[tvtimeout]

Whether people are liberal or conservative has no bearing on my respect for them. (No offense, but in general I have less respect for political moderates who I have found are generally less well informed on important issues than those at either end of the political spectrum.) I like people who are willing to take a stand and defend it, whether I agree with them or not. Moderates usually lack the passion, commitment, and core values to lead effectively in elected office.

In my first career, I worked as a mining engineer for coal subsidiary of a large oil company and then later for an independent coal company. I am a little out of touch with the industry now but I have a pretty good understanding about how the economy and government policies affect energy costs.

Under normal circumstances, coal and oil prices drop during recessions. Under normal circumstances, jobs are created in large numbers following recessions. Having an incompetent, inexperienced president is not a normal situation. Hopefully, we will be able to recover from the damage to the economy that four years of "change" will have done by 2012.

I am not a moderate, nor do I have a lack of passion. I just think that both sides (democrates and republicans are both wrong) If that puts me in the middle that puts me in the middle.

A simple economic equation if demand is down and supply is up, what will happen to the price on any item?

Why has it not happened to oil? The so called market is manipulated, because of things like government interference on both sides. Tax Breaks from the right, can not drill, dig, whatever, from the left. I again say none of the above should happen. I also think if people believe that a private market works, then keep it private. Let research and finding better ways of doing things, which has happened all of my life.

For the life of me, I could not figure out why though? People also complain about high gas prices, high electric bills, so why hasn't anyone done anything about it. I don't believe it is the lack of education or technology, we sent a man to the moon, with less computing power then a calculator (what a student would use in a Calculus) so I am really talking about graphing calculators. People in their basic nature are greedy, so the lack of motivation can not be the answer.

However, government regulations and new things in the industry can stop anything in its tracks. What else could it be?

The coal unions would be ticked off because their people would not get to work, which would be less money going to that party (aka Democrats).

The owners of the coal mines, gas companies would be out of the loop and would lose money, and could even go under, which would be less money going to that party (republicans).

So, why would either side want to step in? The answer in my estimation is that they wouldn't. Yes, they give the dog and pony show, but in the end nothing changes, and we are still using fuels found at the beginning of the last one hundred years, people complain about prices.

Progress is stopped, but if you believe in "change" or you believe in "mission accomplished", you are believing in the one and the same.

I would like to hear why this conclusion is incorrect?