[UnderseaLcpl]

I find it ridiculous that this is even being discussed in the Senate.

Actually I would find this whole oil situation pretty damn funny if it wasn't costing me so much money.

When I was in school I was repeatedly subjected to various forms of instruction on environmental awareness. Back then we all thought it was a great idea to reduce our usage of fossil fuels. Nuclear Power was evil, and our nation's wildlife was to valuable to risk letting big, evil oil companies drill offshore and in Alaska. Biofuels were considered a great source of energy that politicians and big business spent millions hiding from the mainstream public.
As the sole voice of dissent amongst my peers at the time it brings me great joy to see the same people who once championed all those wonderful planet-saving ideas completely reverse their views because ethanol and limited domestic oil production are hitting them in the pocketbook. Not that they will ever admit it.
Now the hue and cry is; "Speculators! It's their fault. They ruined everything. Somebody should regulate them!"
I can't wait to see how that works out.

Here's a thought; why not just let the market do its' work? We have already seen what radical steps people have taken to curb fuel expenses with gas at $4 a gallon.
If gas becomes too expensive, people will find alternatives or drastically reduce consumption. Certainly our leaders' initiatives to provide for our energy needs whilst simultaneously saving the environment and keeping fuel costs low have not worked.

Which would you trust more; the ability of consumers to regulate energy policy by voting with their pocketbooks, or the ability of elected representatives to regulate energy policy by fiat with the primary concern of being re-elected?

Of course, this has all been done before. Many of you probably remember the effectiveness of federal energy policy in the 70's. For those who weren't there, price controls, by allowing demand to operate independently of supply, ensured that no one had any gas.
And it will all be done again. I lack the clairvoyance to say when but I would bank on it being 30-40 years after we solve the current problem in the same way we solved the last one; by leaving it alone and letting the market do its work. That should be more than enough time to totally forget everything we learned.

Thanks for enduring another one of my rants,

-the Lance