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The Fox News report on today’s annoucement:

Is it just me, or does it look like they are only opening up drilling off of States which voted Republican? or at least lean way Red?

No West Cost… no North East… No Louisiana

WE’RE BEING SOLD OUT BY THE RNC!!!!!!!!!!

Steele was talking to amnesty proponents, trying to deliver key GOP votes to break a potential filibuster.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/03/31/rnc-chairman-meets-immigration-group-sides-differ-on-outcome/

http://www.communitychange.org/press-room/press-releases/immigrant-leaders-get-commitment-from-rnc-chairman

Sarah Palin: “I’m confident that GOP senators will not take the bait.”

That’s not bait, but I’m pretty sure bait is in the water. It might turn out to be the bank reform bill.

Drill!!!! aint gonna happen.What this is I belive is a dangling carrot to get some RINO’s to vote yes on crap-n-trade.Geez,these people will stop at nothing.I pray for my country.

The only Republicans that will vote for Cap and Tax will be the Senators not running for office this year. Even McCain will oppose with Hayworth on his tail.

“Is it just me, or does it look like they are only opening up drilling off of States which voted Republican? or at least lean way Red? No West Cost… no North East… No Louisiana.”

Er, about that . . . you obviously did not look at the frigging map, did you? In the East, Obama opens new drilling off Florida (won), Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina (won), Virginia (won), Maryland (won) and Delaware (won). That’s five states he won and TWO he did not. And he does open new drilling in the Gulf.

But let’s look at your underlying implication. Let’s say he only opened drilling off Red States. Why are you implying that it is some sort of “punishment” that he is not inflicting on the Northeast or the West Coast? And shouldn’t he take into consideration that the entire West Coast (Cali., Oregon and Washington) DOESN’T WANT drilling off their coasts?

I wonder when America will figure out that the energy independence scam is second only to the climate change scam?

One simple fact to clear this up: The US Government’s own Energy Information Agency puts USA fossil fuel reserves at the top of the world’s list … More fossil fuels than any other country on the planet. The USA has about 30% of the world’s known coal reserves. Enough fossil fuel for hundreds of years use.

Something you may not know, you can turn coal into liquid fuel for the barrel oil equivalent of $30. Something China is busy building up capacity of right now.It’s old hat, the process was invented in the 1920s, and used by Germany in WWII for most of their transport fuel. Search on “Fischer-Tropsch” the name of the process to do the presto changing.

Additionally, the new clean coal technology that Bush was pushing is now coming on line, it nearly doubles the coal power plants effeciency, and is operating on-line outside of Tampa at a Florida Electric facility – “Polk Power Station”. If you are paying attention, this technology should reduce the electricity costs by about 50%. Yes, it’s Bush’s fault.

And if you want cheap electricity, nuclear power is about 1/3-1/2 the cost of coal generation, given the lawsuits are dispensed with.

Meanwhile we fart around with ethanol, windmills and solar, none of which are efficient enough to matter — Just a huge waste of money.

This is a carrot for the Cap’NTax they want out of f**king Graham and the bluedog bunch. No oil will EVER be pumped out of these areas, because the f**king greeanheads will have been deemed to “have standing”, and they will stop any and all drilling in the courts and/or regulation at the EPA.

The right hand giveth, the EPA taketh away.

good info Bill-tb about coal.

Not only this laughable “change” of policy, but also the admins offering of loans to two, count em’, two, nuclear power plants. Anyone on the conservative side with any sense will see that it is all about garnering votes to pass Cap and Tax, er, Trade, and the measly offerings by Obama will either be rescinded, or, because they are so useless anyway, allowed to linger so that he can claim in November and in 2012 that he is for conservatives ideas of energy expansion. And the kicker is, the msm is reporting it as being a “huge” shift in policy regarding energy in this country, and will tout this as a great achievement for Obama and the democrats come election time. Many people can see through this charade, but I wonder if enough will to make a difference. Cap-n-Tax is no less an insidious plan than Obamacare is.

Sarah Palin is right. If you really think Obama is serious about this, I’ve got a Bart Simpson, er, Bart Stupak Executive Order to sell you.

Cap and Tax is worse that Obama Care because it produces nothing, at least with obamacare some poor soul will get something of benefit even if you and I have to pay for it. With this fiasco, no one but the ultra rich and Goldman Sachs gets anything.

@1903A3: Yeah, I suspected it was a ploy too. He’s got the enviro-nazis all in a tither to make it look like this means something, but when you add it up, he’s removed areas that Bush previously had approved for drilling without really adding anything.

So what if he opens large areas up for exploration? The enviros are being told that there’s no way he will actually permit drilling to happen there. Meanwhile, he’s moved Bristol Bay in Alaska to the NO DRILL protected status.

@Patvann: Oops! I see you said it before I did. O.K., well I was actually thinking it when I wrote the post!

Don’t make the mistake Obama wants you to make…. Open to exploration… Not drilling. And in Washington we do want drilling… off our coast, off of your coast, where ever oil is to be found.

I’d even be willing to put B-Robs head in a press and squeeze out the oil in his hair. Come on B-Rob.. do if for the greater good.

