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Energy, immigration are America’s two greatest threats

    Looking at the events unfolding in the past several decades, it will not only be the terrorists who try to destroy us but those within our own country who are doing just that.
    I’m talking about the two biggest issues confronting our nation — energy dependence and illegal immigration. Both issues are destroying the economy.
    When the pundits tell us there are 11 million illegal immigrants in this country, there are likely around 30 million more. They come mainly from our southern borders with Mexico. This problem has become so widespread, they are almost in every state. We don’t know who they are or what diseases they bring into this country. They have overburdened our hospitals, our social programs and, most of all, the hard-working American taxpayer who pays for it all.
    Our dependence on foreign oil is killing us. I remember the gas lines of the 1970s, and you would have thought we would have dome something since then. But nothing has changed in over 30 years. The lobbying groups in Washington have everything at a standstill.
    This country is so rich in natural resources, whether it’s coal or oil, unlike countries in Europe, and yet we do nothing with the two richest resources we have. Instead, our government pushes ethanol, which is leading to a disaster worldwide. We can talk about alternative energies all we want, but right now there are none.
    We need to close our borders; yes, fences do work. We need to drill everywhere we can — including the frozen tundra of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve and off the coast of Florida. We need to get energy wherever we can, including nuclear, which France has had for decades. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how fast prices would come down at the pumps as soon as the world saw how serious we were about doing these things?
We are the greatest country on this earth, yet we are doing very little to help ourselves. We have not held our politicians’ feet to the fire; we have let ourselves down and American down.
CORNELIA H. JOHNSON
Rotterdam

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VIEWPOINT
Not all bad news Rising oil prices may curb imports, spur growth in U.S. manufacturing
BY DEAN POETH For The Sunday Gazette

    The rising price of oil has caused increased pain at the pump, and worse may be yet to come. Some analysts are now talking seriously about gas at $5 per gallon by Labor Day, which is going to make the summer driving vacation a white-knuckle experience. Just think, someday you may be able to smugly tell your grandkids, “I remember the good ol’ days when gas was just $2 per gallon.” On the other hand, better not; they probably won’t believe you.
    Tough times are ahead, but there is a silver lining to this cloud. The same economic forces that have caused high fuel prices will also help improve the global competitiveness of many New York businesses, particularly those involved in manufacturing. This will generate local economic growth, helping future graduates find jobs in the area so they can stay in New York.
THE DEVALUED DOLLAR
    A primary cause of rising fuel prices is the continued devaluation of the U.S. dollar, resulting in investors moving out of the dollar (treasury bonds, etc.) and into investments in oil. This has forced oil prices above what would ordinarily seem reasonable based on international consumption and simple supply-demand economics.
    A devalued dollar, combined with high transportation costs (a consequence of skyrocketing fuel prices), means a higher “total landed cost” — the combined cost of making and delivering goods — for imports. This means, in the short term, higher prices for imported goods at discount department stores such as Wal-Mart. In the long term, however, it also means that these higher prices will make domestically produced goods more competitive, which is beneficial for local jobs.
    This is the silver lining to the cloud of a devalued dollar and high fuel prices.
    The days of low transportation costs, the magic carpet of offshoring, may be coming to an end. As shipping costs continue to increase, overseas production becomes less and less profitable. After all, fueling a container ship for the 6,200 mile ocean voyage from China to California isn’t cheap. These ships burn upwards of 1,800 gallons of fuel per hour.
    Combine all this with the fact that all is not going well for China. Weakened U.S. demand for their products, in part due to concerns over product safety, combined with rising labor costs and rising raw material prices, are hitting Asian factories hard. One source claims as many as 20 percent of small factories in China may close by the end of this year.
MADE IN U.S.A.
    The bottom line is that, in the coming months and years you will see substantially more “Made in U.S.A.” labels on goods sold in department stores. Asian and European consumers may see more of these labels as well, as the devalued dollar makes U.S. goods more cost-competitive in the global marketplace, and the volume of our exported goods increase.
    This is good news for New York. More domestically produced goods means more local jobs, and increased prosperity for our state, if we capitalize on this opportunity.
    Does this mean New York businesses can ignore the brutal rules of global competition and just wait for this windfall? Of course not. With or without a devalued dollar, the customer still demands a world-class product at a competitive price, and they don’t much care where it is made. If we meet this challenge, we will have jobs. If not, we will suffer the fate we deserve.
    Businesses need to re-evaluate their competitive position now. Trying to compete in this global economy using obsolete methods and outdated machinery from the 1950s is a recipe for failure.
    Likewise, using management strategies from the 1950s is unsustainable. Businesses need to leverage our key competitive advantage: the intelligence, creativity and innovation of American workers — an intellectual gold mine that remains sadly untapped. Are we willing to pay the price it takes to open this floodgate of new ideas?
    Consider this: Workers at the Honda Accord factory in Marysville, Ohio, can receive (and many have received) a new Accord as a reward for identifying process improvements that reduced costs and improved quality. Are New York companies as astute?
HARDSHIPS AHEAD
    The continued devaluation of the dollar means real hardships ahead in the form of higher prices for everything, from gas to food. Even taxes will go up as municipalities struggle to pay for the increased costs of fueling police cars and school buses.
    But on the upside, New York manufacturers who have been bled white due to a devalued Chinese yuan will now find themselves with an unanticipated competitive advantage. Domestic manufacturing may begin a resurgence not seen in decades through increased domestic and international demand.

