Ben Stein How Not to Ruin Your Life

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.