" "Drilling in ANWR is said to be capable of producing very little and hardly worth the environmental damage it would create."

Incorrect.

A surface study done by the US Geological Survey in 1980 estimated up to 17 billions barrels of oil and 34 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the ANWR site, and a follow-up survey done in 1998 INCREASED that estimate. The actual amount won't be known until drilling is done, and experts think it could be upwards of 30 billion barrels of oil in ANWR alone.

As for the "environmental damage", name an oil field in Alaska that has irreparably damaged the environment, and/or harmed surrounding wildlife. Well, don't bother, because there isn't one. Oil recovery processes are so much more environmentally friendly now than they ever were and have a much smaller footprint than ever before. All of the excuses environmentalists have been using to stop oil exploration have turned out to be just that, excuses with no basis in fact.

There is no logical reason why we shouldn't have started drilling in ANWR 20 years ago. "

" Why are YOU complaining CM, corporations are entitled to price gouge, according to your past writings. But then, I realize you are a bit schizophrenic.

kingofnothing, where did you get the idea that I thought ethanol was part of the solution? Had I believed that, I would have said so.

Jerry, part of the problem is is that, as I understand it, oil companies have purposely shut down refineries to artificially constrain the supply, and part of the easement of the windfall profits tax was to encourage bulding new ones, which they have not done. "

" P.S. I assume you meant FG, though you addressed me as "FM" -- assuming a typo, correct me if mistaken on that. "

" Belief in a "Creator" is part of the Deist schtick and is not necessarily faith-based at all.

Nature's God could be Gaia, for all we know. They are deliberately vague.

Jefferson was definitely a Deist; they believed someone created the universe, but that was it. Here's what wikipedia says about it:

Deism is the belief that there is a God that created the physical universe but does not interfere with it. It is related to a religious philosophy and movement that derives the existence and nature of God from reason.

So, it is a Creator derived from reason, rather than faith, and who has no further interest in the doings of its creations once created.

I have a copy of the Declaration of Independence on my desk and read it often, as a matter of fact, esp. the part about our duty to overthrow our government should it become corrupt, which is, after all, just what they were doing when they declared their independence. "

" Religion and politics..... 2 things that should not be openly discussed. If you need proof, read the previous posts in this forum..........

Does anyone have any reports about the Chris Major festival???? "

" Separation is a very good thing FM, Seems that even Jesus believed in the seperation, evidenced by the statement, "Render unto Ceasar those things that are Ceasars".
But FM, you should read the Declaration of Independance...
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
and "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them"
Creator and Nature's God seems to be a faith based statement, no? "

" the real world/driving towards disaster:

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/may/28/na-driving-toward-disaster/?news-opinion-commentary "

" Lowest price for gas in Ithaca today is $3.99, highest is $4.15

In Auburn, the current range is $3.92-$4.09

Enter your zip code and get the prices from lowest to highest here:

http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx "

" On the other hand, we "goosestepped" all over Germany after WWI, leaving it in untenably worse condition -- insuring that there would BE a WWII.

(My masters in German Studies at Cornell included a goodly portion of German history, much of it taught by a woman who specializes in German military history). "

" The Puritans were way before the Founding Fathers, most prominent of whom were Deists, not Christians. Part of what they built into our government was a deliberate SEPARATION of Church and State -- they did that on purpose. Had we been "founded on faith" they would have built religion into government rather than building it OUT of government, as they did. "

" Gator, they can have the algae buildup from my pool due to hubby NOT winterizing it--lol.
PLUS due to many foreclosures there are home with pools sitting full of algae!
its costing the city lots of bucks hiring for these private pool cleanups, which needs to be done for the safety of neighborhood children, increase in frogs, and huge problem with mosquitos. "

" More respect for the troops? Really Karl? Considering that I was ACTUALLY in the military and know what its like to be away from family and friends for extended periods of time, working 16-18 hour days, doing dangerous jobs, etc...
But like everything, Karl knows better.
Faith did build this country...The Puritans who followed the Pilgrims to New England, created a Bible based commonwealths in order to practice a representative government that was modeled on their church covenants. Their more than 100 governmental covenants and compacts essentially laid the foundation for Americas Constitution, which was drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1789.
But Karl knows better.
Why do libs like Karl feel that spreading democracy should not involve force? And of course, the often used "Nazi" reference to goosestepping for those who support the cause. Well, we "goosestepped" together and defeated Germany and Japan, occupied them for a great many years and left them in much better shape. The same can and probably will happen in Iraq, 30 plus years of repression isn't going away in 5 or 6. Karl and his ilk root for the enemy because the US "needs to be taught a lesson" for some reason.
But Karl knows better. "