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CAPITAL REGION
Gas crosses $4 mark Area’s motorists witness record high prices
BY JASON SUBIK Gazette Reporter

    Four days from the unofficial start of the summer driving season, the first gas station in the Capital Region crossed the $4 mark for a gallon of regular unleaded.
    Most stations have held off raising gas prices past that psychological barrier, but probably won’t for much longer as Memorial Day weekend approaches. The average price of regular unleaded gasoline in the Capital Region hit a record high of $3.91 per gallon Monday, 12 cents more than the national average and up about 80 cents from this time last year, according to AAA Northway.
    Raj Patel, the manager of the Country Farms convenience store on Erie Boulevard in Schenectady, said he has tried to keep his gas priced below $3.90 to keep attracting customers to the store, but he can’t do it anymore.
    “I’m at $3.95, because I’m losing money right now. And maybe it will go up tomorrow again. I was losing money trying to make people come in,” Patel said.
    The price of crude oil continued its march into record territory Monday, as light sweet crude settled above $127 a barrel for the first time.
    Meanwhile, Americans are now paying an average of $3.79 for a gallon of regular gas, according to a survey by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Diesel, used to transport a wide range of goods, now costs $4.52 a gallon. Those prices, both records, are likely to keep rising, following crude’s upward track.
    Mike Bombard, the gasoline manager for Stewarts Shops Corp., said gasoline in the Capital Region is probably 10 to 12 cents cheaper than where it should be based on crude oil prices and the state’s taxes. He said the region has seen some price reductions from selling gas blended with 10 percent corn-based ethanol rather than the more expensive reformulated gasoline mandated for downstate. But, he said even the less-expensive ethanol being sold out of the Port of Albany won’t hold off $4 gas for much longer.
    “Friday the market went up like seven cents, so when it goes up on a Friday afternoon obviously [retailers] can’t just put that [price increase] right to the street. Over the next few days you will probably see more $4 gas in Albany,” Bombard said. “There’s only one or two out there now, but if you head north to the Plattsburgh area they’re already at $4 a gallon and south to the Newburgh area there are several players above $4 there also.”
    According to Albanygasprices.com, only one retailer in the region, the Gendron Getty Station in Troy, has broken the $4 threshold for regular unleaded.
    Gendron Getty officials said they were forced to price regular gas at $4.01 because they buy it from Getty at a premium because they are independent of Getty Petroleum Marketing.
    Jason Toews, one of the founders of Albanygasprices.com, said his Web site’s network of gas-price spotters has reported 14 local gas retailers with regular unleaded prices hovering from $3.97 per gallon to $3.99 per gallon.
    “Four dollars per gallon is a bit of a psychological barrier. Stations are willing to take a little bit of a hit not to go over that $4 per gallon barrier,” Toews said. “People are very price-sensitive right now and they’re paying attention to the price of gas and if they see one station that’s the first in their local area to go over [$4, they] will remember that and feel like that station is gouging them.”
    AAA Northway spokesman Eric Stigberg said gas prices have historically spiked before Memorial Day holiday weekend driving, but might not this year because of lower demand.
    The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Short Term Energy Outlook, released May 6, showed U.S. consumption of liquid fuels and other petroleum is expected to decline in 2008 as a result of the economic slowdown and high petroleum prices.
    AAA projects the number of Americans traveling during the Memorial Day holiday will drop slightly compared with last year. AAA estimates that 37.87 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday, a decrease of nearly 360,000 travelers from last year’s total of 38.23 million.
    However, Stigberg said AAA Northway has seen a 10 percent year-over-year increase in people using the not-for-profit’s online “Trip-Tik” program, which plans driving routes.
    “Now, that may not necessarily indicate an increase in the number of members traveling by automobile. It could be that those members that are traveling are looking for the best/ shortest route to their destination in order to save a few dollars on gas,” he said. “We are expecting 2.19 million New Yorkers to travel this holiday, 1.5 million [in automobiles] and 263,000 by air. I [can’t] compare these figures with last year as this is the first year we’ve collected state data.”
    Gas prices also seem to have affected local new-car purchasing patterns.
    Nick Bonarrigo, sales manager for Lia Toyota in Colonie, said Toyota’s hybrid car, the Prius, has a 12- to 14-week waiting list for purchase. He said higher gas prices have become a major factor in consumer decision making.
    “We’re selling four-door midsize and compact cars and taking in sport utility vehicles and trucks on trade for them,” he said.
    Tim Rigney, the sales manager for DeNooyer Chevrolet in Colonie, said sales of new trucks and sport utility vehicles have declined by 25 to 35 percent across the region. He said it’s the worst big vehicle market he’s seen during his 14-year career.
    “Everybody is waiting to see what [gas] prices are going to do. They’re waiting for the bubble to pop and come back down again,” he said.

