Oil, The Final Frontier

Oil is to cigarettes as domestic drilling is to the nicotine patch. While oil has been at a slow decrease in price over the past 2 weeks, it is still at an astronomical rate and will need much more action to get it even lower. There are motions in the Senate, which pauses for a month long break in August, that are trying many things to try and curb foreign energy demands. There is, however, gridlock in the sense of how to go about reducing the price at the pump. On the Republican side, the motion is to increase domestic oil production (whether offshore or onshore), something which nearly 75% of Americans approve. The Democrats, on the other side, want to create laws restricting speculation in our markets, which many believe is also increasing oil prices. How are we going to curb speculation if a move like this will only create more speculation. Sure we can "illegalize" speculation in this country but that will only increase speculation in all other nations causing more increases in oil prices. With the relatively weak dollar, we cannot afford to take risky chances just because one party has a different idea. The Democrat held Congress/Senate has showed that they can only operate on a partisan basis, even at the cost of all Americans suffering from everything from oil prices to failing housing markets. The last thing we need to do is increase speculation as to our oil addiction. Still, other Democrats are saying that we should avoid oil altogether. That's fine, but what do we have to replace it? Although T. Boone Pickens has his own plan for domestic energy, these new technologies are still 15 to 20 years away from cost effectiveness and practicality. I think we all stand united in the fact that we will ultimately need to switch to alternative and domestic energies especially for the sake of our future economy and the environment. However, we need to make sure the energy available is the most cost effective possible in order to be finished with the "nicotine patch" part of our energy crisis. Then we can move on to the "free of smoke" phase and live happily ever after.