More Phony Energy Plans

The dems continue to be beholding to one of their special interest groups, the environmental wackos. The dems are trying to push to bills into law that are feel good measures, This does not include their drive to go after the commodities markets. The so called "Drill" bill is pure nonsense and does nothing to help increase supply. I have a press release from the Institute for Energy Research that puts this bill into perspective. John, over at the Power Line blog adds additional information on this bill. His insight is worth reading.

The dems other plan is an attempt to reduce demand. While reducing demand is not a bad thing, it will do nothing to increase supply. Any small reduction in demand in the US, will be quickly gobbled up by China and India. Here is a snippet of the plan:

According to the Environmental Defense Fund, the bill -- called the Transportation and Housing Options for Gas Price Relief Act of 2008 -- would allocate taxpayer money to:

-- expand public transportation;

-- encourage “pay-as-you-drive” auto insurance policies that reward low-mileage drivers with lower insurance premiums;

-- reduce commuting costs by providing incentives to employers and employees to take transit, bicycle, carpool, walk, or telecommute to work;

-- help local governments create "walkable, bikeable" communities;

-- help Americans make "smart" transportation and housing choices by educating them about their options;

-- create “location efficient mortgages" that would make owning a home near transit more affordable.

The bill also would require the federal government to upgrade key Web sites so Americans would have easier access to government services without leaving home or work.

Please note the folks describing what the plan would do - the Environmental Defense Fund, one of the groups the dems are beholding to. This plan will help in the large metropolitan areas, which really is the dem base. But, does nothing for those that live in rural areas. Nor does it do anything to help farmers, truckers, the airline industry or the railroads. Those that are trying to push this through, likely live in those large metropolitan areas and could care less about the rest of the country. They can go to bed at night feeling good about their efforts, however, their efforts will solve nothing. - Sailor

Consumers Need Energy, Not Political Slogans and Lawsuits

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2008
CONTACT:
Brian Kennedy (202) 434-8200

706% inrease in lease protests threatens American energy supplies

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With consumers and the economy suffering the consequences of skyrocketing energy prices, lawmakers in Washington continue to advance sound bites instead of solutions. Daniel Kish, senior vice president of the Institute for Energy Research (IER), issued the following statement:

“While Americans struggle to pay their fuel and utility bills, their government continues to play political games that will only weaken our nation’s economy and our family budgets,” Kish said. “Today’s ‘Drill’ bill is yet another chapter in the epic disconnect between the American people – who understand that more supply is the solution to shortage driven high prices – and their elected leaders, who refuse to lift restrictions on new areas of the country to increase energy supplies.”

On those few areas the government attempts to lease for additional energy production, protests, appeals and lawsuits appear faster than politicians scrambling for a camera. According to the Bureau of Land Management, lease protests averaged 167 per year between 1997 and 2000; between 2001 and 2007, they numbered 1,180 per year. This is a 706% increase.

Yesterday in New Mexico, the Department of Interior held a 78 parcel lease sale on lands already available for drilling. 100% of them were protested by groups opposed to U.S. energy production. These protests will no doubt delay new energy supplies and increase costs to consumers.

Drilling for Real Solutions in the ‘Drill’ Bill: Section by Section, Just More Dry Holes

Section 1: Bill Title

The Act has been dubbed the Drill Responsibly in Leased Lands – or DRILL - Act of 2008. However, nothing in its following sections will increase domestic energy production beyond what is already scheduled.

Section 2. Lease Sales in the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska

This section requires that lease sales be conducted once a year. This is something that is currently allowed, but not done because NPR-A’s Indiana-sized area has no infrastructure. In addition, a history of dilatory lawsuits has made it an area of limited interest to energy producers. This section also seeks to expedite permits in the NPR-A, a positive step. However, it does nothing to tackle the biggest problem with developing new energy: dilatory protests and lawsuits. Any genuine effort must involve putting a stop to the legal blocking and tackling of groups opposed to American energy production. Incidentally, Congress should address this issue nationwide.

Section 3: Pipeline Construction in the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska

Pipelines in NPRA have been held up by appeals, protests and lawsuits, not energy producers.

Section 4: Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Project Facilitation

This section authorizes the president to exercise authority he already has to facilitate something he is already facilitating. In short, this section achieves nothing.

Section 5: Project Labor Agreements

A last minute bonus prize for organized labor, but creates no new energy whatsoever.

Section 6: Ban on Export of Alaskan Oil

A nice talking point, but the United States does not export any Alaskan oil, and has not since 2000. California exports more petroleum products than Alaska.

Section 7: Issuance of New Leases

This section was crafted using synonyms to restate existing laws, including:

• The Mineral Leasing Act (for onshore production), which stipulates that an oil company must have a producing well within 10 years or surrender the leases. Source: 30 U.S.C. 226(e)
• The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act: (for offshore production), which stipulates that an oil company must produce energy between 5 to 10 years (in the government’s discretion) or surrender the lease. Source: 43 U.S.C. 1337(b)
• Penalties in U.S. Code: The federal government can cancel a lease if a producer fails to live up to the terms of the lease, the law or federal regulations. Source: 30 USC 188(a) and (b) and 43 CFR 3108.3 (a) and (b).

Section 8: Fair Return on Production of Federal Oil and Gas Resources

• This section restates current law and practice. In fact, the government increased royalties on outer continental shelf leases by 50% last year, making it more expensive to produce energy in America.

The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a not-for-profit public foundation that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets. Founded in 1989, IER is funded entirely by tax deductible contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations. No financial support is sought for or accepted from government (taxpayers).

