 |
|||
| May 23, 2006 |
GET BUZZFLASH ALERTS | MAILBAG ARCHIVES | |
The BuzzFlash Mailbag The opinions expressed in the Mailbag are not necessarily those of BuzzFlash. More reader opinion is at "Contributors." You can write to Mailbag at http://www.BuzzFlash.com/contact/mail.html. Guidelines for submissions are at BuzzFlash FAQ #18. Subject: Framing CONservatives - Creating Our Own Frames If you want to create a frame, you have to set up the rationale behind the frame and repeat it over and over again, until the frame is all you need. Just like with Pavlov’s dog. When you associate the ringing of the bell with the food being presented, the dog will salivate because of the food, but after the food and the sound of the bell have been “associated” because they’ve been seen and heard together often enough, the dog will eventually salivate at the sound of the bell alone. Trying to create a “frame” by just ringing the bell and not creating the association with the food, won’t cause the dog to salivate, any more than telling people to just mouth one-liners without first repeatedly associating the one-liners with the rationale to support it. Conservatives / Republicans are effective with getting their base to use one-liners when attacking our candidates because they’ve successfully associated the rationale with the one-liners to create the frames over the last 40 years of repeated use, so they don’t have to spend as much time talking about the rationale behind it now. Consider how Republicans have developed the following frames: “Tax and Spend Liberals,” “Latte Liberals,” “Limousine Liberals,” “Flip-Flopper.” They’ve been using those frames for so long, that they don’t have to justify them with any rationale now. In fact, they had very loose rationale behind them to begin with, but the phrases are so insulting that Liberals don’t even like to be associated with the term “Liberal” anymore. We call ourselves Progressives. And that isn’t just because we are afraid of being Liberals, but because the terms are so effective, that to be associated with the term Liberal hurts support for our policies just because we ARE Liberals, or present ourselves as Liberals. If you look up "Liberal" in Roget’s Thesaurus and compare it to that of Conservative, you’ll find that: LIBERAL means: Tolerant, Generous, Enlightened, Broadminded, Lavish and Charitable. It’s Antonym – It’s direct opposite, is: Conservative, which means: Stingy, Miserly, Regressive, Narrow-Minded, Reactionary, Bigoted, Prejudiced, Biased. Logic would tell you that Liberal is a nicer term that Conservative, but Perception is more important than Logic, because most people think in terms of their Emotions and Perceptions, not in terms of Logic. And most people fall for frames rather than using rational, reasoned thought in making their decisions. We need to frame Conservatives in an appropriate fashion which reflects the true nature of their policies. Democrats / Progressives haven’t done a very good job of it, but the Conservatives have handed it to us on a silver platter. “The FIRST word in CONservative, is CON.” Conservatives support CON-jobs. Republicans are really RepubliCONS, because they can’t do anything right, and their policies always include a CON-job. If you like being CONned, support a RepubliCON. RepubliCON – The Buck Stops - In Their Pockets. We need to take back the definition of who we are and what we stand for, instead of continually allowing RepubliCONs and CONservatives to define us. And we need to continually define RepubliCONs and CONservatives for whom and what they are, instead of allowing them to define themselves with what they are not. You get the picture. Les Nakamoto Subject: So Disturbing So now if our government wants to break the law whenever they want, all they have to do is classify it. I have to tell you I am very concerned about the fact that our attorney general has basically told our media and press that anyone who dares to expose any wrongdoing on the part of the government will be prosecuted. Are my friends and I the only ones out here who are extremely disturbed by this? Isn't that a dictatorship? All of my life I was led to believe the republicans would protect us from that sort of thing.............now I see they are the perpetrators. Diane Anderson PS............WOW! YOU GO DIXIE CHICKS Subject: Reclaiming the Democratic Party for the Base On May 13th I went as a delegate to the Virginia Democratic Party 1st District nominating convention. Our purpose was to pick a candidate to run against Jo Ann Davis, a right-wing Republican who has run unopposed in her last two campaigns. There were two candidates vying for the nomination: Shawn O'Donnell, from Fredericksburg, and Lorenzo Grant, from Newport News. Grant gave a mealy-mouthed speech saying he'd "bring the troops home with dignity and honor," words that sounded strangely Nixonian to my jaded ears. O'Donnell, on the other hand, gave a very hard-hitting speech. At one point, he introduced his son in the back of the room. "I wouldn't send him to Iraq, and I won't send anyone else's children either!" O'Donnell was nominated by a 4-to-1 margin, 144 votes to 36 for Grant. So loyal BuzzFlash readers are getting out there and taking back the Democratic Party, and our candidates, even here in Virginia, are standing up and telling it like it is. Ralph Davis Subject: Bunnatine Greenhouse, Where Are You? It has been almost a year since Ms Greenhouse was dismissed for blowing the whistle on