As Americans everywhere suffer from Nancy Pelosi’s unwillingness to alleviate the suffering at the gas pump, P. Diddy wants you to know that he understands. Check out this video, where he informs us that gas prices are too high. Know why? Because he, a celebrity with a private jet, has to fly commercial. Oh, the horrors:

Can you imagine the horrors of having to fly with regular people? I mean, jeez.

In all honesty, I sort of wonder if this video is a spoof. It kind of seems like it. If it is, it was a good one. But with celebrities, you never really can tell, can you?

Hat Tip: Ace of Spades

You stay classy, Pioneer Pelosi:

House Democratic leaders and protesters waving McCain signs had a war of words Tuesday at a press event outside an old train station. The demonstrators interrupted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with chants of “Drill here! Drill now!”

Pelosi paused and asked the group, “Right here?”

Seeming to enjoy the back and forth, she followed with another question: “Can we drill your brains?”

She went on to refer to the protesters, who continued to chant sporadically, as “handmaidens of Big Oil.” Arguing that increased offshore drilling would reduce gas prices by only a couple of pennies a decade from now, she referred to the demonstrators as the “2-cents-in-10-years-crowd.”

Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer swiped at the demonstrators, too, saying that “sophomoric chanting” won’t solve the energy crisis and that “all thinking Americans know” — stressing the word “thinking” and looking at the crowd — that America doesn’t have a quarter of the word’s fossil fuels yet uses a quarter of the world’s energy.

When you don’t have anything intelligent to add, what do you do? Name call and use insults, the preferred tactics of liberals everywhere!

On a tip from Robert Bluey

Have you seen Obama’s newest ad yet? If you haven’t, take a quick look:

Obviously, it makes it look like McCain is rolling in money from oil companies. Except, well, corporations can’t make donations to federal candidates. And then there’s that small fact that Obama’s received more donations from employees of oil and gas companies than McCain has:

Much has been made of Barack Obama’s TV ad this week that accuses John McCain of being “in the pocket” of the oil industry, and yesterday the Democratic Party launched a website pairing McCain and Exxon Mobil as running-mates. While McCain has raised considerably more money from this unpopular industry, CRP was surprised to notice that it’s actually Obama who has received more from the pockets of employees at several of Big Oil’s biggest and most recognizable companies. Tallying contributions by employees in the industry and their families, we found that Exxon, Chevron and BP have all contributed more money to Obama than to McCain.

Through June, Exxon employees have given Obama $42,100 to McCain’s $35,166. Chevron favors Obama $35,157 to $28,500, and Obama edges out McCain with BP $16,046 vs. $11,500. McCain leads the money race with nearly every other top giver in the oil and gas industry.

First, why on Earth would employees of an oil company donate money to Obama? They’re donating themselves out of a job! Second, this schtick is old and tired. I wouldn’t care one little bit about the fact that employees of oil companies like Exxon and Mobil are donating to Obama except for the fact that he’s demonizing McCain for it — not only demonizing McCain, but being a hypocrite about it as well. But if he wants to make this an issue, well, then, fine.

Why is it that candidates are looked down upon for having received donations from employees of “Big Oil”? Are those Americans not allowed to donate to their candidate of choice because of who their employer is? Maybe they should just be barred from participating in the political system altogether because if they participate in any way it means that their candidate is in the pocket of Big Oil! So, you know, best to just keep them out of the process all around. They must be EEEEEVIL if they work for Big Oil!

It’s the biggest crock of you-know-what I’ve ever heard.

And is it possible for Obama to tell the truth in his campaign ads? Could he maybe do some fact-checking first? Of course, he is the Obamamessiah, and therefore above such petty things. The mainstream media surely isn’t going to hold him accountable.

