Gasoline to Hit $5 a Gallon Soon?

Our years of ignoring our energy needs is leading, quite predictably, to soaring gas prices.  Premium is pushing five dollars a gallon.

High energy costs echo through the economy like cannon fire.  Everything we make or do economically requires energy.  Transportation costs of all goods from manufacture to retail store, from farm to grocers, will increase, and so the prices of everything transported will also increase.  That means more for food, clothing, computers, and (gasp) cigars!

The Democrats, however, want high energy prices.  Why, I am not sure.  Perhaps because one of their major constituencies is the ecology fanatics who want to suppress humanity by suppressing the economy.  Yes, let's make the world safe for squirrels.

Fortunately, squirrels can't vote.  But we can, and November is getting closer every day.

Gas Hits $5.00 a Gallon; Obama Prescribes "Alternative Energy"

According to American Power, gasoline on the Nevada-California border has officially hit $5.00 per gallon in price.

President Obama has vowed to perform an investigation to be sure no gas companies are somehow illegally inflating the price.  That'll fix the supply and demand problem for sure.  And if it doesn't, then Obama has another practical, immediate solution:  develop sources of alternative energy.

Alternative energy is things like windmills, solar panels and sails.  Sure, these will fix the problem, when they are perfected in a hundred years or so (if ever).  You've heard of "air guitar," well Obama likes to flout "air energy" sources.  This is a lot like "air ware" software, when software companies brag about the next killer generation of their computer programs that haven't been written yet.

So President Obama feels your pain at the gas pump, and wants you to know that solar and wind energy sources will relieve your distress, as soon as they are invented, right along with cold fusion, anti-gravity, elf-labor, pixie dust and perpetual motion.  Any day now.

Gas Back to $4.00+ per Gallon

The Mideastern turmoil has helped gasoline prices to again soar past $4.00 per gallon.  In some places it is already up to $5.00 per gallon (per news reports).

American families will continue being pushed economically by soaring energy prices.  However, the Democrats will do nothing to alleviate the situation with increased domestic drilling, additional oil refineries, coal plants and nuclear power plants.  Do Democrats want the average American family to suffer?  Apparently so.  What other explanation is there?

See the left side panel on facts about Democrat voting records on energy compared to those of Republicans.

Finally, a Carbon-Free Environment!

An old saying goes "Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it."

No Pasaran ran this cartoon to illustrate the stupidity of liberal meddling in the private sector; this one illustrates the move to ban smoking from bars and other establishments.

The same principle applies to "low carbon footprint" schemes to combat non-existent global warming. The thousands of business buildings now sitting dark and vacant, no doubt, have a very low carbon footprint.

I'm reading a book called "Green Hell" (by Steven Milloy -- see link at bottom of page) that describes the aims, goals and schemes of the luddite environmentalists ("the Greens"). Indeed, the Greens are almost as crazy and damaging to humanity as were "the Reds" whose shoes they seek to fill.

Milloy shows how the Greens not only oppose oil and gas energy, they also oppose natural gas, nuclear energy and even solar and windmill energy. They oppose energy, period. Their true goals are to reduce the population and roll back modernity. He writes:

...greens don't really want to increase our energy supply--whether with fossil fuels or renewable energy--because that would undermine virtually all of the greens' ultimate goals: zero population growth, limiting the development of physical infrastructure, impeding economic growth, and redistributing wealth.

The Greens are just another crazy totalitarian ideology that is ultimately anti-human; they should be fought vigorously. Milloy indicates that the so-called Sierra Club is one of the major enemies of low cost energy. It is they who most frequently file lawsuits to stop the building of new oil refineries, coal plants, offshore drilling, and nuclear power plants. The next time you fill up at $4 a gallon, thank the Sierra Club.

On the other hand, if you are a believer in manmade global warming and the benefits of living green, you may feel ecstatic when you find yourself sitting in the dark because you can no longer pay your electric bill. At least you can say, loudly and with enthusiasm: "It's working!"

