A Usenet persona calling itself Michael Daly wrote:

On 16-Feb-2005, Scott Weiser wrote:

Nah, we'll just drill more wells here. Canada will suffer far more than the
US from a border closing.

If you could increase domestic oil production in the US by 10% of your
total consumption, it would already have been done. That would be in
excess of 25% of current US production. That is an enormous amount
of oil and the value to the domestic oil industry would be tremendous.

Yup, but you fail to recognize that the regulatory climate in the US
constrains domestic production. Just look at ANWR. We've been wrangling over
that for years...all because drillers want to impact about 2000 acres of the
several MILLION acres in the ANWR.


There is also no way you could replace the electricity you import
without a lot of time and enormous expenditures.

Given the stimulus to provide our own electricity, we can do so. The
question is not what it costs us, but what it costs Canadians.


Nothing we can't do without.

Raw materials and manufactured parts for US industry? For a
start, closing the border would shut down GM, Ford and D/C's
car plants. When the border was backed up after 9/11, Michigan
Congressmen were the first to complain.

Temporary impediments only.


I know you'd like to think Canada is essential to the success of the US, but
it's not.

The problem is that you are completely ignorant of the interconnectedness
of the US with the rest of the world in general and Canada in particular.

Not at all. In fact, my arguments depend on it. But I posit that other
countries need us far more than we need them.

If the US could survive on its own, it would. It can't - it has become
much too dependent on imports.

You'd be amazed what we can do without at need.

The US has been spearheading free trade
pacts for decades.

Sadly true, because we've begun to see how some of those pacts are not
helpful to our economy, but are harmful to it. So, it's time to amend the
pacts so that our economy suffers no harm.

Get your head out of your ass and look at the real
world.

Hey, you need us more than we need you, so the rest of the world can kiss my
ass, you and Canada included.

--
Regards,
Scott Weiser

"I love the Internet, I no longer have to depend on
friends, family and co-workers, I can annoy people WORLDWIDE!" TM

© 2005 Scott Weiser