Halliburton and the Pentagon. I think people ought to know what happened to her, and General Shinseki, and all those other folks that the Administration sought to silence and demean. Henry Waxman has issued non-stop reports on the fraud and waste and incompetence of the Dept of Defense---sort of like John Conyers generates reports for posterity on voter fraud and intimidation. I am sure that in Ms Greenhouse's case, she figures prominently in a Waxman report or two having provided critical first hand information. But what happened to that information? Who read it? And what happened to Ms Greenhouse? There are elections upcoming. There are Republicans who are going to campaign on the mission and purpose of their party, their leaders. There are going to be Democrats running. To date, I have heard nary a one weave the disparate storylines of this failed Presidency and his incompetent, vindictive party into a detailed and coherent picture. A picture with a face on it. A picture with the power to connect to the voter. A picture that means what we all know needs to be said: we are not going to take it anymore. When I look back over the past 5 years and try to find a person to picture, I think of Ms Greenhouse, of Cindy Sheehan, of Gen. Shinseki ... Maybe they don't want to be seen anymore. Maybe they've had enough coverage and attention. But someone should ask them. A lot of us would like to know. Where are you Bunnatine Greenhouse? A BuzzFlash Reader [BuzzFlash Note: Bunnatine Greenhouse was inducted into the Louisiana Center for Women and Government's Hall of Fame a few weeks ago.] Subject: Abortion I wanted you to know that, inspired by your weekly "Wings of Justice" and other such wonderful tributes to the good guys, I've decided to do something similar, or rather opposite, on my blog, that is to do a "Pro-Life Hero of the Week" and this week the hero is Birthgiver Jana Lee Knoell Traynor of Texas, whose baby was abused until it was finally killed at 10 weeks of age. According to the police chief, "This child was in constant pain." You can check it out if you want to. The original story is located at: http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=8301b809f2af2671 Pro-life my ass! They don't care what happens to them once they're out of the womb! Such hypocrisy! Keep up the good work, BuzzFlash - you're an inspiration to those of us who would have otherwise just sat on the side and hoped that it would all be ok. Thank you!!!!!! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Immigration Bravo to the authors of "The Framing of Immigration" for bringing much more into the spot light! I just wanted to say that I overstayed my visa in the US for over 5 years. I, like millions of others, did not sneak through a border. I tried very hard to get a green card and went to an immigration lawyer several times, even before my visa expired, to check if my personal situation and the laws had changed -- in the course of that time -- and if I could apply for legal residency. Every time I got the same answer: unfortunately, I did not fit into any of the current requirements. Not too many people do. During that time, I started a business and bought a home - loopholes allowed me to do that, mind you. I employed American sub-contractors and generated business for my suppliers and vendors. I wanted to see my family and friends outside the US, for 5 long years. Aging parents, growing kids, missed graduations and weddings ... I worked hard and hoped that the "reform" would come, and that some day I could apply and get the green card, and be able to breathe and not be afraid anymore. During all those years, I paid my share of taxes - personal, business, sales, real estate, etc. For the IRS, it made no difference if I had a green card or not. It makes no difference - our money is just as good as everyone else's. (And people think we don't make any contributions ...) I contributed to my community and made many wonderful friends. I went back to my immigration attorney just last August. The same answer came up: "Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do for you. And the intended reform will probably not address your situation either." That was it for me. I sold my home, said goodbye to my friends and left. I could not live like that anymore. The "framing of the immigration" made the US a very unwelcoming and ungrateful place to be. I felt that soon there would be a knock on my door. Would I have a day in court? Would I be held incommunicado for years? My faith in the US was fading every day. For me, even if the reform comes, it will be too late, but I hope more and more people understand more and more about what is going on - there are 12 million people waiting for an opportunity! Hopefully also one day you will have a fair foreign policy and immigration laws that make sense. In the meantime, I ask Americans who do not know better: please stop repeating that we are criminals and/or lazy people who do not care to stand on line. You don't really know who we are. We are everyone, every race, every age. Every professional background. Illiterate and PHDs. It's easy to categorize people when you prefer simply to look past them. George Lakoff and Sam Ferguson for BuzzFlash.com: "The Framing of Immigration" A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Whiskey, Soldiers, Pool, and a Conversation!! Buzz, I had a very interesting conversation with a few Army buddies of mine while shooting pool at the neigbourhood watering