Senator Dick Durbin's Solution to the Oil Crisis

A message from Senator Dick Durbin's Washington DC office regarding Offshore Drilling...

Dear Mr. Moehlenhof:

Thank you for contacting me about increasing domestic energy production. I appreciate hearing from you.

Record high fuel prices have sparked increased interest in opening additional areas in the outer continental shelf (OCS) and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas leasing. I share your interest in addressing our nation's energy needs and support safe and environmentally responsible oil production. But I also recognize that an energy policy based primarily on drilling will not meet the needs of American consumers.

Large areas of our onshore and offshore oil and gas reserves already have been made available for leasing and development, yet prices remain at unprecedented levels. The Minerals Management Service estimates that 79 percent of recoverable offshore oil and 82 percent of offshore natural gas is already open to drilling. Onshore, the numbers tell a similar story. Roughly 72 percent of oil and 84 percent of natural gas resources are leased or open for exploration pending the completion of land-use planning or environmental reviews. The oil companies continue to demand the right to drill on federal lands and on our coastline, but they are failing to produce on lands currently under lease.

According to the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration providing increased OCS access in the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic oil and gas prices before 2030. An analysis released by the Energy Department in May 2008 projected that at peak production oil from ANWR could reduce the price per barrel of oil by $0.40 to $1.44 on the global market, an amount equal to one percent or less of the price of crude oil. This would amount to a savings of just a few pennies per gallon for consumers. We cannot drill our way out of our energy troubles

It would be at least 20 years after opening ANWR before oil production reaches its peak of 750,000 barrels per day. In comparison, the fuel economy standards passed by Congress in last year's energy bill are expected to save between 2 million and 2.5 million barrels of oil per day by 2025.

Others in the oil industry blame short supplies on federal refinery laws. However, the industry itself reduced its refinery operations and capacity over the past decade, closing many competitive, independent refineries. Meanwhile, domestic utilization of operable refinery capacity is lower than it has been in years, averaging just over 85 percent during the first four months of 2008.

I am deeply concerned about the effects of high fuel prices on Illinois residents. Increases in energy costs affect consumers in countless ways. High prices at the pump drive up food prices and further deplete the savings of consumers who in many cases are struggling just to pay for the necessities of life.

Several factors continue to put significant pressure on gasoline prices. Since the price of oil is quoted in dollars, a weak U.S. dollar has triggered a rise in world crude oil prices. Increased world demand for crude oil and lasting concerns about the threat of supply disruptions have contributed to an increasingly volatile market.

Many experts have suggested that today's high fuel prices cannot be fully explained by the market interplay between supply and demand. Excessive speculation and manipulation in energy commodity markets may be a significant factor in higher prices, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) does not have the resources or the authority to fully address this risk.

For this reason, I introduced the Increasing Transparency and Accountability in Oil Prices Act of 2008 (S. 3130). My legislation would promote greater transparency in the trading of energy commodities and provide the CFTC with increased resources so that it can better monitor energy markets and prevent traders from engaging in price manipulation and excessive speculation.

I will keep your thoughts in mind as I continue to work for legislation to set our country on a path toward a more stable energy supply and a more secure energy future.

Thank you again for writing. Please feel free to keep in touch.


Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
RJD/hw

TONIGHT: Conference Call with Fr. Frank Pavone--Priests for Life

Folks:

Join Father Frank Pavone tonight at 9PM EDT as he will discuss further about the "Is this What you Mean?" Project. Dr. Alveda King, Bobby Schindler, Deal Hudson, Dr. Kenyn Cureton, Marjorie Dannenfelser, and top lawyer on eleciton and tax law James Bopp, Jr..

Learn more about the mission and goals of Priests for Life pro-life election campaign.

Click here to register for the teleconference:

http://www.priestsforlife.org/conferencecall/index.aspx

Here is a message from Fr. Frank Pavone:

Friends,

Our next election-related teleconference will be on Thursday, July 17 from 9 to 10pm Eastern Time.

Through participating in this call, you will be more equipped to make a difference in this year’s national elections, and to awaken the conscience of Americans about abortion.

We will discuss various ways to register voters, educate them on the positions of the candidates, work with Churches, and understand the legal limits of what organizations and individuals can do.

We will also give a progress report on our "Is This What You Mean?" project.

We will give you practical tools to use at the local level to advance the Culture of Life in this election in proven ways!

You won’t want to miss this opportunity and we don’t want to miss out on having you participate!

Once you sign up, we will send you details on what number to dial for the call, and how to also listen over the internet, where we will guide you to specific documents and templates that will help you understand and implement these activities!