Didn’t Bush lift the executive ban on offshore drilling in July ’08? If Obama has “opened up” drilling, who closed it down between ’08 and ’10?

But times change, and on Tuesday, the Obama administration – with gas prices roughly half what they were and many Democrats’ having been swept into office – blocked offshore drilling plans put in place at the last minute by the Bush administration, including plans to open the national outer continental shelf for drilling.
Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar also announced last week that his agency would block drilling on public lands in Utah, criticizing the Bush administration for releasing its offshore drilling plan just days before leaving office.

I wonder why this tidbit has been left out of most news stories I’ve seen…..

@SouthernRoots

That is indeed something kept out of most news reports you will witness as it doesn’t support the lie that will be told to the American people about how Obama is “Serious about energy independence and working with the Republicans”. I would urge, no, demand that the GOP leadership not to go for this sham. Obama clearly wants another show prop for his rapidly crumbling facade of “centrism” in leadership.

July, 2008:

July 15, 2008|Richard Simon and James Gerstenzang, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON — President Bush lifted a long-standing White House ban Monday on new oil and gas drilling off the nation’s coastlines and pressured Congress to take a similar step, stoking the battle over how Washington should respond to high gasoline prices.

Bush’s decision to lift the executive order, which was imposed by his father in 1990 and renewed by President Clinton, will have no effect unless Congress cancels its own ban on offshore drilling.

April, 2010:

NEW YORK – In a reversal of a 20 year moratorium, President Barack Obama will open vast swathes of water along the Atlantic coast line, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling, many for the first time, while at the same time rejecting some sites that had been proposes for Alaska, California and Oregon.

Harumph. Honesty in the media?

Like I said, the msm will tout this as a great achievement in Obama’s presidency. Unfortunately for them, there is this little thing called the internet that continuously fact checks their claims.

@johngalt: ” I would urge, no, demand that the GOP leadership not to go for this sham.”

I neglected to add the statements by House Leader Boehner and Sen. Leader McConnell. Boehner’s statement was especially harsh:

Boehner: Obama Administration’s Decision Keeps Vast Majority of America’s Offshore Energy Resources Off Limits
GOP Leader: “Keeping the Pacific Coast and Alaska, as well as the most promising resources off the Gulf of Mexico, under lock and key makes no sense at a time when gasoline prices are rising and Americans are asking ‘Where are the jobs?’”

Washington, Mar 31 –

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today criticized the Obama Administration for refusing to listen to the American people and keeping the vast majority of America’s offshore energy resources off limits at a time when Americans want an “all of the above” strategy for promoting American energy production and creating American jobs:

“The Obama Administration continues to defy the will of the American people who strongly supported the bipartisan decision of Congress in 2008 to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling not just off the East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico, but off the Pacific Coast and Alaskan shores as well. Opening up areas off the Virginia coast to offshore production is a positive step, but keeping the Pacific Coast and Alaska, as well as the most promising resources off the Gulf of Mexico, under lock and key makes no sense at a time when gasoline prices are rising and Americans are asking ‘Where are the jobs?’

“It’s long past time for this Administration to stop delaying American energy production off all our shores and start listening to the American people who want an “all of the above” strategy to produce more American energy and create more jobs. Republicans are listening to the American people and have proposed a better solution – the American Energy Act – which will lower gas prices, increase American energy production, promote new clean and renewable sources of energy, and encourage greater efficiency and conservation.

“At the same time the White House makes today’s announcement, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is plotting a new massive job-killer that the American people can’t afford: a cascade of new EPA regulations that will punish every American who dares to flip on a light switch, drive a car, or buy an American product. Americans simply don’t want this backdoor national energy tax that will drive up energy and manufacturing costs and destroy jobs in our states and local communities.”

#####

How about Utah EPA “compliant” coal, put off limit by Clinton/Gore w/o asking/notifing the people? The largest “clean” coal deposit on the entire planet! How long have “we” been UNder “attack” by anti-AMERICAN intrests? Can “we” use our own resources to get out of this”crisis”?

My MENSA bright econ buddy said this is all about cover. This summer the prediction is that the average gas price at the pump will be over 3.25 gal. Someone in the administration pointed out to Obama, who is an idiot when it comes to economics, that the price will translate into more lost jobs. He doesn’t give a hoot (being nice) but he has dems in races that do.

You want to affect oil prices? You should have drilled five years ago. The wells would be coming on line. He also said he thinks he knows who is jacking the prices up. No way oil should be this high in a recession. It is China. They are subsidizing oil so their growing middle class can get to it. Much like the cement crunch a number of years ago.

Of course we can’t do much about that.

A BIG STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

March 31 was a groundbreaking day of such historic significance that had its developments come one day later, it might well have been mistaken as an April Fool’s Day joke.

President Obama has proposed opening large swaths of the country to offshore drilling, reversing the staunch anti-drilling stance he took while he was campaigning. It a decisive move that also marked a dramatic departure from the delays that have characterized Obama’s Interior Department in recent months.