Al-Qaeda's Bad Investments

Ralph Peters has a great column on the sad shape al-Qaeda is in. Since Barrack Obama continues his ignorance, (or perhaps it is merely his pandering to his leftist base), on Iraq and the war on terror, this is a timely column. Obama continues to make the false claim that Iraq is not, nor never has been the central front on the war on terror. He seems oblivious to the claims of al-Qada and bin Laden that it is. By making Iraq the central front, bot Qaeda and bin Laden made a serious miscalculation, So serious, that Qaeda has been defeated in Iraq. It appears Qaeda has now decided to try their fortunes in Afghanistan, I suspect mainly because of the areas of refuge provided in Pakistan. With Iraq stabilizing, it is too late for Qaeda to make a stand any where. Even with sanctuaries in Pakistan, their defeat is inevitable. - Sailor

Where do Osama & Co. stand today? They're not welcome in a single Arab country. The Saudi royals not only cut off their funding, but cracked down hard within the kingdom. A few countries, such as Yemen, tolerate radicals out in the boonies - but they won't let al Qaeda in. Osama's reps couldn't even get extended-stay rooms in Somalia, beyond the borders of the Arab world.

And the Arab in the (dirty) street is chastened. Instead of delivering a triumph, al Qaeda brought disaster, killing far more Arabs through violence and strife than Israel has killed in all its wars. Nobody in the Arab world's buying al Qaeda shares at yesterday's premium - and only a last few suckers are buying at all.

Guess what? We won.

The partisan hacks who insisted that Iraq was a distraction from fighting al Qaeda have missed the situation's irony: Things are getting worse in Afghanistan and Pakistan not because our attention was elsewhere, but because al Qaeda has been driven from the Arab world, with nowhere else to go.

Al Qaeda isn't fighting to revive the Caliphate these days. It's fighting for its life.

Unwelcome even in Sudan or Syria, the Islamist fanatics have retreated to remote mountain villages and compounds on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border. That means Afghanistan's going to remain a difficult challenge for years to come - not a mission-impossible, but an aggravating one.

Obama is Clueless

Barrack Obama has presented his plan for Iraq and Afghanistan. Essentially, he plans to surrender in Iraq and try to win in Afghanistan. Here is a guy that has been to Iraq only once and has never stepped foot in Afghanistan. He also claims that Iraq has never been the central front in the war on terror. I guess he did not hear bin Laden say it was. Obama needs a serious reality check here. We are winning in Iraq, Qaeda in Iraq is defeated and the government there is meeting most of the benchmarks set by Congress. Of course, Obama has to continue to pander to his leftist, defeatist base. Reality does not matter, as long as his base his pissed off at him.

I am simply amazed that he is about to go off on a so called "fact finding" trip, when he has ignored the facts to date. Why bother? He has no use for facts. He has already decided to surrender in Iraq.

Here is an article by people that have just returned from Iraq. They have published their assessment on the situation there. This should be must reading for Obama and his campaign advisers. This assessment was written by people that are well respected for their objectivity. Mr. Kagan is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Ms. Kagan is president of the Institute for the Study of War. Mr. Keane is a former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army. All have just returned from their most recent visit to Iraq.

Here are a few excerpts from their assessment. - Sailor

All of the most important objectives of the surge have been accomplished in Iraq. The sectarian civil war is ended; al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) has been dealt a devastating blow; and the Sadrist militia and other Iranian-backed militant groups have been disrupted.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi government has accomplished almost all of the legislative benchmarks set by the U.S. Congress and the Bush administration. More important, it is gaining wider legitimacy among the population. The attention of Iraqis across the country is focused on the upcoming provincial elections, which will be a pivotal moment in Iraq's development.

AP

A boy enjoys a ride at a park in Baghdad, Wednesday, July 9.

The result is that we have an extraordinary – but fleeting – opportunity to advance America's security and the stability of a vital region of the world.

As far as the civil war is concerned, there have been virtually no sectarian killings recorded for the past 10 weeks. Violence is still perpetrated by organized groups, but AQI, the remnant Sunni insurgents and Shiite fighters are now focused on attacking their own members who have defected to our side. This is a measure of their weakness. The Iraqi population is increasingly mobilizing against the perpetrators of violence, flooding American and Iraqi forces with tips about the locations of weapons caches and key militant leaders – Sunnis turning in Sunnis and Shia turning in Shia.

This is some thing that Obama has blissfully ignored and, quite frankly, denied has happened. Listening to his latest rant on Iraq, one would get the impression that nothing has changed there. He is still claiming it is a civil war!

The larger strategic meaning of these military and political advances must be kept clearly in mind. Iraq remains a critical front in al Qaeda's war against the U.S.

Discussions in the American media about whether AQI is "really" al Qaeda are puerile. AQI's leadership, largely foreign, is part of the global al Qaeda network operating in support of Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden and his lieutenants in Pakistan and around the world send support (including foreign fighters) to Iraq and closely follow the situation there, as their repeated public pronouncements show no less than their actions. Al Qaeda's central leadership is not prepared to lose in Iraq, and has been seeking ways to regain lost ground.

The Tin Foil Hat is Awarded To.........

Every now and again, I award a tin foil hat to the person that comes up with the most idiotic story or conspiracy theory, that they actually believe. This tin foil hat award goes to Congressman Edward Markey (D-Mass.), who is the chairman of the House (Select) Energy Independence and Global Warming Committee. This fellow recently told a group of teens that global warming was the cause of Hurricane Katrina and, get this, the cause of that black hawk helicopter, (made famous by the movie “Black Hawk Down”, being shot down. You cannot make this stuff up! So Rep. Markey, this tin foil hat is for you! - Sailor

But Myron Ebell, director of Energy and Global Warming Policy at CEI, told Cybercast News Service that Markey’s remarks reveal his ignorance about the science of global warming.

“Yes, that part of the world is subject to drought at times, but it has very little to do with global warming,” said Ebell. “It is subject to drought whether the global average temperature is going up, down, or staying the same. To say you know the conflict was caused by global warming is to show how really ignorant you are of the scientific issues involved.”

What Is Obama Afraid Of?

