Pickens Plan

I am all in favor of developing alternative forms of energy, however after registering on Picken's website (WAY slick, by-the-way) I was sad that it seemed really self serving. I had thought him to be a patriot, but it seems that his personal financial interests are the things that he is mostly promoting. Why does the Picken's Plan ONLY include energy sources that Mr. Pickens is heavily invested in personally? (e.g. no mention, that I could see of clean burning coal, did I hear geo-thermal? NO.)

I stated my concerns on his website, hoping I was wrong but was attacked immediately as an unbeliever... but alas... no answers from his people.

Why does his plan NOT include cost projections?

Why does his plan NOT include who will pay for the infrastructure (we will of course) and what is the cost benefit analysis of doing it now rather than letting these energy sources rise to the top of their own worth?

I am a believer in getting out of Arabia, and drilling more in the US, etc. but why does this plan from such a smart and resourceful man seem less than comprehensive and lacking in detail.

I visit Palm Springs often. There have been windmills there for years, thousands of them -- it looks like about HALF of them are inoperable! They went from being a marvelous curiosity to a blight. Why are half of them inoperable if they are so cost effective?

WE NEED TO TAKE aggressive action as quickly as possible and was excited when I saw this on TV. I am frustrated by the way we are "locked in" to a single way of doing things, and hopeful that finally someone with some financial clout and a VERY slick marketing idea, would be able to light a fire under Washington's butt. I am now unhappy that instead what I seem to find is half of an idea cemented in the financial holdings of the promoter.

Hey, I could care less if Mr Pickens made billions from this, IF ALL alternatives were explored as part of the answer.

What I have learned is that wind power is great -- When the wind blows. BUT the wind does NOT always blow, and often it does not blow with sufficient force to make the generators cost effective or provide sufficient power. WHAT happens then? No answers.

The interesting thing about his 4,000 Megawatt wind power farm is that it will take nearly 800 square miles in order to have room for these wind turbines and I am told they only operate at 20% efficiency (I hope I am wrong about that). For the same amount of money as the proposed wind farm, you can build a 4,000 megawatt nuclear reactor that will take up on 1 square mile and operates at 97% efficiency. The difference is one of subsidies and tax breaks. It would take 10 - 20 years to permit and build a reactor while it would only take a few years to build the wind farm and start reaping the tax benefits.

What would MY plan be? I am a long way from being an expert. But like I said, someone with the resources of Mr. Pickens should have been more comprehensive and reached beyond his own investments to INCLUDE nuclear, solar, geothermal, and clean coal as well as off-shore and Anwar drilling. Lets get the truth out about Anwar proposals - the foot print is small, risks are minimal, and the benefit is HUGE.

I had a small hope that Mr Pickens would look at what I have written and provide the detail and include other alternatives to give his plan more clout. I WANT him to be successful at this, but if you read the pundits, they are saying what I have been saying and his Plan is being dismissed as self serving.

I am sorry, but a man with the means of Mr. Pickens could have and should have done a better job providing detail. Instead, I am getting a real feeling that this website is a FANTASTIC advertising and marketing ploy for his businesses, rather than an attempt at finding real solutions? To be taken seriously by more than just frustrated people who have no "leader" it needs to have meat.

Why we HAD to take out Sadam Hussein

The real issue with Sadam is NOT if he had weapons of mass destruction, it is that he WANTED them, did use them, and will use them again. What makes him different from other tin horn dictators is that he had the oil reserves that gave him the wealth to buy them or the technology to make them. AND he had delusions of grandeur that made him a terrorist without par.

Assume that President Bush and PM Blair were completely wrong, that Sadam currently had NO weapons of mass destruction and the most powerful weapon he has is a shotgun, then what? The sanctions are lifted? Inspector’s leave? Then what will he do? He would sell oil, amass wealth and begin to buy and build these weapons to use on his neighbors and us, either directly or indirectly.

There is no dispute that he started 2 wars for the sole purpose of gaining power.
There is no dispute that he tried to trick the UN inspectors.
There is no dispute that he used weapons of mass destruction.
There is no dispute that he would have used them if he had them.
There is no dispute that he had a biological weapons program
There is no dispute that he had a nuclear weapons program
There is no dispute that he had chemical weapons
There is no dispute that he USED chemical weapons on the Kurds
There is no dispute that he sponsored terrorism.
There is no dispute that he had ballistic missiles.
There is no dispute that he ignored the UN.
There is no dispute that he has murdered thousands of his own citizens
There is no dispute that he was a liar.

Now, with an UNDISPUTED record like that, did the world really want this man to continue to be in a position to amass wealth? It doesn’t matter if he was directly linked to 9-11 or not, he is of the same ilk, he had the same desires, and even greater resources than Al Qaida.

Much has been made lately about how much our government knew before 9-11 and whether it could have been prevented. President Bush knows the intent and capability of Sadam and is trying to stop him. Let’s give him that support so we will not mourn more thousands who die at the hand of Sadam and his henchmen. Regime change was the only way to effectively stop this murderous madman from prevailing in his diabolical schemes.

To those who NOW say that other alternatives would have been better (see my posting on who supports the Iraq War, you may be surprised), while I respect your desire for peace, your ideas are dangerous. This is not Vietnam, this is Hitler, only Sadam has more money that Hitler ever had. Freedom and peace have never been free. They are purchased by blood, sweat and sacrifice. They have been purchased by thousands of young men and women who understood what you do not.

And to those U.S. Congressmen who stood on Iraqi soil and criticized our President, you are traitors, pure and simple. Exercise your freedom of speech in the halls of our government, voice your descent, by all means, but never again give aid and comfort to an enemy of the United States outside of our borders.