Red alert! ANWR drilling vote likely next Wednesday in Senate!

[flpoljunkie]

(Donate, if you can, to run ads in Lousiaina and Hawaii. Their Democratic Senators previously voted for ANWR drilling. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council who sent out this red alert.)

_____________________

We have just learned that the U.S. Senate is likely to vote next Wednesday on a budget resolution that could doom the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to massive oil development and destruction.

That vote is now too close to call.

So the NRDC Action Fund is racing to produce a series of last-minute, hard-hitting print ads that will generate public pressure on those key senators whose votes could literally save the Arctic Refuge -- and its vulnerable populations of caribou, polar bears, white wolves and other rare wildlife.

We urgently need your donation to run those decisive ads in our target states --especially Hawaii and Louisiana -- beginning this weekend and continuing Monday and Tuesday in advance of the crucial vote.

Please go to https://www.nrdcactionfund.org/redfordarctic/donate.asp right now and make an online contribution that will help generate a wave of national opposition to this sneak attack on America's greatest sanctuary for Arctic wildlife.

President Bush knows full well that the vast majority of Americans oppose drilling in the Arctic Refuge. That's why he's working with his pro-oil allies in the Senate to hide their assault on the Arctic Refuge in the massive budget bill.

This cynical ploy to bypass the democratic process of public scrutiny and debate can only work if they succeed in keeping the American people in the dark. We must have your help to sound the alarm and raise an outcry over the next critical days.

Please do your part by going to https://www.nrdcactionfund.org/redfordarctic/donate.asp
and making an online donation that will help rally millions of Americans against this back-door scheme to destroy the Arctic Refuge for the benefit of the oil industry.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

John H. Adams
President
NRDC Action Fund

[Rambis]

1. The real kicker of this is...

the oil is such shitty quality we ship it to China anyway so why do it in the first place?

[flpoljunkie]

2. Good question! Answer: Greed!

[etherealtruth]

3. I feel demoralized...

Can't we just give Haliburton (or whom ever) the $$ they would make desecrating the ANWR and call it a day? Tax payers will get screwed, corporate profit will increase so the repug's can be happy and we can preserve the refuge.

[Joey Liberal]

4. How many Democrats in Congress will vote yes?

The same traitors that voted with the republicans on the Bankruptcy Bill will cave on this issue as well.

[Coastie for Truth]

5. Perfectly clear to me - Soccer Moms in Hummers and Saving GM's Butt

This is a bail out for the manufacturers of "gas guzzlers." They can not compete with foreign cars that get reasonable mileage -- proven fact------->
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/11/business/11auto.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x111965

and we can not afford to let the biggest Gas Guzzler manufacturer fail (the old "too big to fail" rule) -- and that particular manufacturer is just too freaking dumb to learn how to make good, economical cars -- so we have to drill in ANWR for the Soccer Moms who buy Gas Guzzlers.

Perfectly clear to me.

[blindpig]

6. this IS a litmus test

if they can't hold the line here(I'm talking filibuster) they are useless.

(How many times has that been said before? How many more times will it be said?) Talk about co-dependency..............

[DearAbby]

7. Awww Jaysus this is a Nomination for the Greatest page...Keep this kicked

Swamp them with faxes and phone calls, let them hear from the base!

[flpoljunkie]

9. There will be no filibuster since it was put in budget resolution bill.

All they will need is 51 votes and the vote is too close to call right now. There are moderate Republicans who have voted against ANWR in the past and, unfortunately Democrats who voted for drilling in ANWR--Mary Landrieu and Akaka and Inoyue from Hawaii. Former President Jimmy Carter is lobbying Mary Landrieu personally to try and get her to vote against ANWR.

This is why ads will be run in Louisiana and Hawaii.

[karynnj]

15. Can't filibuster because it's in the budget bill

So they need 51 Senators (of a majority of the house) to stop it.

[cestpaspossible]

8. I just kicked in.

This is a worthy cause.

