kiowamohican,

It is nice to see someone who pays attention write on this board every once in a while. You are absolutely correct. The problem with Big Oil is that both Democratic and Republican politicians get a lot of campaign money from that industry. The problem with oil will not be solved in Washington because no one wants to shoot themselves in the foot. All the hearings and crap like that are just for show and no action is every taken.

It is rather funny to hear the libs say how Bush, and the Republicans, are in bed with big oil. While it is often very much true that they have big $$$ ties to oil, look at any Democrat, and you'll find just as many ties. Check out Clinton's ties to the Saudi's if you want a real good laugh. Just face the facts people, oil drives our economy, and its HUGE business. The "outrage" you now hear from congress is laughable. They are all just trying to save their asses this coming election. All the while they have been taking money by the truck loads from the "big" oil lobby.

Joe Republican is what's known as a fictitious character. "A story floating around the internet...." does not describe "things that actually happened". Stereotypes very often are based on fact. They never describe everyone within the group portrayed totally accurately and sometimes stereotypes are slanderous. Both stories contain unflattering stereotypes which is their purpose.

that was a funny reply billnewbie. the diff is that proartist version has things that actually happened, and your version was all stereotypes....

Our government is no longer by the people for the people. The political parties are a cancer in our society. They promote themselves.(vote on their own compensation and benefits) They exclude true democracy.(try to legitimize a third party) They are "in bed" with oil companies and other lobbyists dooming our society at a cost to the rest of us. They are all selfish crooks perpetuating and spiraling the American society into a cold abyss. It is time for change and a revolution is inevitable in due time(probably not in my lifetime). I fear for my children as our government continues pushing us all under.

tjncj: I did not say WELL SAID to Seebee, but to the article itself. I do not agree with SeeBee whatsoever.

If you can't beat them, join them. That is why my son's ESOP is heavily funded with NGas, Oil, and Petroleum stocks! The stocks are like rockets, going higher, and higher, and.......

Funny (and good) reply Bill!
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It's rather funny to see these politicians squirm now that gas (crude oil, and ALL major traded commodities) have exploded, and an election soon coming. The traders all saw this coming a year ago or better, and most have capitalized upon it. The funny part of it all is seeing just how CLUELESS many of these elected officials (and some journalists) are when it comes to simple economics. Contrary to what the left is saying (and even Bill O-Reiley for that matter) the traders have very little to do with this run up. Speculation can only drive market prices so far.
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See, everyone wants to have "villein"; or someone to blame when things go bad. So it's always the fault of some big fat cat investor, or some billion $$ CEO, making record profits, or it being some evil plot of a cartel, ext ext. Well, the fact is, the CEO's were making millions when gas was $2.00, and the speculators have been around since markets came into existence, and the cartel has been around for decades. This is all simply supply and demand, combined with a weakening currency that is driving all this run up in crude oil. While it is NOT just in oil, but EVERY major traded commodity (corn and soy beans have went up MUCH more %age wise).
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We can drill all we want, and it will hardly make a dent. For one it will take YEARS for any drilling operation to come on-line, and then you still have to refine it once it does (our refining is limited as it is). Second, much of this oil in our own country is "heavy" oil, and not the light sweet crude that you get from the middle east. It takes MUCH more drilling, and refinery, to convert this heavy oil to gasoline. Now; I'm not saying drilling is a bad idea, just don't think it will be the savor to exploding prices.
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These politicians are so screwed, I hope they all get voted out of office over this, because there is NOTHING they can now do, other then rant, hold hearings, and place blame! This is CLASSIC to watch, and just exposes their ignorance on the subject, that have have ignored for YEARS. As Obama's "former" pastor; Rev Wright would say "the chickens are now coming home...coming home to roost"
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I talked to a guy on the merc the other day, and these guys are laughing their ass off over all this. If your pissed about gas prices, do what these guys are doing. That is buying oil futures, and cashing in on years of failed energy policy.

Maybe the oil companies should drill in the 65 million acres they already have under lease. There is no gurantee that the offshore oil is there or if it is there, how to remove it. They already have plenty of places to drill without going to ANWR or the coasts.

This article puts a good perspective on this issue.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/141524

SAAB is a GM product, so I'm not sure what he's trying to imply in this.

Is anyone else getting this disturbing sense of entitlement from the Republicans?

Get a life LocalBoy! It's just a column. Maybe you should get a job writing one and then we can pick what you say apart!

Good one localboy! I see all these words and opinions typed on here for free, yet no one complains about cost of the paper that keeps going up because people want to be paid good salaries to write words.

You people mention overpaid lazy GM workers - what would you call a syndicated columnist?? That must be really hard work thinking and writing that stuff up. He might have to go on sick leave due to brain ache.