Regular unleaded gasoline has topped the $4 mark at the Getty gas station on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 125th Street in Lansingburgh.
MEREDITH L. KAISER/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER

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Dear Kevin:

We're not just trying to get your attention!  Make no mistake... the price you pay for gasoline at the pump may soon rise to over $4.00 a gallon!

In fact, prices are already ABOVE $4.00 a gallon in some areas of the country! (editorial, see the last article where we now have this in the capital region...)

Did you know that gasoline costs 45 cents a gallon in Saudi Arabia, 35 cents in Iran, and less than a quarter in Venezuela?

Question: Why does gasoline cost so little in these third-world countries and so much in the United States of America?

Answer: Because Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela harvest enough oil to take care of their own people, and WE DON'T!

Can we do something about it?  

YOU BET!  In fact, President Bush called for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil exploration.

Geologists tell us that ANWR sits on top of enough oil to give us the energy-independence we once enjoyed... Independence we frittered away through years of cowardly kowtowing to Greenies and Liberals.  

Conservative estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey confirm that ANWR would produce at least 10.4 billion barrels of new oil!  

So what does that figure mean to us ordinary folks who drive cars?

It means we'd have...

Enough oil to replace 30 years of imports from Saudi Arabia and 58 years of Iraqi oil!

Enough oil to run the District of Columbia, our nations Capital, for 1,704 years!  

Enough oil to run 29 U.S. states for more than a century!

Enough oil to cut a major chunk out of the $150 BILLION the United States spends every year, buying oil from our enemies, who -- out of envy and hatred --  hold us hostage and gouge us.

And here's the kicker: Some experts predict the ANWR yield could run as high as 27 BILLION BARRELS!

So who's stopping us?  Who's holding us hostage?  The Democrats and RINOs on Capitol Hill -- frantically kissing the feet of crazed Greenies -- who would prefer to see you and your family suffer than inconvenience one polar bear or walrus or caribou.

Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent and personalized Blast Fax messages to President Bush and the GOP leadership in the House and Senate.  Tell them that the American people are sick and tired of pandering and want REAL LONG TERM solutions when it comes to lowering the price of gasoline at the pump. Tell them that solution is to increase the supply.

Tell them the American people are fed up with artificially high gas prices.  Tell them the American people are fed up with their lack of action!  Tell them that if they want to reclaim the support of the American people that they MUST STOP kowtowing to Greenies.  Demand that they ram through the American Energy Production Act of 2008.  Demand that they open up ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf to drilling... PERIOD!

https://www.grasstopsusa.com/energyproductionact.html

You can also copy and paste the hyperlink into the address bar of your browser or go to our homepage at grasstopsusa.com.