The New York Times has reported that Barrack Obama has turned down an invitation to a Town Hall style debate with John McCain that would have been sponsored by a coalition of military family and veterans groups, to be held outside of Fort Hood, Texas. John McCain, of course accepted the invitation and CBS was willing to air the event. For a candidate that claims to support our military and their families, it is beyond belief that Obama could not find a date that would work into the campaign schedule. Carissa Picard, managing director of the Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall Consortium, initially offered 11 August as a date. The Obama campaign claimed they had an event already scheduled. Then Ms. Picard asked the campaign to give an acceptable date, which as of this posting, the Obama campaign has not given. There is some more commentary on this matter here and here.

In my opinion, this is a slap in the face to our military families and veterans, both groups of which I am a member of. Obama is all talk about supporting the military, their families and our veterans. When it comes time to walk the walk, it seems Obama runs away! - Sailor

Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has not agreed to participate.

“Senator Obama strongly supports America’s veterans and military families and has worked hard on their behalf in the Senate,” said Phillip Carter, director of Mr. Obama’s veterans effort and an Iraq war veteran. “While we unfortunately had a previously scheduled commitment on the date proposed, Senator Obama looks forward to continuing the dialogue he’s been having throughout the country with veterans on how we can better serve our men and women in uniform as they serve us.”

Carissa Picard, managing director of the Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall Consortium, said she had suggested Aug. 11 and asked the campaign to suggest other dates if that was not convenient, but after several conversations she had not been able to work anything out.

“I’m having extreme difficulty getting the Obama campaign to commit to this event, and we do not understand why,” said Ms. Picard, whose husband is deployed in Iraq. “We made it very clear to them that if they would commit to the event, we would work with them on dates.”

The organizers released details about the event in hopes that it would pressure the Obama campaign to agree to the event.

“This was a decision that was made with tremendous difficulty, to publicize it,” Ms. Picard said. “We were at a point where we had no other option. We got the impression that they could talk us to November.”

The meeting would be at the Expo Center in Belton, Tex., about 25 miles from Fort Hood.

RIP

Tony Snow has lost his battle with cancer. He was 53.

Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend Tony Snow," President Bush said in a written statement. "The Snow family has lost a beloved husband and father. And America has lost a devoted public servant and a man of character.

Snow died at 2 a.m. Saturday at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Snow joined FOX in 1996 as the original anchor of "FOX News Sunday" and hosted "Weekend Live" and a radio program, "The Tony Snow Show," before departing in 2006.

"It's a tremendous loss for us who knew him, but it's also a loss for the country," Roger Ailes, chairman of FOX News, said Saturday morning about Snow, calling him a "renaissance man."

As a TV pundit and commentator for FOX News, Snow often was critical of Bush before he became the president's third press secretary, following Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan. He was an instant study in the job, mastering the position — and the White House press corps — with apparent ease.

"One of the reasons I took this job is not only to work with the president, but, believe it or not, to work with all of you," Snow told reporters when he stepped into the post in 2006. "These are times that are going to be very challenging."

Tony was an articulate voice for conservative ideals. He was a genuinely nice guy. My deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

Bobby Murcer lost his battle with brain cancer. He was 62.

Yankee icon Bobby Murcer died yesterday at the age of 62 because of complications from brain cancer. He passed away at Mercy Hospital in his hometown of Oklahoma City, surrounded by family, including his wife Kay and children Tori and Todd. He was first diagnosed with the disease on Christmas Eve, 2006.

"Bobby Murcer was a born Yankee, a great guy, very well liked and a true friend of mine," George Steinbrenner said in a statement. "I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Kay, their children and grandchildren. I will really miss the guy."

Murcer starred in the field and in the broadcast booth and treated everyone with kindness. His death brought tears to the eyes of Yankee manager Joe Girardi, a former broadcast partner on YES.

"Bobby tried to make life better for people around him," Girardi said.

That was the essence of Bobby Ray Murcer, who played 17 years in the majors with the Yankees, Giants and Cubs, batting .277 with 252 home runs. He was a five-time All-Star, a starting outfielder four times. The final All-Star Game to be played at Yankee Stadium will be Tuesday. There will be sadness in the air with Murcer's passing.

I always enjoyed watching Bobby patrol centerfield, even though those were lean years for the Yankees. Later, as a broadcaster, Bobby brought to the viewers, a sense of being part of that game. My heart felt condolences to his family and friends. - Sailor

12 Democrats in Pennsylvania Facing Corruption Charges

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette is reporting 12 democrats are facing charges of corruption as well as attempts to keep Ralph Nader off the ballot in 2004. State money was also allegedly used to provide a no-show job for a top ranking aide's mistress. Among those facing charges are former state Rep. Michael Veon, current Rep. Sean Ramaley. Grand jurors called this a "culture of corruption". Do take note Ms. Pelosi. Naturally, since these officials are not Republicans, you may have difficulty finding reporting on this in the MSM. Any public offical that steals from the hard working taxpayers of this country needs to be severely punished, no matter what political affiliation they have. The investigation is ongoing and other may be facing charges. - Sailor

Along with Veon and Ramaley, here are the others that have been charged.

• Michael L. Manzo, 39, former chief of staff to Majority Leader Bill DeWeese. Mr. Manzo is accused of conspiracy in connection with the bonus scandal, engineering ballot challenges using state workers and hiding a girlfriend on the state payroll in a phony state office above a cigar store on Pittsburgh's South Side.

• Jeff Foreman, 57, currently legal counsel to House Minority Whip Keith McCall. He is accused of participating in the bonus plot while chief of staff to Mr. Veon and of directing an ongoing, partisan political operation from inside Mr. Veon's Capitol office.

• Rachel Hursh Manzo, 27, an aide to state Rep. Todd Eachus and wife of Mr. Manzo. She is accused of organizing House employees to work on legislative campaigns on state time and doing so herself during Mr. Veon's unsuccessful re-election campaign in 2006.