Hat Tip: Gateway Pundit

George Stephanopoulos grills Pioneer Pelosi on why she won’t allow a straight up-or-down vote on drilling. Enjoy watching her squirm:

Hat Tip: Hot Air

All last week, I’ve been calling around my various contacts, asking them what’s been going on in the world. I hate being in the dark, so to speak, and hate to think that I’m missing a huge news story. Well, I missed something all right. I only missed the best thing to happen to the House of Representatives since the Democrats took over! House Republicans revolted on Friday to protest when the Democrats adjourning for a five-week vacation without doing anything about the energy crisis. Pioneer Pelosi responded by having the lights, mics, and CSPAN cameras turned off. But Republicans wouldn’t be deterred.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Democrats adjourned the House, turned off the lights and killed the microphones, but Republicans are still on the floor talking gas prices.

Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and other GOP leaders opposed the motion to adjourn the House, arguing that Pelosi’s refusal to schedule a vote allowing offshore drilling is hurting the American economy. They have refused to leave the floor after the adjournment motion passed at 11:23 a.m., and they are busy bashing Pelosi and her fellow Democrats for leaving town for the August recess.

At one point, the lights went off in the House and the microphones were turned off in the chamber, meaning Republicans were talking in the dark. But as Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz..) was speaking, the lights went back on and the microphones were turned on shortly afterward.

But C-SPAN, which has no control over the cameras in the chamber, has stopped broadcasting the House floor, meaning no one was witnessing this except the assembled Republicans, their aides, and one Democrat, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio), who has now left.

Only about a half-dozen Republicans were on the floor when this began, but the crowd has grown to about 20, according to Patrick O’Connor.

“This is the people’s House,” said Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.). “This is not Pelosi’s politiburo.”

Democratic aides were furious at the GOP stunt, and reporters were kicked out of the Speaker’s Lobby, the space next to the House floor where they normally interview lawmakers.

“You’re not covering this, are you?” complained one senior Democratic aide. Another called the Republicans “morons” for staying on the floor.

Update: The Capitol Police are now trying to kick reporters out of the press gallery above the floor, meaning we can’t watch the Republicans anymore. But Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is now in the gallery talking to reporters, so the cops have held off for a minute. Clearly, Democrats don’t want Republicans getting any press for this episode. GOP leaders are trying to find other Republicans to rotate in for Blunt so reporters aren’t kicked out.

Update 2: This message was sent out by Blunt’s office:

“Although this Democrat majority just adjourned for the Democrat 5-week vacation, House Republicans are continuing to fight on the House floor. Although the lights, mics and C-SPAN cameras have been turned off, House Republicans are on the floor speaking to the taxpayers in the gallery who, not surprisingly, agree with Republican energy proposals.

“All Republicans who are in town are encouraged to come to the House floor.”

Update 3: Democrats just turned out the lights again. Republicans cheered.

And they’re back at it again today:

House Republicans will be back on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives again Monday to continue the unprecedented protest that began last Friday, when dozens of Republicans joined hundreds of American citizens on the House floor to protest Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) decision to send Congress home for the rest of the summer without a vote on legislation to lower gas prices and move America toward energy independence.
In an urgent memo sent to GOP Members and staff Saturday (“A Call to Action on American Energy”), Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) hailed Friday’s action, which was led by Reps. Mike Pence (R-IN), Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), Tom Price (R-GA), and others, and encouraged House Republicans to return to the Capitol beginning Monday morning to help keep the historic effort going.
“It’s not a request we make lightly. But the American people are suffering,” Boehner and Blunt said in the memo. “The consequences of continued congressional inaction on gas prices are unacceptable. We’ve called on the Speaker to call Congress back into an emergency session this month and schedule a vote on the American Energy Act. We must continue to make a stand until the Speaker complies.”

There are apparently 30 Republicans currently there… and oh, what a surprise, no Democrats. Pioneer Pelosi is too busy with her book tour to do her duty as Speaker of the House.

Message to Democrats: you should be in there with the Republicans. In the real world, we don’t get five week taxpayer-funded vacations. And when there is an honest-to-God crisis going on, and the government you control is the only thing standing between Americans and relief, you should be working every day to fix it. Your energy plan does not work, because you have no energy plan!

