To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Placing the Blame
A quick check on gas prices in the Austin area shows prices anywhere from $3.29 to $3.61. (In comparison, Dallas prices are $3.39-$3.69, and St. Louis prices are $3.49-$3.81, with Belleville prices around $3.75. Right there, you see the problem with multiple blends and far stricter "pollution controls" that don't actually do much to help the environment... but I digress.)
Do any of you remember back in '06 when Nancy Pelosi promised that, if the Democrats controlled Congress, gas prices would fall? Let's take a look at this handy dandy chart I found at Gateway Pundit.
That shows the national average gas price. Interesting, no? But I thought San Fran Nan had a plan. They were going to bring down the price of gas. They promised! (I'm sure their plan had something to do with capping profits and getting rid of tax breaks for oil companies. God forbid they ever contemplate doing something like actually studying the situation and applying common sense solutions. That would... make sense.)
The knee-jerk reaction when you ask people how to fix the situation is "drill for more oil!" We could drill more oil (we have fields that are not being drilled at all for various reasons). There's no reason to bring that oil to the surface right now, though. And there's no real reason for OPEC or Canada or anyone else to boost drilling. What are we going to do with it? The United States can't even refine all of the oil we need today- we have to import refined petroleum products because our refineries are working at 100% every day and they still don't get it done.
We need more refineries. We do need more drilling (it's not like we don't have plenty to drill), but not until we have the infrastructure to deal with the increased crude. That's not going to happen until we, as a nation, tell the environmentalist whackos to SHUT UP.
Then again, we also need more nuclear power plants (clean energy, folks... clean energy), but that's another post.
Go and read this and this. Check out the links and graphs and maps they used. Then come back and tell me, with a hint of intellectual honesty, that the Democrats care about our country's energy needs.
Do any of you remember back in '06 when Nancy Pelosi promised that, if the Democrats controlled Congress, gas prices would fall? Let's take a look at this handy dandy chart I found at Gateway Pundit.
The knee-jerk reaction when you ask people how to fix the situation is "drill for more oil!" We could drill more oil (we have fields that are not being drilled at all for various reasons). There's no reason to bring that oil to the surface right now, though. And there's no real reason for OPEC or Canada or anyone else to boost drilling. What are we going to do with it? The United States can't even refine all of the oil we need today- we have to import refined petroleum products because our refineries are working at 100% every day and they still don't get it done.
We need more refineries. We do need more drilling (it's not like we don't have plenty to drill), but not until we have the infrastructure to deal with the increased crude. That's not going to happen until we, as a nation, tell the environmentalist whackos to SHUT UP.
Then again, we also need more nuclear power plants (clean energy, folks... clean energy), but that's another post.
Go and read this and this. Check out the links and graphs and maps they used. Then come back and tell me, with a hint of intellectual honesty, that the Democrats care about our country's energy needs.