Did You Know?

The total acreage of ANWR is a whopping 19.6 million acres.  

And under previously proposed legislation drilling in ANWR was only limited to a 2,000-acre plot of land.

That leaves 19.598 million acres for the walruses and polar bears and caribou.

Let's put that in greater perspective: Oil exploration would be confined to just 0.01% of the 19.6 million acres.

That's 1/15th the size of Disney World and 1/4th the size of O'Hare Airport in Chicago.

If ANWR were the dimensions of the floor of the U.S. Senate, the 2,000 acres would be about the size of an angry constituent's letter.

If ANWR were a tennis court, the drillable part would be the size of Time magazine.

If ANWR were the size of a football field, oil companies would be drilling on a 2 x 3-foot patch of land.

And federal regulations would be so strict that the polar bears and walruses and caribou would probably wander over, squat on the ice, and watch the men in their heavy fur-free coats putting the pipes together.

Honest environmental scientists admit that this activity would pose little or no danger to these animals.

Nothing but crisp, pure air and white snow and the all-but-silent chug-chug of oil pumps.

Legislators who have opposed this win-win venture KNOW they are voting against their own constituents -- exposing lower income folks to heart-breaking deprivation, risking the lives of the very old and very young, who too often can't tolerate extreme weather.

Let's make them do the right thing for their constituents and for their country.

Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent and personalized Blast Fax messages to President Bush and the GOP leadership in the House and Senate.  Tell them that the American people are sick and tired of pandering and want REAL LONG TERM solutions when it comes to lowering the price of gasoline at the pump. Tell them that solution is to increase the supply.

Tell them the American people are fed up with artificially high gas prices.  Tell them the American people are fed up with their lack of action!  Tell them that if they want to reclaim the support of the American people that they MUST STOP kowtowing to Greenies.  Demand that they ram through the American Energy Production Act of 2008.  Demand that they open up ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf to drilling... PERIOD!

https://www.grasstopsusa.com/energyproductionact.html

AOL Members Can Use This Hyperlink If The Hyperlink Above Does Not Work

You can also copy and paste the hyperlink into the address bar of your browser or go to our homepage at grasstopsusa.com.



But Wait... There's More...

Several GOP senators are currently sponsoring the American Energy Production Act of 2008.

This bill -- authored by Senator Jim Bunning -- would, among other things, allow oil exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and in certain now-restricted areas of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah.

It would also suspend for six months the filling of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves -- that is, storing up oil for a rainy day.  (In case politicians in Washington haven't noticed, it's raining so hard now that some folks are building arks.)

And just how much oil could we recover from the Outer Continental Shelf?

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) estimates the quantity of recoverable oil at -- are you ready for this? -- 66.6-115.3 BILLION barrels!  Take a middle figure of 85.9 billion barrels and you have more oil than lies under ANWR.

In addition, we could harvest 326.4-565.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

So why aren't we already pumping the stuff and thumbing our noses at Saudi Arabia and Iran and Hugo Chavez?

Blame it on Greenies and Liberals and RINOs.

But -- most of all -- blame it on our political leaders who know better and have not forced this agenda.  

You can bet, if offering real help to the American people was an earmark... a "bridge to nowhere" for the folks back home... it would pass without objection!

Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent and personalized Blast Fax messages to President Bush and the GOP leadership in the House and Senate.  Tell them that the American people are sick and tired of pandering and want REAL LONG TERM solutions when it comes to lowering the price of gasoline at the pump. Tell them that solution is to increase the supply.

Tell them the American people are fed up with artificially high gas prices.  Tell them the American people are fed up with their lack of action!  Tell them that if they want to reclaim the support of the American people that they MUST STOP kowtowing to Greenies.  Demand that they ram through the American Energy Production Act of 2008.  Demand that they open up ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf to drilling... PERIOD!

https://www.grasstopsusa.com/energyproductionact.html

You can also copy and paste the hyperlink into the address bar of your browser or go to our homepage at grasstopsusa.com.



Your Choice: Shut Down America Or Ruin The Planet!

