'No Plan' Is Not A Good Plan

Despite the microphones and cameras, and at one point the lights, being turned off, the minority stayed all afternoon (and returned this week) to protest the cutting off of debate.

The idea that the country's current energy woes can be ignored, or solved by citizens correctly filling the tires on their cars is pedantic and dangerous.

The Democrats object to any new drilling off shore, drilling in the Artcic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), nuclear power, the construction of new oil refineries and clean-coal or gas-powered power stations.

It is difficult to see how, given these positions they can find a way to deal with the current crisis or, as they claim, reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil - the purchase of which often indirectly funds America's enemies.

They claim that there is no point in authorising any new drilling since the oil would take "ten years" to be available for use, neglecting to mention that they've been blocking AMWR drilling for ten years. Every week that passes before new drilling is another week into the future that America fails to increase its own supply of home-produced oil.

They and the 'not in my backyard' crowd refuse permits for new refining capacity and power stations, either based on nuclear or clean-fossil fuel technology, yet they insist that we, the people must save energy by altering our behaviour to facilitate their decisions, yet the politicians live in mansions that use ten times the energy of our humble abodes.

They decry nuclear power in general, despite the fact that without nuclear power stations, many of our large cities would be cast into darkness - including New York City which gets a large portion of its electricity from Indian Point - a power station that New York's Attorney General Andrew Cuomo blindly seems intent on closing.

It is time to get both serious and realistic about the issues facing this nation and stop mouthing politically-correct platitudes.

Only with serious and open discussion can we avert a calamity which would affect both the economic and social well-being of this country.