Yes, I am talking about Oil AGAIN....

"Gosh, I love our Government, Our Congressmen and Senators. I love how they represent the voice of the American People."
And, I woke up.
Just as AmericanSolutions.com delivered a petition with over HALF A MILLION signatures on it for them to open up areas in the US on OUR soil for drilling and recovering OIL for OUR use to make gas CHEAPER and make the United States ENERGY INDEPENDENT they decide on the very same day that -

'Ya, know, we don't need any oil, we don't need to drill on our own land, using our own resources when we can easily get it from countries that want us destroyed. Let's just ask OPEC to lower prices, they have always been so accomidating to our needs. Oh, and while we ask them to lower prices, we can just ask them to drill more oil for us. - That should work.

According to American Solutions’ new research data, 81% of the American people support the U.S. using more of its own domestic energy resources, including the oil and coal already here, to combat the rising cost of energy and reduce dependence on foreign energy sources. This belief is so widespread it is supported by a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and independents.

WOW - only 81%, well those 81% must be mistaken! WE are the Government, WE are the Congressmen/Senators that YOU elected - so we MUST be smarter that you, We will tell you what you need, or think you need. You just leave the thinking to us, we will take care of you.

Chairman Dicks Statement
Subcommittee Markup
FY 2009 Interior and the Environment Appropriations Bill
"With respect to legislative language, the bill largely maintains language carried in previous years by the House. With respect to the issue of energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf, which will be discussed by Mr. Peterson in a few minutes, the bil1 before the Members today carries the exact same provisions as in current law. This is exactly the same language requested by the president. I don't agree with this President on many things but I agree with him that opening up more of the Outer Continental Shelf to drilling is unnecessary. Proponents of opening additional lands to oil and gas leasing assert that vast quantities of oil and gas are closed to energy development. In fact, MMS estimates that 82 percent of the known OCS reserves of natural gas and 79 percent of the known
OCS reserves of oil are in areas already fully open for drilling. "The situation on-shore is similar. Onshore, 72% of oil and 84% of natural gas resources are either fully accessible now, or will be accessible pending the completion of land-use planning and
environmental reviews. Between 1999 and 2007, drilling permits for oil and gas development on public lands increased more than 361%. "The bill before the Members also carries language which was offered by Mr Hinchey last year and which passed the House dealing with faulty oil and gas leases. These faulty leases, which were issued through an administrative error in the last 1990's, create potential losses for the U.S. taxpayers of approximately $9 billion. Mr. Hinchey's language attempts to ensure that the oil companies, which are experiencing record profits, renegotiate the leases in a fair manner. Beyond these two provisions, I am not aware of controversy with respect to legislative language.

All I have to say is they don't care.
It doesn't effect them.
I will expound on the subject in the very near future, I am doing some research!Sphere: Related Content

"I don't want to throw away my vote, so I am going to vote for (insert name here) since he's going to win anyway"

As my husband and I begin to share the idea of even considering voting for someone other that Obama or McCain we hear over and over, "I would, but that would be just throwing away my vote" or " Well, I would but (Obama or McCain) is going to win anyway, so I will just vote for him, even though I don't like him or what he stands for - but everyone else is going to vote for him..."
Wow I hope this herd that is running away with the future of our country doesn't run off a cliff somewhere.

herd instinct
noun
an inclination in people or animals to behave or think like the majority. - Dictionary

Herd behavior
Herd behaviour describes how individuals in a group can act together without planned direction. The term pertains to the behaviour of animals in herds, flocks, and schools, and to human conduct during activities such as stock market bubbles and crashes, street demonstrations, sporting events, episodes of mob violence and even everyday decision making, judgement and opinion forming. - Wikipedia

Herd mentality
Herd mentality describes how people are influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviors, follow trends, and/or purchase items. Examples of the herd mentality include the early adopters of high technology products such as cell phones and iPods, as well as stock market trends, fashions in apparel, cars, home décor, etc. Social psychologists study the related topics of group intelligence, crowd wisdom, and decentralized decision making.
People in these herds are broken up into two groups, explains Friedrich Nietzsche, a philosopher who coined the phrase. One lended itself to the religious points of views- their beliefs and how those dictated their actions- while the other lended itself to influence by the media- more liberal and based upon what others perceive as 'right' (following trends, social norms, etc.).
Definition
The term herd mentality is derived from the word “herd,” meaning group of animals, and “mentality,” implying a certain frame of mind. However the most succinct definition would be: how large numbers of people act in the same ways at the same times.
Herd behavior is distinguished from herd mentality because it applies to all animals, whereas the term “mentality” implies a uniquely human phenomenon. Herd mentality implies a fear-based reaction to peer pressure which makes individuals act in order to avoid feeling “left behind” from the group. - Wikipedia

