Nancy Pelosi's Innovative Solution to Save Energy and Find New Oil

As the U.S. House of Representatives debated lifting the ban on oil extraction from the continental shelf, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, in a brilliant example of leadership, demonstrated her plan to save energy. She literally turned out the lights on Congress.

On Friday, August 1, 2008, the GOP House minority was calling for a vote to allow new off-shore drilling or at least a debate on the question. Pelosi instead called for an adjournment vote. The vote was 213-212 to adjourn for a 5-week vacation. The CSPAN cameras were turned off, the lights in the House were extinguished, and the GOP staged a sit-in. When Capital police tried to clear the press gallery, GOP Representatives intervened.

Pelosi's act sets an example for the rest of the nation. We must save energy since we're not going to look for new sources of oil. What lessons do we learn from Pelosi's example?

If you don't like the conversation, just leave.
Don't like the topic? Think you might lose the argument? Already have your mind made up? Just cut and run from your opponent. Pelosi made it clear that the House under her direction will not face the looming energy crisis head-on.

Freedom of the press doesn't work in a police state.
Calling the cops to roust the press gallery was an act of desperation, one that brings back images of brown shirts and swastikas. Fear of your opposition has no place in a civil republic. Debate and compromise are the cornerstones of our government. By trying to silence coverage of the GOP reaction, Pelsoi deserves whatever fallout comes. At the very least, I'll be giving her a nice, brown blouse for Christmas.

If you turn off the lights, turn off the wireless.
Pelosi isn't very tech-savvy and forgot to turn off the wireless connection. Bloggers with web-cams attached to their laptops continued to cover the GOP sit-in. Maybe Pelosi should spend a little bit more time among her Starbuck's swilling constituents and see how the new press covers the news. I can type in the dark on battery power, just don't kill my internet connection.

Burying your head in the sand is easier than drilling for oil in the sand.
Until we have leadership willing to face a problem, the problem will persist. Not that I'm a huge fan of letting government solve problems. Let's face it, the scariest sentence in the English language is, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." But when government has caused the problem, they must step up. Lift the restrictions on the oil companies and let the market solve the problem. Government, get out of the way.

"Get out of the way," does not mean, "Go on vacation."
Who the heck gets a five-week vacation anyway? I've only had one real vacation in the last two years and that was just a three-day weekend. The 112 hours sitting in my account will probably go untapped until Christmas, too. This tells us one thing. Business works. Government breaks. The upside is, when I do take off for Christmas, I'll have an extra day to shop for that perfect brown shirt for Ms. Speaker.

Let this simple act of darkness be a shining example to all. Since we can't search for the darkness of oil, let us all sit in the darkness of blind ignorance while Pelosi sits in contempt of the common man. While Pelosi flies around the country for the next five weeks promoting her book, let us all turn out our own lights. This will offset the jet fuel she is using to sell that tree killer.