Editor, The Herald:

Obama has fired the proverbial shot heard around the political world. When he killed the construction of the Keystone pipeline from Canada, a lot of people could suddenly see through the smoke screen concerning his “hidden agenda” which will completely destroy any hope of an energy independent nation.

As gas prices approach five dollars this summer, Obama will begin to realize his dream of U.S. energy prices comparable with those of Europe, which some in the Obama Administration bragged to the press about. Gas prices are hovering around eight dollars a gallon throughout much of that continent.

This philosophy is in play to appease the far left environmentalists that so feverishly support him. Did you know that Obama's EPA shut down two of the largest refineries in the Northeast? In fact, the only thing preventing those outrageous prices from showing up on our pumps is the fact that we produce and refine a large portion of our fuel, where-as the EU imports the majority of theirs from outside sources.

Obama continues to blow the same sour sounding horn, “we can't drill our way to energy independence.” Actually, he is right about that, at least under his administration, where Gulf permits have decreased by 30 percent and Rocky Mountain lease permits to drill are down 70 percent under this president. By the way, there is enough oil in those Rocky Mountains to drown OPEC, not to mention our off-shore areas, which are saturated with crude. Green energy will probably be a super deal when it comes on line with proficiency in forty or fifty years – but for now, we need to keep our heads out of the Arabian sand and in the world of reality – which is called survival.

America has three options as to dealing with spending half of their paychecks to fill up their tanks in the very near future.

1: Elect a pro-energy president this fall.

2: Pay a small fortune for a battery powered car, and hope it doesn't incinerate – with you in it!

3: Hook your car up to a windmill and re-elect Obama in November.

Randy Biggerstaff

Green Bay