Posted by
Charlie on Sunday, December 09, 2007 9:34:01 AM
Why is our government so unpopular these days?
One answer could be that in order to get them to do the right thing the great mass of citizens have to deliver a good swift kick in the butt. The recent battle over amnesty for illegal aliens is a good example. If a groundswell of protest hadn't come from the great unwashed (you and me) this bad bill would have passed.
Now we are faced with an energy crisis. Actually, we've been faced with an energy crisis for quite a few years but Congress in it's infinite wisdom has done nothing to alleviate it. To be accurate Congress has done everything in it's power to exacerbate the crisis.
They have passed environmental legislation that makes it prohibitively expensive to build new oil refineries making it necessary to have oil, which we import from foreign countries refined in other foreign countries. Any fool can see that this is a danger to our economy and our security. Any fool, that is, except the fools in Congress.
The same goes for nuclear power plants. The United States gets 20% of it's power from nuclear plants while France gets 80% of it's power from nuclear plants. France!?! If France can do it so can we. That is if Congress cuts the red tape that has strangled the nuclear industry for years.
So, what have our "representatives" done lately on the energy crisis? They have passed HR 6 which puts a $22 billion tax on domestic energy producers. Are they completely insane or incompetent or both. This tax will, of course, be passed on to consumers. It will make heating oil and gasoline more expensive. It seems the Democrats, anticipating winning the White House next year, have started doing what Democrats do - raising taxes.
Congress needs another swift kick. This bill has already passed the House so I suggest you call and write to your Senators and demand that they not to vote for this bill.
You should also tell them to begin development of our vast untapped petroleum resources. The Green River area in Colorado and surrounding states holds 1 trillion barrels of oil in oil shale. More oil than in Saudi Arabia. We also have untapped resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and in the Continental Shelf. But because Congress is playing politics none of these resources is being developed.
Letters and phone calls may help as they did with the amnesty bill but the real solution is to throw the bastards out and start with new legislators who may be more attentive to their constituents