[continued[ or offshore, where another 30 billion await.

If you think Congress' decision-making on energy couldn't get any worse, think again. While Bush was in Riyadh urging the Saudis to pump more oil, congressional Democrats were busy undercutting him, threatening to halt arms sales to our Mideast ally.

If we don't sell arms to Saudi Arabia, Russia will. The result would be a loss of American leverage with the Saudis, who, like many, feel threatened by a nuclear Iran and the menace of al-Qaida.

At least Bush convinced the Saudis to boost output 300,000 barrels a day. That helps. But we still have to do more ourselves.

The U.S. uses about 21 million barrels of oil a day. But only 8 million come from our own sources. That leaves a 13-million-barrel-a-day deficit that, at $126 a barrel, will cost us $600 billion to plug this year. That's more than two-thirds of our total trade deficit.

I wonder why the refused to allow one of the most ecological devastating ways to extract oil known to man? No one seems to know, especially those who intend to prophet from the oil extracted. It's the same with the way we abuse clean water. We must destroy all vestiges of clean clear water before moving on to desalination.

And the problem is largely based on global market and a global resection, plus speculation based on wars and rumors of wars (Iraq/Iran) and a lack of refineries at home, so you can drill all you want (which at most gives you what, a few years of buying more SUVs) and then your back again where you started. Peak oil is here, instead of ignoring that fact by going spelunking and deal with the issues at hand. Oil is not friend of ours, not anymore.

I agree, peak oil is here. Of course, it is just another government manufactured problem, but we are at an oil peak if we are outlawed from drilling anywhere new.

one of the most ecological devastating ways to extract oil known to man?

great article, thanks alan

some of the things discussed:

- Free markets, not an expanding and more powerful government, are the solution to today's problems. Many of these problems, such as health-care costs, energy dependency and the subprime mortgage crisis, were caused in large part by government policies.

Mr. Thompson, a former U.S. senator from Tennessee