I’m completely in favor of finding alternative fuels and getting off our dependence on oil. However, I think some limited new domestic drilling will become necessary if new technology is to succeed. The problem with Hybrids is that they are too expensive for most Americans to buy. In addition, solar power is still too expensive for most Americans. This also holds true for much of the new greener technology coming to market. The current gasoline and oil prices are creating economic instability, which is putting many Americans out of work. As a result, even more people will be less able to afford new greener technology as it comes to market. While other oil producing countries continue to expand and diversify their economies America will continue to struggle and will eventually lose its global competitive edge. There needs to be a balance between environmentalism and drilling for domestic oil. Without a good economy people will not be able to afford and support many of the new products that help save the environment. There is a lag between new technology cost and our current economic situation. This is another example of how the extremes of both parties are creating a situation where nobody wins, except other countries.

A day in the life of Jack Democrat (no excerpt)
Jack gets up at 9 and slides on his Gucci loafers and heads out to the Art Museum. He stops off for a latte and some quiche (he wouldn’t dream of eating bacon as it doesn’t befit his status) so he can take his Prozac which was developed at considerable cost and risk by some money grubbing capitalists who think they have a right to make a profit on him. He tips the waiter $2 and congratulates himself on his generosity. At the Museum he discusses over wine and cheese the latest trends of the Avant Garde and their use of buckets of urine and crucifixes. He gets a call on his Ipod from his trust fund administrator assuring him that all is well as his money is well positioned in oil stocks. He gets another call from his mortgage broker telling him of the VIP deal he got on the mortgage for the condo in Miami. Then he calls his limo driver to take him to the Capitol so he won’t miss an important vote on energy policy. After all, doing good aint got no end.

I had a feeling I'd finish this article and procede to read post after post of liberal bashing. The problem with politics in general these days is that it has become a sport, something for people to take sides and cheer for. When what we should be doing is coming up with solutions to fix our problems, we're toting out our signs, banners, and pom-pons to root for our 'team'. When was the last time a politician made you, the working people who elected them, feel like part of the 'team'?? I sure know I haven't felt like that in a long time.
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As for the oil, just the other day a top US Petroleum (yes, part of the oil industry) official stated that oil taken from offshore drilling in the US would not be available for consumption for 8 years minimum. There are currently oil wells already owned and set up by oil companies that are capped, full of oil, not being used so the oil companies can keep prices up. Our country is in a time of energy crisis whether we want to admit it or not, and anything we can do to consume less, such as buying compact fluorescent bulbs, driving slower, etc. should be considered. I don't care what kind of car you drive, but every bit from every person helps.
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Contrary to Faux News reports, liberals don't want to keep oil prices rising in hopes of reducing consumption. But, the Republicans won't hold the oil companies accountable for their record profits for fear of losing massive campaign contributions. I'm sure there are Democrats who fear the same. What we need is to have the oil companies put some of their huge profits into building refineries. There is plenty of oil to go around, but not enough refining capacity to supply everyone. There's no answer right now that will immediately lower prices, but starting now to prepare for the future would be a huge help.

I'm getting tired of this ignorant cliche' - "We can't drill our way out of this problem". Oh really? I don't see us conserving our way out either... Alternative energy sources? I'm all for it if it does NOT lower my standard of living or cost many times as much as we are paying now. But I don't consider driving around in a hydrogen filled contraption viable - or even safe for crying out loud. Electric car? Great, I can go 25mph or 30 miles... that's handy. Maybe we should try windmills... Like it or not, gasoline is the most efficient and convenient form of fuel for powering an automobile at the moment... so let's get on with it already - drill for our own darn natural gas and oil.

It bears repeating - A day in the life of Joe Republican (excerpted)
http://home.comcast.net/~theyellowdog/
joerepublican.htm
"Joe gets up at 6 and fills his coffeepot with water...The water is clean...because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards... hetakes his daily medication. His medications are safe...because some stupid commie liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance...
He prepares his morning breakfast...Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry...Joe reaches for his shampoo. ...properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body...Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air...If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.
...Joe needs to make a bank deposit...Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers....Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home...He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards...was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal... demanded rural electrification...His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.
Joe gets back in his car for the ride home... The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys ...Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

