Oil Drilling will commence....after the election

Oil drilling in this country will begin soon. Not soon enough to solve the problems today, but soon.

It’s widely stated that the Democrats will win the House, Senate and White House in November. I don’t entirely agree with that, but let’s assume the prognosticators are actually right for once .

One real problem that we have in this country is the skyrocketing cost of oil. This causes some problems for Democrats. First, former President Bill Clinton vetoed oil drilling in ANWAR in 1996. The claim was the environment and that it would take ten years for the oil to get to the gas pumps, so it was vetoed and drilling didn’t take place.

However, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina drove oil prices up and gas prices at the pump followed in 2006. That is ten years after Bill Clinton’s veto.

Second , the Democrats ran on two things in 2006 to take over the House and Senate majorities. First they ran against the Iraq war saying they’d end it. Second, they ran saying they’d solve the oil problem and bring prices down at the pump. On October 20, 2006, the price per barrel of oil was $58.42. It’s now over $137.00 per barrel. They obviously didn’t solve the oil problem. Of course, they didn’t end the war in Iraq either as promised. One short note here. I believe that the reason the Democrats took over Congress in the last election was because of the Republicans spending habits. They acted more like Democrats than Democrats did and it cost them their jobs.

The Democrats are continuing to say that oil drilling is not what this country needs. They are locked into that position for now. However, it’s becoming more and more apparent that oil drilling is going to have to start to bring the price of oil down and with Iran ratcheting up their rhetoric and now testing their missiles showing they can hit Tel Aviv, it’s going to become more necessary for us to drill oil. Not to mention the increased demand brought on by India and China which will only increase.

The Democrats, if they win in the fall, will then shortly after taking office in January, change their position and start drilling oil. This will be done to save their jobs for the next election. They will then be able to say that they passed the oil drilling proposal and run on that for the next few elections.

In other words, the Democrats are hoping that nothing happens between now and election day that will force them to pass oil drilling legislation in the next three months. Before the election, it will be seen as a Republican pressure victory for oil drilling. After the election, it will be reported as the Democrats saving America from the evil middle east.

Politics drives the Democrats. Not what’s right or wrong, but politics. It’s always this way, but this seems to be one of the most blatant examples in many years. There is one way to assure we get more oil to the market. Elect Conservatives. Then hold their feet to the fire.

I welcome your comments.

we are hiring!

2nd edit!
both sales promoter and administrative assistant positions are currently closed!
thank you all so very much for your job applications!

we are looking to hire at least 1 intern to help with daily runnings here @ littleoddforest, at our humble home-office this coming year-end, so please drop us an email with your detailed information - subject heading - I WANNA INTERN!!!
prerequisites are the same as before, except for the "selling" part. and very importantly, you must be able to find joy in mundane tasks like filing invoices!
xoxo!

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edit!
i need someone (details below!) urgently between 25th august - 14th sept!
9.45am - 9.30pm (1 hr lunch + 1 hr dinner)
1-2 shifts / flexible schedule
$6 per hours + 5% commission
temp, full-time.
in singapore! orchard location! thanks!

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part-time/freelance littleoddforest retail sales personel
on project/event basis
2 days - 1 month contract
hours between 10am - 9pm (1-2 shifts) or ad-hoc bazaar times
flexi schedule
per hour wage + 5% commission
central/town locations

you must LOVE LOVE LOVE littleoddforest to apply for this position!
eagerness to learn, gain new experiences, chalk up work points on your resume, paid internship, etc. etc... however you want to see it as!

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super motivated, self-initiated, and responsible
big friendly smile, cheerful pleasant disposition
neat freak with great organizational abilities
detail oriented
creativity, chattiness, and hipness is a bonus
must be able to speak proper english!!

previous experience not required but a plus point!

email to info [at] forestprints.com with subject heading - HIRE ME PLEASE!

i will get in touch with you shortly if you have been picked for a meet-up
please forgive me if you don't hear back from me at all, i have only 1 head and 1 pair of hands, and everything else that your mum gave you as well. and i'm juggling like an acrobatic act from china. not good for my small petite frame and oversized head. thank you for your super kind understanding and patience!!! xoxo!

Mesa Verde National Park

Long House

People from all over the world travel to southwestern Colorado to see the spectacular cliff dwelling of Mesa Verde near Durango and Cortez. The dwellings were built by the Ancient Puebloan people (formerly known as the Anasazi). If you live in Colorado and have not visited this remarkable place, then shame on you! Don’t plan on visiting the park expecting a few death marches in between dwelling tours, however. The trails in the park are few and far between and short because much of the park is protected and even the Rangers are not allowed wander off to explore the hidden dwellings and ruins that are not open to the public.

Views looking northeast from the mesa

Mesa Verde was occupied between AD 550 and AD 1300. That is 700 years long folks! It is hard to fathom any community lasting that long. For the first 600 years, though, the Ancient Puebloans live on top of the mesa. The climate during that period was much wetter than it is now and large swaths of the upper mesa were used to cultivate corn and other crops.

There are four major cliff dwellings that you can visit. Each requires a separate ticket, which is purchased at the visitor’s center. Getting into and out of the dwellings is easy for some and nerve racking for others. For anyone who is afraid of heights like me, some of the cliff dwellings are more an exercise in anxiety control than anything else. I will try to describe each one individually.

The Cliff Palace is the most famous dwelling. It is also the largest with 150 rooms, 75 common areas and 21 kivas. It was home for 100 to 200 people. This dwelling is only accessible via tour, so be emotionally prepared to join the herd and be led around.

