It is becoming more apparent with each passing day that the American lifestyle as it currently exist is unsustainable. For more than three decades we have accepted the false narrative that we can live beyond our means and there will be no cost for the extravagance. Not only has our government accepted and promoted this falsehood, but we as a nation have accepted it as well. It has become so engrained into our national psyche that anyone who dares to point out its inherent flaws is immediately ridiculed by politicians, the media, and their fellow citizens. You see rather than looking at the real culprits of our failed domestic and foreign policies we want to create these "bogeymen" who want to destroy our sacred way of life. The truth is that it is always easier to blame others for our shortsightedness and faults.

In Youngstown, OH, Barack Obama, (presumptive) Democratic nominee for president, today stated:  "...for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, we must end the age of oil in our time."   Breaking our oil addiction is one of the greatest challenges our country will ever face.  Democrats can lead on this issue.  Success for doing so will depend on our committment to the cause.

"After Obama noted local gas prices,... (are) two and a half times what it cost when President Bush took office" - a member of the audience yelled out: "They had a plan!"
"They had a plan," agreed Obama. "Problem was it was the oil company plan. It was the gas company plan. We need a people plan! And that's why I'm running for president."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/ story?id=5518237&page=1

Change We Can Believe In!

In today's Times of Trenton, Josh Zeitz published a powerful op-ed piece on the crisis of energy prices facing American families this summer. Josh is the Democratic candidate for the House in New Jersey's 4th district, and is challenging long-time Republican incumbent Chris Smith.

Josh rightly calls out Rep. Smith for a series of votes that have contributed to ridiculously high gas prices, in particular his vote to create the Enron loophole in 2000 and, even worse, against closing the loophole earlier this year.

More after the jump.

One of my favorite Disney movies as a child was Beauty and the Beast. From a child who was born with a thrill for taking ugly, mean things and making them beautiful (I was really into painting old furniture), you could see the appeal: a stubborn and self-serving beast was transformed into a sweet, giving prince through the healing power of love. Oh, if only real life was this idyllic.

Unfortunately, in the real world, wealth and power don't magically yield to justice and conscience, even if it's presented as such on the surface. Take oil tycoon and bill-footer of last election's Swift Boat crusade T. Boone Pickens. Pickens has been on a $58 million publicity tour to promote his plan to erect wind turbines in the Midwest.

In an unannounced visit to Netroots Nation, Al Gore received a standing ovation as a welcome to the conference.  

more....

A video of former Vice President Al Gore's speech addressing America's energy crisis has been posted on this site's front page under the posting, "A Convenient Truth".  It is approximately 30 mins. long.  My favorite part is at the 21(ish) minute mark.  At this point, Al Gore speaks to McCains proposal to encourage oil drilling off Ameirca's coasts.  

If you haven't had an opportunity to view Gore's speech to address America's energy crisis, and, btw, the impact of the world's current energy sources on climate change, when your time permits, the video is readily available on this site.  IMO, this is a video every Democrat shoud watch.  Heck, every American should watch this video!

Thank you, Jerome.

Today, former Vice President Al Gore laid out his plan to address America's energy crisis.  "The United States should be making all of its electricity with renewable and carbon-free energy in 10 years."  Stressing the need for America to end its dependence on oil and coal, Gore laid out a plan for the country to "produce all of its electricity from renewable and carbon-free sources", a goal he compared to President Kennedy's challenge for the country to put a man on the moon.  Utilizing Sun, wind, and eco-friendly resources, America can contribute to a reduction of the "threat of climate change", relieve itself from the economic impact of "rising oil prices", and reduce the "transfer of wealth to oil producing countries".  "I don't remember a time in our country when so many things seemed to be going so wrong simultaneously....America's security, environmental and economic crises are all related", Al Gore said Thursday.