Rick Martinez

Rick Martinez, the Puppet in Residence at the News and Observer is in rare form this morning, with an article worth examining if only for its sheer ignorance.

Last week the U.S. House of Representatives took the first step at getting at it when it voted, 232 to 187, to lift the congressional moratorium and allow states to decide whether to allow drilling off their coastlines (Jones voted with the majority). While $3-a-gallon gasoline grabbed headlines as the reason for bipartisan support, I think Jones identified the real cause. Up to 75 percent of the payments from new offshore oil and gas leases would go to the states. That could be some serious cash.