" Melbourne, Florida based PetroAlgae says that it hopes to test a commercial system as early as next year. The company licensed strains of freshwater algae bred by Arizona State University and is developing the bioreactors and harvesting methods to grow the algae at large scale, said Fred Tennant, PetroAlgae's vice president of business development. The algae harvested from open-pond farms can be converted to oil that can be refined into biodiesel. The remaining material can be sold as high-protein animal feed, Tennant said. Because algae needs a source of carbon dioxide to grow, PetroAlgae is seeking to set up joint ventures with electric utilities looking to reduce their carbon emissions. "

" inflation:
1978: 2008:
cap/gown 15.00 25.00
ring 100.00 550.00
yearbook 15.00 70.00
Sen.pics 100.00 350.00
gift 20.00 100.00

My son, 750.00 for a ring in 2004--good thing my limit was 300.00, HE paid the rest! The funny thing for this MUST HAVE is he's left it on the counter, near a sink, or on an end table. His sister and I would pick it up and wait to see how long it took him to miss this MUST HAVE-once it was 3 months! "

" I filled up the gas tank last night 3.76 @ Sam's Club. Others averaged 3.88 while a Texaco was 4.01..I says it is gouging! I am sending an email off to the governor, he dislikes gouging! "

" The alternate parking is a revenue source because those of us who have to park on the street sometimes make a mistake. I have been sick and didn't move my car one night and got a ticket. I didn't pay attention to the date one time and parked on the wrong side and got another ticket. I wouldn't be againt the alternate parking if the cops gave a ticket when I was on the wrong side and it did obstruct traffic flow, but our street is wide and I work every morning and come home every evening, so my car isn't there all day every day during the critical hours. I'm am very upset with the new alternative parking laws. We don't have alot of parked cars on the street. My car is not a problem no matter which side of the street it is on, day or night. "

" In theory remembering to park on the correct side of the street is great. In actuality, not so much. Be real brew1234 - how many of us are that reliable? And what if we go away for a few days - not many streets left in the city where a neighbor would be willing to be responsible for moving your car from side to side. Lots of revenue, I'm sure - check out what the city makes each winter. "

" Not to worry-Aj says we're safe!

http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/new_al_qaida_threat/2008/05/27/99319.html?s=al&promo_code=631F-1 "

" Blackwater = BAD, no matter who hired them. "

" Thanks, AJ, for the concise rundown on the rising price of gas. I don't suppose it would be possible to make futures speculation for oil illegal? Naw, didn't think so....

On French gas prices: Thanks, vic, for the explanation about European taxes. cm, I suspect it's the other way around -- the REASON France is a leader in alternative energies is BECAUSE their gas costs $8.00+ a gallon. That high cost motivated them to get off their butts and find a different way to power things.

(Karl, I thought the marines' thing was "Boo-rah" -- but I am no expert;-) "

" Why would alternate side parking be a revenue source? All you have to do is park on the correct side and no revenue will be raised. "

" aj i guess your comprehensive energy policy starts with ethanol. what has that done so far but raised the price of food and corn, cut down trees that help reduce co2. why arent you crying about that mr global warming. where is this ehtanol by the way. not near me. CM has it all right. AJ there could be 50 times more oil in anwr than we know but the dems wont let us even explore. $h!t the dems wont even let us build dams for hydroelectric power. the united states is not bound by bush and the corporations we have our hands tied behind our backs by liberal environmental nutcases. aj and karl are happy to see the demise of the united states. "

" After several "rock-a-byes" grand-daughter is alseep!
Back to the subject at hand:

http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.php?cycle=2008&ind=E01

this above site is great for BOTH sides
be sure to click on the above your at the contributors tab, then click recipients tab

Shortcut to locals:

http://www.opensecrets.org/address/contribs.php?zip=13021

happy reading! "

