Newt at his finest:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=UOpcPfAarjY

I have never been a huge newt fan, but that was 3 minutes of pure common sense.

You betcha, but do you think Nancy Pelosi or Harry Ried will have anything of that? Oh hell no, they want you by the balls, completely broke and at the mercy of the government (can we say socialism?)

That sure made a lot of sense, nice link Ace........... thx

Good link Ace. Unfortunately, 'Newt at his finest' is singing to the choir. It does not make a bit of difference what he said-he is obviously correct-but, notice these jerks in Congress went home-no emergency meetings, no gas help, no reduction of the gas tax, and no drilling for oil! We can release some of the reserve of oil now in stock, and the speculators would have an opportunity to go somewhere else to speculate-maybe. even the .Com industry! Point, we have the ability now to ration, and kick start all the energy modes of production that Newt discussed. We can do it now with unified planning, and not in 20/50 years from now-which is so much fantasy, the dreamland of the Congress, and their current sales (snow job) job. It did not take 20/50 years to build the atomic bomb, it was done in a few years. Incompetents in both Congress, and the Senate have failed at a time of war to unify, and get behind a logical plan to ease the burden of the American people now,and our Allies-Clearly, we need to vote new people in office.
Excellent post Ace.

Interesting ideas (and at least he's talking/ thinking about it)
Releasing the stratgic reserve MIGHT work, or it MIGHT just suck down our emergency supply (I like the idea of breaking the speculators)

Drilling in parts of the rockies might be an option, but how about increased drilling in North daktoa first, proven recoverable light crude near 200BBLs with 4 billion easily recoverable using current horizontal drilling methods. nobody cares (in fact the locals love the income)howmany holes you punch in the ground there (need 1 wellhead complex per Sq mile) Tempoaraily "Nationalise" the drilling companies/put them on a mission to concentrate on tha area (deal with leasing and payments to the rights/leaseholders as needed) and we could see large amount of oil by spring, certainly within a couple years. In the mean time they can discuss how and how much of the rockies reserves to tap.

Nuclear needs some very careful thought, it's not a short term, quickfix process to site and build more power plants, we still haven't dealt with the waste problem for existing plants, let alone the hundreds of new ones needed to "solve" our energy consumption problem/addiction.
We no longer have the fuel (uranium) production facilities here or in within our trustworthy trading circles.
And then there is the cost, for what a nuc plant would /might cost to build we could produce millions of solar panels and set up huge farms across the southwest deserts, producing as much electricity as that plant, sooner, cleaner.
Because solar is a daytime only thing, you would need to store some of the capacity, in some sort of battery, probably hydrulic or as hydrogen, or (this has been proposed and tested at a smaller scale) as compressed air, during the day exceess power compresses air into salt domes ( huge natural air tight structures in the earth that used to contain oil or water) and then release it to drive turbines at night.
It will probably take ALL of these method and more to reduce our oil imports enough to stabilize the market. drop the price, and give us back the prosprity and security we need.

so true.

As pressure builds to develop America's domestic energy resources, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid now says it's a health issue. Coal and oil, he says, make us sick. So why does he oppose nuclear power?

The Dr. No of the drill-nothing Congress tried to deflect the issue of rising gas prices Monday by telling Fox Business News that there are costs we should worry about besides those stemming from Democratic inaction. Our guilt is supposed to replace our anger. "Coal makes us sick," Reid said, "oil makes us sick, it's global warming, it's ruining our country, it's ruining our world, we've got to stop using fossil fuel . . . ."

Reid et al. say they want us to use alternative energy such as wind and solar. But if it's going to take another 10 years, as they claim, to bring ANWR, offshore oil and shale into the mix, wind and solar are going to take even longer. Even if we tripled our current output from wind, solar and geothermal, they'd produce just 2.2% of our current energy needs.

The irony here is that it's environmentalists and Democrats who often stand in the way of alternative energy. Reid needs to talk to Ted Kennedy and John Kerry about their opposition to a wind farm off Cape Cod because it might spoil their view.

A 500-megawatt, 20,000-acre wind farm scheduled for Valley County, Mont., was stopped by environmentalists who complained that 400-foot turbines would disturb a nearby wilderness area.

The Sunrise Powerlink solar-energy project in Southern California is being fought because of a 150-mile, $1.5 billion high-voltage line connecting desert-based solar panels with the urban customers of San Diego Gas & Electric.

The problem with wind and solar, other than getting the power from where it is generated to where it is needed, is its intermittency. The electricity generated must be used immediately. It cannot be saved for that proverbial rainy day.

Nuclear power is exactly the kind of nonpolluting energy source that can handle both our growing energy needs and unexpected demand. It has its own issues with waste, but such waste can be safely stored and even reprocessed to make new fuel. It's a renewable resource that doesn't pollute the earth or our lungs.

Yet Sen. Reid opposes the opening of the Yucca Mountain spent-fuel repository in his home state of Nevada. On his Web site, he states that Yucca Mountain is "never going to open" because "it threatens the health and safety of Nevadans and people across the United States" through its existence and from the transportation of spent fuel from nuclear power plants to the facility.

Agreeing with Reid is his party's presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama. In a primary debate in Nevada, Obama pledged: "I will end the notion of Yucca Mountain because it has not been based on the sort of sound science that can assure the people of Nevada that they're going to be safe."

Yucca Mountain is quite possibly the safest, most geologically stable and most studied place on the planet. It abuts Nellis Air Force Base and the Nevada Test Site. The Heritage Foundation says that the road to nuclear power goes through Yucca Mountain and that, by his opposition, Reid's "anti-Yucca stance virtually assures that more fossil-fuel plants will be built."

Let's face it: Harry Reid and the Democrats want no new domestic coal, oil, natural gas or nuclear power. It's their energy policy that makes us sick.

Great Link

"As pressure builds to develop America's domestic energy resources, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid now says it's a health issue. Coal and oil, he says, make us sick. So why does he oppose nuclear power?"
"The Dr. No of the drill-nothing Congress tried to deflect the issue of rising gas prices Monday by telling Fox Business News that there are costs we should worry about besides those stemming from Democratic inaction. Our guilt is supposed to replace our anger. "Coal makes us sick," Reid said, "oil makes us sick, it's global warming, it's ruining our country, it's ruining our world, we've got to stop using fossil fuel . . . ." Ace
________________________________________________________________

Nice post Ace! Again, the statement by SML Harry Reid is unfortunately extremely patronizing, and does not deal with issues of law, and especially responsibility issues that are very clearly addressed for those that build, service, and distribute an energy product. There are responsible people about that understand the law, and the need fpr safety, i.e., the well-being of the people. All this current debate is indeed a tragic reminder, that people must continue to vote, and support those that can walk and chew gum at the same time. Do think that Reid is a good person, but unfortunately not on this issue, and wrong at this time.