T. Boone Pickens, Texas oil man, conservative, founder of Mesa Petroleum, and who now heads the Dallas-based hedge fund, BP Capital Management LP, now says that U.S. dependency on foreign oil has reached an economic crisis point as the U.S. is dependent on foreign nations for 70% of its oil.
What Mr. Pickens failed to say is that American oil companies have been drilling and producing oil outside the U.S. for over 30 years at the same time they hold millions of acres they own or lease the drilling rights to in the U.S. and have left those acres idle. Many could have been drilling for years but choose to go overseas instead.
It is a fact that many oil companies are in bed with foreign oil producers and now the Bush administration wants to put them in bed with Iraq and Iraqi oil. Less any one forget Iraq is the same country that over 4000 Americans have lost their lives in an unnecessary war over WMD that did not exist.
The Associated Press recently reported Mr. Pickens plans to build the largest wind farm in Texas that would generate enough power to supply 20% of the nations electricity needs and wants the new President and Congress to act on this within the first 100 days. One can wonder if Mr. Pickens will be in Washington to seek corporate welfare for this project.
What the next President and Congress should do is make sure the energy industry does not, in any way, hold a monopoly over the public in the Greening of America. The U.S. can not afford to go green and then have the same problem we have today with Big Oil because of greed and control. All of a sudden, Mr. Pickens has come to realize our country has an oil and gas problem and wants the country to reduce its dangerous dependency on foreign oil. At about the same time, he wants to build a Wind Farm. It seems strange that Mr. Pickens, an astute business man for over 30 years, just got educated on our energy problems. I wonder what caused the turn around on his thinking all of a sudden?
Here's the facts: Mr. Pickens is a billionaire and contributed $250,000.00 to Bush 43's second inauguration. Financial World named him CEO of the Decade in 1989. Mr. Pickens tried to acquire several companies via the takeover route in the 1980s and made millions by buying and then selling those stocks. They also reported he contributed $3 million to Swift Vets and POW's for Truth, the organization that Swift Boated Senator Kerry during the 2004 Presidential election concerning his military service. Mr. Pickens was of prime age during the Korean War, but there is no mention in his Bio of serving in the military. I have mentioned on more that one occasion I have no problem with people that have not served in the military, but there are those who have not served yet who attack those veterans that have served their country.
Oil companies and their CEO's will do their best to power grab the Greening of America and retain control over energy supplies to continue their monopoly. The next President and Congress need to make it a top priority to see that does not happen.
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