Posted on 05/13/2008 8:57:15 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - The Senate has rejected a Republican energy plan that calls for opening an Alaska wildlife refuge and some offshore waters to oil development. Supporters of the measure couldn't get the needed 60 votes to overcome a Democratic-led filibuster threat.
Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said more domestic oil production is needed to keep prices in check and to reduce U.S. dependence on oil imports.
Opponents said areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and coastal waters that have been off limits to drilling for 25 years ought to remain that out of bounds to oil companies. The GOP measure, defeated Tuesday by a vote of 56-42, would have allowed coastal states to get a waiver to the offshore drilling ban.
Where has common sense gone? It’s certainly not in Washington, DC.
Oddly, this hasn't hit the financial news yet, though Exxon is/may be asking AK for $800 million for lost leases, but I think that has to do with their new governor trying to show she has balls.
McCain picked a really bad time for a non vote - guaranteed to result in many thousands of same towards him.
Already been started!
I see you tried to deal with a certain long post. I did not waste my time. It is wrong on so many levels. Ron Paul?
FRESH BLOOD FOR OIL ? ;>
I give you the preview of the letter we are sending out tonight or tomorrow to the media and conservative blogosphere:
An invitation to a New Revolution in America
May 11, 2008
To our fellow American countrymen,
Today, we invite you to join us on a journey to form a political alliance that will reshape our history and steer us back to the wisdom of our founding principles. If your blood runs a patriotic red, white & blue; if you wish to see the Federal Government function within its constitutional limitations; if you are tired of politically correct platitudes and policies that defy common sense; and if you reject the creeping socialism that both major political parties have embraced, please take a few minutes to learn about the FALCON Party and our agenda for America’s future.
We are not asking you for money or oaths of allegiance. We are not even requiring you to leave the party to which you currently belong. But we are asking you to join us in this fight for America’s soul. We are seeking friends, supporters and allies who share the values of our heritage, values that were reflected and imbedded into our national character by a group of inspired patriots at our country’s founding.
For those who want to be organizers on the state or local level, we can certainly use your talents. For those who are, or wish to be, modern day pamphleteers in support of our conservative, pro-America agenda, we will give you an additional platform (or at least a link to your blog). For those that just want to stop by our website (www.falconparty.com) and offer moral support at this time, we welcome the encouragement. Any level of effort in between is also appreciated. Our goals are your goals. They are ambitious, but realistic. We intend to nominate candidates for national office by the 2012 presidential election year cycle. We intend to become a preeminent voice of conservatism in the years to come. We are not just a political party, but also a think tank, an advocate for American Exceptionalism, and a place to gather for those interested in US history, the foundations of our Republic, and our place in the world today.
We are not ‘neo-conservatives’, ‘paleo-conservatives’, or ‘third way’ conservatives; we are simply conservatives - American patriots who believe in fighting our enemies both foreign and domestic, slashing the unseemly bureaucracy that usurps our God given freedoms, and restoring the constitutionally proscribed powers between the federal government, the States and the people.
Why FALCON, you may ask? Our party was founded by rock ribbed, Reaganite conservatives who are more than disenchanted with the direction of the Republican Party. We are not intending to sabotage the genuine conservative members of the GOP. We will continue to support them with our voices and our alliance. By being an open party ourselves, we anticipate many GOPers will sign up for FALCON, yet retain their Republican membership for the time being (we anticipate the same for Libertarians and Constitution Party members).
Our name, FALCON is an acronym, and represents Fealty to America, Liberty, Conservatism, Optimism, and Nobility.
There are numerous issues that must be urgently addressed to keep the United States from decaying into a ‘formerly great country’. America cannot afford to lose its economic or military superpower status, especially as we see unfriendly nations and alliances rising to challenge us in every facet of human endeavor.
