Been written if we had the liberals of today deciding it?

Okay, first off we are going to have to get used to paying between $3.759 and $5.009 a gallon for regular gasoline. In the short term there is not a dam thing the government or anyone else can do about that short of invading Saudi Arabia, the cost and consequences of which would be inconceivable. One politician says this and another politician says that, however the time to fix this particular problem was 10 years ago. The special-interest sponsored Democrat and Republican parties have failed and let’s be clear, they are equally at fault.

So what can be done? Well first we must understand the way the marketplace works. Despite what Bill O’Reilly and others think there is no single guy or gang of industrialist sitting in a darkened room and setting high fuel prices. The trading price for a barrel of crude oil is the result of supply and demand. Crude Oil is a commodity and is traded as such; higher demand on stable or diminishing supply means higher prices. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) can increase the supply they bring to the market, as they have done in the past, but in the current international market that seems unlikely.

The solution is not easy nor is it one dimensional. Optimally it will only take ten years to implement, that said the sooner we set about it the faster it gets done.

I am a true 1970’s Environmentalist and definitely not one of the nutty anti-capitalist ‘environmentalists’ who co-opted the movement in the last two decades years. Yes, we need to wean off the internal combustion engine as soon as possible, but this will quite honestly take up to thirty years to accomplish. When we drill for oil we need do as little harm to the natural environment as possible. At the end of production the well site must be restored to its pre-drilled condition. An excellent model for this is coal mining in Montana. First they take detailed surveys, remove the surface soil, take out the coal and then restore the land to its original condition. This program must go for producing oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), oil sand or shale mining and drilling for oil off the coast of Florida and California.

The primary element of the United States becoming energy independent is coal-to-oil production. There are vast deposits of coal in Montana, Wyoming and in many other western states. The Governor of Montana has stated that the coal supply in his state alone could provide the oil requirements of the US for 200 years. The estimated cost for this process is $55 a barrel, less than half the current $122 a barrel. In the late 70’s the US was building numerous coal-to-oil production facilities, however OPEC flooded the market with oil and the prices dropped below where economics justified their construction. That has changed. Additionally we must take steps to protect this vital strategic industry from again being killed by foreign interests. I am a free-trade advocate, except when related to strategic industries, which is the case of energy production. A flexible tariff is needed on imported oil such that if oil drops below $55 a barrel a tariff equal to the amount necessary to maintain that price kicks in. An added benefit of this effort would be that once again we would become a net exporter of oil bringing dollars back to this country.

Another element needed is the construction of state-of-the-art nuclear electric plants. Despite the dogma of the anti-capitalist ‘environmentalist’ and Hollywood elite nuclear energy (as operated in the United States) is safe. The problems of operating the plants and transporting spent radioactive materials have been resolved. There is no logical reason for us not to further develop this clean non-greenhouse gas producing form of electricity.

We need to radically expand our mass transit systems. A good example is the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system (DART). In the next fifteen years the track mileage should more than double, including lengthened north route and new east-west routs. The politicians can get this done if they are forced to by the voters. That single project will reduce airborne pollutants and gasoline consumption, highly desirable outcomes to be sure. One prime hindrance to mass-transit is personal security. I understand this single issue has held up the expansion of light-rail in Atlanta, Georgia, a city just as congested and polluted as Dallas. Regardless of the political sensitivities of special interest groups, riders of mass-transit must feel safe or they won’t use mass-transit. If this requires police at every station and on every train, so be it.

Finally, drilling in ANWR, off the coasts of Florida and California must be allowed. As a nation we cannot allow ourselves to be held ransom by foreign powers, anti-capitalist ‘environmentalist’ or Hollywood ‘elite’.

If we the people do not make our wishes known on this issue the politicians will continue to point fingers, pander to special interest and do nothing. If that happens we will see $20.009 a gallon gasoline within a decade as opposed to $2.499 and continue to be the slaves of the house of Saudi and Hugo Chavez as opposed to being strong and independent.

The situation is clear, energy independence is vital and we must act now to secure the future.

CHICAGO - The squat brick buildings of Grove Parc Plaza, in a dense neighborhood that Barack Obama represented for eight years as a state senator, hold 504 apartments subsidized by the federal government for people who can’t afford to live anywhere else.

But it’s not safe to live here.
About 99 of the units are vacant, many rendered uninhabitable by unfixed problems, such as collapsed roofs and fire damage. Mice scamper through the halls. Battered mailboxes hang open. Sewage backs up into kitchen sinks. In 2006, federal inspectors graded the condition of the complex an 11 on a 100-point scale - a score so bad the buildings now face demolition.
Grove Parc has become a symbol for some in Chicago of the broader failures of giving public subsidies to private companies to build and manage affordable housing - an approach strongly backed by Obama as the best replacement for public housing.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/ar…icy/?page=full

Obama spins and spins his history and his accomplishments while taking credit for things he had no to little hand in.