Dear Mr. :

Thank you for contacting me regarding domestic energy production. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.

Our leaders need to be more up-front about what is really going on with energy production in this country. Oil companies already have an opportunity to increase domestic oil supply, but they sit on their hands and ask for more land when there is no evidence that they need it. Approvals for drilling on federal lands are at an all-time high and leasing to areas like the Outer Continental Shelf is already occurring.

Combined, oil and gas companies hold leases to nearly 68 million acres of federal land that they're not using both in Alaska and in the Gulf. This is over 80% of available federal land and the federal government provides these leases at a discount. Congress needs to pass legislation that would force oil companies to fully utilize these existing areas which contain some of the most abundant supply of oil in this country. It only makes sense that they explore and develop the millions of acres they already have access to before Congress permits drilling in new areas.

Energy experts contend opening new areas like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would not lower prices at the pump for years and then only by a few cents. Additionally, it would fail to move the country toward energy independence. With only 3 percent of the world’s oil supply and 25 percent of the world’s demand, it is clear America can not drill its way to lower prices. Our country instead needs real solutions to the energy crisis.

Congress, for example, is taking a hard look at oil speculation and whether there should be more regulation in this area to more accurately reflect the rates of supply and demand. This could mean a more fair and reasonable price at the gas pump. I also believe that continued investment in alternative fuels is the best way to reduce America’s addiction to oil and America’s best long-term energy strategy. Unfortunately, some members of Congress continue to block legislation that would help address this crisis and allow our nation become energy independent.

Also, I want to take this opportunity to dispel the myth that appears to be circulating that China has partnered with Cuba to drill off the coast of Florida. Some of my constituents are concerned that this is happening, but there is no offshore drilling venture between Cuba and China at this time.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to let me know if I can address any other issue that is important to you.

All best,
Senator Claire McCaskill

It has now been 24 days since President Bush released the ban on Outer Continental Shelf, ANWR, and other drilling and production of oil.  How many more companies will have to be shuttered, how many jobs lost, and how much pain will it take until the Democrats of Reid, Pelosi, and Sherrod Brown say no to enviromania and yes to the American people?  The days of vacation for no-drill Democrats must end or we must put them on a permanent vacation in November.

Gentlemen: Thank you for taking a stand for your country. This issue is one that crosses all economic and cultural boundaries. It is an issue that will have profound consequences on all aspects of the security of our nation. It is an issue than can have a ground shaking effect on the political landscape if you are steadfast in your efforts.

President Bush led this effort 3 weeks ago by removing the executive order banning drilling on the OCS, ANWR, and other locations. In the 3 weeks since the Democrat leaders of Congress in the Senate and in the House have poked their finger into the eyes of the citizens of this country by ignoring their desire for drilling. They have done absolutely nothing to ease the pain of sky high energy prices. The economy is quaking and they do nothing. The travel industry, automobile industry, trucking industry, and other energy intensive industries are under severe economic stress and the Democrats do nothing. Poor and working Americans find their family budgets and jobs under assault and worry how they are going to pay their heating transportation, shelter and even their food bills this winter, and the Democrats do nothing. Tomorrow will be 22 days since the President did his part and the Democrats are on vacation. How many more days will the American people have to wait for the Democrat leadership to act. Every day that they are on vacation is one day closer to the day of a personal tragedy for an American citizen that might have been avoided. It may be a lost job by an autoworker or airline employee. It may be an American in the northeast whose electricity is cut off for non-payment. It may be a young girl who has to drop out of college because of the strain on her family’s budget. But for the Democrat leadership their spurious explanations and political posturing not to mention their vacations are more important than representing the people who elected them to office. This is irresponsible and borders on malfeasance.

Dear Senator  McCaskill:

Your plans for alternative energy are ok but the American people need relief now from escalating energy prices. The US needs a comprehensive energy plan including all available sources: wind, solar, geothermal, coal, nuclear, oil, and natural gas. Carbon based fuel is an essential bridge to the future of alternative sustainable energy. A release of the offshore drilling ban by the Democrat majority Congress must be accomplished. An offshore drilling poll was released by Rasmussen at noon yesterday. Forty-two (42%) percent of those polled believe that offshore drilling is most important and forty-five (45%) believe that restricting speculators is most important. Please note that these are not opposites. To say they are, which Rasmussen does, is a false dichotomy. Both can be done and you can be a part of the solution or continue to be part of the problem. 