hole. Whiskey makes a great lubricant, especially when chatting with friends. This friend of mine (I'd rather not reveal his name, or his unit), has served 2 tours over at the big bad place with WMDs, you know, the one that was supposed to target the US with shroom clouds. He told me that he was fed up. He also mentioned that he was disenchanted with the leadership of this country. He told me of the times they would be out there, and he would sit on top of his Humvee and throw candy to the kids. Candy that his family sent for him. A sort of gesture for all he thought was wrong in being there. He recounted times when he was invited into the homes of Iraqi people, people he said he became friends with. He spoke to me of the fact that he preferred to judge a man by his deeds, by his personal beliefs, and did not like making generalizations based on color or faith. He regards himself a Christian, but rarely goes to Church. Faith, he believes, is personal. I agree with him on that, though it may be prudent to point out that he has no problems with me being an atheist. He recalled that the first time he realized what my standing on the war issue was was on Halloween, when I had dressed up as...ahem...BuzzFash. (I blew your headlines up, taped them to my T-Shirt, and on that day y'all had been quite decidedly against the war in Iraq, W and his gang etc.). It was then he had walked up to me, shook my hand and gave me his sword. (He was dressed as a pirate). It's almost surreal. What do a graduate student and an Army guy have in common? On what grounds do we meet here? On what premise is there a friendship when two people from different backgrounds, different professions, can meet, discuss politics, religion, cultures, over a round of drinks, yet not even argue? Is it because we tend to agree on these topics? Or is it because both he, I, (and tons of people) believe that it is possible to sit down and have a conversation about stuff like this? I have friends who are decidedly Republican, and/or voted for Bush simply cuz they did not like Kerry. They watch Faux news, and think O'Reilly is smart. Yet, when I sit and talk to them, they concede that they vote Republican because Democrats don't have a spine. How can one deny that? These same folks realize that Iraq was not a threat, but believe that we did a great thing by toppling Saddam. And they believe that Iraq will emerge a success. Yet confronted with the logic that the US did not get its freedom for free, Americans lost their lives over this, they agree that freedom is a gift that is not appreciated when it free. However, I digress. The point of this rant is that one can sit and have a logical conversation with people, but that does need mutual respect. I have always believed that a discussion is better than a debate, because there are no losers. Yet, every single time I turn the idiot box on, I see people yelling at each other, trying to make the other look like an idiot. Does our press suffer from an inferiority complex? Do their bloated egos need constant nurturing that can only be gotten by shouting someone down? Do they not realize that they are nothing but shrieking monkeys in a cage - they get the attention they want, but not because of intellectual depth, but for making a spectacle of themselves? Or has our social IQ dropped to the point that that is all we can comprehend? I suppose time will tell the answer. But until then, our friends in the military will risk their lives, maybe even get killed, over a war that they don't believe in. Decent men will come back from the war, forever hurt. The same men will question themselves, and I hope will have people to talk to. Having said that, I propose the following for us civilians. Go find a soldier, sit and talk to him. Don't judge him, don't lecture him, just talk to him. If you support our troops, don't you think that is the least we can do? Regards Akhil Bhardwaj Subject: Living Without the News Some of these people with money like the ones who thought Bill Clinton was evil because of his personal failings ... should have to send a child to war ... someone recently wrote, that they were for a military lottery ... that way everyone would be called. Back when they were calling 50-yr.-old men back, I asked the father of that 8th grader, what he would do if he were called in ... and he said he would sue them! Yeah...well...that might keep one alive...if one could get away with it. It is taking me days and days to get caught up. Needless to say, my husband and I watch two different televisions...hey...if his ranting about Clinton's shortcomings was okay when he watched...my knowledge of geedubya's sins...and killings, etc. ... should be okay...right? Wrong! The little goofball evil grin that he gets on his face, when they re-play the speech about the eavesdropping...you all know the one...'when someone mentions eavesdropping...you have to get a warrant!'