The Ocean's Creeping Crude Oil

Once again, Congress is doing us a huge disservice. They won't allow new off shore drilling for oil or natural gas. Are they trying to get another country to come in and buy up America? Because that's what is happening! The largest transfer of wealth is occurring as we the people sit like ducks in a political duck pond, waiting for our political enemies from hostile countries to pick us off. The sad news is that we hard working Americans are being set up, and many of us don't have a clue about how bad things could get. The good news is that we can vote, and we have a free internet which our tax dollars created, and we can stay in touch with each others ideas.

Both political parties have failed us, and I am very angry. Obama says he wants change, but he is a lap dog for the old guard dems in power. There is little new in his campaignⁱ. The tired old Democrats such as Pelosi and Reid are trying to use a fresh face to get control of the White House and both Houses of Congress. Al Gore, behind the scenes, is salivating at the way his green message is keeping him more wealthy than ever, and he says we need to go green, but that it will take decades.  Howard Dean is giddy over the notion that the Clintons have been reduced to lap dogs, while he is now relevant. WOW! Doesn't one one these politicians care that gas could be as high as 10.00 per gallon, and Americans will be broke in more ways than one if we don't drill our way out of this mess?

The Republicans have allowed our country to slip into the abyss of near economic ruin, and now they say they have learned their lesson. Well, it's too late. The grim reaper is at the door. The President of our country has such low approval ratings that he can't do anything except sit there while Congress pokes a stick in his eye. Repub Senators and Congress people are now saying we should drill, when they should have done it when they were in the majority. What a mess.

God help us if either party were to get control of the whole enchilada.  The strength of our political system is built on checks and balances. If we are smart, and don't allow ourselves to be influenced by these political hacks, we will vote intelligently. I always vote for a Presidential candidate who is the OPPOSITE of the party in control of Congress. Since dems are in control, I will vote for John McCain. I am in California, so I will vote for the incumbents in Congress, and the opposite party for Senate. I like the checks and balances. Haven't we learned that any party that has control will get drunk on power and we get screwed as a result?  Neither party has all the answers. The right decisions are usually revealed after much back and forth between the two parties. The old saying, absolute power corrupts, absolutely, is true when it comes to our political system.

When you go to cast your vote for someone who is going to have the ability to make you feel either miserable or OK for the next four years, you'd better think about balance. Keep the political dogs and their weird vision of social engineering at bay by letting them fight each other and bite off the weak parts of each others arguments before we become the victims of single minded, shady, political pit bulls.  Remember........checks and balances.

By the way, getting back to political liars, why has neither party been honest about the offshore drilling thing? The National Resource Council provides the legislative branches with research about a wide variety of topics. The NRC states that there is so much natural gas available in the ocean that it is bubbling up to the surface and is actually contributing to global warming. Since many people depend on natural gas for home heating and for electrical generation, why aren't we drilling for this valuable resource? Congress is letting our natural gas escape, and they talking about everything except drilling for it. Maybe they're more full of gas than the ocean. If we provide ourselves with this ocean source natural gas that is so abundant and needed, the price for natural gas could be reasonable. It isn't necessary to go bankrupt as a country while transitioning to greener fuels.

I must mention that the NRC also states that 63% of the oil that washes up on our shores comes from crude that is in such abundance that the stuff is oozing out of cracks and fissures on the ocean floor, and washing up on our shores. I call it the ocean creep of crude oil. Remember how, if you lived near the ocean, you would walk on the sand and get "tar" on your feet?  It was the ocean creep of crude oil that has been happening for many years. We'd probably be doing the ocean a favor by releasing the pressure and using the oil instead of letting it go to waste. NRC mentions that the most dangerous way to get oil to our refineries is by ocean transport. Using oil tankers to transport millions of gallons of oil across thousands of miles of ocean is bound to result in ecological tragedy. A ship is no match against huge unforeseen storms and weather changes. The NRC reports that 8 to 10 million gallons of oil spillage came from oil tankers. We are much more eco friendly if we drill as close to home as possible. After all, Mother Nature is literally handing us her bounty, but the politicians are saying that oil spills could be disastrous if we drill off the coast. Now we know how preposterous that argument is. A little truth can reveal a landslide of lies.  Remember, politicians depend on saying the same thing over and over, even if it isn't true because pretty soon you can't tell the lie from the truth. Soon, a lie becomes the truth. In their sick world, this is abundantly clear. The sad thing is that I believe that if when a lie is repeated long enough, the lie really becomes the truth, for politicians.

Folks, we are getting the shaft by the current political crew in Washington. Please vote for your local Senator or Congress person ONLY after reviewing their voting record, but keep in mind the most important thing....CHECKS and BALANCES. Checks and balances are the peoples strengths.