For decades now, the socialists in our country, the Democrats, have worked to limit individual freedom - the catalyst for our greatness, grow the federal government’s reach and scope well beyond its constitutional limits, and coddle our enemies – from the USSR, to Cuba, to the Sandinistas to this latest wave of Islamic jihadists. While the GOP is generally more sensible and conservative than the Democrats, they have resigned themselves to co-opting much of the Democratic Party platform. We intend to stop the nonsense, and re-establish conservative principles and governance across the board. Some issues requiring immediate attention include:
China. While the GOP leadership blindly encourages the hyper-industrialization of China at the expense of our national security and industrial base with ignorant tax and trade policy, we propose to treat China as they treat us – as adversaries. China has aligned itself with every unsavory regime across the globe, has peddled weapons to most, and has extremely aggressive military and corporate espionage programs. It is time to call out their malfeasance and well past time to stop relying on this communist country for Treasury bill purchases to keep our system afloat. It is beyond dangerous, and must end.
Bankrupting Bureaucracy. The good news is that the Bush Tax cuts (famously opposed by one John McCain) have spurred economic growth and record receipts into the federal Treasury. The bad news is that spending on foolish and unconstitutional programs continues to lead us towards insolvency. Instead of fundamentally reforming Medicare, the GOP led the charge to add hundreds of billions more in outlays for prescription drugs. Instead of gutting the Department of Education, the GOP worked hand in glove with the Democrats to grow this ineffectual monstrosity. Instead of demanding responsibility from the CIA and the FBI and tearing down the walls of communication to improve our intelligence gathering, they added another onerous layer of bureaucracy known as the Department of Homeland Security, which has given us ‘random’ airport screenings of little old ladies. FALCON estimates that 40% to 60% of what the federal government currently does can and should be eliminated.
Taxation. We have heard both parties talk about ‘tax reform’ for decades. Yet nothing ever gets accomplished. The GOP lowers marginal rates one year, then the Democrats (or Republicans) raise them the next. All the while, the tax code grows more unwieldy. There are solid, viable proposals for both a flat income tax and a national sales tax. While significantly different, each offers serious reform and simplification and a move away from penalizing the most productive sectors of the economy. It is time to send the vast majority of IRS employees and tax consultants into a productive line of work.
Global Warming. The GOP is in the process of nominating a candidate, John McCain, whose policy on so called ‘climate change’ is nearly indistinguishable from those of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. And by all indications, a growing segment of GOP leadership - from President Bush to Newt Gingrich to the RNC - are jumping on this bandwagon….all for the biggest hoax in history. ANWR and the US coastal waters should be humming with the sound of oil rigs, and refineries and power plants should be sprouting like mushrooms across the fruited plains. Instead, we get hot air from Washington and energy bills that ban the incandescent light bulb.
Sovereignty. The key to survival as a nation is to not hamstring ourselves with this festering push for ‘globalism’ in the name of altruistic endeavors. We must reject the Law of the Sea Treaty that gives the United Nations control of the world’s oceans. We must secure our borders to allow only those we invite to enter this country and swiftly remove all who have illegally gained entry. We must reject a WTO that has the power (recently demonstrated) to dictate US corporate tax policy. The states and the people created our federal government with limited authority. There is no room whatsoever for supranational entities having any authority over US citizens or our elected representatives, period.
Military Power. We fully support the eradication of Islamic terrorists and terror harboring regimes that threaten the United States. But we need a military that can easily win the skirmishes, such as the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, while simultaneously retaining the power to crush the threat of hostile nation states, including a budding China-Russia alliance. The budget for defense spending has spiraled downward since the Reagan years; from over 6% of GDP in 1986 to only 3% by the year 1999. For fiscal year 2009, the highest estimate - including the costs for the Iraq and Afghan theatres - is 4.7%. For comparison, during the height of the Vietnam War, defense spending was 9.4%. Defending our nation is one of a handful of constitutionally enumerated responsibilities for the federal government, and FALCON will fight for an immediate return to Reagan era defense budgets.
