Where Do We Agree?

Is there anywhere in the political arena the American people agree? Or has it all become “knee jerk” politics so whenever a Democrat says something a Republican disagrees and visa versa?  Here are some areas I think we can all agree:

·         Gas prices are too high

·         Too much debt is dangerous to our future

·         The political process is broken

·         Government workers making much more than the people paying the bills is not right

·         College tuition is close to being unaffordable

These are a few areas I think most Americans could agree and have little dispute. The problem comes when you ask the question: How do we fix it?

Defining problems is the easy part of politics. Implementing solutions is the impossible task. Let’s take these in order.

How do we bring the price of gas down? The left will say we have to get away from oil for environmental reasons. Meanwhile they stop the expansion of nuclear power plants that could reduce the dependency of cities and towns across the nation on fossil fuels. But they don’t like nuclear either. They want us to use solar and wind but you can’t power an economy on such unreliable sources of energy.

We have more oil than Saudi Arabia in our country but the left doesn’t want us drilling to get it. We could increase the supply 200 fold but they want us off oil. We will never get off of oil in my lifetime.

The way the right wants to reduce gas prices is to increase supply. That is the way to go about it and the right supports alternatives but they know the reality of alternatives is years away. In the meantime we are not “destroying” the environment. We are destroying the economy.

The debt has a simple solution; reduce spending to equal revenue. The Left wants to raise taxes on the “rich.” This sounds great but will make no difference to reducing the debt. The only spending they will cut is “corporate loopholes.” Everything else is sacred.

For the right they want to eliminate federal programs that are not defined in the Constitution. It is a moral and Constitutional argument. Individual liberty with some safety nets for the truly needy and an end to the generational dependency.

Corruption has taken over our politicians and the process. Morality is gone and we have only self- interested people running for office with a political agenda that fuels the divisive environment. The solution is to get rid of the party system.

Government workers pay and benefits should be tied to their private sector counter parts. I think everyone agrees except for the government workers and union bosses.

College tuition will go down when the government stops subsidizing it. The easy access to college along with easy access to student loans is driving the price through the roof. Get the government out and prices will plummet. We also need to re-define the industries which need a college degree. Too many degrees do not prepare students for work. Which may be OK but students and parents need to know that going in. An English degree will make you a better writer but it may not land you a high paying job.

There are many things we agree upon but trying to fix them remains the biggest political problem we face…

The Incompetence Tax

It is happening all around us every day prices rising. Whether its gas, food, or the price of a product like a car, we pay a tax on incompetence. It happens mostly in the government but you can trace the price of a car to factors in the private management of companies as well. For example, when executive management agrees to ridiculous union wages and then approves ridiculous bonuses rewarding their incompetence, we pay a higher price for a car.

If you have been to the grocery store lately, it seems no matter how many items you purchase you can’t get out of the store for under $100. A full shop can set you back a couple of hundred bucks. And it isn’t going to stop. Transporting food to the store has sky rocketed due to fuel prices. Read my previous post on the cost of the incompetence tax being placed on gas.

The fools in our government, many of them have never run a business; continue to grow government at a pace we can’t sustain. Their actions and inactions are placing additional costs on us every day. By not allowing oil and gas companies to drill on federal land is adding to the cost of gas. Allowing the Keystone pipeline would also have an impact on prices in the future at the same time adding jobs now.  All of the loans being handed to “green” energy simply to pay off donors have all gone bankrupt or are in the process of going bankrupt. They are costing us a fortune in taxes. By allowing the OPEC cartels to continue to drive our markets is inexcusable. We need to reform the markets for energy to limit the ability for the Middle East to monopolize the markets.

The increasing government regulations in the healthcare and insurance markets are driving the costs to where most families are going to start going without insurance. Many already have. Total government incompetence.

In this election cycle we need to vet every candidate and decide on whether or not they pass the competence test. We need business people and term limits. We also need to limit the time representatives stay in Washington. We need a total sweep of the congress and the White House to eliminate the tax we have endured due to total incompetence!

Thousands of Your Dollars Wasted on Bad Energy Policy

When President Obama took office the price of gas was $1.86 a gallon. Today it averages about $3.50. If you are “lucky” enough to live in California it is over $4.00 a gallon. Gas goes up and down but why? And more importantly what does it mean to the economy and your family?

A few simple math equations to make the point:

To fill a 20 gallon tank:

At $1.86 it costs $37.20

At $3.50 it costs $70.00

The difference of $32.80 every time you fill up your tank.

Now let’s say you have to fill up once a week. The average commuter may have to do it more and depending on the car you drive it may vary as well.

At $1.86 the cost per year is $1934.40 a year to keep your gas tank full once a week.

At $3.50 the cost per year $3640.00 a year to keep your gas tank full once a week.

