Dear Ms. Nancy Pelosi

T. Boone Pickens says we're spending $700 billion a year to import oil, about the same as the entire cost of the Iraq war, every year. But the Nancy Pelosi Congress obstructs drilling for American oil. And goes on vacation, doing nothing about it for another five weeks.

As Nancy Pelosi goes on a book tour.

At $50,000 a job, that $700 billion means 14,000,000 American jobs are being exported to OPEC and other countries we're buying oil from. If we produced all our own oil, that would mean $700 billion a year re-invested in the US, a pretty good stimulus package, and 14 million more American Jobs for Americans.

That's enough new jobs to slash our unemployment rate to Zero. And slash our trade deficit to Zero. And eliminate the strategic threat of oil embargos from OPEC, Iran, or Russia.

We aren't "addicted to oil," we're "addicted to energy," just as we're "addicted" to food and water. Without food, we die. Without water, we die. Food and water are energy for people. Oil is energy for transportation and industry. Without energy, economies die. If you want to use less coal and oil, then why don't you support nuclear power? With zero CO2 emissions?

Why did Bill Clinton and Al Gore and John Kerry collude to shut down the Integral Fast Reactor project in 1993 (Argonne National Laboratory, led by physicist Charles Tell PhD), that would have produced 100 times as much nuclear energy from a pound of uranium as the old reactors do, and by reprocessing spent fuel, would have produced no high level nuclear "waste?" Why don't you ask Bill, Al, and John, and let us know?

When you took office as Speaker you promised to have a National Energy Policy in 100 days. We'll, it's almost two years, and what do we have?

A national "no-energy non-policy."

Why is the Nancy Pelosi Congress stuck on stupid?

Raymond S Kraft

Loomis, Placer County

California

PS - The Nancy Pelosi Book is now up to # 1,850 on the Amazon best seller list. Buy it by Christmas at Dollar Tree for a buck.

The Washington Post: "Why not have a vote on offshore drilling?" "When they took the majority, House Democrats proclaimed that 'bills should generally come to the floor under a procedure that allows open, full and fair debate consisting of a full amendment process that grants the Minority the right to offer its alternatives.' Why not on drilling?" (Editorial, "No Drilling, No Vote," The Washington Post, 7/25/08)

The Wall Street Journal: "Congress's moratorium on offshore drilling is now the last major political barrier to increasing domestic oil-and-gas production." "Yet Democratic leaders have refused to schedule even a single hearing on the topic." (Editorial, "Free Our Oil," The Wall Street Journal, 7/15/08)

The Washington Times: "Republicans ... are frustrated and continue to push for action." "After being given the executive go-ahead from President Bush, Democratic House and Senate majority leaders must call upon their members to enact legislation allowing for the offshore drilling, while also seriously considering legislation for other energy alternatives." (Editorial, "Energy Fix," The Washington Times, 7/30/08)

The Intelligencer/Wheeling (WV) News-Register: "President Bush has proposed that the government should move quickly in regard to leases of federal land containing oil shale. We agree – and urge Congress to help expedite the program." "Oil shale in one major Rocky Mountain region may contain enough fuel to equal U.S. imports of petroleum for a century." (Editorial, "Expedite Leasing Of Oil Shale Lands," The Intelligencer/Wheeling (WV) News-Register, 7/23/08)

Columnist Charles Krauthammer: "By an overwhelming margin of 2 to 1, Americans want to lift the moratorium preventing drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf, thus unlocking vast energy resources shut down for the past 27 years." "[D]rilling requires no government program, no newly created bureaucracy, no pie-in-the-sky technologies that no one has yet invented. It requires only one thing, only one act. Lift the moratorium. Private industry will do the rest. And far from draining the treasury, it will replenish it with direct taxes and with the indirect taxes from the thousands of non-subsidized new jobs created." (Charles Krauthammer, Op-Ed, "No Will To Drill," The Washington Post, 8/8/08)

Ø "Outsourcing U.S. oil production does nothing to lessen worldwide environmental despoliation." "It simply exports it to more corrupt, less efficient, more unstable parts of the world – thereby increasing net planetary damage." (Charles Krauthammer, Op-Ed, "Pelosi: Save The Planet, Let Someone Else Drill," The Washington Post, 8/1/08)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): "Americans are demanding that Congress do something about record-high gas prices." "As gas prices have spiked by about 30% over the past five months, the percentage of Americans who support more domestic energy exploration and less reliance on Middle East oil has jumped too, to 47% from 35%. Most striking: Among self-described liberals, support for increased domestic exploration has jumped to 45% from 22% in just five months." (Mitch McConnell, Op-Ed, "Democrats Should Let Us Drill," The Wall Street Journal, 7/18/08)

Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett (R-UT): "[E]fficiency alone cannot stabilize our energy markets because the United States is spending $700 billion per year on foreign oil." "Americans are looking for long-term solutions to our energy crisis, and it's irresponsible to turn a blind eye to the resources available in [our] own backyard." (Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, Op-Ed, "Don't Ignore The Energy Sources In Our Own Backyard," The Salt Lake Tribune, 7/19/08)

Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE): "We have to do some drilling. Let's accept the fact that we have to do some drilling." "I think drilling in the United States makes a lot of sense. We just can't drill ourselves out of this problem. That's what has been my point. We can do some short-term drilling. And that certainly can take some of the pressure off." (Fox News' "Your World with Neil Cavuto," 7/7/08)

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH): "More than 1.4 million Americans have signed a petition demanding that Congress pass legislation to lower gas prices and increase production of American-made energy." (Maria Recio, "House Republicans Continue Their Rogue 'Session' On Energy," McClatchy, 8/6/08)

House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO): "The Democrats need to get realistic about how these things (high gas prices) are really impacting America ... and they're not." (Pamela Brogan, "House GOP Calls For Offshore Drilling Vote, End To Vacation," Gannett News Service, 8/8/08)

Representative Jon Porter (R-NV): "[W]e must explore for [oil] in America. We must explore now." (Sean Lengell, "House GOP Call For Energy Plan," The Washington Times, 8/11/08)

Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX): "The speaker says that we need to 'use our imagination' for her to allow a vote for more American energy." "Well, I've got a wake-up call for her – Americans shouldn't have to imagine their summer vacations, they should be able to take them." (Maria Recio, "House Republicans Continue Their Rogue 'Session' On Energy," McClatchy, 8/6/08)

Representative John Peterson (R-PA): "I think the vast majority of Congress knows now that the citizens back home want energy production and a resolution to the energy issue, and energy independence is a high goal of Congress." "Members are coming back every week realizing that they better get on the energy bandwagon, or they could be history." (Daniel Libit, "The Shuttle: Rep. John Peterson," Politico, 7/18/08)

Ø "Locking up offshore is the dumbest thing that we ever did." (Ted Barrett and Deirdre Walsh, "Lawmakers Seek Oil-Drilling Compromise," CNN.com, 7/17/08)

Representative Rob Bishop (R-UT): "Democrat leaders of Congress (in contrast to several rank and file, frustrated Democrats) have refused to even address any aspect of our energy crisis." (Lee Davidson, "Hatch, Bishop Blame Demos For High Oil Prices," Deseret [UT] News, 7/24/08)

Representative Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA): "We need to do something to increase supply other than take it out of our savings account." (Carl Hulse, "Effort To Address Gasoline Prices Stalls In The House," The New York Times, 7/25/08)

Representative Tom Price (R-GA): "Give us an opportunity. Give us an opportunity to vote."

"We had hoped that what we'd be doing today is debating an energy bill, debate an increase in deep-sea exploration, debate onshore exploration, debate clean coal technology, debate building a new refinery in the United States, debate oil shale technology." (Lisa Desjardins, "House GOP Leaders Vow To Keep Up Protest Sessions," CNN.com, 8/4/08)

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA): "The fact is, there's no reason why Americans can't have safe, abundant and relatively inexpensive energy." "If we want less expensive gasoline, diesel and other fuels and to reduce our dependence on foreign dictators, then we have to demand that politicians cut through the red tape and put policies in place that will increase domestic production." (Newt Gingrich, Op-Ed, "No Reason We Can't Get Cheaper Oil – Just Drill!," The New York Post, 6/19/08)

Institute for 21st Century Energy Managing Director Karen Harbert: "Instead of restricting access to these resources and making our country more dependent on imported energy, Congress should concentrate on adopting sensible policies that would open up these energy rich areas for exploration." (Karen Harbert, Op-Ed, "Taking Back Our Energy Future," Politico, 6/30/08)

Former Council Of Economic Advisers Chairman Martin Feldstein: "Any policy that causes the expected future oil price to fall can cause the current price to fall, or to rise less than it would otherwise do." "In other words, it is possible to bring down today's price of oil with policies that will have their physical impact on oil demand or supply only in the future." (Martin Feldstein, Op-Ed, "We Can Lower Oil Prices Now," The Wall Street Journal, 7/1/08)

Texas Railroad Commission Member Elizabeth Ames Jones: "If there is an energy crisis in this country, it is because too many states and too many lawmakers in Washington are too timid about allowing entrepreneurs to bring to the surface what is buried right below us." "What I've seen is that while Congress balks at drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska out of fear of disturbing a few caribou, we've moved ahead to safely tap into an energy reserve located underneath suburban homes." (Elizabeth Ames Jones, Op-Ed, "How Texas Struck It Rich Beneath Suburbia," The Wall Street Journal, 8/2/08)