Thursday, July 13, 2006

Remember the 90's

Ah yes, the good old days. No war, no high oil prices. Every now and then some terrorists would kill some soldiers or sailors or African embassy personell, but nothing to get worked up about. Just kick that can down the road, suck up to Arafat, threaten Saddam Hussein and go after a bunch of Branch Davidians at Waco to look tough.

But don't get the crazies in the ME worked up. Just kiss their butts, look the other way and pretend everything is ok fine.

But that was not all Bill was doing. He was also busy protecting the Caribou. Oil hit a record high today. {No doubt because of those bad Jews and Bushitler} But back in the good old days before the Chinese starting building highways and buying up the world's concrete and oil and steel there was a vote on ANWR. Bill Clinton vetoed the bill.

Oil, right here in the United States. It did not belong to some crazed mullah or some terrorist loving Saudi or a Sudanese warlord or a Nigerian thief. No.. it is ours and thanks to Bill it is not being pumped out of the ground. Right about now the ANWR oil would be hitting the market. Thanks Bill.

Chronology :

1991: In aftermath of Persian Gulf War, President George Bush proposes a National Energy Policy that calls for full-scale leasing of the coastal plain. Senators Bennett Johnson (D-Louisiana) and Malcolm Wallop (R-WY) introduce the bill, which is defeated by a filibuster and intense opposition from environmental groups and Gwich'in Athabaskan Indians of Northeast Alaska and Northwest Canada.

1992: Candidate Bill Clinton promises to fight for wilderness designation of Arctic Refuge.

1994: Republicans gain control of Congress. Alaskan Senator Frank Murkowski and Representative Don Young assume chairmanships of Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committees and House Resources Committees respectively.

1995: Young, Murkowski, and Stevens attach a "rider" to massive federal budget reconciliation bill that mandates Arctic Refuge oil development. President Clinton vetoes entire bill, citing Arctic Refuge provision as a chief objection. Government shutdown ensues and Arctic Refuge is spared.

1997-98: Conservation community, along with Gwich'in and other allies, launch new proactive campaign for wilderness designation of coastal plain. Representative Vento's Morris K. Udall Wilderness Act gains 151 cosponsors. Senator Roth's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Act gains 19 cosponsors.

1999: Vento bill (HR 1239) reaches all-time record 166 cosponsors. Roth bill gains 25 cosponsors, including Republicans Jeffords and John Chafee. Don Young introduces "Arctic Domestic Energy Security Act" (HR 2250).

2000: Senator Murkowski uses spike in oil prices as new excuse to push for Arctic Refuge drilling. A provision is included in the FY 2001 Budget Resolution which assumes revenues for lease sales in the coastal plain.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

david:

They just blame the big bad oil companies and Bush.

All they know is that ten years ago, gas was cheap.

rglover said...

“We’re gonna party like its 19…99!” In the words of the popular artist know as Prince, the nineties was by far the most phenomenal decade of the twentieth century. The nineties was definitely the “Highlight” of the twentieth century. Technology was advancing rapidly with the internet, cell phones, satellite television, and portable video games (Gameboy). Music such as Rap, R&B, and pop was at its mainstream during the decade. It’s no question that the technology in the nineties made life a lot easier. The internet was a huge deal in the nineties. The internet started to be regularly used in 1995 when Windows 95 was introduced. High speed internet wasn’t really in the market at the time. President Bill Clinton really served the country well during the decade of the nineties. In addition, the economy in the nineties was just remarkable. Cell phones without a doubt were one of the most important inventions in the decade (90’s 411). Cell phones made it possible to make a phone call whenever we pleased. It was “Goodbye pay phones” and hello “Make a call whenever you feel like it.” The nineties was a very profitable decade! The nineties was indeed the “Highlight” of the twentieth century.