Democrats and environmentalist have been working for this day for decades. For as long as 30 years they have been pushing for more expensive energy. They originally proposed higher gas taxes that at the time would have doubled the price. One of their favorites, Senator Paul Tsongas D-Mass., an early rival Bill Clinton's in the presidential election of '92, was dubbed by some as Senator Tax-on-gas.
They soon realized that high taxes were political suicide and so they instead worked for restrictions on exploration and refinement believing that crippling supplies would eventually produce the price hikes that they sought, with the added benefit of demonizing capitalism in general and the oil companies particularly. Even though the democrats condemned supply side economics, they saw that it works and that it could also work in reverse. Instead of policies meant to increase supply and lower prices, laws were enacted to shrink supply and make energy so expensive that we have to use less because of the costs.
Huge expanses of land and seabed are now off limits to exploration. Coincidentally, those off limit areas happen to be where the oil is. Refineries are so difficult to build due to regulation and litigation that none have been built for decades.
Now there’s a movement taking hold some call “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less”.
It is ridiculed by those who have worked so hard to get us to where we are today.
Obama says that drilling more now would be ineffective and wouldn’t help for 5 years. Does he think we won’t need the fuel in 5 years?
Obama says we don’t have the refining capability for the extra oil anyway. So we would rather buy our oil from hostile foreign governments than from our own evil oil companies?
Everyone wants alternative fuels and right now. No such alternative is imminent. We can’t just wish, or legislate, one into existence. We need more fuel now. Or we better not get used to $4 dollar gas as we may never see it that cheap again.

I love the idiots who believe we all should be driving the little matchbox cars because they say that is politically correct. Well, never seen one pull a boat or camper or trailer or hold more than 4 people (unless you are clowns).Guess we should not have these things either, so lets close down all those plants too!I'm tired of hearing that people should be apologizing for living the american dream because some sniveling tree hugger says we need to be like them. I recycle, try to save on utilities, and think it is great to look at alternative fuels. But do we need to live like Grizzly Adams???

Dependence on oil is but a small issue. As Americans with a gross amount of space and a fascination with big box crap shopping, we have turned our cities into an exercise in ineffieciency. Look at Evansville in the 70's... you could walk, heck, even limp, to a grocery store, a hardwar store, a chool, a post office, lawyer, etc within a few blocks. Homes were built around these areas, with parks on the rim of town. Our new city plans place big box mart waaaay out in the edge of town with little to no pedestrian access (since when did you last WALK to a Walmart?) Areas of retail activity ore on the edge of town as well.
We've planned our cities to the pint where we rely on cars to get around, when walking could be an option.

on foriegn oil lets be dependent
all our jobs overseas we'll send it
the American Dream, let's try to end it

Stick your head in a hole

tell everyone how to live
liberal opinions you like to give
a boot in the butt we would like to give

stick your head in a hole

Seabee, how did dkush21 know to tell you "well said" before he even read your post? I had to read it first, well said!

Cuba has leased out exploration blocks 60 miles off the coast of southern Florida, which is closer than American firms are allowed to operate in that area. Cuba has awarded offshore oil leases in its offshore waters to six oil companies.

Typical liberal rant. Long on whining but way short on solutions.
I shall translate his wit-less words from the elitist double-speak to common layman's terms.
Jack Horowitz believes that using our own resources is a roll of the dice. Journalists evidently don't have to take economics when they go to indoctrination,er I mean college. Increasing supply lowers prices.
He also seems to believe that paying Saudis (importing) is better than cutting imports because having a huge trade imbalance is good for you and I.
Jack Horowitz believes if we drill we will cause more polution. Evidently the Saudis, Brits, Mexicans, Venezualans, Norwegians, Libyans, Iranians, Iraqis et al are better at cleaning up the messes made by oil drilling than we are. Hah!
Jack Horowitz believes that enviro laws are wimpy. One wonders if he has ever been to Nigeria.
Jack wants you to feel guilty about fishes. Sorry, the fishes don't fill my tank and get me to work to earn money to pay the bills. I would gladly give it all up if Jack here lets me move in with him, and pays my bills.
Jack wants us to give up our hummers. Personally, I don't know anybody that has one. I do know that the # of hummers out there is just a drop in the bucket compared to the hundreds of millions of vehicles out there. He also thinks we should drive hybrids. Sorry, im not paying 35k to give up my car that is paid for just to save $1000 a year in gas. Typical liberal logic there, buy a new overpriced hybrid, blow a wad of money, so you can get an extra 5 miles per gallon! I would be doing the planet much better by not buying the car at all.
Jack Horowitz says if you think we should drill then you are with Bush and Cheney. Yes, I am. Even and old dog gets a bone every now and then. Whats the Liberal solution? Tax windfall profits! Oil profits are not windfall profits. Look up the meaning of the term. Besides, where do they think the oil companies will get that tax money from? You and I.
Jack Horowitz doesn't think we should give money to Exxon. I guess he would rather give it to the Saudis.
Jack Horrowitz is a pathetic excuse for a journalist. I'm sure he would make a great journalism professor somewhere. He's got the liberal mantra down cold. I hope the gazzette didn't pay for this tripe.

WELL SAID!!!!