[flpoljunkie]

10. Thanks! I did too, of course, or I would not have posted this alert.

[Enraged_Ape]

11. Oh, is THAT why I paid $2.09 for a gallon of low-grade...

this morning.

I was wondering why the price of gas shot up more than a quarter in the last week. Now I know.

[flpoljunkie]

12. Exactly. Dubya says gotta drill in ANWR to bring the price back down, BUT

what he won't tell you, and neither will the cable clowns, that Exxon Mobil and other oil companies had record profits in 2004.

Somehow the network cable whores never bother to mention this very salient fact!

Dubya is getting a twofer! Major profits for his oil buddies and the prospects of drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge--ANWR! Never mind, that there is not enough oil to feed the gas guzzling Amerikun people for more than 6 months or that it will take 10 years to develop there.

The oil companies are not even clamoring to drill there, like the Alaskan people are--they receive oil drilling subsidy payments. But Gail Norton, Dubya's Interior Secretary, assures us that oil companies will pony up to buy the oil drillin' leases.

For Dubya, it is about getting his way, in no small part, I would venture to speculate. He has been trying to ram this down our throats since he stole the office in 2000.

Well, we ain't going down without a fight! We can beat these short-sided Neanderthal greedheads!

[Vinca]

13. I'm starting to think it's a waste of time to email, write or call

about anything. The Republicans have a majority and most of the time they also have a bunch of traitor Democrats along for the ride. I'm starting to think it's not worth getting my panties in a knot over anything anymore because it's all for naught. We need to focus on 2006 and regaining the majority in Congress so we can kick some ass.

[cestpaspossible]

14. It's not a waste of time

While it is true that you should not 'get my panties in a knot' it is not a waste of time. Whether your Senator or Rep is a hardcore Republican, Democrat, or a fencesitter, they DO keep track of constituent contacts.

[KoKo]

18. I'm as tired of this stuff as you, but "Clear Skies" is on hold this week

because of National Resource Defense Council's (NRDC's) fight with all of us donating and writing. It's been held off with a 9to9 vote. The MSM didn't report this except in the print press but we held them off in conference. So, it seems our "Environmental Groups" are better at politics than our Dem Party...but what the hell..

Here's the e-mail from Robert Kennedy I got yesterday. And one of the big newspaper did a great story on it. Just Google if you are interested. It was a "defeat" for the Bushies...and that's good. Let's see if we can give him another one on "ANWAR drilling."

---------------

Dear NRDC Member,

We won! Earlier today, the Senate Environment Committee deadlocked 9-9 over
President Bush's so-called Clear Skies bill, which means it will die in
committee. One Republican and one Independent joined seven Democrats in voting
against the bill.

This is a huge victory over a terrible piece of legislation -- crafted by some
of America's biggest polluters -- that would have taken a devastating toll on
our health, our families and our environment.

I cannot thank NRDC's Members enough for the tens of thousands of messages you
sent your senators on this issue. In the weeks leading up to this critical
vote, we kept the pressure on the Senate through an all-out campaign of
grassroots activism, paid advertising and intensive lobbying. I can tell you
firsthand that your online activism helped make the difference.

This is a great day for clean air, but it is much more than that, too. By
blocking one of the worst pieces of anti-environmental legislation in the new
Congress, we've sent President Bush a message loud and clear that he's in for a
tougher fight than he bargained for. We will not let him steamroll his pro-
industry agenda over the American people.

The president won't back down, of course, and you can be sure we haven't heard
the end of his dirty skies bill. Its proponents could try to revive it in
committee, or use a procedural trick to bring it to the Senate floor for a
vote, or simply attach it as a "rider" to a spending bill. But the NRDC Action
Fund will remain vigilant, and you'll be alerted if this bill rears its ugly
head again.

In the meantime, I hope you'll join me in celebrating this hard-won victory in
defense of clean air. And thank you again for helping make it happen!

Sincerely,

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
NRDC Action Fund

P.S. If you want to learn more about how the Clear Skies bill would threaten
our health and environment, go to
http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/cleanair/wacmoreinfo.asp?...