" I began with this site:
http://www.infoplease.com/world/events/2008/may.html
LOVED THIS SECTION:
State Department Renews Deal with Controversial Contractor (May 9): Blackwater Worldwide, the company whose guards killed 17 civilians in 2007, will continue to provide security for U.S. diplomats for another year. "We cannot operate without private security firms in Iraq," says Patrick Kennedy, an undersecretary of state.
KENNEDY!
then onto this site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_J._Kennedy
BEST SECTION: Controversy

We wonder why things are what they are?????????
A DUCK! "

" cm, this has been going on for years before the current house and senate. geesus you'll just never get it. "

" One of the reasons for the (now) high cost of oil is speculation, another is the war in Iraq (although they go hand in hand). Another is the oil companies willful closing down of refineries. There currently is no "real" oil shortage, just as there wasn't back in the 70's. It is largely due to artificial manipulation.

And when you factor in the cost of the war (which IS all about OIL - does anyone remember Operation Iraqi Liberation? - those guys do have a sense of humor I guess) then the cost more than doubles or triples.

Vic also rightly noted that oil is traded in dollars. The problem with dollars is that to supply all the cheap credit which (barely) fueled people's existence and the war the last several years, the fed has had to print money like it was going out of style (which is another story, since it will be) and has devalued it sharply. This is another hidden tax you would think the wingers on here would be complaining about on this forum, since they seem to hate taxes so much.

Jerry, I for one do not want to live in a cesspool for the right to have cheap oil. Drilling in ANWR is said to be capable of producing very little and hardly worth the environmental damage it would create.

As I mentioned before, this country needs a comprehensive energy policy which steers us away from oil into abundant and free or nearly free non-polluting energy.

Already, there are numerous technologies which have been bought up and shelved by the oil companies to protect their domain - we could start by freeing up those patents.

Solar energy has come a long way since the 80's in spite of the fact that Reagan pulled the funding of it for domestic use, and currently we are just around the corner from it being totally competitive with power from the grid. A little bit of a "moon landing" push would be all it would take to make solar more than competitive.

Unfortunately, there are people in government protecting BIG OIL (can you say Dick Cheney?) which is NOT in our long-term national best interest. "

" some energy ideals allready signed

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/energy/ "

" They voted NO for alaska and No for the gulf near florida! Also the now "endangered" polar bear (global warming) adds more NO's to any refineries/drilling.
Its seems to me CONGRESS is letting China take over. We borrow our monies from them, all our products are from them, and now places WE should be drilling are being drilled by CHINA!
While we are handing $$$$$ TO CHINA they are poisoning our pets and our children!
WHO is in CONGRESS right now??? "

" I think this election is bringing out the worst in some candidates. Hillary was under sniper fire, I guess her recall wasn't that great. Barak had A uncle that freed a concentration camp, I guess his recall wasn't that great because he didn't have A uncle. I think it's going to come down to the lesser of two evils. Make sure you vote, it's your call. "

" CALL YOUR DEMOCRATIC LEADERS AND TELL THEM TO DRILL. I HEARD CHINA AND COLUMBIA SIGNED 100 YEAR LEASES ON OIL FIELDS IN THE GULF. MORE OIL IS THE ONLY SOLUTION UNTIL A MIRACLE INVENTION COMES OUT OF THE WOODWORK. DONT HOLD YOUR BREATH. OIL IS RIGHT UNDER OUR FEET. WE NEED TO QUIT THE ENVIRONMENTAL BS AND GET TO WORK. GUESS WHAT IF WE STARTED 10 YEARS AGO WE WOULD HAVE IT BY NOW. THERE IS NO END IN SIGHT UNLESS YOU COMPLAIN TO YOUR REPS. TO SAY YES TO DRILLING. I THINK THE DEMS JUST VOTED NO TO DRILL IN ANWR. WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTAND????????? "

" European countries tax their gas at a much higher rate than the US does, thus the higher prices. They also travel much more by walking, bicycle, train or by bus, and have much more gas efficient cars so the price increase doesn't effect them as much. Also oil is bought and sold in dollars. Our falling dollar is also a big contributer to the increase in price of gas. The Euro keeps increasing in value so it offsets some of the price increase in France as well. "

" Thank You AJ but let me add, if this government were allowed to get the oil available to us we would not be in this situation. 95% of Alaska is inhabitable so in my humble opinion, get the oil.
We have enormous amounts of oil available to us off the coast of Florida, I say get the oil, remove the state restrictions foe octane and produce the fuel needed to FUEL this economy. Plus I might add, build a few more refineries, this would go along way as we have only (1) REFINERY for the entire country. What are they thinking? "

" I am all for other sources of fuel but my question is: If France is the leader in 'other sources' why is their gas still 8.00+ a gallon?
While we are waiting 10yrs for a nuke plant/windmills/oil drilling, none of that will aid us now.
Instead of giving CORPS. more of my dollars I plan to invest in solar for my home.
I allready began-1 tank of gas for 15 days! "

" Jerry, I often don't agree with you, but most of what you just said is right on.

