Most humorous and frustrating mail of the day: a brochure with “Does filling up your gas tank have your wallet running on empty?” Yes, my congressman is here to help! He’s cosponsored the following bills. I’m including their titles because they are both clarifying and confusing:

HR 3089 No More Excuses Energy Act of 2007  This opens new oil refineries in the U.S. Because it’s not a demand problem. It must be only a supply problem.

HR 2279 Expand American Refining Capacity on Closed Military Installations  Yes, that too opens new oil refineries, but on military installations. Because having the military involved in oil has worked out so well.

HR 5656 To Repeal the Ban on Acquiring Alternative Fuels  What kind of alternative fuels? Oh, the diverse kind that come from oil: oil shale and tar sands. God, I can’t imagine why we would have originally banned using them…. 

HR 2208 Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Act  And then there’s coal. Because surely there aren’t any other alternative beyond fossil fuels.

HR 2493 Fuel Mandate Reduction Act of 2007  Removes fuel blend requirements and “onerous” government mandates. Oh, those government rules! If it weren’t for the rules, gasoline would be free and clean and we’d bathe in it and sing!

HR 6107 American Energy Independent and Reduction Act  This opens the Arctic slope.

HR 6108 Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act of 2008  This opens deep ocean exploration.

I can see what the problem is clearly now: government lefty regulation that keeps us from the oil that is rightly ours. God help us. And, I returned the response card to his mail already.