Udall and Heinrich Out of Touch

When it comes to increased access to domestic oil and natural gas resources, a new poll clearly shows that Congressman Tom Udall and Congressional hopeful Martin Heinrich are apparently out of touch with the majority of New Mexicans:

A new survey finds that 59% of New Mexico voters support increased access to domestic oil and natural gas resources.

It seems that the rest of the country shares the same view. Polls from Pew, CNN, Zogby and others indicate that the majority of Americans from coast to coast are in support of more energy exploration in the United States.

This is a critical shift in public opinion, and one that our leaders in Washington need to recognize. According to federal government data, the United States has enough oil to fuel more than 65 million cars for 60 years and enough natural gas to heat 60 million homes for 160 years. But current policies restrict access to 85% of the outer continental shelf and 83% of onshore federal lands.

If Congressman Udall is elected to the Senate, you can be sure that he will stay true to his record of doing everything in his power to restrict access to offshore oil and gas as well as that which can be found on federal lands. Even worse, if Martin Heinrich is elected to Congress, Tom Udall will have an ally in ignoring the needs of the majority of everyday New Mexicans.

They'll be living high on the hog off our tax dollars. What do they care about the pain we're feeling at the pump? It's easy to be an environmentalist supporting higher energy costs when you're pulling down a six-figure income paid for by taxpayers.

Why is Tom Udall Afraid of an Energy Debate?

I don't get it. Congressman Steve Pearce challenges Congressman Tom Udall to an energy debate, and Tom Udall runs away from the challenge? (subscription):

With gas at $4 and the energy crunch a topic of daily conversation, Steve Pearce says it’s high time for him and Tom Udall to debate energy issues in their U.S. Senate race.

Udall says it’s too early, but his supporters already are hounding Pearce on the same subject.

An environmental group backing Udall has a rolling billboard of sorts — a Toyota hybrid — portraying Pearce as a poster boy for big oil.

This debate should be a no brainer for Congressman Udall. Prices at the pump are at $4 and rising. Tom Udall and his backers believe that oil companies are to blame, and that alternative sources of energy are the solution to the economic pinch everyday Americans are feeling at pump.

This should be a topic on which Tom Udall should feel confident about debating Steve Pearce any and every day of the week. After all, Mr. Udall comes from a long family tradition of environmental conservationists and has been able to capitalize on his father's name to achieve political success. Sometimes people forget that, like others, he is from one of those dynastic political families - think Lujan, Block, and yes, Bush.

By contrast, Steve Pearce worked his way up from very humble beginnings in the oil fields of Southeastern New Mexico to achieve the American Dream. A self-made man for whom public service has always been a way to give back to a country that has given him so many opportunities.

Steve is not known as a great orator or debater. He is just a regular guy who has worked hard, served in the military, built a business and speaks frankly from the heart. In any debate Steve is going to be at a distinct disadvantage against Mr. Udall's polished debate skills - honed over decades as a lawyer.

I'm sure in any energy debate, Tom Udall would be successful in portraying Steve Pearce as the poster child for the New Mexico oil and gas industry. Udall would probably point out that if it were not for the opportunities presented by the oil and gas industry, Steve Pearce would have never pulled himself out of poverty. Instead, he would have remained struggling and poor in Southern New Mexico and politics would be properly left to the political families - handed down from father to son in true monarch fashion.

Undoubtedly, Tom Udall would point out all that the oil and gas industry has taken from the state of New Mexico and its residents:

The industry provides New Mexico schools, roads and public facilities with more than $1.3 billion in funding each year. It is the state's largest civilian employer. Each night, 23,000 New Mexicans come home to their families from jobs related to the oil and gas industry.

It is the state's leading educational supporter and provides over 90% of all school capital investment through the Permanent Fund, saving New Mexico's taxpayers an excess of $800 annually. The oil and gas industry also makes up 15-20% of New Mexico's General Fund revenues. These are distributed to public schools and state colleges, fund the construction of public roads, buildings and state parks, and help keep New Mexico's government operational.

Yes, I'm sure that Steve Pearce would be left mouth agape and without response as Tom Udall heaped attack after attack on Steve's connections with such a destructive industry operating within our borders.