• Scott V. Brubaker, 43, former director of administration for the House Democrats. He is accused of playing a key role in arranging the illegal bonuses, directing state workers to perform political tasks and helping to orchestrate challenges to opponents' petitions for ballot spots.

• Jennifer Brubaker, 36, who is married to Mr. Brubaker and who directs the House Democratic Office of Legislative Research, the scene of a search warrant execution last August. She is accused of directing legislative employees to do political work in her office, including opposition research.

• Brett W. Cott, 36, a top aide to Mr. Veon, who is accused of widespread corruption, including conspiracy in the bonus scandal and running an ongoing political operation out of Mr. Veon's state office. "Brett Cott's title on Veon's staff was policy analyst, but according to numerous witnesses he was hired because of his campaign skills and was one of the lead promoters of the culture of using taxpayer funds for campaign purposes," the grand jury said.

• Patrick J. Lavelle, 29, who the grand jury described as a full-time political operative in Mr. Veon's Harrisburg office who had no other duties beyond fund raising.

• Annamarie Peretta-Rosepink, 45, director of Mr. Veon's Beaver County district office. She is accused of directing state employees to work on an array of political campaigns, including those of state Rep. Thomas Tangretti and state Sen. Wayne Fontana, as well as for other Democratic candidates. She also is accused of roles in the Nader and Romanelli petition challenges.

• Stephen A.H. Keefer, 38, former director of information technology for the House Democrats. He is accused of directing state employees to work on political campaigns, using state equipment to design political materials and creating a special Leaders' Communications Office with public funds to transmit political messages.

• Earl J. Mosley, 53, former director of personnel for the House Democrats. Grand jurors said he helped arrange payment of the illegal bonuses, and obtained a bonus himself for campaign work.

Slave Labor at the UN?

For all the high minded nonsense that spews forth from the so called UN Human Rights Commission about conditions in the US, perhaps they need to turn inward and investigate the UN. Seems the UN has been looking the other way when they or member states use what amounts to slave labor. This past Tuesday the New York Sun, published an article, about the Ambassador from the Philippines enslaving some one.

In the report, The Sun claims that Marichu Baoanan, a Filipino immigrant, had filed a lawsuit against the former Philippine U.N. ambassador Lauro Baja who served at the world body from 2003-2006.

According to the Sun, Baoanan claims that she was held as a de-facto slave during a three-month period in 2006 when she worked as a "domestic" for the Baja family in New York City.

In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Baoanan claimed that her employment amounted to "involuntary servitude, forced labor, debt bondage, slavery, and psychological abuse," when she worked at the ambassador's residence on the Upper East Side.

New York City officials say such complaints are not surprising.

A key member of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's staff (who wished to remain anonymous) explained that diplomatic immunity may protect the Baja family. While diplomatic immunity normally covers only those engaged in official activities, it can cover others related to but not directly involved in such activities.

"It all depends on what kind of visa she entered the U.S. with," the source explained. It also depends on what kind of visa the Philippine government requested.

In other words, if Baoanan entered the U.S. on a diplomatic visa, there is little U.S. courts can do to help her. "The State Department is always reluctant to get involved in such situations because of the fear of retaliation against U.S. personnel serving in the country at issue," the source told Newsmax.

Back in the 1990's, the Chinese imported their own labor to construct their UN consulate in NY. They paid these workers 1.00 an hour. Mayor Rudy Giuliani took them to court and put an end to that.

It seems Giuliani convinced the court that the Chinese construction site was not occupied by diplomats and as such, did not yet enjoy diplomatic status. The site was part of a real estate swap with a local developer who had yet to turn the title over to Beijing.

Today, China's U.N. mission staff is among the lowest paid of the so-called "Perm 5" (the United States, France, Russia, Britain, and China — the five veto-wielding nations in the U.N.) yet China’s U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya enjoys the life of a modern emperor as presides over one of the largest apartments in Donald Trump's World Tower overlooking U.N. headquarters.

At China's consulate on the West Side, more than 300 staffers from the mainland run one of Beijing's largest operations overseas under little pay and questionable working conditions, but officials can do little about it.

Smaller nations, such as North Korea, literally shield their staff from outside contact preferring to move in supervised groups around Manhattan and living in communal apartments.

It is not known if their staff receive any pay at all.

All in all, it looks like there needs to be some internal investigating going on over at that cesspool of corruption, called the UN. - Sailor

Qaeda On The Verge of Defeat

Not that you would know it if you read or view the MSM, but Qaeda is on the ropes. The final thrust in Iraq is about to defeat Qaeda and more than that, devastate it. There are those like Huffington and The Nation and most dems, terrorist ass kissers and appeasers that are still in denial. All you need do is read Huffington's post on how the surge failed. I think she has really lost it on this one. Interestingly, it was John McCain that advocated the surge about 2 years before it was implemented. Perhaps that is why Huffington, who is seriously in the tank, for Obama is in denial. To let you know how deep in the tank the MSM is for Obama, none of this news was reported any where in the American media. Andy McCarthy reports on this. One had to read it in the Times of London. Here are a few snippets. No wonder Obama is lurching to the right on Iraq! - Sailor

After being forced from its strongholds in the west and centre of Iraq in the past two years, Al-Qaeda’s dwindling band of fighters has made a defiant “last stand” in the northern city of Mosul.

A huge operation to crush the 1,200 fighters who remained from a terrorist force once estimated at more than 12,000 began on May 10.

Operation Lion’s Roar, in which the Iraqi army combined forces with the Americans’ 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, has already resulted in the death of Abu Khalaf, the Al-Qaeda leader, and the capture of more than 1,000 suspects.