Get the book:

A Real Alternative to War With Islam

According to Brian Sussman, one of my favorite talk radio hosts (KSFO, 640 AM, San Francisco), the United States is sitting on more oil than all the Middle East countries combined. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but it is clear we have tremendous, untapped reserves. The Democrats are doing everything they can to ensure those reserves never enter our gas tanks.

We are in an odd situation here. The western nations buy billions of dollars of oil from Muslim countries who hate our guts and want to kill us. We ship untold wealth to them, enabling them to build armies, weapons and nuclear power plants and ultimately, nuclear weapons to use against us and Israel. Iran is threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off 20% of the world's daily oil production. No doubt they will use this threat to deter intervention when they finally attack Israel. Our dependence on Middle Eastern oil has made us into economic hostages and ensured the next war, should Iran make good on its threats.

If we could greatly reduce this wealth transfer to Muslim nations, we could defund their evil plans. We wouldn't have to fight these people. We could just starve them economically and isolate them so that they could not harm us.

Achieving energy independence would be the greatest plan we could have for preserving the peace. Of course it would have to include greatly restricting immigration from Muslim nations. We were attacked on 9/11 by Muslim immigrants who used our hospitality against us. We need to curtail both the internal threat as well as the external, and we need to be realistic and not idealistic about the nature of our enemy. If we can't win their hearts and minds, then we should concentrate on stopping their oil revenue and preventing new opportunities for domestic terrorism.

We need an effort comparable to the Marshall Plan to build new oil refineries, fund oil exploration on our own continent and off our own coast lines, and build new nuclear power plants. Solar and wind energy could add to the effort, but only as supplementary sources. We are not going to replace our energy needs with windmills. Any viable alternative energy sources are probably a century or more in the future. We don't need any more asinine pollyanna wishful thinking about switch grass, methanol or solar panels.

The Democrats' attitude towards energy independence is strange and unworkable. Bring up the subject and they start talking about "renewal energy sources" and massive funding of research in those areas. Whether this would produce any significant sources of alternative energy is highly doubtful, at least in our lifetimes. I almost get the impression that the Democrats are either dangerously naive or intent on destroying our economy, or that they enjoy seeing Americans suffer. They simply do not live in the real world.

McCain could exploit this very real problem by campaigning for increasing domestic energy sources and blaming our high prices, rightfully, on the Democrats. He could win with such a strategy; but will he use it? Probably not. McCain seems to have razor sharp instincts for how to lose this election.

Why Democrats Are to Blame for High Gas Prices

American Thinker lists the top ten reasons why Democrats are to blame for soaring gas prices. The article by William Tate notes such reasons as these:

ANWR - Bill Clinton vetoed the bill to allow drilling in ANWR in 1995. Had he signed the bill, we would have an additional million barrels of oil per day, reducing gas prices by 50 cents a gallon.

Coastal drilling - Democrats have consistently opposed drilling off of U.S. coasts, leaving it to the Chinese for exploitation, who are slant drilling 50 miles off of our coasts.

Nuclear power - Dems have not allowed new nuclear plant construction since 1977. France, by comparison, now produces 79% of its power from nuclear plants, with more on the way. France is now an exporter of cheap electrical energy.

Read the whole thing here.

Who's Responsible for High Gas Prices?

Who's responsible for high gas prices, Republicans or Democrats? Powerline blog answers that question by quoting figures compiled by Congressman Roy Blunt:

ANWR Exploration
House Republicans: 91% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed

Coal-to-Liquid
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 78% Opposed

Oil Shale Exploration
House Republicans: 90% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Exploration
House Republicans: 81% Supported
House Democrats: 83% Opposed

Refinery Increased Capacity
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 96% Opposed

SUMMARY
91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of American-made oil and gas.
86% of House Democrats have historically voted against increasing the production ofAmerican-made oil and gas.

If you like high energy prices, do indeed vote for Democrats - Change you can believe in, but may have trouble swallowing.