Mr. Baucus, This is Completely Ludicrous!

Mr. Baucus,

You made the following statement regarding AIG “This is completely ludicrous. I literally can’t think of enough adjectives to describe how mad I am, how mad Montanans are and how mad Americans are. For AIG to give these bonuses is stupid, irresponsible and unethical. I’ll not stand idly by while reckless CEOs pull such outrageous shenanigans.” (Missoulian.com, 3/18/2009).  On the other hand, you have taken $91,000 from AIG for your campaign over the last several years, receiving $24,750 in the 2008 election cycle alone.  That, sir, is ludicrous and outrageous!  And to feign ignorance is absurd in light of the fact that AIG’s troubles have been known for at least a year, during which time your campaign will have received funding.

The Missoulian.com further states that you said you are “exploring several measures to impose heavy taxes on the bonuses to help recoup the taxpayer funds that went to AIG. One possibility, he said, is imposing an excise tax, which would amount to a tax on the transaction between AIG and each executive who received a bonus and levied on both the individual and the company.”  This will be a direct violation of the constitution you have sworn to uphold, and a violation of the good conscience of reasonable men and women. Article 1 of the U. S. Constitution, Section 9 clearly states: No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.”

Have you placed yourself so above the law that you are now no longer beholden to the law?  Do you honestly believe that the constitution is only so much toilet paper to be wadded up and flushed down the toilet into the cesspool that has become the federal government?  Mr. Baucus, in the words of Ronald Reagan, you, sir, are not the answer to our problems, you are the problem.

I hereby challenge you to exercise a morsel of conscience and moral rectitude in your legislative acts, or be replaced.

More on Energy Solutions

In an article of the same name, Dan Scandling comments on the new Manhattan Project for Energy Independence as outlined by two members of congress, Randy Forbes and Frank Wolf.  While I might applaud the desire, and even give a one-handed clap for the seven goals outlined, energy independence, and security, are right around the corner, and can be done with existing resources.  At today’s rate of consumption, we have a 240 year supply of oil from oil shale, and a 250 year supply of liquid fuel from coal.  We don’t have to spend millions and millions of dollars and wait 10 years to achieve independence, we can do it today by tapping these vast resources.

Mind you, I have no problem with alternative forms of energy; my home is not going to be powered by a gas generator anytime soon, unless someone can figure out a muffler system that works better.  Cars are not going to be powered by wind generation or nuclear fusion, and the trucking industry is not going to transport your goods and mine to market by way of solar power.  However, if we can identify those resources that best fit a specific need, and make them specialists to that need, we might make really good progress; Gas for cars, regular and bio-mass diesel for trucks and trains, solar and wind for the home, and bugs that poop oil for the farm.

Drill and Mine US Oil–Buy and Refine US Oil!

US Energy Independence and Security comes from a three-fold mission:

 

The United States of America

 

1.  Has a divine destiny to defend democracy in every nation that currently embraces democracy, and promote democratic principles where tyranny and dictatorship runs supreme.  This cannot be accomplished while the US is beholden to the very tyrants against whom it fights.

 

2.  Has energy, whether from oil, bio-mass, coal, or nuclear power, as the life-blood of the US economy.  The effects of skyrocketing fuel cost have a direct impact on the affordability of food, clothing, and shelter for every citizen, rich or poor.  We must bring down the price of energy without further delay.

 

3.  Energy policy plays a vital role in the creation of thousands and thousands of jobs.  The oil shale fields alone can produce enough oil to replace our current imports and do so for 240 years.  This is a minimum of 5 generations of employment for families in CO, UT, and WY.  We have 250 years of coal supplies that can be converted to liquid fuel, and produce thousands of jobs.

 

It is time for liberal politicians to severe ties with fascist, economy-wrecking, pseudo-environmental groups and begin to do what is in the best interest of the whole of the citizens of the United States.  It is time for conservative politicians to stand and make a very vocal demand for energy independence and security.  And it is time for every citizen to follow in the footsteps of Patrick Henry and declare that “Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.” (Patrick Henry, 1775, House of Burgesses)

Why start drilling now?

There is a lot of play in the press from the liberal side of the energy debate that even if we started drilling now, we would see no benefits for 10 years.  And?

So, I came up with an analogy that goes like this.  A young person, straight out of high school, leaves home to make it on his/her own.  S/he gets a job working at $8/hour, but is barely getting by and doesn’t know what to do.

The conservative will tell the young person to go to school and get an education.  Finish a bachelor’s degree, and then maybe go on to an advanced degree, like law.  In 8-10 years, you will be doing well, considerably better than you are today.

The liberal will tell the young person “vote for me” and I will give you free health insurance, subsidized housing, food stamps, and a welfare check.  Don’t bother with school, ten years is far too long to have to wait, we’ll take care of you now.

The same is true with drilling and mining for oil.  It may take 7-10 years to produce, and the cost of fuel may not go down immediately, but how long can government pay our way?  What will come of the liberal plan is an entitlement to gas, and a new hand-out to the poor, gas stamps.  What will come of the conservative plan is national energy independence and security.

