Drilling the poor and elderly... and ANWR

House Republicans, fearful that straight up ANWR drilling would fail once again, instead tucked the provision in a defense bill that provided money for tropps in Afghanistan and Iraq, a bill next to impossible for anyone seeking re-election would be prone to vote against.

So ANWR drilling will begin soon, meaning the country will enjoy about a year's worth of oil from the destruction of one of the last untouched wildlife refuges in the country. Nice work fellows. It's quite the Christmas gift for the oil companies.

Charlie Rangel sums up the budget cuts themselves:

"I don't know what the poor, the elderly, the disabled or our foster children have done to Republicans to deserve this. And I don't know why the Republicans would wait until the pre-dawn hours of the morning, just a few days before Christmas, to show just how mean-spirited they can be, but they've given us a clear view of Republican economics at work," fumed Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.).