Our Chancellor and his oil Nazis want to go Krystalnacht on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and plan to propose a final solution next week. Undeveloped wilderness is forever the put-upon minority, but in this case America will not be there to fight the war in its defense. In fact, nature is an unwilling ally, part of the coalition of the willing strong-armed into the fight against terrorism, Iraq and all things great and Arab.

The so-called elite du jour made much of their money by sucking up oil like a mosquito on the frontier's neck. If you found it in your backyard you became rich overnight, bought more land and kept on drilling. If you never found anything, God didn't like you. Tough beans!

Texas, the Germany of America, dried up years ago, and OPEC has had a one-up on the oil lottery by being in the right place and the right time for far too long, says our President, friend and whipped slave of Herr Moneybags. Backdoor deals in the stealth of night and roundabout politics make for interesting history, but for now they mean gobs and gobs of gooey cash for guys already living in more than one mansion.

This leads us to the essay question part of the exam:

1) Why do people complain about gas prices when they drive trucks three times the size of anything they reasonably need?

2) Why are people willing to listen to anyone with a quick fix to their diminished McBudget when the plan is neither quick nor a fix?

3) Why do people blame foreigners and environmentalists when they themselves have increased demand and decreased supply?

4) Do people seriously think they can solve their "problem" by allowing the Bush-Cheney cabal to tear off a piece of Alaska's coastal plain merely to polish its pride?

5) How much of the money we've spent "supporting our troops" and "rebuilding Iraq" has gone directly into the pockets of the same investors hoping to tap into ANWR?

6) Does the promise of short-term "energy independence" mean we have to go to war with China now because it supplies everything else we consume?

More ranting later; I'm sure you're tired. Or, if not, here's some counter propaganda. Don't be offended; it's pro-business.