Drill Now, Drill here, Pay Less!

Senator Barack Hussein Obama states that the United States cannot drill our way out of the high-energy prices now affecting our nation. That if we even start trying, it will be five to ten years before we can get oil from the ground. For someone who constantly repeats the slogan “YES WE CAN,” he is now saying no, it’s not possible. However, let’s look at some of the achievements the United States accomplished during our illustrious history:

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System - a major U.S. oil pipeline connecting oil fields in northern Alaska to a sea port where the oil can be shipped to the Lower 48 states for refining - runs north to south, almost 800 miles (1,300 km), from the Arctic Ocean at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to the Gulf of Alaska at Valdez, Alaska - construction … presented significant challenges due to the remoteness of the terrain and the harshness of the environment … between Arctic Alaska and Valdez, there were three mountain ranges, active fault lines, miles of unstable, boggy ground underlain with frost, and migration paths of caribou and moose - the single 48 inch (1.22 m) diameter pipeline was built between March 27, 1974 to May 31, 1977 at a cost of around US$8 billion – completed construction time: 3 years.

The Manhattan Project - the project to develop the first nuclear weapon (atomic bomb) during World War II - refers specifically to the period of the project from 1941–1946 (5 years) - Albert Einstein’s first letter to President Roosevelt proposing building the atomic bomb was in 1939 – total time from first proposed letter to detonation: 6 years.

The Panama Canal - a man-made canal in Panama which joins the Pacific and Atlantic oceans … one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, it had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America – started by the French with the United States taking control in 1904 – completed in 1914 – total United States construction time: 10 years.

The Empire State Building - a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in New York City - excavation of the site began on January 22, 1930, and construction on the building itself started symbolically on March 17—St.Patrick's Day - The project involved 3,400 workers, mostly immigrants from Europe, along with hundreds of Mohawk iron workers - Governor Smith's grandchildren cut the ribbon on May 1, 1931 – total completion time: 410 days after construction commenced, ahead of schedule and under budget.

The Mt Rushmore Memorial- near Keystone, South Dakota, is a monumental granite sculpture by Gutzon Borglum - represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States of America with 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) - the entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (5.17km) and is 5,725 feet (1,745m) above sea level – started in 1927 and completed in 1941 – total completion time: 14 years.

The Hoover Dam - also known as Boulder Dam - a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada - construction began in 1931 and was completed in 1935, more than two years ahead of schedule (during the Great Depression) - when completed in 1935, it was both the world's largest electric power producing facility and the world's largest concrete structure – total construction time: 4 years.

The Moon Landing – May 25, 1961 President Kennedy gave a speech stating the United States will put a man on the moon before the 1970 - the United States achieved the first manned landing on Earth's Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission commanded by Neil Armstrong. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong, accompanied by Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin, landed the lunar module Eagle on the surface of the Moon - total time between President Kennedy’s speech and the United States landing on the moon: 8 years – 5 more manned moon landings carried out between 1969 and 1972.

World War II – on December 7, 1941, the United States was still in a depression. Germany and Japan possessed professional armies with years of combat experience. German held most of Europe and Japan had extended beyond their island into China and other Asian nations. By attacking us at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese severely crippled our Pacific Fleet. We did not have the men, the weapons, the equipment, or the experience to go against the two most powerful militaries in the world. Yet in less than 4 years, we not only conquered these two militaristic nation states but we built our military to the biggest and best the world had ever seen. When Ronald Reagan became President, he wanted a 600 ship Navy. At the end of WW II, we had over a 1,000 ships in the Pacific alone.The above is just a handful of what this great nation has accomplished.

So, I ask you to call your Senator and Representative and tell them YES WE CAN. Tell them that we – the citizens of the United States – want to DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW, PAY LESS!