After being forced from its strongholds in the west and centre of Iraq in the past two years, Al-Qaeda’s dwindling band of fighters has made a defiant “last stand” in the northern city of Mosul. A huge operation to crush the 1,200 fighters who remained from a terrorist force once estimated at more than 12,000 began on May 10. Operation Lion’s Roar, in which the Iraqi army combined forces with the Americans’ 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, has already resulted in the death of Abu Khalaf, the Al-Qaeda leader, and the capture of more than 1,000 suspects. . . .Major-General Mark Hertling, American commander in the north, said: “I think we’re at the irreversible point.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article4276486.ece

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDdkMzY1YWNkMTM4YzlkYTA3ZTQxMWY2ZmZkMDBkYTU=

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/07/surge_amnesia_the_medias_newes.html

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=9E9A119C-16A9-4A12-A542-12A2036225F0

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. -- Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Button Gwinnett Lyman Hall George Walton

William Hooper Joseph Hewes John Penn Edward Rutledge Thomas Heyward, Jr. Thomas Lynch, Jr. Arthur Middleton

John Hancock Samuel Chase William Paca Thomas Stone Charles Carroll of Carrollton George Wythe Richard Henry Lee Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Harrison Thomas Nelson, Jr. Francis Lightfoot Lee Carter Braxton

Robert Morris Benjamin Rush Benjamin Franklin John Morton George Clymer James Smith George Taylor James Wilson George Ross Caesar Rodney George Read Thomas McKean

William Floyd Philip Livingston Francis Lewis Lewis Morris Richard Stockton John Witherspoon Francis Hopkinson John Hart Abraham Clark

Josiah Bartlett William Whipple Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Elbridge Gerry Stephen Hopkins William Ellery Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington William Williams Oliver Wolcott Matthew Thornton

Obama Got Discount on Home Loan

Looks like Obama got on the special treatment bandwagon. Another Democrat gets a preferential, below normal interest rate mortgage. Is it any wonder why Pelosi and Reid will not call for a special prosecutor on this? Check out the Obama campaign's lame defense! - Sailor

Obama Got Discount on Home Loan
Campaign Defends Lower Rate as Lender Competition for Business

By Joe Stephens
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 2, 2008; A03

Shortly after joining the U.S. Senate and while enjoying a surge in income, Barack Obama bought a $1.65 million restored Georgian mansion in an upscale Chicago neighborhood. To finance the purchase, he secured a $1.32 million loan from Northern Trust in Illinois.

The freshman Democratic senator received a discount. He locked in an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago. The loan was unusually large, known in banker lingo as a "super super jumbo." Obama paid no origination fee or discount points, as some consumers do to reduce their interest rates.

Compared with the average terms offered at the time in Chicago, Obama's rate could have saved him more than $300 per month.

Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said the rate was adjusted to account for a competing offer from another lender and other factors. "The Obamas have since had as much as $3 million invested through Northern Trust," he said in a statement.

Modest adjustments in mortgage rates are common among financial institutions as they compete for business or develop relationships with wealthy families. But amid a national housing crisis, news of discounts offered to Sens. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the banking committee, and Kent Conrad (D-N.D) by another lender, Countrywide Financial, has brought new scrutiny to the practice and has resulted in a preliminary Senate ethics committee inquiry into the Dodd and Conrad loans.

Within Obama's presidential campaign organization, former Fannie Mae chief executive James A. Johnson resigned abruptly as head of the vice presidential search committee after his favorable Countrywide loan became public.

Driving the recent debate is concern that public officials, knowingly or unknowingly, may receive special treatment from lenders and that the discounts could constitute gifts that are prohibited by law.

"The real question is: Were congressmen getting unique treatment that others weren't getting?" associate law professor Adam J. Levitin, a credit specialist at Georgetown University Law Center, said about the Countrywide loans. "Do they do business like that for people who are not congressmen? If they don't, that's a problem."

Under financial disclosure rules, members of Congress are not obliged to disclose debts owed to financial institutions for personal residences. Names of lenders and rates paid on mortgages sometimes can be determined by scrutinizing property transaction records. In March, in response to media questions, Obama posted on his campaign Web site records related to his house purchase.

Last week, during debate on a bill to help homeowners caught in the foreclosure crisis, some members of the Senate ethics committee proposed an amendment to require that lawmakers disclose their mortgage lenders and loan terms in annual financial forms starting next year.

In Obama's case, he received a lower rate than the average offered at the time in Chicago for similarly structured jumbo loans. He secured his final mortgage commitment on June 8, 2005, and during that week, rates on similar loans for which information is available averaged 5.93 percent, according to HSH Associates, which surveys lenders. Another survey firm, Bankrate.com, placed the average at 6 percent.

"It's certainly safe to say that this borrower did better than average," said Keith Gumbinger, an HSH vice president, noting that consumer rates vary widely. "It's a good deal."

The Obama campaign called the rate "consistent with Northern Trust policies, and it reflected the base rate set for that period discounted to address the competition for the account and other opportunities, such as personal financial services, that the relationship would bring to Northern Trust."

When the Obamas secured the loan, their income had risen dramatically. Obama assumed his Senate seat in January 2005, with an annual salary of $162,100. That same month, Random House agreed to reissue an Obama memoir, for which it originally paid $40,000, as part of a $2.27 million deal that included two future nonfiction books and a children's book.

Around the same time, the University of Chicago Hospitals promoted Michelle Obama to a vice president and more than doubled her pay, to $317,000.

The couple wanted to step up from their $415,000 condo. They chose a house with six bedrooms, four fireplaces, a four-car garage and 5 1/2 baths, including a double steam shower and a marble powder room. It had a wine cellar, a music room, a library, a solarium, beveled glass doors and a granite-floored kitchen.

The Obamas had no prior relationship with Northern Trust when they applied for the loan. They received an oral commitment on Feb. 4, 2005, and locked in the rate of 5.625 percent, the campaign said. On that date, HSH data show, the average rate in Chicago for a 30-year fixed-rate jumbo loan with no points was about 5.94 percent.

