U.S. Senate Mark Warner will be on hand for a pair of events in Downtown Waynesboro on Saturday.

Warner will be the featured speaker at the opening of the Waynesboro Democratic Committee 2008 campaign headquarters in Willow Oak Plaza at 801 W. Broad St. at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The headquarters will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Sixth District Democratic Party nominee Sam Rasoul will be at the headquarters at 12 noon and will address the grand-opening ceremony at 12:30 p.m.

The attention shifts to the West Main Street corridor at 2 p.m. with a walking tour featuring Warner in the 300, 400 and 500 blocks of West Main that will conclude at 2:30 p.m. with a reception at the Waynesboro Heritage Museum.

Warner will be in Staunton later Saturday for the Paint the Valley Blue fundraiser sponsored by the Democratic Party committees in Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta County.

I am 51 years old, and I’ve got hope in the energy policy of Barack Obama. We Americans need to support Sen. Obama’s candidacy for president because Barack Obama has the vision, the courage and the will to lead the American people to a new dawn of energy consumption.

Sen. Obama will fund, support and provide the leadership for a new energy policy whose primary purpose will be to replace oil as the largest source of energy we consume. Sen. Obama is committed to creating a new energy industry that will manufacture, market and sell our new technologies for energy consumption to the world which can make the U.S. a leader in the world energy markets. In the short term, he will direct our domestic oil companies to share their record profits with the American people with an Emergency Energy Rebate; this will immediately ease the short term burden of high gas and heating fuels for those that need assistance.

Not only do I have hope for a bright energy future for the U.S. with Barack Obama as our president, but so do my 18-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter. And if the youth of America don’t have hope, we have a rough road ahead indeed.

Vote for a bright energy future, … vote Barack Obama!

Bob Pingry resides in Fishersville.

Column by Sam Rasoul

Two weeks ago, I addressed the reasons behind the astronomical prices for gasoline. These serious increases hurt not only individuals and families, but also weaken our already vulnerable economy. The price of oil has decreased somewhat since then, but the cost of both gasoline and fuel oil threatens to destroy local, state and national budgets.

Because of the high prices, Americans drove less, therefore cutting back on demand and perhaps contributing to the slight and temporary decrease in cost, but because many of us live far from our jobs and our markets, we are limited on the amount of reduction. Additionally, we depend heavily on trucks for transporting goods - again, we can cut back on the miles only so far.

Above all else, we have to look beyond the short term and ensure our energy needs do not place us in jeopardy in the future. We have to prepare for tomorrow today. As I said in an article I wrote in late February, “Energy Solution: Made in the USA,” we require a national mobilization to address this great nation’s energy needs. The movement, based on President Kennedy’s Apollo Project, has begun already.

First, we must quit subsidizing the oil industry, which is not a sustainable solution, and move those funds to sustainable alternatives. We must provide both subsidies and tax breaks for research and development of renewable energies and also provide incentives for manufacturers and consumers.

To reduce consumption of oil, Congress must raise the fuel economy standards, currently around 24 mpg, to a minimum of 40 mpg by 2015 with incremental improvements each year. Congress should show leadership by reallocating the $18 billion that now goes to the oil industry as a subsidy to research and development and production credits geared toward raising the fuel economy standards.

Some of that $18 billion must go into the research and infrastructure we will need to make plug-in hybrids a reality. The idea of electricity to power transportation is not science fiction. In fact, early transportation in the late 1800s, primarily streetcars, depended solely on electricity; transportation was electricity’s biggest customer and many early car dealers sold only electric cars. We can make plug-in hybrids capable of traveling long distances available in a few years. While we are moving to an oil-free transportation system, we must invest in wind and solar technologies to generate the electricity we will need and make those energies economically viable.

Many towns across the country have lost their public transportation or have an insufficient system, additionally our railroad system still has not been brought into the 21st century. We should ensure that metropolitan areas have adequate mass transportation. We must rebuild freight and passenger rail systems in the United States and expand subway systems, allowing our economy to expand for decades to come.

There is no silver bullet answer to our energy crisis; as a matter of national security, we must keep all alternatives in the picture and weigh each of them environmentally and economically. There are two main ingredients, however, in the movement to energy independence and oil-free transportation: an open mind and political will.

Sam Rasoul is the Sixth District Democratic Party congressional nominee.

Item by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net

The Barack Obama presidential campaign will open a Staunton headquarters on Saturday.

The headquarters will be located at 100 S. New St. in Downtown Staunton. The location will open to the public at 10 a.m. Saturday with an open house running through 2 p.m.

The public is invited to attend the event.

The headquarters will serve as the base of operations for Democrats in the Staunton-Augusta area for phone banking and the distribution of materials from the Obama, Mark Warner for Senate and Sam Rasoul for Congress campaigns.

Column by Sam Rasoul

Those big signs at gas stations along every major road in the Sixth District shout our dilemma. We can’t afford to drive the vehicles we own. In a few short months, gas prices have destroyed the family budget and now threaten our entire economic health.

Over the past few weeks in parades, at fairs, and on doorsteps, I have heard the same concern: the price of gas. We are in a crisis, and families need help today.