Your choice, but as for me and my house, we prefer the conservative ideals.

The Cost of Gas as a Percentage of Median Income

I probably had better things to do tonight, but I decided to start pulling statistics from several sources, including the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the Census Bureau, the Senate website, and the House website, and here is what I came up with.

In May 1981, the price of a gallon of gasoline was the equivalent of .0072% of annual median income.  By the end of the Reagan presidency that percentage had dropped to .0036%, with a slight up-tick to .0040 by May of 1989.  From that time until 2003, the percentage hovered around .0036, sometimes up by .001, and sometimes down by a lesser margin.  In 2003, when we “went to war for oil,” the percentage started going up, and today is at .0074% of annual median income.

Two points: If we went to war for oil, one would think that the percentage would drop with the benefit of the US now getting all that oil from Iraq.  Fact is, that wasn’t the reason, it that isn’t the result.  Second, is that really the issue?  We can parse the data to show which party had control of the White House, the Senate, or the House, but in the end, none of that matters either.  What really matters is that we are not keeping fuel prices down by increasing oil supplies, which will best be done right here in the US.  If we pull ourselves off the world market and start producing our own oil from the 1.5 trillion barrels of oil shale in CO, UT, and WY, we gain energy independence, and we put 22 million barrels of oil a day back on the world market for the world to consume.  Prices go down, employment goes up, national security is enhanced, energy independence is realized, and we are a better country for it.

So, for those of you who prefer to sit around whining about the price of a gallon of gas, I ask you to do one of two things:  Shut up, or do something about it.  If you are not going to step up to the plate and make a difference by making your voice heard to the people who can make a difference, your house of representatives, then please stop whining and be content with the high prices.  On the other hand, if you are a person of character, open your mouth and start talking to your representatives.  Write letters, sign petitions, heck, buy a t-shirt so I can afford to keep sending them to your reps for free.  Just do something!!!!

Corn Ethanol, good news or boondogle?

I started reading what I thought might be an interesting study published by the US Ag Department in 1995, the title of which is Estimating the Net Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol.  Unfortunately, I got stuck on the Summary with the statement “Each gallon of ethanol produced domestically displaces 7 gallons of imported oil.”  I could only find one result on a Google search for “How much oil does it take to make one gallon of gas?” and admittedly I prefer not to use a Wiki response, but what can I say.  According to wiki.answer.com, it takes 2 gallons of oil to produce one gallon of gas. 

So, it appears that one gallon of ethanol replaces 3.5 gallons of gasoline.  This makes ethanol 350% more effecient that gasoline, right?  And yet, the same study concludes (and disagrees with Pimental’s 1991 study) that one gallon of ethanol has 125% of the btu’s that gas has. 

I don’t get it.  Is the study contradicting itself? 

Interestingly, there is a link prominent in the study to Governor’s Ethanol Coalition Homepage that appears 15 times, once after each section of the study.  What is the Governor’s Ethanol Coalistion?  “In September 1991, Nebraska’s governor asked other governors interested in creating a group devoted to the promotion and increased use of ethanol to join him in Lincoln, Nebraska. From that meeting, the Governors’ Ethanol Coalition emerged.”  The 2008 Coalition Chair is Rod Blagojevich, D-Illinios Governer since 2002.  Here is his record on Energy Independence and Security.

So, what are we to make of this?  Another boondogle and the expense of the tax-payer, in my humble opinion.

America’s untapped oil

In a recent article at CNN.com, Steven Hargreaves indicates that congressional democrats want to block additional oil leases in the gulf until oil companies have tapped out the existing leases.  However, and correct me if I am wrong, it is this same congress that does not want to remove the oil drilling embargo that has existed since the early 80’s to allow oil companies the ability to drill existing leases.  If I am wrong on this, I am willing to be corrected.

However, if I am not wrong, this is like saying to a child “No, you may not have ice cream until you have finished your cake.  What?  No you can’t have any cake, it’s not good for you!” 

Besides, and this is just my opinion, the gulf oil drilling issue is just a strawman to direct attention away from the oil shale that would fuel this country for 240 years.  Set up gulf shore oil drilling as a strawman, then knock it down by saying we should drill offshore so we must find alternative fuels, wind and solar power, bugs that poop oil, and corn ethanol that costs 1.29 gallons of gas for every one gallon of ethanol produced. 

I have been saying it for some time now- “Drill and Mine US Oil–Buy and Refine US Oil!”  This is how we will gain energy independence and security.

Renewable Energy Bill-

I wrote this in response to an ariticle at APP.com:

“According to Ariel Cohan, Ph.D., the bill is lacking in five major areas: Energy Sector Liberalization; Ethanol Trade Liberalization; Anti-Economic Warfare Provisions; Measures to Fight Anti-Competitive Practices; Transparency Provisions. He concluded “Threats to U.S. energy security and the international energy network have never been higher. Title VII fails to consider even simple solutions to counter real and emerging threats. The energy security of the United States requires a bill based on better vision, discernment of threats, and economics.”