Cliff House

The Balcony House is the one cliff dwelling that requires Valium for those afraid of heights. There is a large 20-foot ladder that you need to scale to get into the dwelling. The Rangers are quite upfront when you purchase your tickets that this ladder presents problems for some people. My friend talked me into it and the Rangers are good about talking you through. The trick is to look straight ahead at the logs of the ladder and don’t have sunscreen on your hands because the logs are slick with use. Through much Lamaze breathing, I was able to make it up. Ironically, there is a cave you have to crawl through to get to the exit and my friend is claustrophobic so I had to coax her through that section. To get back up to the top of the mesa there is a series of smaller ladders. After surviving big mamma, these ladders seemed trivial. Each one led to a nice fat ledge that I could throw my body onto. One pitch did not end in a ledge, however, but ended in a chain cut into the rock. This so disconcerted me that I raced up the rest of the way on a surge of adrenaline. I could literally feel it pumping through my veins and it was a good six hours before it was all reabsorbed. The Rangers did not warn us about that so be forewarned! It did not help either that this was the first dwelling on the tour. I was paranoid the whole day that all the others would be similar. They are not. Balcony House is the only one you have to worry about if you are a nut job like me when it comes to heights.

Balcony House. Note the large ladder on the right of the photo and the other ladder up the cliff on the left.
Long House is only open in the summer. It is located twelve miles away from the other dwellings on Wetherill Mesa. There is a nice picnic area with a shaded pavilion in this area as well. You can choose to take the tram or to walk to the dwelling. Along the way, stop at the Badger House Community. This is an excavated mesa top dwelling under a canopy. There is also an overlook for Long House, which is always nice. Seeing the dwellings with their alcoves gives them perspective. Long House was quite easy to get into and out of. Here we saw the shallow pool that demonstrated how the cliff dwellers got their water…it trickled down through the rock from the mesa above. The shallow pool looked more like a salt lick than a hot tub, so the residents were not swimming in H2O.

Long House with alcove view

Spruce Tree House is the third largest dwelling. In reviewing my photos it seems that I did not take my camera with me that morning or was bored with taking pictures. Who knows? You’ll have to take my word that it too is worth walking through. There are no ladders at all for this dwelling.

On this trip to Mesa Verde, we camped in the park. The campground was practically deserted. I asked a Ranger and they said that that was typical even though it was the July 4th weekend. Because the park is on a mesa it cooled down nicely in the evenings. Durango is the nearest town to the Park but it is a long and tedious drive to get up the mesa. Camp or stay in the park at the 60’s looking retro lodge if you want to maximize your time. However you do it, everyone should experience Mesa Verde at least once in their life.

Photos at Mount Timpanogos Temple

We shot Rachel & Steve's sealing on a very beautiful day this June. Rachel & Steve are one of our favorite wedding couples from 2007, they have been a blast to work with throughout their engagement session, bridal session, their entire wedding day, and now their sealing. The lucky couple got to head out on their 2nd honeymoon on a coast drive with this way cool BMW, I'm jealous!!! So if you have a BMW for a couple weeks you have to show it off, so we made sure we got some creative shots of them in it. Her brother even caught the bouquet as the sped off! ;) Rachael & Steve congrats, you're the best!

Click images to enlarge

Engagement Photos Provo Canyon

Erin told us when she set up the time for her engagement session that she wanted to have a really fun and crazy engagement session. Erin & Matt were so much fun and totally kept us on our toes! They were full of energy and up for anything, Erin even showed off some of her mad acrobatic skills! It was pretty hot even though we started the photo session pretty early in the morning, Erin said she wanted to get a shot of them in the river and we probably would have except that the current was so strong! ;) Big congrats to both for their upcoming wedding! One more thing to add, they actually moved the wedding date since we were booked on their previous date, so we're totally excited that we'll be there to shoot the wedding at Mt Timpanogous Temple!

Click images to enlarge

july shoppe updates!

Victory in Iraq is in sight. Where are the Democrats?

Over the weekend, it was announced that 15 of 18 of the benchmarks have been reached by the Iraqi government. Where are the Democrats?

During the past five years, we’ve heard how the Iraq war was a failure. A quagmire. Even Senator Harry Reid said that the Iraq war was lost. Then President Bush implement General Petraeus’ plan for the surge. The turnaround was nearly instantaneous. Leading up to the surge, Senator Hillary Clinton said that Petraeus’ recommendation of the surge stretched the imagination and that it wasn’t believable.

As it became apparent that the surge was not just working but more successful than even predicted, the Democrats, including Senator Carl Levin came out and said that the Iraq war couldn’t be won by the military, that there had to be a political solution and that the Iraqi government was failing and we should set time tables and get out.

I submit that there wasn’t much reason for the government to begin hitting it’s goals because the military hadn’t eliminated Al Queda from Iraq. The military success must come first, then the government has reason to hope that they would be successful and have a government that had the ability to last.

Now that the surge has produced such terrific results and al queda is on the run, the government has stepped up and met 15 of the 18 benchmarks. So where are the Democrats with their excuses as to why the surge worked and the benchmarks are being met?

Where is CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC asking them about the successes that Democrats said wouldn’t come?

We’ve almost won the war in Iraq. I’m really hoping that we can declare victory before the end of summer and President Bush can begin bringing troops home. Not on any artificial timetable, but on what President Bush said from the beginning. We’ll leave when we’ve achieved victory. We’ve almost achieved victory. It won’t be long now.

I welcome your comments

Brett