Palin Exposes Cap and Trade

Although it was baffling, I did find it somewhat interesting that during the presidential campaign of 2008, while America was getting it's ass kicked by suffocating gas prices, the one candidate with a background in energy was being attacked for her limited knowledge and experience in the functionality of Americas resources, commerce and economic marketplace.

When GOP nominee John McCain selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, most in America and those in the beltway scoffed at the selection. Palin, however, was well known in the circles of investors, as those with information and knowledge regarding energy were highly sought after. In fact, Palin had made a handful of appearances on The Kudlow Report on CNBC with Larry Kudlow.

The election is over, but those who do not understand energy, its costs to produce and bring to market, the impact it has in everyday commerce and how varieties of energy can play a role in providing America with efficient and cost effective power are debating policies which will severely handicap the potential of our great country going forward.

Of course, I am speaking of the limited knowledge of energy of President Obama, those who subscribe to the hoax of a lifetime in global warming/climate change/cooling and the stranglehold bill working through Washington known as Cap & Trade, essentially a huge tax on everything energy touches, which would be about everything. Remember, when you tax something, you get less of it!

The resignation of Sarah Palin as Alaska's Governor last week may have left some thinking (hoping) she is going away defeated. Think again. She has emerged with a blistering editorial, which could not be further from the truth, on a subject she is well versed in and a topic which is vital to be understood by every American. The disastrous impact this bill would have on small business and working Americans from sea to shining sea would stranglehold our economic growth for decades. All for a hoax.

Please take time to time to read the editorial by Sarah Palin in The Washington Post. Someone must tell you the truth, and for once a politician, is; Sarah Palin.

Domestic Oil Drilling Not Aboard Shell Game Porkulus Package

The Obama administration is in its infancy but we are already learning many negative policy positions. One such position has to do with our energy policies.

The Obama administration indicates they are anti domestic fossil fuel and appear much to cozy to alternative energy options, regardless of costs. What this means to you is that the extreme oil prices we suffered through last summer will return again, in spades. The time is now to drill, baby, drill, but it looks like we won't be doing that.

BAHL's Blog welcomes our first guest commentary on this subject. The Wizard speaks:

Currently, renewable fuels like ethanol, wind, solar and water account for about 6% of the country's energy usage. Sounds promising right? Obama says he wants to double our output in renewable fuels. OK, sounds good.

Here's the problem...Although 6% of U.S. energy usage comes from renewable sources, nearly half of that comes from large-scale hydroelectric projects that have little growth potential. Most of the rest comes from ethanol, (which is now as predicted, turning out to be a disaster for the environment and takes more energy to produce than it can ever yield) and other so-called biomass fuels which are equally less yielding. If all of our current farm land in the U.S. were immediately converted to growing switch grasses, corn based ethanol, wood chips, and whatever other phony bio-fuel you can come up with, you can only just keep up with increasing demand. Not to mention we would have to import ALL of our food. And of course much less water for you and me.

Wind and solar right now account for less than 1% of our energy usage. Doubling that output is a given seeing that the government is going to pay for it, regardless of effectiveness. This is in line with creating or saving 3.5 million jobs at a cost of $275,000 per job. 20% of the nations electricity needs are currently accounted for with nuclear energy. We have 104 operating plants in the U.S. If we were to bring that number up to where France is, 75%, you could make a dent in our oil consumption. Unfortunately, despite our incredible record of zero nuclear related deaths in the U.S., the Obama admin. says it is as of yet not clean or safe enough.

The Energy department says we have enough coal and natural gas deposits available today to meet our electricity needs for more than 100 years! We also have some of the largest untapped oil reserves anywhere on planet earth both in Alaska and the Gulf and off the California coast. Forget about shale. We don't need to drill on land. THE WIZARD TOOK THIS PHOTO FROM THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR LAST MONTH

You might think that somewhere in this Porculus calamity there would be something for taking advantage of our incredible fossil fuel resources or for nuclear production. Not so much as $1. Obama is drawing a line in the sand and deliberately shunning our natural resources or he believes that we can replace 20,000,000 barrels of crude per day with renewables and alternatives.

Combine this administrations wanton dislike for all things fossil fuel, and add to that the fact that no new refining facilities are being built and you may see a potential problem. It is possible that we will use so much less oil, think Iran, Venezuela, Russia, due to neglect and socialist policies that thwart any real productivity, that we won't need those 20,000,000 barrels. Maybe this is there plan?

We now have succeeded in giving China a huge ace to play where our finances are concerned and we will continue to give untold leverage to the world of Islam and Hugo Chavez and Vlad Putin where our energy needs are concerned. The final strike will no doubt be our continued policy of letting Iran inch ever closer to obtaining the ability to produce and export their military nuclear ambitions.

This all seems risky to me. We are heeping on pile after pile of negative variables that need not be. It almost appears calculated that a country could make so many bad decisions. It's as if we opened our huge southern border and invited anyone who could walk across to come on in and enjoy the party!

If BHO can succeed ( $2 billion for ACORN in the Porculus)( along with our massive new welfare spending) in getting these folks to somehow vote, he will get his eight years regardless of how our economy or our energy or our foreign policy works out.This is nothing new. It has been tried many times before. It's zenith and heyday during the 20th century. Quick, name 1 success story? No? It's a trick question.

Many thanks to The Wizard for his commentary. With this kind of nonsense going on the future economic and geopolitical climate seems quite risky, which hinders investment. Investment is the mothers milk of economic growth, so you get the point.