...yeah...so why didn't you...but, first I have to watch that awful squinty, evil grin. The one where he forces that grin ... and weegees his eyes, so if you look closely, there are lines, real evil, squinty lines, by his eyes, a sure sign of a lie!! My only thing to look forward to ... is reading buzzFlash and its wonderful readers and writers when I return. It has been a long 6 weeks ... with someone's graduation ... or wedding ... or illness every two weeks ... I hope it's over ... It is hard to not have your life blood ... thank you. Shirley ... St. Louis Subject: Re 'Have you heard the news" (Shirley Smith) - Yes, I have, Shirley. I got one of the solicitations. Funny, isn't it, that when we were voting...never did it enter our minds that the person we were voting for would fall for everything that Bush wanted...right? It will be my last ... if I really am happy with the candidate this time ... I will work for them at the campaign headquarters ... but, no more money. As more time passes ... normal folks are getting tighter and tighter with money ... because even though our dear senators and congressmen can vote themselves raises ... we cannot. Many of us lose our jobs. This is why more and more people have had it with all politicians ... and to think that we pay their salaries, health care ... and pensions. It really is disgusting! Subject: Job Discrimination and the "Christian Right" I live near Jamestown, N.D., and noticed this ad in the Jamestown Sun's Classified Ads of May 22nd in the "Help Wanted" section. The ad starts out as follows: "Sheyenne Care Center is now hiring Christian Caring LPN's or RN's. All shifts available." I can't believe they could be so stupid as to word an ad like that!!!! Isn't that considered job discrimination? I'm gonna call them tomorrow and tell them I'm interested in the job, but that I am Jewish (I'm really not), and ask them if that makes any difference. They should get sued for being so blatantly biased. Lucille Gould Subject: Lincoln
Frank Subject: Hastert's Outrage Ah, well cry me a river, Big Denny. How interesting to read about your outrage with the Department of Justice searching the offices of a member of Congress. Hell, at least they had a warrant -- do you remember those? How come you're so outraged now? Is it because the lawlessness of this administration has finally hit too close to home for you? Why weren't you equally outraged when it was just us "peons" -- you know those of us who actually live out here outside of the Beltway -- trying to survive from day to day, being held victim to the excesses of you jackasses in Congress who don't have a pair to stand up to your buddy George? You know -- that 66% who don't much like the job you are doing and have very little respect for what YOU and your cohorts are passing off as governance? Why weren't you outraged then, Big Denny? Just answer that question, Big Denny? Keep crying your crocodile tears, you self-righteous spineless POS. Lisa Johnson Subject: Triple Standard BuzzFlash, The Bushites can imprison, disappear, torture, search and muzzle US citizens without any cause, but investigation of a corrupt politician who stored $90,000.00 in his freezer generates outrage. According to them, the purpose of the Constitution is to protect corruption. Congressional Leaders Challenge FBI Raid on U.S. House Office (bloomberg.com) The soft-on-torture liberal Subject: Catapult the Propaganda "Ya See? In mah lie_n of work ..." - George Bush http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid... (Turn volume up) I for one am so sick of having Bush statements catapulted down my throat, that I am suffering from perpetual regurge. As a result, his vile statements lay splattered across America in pools of bushit. Dem leaders... It's time to clean house. However, I'm just not sure who has the guts to operate heavy duty equipment that will be needed to catapult the Bush bio-hazardous rubbish onto flatbeds and haul it away to a landfill. Jude Rouslin Subject: Comment on BuzzFlash's "Hastert Gives Dems the House" Comment I hope you're right; but the Democrats have never shown any common sense or honesty when it comes to negative campaigning. In 2004 they had footage of the President's appearance at a black-tie event calling his audience the "Haves and the have mores," and telling them that "some call you the elite; I call you my base." I, among many others, begged the DNC and MoveOn to run this in an attack ad, but to no avail. Putting this on frequent commercials would have put the smirking princeling right out in front of America. Nobody holding down a real job could have stomached that true depiction for long. But they didn't: essentially only those who already felt compelled to see "Fahrenheit 9/11" were treated to this baring of their president's tawdry soul. Maybe it was because the film was taken at the Al Smith Dinner and half the audience were rich Democrats who would slaughter their own children before engaging in anything like an honest class war. Vote for poor people in 2006/2008! Ken Duerksen Subject: Bush Withdrawal Pains Rumors are bouncing around the blogosphere like demented ping pong balls that the Doofus Brothers, Bush and Blair, are planning on a major announcement about withdrawing troops from Iraq. Read it on Raw Story: Bush, Blair to announce 'phased withdrawal' from Iraq. Supposedly these two monuments to Political Buffoonery will try to prop up their tired little legacies by appearing to allow Iraq to govern itself. (While the Iraqis are doing their best to kill as many of each other as possible. The Shia, to retaliate against the Sunnis who treated them so terribly are now proving their moral superiority by murdering and killing as many Sunnis as possible.) Guesses are that the U.S. will draw down to about 100,000 troops while the Brits will reduce their footprint by half. While we may be grateful that many of our people will no longer provide targets for those who want to kill us, what of those who are left behind? What about the military? Many of my military pals are