In a symbolic "drop dead" to the American people, Senate Democrats teamed up to reject a Republican proposal supported by President Bush that would have begun the process of significantly lowering fuel prices by allowing oil to be extracted from vast oil reserves under a tiny speck of frozen Arctic wasteland in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
In a symbolic "drop dead" to the American people, Senate Democrats teamed up to reject a Republican proposal supported by President Bush that would have begun the process of significantly lowering fuel prices by allowing oil to be extracted from vast oil reserves under a tiny speck of frozen Arctic wasteland in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
The 19 million acre ANWR is in the northeast corner of Alaska entirely above the Arctic Circle. The area affected by oil recovery would be limited to 2000 acres, or about one-hundredth of one percent (0.01%) of the entire ANWR. Putting it into perspective, while the entire ANWR is about the size of the state of South Carolina, the oil recovery area would be about the size of the village of Branchville, SC (southeast of Orangeburg).
Being above the Arctic Circle, for nearly half the year the area would be in darkness with no sun visible. Unlike the pristine views of mountains and lush green valleys sometimes used by the Sierra Club to mislead its members, the area where oil is to be recovered resembles a white Martian landscape. Contrary to the statements of extremist environmental organizations (such as The Sierra Club), oil recovery would not risk significant negative impact on wildlife. Neither would it adversely affect the areas' natives, as claimed by the anti-oil zealots of The Sierra Club. To the contrary, revenue from oil recovery would substantially benefit native Alaskans and provide for exceptional education opportunities for their children. For more about oil recovery from the ANWR and its impact on native Alaskans, see http://www.anwr.org/flash.htm.
By their vote to continue their unconscionable ban on extracting oil from the ANWR, Senate Democrats have informed the American People that they are:
against lower fuel prices,
against private sector job creation,
against improving the lives of native Alaskans,
against reducing America's reliance on oil from foreign countries where oil revenues support socialist/communist dictators and Islamic terrorists,
against lower heating/air condiitioning costs,
against lower food prices, and,
against strengthening the US economy.
Is this really the party you want to run this country?
With this track record of obstruction to exploiting vast US oil reserves (in ANWR, mountain states, Gulf of Mexico, eastern and western continental shelf) the American people would have to be insane to continue sending Democrats to Congress. Unless, that is, people really want the nation's economy to collapse under the weight of grossly high fuel prices.
It's time voters dropped their allegiance to partisan politics. Don't support Republicans because they're Republicans. Don't support Democrats because they're Democrats. Support those candidates who understand that the American people do not want to pay higher prices for fuel when there is no good reason why they should! The alternative is to commit the United States to a path that will lead to economic chaos, soaring prices, and its collapse as a leader among nations.
Author of "Looking Out the Window", an evidence-based examination of the "climate change" issue, Bob Webster, is a 12th-generation descendent of both the Darte family (Connecticut, 1630s) and the Webster family (Massachusetts, 1630s). He is a descendant of Daniel Webster's father, Revolutionary War patriot Ebenezer Webster, who served with General Washington. Bob has always had a strong interest in early American history, our Constitution, U.S. politics, and law. Politically he is a constitutional republican with objectivist and libertarian roots. He has faith in the ultimate triumph of truth and reason over deception and emotion. He is a strong believer in our Constitution as written and views the abandonment of constitutional restraint by the regressive Progressive movement as a great danger to our Republic. His favorite novel is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and believes it should be required reading for all high school students so they can appreciate the cost of tolerating the growth of unconstitutional crushingly powerful central government. He strongly believes, as our Constitution enshrines, that the interests of the individual should be held superior to the interests of the state.
A lifelong interest in meteorology and climatology spurred his strong interest in science. Bob earned his degree in Mathematics at Virginia Tech, graduating in 1964.
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