These are just a few of the issues that confront us all as citizens of this great republic. Conservatives must come together now and turn this ship around. Despite the seriousness of the task before us, we must do so with good humor and cheer, not pessimism and foreboding, because it is truly an honor and privilege to work for the renewal of our nation; the greatest God has ever placed on this earth. It is our turn to do the heavy lifting that so many generations of Americans did before us, and hand off to our posterity what Washington, Madison, Jefferson and Franklin handed to theirs. We intend to ally ourselves with other great conservative organizations such as the Heritage Foundation, the Eagle Forum, the Center for Security Policy, and many others to affect this change. Learn more at our website and contact us to get involved in the next phase of the Reagan Revolution. The country cannot afford to wait.
God Bless the good old USA.
It’s only going to get worse as more of the stupid population that votes, votes more liberals into government.
Provisional Platform
America’s Independent Party has as its goal the return of our nation to a set of foundational principles. We call them “the American Principles.” The word “principle” comes from a Latin root which means “first things.” The American Principles are the “first things” that our country should consider – in domestic policy, foreign policy, the internal functioning of government, and in using the “bully pulpit” of public office and the political arena to promote certain societal virtues and behaviors.
America’s Independent Party recognizes that these “first things” are clearly defined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
We also believe that there is room for debate over prudential policy matters within certain parameters of fundamental American political thought and a framework of ordered liberty.
America’s Independent Party seeks a return to an approach to government that facilitates that respectful and necessary debate, thereby drawing on the collective wisdom and knowledge of the entire body of the sovereign people. We truly do believe in government of, by, and for the people, and our intent is to foster it by every means at our disposal.
Though in civic terms we call ourselves “independent,” we fully acknowledge our utter dependence, as individuals and as a nation, on Almighty God and His divine Providence and Protection. We also recognize, and seek to actively fulfill, our obligations as individual citizens to the whole body of the people, as well as our responsibility to maintain standards of high moral character, both personally and in our public life.
Because the stated ultimate purpose of our Constitution is “to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity,” we recognize the personhood of all unborn children and their protection by the Fifth and the Fourteenth Amendments. The right to life of all innocent persons, from conception to natural death, is God-given and unalienable. For the principled man or woman, no compromise is possible concerning such a critical matter of life and death. We believe that violators of this supreme right, in their words and actions, are unfit for any office of public trust, since this constitutes the breaking of the oath of office and the destruction of the very basis of our liberty.
The protection of the life, liberty, and private property of the people is the primary reason for the existence of human government, and more particularly, of our precious American republican form of self-government. This is why we willingly accept no breach of the rights of the free exercise of religion, free speech, free press, free assembly, free association, and the right to petition government for the redress of grievances. We defend all of the enumerated rights listed in our Bill of Rights, and, in addition, all natural rights which are not enumerated, as per the Ninth Amendment.
The right of self-preservation and self-protection is inherent in all persons, communities and societies, which is why we fiercely defend the indispensable provisions of our Second Amendment. Liberty cannot be defended if the people have been stripped of the physical means of doing so.
We seek to restore the intended balance between the three separate branches of our government, and to strictly limit government to the enumerated powers granted and expressed by the will of the people of the United States in our Constitution. All existing functions of the executive branch that are outside of those enumerated powers must be eliminated. All spending and regulation by the legislative branch that lies outside the enumerated powers must cease. Judges who attempt to legislate from the bench, or who abandon the clear principles of our Constitution, must be checked if liberty and justice are to prevail in our society once again. We call for the restoration of adherence to the provisions of the Tenth Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
We believe in a supremely strong, prepared, and well-equipped civilian-controlled United States military, and a bold, visionary and intelligent program of principled constructive engagement with the rest of the world. For us, “peace through strength” is not a mere slogan. It is the means of survival for our country in a very dangerous and often hostile world. Our friendship should be a sought-after possession of all men and women of good will everywhere in the world. Our enmity should be something that all rightfully fear.
As Ronald Reagan opposed and defeated the designs and desire of the Soviet Union to dominate the world and place it under the tyranny of their Evil Empire, we oppose the Islamic extremists. This opposition is not based in opposition to their religion, but in a complete rejection of their political ideology and actions. Since the first principle of America is the protection of innocent human life, an ongoing state of war exists between us and any who would use acts of terrorism targeted at innocent civilians to forward their political aims.