I would also add that what we also need is to move away from an oil based economy which is devastating our environment.

It would be a great time to dust off Carter's energy program, make a few changes to bring it up to date, and get serious about alternative energy. The possibilities are staggering. Free or cheap, abundant energy is very possible only if we make if one of our highest priorities. "

" i must have missed the memo that said tuesday is loserday on this forum. "

" State and Local Prosecutors Can Take Down Bush - David Swanson writes about Vincent Bugliosi's book

If only it happens!! I will be SO happy! But, I ain't gonna hold my breath. sigh...

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/33654 "

" There was interesting letter to the editor addressed to the President asking him to do something about the high price of gas. Although I understand this persons frustration, the problem is far greater than just the presidents.
If we want lower gas prices we need to get rid of the lobbyists. Corporate America owns this government. Liberal and Conservative alike. Lobbyist's give millions of dollars to these politicians to protect them against any type of regulation against them. Thus billions of dollars in profit are recognized by these companies while the average American family struggles to make ends meet. In order to save this economy we need to regulate the oil companies. High fuel prices are ruining this economy, the governments inaction is a testament to their inability or unwillingness to solve this problem and return America to the road of prosperity. Prior to voting for and supporting any candidate for President, Congress, or the Senate I would first look to see how much money they took for the lobbyists. Ridding Washington of the lobbyists is the first real step to recovery. Accountability plain and simple "

" Here is a piece from Kevin Zeese on Memorial Day. Highly recommended reading, my thoughts exactly.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/33648 "

" Well-said, Karl. "

" Let's see how Chris respects the troops - by supporting an illegal an immoral war that has nothing to do with protecting the US but rather a handful of corporations, which puts them in harms way where they can be killed or seriously injured.

Yeah, that makes sense. /sarcasm "

" Well said Karl!! "

" Well now; yet another pathetic attempt at caricaturizing “Liberals” from our resident “military-can-do-no-wrong!” jarhead, Chris Van Coulter. Oh Chris…where do I start?
OK, buddy, first of all, AJ and I have MORE respect for the troops who have served and died for this country than any of you ‘OORAH!” types, because we recognize that dying for one’s country is not just some fluffed-up, conveniently-packaged honorific title dressed up with a cheap medal and a little pageant at the gravesite, but a real tragic occurrence which affects and sometimes destroys many in its wake. This is why it should be avoided at all costs.
I hate to have to educate you once again, Chris (actually, I LOVE it!) but I’ve been all over Europe, and guess what? Plenty of countries give their citizens “the privilege to speak freely, worship freely, write freely, etc.. (Seriously, Chris; you NEED to get out more!) You seem to think that we live on an island of Democracy surrounded by oppression—GET REAL, buddy! Your viewpoint is myopic and ignorant, period.
Your clichéd platitudes about “Faith building America” is also ignorant—“faith” almost destroyed this country before the ideals of the Enlightenment—live, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, equality for ALL men (those were LIBERAL values, Chris!)—rescued the slaves from Biblically supported slavery. Study the Mormon wars, the genocide of the Indians, and the Quaker persecutions too, Chris, before you spew such meaningless crap.
I respect all who have “fought to protect the freedoms I enjoy”, but have little use for soldiers like you who mindlessly goosestep to the dictates of a mad actor diabolically painting a war-for-profit as some patriotic venture. Your “patriotism” is a cowardly, sycophantic bowing-down-to to Authority because in the end, for all your fluff and bluster, for all your machismo and “OORAH” posing, you’re just a scared little boy looking for a daddy to protect him.
On the other hand, Chris, I grew out of that looooong ago.
There si no Fascism like Fascism masquerading as Patriotism and Nationalism. "

" Obama's wife's an Anti-American? Whose the joker that writes this kind of drivel? "