May 21 2006
Empty Rhetoric From The Left
An example of useless, empty rhetoric from the Democrats:
Party leaders are requesting that all House and Senate Democrats stage events back home over the Memorial Day recess to signal the start of the summer driving season. The lawmakers will pitch new Democratic proposals to reduce foreign oil imports and expand domestic alternative-energy supplies.
Their marching orders even include instructions for how to select locations, recruit participants and set up camera shots.
“Wherever you live, your gas prices are out of control, and you want to hold someone accountable for it,” Reid said.
How about we hold Democrats responsible for blocking energy legislation for 5 years? Or how about we hold nature responsible for creating the optimal energy source in oil, a byproduct of life millions of years ago. Or maybe we should hold society responsible for making us have to travel to work and move goods around so everyone can enjoy the same quality products? Or maybe we should hold God accountable for giving us the interest to travel instead of sitting home like good worker ants. And what are the solutions?
Brown is making an issue of the $330,000 in donations that Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) has received from oil and gas companies over the course of his career.
Er, well I am not sure how that will lower gas prices. Let’s try again:
For a special election on June 6 in San Diego, to fill the House seat vacated by Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R), House Democrats are sponsoring local radio traffic reports, using the spots to highlight Republican candidate Brian P. Bilbray’s energy record from when he served previously in the House.
Traffic reports? Not sure how that will lower prices. What else do they have:
House and Senate Democrats are promoting separate energy packages. The differences reflect the challenge of reconciling the many regional interests and biases that influence energy debates in Congress.
Ahh. They have differences of opinions! While Republicans are evil Democrats simply have differing views. Still not sure how that will lower prices. Wait, I see an idea forming:
The House plan focuses almost exclusively on crop-derived biofuels. “From corn in the Midwest, to soybeans in North Carolina, to sugar beets in Minnesota, we grow the crops that can be converted into the biofuels that power our cars,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), when House Democrats announced the plan May 11.
Hate to burst your bubble Nancy, but there will be no savings for Americans with bio fuels for YEARS. They need to buy really expensive cars that can run on bio fuels first. Then they can work off that investment for a few years before they see a net savings. But this is not about saving money of fuel:
Although narrowly focused, the House plan has a specific audience in mind: conservative rural voters, whom Democrats believe are particularly disgruntled with Republican leadership and for whom high gas prices are a particular burden.
And whom Democrats think are such rubes they can be easily connived into believing Democrats will lower their cost of living. Trading fuel costs for a new car is not going to help peoples’ cash flow problems. All their ideas are ‘sounds wonderful’ fantasies. Reusable energy like wind and solar are blights on our planet and cannot produce a fraction of what we need – even if we covered the country with solar arrays and windmills.
The Dems are just marketing BS to win votes – as usual.
I also note thier seeming willingness to whistle past the graveyard of the fact that maybe 11 million “undocumented” visitors might be useing just a couple of gallons of fuel each year.
When you look at even the reduced limits of the senate bill, the influx of legal immigration is going to be hard to sustain when even now to hold our nose above water, refineries are running at 98% utilization. Shucks those pesky little facts. Yup the devil is in the details.
merlin:
Oh for heavens sake, is everything about immigtration? This obsession is getting out of control. I swear to God nothing short of making it a law to shoot a Mexican everyday is going to appease you people. You can either have a bill like the Senate bill or you can have the status quo. I know this whole democracy thing where other people have a right to their opinions and fail to say how hi when you say jump is annoying, but it is reality.
Also, the largest factor in the price of gas is the price of oil and that is set on a world market. For another I keep hearing how these people are not paying taxes but if they are buying gas then they are paying both federal taxes and state taxes.
I tell you what, why don’t xenophobes start walking? That might help.
But hey, why not blame cancer and global warming on immigration while you at it?
BTW I am a conservative rural voter and I would not vote for someone like Pelosi is you put a gun to my head.
I have an issue with Immigration and Congress in general.
Members of congress have shown us time and again that they are incapable of meaningful, focused action for the resolution of key issues in any ethical or intelligent way. You are well aware of the issues; immigration, energy, welfare, Social Security and Medicare, a tax system that is overly complicated and filled with inequities, and a budget that is grossly inflated with pork.
Immigration and naturalization issues are a good example of poor performance by Congress. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States, gives Congress and Congress alone, the power to establish the rules, laws, and procedures to straighten out immigration and naturalization issues. The laws that are on the books need to be enforced, and funding provided to support security of our country and its borders. It seems to me, and I think you will agree, that the will of the citizens of our country is fairly obvious, illegal marchers not withstanding. Yet all I see is vacillation, procrastination, and subterfuge in the political ways of our senators and representatives. No one seems willing to actually do something, anything—other than spend our money of course.