Jumbo loans are for amounts up to $650,000, but the Obamas' $1.32 million loan was so large that few comparables are available. Mortgage specialists say that many high-end buyers pay cash.

Obama's Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, has no mortgages on properties he owns with his wife, Cindy, who is a multimillionaire.

Unlike Countrywide, where leaked internal e-mails documented a special discount program for friends of chief executive Angelo Mozilo, Northern Trust says it has no formal program to provide discounts to public officials. Loan officers may consider a borrower's occupation when establishing an interest rate, the bank said.

"A person's occupation and salary are two factors; I would expect those are two things we would take into consideration," said Northern Trust Vice President John O'Connell. "That would apply to anyone seeking to get a mortgage at Northern Trust." He added that the rates offered to Obama were "consistent with internal Northern Trust rates at that time."

"The bottom line is, this was a business proposition for us," he said. "Our business model is to service and pursue successful individuals, families and institutions."

O'Connell referred additional questions to the campaign.

Since 1990, Northern Trust employees have donated more than $739,000 to federal campaigns, including $71,000 to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Obama's house purchase has been a source of controversy. In 2006, the Chicago Tribune reported that on the day of the closing, the wife of Obama's longtime friend and fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko closed on an adjoining lot that had been the estate's side yard.

The Obamas bought the house for $300,000 less than the asking price of $1.95 million, while Rezko's wife, Rita, bought the neighboring lot for the full asking price of $625,000. Rita Rezko later sold a portion of the undeveloped lot to the Obamas, enlarging the senator's yard.

Tony Rezko already had been linked to a grand jury investigation involving public corruption. Last month, he was convicted of 16 counts in an influence-peddling scheme that reached the highest levels of Illinois state government.

Source Washington Post

Time To Drill

It is high time that we tell Congress it is time to drill, develop our oil shale potential and get into clean coal technologies. Yes, we also need to develop alternate energy technologies such as wind, solar, geothermal, fuel cells and longer life batteries for electric cars. Of course we will need to build nuclear power plants to provide for the future electric demand. Reprocessing spent fuel will reduce the waste we need to dispose of. To those who claim that it will take too long to get the oil to the refineries, I ask this simple question, how long will it take to get these new alternative energy sources on-line? Further, how many religious nuts, worshipers of Gaea, you know them, they call themselves environmentalists, will try and go to court to stop these? They are already whining about transmission lines going through what they perceive as pristine areas. Then there are the Kennedy's, who stopped a wind farm from being funded in Nantucket Sound, claiming hazards to navigation. Fact is, Teddy himself was quoted as saying he sails his boat there.


Bottom line here, is that we the people, need to get on Congress to stop kowtowing to these environmental wackos and start selling those off-shore leases!

Sign the petition started by Newt Gingrich! To date there are 1,251,436

Sign here http://www.americansolutions.com/actioncenter/petitions/?Guid=54ec6e43-75a8-445b-aa7b-346a1e096659 people who have signed the petition. The goal is to deliver 3 million signatures by time the party conventions start. Spread the word ! - Sailor

You can listen to Dingy Harry Reid whining about oil and coal making us all sick!

Webb Jumps In

Jim Webb has jumped into the fray over McCain's service record. He is a guy that used his service as part of his successful run for the Senate. Now he is out there telling McCain to cool it. What a hypocrite! This is a guy that wore his son's desert boots on the campaign trail. In my opinion, this is a well orchestrated attempt by the Obama campaign to use surrogates to attack McCain on leadership. Let's face it, Obama has no resumé to speak of and his judgement has been question by the associations he has kept. You cannot tell me that sitting in a pew for 20 years and not knowing what Wright was preaching is believable. As for Webb, keep talking, because all this does is show that Obama is just another Chicago politician and it focuses more attention on his lack of experience. - Sailor

Mr. Webb, a Virginia Democrat who is often mentioned as a possible running mate for Mr. Obama, said Mr. McCain should "calm down" about his military record. "Don't be standing up and uttering your political views and implying that all the people in the military support them, because they don't," he said on MSNBC.

A Marine who served in Vietnam - a fact he mentioned often as he campaigned for the Senate, occasionally while wearing his son's desert combat boots - Mr. Webb said "we need to make sure that we take politics out of service."

The comments followed those of retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, an Obama supporter, who used a Sunday talk show to criticize the presumptive Republican nominee's experience as a Navy pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Read the rest of the article and note the comments. - Sailor

Keep Talking Wesley

It is time for the Sailor to add my 2 cents to the comments by retired General Wesley Clark. Remember this is the man Bill Clinton relieved of command and the man that almost started a shooting war with the Russians in Kosovo. All Clark has managed to do with this smear of John McCain's service is to highlight Obama's lack of experience. McCain, unlike John Kerry, has never made his service his reason for him to be President. So I say to the good General, keep talking Wes! - Sailor

Here is an editorial on this matter from the New Hampshire Union-Leader.

Clark on McCain: Keep talking, general

13 hours, 33 minutes ago

HERE IS HOW retired Gen. Wesley Clark chose to peddle Barack Obama for President over John McCain:

Click for Editorials & Op-Eds

"(McCain) hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded -- that wasn't a wartime squadron. I don't think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become President."

Hasn't held executive responsibility? Let's see, Obama's executive responsibilities have included what? Right. The answer is: nothing. And thank you, Gen. Clark, for pointing out that John McCain commanded the largest fighter squadron in the U.S. Navy. He didn't just command it; he turned it around.

"Although plagued by fatal accidents in the past, the squadron had no fatalities under his command . . . and won its first meritorious unit citation. Mr. McCain's success attracted notice among the admirals in Washington," The New York Times reported in 2000.

McCain's qualifications do not come from being shot down. They come from a career in military and foreign affairs in which McCain displayed an uncommon strength of character and developed a sound judgment in those fields, which are so critical to the United States in this dangerous world.