God bless you, and I look forward to talking with you TONIGHT at 9PM EDT!


Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director

McDonalds Corp Gives Money to Gay Organizations

McDonalds Corporation has continued its aggressive plan to promote their homosexual agenda once again by contributing funds to gay and lesbian organizations seeking to break the barriers of traditional marriage.

A demonstration was held near McDonald's national headquarters in Chicago to draw attention to their pro-homosexual stance.

The protest was in response to the corporations $20,000 donation to the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and a McDonald's executive who was seated on their board.

American Family Association's Buddy Smith was on hand for the event, which included a press conference. Smith said that McDonald's needs to project a pro-family philosophy. "They need to line up their associations with that message and drop their membership in the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber," he stated.

He adds that the chamber is a political machine that is out to radically redefine marriage and family in America.

Peter LaBarbera, of Americans for Truth, supports the boycott, and says their message is that "when you take sides in the culture war, at some point there's gotta be a price to pay. And we're hoping that millions of people join this boycott and it becomes really something the entire pro-family movement gets behind." He stresses that unity is the key to success.

The battle continues against big corporations who seek to control policy and decisions accross America fighting against traditonal marriage modelists.

Soon, McDonalds Corp will marketing their products to the gay community and become no longer a family friendly eatery, but one that supports the gay marriage proposals that the liberal left seeks.

The buck stops here.

New National Polls Show Deadlock between Obama and McCain

Recent polls suggest a deadlock between Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. A new Rasmussen survey has Obama leading by two percent, but within the margin of error while Newsweek shows the same momentum moving in McCain's direction.

"The Rasmussen daily presidential tracking poll shows Obama ahead 44 to 42 percent after both candidates had been tied at 43 percent each for the two previous days.

When "leaners" are included, it’s Obama 47% and McCain 46%, a gain for McCain after the Rasmussen survey had Obama leading by about five percentage points for most of the last month-and-a-half."

The gains by John McCain in recent days shows that he is continuing to assert his political positions and make known to many where he will stand in 2008. His campaign has been running what has been called the most open campaign in recent US election history.

In the latest Newsweek poll, the Illinois senator leads his Arizona counterpart John McCain by just 3 percentage points, 44 percent to 41 percent.

That dead head is a marked change from last month's poll, where Obama led McCain by 15 points, 51 percent to 36 percent.

Newsweek's poll indicates voters are upset with the new perception of Obama as a flip-flopper, given his change of position on FISA legislation, his decision to opt out of the campaign public-financing system, and his recent attempt to moderate his strong pro-abortion positions.

This latter point is upsetting Americans and will certainly upset Catholic voters in the upcoming election. Barack Obama has come under strong scrutiny over his endorsement from the largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood. Coupled with this is his determination to win over strongly pro-choice voters. At the same time Obama is distancing himself from pro-lifers and forcing them to move to John McCain.

The Catholic vote will probably make all the difference in 2008 lead by Senator Sam Brownback, Congressman Chris Smith, and pro-life leaders such as Fr. Frank Pavone, Norma McCorvey, and other well known activists.

Obama Accepts Planned Parenthood Endorsement

This week, Barack Obama accepted the endorsement of Planned Parenthood, which could've have come at a better time. Barack continues to make clear his posiitions on abortion and where he will stand as President.

As an Illinois Senator, Barack Obama opposed the IL Born Alive Act, which would provide protection to survivors of failed abortions, and even was the lone speaker against the bill. In 2003, Obama single-handedly stopped identical legislation to the federal Born Alive Act from being introduced in the Illinois Senate as chairman of the committee vetting the bill. That legislation finally passed in 2005 – the year after Obama left the Illinois Senate – refuting his claim it was unnecessary.

Barack Obama is so radically pro-abortion he supports infanticide, as evidenced by his active opposition to the Illinois Born Alive Infants Protection Act. This makes him further left than any U.S. senator and even NARAL.

Obama last year even made a promise to Planned Parenthood that “I will not yield” to pro-life concerns. "There will always be people, many of goodwill, who do not share my view on the issue of choice. On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield."Senator Obama said he was “absolutely convinced that culture wars are so nineties,” saying it was “time to turn the page.”

Folks, this is what Catholics are up against in 2008, a radical far leftist who will not "yield" to pro-lifers, thus shutting the door to the possibility of overturning Roe vs. Wade and years of hard work to defend the innocent unborn.

Learn more about Barack and his social 'concerns':

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11918

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/07/planned_parenthood_endorses_ob.html

http://naral.org/elections/obama-or-mccain.html