Osama and Saddam want to save the whales too

I have to say, of all the fucking pathetic, piece-of-shit, over-demagogued republican issues, drilling in ANWR is one of my favorites.  And now they've put it in the fucking budget:

Amid the backdrop of soaring oil and gasoline prices, a sharply divided Senate on Wednesday voted to open the ecologically rich Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling, delivering a major energy policy win for President Bush.

The Senate, by a 51-49 vote, rejected an attempt by Democrats and GOP moderates to remove a refuge drilling provision from next year's budget, preventing opponents from using a filibuster a tactic that has blocked repeated past attempts to open the Alaska refuge to oil companies.

But ya know what I love?  I love the republican talking points:

Drilling supporters argued that access to the refuge's oil was a matter of national security and that modern drilling technology would protect the region's wildlife.

Thanks for that, AP.  So I guess that means people who oppose killing the birds must be allies of the terrorists.  Thanks to Reuters also:

"I believe that creates a national security issue and an economic security issue for the United States and that's why its important for us to utilize the resources we have here at home."

That's the president.  Here's Pete Domenici:

“It’s time to wake up. The United States is in a terrible crisis. I don’t know how we can make the point that we are so vulnerable. … To be almost 70 percent dependent on oil from overseas is a crisis, a crisis waiting to befall America.”

As if the debate were really about being held hostage to foreign countries; as if there weren't other options that weren't more environmentally sound.  You might have noticed that Domenici used the word "crisis" three times.  Well, if Social Security can be in crisis 40 years before it's no longer able to pay 100% of its obligations, I guess the US oil crisis can be fixed by the ANWR solution too:

"We won't see this oil for 10 years. It will have minimal impact," argued Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., a co-sponsor of the amendment that would have stripped the arctic refuge provision from the budget document.

Big fucking crisis, huh?  We'll only have to wait 10 years for a solution that will have minimal impact.  Big John had a good way of talking about it, though:

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., argued that more oil would be saved if Congress enacted an energy policy focusing on conservation, more efficient cars and trucks and increased reliance on renewable fuels and expanded oil development in the deep-water Gulf where there are significant reserves.

"The fact is (drilling in ANWR) is going to be destructive," said Kerry.

Really, why do republicans want to destroy the environment?

-- Michael

Comments

[Grumpy]

To be fair, ANWR is "over-demagogued" by everybody, not just Republicans. Case in point, Barbara Boxer's citation of the "6 months" of oil to be had in ANWR. *If* it was all extracted at once, and *if* the country used no other oil at all. Which is silly. But she said it anyway.

Everybody's been using nonsense like this for years, repeating the same arguments over and over. No wonder Alaska Senator Ted Stevens said last week the whole business was making him mentally ill.

[gary]

the part that made me cringe:

"delivering a major energy policy win for President Bush"

I think he has been "delivered" about enough in the way of wins. Don't you?

Errrr....

And we need to look at alternate energy, and become serious about conservation, and...and...and!

I am just so fed up with the bandaid mentality. When will we stop dressing the wound, and start treating the cancer?

I know...not part of the American way.

[Incertus]

Speaking of alternate energy, Spain just made solar panels mandatory on all new construction and renovations. Hell, I'd be satisfied if our government would simply give full tax credits to people did something like that.

[Cheryl]

Democrats had a chance to send Al Gore to the white house in 2000 and blew it. Gore was the sane energy candidate.

I blame this situation on the Democrats. They had the solution and they just did not fight to implement it.