The Democrats will never address the issue.  The likes of Harry Reid and Nanny Pelosi can't even deal with the easy issues like what to do with terrorists.  The Democrats have no plans, they are useless.  All they do is block progress.

I think the question is when are the Republicans going to grow a backbone and deal with the issue?  Cut through all the garbage and drill in Alaska already.  We need a strong leader who will just do it without worrying if they are hurting anyone's feelings. 

Matter of fact, we need a strong leader on many other issues as well.  Where have all the strong leaders gone?

The picture of three card monte comes to mind when I think of Democrats ... in fact most politicians addressing the idea of energy policy.  So where is the card that says drill?

Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.

Senator Barack Obama recently gave a speech about patriotism. It wasn’t a treatise. It was a political speech to defend himself against all criticism (real or imagined) of his patriotism. I read the speech several times. The senator defends his patriotism on the grounds that he loves his country. I don’t deny that. It’s not that I trust his character, because I only know what I see on TV, and I’ve learned not to trust anyone based on TV. Candidates pay consultants a lot of money to fake a warm and trusting image, so only a fool would trust the TV. However, I’d prefer to give the senator, and for that matter all fellow citizens, the benefit of that doubt. The senator assures us that he loves his country, and I’ll happily take his word for it.

But the more I read his speech, the more it became clear to me. See if it becomes clear to you. In his own words: 

“And surely we can arrive at a definition of patriotism that, however rough and imperfect, captures the best of America's common spirit. What would such a definition look like? For me, as for most Americans, patriotism starts as a gut instinct, a loyalty and love for country rooted in my earliest memories.” 

Then later …

“Instead, it is also loyalty to America's ideals - ideals for which anyone can sacrifice, or defend, or give their last full measure of devotion.” 

For the senator, patriotism is a devotion to our highest ideals. It’s emotional. And the ideals are the highest of human aspirations, so virtuous and noble that any person of any nationality, anywhere, can aspire to them. These ideals transcend national borders or any drawn lines of a map. For the senator, patriotism is the devotion to the noblest of ideals. 

Under his definition, dissent becomes a sacrament. Listen to his words:

“But when our laws, our leaders or our government are out of alignment with our ideals, then the dissent of ordinary Americans may prove to be one of the truest expression of patriotism.” 

All of this is stirring rhetoric. What it isn’t, is patriotism. 

Let me explain. I once struggled with the notion of patriotism. I asked a lot of questions. Why should we love this country when it was a mere accident that we were born here? Why should we love this country when we have, so often, crashed in weakness? Sure we’ve done great things, but only a fool would deny our sins, slavery chief among them, with the dispossession of the Native American a close second. Are we really any better than any other country from history? And if we’re not, why try to manufacture any deep feeling for our country? For a while, I could only love the ideal of America. I could only love America at its best. But soon enough, I began to feel like a fair weather friend. How could it truly be called love of country when it was a love of only of the ideal? Do I only love this country when we are perfect and immaculate in our morality?

Let me suggest an alternative. About patriotism, consider the words, “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union …” The most important word isn’t union, or perfect. It’s We. 

This country, for better or worse, is ours. These United States are ours. We are responsible for this country. Let China belong to the Chinese, and France to the French. That’s why a Frenchman can love his country and an American can love his, and yet neither is “wrong.” They have their country, and we have ours. Like a family, we don’t love our brothers and sisters only when they’re cool and popular. We love them no matter what, because this is our family. By the same logic, this is our country. We love it because it’s ours, and we’re responsible for it, not only when it’s cool or popular.

Patriotism isn’t an option. It’s a responsibility. It’s a challenge. We don’t address problems so that we can love our country again, as if we postpone our love until we’re perfect again. We address problems because we love it throughout, and despite, even our worst sins.

This country was born in the conviction that all political authority flows from the consent of the governed. But once we consent, we became responsible for it. We chose it, we voted for it, and we own it. The moment we gave our consent, we took its history and its future as our own. We consented to all of it. You can’t be a cafeteria American. From the moment we consented, we became as responsible for Lexington as for Abu Ghraib. When we gave our consent, it was for both Selma and Little Rock. It was for both Vietnam and Normandy. We became as responsible for Alexander Hamilton as for Aaron Burr, for Coolidge as for Roosevelt, for Carter as for Reagan, and for Clinton as for Bush.

And if you're not one of us, and you disown us when we fail, then you're not one of us when we triumph. If you won't take responsibility for My Lai, then don't take credit for the Sea of Tranquility.

Patriotism isn’t an emotion. It isn’t about how you’re feeling, because that could change tomorrow. One scandal can turn a lover into a hater. But that’s not patriotism. Patriotism is a commitment. I don’t give a crap whether you love us. What matters is whether you’re one of us. 

I’m sure that Senator Obama loves this country. The question is whether he understands it.