What happened? And will things get better or worse? First, let’s talk about why the price escalated.

Not everyone agrees on why the prices rose as quickly and as high as they did. I’ll take you through the conventional explanation, which offers no quick solution. Then, I’ll end with a possible dilemma we can fix with the appropriate legislation and effective energy policy.

One reason for increases in price is simple supply and demand. However, supply and demand didn’t hit the wall overnight. There’s no doubt demand has escalated. Americans use 25 percent of the oil produced worldwide, and developing countries, especially China and India, are trying to catch up to our pace. Right now the world demands 87 million barrels a day, while oil production lags behind at 85 million barrels a day. OPEC, with two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves, could produce more, but has no incentive to do so while reaping such healthy profits.

The Iraq War has contributed to the crisis also. Oil production was interrupted and has not climbed back to prewar levels. Though the shortfall is only about a quarter-million barrels a day, it’s easy to see how that shortfall fits the supply-and-demand picture. To make matters worse, our military operations in Iraq use great quantities of oil, costing us money for which we gain no useful economic output. In fact, our military operations protecting the shipping lanes and oil refineries and other needs of the foreign oil industry we depend on adds more to the demand, pushing prices higher.

Couple those problems with the weak dollar. Our addiction to oil and weak domestic production force us to spend $33 million per hour on foreign oil. We import nearly 70 percent of the oil we consume, sending the money to places where it has no chance of entering our economy. When we send more dollars out of the U.S., we weaken the dollar and gas prices go up again. Then we must send even more money out - a cycle that hits us weekly at the gas pump and the grocery store and every other sector of our economy.

OK, all that makes sense, but doesn’t answer why prices rose so fast. In 2000, at the request of Enron and other energy companies, Congress exempted energy markets from government regulation. A 2006 Senate report warned speculation uninhibited by regulation would send prices sky-high, but our representatives paid no attention. With no oversight, energy traders have gone wild with market manipulation and excessive speculation. Investors looking for good returns and a hedge against the falling dollar have found an unregulated energy market provides them the perfect opportunity. Their opportunity may account for as much of 60 percent of today’s oil prices, according to several analysts.

I’ll address possible solutions to these problems in my next article. If speculation is indeed the main driver of high prices, we can provide some short-term relief, perhaps, but the supply and demand issues necessitate a long-term commitment for an energy revolution in our country. In 1999, we could get gas for 90 cents a gallon; those days are past. We must create a secure supply of energy that is pro-national security, pro-environment, and pro-growth. The responsibility rests with all of us.

Item by Chris Graham

He didn’t bring money this time. “Whenever you’re governor and you bring money, they greet you with open arms,” said Mark Warner, making his first Senate campaign visit to Staunton on Thursday, July 17, and his first formal visit to the Queen City since his term as governor from 2002-2006.

Warner didn’t bring money, but he did bring out the people - an estimated 200 people lined the streets of Downtown Staunton for his 3:30 p.m. visit, which included stops at the Staunton Performing Arts Center, the American Shakespeare Center and the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library.

Go to www.augustafreepress.com for full coverage of Warner’s visit and an interview with AFP editor and Waynesboro Democratic Committee chair Chris Graham.

Item by Bob Dickerman

Former Virginia Governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Mark Warner today announced that he will visit downtown Staunton, Virginia, on Thursday, July 17, at 3 p.m. to highlight how private and public economic development investment in arts, culture, and historic preservation has revitalized the downtown. During the visit, he will walk through downtown Staunton to see and hear updates about several downtown sites.

Gov. Warner’s visit will start at the Dixie Theater at 125 E. Beverley St., where he will be greeted by representatives of several nonprofit organizations and a musical group, the Beverley Street Buskers. While there, he will receive an update on the plans to turn the Dixie into the Staunton Performing Arts Center. He will also give a statement about his visit.

Gov. Warner will then visit the R.R. Smith Center for History and Arts at 20 S. New St., the Stonewall Jackson Hotel and Conference Center at 24 S. Market St., and the American Shakespeare Center at 10 S. Market St., before riding to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library at 20 N. Coalter St. in President Wilson’s 1919 Pierce-Arrow limousine.

After a brief visit at the Presidential Library, he will be available for questions.

Item by Tom Long

We need your help at the Augusta County Fair, Aug. 5-9.

Our booth will be open from 5-9 p.m. each night and from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday. Please commit for a two-hour slot.

To volunteer, contact me at twlong@northriver.coop.

Item by Chris Graham

Former governor and 2008 U.S. Senate candidate Mark Warner will make a campaign stop in Staunton next week.

Warner, the Democratic nominee, will be at the Dixie Theater in Downtown Staunton on Thursday, July 17, at 3 p.m.

Local Democrats and Warner supporters are invited to attend.

Item by Chris Graham
waynesborodemocrats@gmail.com

A local Young Democrats group will be hosting a meet and greet for Sixth District Democratic Party congressional nominee Sam Rasoul on Tuesday, July 22, from 6-7:30 p.m. at 250 Central Cafe just outside of Waynesboro.

The event is being sponsored by Young Democrats of Augusta County.

Those who wish to attend are asked to RSVP to Riley Murray at sawvayd@gmail.com.