So, where does that leave us?
We are a country that thrives on the herd - or Keeping Up with the Jones' - We all have the SUV's, Blackberrys, iPods, designer clothes, we listen to what the Times tell us is the best movie, the best book, Oprah tells us her "favorites" and we rush out an buy them. You can accept it or not but we are a country made of a few LARGE herds that are leading this population.
And, not always in the right direction.
This is not to say that Blackberrys or iPods are bad things, although the prices of SUVs are plummeting and I know that if I was to put my happy little Ford Focus on the market today, I could DEFINITELY get more than I paid for it since it gets AMAZING gas mileage.
As we listen to the media and listen to who THEY tell us to vote for, and why we should vote for them - shouldn't we consider that the MEDIA may not have our best interests at heart?
Back in November or December before all the election hoopla began (full force anyway) the MEDIA said that McCain was a long shot and there was no way that he would be the Rep Nomination - Fast Forward to Jan. and the debates and the voting, suddenly he was a MEDIA darling - even in the debates he got more talk time than others. Now, as far as I am concerned the DNC had already picked who they wanted as their candidate before the first poll was opened. You can balk at that statement if you want to but think about it - Hillary had more actual votes, she won more states, and the states - BUT because of the DNC rules Obama came out on top. Now, I am not, nor have I ever been a supporter for Hillary, I am a supporter of the voice of the American People - which clearly hasn't been represented thus far - mostly due to a severely messed up Electoral Process. Needless to say the guy that I cast my Independent vote for here in NH wasn't counted, as he didn't win and therefore got no Delegates so my vote counted for nothing.
Ok, back on topic.

Now, if our votes don't matter anyway (per the above statements) why not vote for the person we actually believe in? The person who lines up with our own values, the ones that we have around the dinner table with our families, the ones that we have when we put our children to sleep, the ones where we tell our kids that they really could be President of the United States someday - and believe it!

So break away from the herd. Do your OWN research. Take the time to listen to what the CANDIDATES are REALLY saying NOT what the MEDIA is telling you they said and spinning it to make it benefit themselves and the Candidates.


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Bob Barr in 2008?

At this point most people have had enough with McCain and Obama, I know that I have, I can't stand the choices this year and instead of just voting McCain because he's better than Obama (barely) I am planning to "throw away my vote" as many in the mainstream parties call it and vote for the guy who actually makes sense, lines up with the consititution and has an actual vision for america that comes with an action unlike Obama who is just fluff or McCain who is so "in the center" he is more Democrat than Republican at this point.

I have looked at all the Candidates webpages, and honestly when you break it down Barr is the winner. He doesn't have a huge stance on Abortion (although he is Pro-life) and thinks that Gay Marriage should be left up to the states to decide. Now as a Christian I know that these are two MAJOR sticking points for many Christians BUT when you look at the big picture, the way, Oil prices, the Economy - do you really want to choose one of the two Candidates that are fully supporting the Cap & Trade Bill that will add TRILLIONS in debt to our country? Raise Energy Prices? And basically create a bill that will not promote job growth in the US at all. Never mind the rest of their views on the "issues".

When you look at the numbers 48% of American Voters aren't happy with the Candidate Choices (Obama or McCain)

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Free HealthCare

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Save the Polar Bear - Give Me a Break!

I am soooo over the Environmentalist and Al Gore (who incase you didn't know pulled one of his shots in is oh so famous movie from another movie (The Day After Tomorrow) and has semi-successfully passed that shot off as fact when it is an ENTIRELY CGI'd shot) saying that the world is getting hot, global warming, save the planet...Blah Blah Blah
But how many of the Environmentalist also believe in Evolution? Because as I understand it Evolution is part of the circle of life. Adapt or die.