We completely oppose any action that surrenders the political and economic sovereignty of the United States and its people, and support the immediate restoration of that sovereignty wherever it has been eroded.
We support the immediate securing and continuous vigilant maintenance of our sovereign territory and borders. We oppose any private or governmental action that rewards illegal entry into the United States in any way, and demand speedy and full enforcement of our laws concerning all such activities.
We consider the federal income tax to be destructive of our liberty, privacy, and prosperity. Therefore, we are working toward its complete elimination and the repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We recommend that the current system be quickly replaced by a fair, simple, noninvasive, visible, efficient, consumption-based retail tax similar to the proposal popularly known as the FairTax. However, there are other constitutional tax reform proposals that are worthy of the people’s consideration.
We also call for the repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment. Its enactment greatly reduced the power of our state legislatures and state governments – which are much closer to the people – and damaged our system of federalism.
While we do not acknowledge that our Constitution limits Congress in any way from protecting traditional marriage between one man and one woman, we support passage of a federal marriage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for the purpose of removing any confusion or misunderstanding in the minds of judges.
America’s Independent Party is, at its core, a practical party. We believe that the American Principles work whenever they are practiced diligently. And so, we ask that you join with us in restoring and defending America and thereby securing the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity.
Sometimes I think it is worthwhile to point out glaring false statements just for everyone else reading them.
In any task, there is a learning curve, and a lot of that learning comes from making mistakes. It would be a disaster to have bureaucracies repeating the same mistake over and over. Anyone who has worked for government can tell of some whopper mistakes that were made, and when they are made in the rule-making process the results can destroy private wealth and liberty.
I was involved in a bill before the Kansas House and in the hearings a member of the House research staff sat at a table next to the empaneled legislators. Every so often they directed a question to him, or he would raise his hand and remind them of something. His job? To provide recollection of past hearings on the subject and previous debates for the sale of newly-elected members. His job was to serve as the “corporate memory” for the Committee. It appears they were trying to avoid repeating bad history. I agree.
And God bless you, pissant.
Needed more PR to generate pressure from constituents.
Didn’t even know this was up for a vote.
Martinez' office put me on hold I think so I would hang up. lol But, I was still there when the staffer picked the line bk up.
Please call and yell at both Nelson and Martinez. I told Nelson that both he and Martinez weren't looking so good right now in light of their inaction. Nelson's office seemed to agree with my assessment.
We need a Levin Surge to let these idiots know how we feel. After McCain's stupid green speech yesterday the Dems know they don't have to give an inch. Even McCain won't increase domestic drilling. He told O'Reilly he won't allow new drilling anywhere. AAAUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!
Do you think al franken will be better?????
Looks like America’s Independent Party and FALCON will get along very nicely.
First, the bad news about ethanol. Ethanol fires are evidently harder to control than gasoline fires.
Ethanol fires hard to control 1Hopefully, ways will be developed to make controlling ethanol fires easier.
Ethanol fires hard to control 2
On the brighter side concerning ethanol, there's now evidence that people might get as much, or more, bang per buck for their gas dollars with gas / ethanol mixtures.
Gas-competitive gas / ethanol mixturesAlso, I was surprised by the introduction of a machine for making home-made ethanol.
EFuel100In stark contrast to the 1700 gallons of water required to make one gallon of corn-based ethanol as indicated by the OP, the EFuel100 uses only 170 gallons of water to produce 35 gallons of ethanol In other words, the EFuel100 uses less than 1% as much water as corn ethanol, under five gallons, to produce one gallon of ethanol (corrections welcome).
But watch out for fines for violating biofuel regulations.
Fines for violating biofuel regulationsFinally, progress is being made in the development of other non-corn ethanol production technologies as well.
Non-corn ethanol
Vote every last stinkin senator who voted no out when their term comes up. Gas has literally jumped twenty cents in Indianapolis in about two hours time, this is absolutely ridiculous.
Who gives a crap about the fuzzy animals that won’t be harmed in ANWR? We’re getting gouged to the max here!
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