Remember President Carter sitting by the fire in a sweater telling us to lower our thermostats or the fifty-five mile an hour speed limit. The public and the Republicans laughed and said we needed to drill or more oil in Alaska. It would make us energy independent and was environmentally safe. We know or should know the oil goes to Japan because it's cheaper for the oil companies to send it there than here.

The Oil companies already have leases to drill off shore what they don't have are the oil rigs to do the drilling or the ships to explore for more oil. It will take from four to six years to get these items on line. This is just an attempt by the Republicans if they should lose the White House and Congress to provide for their friends.

The Republican Party could have done something to mitigate this problem when they were in complete control, what they chose to do was laugh at conservation efforts, remember Vice President Cheney's comment that conservation and alternative sources of energy were nice, but, would do nothing to solve our problem. I guess that was to be expected from an oilman. President Bush's solution was to give a tax beak to owners of Hummers.

Least you think I am letting the Democrats off the hook they also did nothing accept what their political sponsors what'd. However, the real blame for the mess we are in can be found by looking in the mirror, what were we the American people willing to give up?

There is an old Yiddish saying, " I'm for everything as long as it comes off of someone else's butt."

Allen Britton
York Township