Rep. Devin Nunes from California gives us a brilliant representation of the Democrats energy plan:

This is a brilliant move for Republicans. Finally, some leadership from the GOP! Now that’s change I can believe in. This is exactly what they should be doing every day for the next five weeks, or until Democrats get off their lazy asses and get back to work. They shouldn’t be afraid to pound Democrats on their refusal to act, and they should be videotaping all of it. As Michelle suggests,

House GOP members should also be spreading the word to their local newspapers and local talk show hosts in their congressional districts to assail Nancy’s gag order and hammer the “Drill now” theme home.

And where’s the RNC? How about sending someone in a chicken costume to trail Nancy Pelosi during her hiatus? As the House Republicans asked repeatedly on Friday: What’s she so afraid of?

On 8/1, the House GOP brought it on.

Keep it going, turn it up, and make sure the American public sees you at work on proactive energy proposals to bring down the Pelosi Premium during the Democrats’ vacation.

This is the best thing that the Republicans could ever have done. If they keep this up, we might not see the massacre at the polls that we’ve all been dreading in November.

Get it, Republicans? Do your jobs, stick to your principles, and be unafraid to take on Democrats, and Americans will love you. It’s not that difficult.

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin

It’s nice to see Republicans show some cojones for once. They seem so content to just meekly accept whatever BS Democrats hand them, so this was music to my ears!

Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills that do not pertain to energy can wait until after the August recess, with gas prices now surpassing $4 per gallon. McConnell and top Republicans indicated Wednesday they would oppose any procedural votes to take up other legislation, which require 60 votes to succeed.

“We think there is nothing more important that we can do right now than to deal with the Number One issue of the country,” McConnell said. “This is the biggest issue since terrorism right after 9/11. People are pounding on their desks, saying, Why don’t these people get together and do something about this problem?”

The hardball tactics reflect Republican confidence that they can pull off a major election-year victory with gas prices at record highs, after they have been battered at the polls and have lost on several recent high-profile legislative battles.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) planned for the Senate this week to pass a bill targeting market speculation on oil futures, which both sides blame for playing a role in driving up gasoline prices.

Following swift Senate action on the narrow energy bill, Reid wanted the Senate to approve a massive defense authorization bill, an overhaul of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, legislation to protect reporters’ sources, an extension of expiring energy tax incentives, and a major package of 33 bills held up by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).

But Republicans are planning to keep the Senate on the energy issue until their demands are resolved. The massive housing-rescue package might be the only other measure that gets valuable floor time before the August recess.

Democrats say the GOP is intentionally prolonging the debate in order to score political points by insisting on more than two dozen amendments to the oil-speculation bill. Democrats, who say opening up new lands won’t affect prices for a decade and are concerned about its environmental impacts, have offered the GOP one amendment to the oil-speculation bill.

But the GOP is positioning itself as the party willing to do whatever it takes to lower gas prices. The Republicans say Democrats are scared to cast votes on new drilling in the face of voter anger over high gasoline prices, and they point to the majority’s decision to scrap appropriations bills to avoid a debate over lifting the congressional ban on drilling along the Outer Continental Shelf.

McConnell said the Senate will be in session in September and will have time then to finish outstanding issues.

“Our goal is to stay on the subject that the American people are demanding that we do something about and finish the job,” McConnell said.

Of course, this probably isn’t that big a deal to Senate Democrats, as they’re pretty much doing jack right now anyway. But doing this is a brilliant move for Republicans. It puts major pressure on Democrats to finally act, something they’re reluctant to do for God knows what reason. I can only speculate, but my guess would be that it’s because Democrats are anxious to make things are miserable for Americans as possible in hopes of gaining victory in November. They couldn’t possibly act to improve the lives of American citizens when it’s an election year!

The thing is, people are paying twice as much for gas as they were before Democrats seized control of Congress. Democrats know that this is a major issue, but they’ve invested in the anti-drilling position. Yet two-thirds of voters support domestic drilling, and Democrats don’t want to go home to their angry constituents as the Senator who voted against offshore drilling. So the solution is simply to do nothing, to take no action whatsoever and find excuses for their failure to take action. They’ve done nothing but block production while doling out empty promise after empty promise for decades, and time is now up. The ultimatum brought forth by Republicans was a genius move, and, if Reid & Co are smart, it will force Democrats to finally face the issue.

