Surfing the news after I blogged, I found:
House Drops Arctic Drilling From Bill
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer 7 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – House leaders late Wednesday abandoned an attempt to push through a hotly contested plan to open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil drilling, fearing it would jeopardize approval of a sweeping budget bill Thursday.
Yes! Thank God!
Last week, the Senate included ANWR drilling in its version of the budget, so the matter will have to be thrashed out in negotiations between the Senate and House if the budget is approved by the House.
Though it’s not over yet, it’s a step in the right direction!
Twenty-five Republicans, led by Rep. Charles Bass of New Hampshire, signed a letter asking GOP leaders to strike the Alaskan drilling provision from the broader $54 billion budget cut bill.
“Rather then reversing decades of protection for this publicly held land, focusing greater attention on renewable energy sources, alternate fuels, and more efficient systems and appliances would yield more net energy savings than could come from ANWR and would have a higher benefit on the nation’s long-term economic leadership and security,” they said.
Excuse me while I go look up the names of some more elected Republicans I can respect. It’s a good thing, too, because Senator McCain was getting lonely, I think.
Please contact your elected leaders. In the left gutter is a link to a website that will connect you to them.  (It’s labeled Gripe, that’s an in-joke, go read Christopher Stasheff if you like. After you contact your congressman. Democracy depends on the voice of the people being heard, people.)