Not to be Crude...

When I was younger, I found myself with a problem. It was a problem that faces all of us at one time or another, “I need money. “ I was completely dependant on my parents for income. Obviously, I needed money, so I had to find a way to increase my revenue stream.

Immediately, I asked my parents to increase the flow of money. That would obviously increase my income, don’t you think? Oddly enough, they were reluctant to do so, citing budgetary concerns, and my stewardship of what I’d been given. This gave me no solution to my problem, so I had to try another tactic.

I decided that I could solve my problem via conservation. This helped a bit, but in truth it did not lower my need, (read, demand), for additional revenue. Furthermore, even though I was using less money, every penny I was using came from my parents, meaning that I was, none the less, dependant on them for income.

A heartwarming tale, you say, but what does that have to do with the price of oil in Persia? Funny that should you ask that question. For several months now, our politicians have been preaching that we need to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. It has been my experience that the only way to decrease your dependence on a source of something is to produce it independently. In other words, we need to get our own oil.

Since the Reagan administration, the Republican Party has been fighting to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR, commonly pronounced “Anwar”) for drilling. This site is capable of producing roughly one million barrels of oil per day, roughly five percent of America’s daily usage. This is one site that is capable of a five percent reduction in our dependency on foreign crude. That said, Senator Charles Schumer, (D - New York) called this a mere “drop in the bucket”. A week later, he stated that a million barrels of Saudi oil per day would go a long way toward easing gas prices. Senator Schumer apparently feels that American oil is not as good at reducing our dependence on foreign oil as Saudi oil. This makes no end of sense, don’t you think?

There was a major discovery of oil in North Dakota in recent months resulting in a find that could be larger than that of ANWR. Suffice it to say that between Alaska, North Dakota, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and the Gulf of Mexico, there is enough Oil in the United States to not only reduce, but eliminate our dependency on foreign oil. We can easily be self sufficient, but we need Congress to stop selling out to the radical left, and open these sites for drilling. Over six hundred sixty thousand people have signed a petition to drill for oil within our borders, but that is not enough. There is a major groundswell that Congress cannot ignore coming, but we need to join in the fight. I ask you to join me and sign.

Tell Congress that we want our own oil. Ring Congressman Cazayoux’s phone off of the hook. The same with Senator Landrieu, and Congressman Melancon, and every other man or woman that we have elected to represent us. Shout from the highest mountaintops that we must drill now, drill here, and pay less.