A difference of $1705.60 a year for a once a week fill up for one car.

Now the average family has at least 2 cars and I would expect for some it is 3 and it may even be that one of the cars get filled up more than once for those commuters in bigger cities. But I want this to be as simple as possible so by multiplying by 2 the average family has had to pay $3411.20 additional since the policies of Obama have taken hold.

What could you do with an additional $3411.20? Make a mortgage or rent payment or two? Pay for a vacation, food, clothing, and kid’s sports? Maybe put it in a savings or 401K plan? There are many things people could use this money for in their lives.

This President in his 2008 campaign said he wanted gas prices to go higher “gradually” to make “green” energy more attractive. More attractive at what cost? Why would we pay more for green energy when we have such an abundance of fossil fuels? Why are we paying our hard earned income to the Middle Eastern countries because we are unwilling to show the market we are willing to produce more oil?

This additional cost is killing the economy and making life more difficult for families. Is that what we hired this president to do for us? Solar and wind power will not power our cars anytime in the near future. These investments should be made not at the expense of rising gas prices but as a sound long term strategy to supplement oil energy.

This president does not care about the $3411.20 cost to the hard working American family. He has an agenda to line the pockets of his fat cat green energy pals with our tax money and in addition our higher price at the pump. You see if the Middle Eastern countries knew we were serious about harvesting our own oil they would be frightened to death. Oil is the only thing they have to offer this world. If we reduce our dependence on their oil they would have less money to feed their people. That would immediately impact the price of oil and the arrogance they show. The problem is they know this president is not willing to do what’s right for American energy policy so the prices continue to rise.

This issue alone is enough to replace him in November!

A New Military Strategy in the Middle East…

When will we learn? The Middle East is a tinder box of tribal factions that spend their time looking back instead of toward the future. The hatred runs deep within the countries and the hatred is vile toward the west whenever we stick our nose into the fight. Our men and women of the military deserve a better strategy and I think I have one.


It is time to pack up and leave Afghanistan and leave the tribes to fight amongst themselves. Our military did exactly what we needed them to do when they removed the Taliban and killed the majority of Al Qaeda members that were using the country as a training ground and launch pad to attack the west. Mission accomplished for sure. The troops and the US can leave with our heads high and in victory.

We must monitor the activity there and if we see a resurgence of activity that is threatening to the west then we come back in and destroy everything and anything associated with that activity and go home. It is a fool’s errand to think we are going to democratize such a backward nation, and even if we could the cost is enormous in both treasure and lives. Not worth it when the people of Afghanistan are tied to a religion and culture that keeps them in poverty and ignorance based on religious beliefs.

Our strategy in the oil states of the Middle East should be simple; stop buying their oil. The best strategy to end the hatred in the Middle East toward the West is to end our purchase of Middle Eastern oil. If you think about it what else do they have that we need? Nothing! They produce nothing useful in this world beyond a barrel of oil. The next administration (because we know this one is anti energy) needs to take on energy independence like JFK took on a mission to the moon.

The energy strategy of the United States should be tied directly to our military strategy. Currently the price of oil does not consider the cost of our military operations. If we were no longer dependent on Middle Eastern oil the military mission and costs change. Right now our military is focused on the ME mainly to insure the safe flow of oil. We don’t account for that in a gallon of gas but we should. If we were to develop for real a comprehensive national energy strategy, we could eliminate the need for ME oil.

If we were to stop buying or reduce the amount of oil we purchased from the Middle East, what would happen? The OPEC cartel would not be able to function. They would have one option; become a civilized partner in the world or starve. They could still supply other nations but losing one of their biggest customers will change the dynamic and make them realize they must behave in certain ways if they want our business.

If we don’t need oil from other countries the entire military strategy of the US changes. We don’t need to be concerned with people warring among themselves unless they export that war to our allies or our homeland. We don’t need to send our troops to be put in harm’s way of a people that fundamentally hate us. We can focus our military efforts in other regions that show more promise of democracy than the Middle East has shown.

We need to stop thinking that people are going to like us in the Middle East if we free them and force democracy on them. I believe all people want freedom but freedom is not something to be given, it is something that must be earned and defended. Until the people show an interest in freedom beyond simply changing dictators we need to stay away.

Our country is broke and the cost of our military in the Middle East is a cost we can no longer afford. Oil keeps us there so we must change our strategy from oil importer to an energy independent country. Oil is being found everywhere around the globe including our own back yard. Let’s develop and use it, support it with a comprehensive policy including all forms of energy and bring our troops home…

Drill Please…

We need to start harvesting the vast oil reserves we have here in the US. We need to supplement that with nuclear, coal, natural gas, wind and solar. The more we convert our domestic use to a comprehensive approach, the sooner we can turn the lights off on the Middle East unrest.