"In biology, evolution is the process of change in the inherited traits of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. The genes that are passed on to an organism's offspring produce the inherited traits that are the basis of evolution. Mutations in genes can produce new or altered traits in individuals, resulting in the appearance of heritable differences between organisms, but new traits also come from the transfer of genes between populations, as in migration, or between species, in horizontal gene transfer. In species that reproduce sexually, new combinations of genes are produced by genetic recombination, which can increase the variation in traits between organisms. Evolution occurs when these heritable differences become more common or rare in a population.
There are two major mechanisms driving evolution. The first is natural selection, which is a process causing heritable traits that are helpful for survival and reproduction to become more common in a population, and harmful traits to become more rare. This occurs because individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to reproduce successfully, so that more individuals in the next generation inherit these traits.[1][2] Over many generations, adaptations occur through a combination of successive, small, random changes in traits, and natural selection of those variants best-suited for their environment.[3] In contrast, genetic drift produces random changes in the frequency of traits in a population. Genetic drift results from the role chance plays in whether a given individual will survive and reproduce. Though the changes produced in any one generation by drift and selection are small, differences accumulate with each subsequent generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the organisms."

While I can appricate protect a species from people hunting then, since we now have mega marts and don't need to eat them, but global warming? According to the numbers there are MORE polar bears than there were before! And there were more before than there are other animals that were taken OFF the endangered or threatened list!

"As of April 3, 2007, 41 species have been delisted; sixteen due to recovery, nine due to extinction (seven of which were extinct prior to being listed), nine due to changes in taxonomic classification, five due to discovery of new populations, one due to an error in the listing rule, and one due to an amendment to the Endangered Species Act specifically requiring the species delisting. Twenty-three others have been downlisted from "endangered" to "threatened" status

Species which increased in population size since being placed on the endangered list include:
Bald Eagle (increased from 417 to 11,040 pairs between 1963 and 2007); removed from list 2007
Whooping Crane (increased from 54 to 436 birds between 1967 and 2003)
Kirtland's Warbler (increased from 210 to 1,415 pairs between 1971 and 2005)
Peregrine Falcon (increased from 324 to 1,700 pairs between 1975 and 2000); removed from list
Gray Wolf (populations increased dramatically in the Northern Rockies, Southwest, and Great Lakes)
Gray Whale (increased from 13,095 to 26,635 whales between 1968 and 1998); removed from list
Grizzly bear (increased from about 271 to over 580 bears in the Yellowstone area between 1975 and 2005); removed from list 3/22/07
California’s Southern Sea Otter (increased from 1,789 in 1976 to 2,735 in 2005)
San Clemente Indian Paintbrush (increased from 500 plants in 1979 to more than 3,500 in 1997)
Red Wolf (increased from 17 in 1980 to 257 in 2003)
Florida's Key Deer (increased from 200 in 1971 to 750 in 2001)
Big Bend Gambusia (increased from for a couple dozen to a population of over 50,000)
Hawaiian Goose (increased from 400 birds in 1980 to 1,275 in 2003)
Virginia Big-Eared Bat (increased from 3,500 in 1979 to 18,442 in 2004)

The Polar Bear:

Warnings about the future of the polar bear are often contrasted with the fact that worldwide population estimates have increased over the past 50 years and are relatively stable today. Some estimates of the global population are around 5,000–10,000 in the early 1970s;other estimates were 20,000–40,000 during the 1980s. Current estimates put the global population at between 20,000 and 25,000.
There are several reasons for the apparent discordance between past and projected population trends: Estimates from the 1950s and 1960s were based on stories from explorers and hunters rather than on scientific surveys.] Second, controls of harvesting were introduced that allowed this previously-overhunted species to recover. Third, the recent effects of global warming have affected sea ice abundance in different areas to varying degrees.

So, all this leads me to believe that there is more to protecting the polar bear than meets the eye. What are they really worried about?

Predictions vary on the extent to which polar bears could adapt to climate change by switching to terrestrial food sources. Mitchell Taylor, the Nunavut Government Manager of Wildlife Research, wrote to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service arguing that local studies are insufficient evidence for global protection at this time. The letter stated, "At present, the polar bear is one of the best managed of the large Arctic mammals. If all Arctic nations continue to abide by the terms and intent of the Polar Bear Agreement, the future of polar bears is secure.... Clearly polar bears can adapt to climate change. They have evolved and perisisted for thousands of years in a period characterized by fluctuating climate." Ken Taylor, deputy commissioner for Alaska's Department of Fish and Game, has said, "I wouldn't be surprised if polar bears learned to feed on spawning salmon like grizzly bears."