Obama’s proposal is not perfect and today, as so many not-in-my-backyard types are attacking the new policy, it will be tempting for those of us who support a strong domestic oil sector to criticize the president for not going further in supporting drilling in many of the country’s oil rich regions, like Alaska, or to question the timing or the political motives behind his decision.

While there will be time to examine the proposal in more detail, our first order of business must be to applaud Obama’s courageous move, and offer to help him keep true to his words. In announcing a plan to open much of the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast to drilling, he has not only opened up some major new sources of oil within our borders, he has also shown a willingness to break with his core allies for the greater good of the country.

At CEA, we have consistently chronicled the battle to produce more homegrown energy, but it has too often felt like a losing battle. We have offered all the arguments, from how domestically produced oil creates jobs and strengthens national security, to how a strong oil sector can coexist with strong environmental protections. We have offered all those arguments, but at times it felt like we weren’t getting through.

Obama’s support of offshore drilling has shown us that there need not be two sides in this issue; that anyone who is for a strong economy and strong national security should include development of more oil and natural gas here at home, and buying less of it from distant markets – while, of course, we also develop all forms of alternative energy.

“Given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs and keep our businesses competitive, we are going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable homegrown energy,” Obama explained.

Surprising? Yes. Courageous? Definitely. Practical politics? That too.

But, if the appropriate actions follow the President’s words, it’s no joke.
Want to learn more about balanced energy for America? Visit http://www.consumerenergyalliance.org to get involved, discover CEA’s mission and sign up for our informative newsletter.

@Muhammad

There’s additional areas open to “exploration”… if you think there’s gonna be drilling under the Obama administration, then I’ve got a Unicorn I’ll sell you cheap.

When sucker fishing… once you get one hooked, keep the line tight. I’m sure Obama has “tight line” dancing through his head.

Would you like a plain white unicorn or would you prefer a paisley?

@Muhammad Makki: Anyone else smell astroturf?

I’m using the Dept. of Interiors OWN MAPS which show what a farce Obama’s “surprise” is.

@ Mike

Our friend did a direct copy/paste from CEA. http://consumerenergyalliance.org/tag/obama/

-He’s only doing what he was paid to do, so don’t be too rough. He’s like those poor bastards who are being paid 10bucks/hr to wave advertising boards on street corners. 😉

I doubt he’ll be back.

The alliance isn’t completely in the left’s pocket, but are striving to stay one step ahead of regulations. They also are big on supporting natural gas, and ethanol, and to a lesser extent, nuclear.

They are however big on spreading the CO2/global-warming lie. Again, so as to stay ahead of the game. They support Cap and Trade (so that their members will profit from it), but are presently against Waxman-Markely.

This from the same site:

U.S. President Barack Obama announced this week a plan to open new areas for offshore oil and “natural” gas exploration, study and production. The areas involved are off the mid-Atlantic, southern and Alaskan coasts of the United States, where tens of billions of barrels or recoverable oil may reside. Additional exploration may yield even greater output given that current studies are outdated. However, industry response to the plan has been mixed, as the plan leaves some areas off-limits and rolls back access to others.

The President calls it part of his broader “comprehensive energy plan” that would see expanded production of conventional energy sources, such as petroleum and “natural” gas, as a bridge to a new economy “that relies on homegrown fuels and clean energy.” Political analysts believe the announcement is both an overture to political independents, which according to polls overwhelmingly support domestic oil production, and Congressional Republicans, the support of some of which will be necessary for the President to pass energy and climate bills this year.

API called the plan as a “positive step in the right direction” (Wall Street Journal, April 1st 2010, “Energy Firms Hopeful on Obama Plan”) but believes it to be too limited. Certain areas were kept off-limits by the President, and still others would require Congressional action to lease. David Holt, President of the Consumer Energy Alliance or CEA, a coalition of domestic energy advocates of which NEFI is a member, expressed concern over the cancellation of some scheduled lease sales in Alaska, and that the plan doesn’t begin until 2012. “With 14.9 million Americans out of work and state budgets approaching the precipice of insolvency, the time for planning is over, “Holt said, “and the time for action has never been more urgent.”

http://consumerenergyalliance.org/2010/04/new-england-fuel-institute-on-white-house-offshore-drilling-plan/

Look who is saying not to be too rough, Mr. Horizontal Butt Stroke himself. Too funny! 😆

@ Patvann, Mike’s America,Donald Bly.

Dear thanks for your comments on my post.
I guess we are dealing with a commodity that is supposed to be a strategic one. Have you all forget the oil embargo 1973, and cant you feel how dependednt are we on oil and gas.And dependent on those countries which lies between medium to high political unstability. 60 % of the rersources lies there. Let us try to have a serious and rational debate. Every one supports clean renewable energy, or any other alternative, but how much percent are we expecting in next 3 to 4 years from alternative, 2%? make it double, make it tripple, still we dont have answer for our energy security my freinds. So if we want to keep our economic wheel turning we need to support those policies which ensure a best possible energy mix. If we gona oppose these oil and gas developments, then do you want to rely on a supply from Saudi Arabia, Iran , Nigerea, Angola, Middle East, venzuela???? or better to increase your domestic supply including every single option available…