Oil drilling not popular with the "public"...

Once again I read about drilling for oil along the US coastline.

Although there is at least a mention that the new Interior Secretary, Salazar, and the new administration MAY acknowledge it as a "short-sighted move", there is still cause for concern.

In the next paragraph of the article, they discourage me by mentioning that drilling is "popular with the public." Oh really? What public?

Would that be the public that was seen - thanks to the media - singing their Palin "Drill baby, drill", mantra? I hope not. That was apparently the only three-word phase Palin could say and not create some new faux pas. She had nothing else TO say.

I might also remind those currently contemplating this drilling issue that those people mentioned above, LOST THE CAMPAIGN - big time! This is not a sign to ME that the public was enthralled with this message - outside the pretend aura of media coverage.

There are so many reasons why drilling our coasts is an ignorant idea. But one thing easiest to understand is that oil and gas companies already have thousands of acres under "lease" on which they are doing nothing for this country. This is lease and hold and "mine, mine, mine", and now they want more.

They talk about the expense of drilling. I can tell Exxon is not hurting for exploration funds - we filled those coffers last year.

It would be ten years or more before the "public" MAY see oil from leases granted. Ten years. Do you think OPEC and others will not be doing any further price fixing during those ten years? Think again. Exxon and the Bush family will always make their money. This has nothing to do with the price we paid for a gallon of gas last year. Lifting the drill ban had nothing to do with the prices dropping. The ban lift was another Bush ploy - like sending out dollars he didn't have last year to everyone - as if he had the money, and that it did anything to help the economy.

Bush is gone thank God. He's done incredible damage to this country - based on a lot of smoke and mirrors and flat out lies to the American people. I hope the new administration is a little more focused on new solutions to an oil dependency that had me standing in line for gasoline 30 years ago.

Marvin Gaye said, "War is not the answer....."

Neither is oil....