In the big scheme of things, however, energy market speculation is not the primary cause of escalating prices at the pump.  Rather, it can be blamed on the simple theory of supply and demand, and in America, at least, Gang Green and its environmentally sympathetic congressmen, such as Bart Stupak, who are hell-bent on putting the American people in the poorhouse, are holding the supply hostage.  

   Obviously, it's perfectly okay for other countries to drill for gas and oil off our nation's coastlines, but when it comes to allowing America to do the same, the bozos in Washington would rather we do business with the Saudi's, et al, and let the sheiks put even more gold fixtures in their palatial bathrooms.

   Regardless of who or what's to blame, pain at the pump has become such an onus that every day more and more people are becoming fed up with their "do-nothing", obstructionist congress critters.  Apparently, that fact has not escaped Rep. Stupak who stated (in part) via his June 20th press release:

   "No matter where I travel across my northern Michigan congressional district, the No. 1 issue on people's minds is gas prices. Just last weekend, I was home in my district on Mackinac Island. This is an island where they don't even drive; motor vehicles are banned. People don't hop in their cars to go to work; they walk or bike or ride a horse-drawn buggy. But the issue I heard the most about was gas prices.

   "Even though these islanders aren't filling up at the pump, high gas prices are having a devastating effect on their livelihood. Many of the visitors who would normally flock to the island are opting to stay at home rather than spend the extra $30 or $40 on gas. The ferries from the mainland have increased their prices to off-set their rising fuel costs and cutback on their runs to the island. Stores are hurting because there are fewer visitors to buy their products. Food and other necessities cost more for not just visitors to the island, but for those who live and work there. Indeed all Americans are seeing the cost of their basic necessities skyrocketing! Whether you're on Mackinac Island, in Manhattan or Mississippi, it's the same story..."

   Now, let us fast-forward to August 5th and a press release issued by the National Republican Committee, which reads in part:

   "Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) sided with his party leadership last week and voted for a five-week vacation without addressing America's energy crisis...

   "Now, the question for Bart Stupak is simple: Does Stupak think that Speaker Pelosi should call congress back into session to vote on energy?  

   "Or will Stupak continue to ignore the overwhelming majority of Americans who support Republican efforts to increase American oil drilling?  Now that Stupak has some time off back in his district, he should at least take the time to explain to his constituents why he votes to take a vacation instead of staying in Washington to deliver real solutions for America's energy crisis."

    Something else Stupak should explain to his constituents is his anti-drilling stance when it comes to extracting gas and oil within Michigan's borders. The following is taken directly from his Website:

   "Stupak has made protecting the Great Lakes one of his signature priorities. He was the first elected official to oppose drilling for oil and gas in and under the Great Lakes, a position he began publicly advocating in 1997. He was also the first to author legislation to ban this procedure initiating the effort that led to the U.S. Congress imposing a temporary ban on the practice. The Michigan House and Senate reversed themselves and followed Stupak's lead and voted to ban drilling at the state level. Stupak continues to press the state of Michigan for adoption of a comprehensive water use plan for the entire state that includes all surface and groundwater sources. In 2005, Stupak's years of work on the issue paid off as he achieved a major victory when a permanent federal ban on new drilling for oil and gas in and under the Great Lakes was enacted into law.

   Likewise, he's against drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), a tiny parcel of land about the size of a small portion of the tip of your little finger if you consider your entire body to be as large as Alaska.  ANWR, of course, is another area that eco-twits managed to set aside for the purported good of lesser animals and to heck with future human needs even though the 19 million acres are known to contain a goodly supply of petroleum.  In fact, ANWR has been a political football during every presidential regime since peanut farmer Carter was groomed for office by the global elitists' henchmen.

   Says Stupak: "...On May 25, 2006, the House of Representatives voted to approve a bill (H.R. 5429) that would authorize drilling in ANWR. I voted against this bill because I do not believe that the limited amount of oil that could be produced would be enough to jeopardize this ecologically important region. I believe there are some environmentally sensitive areas that should not be open to oil or gas drilling, like our Great Lakes..."

   In reality, ever since Stupak took office in 1993, he has been helping to move the American people, most specifically his Upper Peninsula and Northern Lower Michigan constituency, along the commie red road of his party's fascist agenda that coincides so nicely with the United Nations' and Bilderberg Group/Trilateral Commission's plan to revamp the world's power structure, putting the USA on the hind teat of the beast instead of grappling at its neck to choke the life out of it.

   Bart would do well to get his butt off the golf courses at Mackinac and Drummond Island, pull the eco-green ring out of his nose that environmentalists have been dragging him around with for years, and belly up to the pumps with the working men and women in any number of the many, many towns in his district, which encompasses about 44% of Michigan's poverty-stricken land mass.  

   While Michigan consumers living on that land mass are experiencing pain at the pump, let him stand there and tell them of his concern for the Mackinac Islanders' tourist trade, or the caribou, polar bears, grizzly bears, wolves, and various migratory birds on 19 million acres of frozen ANWR tundra.  Let him validate voting against drilling off the shores of the United States where other countries dare to drill.  Let him crow about his stance on preventing drilling under the Great Lakes.  Let him take his chances on having a gas nozzle shoved up the back of his britches where the sun doesn't shine and then let him crawl back to Mackinac Island to finish his five-week, paid-by-the-taxpayers vacation, relaxing in the sun, before he gets back to the business of being one of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Washington, D. C. obstructionists.