[flpoljunkie]

19. Thanks for posting RFK, Jr's letter. NRDC does great work for us.

[KoKo]

16. Bushies always raise the "gas price" when they want legislation done

for them...it's part of their pattern.

I got my Red Alert and am onto it. Thanks for posting it.

[maxsolomon]

17. 51? its over

they have 55 and who's going to defect? no one except lincoln chafey, but zell cancels him out.

the caribou are fucked. i just pray its not worth the money it takes to drill it out. absolutely pointless in the long run.

[flpoljunkie]

20. Actually, Rethugs are not sure they have the 51 votes needed to pass...

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/000091.php

March 19, 2003

Update: The final vote to kill ANWR was 52-48, with five Democrats voting with Bush and 8 Republicans voting against him, plus Jim Jeffords.

Democrats who voted (for ANWR) were John Breaux and Mary Landrieu, both of Louisiana; Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye, both of Hawaii, and Zell Miller of Georgia. All five had voted in favor of drilling last year as well.

The eight Republicans who voted against oil development were Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both of Maine; Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island; Gordon Smith of Oregon; Mike DeWine of Ohio; Peter Fitzgerald of Illinois; John McCain of Arizona, and (Norm) Coleman.

Are there any surprises in those votes? Why exactly is Mary Landrieu, now safely reelected, voting with Bush on this? And is losing Coleman, McCain, DeWine and even Smith surprising? Fitzgerald knows he is toast next year and doesn't care if he pisses off the president.
_____________

It can be done. We must make our voices heard.

[AntiCoup2K4]

21. What's up with the Hawaiian Danny's on this??

Not surprised the other 3 fake Dems voted for this shit, but what's in it for Akaka and Inouye??

Have they considered that half their state will probably sink when Halliburton fucks up something royally in Alaska and causes the ice caps to melt even faster?

[flpoljunkie]

22. The Hawaiian Connection...

http://www.hawaiiislandjournal.com/2005/02a05b.html

The Hawai'i Connection

As members of the Senate's Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska and Daniel Inouye of Hawai'i have long partnered to bring millions of dollars of military expansion funds and other federal moneys to their states.
Chuck Neubauer and Richard T. Cooper of the Los Angeles Times reported, in a 2003 article entitled "Senator's Way to Wealth Was Paved With Favors," that "Federal spending in Alaska, known locally as 'Stevens money,' runs as much as 70 percent above the national average on a per-capita basis." The Times reporters also noted, "For more than 20 years, Stevens has been chairman or ranking member of the Senate's Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. Since 1997, he has been chairman or ranking member of the full Appropriations Committee, which must approve every dollar of federal discretionary spending each year."

Hawai'i residents are well aware of Sen. Inouye's similar success in bringing federal pork money to our state.

Senator Akaka's push to implement the "Native Hawaiian Recognition Bill," now known as the Akaka/Stevens Bill, has similarly called on the Hawai'i delegation's close ties to Alaska.
The Akaka/Stevens bill would begin the process for Native Hawaiians to be recognized by the U.S. government as an indigenous people. It would establish the beginnings of a framework for Native Hawaiian governance. That government would then be empowered to negotiate with the United States and the State of Hawai'i over the disposition of Native Hawaiian assets. But some Native Hawaiians fear that the Akaka Bill will lead to a Hawaiian model reminiscent of Alaska's native corporations. Established in 1971 as means of settling Native Alaskan land claims, the corporations manage huge tracts of "native" land for profit - sometimes to the detriment of subsistence villages and often to the profit of oil companies and of politicians, including Stevens.

Among other allegations, Neubauer and Cooper note that Stevens has a very close relationship with Arctic Slope Regional Corp., the Inupiat "owned" corporation the manages the trust obligations given to it by the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). Arctic Slope is the sole tenant of a building owned by Stevens, paying $6 million a year in rent on a twenty-year lease. Arctic Slope stands to gain immensely if exploration is allowed in the refuge.