His opponent, a career lawyer and politician, has shown that his own judgment in those areas is naive and ill-considered. Clark highlights those differences every time he seeks to denigrate McCain's service.

The Lexington Projet

While I do not agree with all this man made global warming hype and quite frankly, con job, this plan of McCain's has a great deal of merit. I still believe we should be drilling in ANWR. To those who claim we cannot drill our way out of this crisis, I say to them, you cannot tax your way out of it either. Nor can you repeal the law of supply and demand. This is a multi faceted approach to energy independence. What say you Obama? - Sailor

Our nation's future security and prosperity depends on the next President making the hard choices that will break our nation's strategic dependence on foreign sources of energy and will ensure our economic prosperity by meeting tomorrow's demands for a clean portfolio. John McCain has made the necessary choices - producing more power, pushing technology to help free our transportation sector from its use of foreign oil, cleaning up our air and addressing climate change, and ensuring that Americans have dependable energy sources. John McCain will lead the effort to develop advanced transportation technologies and alternative fuels to promote energy independence and cut off the flow of oil wealth to repressive dictatorships like Iran.

"In recent days I have set before the American people an energy plan, the Lexington Project -- named for the town where Americans asserted their independence once before. And let it begin today with this commitment: In a world of hostile and unstable suppliers of oil, this nation will achieve strategic independence by 2025." John McCain, June 25, 2008 Read the entire speech...

Expanding Domestic Oil And Natural Gas Exploration And Production

John McCain Will Commit Our Country To Expanding Domestic Oil Exploration. The current federal moratorium on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf stands in the way of energy exploration and production. John McCain believes it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use. There is no easier or more direct way to prove to the world that we will no longer be subject to the whims of others than to expand our production capabilities. We have trillions of dollars worth of oil and gas reserves in the U.S. at a time we are exporting hundreds of billions of dollars a year overseas to buy energy. This is the largest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind. We should keep more of our dollars here in the U.S., lessen our foreign dependency, increase our domestic supplies, and reduce our trade deficit - 41% of which is due to oil imports. John McCain proposes to cooperate with the states and the Department of Defense in the decisions to develop these resources.

John McCain Believes In Promoting And Expanding The Use Of Our Domestic Supplies Of Natural Gas. When people are hurting, and struggling to afford gasoline, food, and other necessities, common sense requires that we draw upon America's own vast reserves of oil and natural gas. Within the United States we have tremendous reserves of natural gas. The Outer Continental Shelf alone contains 77 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. It is time that we capitalize on these significant resources and build the infrastructure needed to transport this important component of electricity generation and transportation fuel around the country.

Taking Action Now To Break Our Dependency On Foreign Oil By Reforming Our Transportation Sector

The Nation Cannot Reduce Its Dependency On Oil Unless We Change How We Power Our Transportation Sector.

John McCain's Clean Car Challenge. John McCain will issue a Clean Car Challenge to the automakers of America, in the form of a single and substantial tax credit for the consumer based on the reduction of carbon emissions. He will commit a $5,000 tax credit for each and every customer who buys a zero carbon emission t car, encouraging automakers to be first on the market with these cars in order to capitalize on the consumer incentives. For other vehicles, a graduated tax credit will apply so that the lower the carbon emissions, the higher the tax credit.

John McCain Will Propose A $300 Million Prize To Improve Battery Technology For Full Commercial Development Of Plug-In Hybrid And Fully Electric Automobiles. A $300 million prize should be awarded for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars. That battery should deliver a power source at 30 percent of the current costs. At $300 million, the prize is one dollar for every man, woman and child in this country - and a small price to pay for breaking our dependence on oil.

John McCain Supports Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) And Believes They Should Play A Greater Role In Our Transportation Sector. In just three years, Brazil went from new cars sales that were about 5 percent FFVs to over 70 percent of new vehicles that were FFVs. American automakers have committed to make 50 percent of their cars FFVs by 2012. John McCain calls on automakers to make a more rapid and complete switch to FFVs.

John McCain Believes Alcohol-Based Fuels Hold Great Promise As Both An Alternative To Gasoline And As A Means of Expanding Consumers' Choices. Some choices such as ethanol are on the market right now. The second generation of alcohol-based fuels like cellulosic ethanol, which won't compete with food crops, are showing great potential.

Today, Isolationist Tariffs And Wasteful Special Interest Subsidies Are Not Moving Us Toward An Energy Solution. We need to level the playing field and eliminate mandates, subsidies, tariffs and price supports that focus exclusively on corn-based ethanol and prevent the development of market-based solutions which would provide us with better options for our fuel needs.

John McCain Will Effectively Enforce Existing CAFE Standards. John McCain has long supported CAFE standards - the mileage requirements that automobile manufacturers' cars must meet. Some car makers ignore these standards, pay a small financial penalty, and add it to the price of their cars. John McCain believes that the penalties for not following these standards must be effective enough to compel all car makers to produce fuel-efficient vehicles.

Investing In Clean, Alternative Sources Of Energy

John McCain Believes That The U.S. Must Become A Leader In A New International Green Economy. Green jobs and green technology will be vital to our economic future. There is no reason that the U.S. should not be a leader in developing and deploying these new technologies.

John McCain Will Commit $2 Billion Annually To Advancing Clean Coal Technologies. Coal produces the majority of our electricity today. Some believe that marketing viable clean coal technologies could be over 15 years away. John McCain believes that this is too long to wait, and we need to commit significant federal resources to the science, research and development that advance this critical technology. Once commercialized, the U.S. can then export these technologies to countries like China that are committed to using their coal - creating new American jobs and allowing the U.S. to play a greater role in the international green economy.