Americans overwhelmingly are for domestic drilling and energy independence. It’s time for Democrats to decide whether or not they truly want energy independence or not. No more pussy-footing around the issue. The buck stops here.

President Bush met with the press this morning, and gave us this little gem:

This sums up, in a nutshell, the difference between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans usually believe that Americans are smart enough to run their own lives; Democrats don’t. Republicans usually think that Americans deserve to keep their own money; Democrats don’t. Republicans usually think that Americans will lead their lives perfectly fine without government intervention; Democrats don’t.

Liberals just can’t seem to grasp the fact that people don’t need their all-knowing wisdom-filled genius to live happy and full lives. When President Bush said that it was presumptuous to tell Americans how to live their own lives, I wanted to cheer. It’s something that liberals aren’t able to understand. They think that the American people are idiots who can’t be trusted to be intelligent enough to figure things out on their own, and therefore need liberals to come in and do everything for them.

But hey, it would be nice to not have to worry about balancing my checkbook anymore. I guess I should vote for the Obamamessiah and his hope-changeyness! HOPECHANGE!

Hat Tip: Hot Air

It’s about time:

The White House says President Bush is planning to lift an executive ban on offshore oil drilling.

In a Rose Garden statement on Monday, the president plans to lift the ban. But by itself, the move will not lead to more drilling off America’s coastline.

Congress must still lift its own legislative ban before offshore drilling can happen.

No need for celebrating yet, though. With Nancy “Pioneer” Pelosi & Co., it’s highly unlikely that any action will be taken. This new Freedom’s Watch ad sums it up well:

Not only is Congress not allowing domestic drilling, they’re not offering any other solutions. They’re just sitting around doing nothing, letting Americans suffer. We’re at least one step closer now, but waiting for Congress to take action to relieve the pain at the pump is like waiting for the Obamamessiah to be frank about what exactly he stands for.

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin

It was only a matter of time before something like this came out. What’s surprising is not that they think this way; it’s that they were stupid enough to say it out loud. Best quote:

Maybe the government’s taking it over because it never should have been private in the first place.

Is this perhaps why the Democrat controlled Congress is so reluctant to act, because they just see this as another way to swell the bureaucracy of the government? Possibly…

Hat Tip: Hot Air

Last summer, when Congress wanted to force amnesty down our throats, the American people stood up as one and made a statement they couldn’t ignore.  Amnesty was defeated, because we let our voices be heard.

And it’s time for the American people to make their voices heard again. Everyone is concerned about the price of gas at over $4.00 a gallon, but it’s a bigger issue than that. Not only is this hurting our economy and costing us money, but this is also an issue of national security and energy independence. And while of course, we need to start finding alternative sources of energy, it’s impractical to say that we’re ready for that right now. It’ll be years before we can completely be independent of oil, if not decades. We have to find a solution, and there’s an easy one: DRILL HERE. DRILL NOW.

Congress, of course, is doing nothing about this. President Bush and John McCain have changed their minds on the issue, but most of politicians in Congress are either too invested in jacking up gas prices or are too afraid of the Environazis to come out in favor of drilling off the coast of Florida and in ANWR.

We have to force this issue, just like we forced them to drop amnesty.

I listen to the MJ Morning Show each morning, and today heard Todd “MJ” Schnitt, who has an afternoon political show (The Schnitt Show), mention “Operation Drill Bit”. I wish that I was the one who came up with this geniusity, but I wasn’t. Anyways, here’s the plan.

First, go to Home Depot or Lowe’s or wherever you’d like, and purchase three drill bits. Send them to your United States Senator and your representative in the House. Here are the addresses for the House, and here are the addresses for the Senate. Include a note that lets your feelings about drilling be known. Tell them that we need to drill here now. If you feel so inspired, call them as well.

If we all speak up together, then there is no way that Congress can continue to avoid this issue. Let’s all get on board with Operation Drill Bit, and force Washington to take action!!
 
UPDATE:
Florida Representative Ginny Brown-Waite gets a letter from a participant in Operation Drill Bit, and talks about it on the floor. Great video of Rep. Brown-Waite calling out Congress.