Letters to the editor, May 15, 2008

Is it stupidity of just anything for a buck?

1. Well, here we go again. We have all read the newspaper telling us, “we” must all cut back on water usage because were in a horrendous drought. Well, why have our politicians given the OK for construction of hundreds of new homes to be built in the Barstow area if there isn’t enough water for the people that are already here now?

2. We have all read that China is now building modern nuclear ballistic missile submarines and that China already has over 50 modern nuclear fast-attack submarines. Just one of these fast-attack submarines could wipe out one of our Navy’s battle groups. They can also launch cruise missiles. And how is China paying for all this new firepower?

Everytime we buy something “Made in China” we are paying for China’s new submarines. Our elected officials in Washington know all this. So what have they done — nothing! They just keep telling us free trade agreements with China is the best thing since sliced white bread.
To top it off — we Americans continue to buy things that are made in China. We are digging our own graves.

So again, I ask, is this stupidity or just anything to save a buck?

3. The last item on my philippic would be, why are we paying so much for oil?
We are now, finally, being told that the United States has enough oil reserves inside our country to actually be energy self-sufficient right now. So way aren’t we?

Oil companies won’t produce oil from all of our oil resources is the reason why. Most of our oil wealth has never been developed. And oil companies export some of the oil that is produced in the United States to countries like China and India. Oil companies make more profits importing oil from Arab countries and then making us pay at the pump for their avarice.

I hope you all remember how we were all blackmailed by the oil companies during the last big elections here in California. There was a proposal on the ballot that would have made oil companies pay an assessment for the oil that they acquire from wells here in California. Texas and Alaska already have this measure in place. They collect an assessment for big oil for the oil that is removed from their states.

Well, big oil companies stated that if this proposal passed they would stop pumping any oil out of the ground in California, so the proposal went down in defeat.

Why are we putting up with big oil companies blackmailing us when we don’t have to? California should move-in and claim eminent domain to seize oil company properties in our state.

The state then could pump our oil and keep the profits.

Steven Beavers
Barstow