Energy, Medicare, Social Security, our tax system, pork politics, and welfare are among other major issues that need congressional action and resolution before they become an overwhelming weight on our resources and security. If lasting solutions are not found, we shall slowly but surely sink into a national peat bog, from which, it may take generations to recover.
Colonel:
But we have to remember that Congress does not only represent our personal view, they represent the country’s view as a whole. For instance if you gave the people of the US the following choice: which would you rather see, an end to medicare and social security or higher taxes on wealthy Americans, which do we honestly think the American people would chose? These programs exist because the American people want them there and yes, we need to reform the programs but we have to keep in mind that such reform requires consensus and compromise.
As for immigration, why is it an issue right now? George Bush has always supported guest worker programs, he did not lie…Congress, the states, the big cities, have all kicked this problem down the road for years and now all of a sudden when the Senate does try to deal with it and the president does address it the same people who complain that nothing has been done, complain about the way it is dealt with. As if there is a magic wand to wave if only the recalcitrant Congress would wave it.
The truth is a lot of the people complaining are the problem. They come up with some simplistic comment about just enforcing laws that are there…well fine… the same could be said about drug laws or prstitution laws, or speeding laws, but it is obvious it is more complicated than that. If that was all there was to it, we would not be discussing it today because the problem would have been solved before Bush was even the Governor of Texas much less the president.
So it seems it will need a new approach and most of all, it will take time.
Terrye,
I agree with most of what you said…but that DOESN’T mean that Congress can just throw money (our money) at these problems and absolve themselves of all blame as to what happens in the future. Most of them are there a hell of alot longer than ANY president! The REAL problem I have is with such as the following (i.e. John McCain):
John McCain as a presidential candidate…here is MY objection:
“We all know that millions of undocumented immigrants pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for years and sometimes decades while they work to contribute to our economy,†said Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican.
“The Ensign amendment would undermine the work of these people by preventing lawfully present immigrant workers from claiming Social Security benefits that they earned before they were authorized to work in our community,†he said. “If this amendment were enacted, the nest egg that these immigrants have worked hard for would be taken from them and their families.â€
…………
CAN ANYONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME AND SEVERAL MILLION LEGITIMATE SOCIAL SECURITY RECIPIENTS exactly why Congress has deemed it right to sanction identity theft and fraud??? The last time I checked it was a felony to steal someone’s identity. McCain calls the fact that we have not done anything about it up to this point, “defacto amnestyâ€! Does the Senator know what he can do with his DEFACTO AMNESTY???
Now it appears that some Republicans have joined the race to slobber after the votes of FELONS. When these people bought their false documentation, they KNEW what they were doing…and now it appears that Congress is going to award them something which THEY DO NOT DESERVE nor should EVER be awarded. And, NO, I’m not saying they should all be immediately deported, but there is also no reason in this world to reward them with benefits which they were NOT entitled to in the first place!
ALL the Democrats voted against the Ensign amendment and the following so-called Republicans in the Senate:
Brownback (R) Kansas
Chaffee (R) Rhode Island
Dewine (R) Ohio
Graham (R) South Carolina
Hagel (R) Nebraska
Lugar (R) Indiana
Martinez (R) Florida
McCain (R) Arizona
Specter (R) Pennsylvania
Stevens (R) Alaska
Voinovich (R) Ohio
I am ASHAMED of them all!!! If the House doesn’t stop this “compromise†we are all going to pay dearly for it!!!
I have again burned the e-mails to both Hastert and Frist and urge all to do the same.
As far as McCain’s comments on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace this morning…the VERY LAST thing I need is a lecture from him about how it’s unfair not to want to share my identity with as many illegals as want it. And Mr. McCain will not be the one to bear the consequences of what happens when the Social Security system crashes.
Sorry for the rant.
Carol
Carol:
I think the question is why did the social security system take the money? If these numbers were bogus then why did the money go to the government in the first place? Did the employers even know these people were illegal? I mean they paid into the system too.
I doubt if this one passes and I think it will die before it gets to the President..but like most things there is probably more to this than we know.