If the Left had plotted to destroy the United States of America, they couldn't have come up with a better plan or a better slogan.
Have you ever noticed, by the way, that just about every agenda pushed by the Left also weakens America?
Of course, the Left has always thrived on disaster scenarios.

In the late 1960s, Paul Ehrlich -- in his book The Population Bomb -- predicted that America would be so overpopulated by the 1970s that New Yorkers would be fighting each other in the streets for scraps of food.  Today Mayor Bloomberg is publicly worried that New Yorkers are too fat.

During the Cold War, left-wing ideologues were calling for unilateral disarmament to avoid "nuclear holocaust."  Thankfully Ronald Reagan continued to arm America, and -- abracadabra -- no Soviet Union!

Now the same Chicken Littles are saying that global warming will lead to the destruction of all life on earth -- unless we turn the world over to Al Gore by Friday.  So have you heard the latest?  The polar ice cap isn't melting.  It's getting thicker!  We're all going to freeze to death!  

Because of Greenies, Liberals, and RINOs, unemployment is rising and the economy is teetering on the brink of recession.

Independent truckers are shutting down operations or barely breaking even.

Major corporations are laying-off thousands of workers.

Grocery prices are headed toward the moon, and senior citizens on fixed incomes are barely getting by.

This has all happened, in part, because of our dependence on foreign oil.  Yet Washington politicians STILL worry more about polar bears and walruses than about people.

Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent and personalized Blast Fax messages to President Bush and the GOP leadership in the House and Senate.  Tell them that the American people are sick and tired of pandering and want REAL LONG TERM solutions when it comes to lowering the price of gasoline at the pump. Tell them that solution is to increase the supply.

Tell them the American people are fed up with artificially high gas prices.  Tell them the American people are fed up with their lack of action!  Tell them that if they want to reclaim the support of the American people that they MUST STOP kowtowing to Greenies.  Demand that they ram through the American Energy Production Act of 2008.  Demand that they open up ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf to drilling... PERIOD!

https://www.grasstopsusa.com/energyproductionact.html

You can also copy and paste the hyperlink into the address bar of your browser or go to our homepage at grasstopsusa.com.



Misery May Love Company But The Left Loves Misery.

The truth is, Liberals are insanely, passionately in love with high gasoline prices.

Greenie websites feature articles with titles like: "More Taxes Please: Why the Price of Gas Is Too Low."

As columnist Ann Coulter put it: "For decades Democrats have been trying to raise the price of gasoline so that the working class will stop their infernal car driving and start riding on buses where they belong...."

The Wall Street Journal made the same point: "High [gas] prices have been the prod that the left has favored to persuade Americans to abandon their SUVs and minivans, use mass transit, turn the thermostat down, produce less consumer goods and services, and stop emitting those satanic greenhouse gases."

It's time to take a stand!

The time has come to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil -- and quickly.  

Ethanol and wind-mills won't make a dent in the problem. In fact, folks around the world are starving because too much corn is being used to make fuel.

Gas tax holidays won't do the job.

And yes, as unpopular as this may sound, punishing the "evil oil companies" isn't going to help either. Admittedly, some folks will feel better in their misery because someone richer and more powerful is being made to suffer too... but it's not going to lower the price of gasoline that you and I pay at the pump significantly -- if at all.

The only real and permanent solution is to INCREASE THE SUPPLY!

We must immediately open up ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf and tell Saudi Arabia, Iran and Hugo Chavez to gouge someone else.      

Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent and personalized Blast Fax messages to President Bush and the GOP leadership in the House and Senate.  Tell them that the American people are sick and tired of pandering and want REAL LONG TERM solutions when it comes to lowering the price of gasoline at the pump. Tell them that solution is to increase the supply.

Tell them the American people are fed up with artificially high gas prices.  Tell them the American people are fed up with their lack of action!  Tell them that if they want to reclaim the support of the American people that they MUST STOP kowtowing to Greenies.  Demand that they ram through the American Energy Production Act of 2008.  Demand that they open up ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf to drilling... PERIOD!

https://www.grasstopsusa.com/energyproductionact.html

You can also copy and paste the hyperlink into the address bar of your browser or go to our homepage at grasstopsusa.com.

Chris Carmouche

Quoted from senders

I cant afford to drive around looking for cheap fuel all the while burning it on the search......