Then, Tom Udall would undoubtedly go in for the kill. Tom would point out that if New Mexicans were to elect Steve Pearce to U.S. Senate, Steve would most assuredly continue in the tradition of Senator Pete Domenici in an unabashed effort to allow more domestic oil and gas exploration.

Sensing imminent victory, Tom Udall would then put the final nail in the coffin of Steve Pearce's candidacy for U.S. Senate by unveiling two damning photos that show the success achieved by Tom Udall and the environmental groups which support him in preventing more domestic drilling.

The first would be a picture of Dubai in 1990, when we believed drilling for oil and gas in America was still a good thing:


The second would be a photo of the same street in Dubai taken in 2003 after Tom Udall and his friends have successfully fought the continued exploration for domestic oil and gas:



Based on this scenario and its inevitable outcome, I don't understand why Tom Udall is afraid of participating in an energy debate.

Global Warming Myth Follow Up

Yesterday, I pointed out that single working moms can't buy milk for their four year olds because of questionable science and government intervention, which has foisted ethanol as an alternative to fossil fuels. Even if you were to choose to ignore that New Mexico's economy would collapse tomorrow if it weren't for fossil fuels. You've got to recognize that ranching communities, including those in New Mexico, are suffering because of the high cost of feed as a result of such misguided efforts as federal subsidies for ethanol production. So, we've got rising milk prices. We've got rising beef prices. Oh, and did I mention that we have less jobs:

“Rural communities need both livestock and ethanol production,” says Lawrence, who was also a key BQS presenter. But livestock production is worth more jobs.

According to studies at Iowa State University, using a 50-million-gal. ethanol plant as an example, 18.5 million bu. of corn are required. The plant accounts for 35 workers directly, as well as 98 created and induced jobs, or 133 jobs all together. Funnel that same amount of corn through a feedlot, and you're talking 140 jobs before considering the employment created further downstream in packing and processing.

“Ethanol production is a low-labor business; livestock production is a high-labor business,” Lawrence says.

All of these changes are occurring because the government has embraced the idea that the world is warming. Now, for the global warming irony:

Some 3,000 scientific robots that are plying the ocean have sent home a puzzling message. These diving instruments suggest that the oceans have not warmed up at all over the past four or five years. That could mean global warming has taken a breather. Or it could mean scientists aren't quite understanding what their robots are telling them.

This is puzzling in part because here on the surface of the Earth, the years since 2003 have been some of the hottest on record. But Josh Willis at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says the oceans are what really matter when it comes to global warming.

In fact, 80 percent to 90 percent of global warming involves heating up ocean waters. They hold much more heat than the atmosphere can. So Willis has been studying the ocean with a fleet of robotic instruments called the Argo system. The buoys can dive 3,000 feet down and measure ocean temperature. Since the system was fully deployed in 2003, it has recorded no warming of the global oceans.

Read that last sentence again, "Since the system was fully deployed in 2003, it has recorded no warming of the global oceans." This coming from a report on National Public Radio - not exactly a beacon of conservatism.

Burying the Culprit in the Last Line

The Law of Unintended Consequences is at play again. This time, it is making it hard for a working mother to buy milk for children (subscription):

Maybe instead of "thank you," the folks who have just checked out your groceries should say "sorry."

Not that it's their fault your food bill is wiping out your movie money and vacation fund. Checkers are also spending 37 percent more on eggs and 29 percent more on milk than they did a year ago. Industry watchers are saying 80 percent of grocery prices are likely to rise and stay high for years.

Moms are reporting they're cutting their children's milk consumption.

Elaine Martinez had just finished her shopping at Lowe's Super Save at Lomas and 12th. She considers herself lucky that her 4-year-old, Christopher, likes healthful foods, but he can't have as much as he used to.

"It's awful to tell him he can't have milk; he has to have water," she said. "It's not something as a mother I want to say to my child."

Now if you didn't read this whole article until the end, you might think this would be an article about economic recession. You know, something that Democrats might try to blame on the Republicans, but it's not.

But corn is also a factor. It used to be food for humans and cattle. Now a lot of it is used for corn-derived ethanol to replace gasoline. Fields previously devoted to wheat, soy beans and corn for human consumption are producing corn for ethanol.

That's right, producing food for human consumption has taken a backseat to dealing with the mythical global warming crisis. This is a result of the environmental hysteria created by people like Al Gore, which has in turn led to the nonsensical production of ethanol.