I was having dinner the other night with several liberals who work for the Commonwealth of PA. Since I lean heavily toward the Right and they are my customers, I generally avoid conversations that have anything to do with politics. However, on this night, I decided to ask the question, "How do you feel about utilizing nuclear power and drilling for our own oil offshore and in ANWR?" I asked all five in turn. 5 out of 5 were for building new nuke plants and 4 of 5 were OK with both offshore and ANWR drilling. (This was in Harrisburg - less than 10 miles from TMI.) The dissenter was actually waffling on the issue as he was "unsure." The poll is hardly scientific, but I have been dealing with these people for many years now and heard them talk about a lot of political and social issues. This is the first one that I have agreed with them on.

It looks like this issue is turning and Congress will need to listen. I doubt the folks I sat down with will vote against a Dem - ever - but ti could be painful for the party if they don't start listening.

Polls have shown this is the #1 issue for voters now. So keep harping on it 24/7. Talk about their comprehensive energy plan which includes domestic drilling, coal, nuclear, wind and solar, and researching alternative sources. And highlight the now infamous YouTube clip of Harry Reid saying coal and oil are killing us. Keep playing clips of Nancy Pelosi from 2006 promising that Democrats have a plan to lower gas prices(back when they were less than 3 bucks a gallon). Emphasize that Obama likes high gas prices, doesn't support drilling or nuclear power, and has no realistic energy plan. I have no doubt that the GOP can retake Congress and the White House by 2012 since the Obama/Pelosi/Reid energy policies will result in gas prices so high they'll make us long for the days of 4 bucks a gallon. But do we really want to suffer a 4 year-long recession when we know what can be done right now to deal with this crisis?

Just read today's lead editorial from the New York Times...

 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/opinion/03thu1.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Best line...

"Some of the most important decisions came on 5-to-4 votes — a stark reminder that the court is just one justice away from solidifying a far-right majority that would do great damage to the Constitution and the rights of ordinary Americans".

Yup, the court did great damage to the Constitution by upholding the Second Ammendment.  You can't make this stuff up.

It’s “The Democrat Effect” - the rational
response by firms to prepare for the inevitable insult to the economy
from unsurmountable regulation, litigation, and taxation to come -
which started election night of ‘06; coupled with the economic
terrorism of the Left vis-a-vis 3 decades of homicidal energy
deprivation, which has coincidentally become critical now.

Oh, and BTW, these policies are absolutely purposeful, hence the term “economic
terrorism.” The ultraleftsists (a.k.a. mainstream Democrats) need
social and institutional collapse in order to attain power so that they
can “rebuild” the U.S. in the image of the Left’s great ideological
success stories - USSR, Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, Cuba, and
Subsaharan Africa. I can’t wait!

There are other reasons, of course [i.e. easy
money policies, weak dollar, subprime lending to deadbeats, federal
spending outstripping record revenues from a tiny tax rate cut (about
to end), high individual/corporate taxes in general], but those are the
2 major new variables that are pushing us over the edge.

"A man who won't believe in God will believe in anything."

G.K. Chesterton

Democrats won't do anything because they want to hurt those of us in red-state or flyover country, who travel 20+ miles to and from work, thinking that we'll blame Republicans and make us vote Democrat.

Republicans (not just RINOs) won't do anything because they want to hurt the people in the big cities that compose blue states, where prices are always higher anyway, thinking that they'll blame Democrats and make 'em vote Republican.

It's like a double-dose of the Wayne LaPierre-stated "he don't care" strategy (Clinton will accept loss of life to pursue his no-gun agenda).  Congress is willing to inflict pain on EVERYONE to try and gain votes.

No, it doesn't make any sense, except to those 535 idiots on Capitol Hill.  And it won't work.  All it will do is keep people home on Election Day.  My polling place used to be 300 yards away; it is now 6 miles.

Hey, Mr. McCain, real Republicans know they must fight the other side to win!  Stay out of our way!

how many people on this site write to their congressional reps. to voice their opinion on "any" issue? i write to my three demorats and they never respond! arrogant bastards!

And now, today's Shrub Report®:

Happy early Independence Day, everybody!

Bad day for Longstreet and Lee today (even worse for Pickett). Even GW had a bad July 3rd (much closer to this Shrubber's home than Gettysburg). At least that didn't stop the Founders Fathers from appointing GW head of the new Continental Army on this date 21 years later. While we are still in Pennsylvania, these people had a very bad day, too, on this date in 1778. Finally, the Spanish Caribbean Squadron also had a really bad day on this day in 1898, running into the American Navy and getting pretty much wiped out.

In honor of Independence Day, here is an important news story.

Does any world leader buy into the Global Warming Hoax anymore?

Today, in 1971, Jim Morrison "broke on through to the other side"…

Isn't this region on the game map of RISK?

I guess FARC is the Colombian acronym for Pretty Friggin' Stupid. No wonder Chavez and the American Left are so enamored with them…

Another victory for the lame duck.

This is for all the Rush fans in the audience. I mean the REAL Rush.

How about a long-awaited testicle-eating-chimp update?

Since it's a holiday weekend, here's a nice time-waster.

And, finally, more 4th of July food fun!!