Perhaps if Senator Reid would have included measures to address the above, the bill would have passed and we would be well on the way toward energy independence and security. However, in my opinion, any measure must include drilling and mining US oil, buying and refining US oil.” (knoyddotcom (me))

This is response to the APP.com post http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080622/OPINION01/806220340/1029/OPINION

In response to the measure (not the article) The Heritage Foundation posts this: http://www.heritage.org/research/EnergyandEnvironment/wm1514.cfm

What have I been telling you?!

This from Bloomberg.com “Along with lifting the ban on offshore oil drilling, Bush wants Congress to allow exploration and drilling in a portion of the 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, leasing of federal lands to mine and extract oil from shale in the Green River Basin of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, and accelerating the permit process for new refineries. ” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=apUfWWAXmbuc&refer=home)

Get to www.knoyd.com and order your two t-shirts, and I will send one to congress telling them it is time to “Drill and Mine U.S. Oil–Buy and Refine U.S. Oil!” (copyright Knoyd.com, www.knoyd.com)

Send a t-shirt to congress!

Even a t-shirt can do better than who we have there now!

No, seriously, send a t-shirt to congress and let them know that it is time to “Drill and Mine U.S. Oil–Buy and Refine U.S. Oil!”  Join you voice with the millions of others in the US that believe that energy independence and security is an absolute must, and that the time has come for “US” to tap the 1.5 trillion barrels of oil shale in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming; the 250 year supply of coal throughout the US for liquid fuel, and the supplies of oil offshore and in ANWR.

When you buy 2 t-shirts, we can send one to congress.  Stop by www.knoyd.com and see how you can make your voice heard in congress!

Again I ask “Whose to blame?”

The AP reported on Tuesday, 6/17/08, that President Bush is seeking a lifting of the moritoria on offshore drilling for oil in response to the skyrocketing gas prices.  And again, congression democrats, and a handful of republicans, seek to thwart the effort.  According to the AP “Congressional Democrats, joined by some GOP lawmakers from coastal states, have opposed lifting the prohibition that has barred energy companies from waters along both the East and West coasts and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for 27 years.”  And what of Mr. Obama?  “Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for president, opposes lifting the ban on offshore drilling and says that allowing exploration now wouldn’t affect gasoline prices for at least five years.”

You may reference previous posts to this blog to see just where the democrats stand on energy independence and security.  It ain’t pretty. 

Mr. Bush also wants to lift the ban on ANWR, a move the John McCain, the apparent heir to the republican nod for president, opposes.  (Who are the knuckleheads that voted McCain, anyway?)

Sound minded, conservative, patriotic Americans will raise their voices to congress and demand that we begin using the oil that is within our boarders to stabalize and reduce prices at the pump, and provide security and independence, something worthy of the greatest nation on earth.

(AP article here: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5juoNspsulD1ZE8LPtWQI_6JtIVqwD91CBCE00)

My dog in the fight…

A couple of weeks ago my wife and I had a nice long conversation about the rising cost of fuel, and what we might be able to do about it.  We came to the conclusion that it was time to change our family website to a grassroots effort to raise our voice, and the voice of millions of US citizens to say “I’m a knoyd, and I’m not going to take it anymore!”  We started working on a preliminary website (www.knoyd.com) and our graphic artist son, Jedi, came up with our logo (seen at www.knoyd.com) “Drill and Mine US Oil!–Buy and Refine US Oil!”.  A local radio program invited me to come on the air for an hour, which was a lot of fun and proved beneficial to the cause. 

So, you can imagine how I felt when I heard Newt G on the Neal Boortz show touting American Solutions and his petition for Drill Here, Drill Now, Save Money.  Newt has a huge following, and his project is really getting the press, for which I applaud him. 

We must get congress to understand that there is oil and coal sufficient in the US to fuel our economy for 250 years, if congress will just loose themselves from the stranglehold of the facsists that have usurped the environmental cause to their own benefit.  We can, we must drill and mine US oil and coal, and we must do it now!

Whose responsible for today’s high fuel costs?

Year	Price	Increase	Percent	Sen	House	Average Increase
January
1999	1.17			R	R
2000	1.27	$    0.10	109%	R	R
2001	1.47	$    0.20	116%	Split	R
2002	1.12	$   (0.35)	76%	D	R
2003	1.44	$    0.32	129%	R	R	62%
2004	1.51	$    0.07	105%	R	R
2005	1.82	$    0.31	121%	R	R
2006	2.33	$    0.51	128%	R	R		$0.17	$0.30
2007	2.23	$   (0.10)	96%	D	D	85%
2008	3.11	$    0.88	139%	D	D
Jun-08	4.13	$    1.02	133%	D	D		$0.60
Source for oil prices: http://www.swivel.com/graphs/show/11909967
Source for Senate and House Control Statistics: www.senate.gov