain to result in nothing more than a giant herd of Government employees.
* Oh, brother, I can't even begin to describe this one. Another core tenet of the Democrats' plans? And I quote: "Creating a tire fuel efficiency program. Proper inflation of tires and replacing old tires with fuel-efficient tires could save 470,000 barrels of oil per day by 2013. Democrats propose creating a national tire fuel efficiency program." Guess what? This inspired piece of lunacy would entail yet another Governmental bureaucracy sure to set fire to billions of dollars.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, United States Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) has assembled a powerful set of graphs that illustrate the real problem... and a potential solution.
The problem? U.S. oil consumption greatly exceeds domestic production. This gap will only increase, even as alternative sources of fuel (such as ethanol and other biofuels) come on-line.
In the mean time, Cuba is permitting foreign countries to drill within 50 miles of Florida! That's right, countries such as China are already drilling without our permission within spitting-distance of the U.S. Do the Democrats care?
No. The Democrats have vowed to suppress oil exploration in the areas marked "No." That's "The No Zone", where promising reserves go untapped, even while China drains oil from the Gulf of Mexico.
Drilling in ANWR? Where, if ANWR were the size of a football field, exploration would take place on a postage stamp-sized piece of land? No - the Democrats oppose that. New refineries? Of course not. The Democrats oppose those, too.
They say they want oil independence and instead force Americans to become more dependent upon foreign oil each and every day.
Preposterous? Ludicrous? Of course. It's just business as usual with the current Democratic leadership.
Sometimes I think the only thing keeping the Earth aligned on its axis is the gyroscopic energy of FDR, Truman and JFK spinning in their graves.
Hat tips: Gateway Pundit and Larwyn
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