November 22, 2009
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September 26, 2008

Lest we forget

By William D. Zeranski
While the Democrats continue in their mad dash to obscure the history of and the responsibility for the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation still tiptoes on the edge of an energy disaster.  

The avaricious desire of Democrats to quickly grab control of a huge chunk of taxpayers' money has pushed energy concerns to the back burner.  So, it seems that the growing energy crisis is another Democrat disaster waiting in the wings as people like Nancy Pelosi and the rest of her dysfunctional cadre showboat on a Titanic of their own making. 

Oh, and winter's coming and it gets pretty cold in some places.

We, as a nation, can't forget the incompetence with which the Democrat Congress has handled and mishandled the energy needs of the nation.  High-gas prices continue to plague the economy and endanger the security of the country. 

Well, about a month ago, I expressed my concerns about gas prices and national security to my representative . . . , my Democrat representative.  (Do I hear laughter?)  Oh, I didn't send an email either, but a paper, an envelope and a stamp.  I was tempted to breakout the manual typewriter, a nice metaphor, but my spelling is horrendous.  So, I word processed instead.  The letter was two pages long so I've decided to provide excerpts only:

The Office of Democrat Representative Dunsel* 
Big Government Street
Land of the Political Aristocracy, DC

Dear Representative Dunsel:

Just before you went on vacation, I heard a radio commercial promoting you which was paid for by the Sierra Club.  You're for alterative fuels such as ethanol?  You're part of the crowd which instigated a world food crisis?  Some might consider that irresponsible? 

As I write this, you are a member of a Democrat Congress with the worst approval rating in American history.  It's worse than George Bush's.  The only way you can possibly win this November is by supporting the people, not by promoting a losing strategy, i.e. no drilling, which will ultimately harm this country.  Your opponent only has to point out this single fact.  [...]

Democrats run both houses and no rational voter will accept finger pointing in the direction of the Republicans.  The Made in America Act won't cut it.  The Democrat Party isn't known for business tax breaks.  Again, Bush's approval rates are higher than yours as you are a member of the Congress.  Now, you're on vacation again, while other Pennsylvanians are at work.

What do you know about Big Oils' profits?  The government is still getting its tax dollars -- the government being you.  Big Oil produces the fuel which makes this nation and its citizens successful.  Like many Americans, I have a retirement plan which has stock in ‘Big Oil.'  I make money for my twilight years from ‘Big Oil.' 

Until you show me what you really know something about ‘Big Oil' I don't want another ignorant commercial showing up on the airwaves.  [...]

You have my e-mail and my phone number, do contact me.

What expectations do we have when writing to elected officials?  Deep down, we know the response is like a stock character in a B movie like Copper Chicks Come in Zombie Town or Hell Comes to Frog Town.  We expect a letter stating a position, what the official supported or didn't support, and how the opposition is very bad.  In short, Republican bad.  Democrat good.  Even if the Democrat is flat-out wrong. 

Many of us know and understand that the response, which may or may to be timely, can be underwhelming.  You know, those three to four pages responses which are almost too tedious to even considering reading.  Still, like the priest in the Exorcist facing down a diabolical force, I was compelled to read the response anyway.  And would you take a look at this:

Drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will not lower the price of gas.
According to the nonpartisan and independent Energy Information Administration, there is only a 50% chance of finding a sufficient amount of oil to lower the price by $0.75 per barrel in 2025 - a decrease of less than two cents per gallon.  Even if the production of oil achieved its maximum estimate of 16 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil (a probability of only five percent) the decrease in price per barrel would only be $1.44.  This would lower the price per gallon by approximately 3.5 cents.  In addition, oil found in the Arctic region would not enter the supply market until 2018, based on the EIA's 8 - 12 year timeline.  The EIA has prepared a conservative timeline, plotting out the process of leasing the drilling exploratory wells, developing a production plan and constructing feeder pipelines. 

Looks pretty bad, don't you think?  But if you read the actual EIA report, there's a interesting paragraph in the summary:

Additional oil production resulting from the opening of ANWR improves the U.S. balance of trade. Cumulative expenditures on foreign crude oil and liquid fuels between 2018 and 2030 are reduced by $202 billion dollars (2006 dollars) in the mean oil resource case and reduced by $135 and $327 billion dollars in the low and high oil resource cases, respectively.

And that quote is from the May 2008 report.  Looks pretty good.  Go figure.  Oh, and the real-kicker is here, from page 9: 

The opening of ANWR to oil and gas development includes the following impacts:
    • reducing world oil prices,
    • reducing the U.S. dependence on imported foreign oil,
    • improving the U.S. balance of trade,
    • extending the life of TAPS for oil, and
    • increasing U.S. jobs.

Sometimes you have to seek and find what your representative and his staff don't know, won't tell, or will blatantly mislead you about.   I won't say lie . . .

To Representative Dunsel:

[...], your letter is simply wrong.

Please, have your staff do some fact checking.  Here, go to this site, ANWAR.org at this link:  http://www.anwr.org/backgrnd/potent.html or right to the EIA as I wrote above.

Not only can ANWAR provide petroleum, the location can also provide Natural Gas.  By the way, petroleum and natural gas are both fossil fuels.  I note this because Nancy Pelosi apparently doesn't, and I want to make sure you, as my representative, is as knowledgeable as I am. 

I sent my response off to Dunsel a week or so after I received his.  I haven't received a response yet.  I'm not sure I will.  Presently, as an elected official, there's a chance he won't be around next year.  But then again, he might, and the coming energy catastrophe facing this nation is only one of a growing number of crises our Democrat Congress has decided to over look, wait on, and go on vacation during. 

The Democrat Congress already dictates where oil is drilled for.  When the energy crisis hits its peak, will the Democrats then dictate that oil production needs to be nationalized as well?  I won't lay any bets, but I will say, "Let's remember who got us into this mess."

*"Dunsel ... is a term used by midshipmen at Starfleet Academy. It refers to a part which serves no useful purpose." (Mr Spock, in Star Trek, Episode 53: "The Ultimate Computer")
on "Lest we forget"
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