Many of us know that most of the easy oil has been found. Gone are the days of Jed Clampett accidentally shooting a hole in the ground and oil bubbling up. Not because they’re trying to take our guns away, but because all of the straight drilling has been done. Most of the new oil is out in the ocean or underground where they have to drill 15000 to 20000 feet deep. There’s lots of new drilling technologies and we can’t seem to find the oil fast enough. In the US, we have plenty of coal and oil shale but we can’t use it. We have ANWR, but we can’t use it.
So, after reading an article where Senator Richard Durbain said, “”I’m open to drilling and responsible production,” and that Mr. Reid could support the move, are we still in reality? Maybe the casino’s are calling Mr. Reid’s office and demanding some action. Although 2007 casino revenues were up, I’m sure that Gas prices is affecting their business and their bottom line.
The Alternative Minimum Tax was created in 1969 and was designed to target 155 specific high-income households that were using the tax code to their benefit and paying little to no tax at the time. At the time, it was great and was able to achieve its goal. Now, the AMT is affecting more and more individuals. As the years pass, incomes tend to grow with the economy. The problem with the AMT is that the limits affect individuals do not grow as well. As a result, Congress has to apply little patches here and there so that it doesn’t affect too many people.
In an article from TheHill.com, there was a recent attempt to apply another fix to the AMT. My question is, why don’t we just get rid of it? Part of the answer lies in the amount of revenue that it generates. There are projections that it could provide $800 billion to $1.5 trillion over the next ten years.
Personally, I’d rather just get rid of it all together. How does all of this tie back to Mr. Reid? He is the one that can put the bill on the floor for a vote. Because of political differences, we’ll have to wait again, for the last minute, for something to be done about the AMT. Why not propose a new bill instead of shooting down a proposal?
About a week ago, on June 30, 2008, Harry Reid made the following comments on the Fox Business Network. I know I’m a little late to the party but here is my take.
We talk about “cost competitiveness,” but the one thing we failed to talk about is those costs that you don’t see on the bottom line. That is, coal makes us sick. Oil makes us sick. This global warming, it’s ruining our country. It’s ruining our world. You’ve got to stop using fossil fuel. We have, for generations, taken it out of the earth, carbon out of the earth and put it in the atmosphere, and it’s making us all sick, and it’s changing our world.
While what Mr. Reid says may have merit, I am not personally convinced. Would it be good if we didn’t have to use coal? Yes. Oil? Yes. Fossil Fuels? Yes. The problem we run into is all of our other options are either blocked due to extreme environmentalism or are currently cost prohibitive. If it is cost prohibitive, why would anyone pursue the new technology? I also hear that Mr. Reid is not a fan of Nuclear power. What else does that leave us with?
I’m a fan of Glenn Beck and much of my thinking falls along his lines. Here is a large quote from one of his recent shows that pretty much sums up the issue for me.
Now, for the life of me I don’t understand it. There’s no compromise on this. These guys, they are not — I’m willing to compromise. I’m willing to say I don’t believe in global warming. I believe in the natural climate of Earth changing, in a much faster fashion than it’s changing now. It’s done it before. I believe in natural climate change. That makes sense. I’m not willing to spend money through tax dollars to buy carbon credits for countries on the other side of the planet. That’s socialism. All under the guise of green. Not willing to do that. No one should be willing to do that. And that is what’s coming. It has nothing to do with clean energy. Now you have to ask yourself why is it that they don’t want coal. Why is it they don’t want oil? Okay, global warming, great. Give me nuclear power. Can’t. Bad. Too dangerous. Really? France has nuclear power. 80% of their power comes from nuclear power. There hasn’t been an accident in France. The only accident in America was Three Mile Island and nobody died from it! The system worked! Can’t do it. Can’t build a hydroelectric plant. Solar, solar we could get 100%. Solar, why aren’t we using solar power? Why aren’t we using the sun’s rays? We’d like to. Environmentalists now need a study to see the impact of all those solar panels. Wind-power, let’s use wind-power. “No, no, you can’t use wind-power. That will kill too many birds.”