However, many scientists consider these theories to be naive; it is noted that black and brown bears at high latitudes are smaller than elsewhere, because of the scarcity of terrestrial food resources. An additional risk to the species is that if individuals spend more time on land, they will hybridize with brown or grizzly bears.The IUCN wrote:

“Polar bears exhibit low reproductive rates with long generational spans. These factors make facultative adaptation by polar bears to significantly reduced ice coverage scenarios unlikely. Polar bears did adapt to warmer climate periods of the past. Due to their long generation time and the current greater speed of global warming, it seems unlikely that polar bear will be able to adapt to the current warming trend in the Arctic. If climatic trends continue polar bears may become extirpated from most of their range within 100 years.

they will hybridize with brown or grizzly bears. Isn't that what evolution is? So wouldn't the Polar Bears

Although it is closely related to the brown bear, it has evolved to occupy a narrow ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice, and open water, and for hunting the seals which make up most of its diet. As it can hunt consistently only from sea ice, the polar bear spends much of the year on the frozen sea, although most polar bears are born on land.

who is already closely related the brown bear just start doing what its cousins are doing?

In my opinion, which is all that really matters here anyway, this is just the work of the Extreme Environmentalist pushing our government to make it harder and hard to drill for oil and natural gas.
What? How are these related you ask?
Simple! There are huge oil and natural gas reserves in Alaska (where many of these oh so threatened polar bears live, hmm maybe we should just relocate them to a special reserve like we have done to other animals and people in the past) and anything that the Environmentalist can do to block more oil production and anything that would cause even one animal a headache or save a tree is a good thing in their minds!
They want to drive their solar cars (that are more than likely made light weight by some form of plastic which last I checked was made from oil) or ride their bikes (which requires some plastic as well I am sure) and live in a happy little "green" environment.

Good luck to them, I like Power, I like my car, I like Polar Bears all 25,000 of them, plus the ones in the zoo's.Sphere: Related Content

Hillary, Obama, The DNC & The Numbers....

I added up the numbers today, the numbers of ACTUAL votes (ya know the ones that don't count, not the Delegates that do) and I wasn't shocked to see that Hillary Clinton had over half a million votes that don't count according to the DNC rules and delegates. Even if you take out Michigan where Obama wasn't on the ballot (His own stupid choice in my opinion) she still has over 200,000 votes that aren't counting. And, I am pretty sure that last time I checked Michigan was a part of the USA so, shouldn't their votes count? It was like the DNC knew back in December before all the Primaries started who they wanted to win, never mind what the American people wanted. - By the way I am an Independent, and I voted in the NH Primary for Huckabee because I think that a Governor makes a better President than a Senator who has been brain-washed by Washington already, and a Governor has a better finger on what the PEOPLE in this country are actually feeling and saying....

The Numbers:
Clinton: 17,463, 407 Total Votes ( without Michigan 17,135, 256)
Obama: 16, 923, 699 Total VotesSphere: Related Content

Things that are making me shake my head...

Economic indicators....Huh?

By the Numbers:
40% Of American Workers are living paycheck to paycheck!
26% Gas Prices are UP 26% since this time last year!
15% Bread is UP 15% since last year!
5% Fresh Produce is UP 5% since last year!
93% Price of Oil per Barrel is UP 93% since last year!
85% Global Food Prices are UP 85% since 2005!


When fuel prices go up it the cost of everything goes up, so now you are paying more for food, gas, heat, clothes...Everything! Say goodbuy to your savings account!
And while the average American is dealing with the rising cost of everything what are the people who represent us doing? Working to pass the Cap and Trade bill that would raise everything even more! At LEAST $1.50 a gallon of gas MORE, nevermind the REDUCTION in our GDP by 3 Trillion Dollars - Basically they are setting us up for a Depression or Recession and seccuring our dependence on foreign oil. Sure spend the money to sue OPEC but BLOCK every effort to used the resources on our OWN SOIL.

Leiberman/Waner Bill Supported BY ALL 3 CANDIDATES
Cut Carbon Emmissions 66% by 2050
Congress stands to rake in 7 Tillion dollars while costing the American People 9.5% job loss, Higher Taxes, over $300 in increased energy costs each year and sending even more jobs overseas.
Taxing Carbon Emmissions rather than outlawing them
Largest Expansion of the federal Givt since the new deal and the largest tax increase in us history!
Lower GDP = 9.5% LOSS OF JOBS IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
27 Coal Fire plants in Europe
2 New Coal Fire Plants a Week in China
Europe 80% Nuclear Power vs the US at 20% Nuclear Power
The environmentalist won't let us Drill, use Wind Power, Hydro Power, or Coal...How are we to operate day to day life? Go back to candles? Horse and Buggy's?











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