The next time you hear a candidate running on their environmental record and telling you how important it is that we use alternative sources of fuel for our vehicles, I hope you picture a 4-year old boy like Christopher who has to drink water instead of milk.

Glad I Live in the County

The next time someone from Albuquerque tries to push City/County unification on us, we would be wise to remember the financial burdens the City of Albuquerque likes to push on its citizenry in the form of regulations:

Homeowners will get a little more time before City Hall starts enforcing its new "green" building code.

But city executives aren't backing away from plans to require more energy-efficient furnaces, air conditioners and other equipment.

Albuquerque's Planning Department agreed this week to postpone enforcement of the new building code until July 1— three months later than scheduled. City officials say they're willing to consider technical amendments before then.

But minor changes may not be enough to satisfy critics who say the new code will boost the cost of replacing a heater or air conditioner by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dollars.

As the owner of a 30 year old home with two thirty year old furnaces, I'd hate to be forced to spend thousands upon thousands to replace them both. Mind you, I live in a home with passive solar heating, and I also use a a very efficient wood burning stove for most of the winter. Plus, I keep the house very cool all winter. So, my furnaces hardly go on.

Is all of this because I'm worried about global warming or being green? No, it's because propane is expensive, and I'm pretty frugal in this arena. In other words, economics drives my decision, not regulation. Hmm... I'm sure there is a lesson there somewhere.

Governor Richardson's 2008 State of the State

Today, Governor Bill Richardson gave his 2008 State of the State (pdf), and true to form, he laid out an agenda that is much too expansive to be dealt with in the time allotted. Not too mention, that it's not appropriate for a session which is supposed to be focused on budget issues. What makes this worse than usual is that he just got back in to town after almost a one-year hiatus.

They say when you run in a Democratic Primary, you tend to run to the left because the base is far to the left. Well, based on the Governor's State of the State address, someone forgot to tell him to stop running to the left:

It begins with insurance reform.

Today there is a unified voice from business, labor and patients alike -- demanding solutions to the ever-rising cost of care and insurance premiums.

My plan requires that at least 85-percent of premiums must be spent directly on care.

Not on overhead.

Not on bureaucracy.

Not on profits.

Our public programs already require this--private insurers must do the same.

First off, let's deal with the obvious. I'm a member of numerous business organizations, and I can tell you that when it comes to the health care proposal the Governor has put forth, there is NO unified voice from business community.

And, what's this nonsense about limiting profitability of insurance providers? Someone please remind Governor Richardson that it's still legal in America to make a profit. In fact, it - the free enterprise system - is one of the cornerstones of our democracy.

Then, the Governor goes on to say, "Everyone must pay their fair share." Gee, when was the last time you looked at your tax bill and thought, I'm not paying my fair share. The state budget has grown astronomically since the administration took over, and the Governor has the nerve to say "everyone must pay their fair share." What's next? "...from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

After his Socialist Health Care agenda, the Governor proposes:

A new mandate calling on utilities to invest in energy efficiency programs. Programs that will be cheaper and cleaner than building new power plants.

Now, he's telling the utilities how to run their businesses. Who do you think is going to pay in the long run for this mandate? That's right, you and me. We're going to end up paying higher rates. Can you say, "Hidden taxes."

I could go on, but I'm just getting frustrated. Maybe I ought to invest in the campaign to draft Richardson as Vice-President, it's got to be cheaper for me than keeping him in the state.

How Not to Make a Decision

So, you'd think that Congressman Tom Udall, who would like to join Senator Bingaman in the United States Senate, might take heed when he is told by the junior, soon to be senior, Senator that something is not a good idea (subscription), but that does not seem to be the case:

On Monday, Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said they opposed Pelosi's decision to package the tax repeals and the utility mandate with the broader energy bill because it could doom the entire bill in the Senate.

Ok, a bi-partisan recommendation from two guys who definitely know a little bit about how to get energy bills passed in the Senate. And, what does Congressman Udall do:

Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said Wednesday he supports a massive energy bill that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to bring to a vote today, in part because he crafted a key provision in the legislation.

You're kidding me, right? Congressman Udall is ignoring Senator Bingaman's advice "because [Udall] crafted a key provision in the legislation."

This self-serving approach to decision making helps explains why Congress has an 11% approval rating.