President Bush and the McCain campaign are beating a dead horse these days and it is called the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. They want you to believe that we must squeeze the last bits of oil out of the earth, wherever we can find it, and we need to start right here at home by destroying our last remaining wild refuge and devastating our coastal wetlands in the name of boosting corporate oil profits. The right wing echo chamber has taken up the cause celeb, and candidates across the country can be heard ringing the bells of freedom for the global oil market.

AP

Exxon Mobil Corp. reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation...

That's about three billion gallons of gas! But it wasn't enough and shareholders wanted more, so their stock is off this morning.

Back to back commercials on MSNBC Countdown Monday evening, unedited except to trim for length. Be sure to watch the last 10 seconds.

YouTube video...

Used Conservatively

Any honest observer can see where power resides, but Rep. Duncan thinks the Sierra Club is in cahoots with OPEC. Seriously.

Rikki unravels one of Duncan's more twisted lines of logic.

Sen. Lamar Alexander announce his "Manhattan Project" energy plan at Oak Ridge National Laboratory today. My commentary at TennViews.

UPDATE: Mike Padgett responds with "Energy 2.0"

Congress should pass a "consumer protection disclosure and warning label" law that requires the following:

1. The EPA fuel economy must be prominently displayed on all print and television vehicle advertising in a clearly legible type face that is at least the same size as the name of the vehicle or manufacturer, whichever is larger. For radio ads, the EPA fuel economy must be mentioned at the beginning and end of the spot. (Have you ever noticed how most car ads don't mention it at all?)

2. The EPA fuel economy must be permanently etched onto the bumper of all vehicles sold in the U.S. using a clearly legible type face that is at least the same size as the name of the manufacturer's make and model badge.

Then let peer pressure work its magic.

How the hell does a coal company lose money?

Interest in alternative energy such as wind, geothermal, and solar is spreading beyond so-called "fringe" environmentalists and "tree huggers" to the business world.

If there is any doubt, consider this: U.S. clean energy venture capital investments totaled $2.7 billion in 2007, a 70% increase over 2006. Worldwide investments in clean energy totaled $148 billion, a 60% increase over 2006. Alternative energy is going mainstream.