Drilling for Oil

OK. I signed Newt Gingrich's "Drill Here ... " petition for three reasons. The main reason is that our beloved Chairman, Dr. James Pelura, has signed, making him as far as I can tell, the only elected official from Maryland to have done so. He provided this statement to the American Solutions website conducting the petition:

"To insure our National and Economic Security, America must become energy independent. By using good old-fashioned American ingenuity and resourcefulness, we can achieve this independence by developing alternate forms of energy, pushing ahead with the expansion of nuclear power and an aggressive policy of domestic oil exploration and extraction."

Classic Pelura. I started leaning toward signing after I confirmed that Wayne Gilchrest refused to do so. I am not sure how exactly, but Congressman Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia has a list of his colleagues (and soon to be former colleagues) "...who said "No" to the petition"

(From Congresman Lynn Westmoreland's site: http://westmoreland.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=94435

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.).......Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.)
Rep. Ben Chandler (D-Ky.).......Rep. Travis Childers (D-Miss.)
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.)........Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.)
Rep. R. Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.)....Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.)
Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.).................Rep. Tim Johnson (R-Ill.)
Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas).....Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.)
Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.)...Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.)
Rep. I.Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.)........Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.)
Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.)...........Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.)
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.)..............Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.)

I was a bit surprised to see Congressman Bartlett's name on the list. I thought he had renounced his "Peak Oil" position months ago.

The third reason is that, although I have a bone to pick with Newt, (and yes, I posted this on my Newt.org blog, just in case people are running low on irony) I just like the idea of drilling for oil in this country. Not because I believe in pursuing the ideal of energy independence, which, as I have explained in a previous post, is neither an attainable nor a desirable goal.

Rather, I relish the idea of seeing the likes of Nancy Pelosi, the eco-freaks, turn pale as the oil rigs and platforms go up (especially in ANWR, oh I could sell tickets to the see-that-look-on-her-face event!). I also like the idea of watch Hugo Chavez wither and die, the OPEC emergency meetings and the knock-down-drag-outs they'll have!

Yes, these are a few of my favorite things.