still honked off at Clinton for withdrawing in Somalia. They feel that we should have retaliated in ways to make anyone thinking of killing Americans decide it might not be a good idea. What are these folks going to think about Bush withdrawing, accomplishing little or nothing, leaving all who died, basically dying for nothing? When Nixon proclaimed the we had a “Peace With Honor” after the debacle of Vietnam many of the warrior types I knew had a one word response that referred to the excrement of a male bovine. Mr. Bush & Mr. Blair’s road show has long since failed to entertain. Few believe anything they say. The left will say they took too long and that it is not enough. The right will want to stay the course. That kind of leaves these two so-called leaders standing out their looking like the clowns they are, does it not? Marjorie L. Swanson Subject: Hastert's Gift Dear BuzzFlash, I can still remember your headline from September 2001 when you stated that, with 9/11, George Bush was 'given a gift.' Karl Rove recognized it, massaged it and manipulated through two election cycles. You were prescient then and possibly again today. We, and well 'our leadership,' needs to stay on message and a powerful message is how 'out of touch' the GOP is on the issues crushing the overwhelming majority of Americans. If it isn't the doubling of heating prices, it's gas prices, or wage stagnation, or insurance doubling or becoming out of reach. But the main point, pick the message and stay on it, and I agree, Hastert has given us a gift. Gasper Subject: NSA & AT&T Spying on Internet I've had it with today's media including NPR. I sent the following to them for the terrible coverage of this issue that impacts us all.
John McGinn Subject: Dennis Hastert "I expect to seek a means to restore the delicate balance of power among the branches of government that the founders intended." The preceding quote that Hastert uttered because the DOJ searched a Congress member's office with a warrant is totally mind boggling. Is Hastert truly as stupid as he appears with this utterance? The means to restore the delicate balance of power is already available ... If the executive branch is expected to provide certain information to Congress and they refuse to do so based on some cockamamie"unitary privilege" Bush thinks he has, then charge them with contempt of Congress and with interference of Congress's mandated duty to provide oversight. I fail to understand what is so difficult to comprehend about this. If the executive branch refuses to comply, subpoena them, put them under oath, and make them testify in open hearings -- none of this "back-door, closed hearing" crap. The fact is that Congress has allowed this administration to stab the taxpayers in the back and send them down the river. Congress, under the neocon leadership, has turned their backs on us and supports a man who is really a spoiled, arrogant and dangerous juvenile delinquent, who uses the mantra of "compassionate conservative" and being a "man of faith" to subvert the Constitution and make a mockery of the rule of law. In short, most of our elected leaders are pathetic and deserve the disrespect and discontent that they now reap. Lisa Johnson Whatsa matter, Denny? Afraid they may find something? Denny and the boys have been riding the back of a tiger for six years, now, and it's fun when the wind is blowing through your hair and you can see for miles and miles...but when you start to lose your grip and slide off...not so much. John L. Johnson Subject: Data - Internet Gold Nigerian Net Grifters Doing Fine (AP/wired.com) This is a must read for anyone who uses the Internet and still thinks there is no reason to protect their private information from being collected by the corporate/government beast. Nigerian Internet crime has grown exponentially from those illiterate emails pleading for your account information. Now they are defrauding banks for hundreds of millions of dollars in one swoop. Meanwhile, try ... Poll: 26% suspect they've been wiretapped (CNN) ... to feel a little better about that feeling that the government is messing with you. "... 63 percent thought it probable that the government had eavesdropped without a court order on citizens not suspected of terrorist links." Last, but not least read, again, FBI seeks stolen personal data on 26 million vets (CNN) ... for another common reason to keep the government from having your personal information. It's called "stuff happens." There was no conspiracy by the government, it was just common thievery behind putting the information of 26 million veterans in jeopardy. When you say, "I have nothing to hide," you are really saying, "Go ahead and steal everything I have." I would like to see our elected representatives pass laws to protect our privacy and put a lid on the vast data mining that is going on by corporations and government. If you think about it, send an email to your representative asking him or her to do that. Note: I sent this exact same post to the local Newspaper and it was killed. Would anyone please tell me what the problem is? Fred Harris Subject: Helluva Job, Buzzie Just wanted to say, because y'all definitely don't hear it enough, that you guys rock. If the feckless Dems had half your balls (or ethics, spine, courage, insight, foresight ...) this country would be ... not a budding dictatorship. Thanks, and never forget that us folks out here are with you 100%. Steven Blaisdell Subject: Rich getting richer