Your Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid is obstructing the removal of the offshore drilling moratorium when a clear majority of the American people favors its removal. It has been 15 days since President Bush took leadership of this issue and vacated the executive moratorium on drilling and Senator Reid has made no bona fide moves to follow that lead. The futures markets responded to George Bush's action and traders began selling their long positions bringing prices down. Action by Congress lifting the ban will drive prices further down as long positions are again sold. As supplies enter the supply line in the near and long term, prices will stabilize again at lower levels. We need these vital resources to enable us to sustain our economy as we proceed on the reasearch and development of alternative energy technologies. 

Another concern is the effect of higher energy prices on working people and poor people. They obviously pay a larger percentage of their income on energy than others and dramatic increases will have terrible effects on their ability to continue to work (layoffs) and pay their bills (energy, food, and shelter). Some on the Democrat side say that high energy prices are a good thing because it will force us to develop alternative technologies. I hope you are not one of them.  Human misery is not acceptable when we have the resources in the ground to take care of this situation. Let's take care of this now. We've waited 15 days already to lift the ban. How many more days will we have to wait until the ban is lifted? I urge you to take a courageous stand apart from the obstructionists in your party for the people of Missouri and the people of the United States. Lift the ban today.

Sincerely,

Please do not compromise with Senator Reid on the offshore drilling ban. His most likely action will be to allow a little drilling here or there with obstructive restrictions that will allow either a little bit of exploration and no drilling or exploration with the necessity for congressional approval for production later.  Some Senators are attempting to craft compromise packages that will open certain offshore areas on the Alaskan North Slope or offshore Alaska.  I have also heard of allowing "study" of offshore drilling in certain places which is just a way of delaying production.  All of these piecemeal tactics are a sham and will be rescinded as soon as the Democrats have the opportunity to do so. Our nation needs a complete removal of the offshore drilling moratorium akin to the lead of President Bush 15 days ago, and we need it now. 

Senator Reid has, in the past, shown himself to be untrustworthy with his promises and later obstruction of judicial nominees. He reminds me of Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown. He will without a doubt yank the football away just as you are about to kick it. You have them over the barrel and their tactics on this energy policy will sink them in November if they continue down the path they are on. Make them bend to the will of the American people or let them sink.

The moratorium on drilling is a war on poor and working class people who are losing their jobs and who will not have the money to pay their heating, gasoline, and food bills this winter. This could be a defining moment for the Republican Party and you as a leader have the opportunity to stand up and be the champion of those who are in need. I pray that the Lord will give you strength for this task. God bless you and your colleagues.

Sincerely,

Joe Stephens

We’ve all heard about the famous tulip bubble back in the 1600’s and of course the Tech bubble at the beginning of this century. Most recently we’ve experienced the housing bubble. What they have in common is that each bubble resulted in the economic crash of its over inflated market. Back in January, 2001, AOL bought and merged with Time Warner. After the merger, shareholders in AOL received more shares in the new company than the shareholders in Time Warner recieved. AOL had made a timely trade of their stock at a point close to the top of the tech bubble. Two years later AOL Time Warner took a 99 billion dollar write off due to the devaluation of the assets that AOL had brought to the merger. The CEO of AOL, Steve Case, had, in retrospect, pulled off the first big deal (steal?) of the 21^st century by trading over inflated AOL stock for the truly valuable stock of Time Warner. 

The bubble I’m thinking about today isn’t economic, but it has things in common with an economic bubble. It’s a “commodity” that has a word of mouth buzz about it. Its market value has been bid up far beyond its underlying value. The underlying fundamentals of the “commodity” are characterized by a lot of hot air and not much foundation, and the “commodity” hasn’t been around for very long. Although stock of the commodity has a low intrinsic value, an army of salesmen is attempting to convert this overinflated stock into a much more valuable position. It is reminiscent of the AOL –Time Warner merger.  The “commodity”, of course, is the expected Democrat nominee, and the valuable position is the presidency.

I’ve heard economists declare that all bubbles eventually burst and that over inflated stocks always come down in price. The big question is how long can the main stream media and the Democrat hot air machine keep the Obama bubble inflated? This is probably just wishful thinking, and I don’t have much of anything to base it on, but the Obama bubble could be about to burst. After all of the favorable press from the fawning media and the over-hyped Obama international tour, Obama has received a bump in the polls. If the bump fades in the coming week, it may mean that Obama fatigue is setting in with the public. Time will tell, but we can have hope that things will change and that the Obama bubble will deflate by November. Now that’s the kind of hope and change that works for me.

Rasmussen daily tracking:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

Gallup daily tracking:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/109099/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Retains-Lead-48-41.aspx