Corn, ethanol, gasoline and inflation form a mixture that produces repercussions from which we cannot seem to escape.

It almost seems that OPEC, speculators, environmentalists and politicians are in league, holding the United States hostage in an effort to do what? I wonder about their aims.

Our politicians seem to lack the intestinal fortitude to do anything to develop our own energy resources, so that we aren’t as dependant on foreign oil.

Legislators allow ecological groups dictate to them until we are no longer the self sufficient country we once were.

These namby-pamby legislators lack the gumption to work toward keeping America self-sufficient and strong as it was through and right after World War II when we still had the world’s respect.

We are told that we’re “holding back our oil reserves.”

For what, I wonder. As things are going, we see our economy going down the toilet thanks to the finagling of those dictating to those in power.

We seem to be in the pockets of energy producing countries. We are trillions of dollars in debt to other countries, borrowing from them, so many now own large portions of America.

We should be developing and using our own energy resources in Alaska, off-shore and on the continental U.S. rather than depending on countries who are not our friends. Instead, the powers that be ordered the growing of corn to make ethanol bio fuel, using billions of taxpayer dollars to reach their goal.

Twenty percent of the corn crop went into making bio fuel, thus contributing to a rise in food prices. Livestock owners depend on corn to feed livestock. They must get by with the higher prices of corn by either going out of business or finding other ways to cope with the shortage. This affects all livestock business and the food it produces including beef, pork, poultry, eggs, cheese and milk. The higher price of fuel raises the cost of transporting everything including food to market so prices continue to rise, thus causing inflation that hurts all Americans.

Add the terrible floods that destroyed nine or ten percent of the corn crop in Iowa, Indiana and other Midwest states this year and the problem grows and grows. The increasing results are higher food and fuel prices that break household budgets, cause layoffs, unemployment and growing personal debts. Added together these spell the danger of recession, depression and loss of our freedoms.