Do we really think we are ever going to convince Muslim World that the adoption of freedom and free markets is in their best interest? Maybe, but if freedom is universal we need them to want it and fight for it. The fighting we are seeing now may or may not turn into something other than another dictator or theocracy, but I doubt it. As long as religion is the preferred policy for running their society the less likely freedom will be in the Middle East.

We are there because of oil. We are not there to steal their oil as the left suggests, but to keep it freely flowing. Even if it is managed by an illegal cartel. We are dependent on the free flow of oil and until we break the demand or open up competitive markets we will continue to be shackled with an unclear energy future. Oil is not evil; it is the best fuel for the foreseeable future. We need to drill here at the same time we build an overall comprehensive energy policy. Here in Pueblo Colorado the site permits have been approved to move to the next step of building a new nuclear plant. The environmentalists are out in force but the time has come to put the China Syndrome behind us.

Nuclear fuel has been proven safe all around the globe. Windmills are popping up all across the fruited plain. Natural gas and oil reserves have been discovered to be greater than ever expected. It is time to set ourselves free from the world cartel. A cartel like OPEC would be illegal here in the US so why do we continue to support it in the Mid East? Let the rest of the world be beholden to the people that hate us. We don’t need them if we plan properly.

If we had a president and leadership in congress we would be well on our way to energy independence. I don’t begrudge the president for going golfing occasionally but he doesn’t even seem to care that gas is about to hit $4 a gallon. Maybe that’s because we as taxpayers are paying to fill up the tanks of Air Force 1 and his limos.

The next election can’t come fast enough. This president is so out of touch with the average American that I suspect that is why he can play golf while we contemplate how we are going to keep paying $100 to fill up our gas tanks. We have the resources to fundamentally change the energy industry for the better. If we only had a president and congress that actually cared about the people…

Energy Policy Video

Liberty or Tyranny?

I have included a few of the headlines in today’s news to point out the efficiency of government intrusion into our lives. The use of our tax dollars has become more and more unconstitutional every day and must be stopped. And these headlines are only a miniscule representation of what is happening to our country right in front of our eyes.

We are under assault by the current crop of politicians. It is no more apparent than the cap and trade “debate” that is currently making its way through the house. It is treason pure and simple. It is a policy based on scientific lies about the impact of carbon dioxide on our environment. The “carbon footprint” garbage that is being promoted is deceptive and is supporting a platform that is encouraging citizens to support policies that will destroy America’s competitiveness and economy. It is an assault on freedom and any politician that mumbles their support should be voted out of office.

We need to educate ourselves on the real impact of CO2. You will learn quickly how much of a lie this global warming, carbon foot print, cap and trade garbage truly is. It must be stopped the same way an enemy that landed on our shores with the intent to overthrow our government would be. These politicians are trying to overthrow our freedom with lies, lies, and more lies.

We must take back our government from this administration and we must educate everyone we talk to about the devastation being thrust upon us under the guise of the saving the environment with the intent to ruin this nation. We are all environmentalists but the environmental movement is an attempt to ruin this nation. They say they want renewable green and clean energy but every time a permit is pulled to stand up a wind farm it is protested by the same people talking green. They don’t want green energy supplies, they want to end energy consumption. They want to take us back to the stone ages and a “simpler" life. That is not freedom; that is tyranny. Learn about the issues and fight back…

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What Happened to Energy Policy?

It wasn’t that long ago there was a movement to create an energy policy that was based on a comprehensive policy of domestic oil drilling, coal, nuclear, wind, and solar but what happened to the urgency? As usual politicians that have no business savvy or understanding of how the economy works have ignored it; again.

The result is another year wasted with no sound policy. And where is the price of oil heading, to $3.00 a gallon and up. Why? Because the control of supply is out of our hands and in the hands of enemy dictators and other countries to control.

When are we going to have the sense to hold these politicians accountable? Energy prices are about to sky rocket and we have a government taking over car companies; illegally I might add. The TARP money that was approved by congress has become a blank check for the Executive branch and that is unconstitutional. All spending must be approved by congress not as a blank check but with specific intentions attached to the money. If not the President becomes a benevolent dictator with the ability to spend like a drunken sailor on his best buddies. And what is he doing? Spending money like a drunken sailor on his political buddies.

If we were spending the last year building a refinery or two along with a couple of offshore oil platforms we would not be seeing this spike in oil prices. The Saudis and others would be scared to death that we would stop using their oil, and instead use our own supply and what would they have? Nothing. Take away oil production from the Middle East and what do they have to survive on? Nothing.

So as this administration acts like a child with ADD, the price of oil will rise to cripple our economy even further. The people will scream and the politicians will pretend to get angry and ultimately will use the crisis to take more freedom from us. It is really plain to see if you just take a moment to look…