Dear Buzz, This article spent time discussing why the top one percent gets tax cuts at the expense of the rest of us. The real question is why the rest of us stand for it. I think I know. So many have been brainwashed to believe they are rich even when they aren't. Rush Limbaugh spent years working on this quite effectively. I remember a call in 1992 when Clinton was running for president. The right-wing line was that if he got elected he would "soak the rich." One guy called in saying he was one of those people Clinton was out to "take to the cleaners." He went on like this quite passionately for a while and then Rush made the mistake of asking him what he did and how much he earned. Turned out he had been out of a job for over a year, and when he did work he earned 13,000 a year, at the time, his wife was supporting them and their two kids with a waitress job earning 10,000 a year. Even with both of them working they were probably under the poverty level, but he was absolutely convinced that he was one of the rich that Clinton was going to soak for more taxes. I heard many calls like this. A lot of calls kept stating how you could be rich on a small income. Some men were even calling in saying that their parents raised them on incomes that seemed small by today's standards. However when you thought about it with some sense; you realized those incomes were not small by the standards of the day. Back then an income of 30,000 was considered definitely upper middle class, not poverty level. So you could see that the radio shows were trying to convince people they were well off when they were actually living at or below the poverty level. At the same time the radio talk show hosts like Limbaugh were saying that the official poverty level figure was totally wrong and an effort to turn the US into a socialist nation. With all that brainwashing, it is not too hard to understand why our lower income people support tax cuts for the rich one percent. They are convinced they are rich or about to be rich, and they use their plastic to spend like they are rich, so there is a real illusion going on, and I call that brainwashing. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: A Win-Win Oil Solution? Recent article from India Times:
So, why do we still have high prices at the pump? Because the existing refineries are processing more foreign oil than U.S. oil, and people in the futures market are controlling the per-barrell price based on, or so they say, fear of whatever the wind blows up today. Actually, they are just riding a recently discovered "high". This is evidenced by the variety of reasons given for maintaining and pushing the per barrel price higher and higher. President Bush is suggesting that new oil refineries be built on abandoned military complexes. That would certainly provide an economic boost to some areas that felt the pinch when the bases were closed. What I am not finding in these suggestions or considerations by the President or Congress is the proprietary end of these possible new refineries. Since the oil companies decided in the 70's to forego the building of new refineries and turned over the majority of their processing capacity to foreign oil, it just doesn't seem fair or right to anyone concerned to give them access to any military 'base-ed' refinery. Their profits in the last couple of years hasn't given them the impetus to see a need for new refineries as any adventurous entrepreneur would, so let them continue with what they have. They certainly don't need any new incentives, concessions, or encouragement from Congress. Let them run their business as they have seen and continue to see, fit. I would suggest, as the President is prone to do, the use of the military for this construction. It could very well be an educational process for both the military and the country. To even consider that the existing oil companies be a necessary part of new refineries would be a major mistake. It would keep the process within the hands of the few who have helped us into the current situation and little would be changed except the existing oil companies would experience more benefits of non-invested sweat equity or money. As with many other countries, a refinery OWNED by the people of the United States would be an impetus for the people to become more involved in their use of their resources. I would daresay that every owner or user of an automobile in the United States would gladly and willingly give $1.00, or more, out-of-pocket, for a piece of and for the building of such a refinery. New, military base refineries could take up the slack in what the current U.S. Oil Cartel is not producing from current supplies of U.S. oil. New, military base refineries could also funnel off a very small percentage of its production FROM DAY ONE into a 'reserve bank' for future problem periods. Sales of processed oil would go toward paying off any balance owed on the construction of a refinery and then the national debt. The military as builders and partners, but non-owners, of the day-to-day operations could also give an added bonus in Research and Development of more efficient fuels, both for military use and for consumer use. As my suggestion is a win-win proposition, though not without some problems to be ironed out, it is doubtful that any of it will be adopted by anyone. However, I will point out that to build a refinery by the military could involve less logistics and expense than a war. John |
|||
| back to top | |||