John McCain Will Put His Administration On Track To Construct 45 New Nuclear Power Plants By 2030 With The Ultimate Goal Of Eventually Constructing 100 New Plants. Nuclear power is a proven, zero-emission source of energy, and it is time we recommit to advancing our use of nuclear power. Currently, nuclear power produces 20% of our power, but the U.S. has not started construction on a new nuclear power plant in over 30 years. China, India and Russia have goals of building a combined total of over 100 new plants and we should be able to do the same. It is also critical that the U.S. be able to build the components for these plants and reactors within our country so that we are not dependent on foreign suppliers with long wait times to move forward with our nuclear plans.

John McCain Will Establish A Permanent Tax Credit Equal To 10 Percent Of Wages Spent On R&D. This reform will simplify the tax code, reward activity in the U.S., and make us more competitive with other countries. A permanent credit will provide an incentive to innovate and remove uncertainty. At a time when our companies need to be more competitive, we need to provide a permanent incentive to innovate, and remove the uncertainty now hanging over businesses as they make R&D investment decisions.

John McCain Will Encourage The Market For Alternative, Low Carbon Fuels Such As Wind, Hydro And Solar Power. According to the Department of Energy, wind could provide as much as one-fifth of electricity by 2030. The U.S. solar energy industry continued its double-digit annual growth rate in 2006. To develop these and other sources of renewable energy will require that we rationalize the current patchwork of temporary tax credits that provide commercial feasibility. John McCain believes in an even-handed system of tax credits that will remain in place until the market transforms sufficiently to the point where renewable energy no longer merits the taxpayers' dollars.

Here is another part I do not agree with at all. Some one needs to educate McCain that this supposed man made global warming is a crock of bovine excrement - Sailor

Protecting Our Environment And Addressing Climate Change: A Sound Energy Strategy Must Include A Solid Environmental Foundation

John McCain Proposes A Cap-And-Trade System That Would Set Limits On Greenhouse Gas Emissions While Encouraging The Development Of Low-Cost Compliance Options. A climate cap-and-trade mechanism would set a limit on greenhouse gas emissions and allow entities to buy and sell rights to emit, similar to the successful acid rain trading program of the early 1990s. The key feature of this mechanism is that it allows the market to decide and encourage the lowest-cost compliance options.

How Does A Cap-And-Trade System Work? A cap-and-trade system harnesses human ingenuity in the pursuit of alternatives to carbon-based fuels. Market participants are allotted total permits equal to the cap on greenhouse gas emissions. If they can invent, improve, or acquire a way to reduce their emissions, they can sell their extra permits for cash. The profit motive will coordinate the efforts of venture capitalists, corporate planners, entrepreneurs, and environmentalists on the common motive of reducing emissions.

Greenhouse Gas Emission Targets And Timetables:

2012: Return Emissions To 2005 Levels (18 Percent Above 1990 Levels)
2020: Return Emissions To 1990 Levels (15 Percent Below 2005 Levels)
2030: 22 Percent Below 1990 Levels (34 Percent Below 2005 Levels)
2050: 60 Percent Below 1990 Levels (66 Percent Below 2005 Levels)

The Cap-And-Trade System Would Allow For The Gradual Reduction Of Emissions. The cap-and-trade system would encompass electric power, transportation fuels, commercial business, and industrial business - sectors responsible for just under 90 percent of all emissions. Small businesses would be exempt. Initially, participants would be allowed to either make their own GHG reductions or purchase "offsets" - financial instruments representing a reduction, avoidance, or sequestration of greenhouse gas emissions practiced by other activities, such as agriculture - to cover 100 percent of their required reductions. Offsets would only be available through a program dedicated to ensure that all offset GHG emission reductions are real, measured and verifiable. The fraction of GHG emission reductions permitted via offsets would decline over time.

Promoting Energy Efficiency

John McCain Will Make Greening The Federal Government A Priority Of His Administration. The federal government is the largest electricity consumer on earth and occupies 3.3 billion square feet of space worldwide. It provides an enormous opportunity to lead by example. By applying a higher efficiency standard to new buildings leased or purchased or retrofitting existing buildings, we can save taxpayers substantial money in energy costs, and move the construction market in the direction of green technology.

John McCain Will Move The United States Toward Electricity Grid And Metering Improvements To Save Energy. John McCain will work to reduce red tape to allow a serious investment to upgrade our national grid to meet the demands of the 21st century - which will include a capacity to charge the electric cars that will one day fill the roads and highways of America. And to save both money and electrical power for our people and businesses, we will also need to deploy SmartMeter technologies. These new meters give customers a more precise picture of their overall energy consumption, and over time will encourage a more cost-efficient use of power.

Addressing Speculative Pricing Of Oil

John McCain Believes We Must Understand The Role Speculation Is Playing In Our Soaring Energy Prices. Congress already has investigations underway to examine this kind of wagering in our energy markets, unrelated to any kind of productive commerce, because it can distort the market, drive prices beyond rational limits, and put the investments and pensions of millions of Americans at risk. John McCain believes that where we find abuses, they need to be swiftly punished. To make sure it never happens again, we must reform the laws and regulations governing the oil futures market, so that they are just as clear and effective as the rules applied to stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments.

John McCain Does Not Support A Windfall Profits Tax. A windfall profits tax on the oil companies will ultimately result in increasing our dependence on foreign oil and hinder investment in domestic exploration. Jimmy Carter put a windfall profits tax in to place with little to no useful results.

On the whole, this is a good, comprehensive plan. At least one candidate has a plan. Of course, Pelosi and Reid did say they had a plan to lower gas prices, if we voted the Dems in back in 2006. I wonder what ever happened to that one? - Sailor

Help Our Toops Get A Little Piece of Home!

Received this in an E-Mail today. I know things are tough out there with energy and food prices being what they are. But, try and dig deep and get our troops a little piece of home. If you think we have rough here, you should see how rough they have it! - Sailor

PRO-TROOP GROUP ASKS

FOR BLOGGERS' HELP!



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