Terrye
Respectfully no, I am a pragmatic realist. Each day I reasearch a lot of reports and projections from multiple governmental and public and private sources to update economic models. To modify your objections word order, immigration is about everything. Everyone takes resources to sustain, consumes energy, generates waste, takes up road and school space etc. Current data shows that despite economic taxation and fee income from low income immigrants compared to support cost ends up in an approximate net outflow of $3900 per alien per year.
I care not of their nationality, I only submit that we have to have immigration at a controlled sustainable level that doesn’t overtax our economy and overwhelm resources. Crude is a world problem I agree, but when total demand exceeds our refining capacity you could drop the crude price to a dollar a barrel and it won’t matter, refined product capacity will now become the controlling item after we reach that tipping point.
Could someone please inform the Democratic Party that we have a capitalist market-based economy and not a communist economy under central government control. Please? There isn’t much “the administration” can do to set world energy prices. Alternative fuels sound like a wonderful emotional idea but I am not sure I want a fuel supply that is subject to going away in a 1930’s style dustbowl drought (if from corn) or hurricane (if from sugar). To have a fuel supply that is dependent on the weather is nuts.
The one thing the administration COULD do to reduce or eliminate dependence on foreign sources of oil is to mandate a French style nuclear electrification program, conversion of the US rail system from diesel-electric to electric, convert a significant amount of city commuters to electric vehicles, improve rail with 200+ MPH bullet trains between cities (also electric) as the Chinese are doing, etc.
Manipulation of world oil prices isn’t under the jurisdiction of the US president and, with China and India’s thirst for oil rising at amazing rates, anything the US can do as far as influencing world demand diminishes with each passing week. We are becoming a smaller and smaller segment of total world oil demand.
Build nuclear and build more refineries. But that will likely take action by Congress so I am not holding my breath.
Terrye,
I do not approve of the government sanctioning identity theft… even after the fact. Now for congress to say “Ooops, we screwed up…but we’re going to make YOU pay for our mistake…is JUST WRONG. In the case of illegals, the social security records were paid for by giving money to those who have made a business out of ripping US off right under our noses.
Illegals, and us too for that matter, have been used: once by the smugglers who got them here and again, maybe by the same people who sold them false documents. It is a multimillion dollar business, selling false documents. Now, Congress is considering compounding the “crime” by sanctioning this behavior just because they don’t want to have to deal a problem that they have willingly turned their backs on for more than 40 years. You can almost bet on it. And, sadly, the present and future taxpayers and LEGAL Social Security recipients will pay dearly for it.
Here’s something else to consider:
If someone using a driver’s license stolen from you (and you failed to report it) commits a crime, guess who they are going go after when the law get around to it? That’s right, the one they can find!! You! You didn’t report it stolen, therefore, you must be held responsible for crimes committed using your driver’s license. It would be the same as if you had knowingly “sold” your driver’s license to a criminal. And even if a criminal act is not committed, you can and probably will be financially ruined by any abuse of YOUR identity (think credit report). Look, this is just one FRIGHTENING aspect of Congressional incompetence and stupidity. At least it is to me. On any given day you could come up with tons more abuses of the power they hold and the political favors they give away for votes. Such is the new world we live in.
After all, what’s the ruination of the Social Security system to them? They won’t be the ones devastated by the fallout from its failure. If you had heard McCain this morning make the most twisted argument I have ever heard for doing this, you might have also been alarmed. Just remember who will be punished when this backfires. Its only a matter of time. Congress made it perfectly clear that we have no right to control our own Social Security money, now they have taken that one more step toward socialism. Medicare is next. Believe it!
They love to take CREDIT when things go right, but they will run like scalded cats when the sh*t hits the fan. Make no mistake, it will! Big time!!
Carol
These guys are despicable. We need to be drilling ourselves. But, we have been relying on foreign oil instead. Our worst enemies are our main buyers… Venezula, the Islamists.
This is the single most important issue facing the country today. And the Democrats are making up lies about this issue. Instead of dealing with the issue, they are lying about how we might work off of bio-fuel to appease the rural element.
There is a darker edge here, too. This mantra of theirs soon becomes a lie. All of a sudden among the far Left we see them speaking of a great conspiracy: “we don’t need oil, we never needed oil, it is just a Republican plot”.
That is how they think. That is how they operate.
The truth is we are too good to do our own drilling. We let these other countries ruin their landscape with it. We have destroyed the Alaskan economy and most Americans today do not even know this. They do not even know that Alaska voted in a Senator and Governor that was pro-seccession.
The Left does not care about the Alaskans nor the rural farmers. They did not care about the South Vietnamese and they surely do not care about the Iraqis. They care about self-righteousness and evil.