Oil and politics

Well, it was 1995, the Contract With America swept Republican reformers to control Congress for the first time in forty years the previous year. The Congress, acting to try and ensure we had a viable home energy source passed legislation to support drilling in ANWAR. Bill Clinton vetoed it. He and his party in Congress arguement - it would take 10 years to get the resource, we didn't need it, and we needed to 'conserve'. There was just not enough oil to make a difference. Well, here we are 13 years later. All projections were that ANWAR would produce 1 million barrles a DAY. Wouldn't it be nice if the US was PRODUCING 1 million barrels more of our OWN oil? I think it might just have made a bit of difference. Some other things to consider:

Since 1980 we have CUT our domestic oil production by 40%, while increasing need of foreign oil by 52%. (Caused by ohnerous environmental and government regulations)
The price per barrel when Clinton vetoed that legislation - $19
Price at the pump - $1.19 a gallon.
Amount of acreage that would be affected by drilling in ANWAR - 3,000. Total amount of the Preserve - 300 MILLION acres.
We can drill cleaner and more affectively without damaging the surrounding environment better then 30 years ago.

Can we please consider using our domestic resources so we can end our need to use dictators and terrorist oil fields? You can not conserve and still have economic growth, it just is not possible.

Some other interesting facts:

In the Gulf of Mexico alone - US territory - enough natural gas reserves to heat 120 million homes for 60 years.
Off our Coasts currently (where China and other nations drill right now) we have 120 BILLION barrels of oil - enough to run 60 million cars for over 60 years.

This is what we have right now that has been discovered and could be used. Energy independence anyone?

Oil is a political tool for socialist and communists in our government to create suffering. This suffering allows for them to blame some evil corporation. And that leads to VOTES. It is an attack on good old CAPITALISM .... Plain and simple. Oil gives us the economic engine to invest and grow the economy, leading to a better quality of life and better wages for everyone. The people who have this agenda need to create a dependent class to ensure their elected power.

We must conserve and be concerned about the environment. But let's be honest, oil drives our economic engine. We NEED to run our cars, businesses, and lives. We had a choice 10 years ago and it is costing us dearly now. We need a vision for the future. Use our resources HERE, while finding a viable alternative fuel for down the road. Stop lying to the American people. No windmill or solar panel will replace oil in the near future. There is plenty, is NOT a supply problem. It is a leadership problem. ENOUGH is ENOUGH.