The following quote was mentioned at my church today and I thought it was worthy to repeat. As much as people are anti-American, it is something you can’t deny. We have people willing to die trying to cross the border. Are they crossing the border because America sucks? No. It is because we still remain the county of opportunity.
In January 2003, during his address to British ambassadors in London, Tony Blair said the following:
First, we should remain the closest ally of the US, and as allies influence them to continue broadening their agenda. We are the ally of the US not because they are powerful, but because we share their values. I am not surprised by anti-Americanism; but it is a foolish indulgence. For all their faults and all nations have them, the US are a force for good; they have liberal and democratic traditions of which any nation can be proud. I sometimes think it is a good rule of thumb to ask of a country: are people trying to get into it or out of it? It’s not a bad guide to what sort of country it is.
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After attending the Stadium of Fire in Provo, Utah yesterday, besides all of the screaming pre-teens, Glenn Beck has some inspirational words. By watching the video, you could tell that he meant every word he said. While his act is part humor and part serious, his love for his country runs deep. How often do you see grown men tear up when talking about their country? Made me tear up as well watching and seeing the videos of our troops celebrating Independence Day in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I don’t know Mr. Reid personally but I am aware of some of the things he has said in public. While he may be a good person, I disagree with many of the things he has said. Back in April 2007, Mr. Reid made a comment that said “…that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week.” This is the type of negativity that will to hold this great country down.
Mr. Reid serves as the Senate Majority Leader and would be the equivalent to the head coach of a football team. When things are tough, you don’t tell your assistant coaches that all is lost, especially not in front of the players. In this analogy, our troops are the players on the team. Fortunately, in the grand scheme of things, Mr. Reid is not the Athletic Director. That is President Bush’s responsibility. While I may disagree with some of the policies of President Bush, he at least has a positive outlook and knows how to keep our troops motivated.
While I am not willing to sacrifice my financial resources for some lazy person on the street looking for a handout, I am more than willing to part ways with my disposable income and my time to support my troops. They fight for the things we believe in when we are unable. They protect our freedoms, including our rights to free speech and our rights to keep and bear arms.
There are other issues where I believe Mr. Reid sucks but there are others more passionate than I that have the time to post about them.
Since the beginning of the United States, We the People, have been in charge of government. At the time, government was designed to serve the people, and the people elected to government were supposed to represent the ideas of those around them. In the current day, we still have the same type of government but the role of the politician has changed.
Before, politicians laid things out so that all could understand the issues. Now, we have politicians that vie for their own self-glory and justification. Instead of an attitude of, “How can I help you?” it has turned more into, “Look what you have because of what I did. Worship Me.” We have become accustomed to disliking politicians and not trusting them. Take a look at recent approval ratings for the president and for Congress as a whole. Yet, for some reason we continue to re-elect the same people over and over again.
While there are those that honestly try to make a world a better place, they go about it the wrong way. Both Liberals and Conservatives have worthy goals. What both groups fail to take into account is if the ends justify the means. The Liberals tend to be more passionate and seem to want everyone to be on an even playing field. They want everyone to have access to health care and they want to right any wrongs. Not surprisingly, the Conservatives want the same thing. The main difference is how they go about it. In my opinion, it appears that Liberals want everything but don’t want to give anything or work for it. The Conservatives are more than willing to let you have it, but you have to prove that you really want it. Generally, this is done through hard work. They call it work because it is something you have to do. There is an opportunity cost involved.
In either case, I believe one should work for the things one believes. Politicians are now apart of life. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to get rid of them. If we did, we might fall into chaos. There has to be some type of order. I tend to fall more right of center than left. While its nice to have social programs that benefit many, I don’t believe it should be at the cost of those who work.
If we are to progress as a country, we need to stop thinking that we are the exception to the rule and that no one knows what we are going through. We need to start thinking that we are exceptional, that we can do things and succeed where others have fail. It is the positive thinking that will drive this country forward. As any psychologist. Those that are suffering from depression tend to think negative things about themselves or about the world. While some of the depression is chemical related, if you can change the outlook on life to, I will succeed or I will try, those people tend to recover more quickly. This is where we need to go.