As the presidential election draws closer, the rhetoric heats up and gets stupider.

The bottom line is that no one, least of all me, wants four dollar a gallon gasoline. As a temporary solution, we have to allow continental shelf exploration and Anwar drilling. Solar panels aren't going to fix our dependence on foreign oil. Windmills aren't going to fix our dependence on foreign oil. CFL bulbs aren't either. If anything, the green nut jobs are asking you to take your life into your own hands by using the CFLs. Why? Look at the packaging. They're loaded with mercury. Toxic mercury. Funny thing, they don't mention that.

Now on to the other phony arguments. Drilling in Anwar is bad for the environment and will hurt the caribou. There's been a petroleum pipeline in Alaska for over thirty years. There hasn't been a single incident that has caused environmental issues. Furthermore, there are methodologies that permit environmentally safe drilling now.

I am by no means suggesting we should just drill here in the US and ignore the problem. What I am saying is that this is a viable temporary solution that would allow time for alternative energy sources to be developed without bankrupting Joe and Josephine Sixpack.