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Ben Stein How Not to Ruin Your Life

Ben Stein, How Not to Ruin Your Life

Drill, Baby, Drill

by Ben Stein

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Posted on Monday, September 29, 2008, 12:00AM

Remember a few months ago when oil was heading ever higher, gasoline reached
unheard of prices, and Americans were essentially hysterical? Remember when
Americans demanded, actually screamed in the politicians' ears that we wanted to
drill in our offshore areas?

Remember when poll after poll said Americans wanted to pass over the objections from multi-millionaire beachfront movie star home owners and actually do something for the good of America as a whole? Remember the politicians promising they would heed the words of their constituents?

Well, the politicians apparently don't remember it at all.

Amazingly, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives gave the American people a firm slap in the face while it planted a big wet sloppy kiss on the lips of Hollywood's glitterati. On September 16th, the House of Representatives narrowly passed Speaker Nancy Pelosi's comically named "Access" Bill. This past Saturday, the Senate approved the lifting of the 26-year ban on new offshore oil drilling. In the guise of doing what America wants Speaker Pelosi's bill does the following:

* Places off limits areas within fifty miles of the coast line, where 80 percent of the oil and gas deposits are. This bill, if it becomes law, will place these energy rich areas off limits permanently.

* Places off limits such energy rich areas as the Destin Dome off Florida and the super-rich areas off the coast of California on a permanent basis.

* In a gesture of what she probably thought was courage, Speaker Pelosi allows drilling on seven percent of the acreage offshore in the most difficult, deep water areas, one hundred or more miles offshore.

* If state legislatures sign on, drilling would be allowed in a further 12 percent of the untapped areas between 50 and 100 miles offshore -- again, difficult areas to explore and difficult areas in which to drill.

This is a bad joke. Why are we doing this to ourselves? What is the utility of making us ever weaker, more vulnerable, and dependent upon people who hate us?

This is a bill that cries out for veto or massive revision. It's just a bill to curry favor with the beautiful people, not with ordinary citizens. It is exactly what we do not need, which is vastly more drilling and production of American oil and gas in American waters.

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1403 Comments

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  • g.knoller - Thursday, January 22, 2009, 7:58PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Enough of the right wingnut destruction of the environment and depletion of natural resources. Let's go to alternative fuels and stop 'RUDY'S" chant and the brainless followers.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 1:56PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    I think preserving our off-shore oil is the best idea. We aren't equipped at the moment to make the best use of it. Our over consuming of energy and gas guzzling cars would drain those tiny off shore reserves in a decade or less. It's really a small amount of oil when compared to the reserves of countries we get our oil from today. Save these natural and national security resources for future generations to use more wisely, we owe them something in exchange for all the debt we are handing down to them.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 5:53PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    PERMANENTLY!?!?! Oh, Ben, you are scaring us that Congress is PERMANENTLY forbidding offshore drilling! Oh, come on, Ben, no law passed by Congress is ever permanent. Humans make the laws---humans change the laws. You sound like one of those talking heads on TV that does not have a real story to report on today, so let's report how Congress is PERMANENTLY doing this or that. Your concern about Congress restricting drilling for oil may be real, but to cry the sky is falling because now no Congress for the rest of ETERNITY can ever change the law is just plain silly. BTW, by restricting offshore drilling we are PERMANENTLY preserving our shores for our children and descendants. How come you do not talk about the real reason we have those laws? Have you ever seen the messes on the beaches those drilling rigs used to make? Why do you not write about the LONG-TERM need for America to not only get off of the Arab Nipple, we must get off of the Oil Nipple. Talking heads making daily tempests in teapots. Thanks for nuttin'.

  • AllenT - Thursday, November 6, 2008, 3:48PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Ben Stein. Look Up Hubbert's Peak, then compare that peak to the same plot for Saudi Arabia. The world will run out of oil, and the peak is now /- 5 years. The peak is when world oil output starts to decline, no matter how many wells are drilled. We need to save what little oil we have left for the dark future when there is precious little oil left. On the other hand, we need to drill ANWAR now -- because when the permafrost melts, we'll never be able to reach it.

  • NostraFinance - Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 10:50AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    This guy has to retire, he's still a century late.

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