How To Talk To A Liberal: Oil and Gas Prices

I once got into a discussion on Facebook with a friend of mine from high school Untitledregarding the history of oil and gas prices.  He believes that “green” energy is the only way to become energy independent and that the U.S. is unfairly using more than it’s share of the world’s oil, citing the alleged fact that we produce 20% of the supply but use 80% of it.  This was my rather lengthy reply.

In 1973 the Nixon administration (yes a Republican) began over-regulating the production of oil in the U.S. making it necessary to increase foreign imports (up to 35% of U.S. consumption). In the same year, the U.S. sent military assistance to Israel who had been attacked by members of OPEC.  In retaliation OPEC placed an oil embargo on the U.S. and increased the price for other nations by 70%. Oil in the U.S. then had to be rationed to the people (you could only get gas at certain times, and never on Sundays).

Since then, more and more regulations have been put on U.S. production of oil starting with Carter’s MEOW initiative and creation of the Department of Energy, making it harder and harder to drill for domestic oil and causing us to be more and more dependent on foreign oil. This is not, as some would have us believe, because we are “running out of oil.” The U.S. is sitting on one of the largest oil reservoirs in the world, an estimated 2.3 trillion barrels (300 years) worth to be exact. It is current technology and excessive regulation that is preventing us from getting at it.

The 20% and 80% figures that the Obama used in his reelection speech are blatantly stretched considering that those figures only apply to current tapped reserves; they do not include the amount of oil that is not being drilled or used in the current economy. So yes the U.S. government is being selfish because we refuse to drill for our own oil and would rather drain the supplies of other nations instead.

Special thanks to: Buy and Hold, Antenna Group, and Kiplinger.

Was Hitler a Christian?

Christianity is often used as an excuse for bad behavior.  Look at how Nancy Pelosi calls Jesusupon her Catholic “faith” to justify forcing churches to provide contraception, when Catholic doctrine specifically teaches the exact opposite.  The popular belief is to call oneself a Christian and then define it as whatever pleases you or pushes your agenda in order to justify your actions.

Hitler called himself a Christian, despite Nazi philosophy being deeply rooted in the occult (Google swastika).

“I say: My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded only by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God’s truth! was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter. .. How terrific was His fight for the world against the Jewish poison.”  -Hitler

Hitler’s words are rebutted by Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, first to the Jew then to the Gentile.” However, this and other such statements lead some (especially those looking to do damage to Believers) to preach that Hitler was a Christian.  However, one cannot be a Christian simply by calling yourself a Christian, quoting the Bible, or talking about God.  Even Satan quoted the Bible (Matt 4), so by that logic are we to believe that he is a Christian too?

Holocaust MemorialHolocaust Memorial: Berlin

 A Christian is defined as someone who follows Christ, meaning someone who has admitted that they are a sinner (Romans 3:23), believes Jesus died to pay for their penalty caused by sin (Romans 6:23), and has confessed and asked him to forgive you (Romans 10:9-10).  The result of this is salvation and a deep desire behave as Christ did while on earth.  Any other additional doctrine is antithetical to the Bible and not defined as true Christianity.