By the late 1850's, thousands of late-arriving fortune-seekers had been doubling back from the over-mined gold fields of California-- roving through the Western territories-- all hoping to be the one to discover the next big bonanza. 

But in August, 1863, some electrifying news had arrived from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevadas - a fabulous silver bonanza! The legendary Comstock Lode-- the greatest single mineral strike in world history.

During the next year, 17,000 adventurers from all corners of America swarmed into the Washoe region, which would soon become Nevada .

The incredible bounty of silver from Comstock had a critical effect on the national economy; and seemingly overnight, Virginia City developed into a metropolis of 20,000-- the second biggest city in all the West.

This was at the height of the Civil War; and so eager was President Lincoln to bolster the Union with another free state, the Washoe territory became Nevada in October 1864-- just weeks after Sherman's march through Atlanta.

From its mineral riches, Nevada contributed $45 million to the federal government until the war's completion; and with the gold from California, the combined wealth proved to be a critical factor in the defeat of the Confederacy.

In 1869, a railroad would link up Virginia City with the nation's first transcontinental railway-- all completed within that same year.

During this period, mining technology would come to the forefront. Picks, pans and shovels in stream beds gradually gave way to steam power; and hydraulic-powered, high-pressure hoses could quickly wash away an entire hillside.

But differently from California, Nevada 's treasure lay deep within the ground, and its geography required the development of new technologies, such as “T-square mining”, which was used to reach two miles underground before all the precious minerals had finally run out.

Mining the Comstock Lode required costly equipment for sinking deep shafts into the earth. It would challenge the era's best minds. Engineers from Europe arrived, bringing new ideas and inventions to the old practices of mining.

But despite the progress, mining Nevada's great silver lode was perhaps the most dangerous occupation on earth. 

Working in the teeming, humid underground tunnels was akin to hell on earth. Between 1864-1873, hundreds of miners were killed, maimed, or seriously injured. There were periods when a man was killed every other day. Silver miners were injured by falling into shafts, or critically scalded by sumps of hot water.

Working 2,000 feet underground, the heat increased 5 degrees Fahrenheit for every additional hundred feet gone lower. At 3,000 feet, wooden pick handles became so hot that miners required gloves. Heat exhaustion, pneumonia, the bends, and various other pulmonary diseases often limited workers to careers spanning only months. 

But overall, Comstock was the dominating financial event of the 19th century. From 1859 until 1882, the official amount taken out of the Lode was $305,779,612. equal to approx 3.5 trillion in today's money.

But what has gone largely unnoticed is the politics of that day-- or more importantly, the lack thereof. Between 1865 to 1900 was a period of undistinguished presidents; and a time when politicians have been basically forgotten in American history.

But perhaps we should honor these unknowns as heroes now; they may have been some of the shrewdest, most important politicians of all time, because they stayed OUT OF THE WAY. 

Indeed, it was the laissez faire attitude of those days that had enabled America to 'leapfrog' England, and become the world's richest nation by 1900.

But what if the radical liberals in today's Congress had been dominate in Washington back then (1850-1870)?

What if there had been an environmental lobby to protect the Western forests? What if there had been mining safety laws to..."prohibit the devastation of our treasured western lands." What effect would that have had on our history?

And what would have become of the California gold rush if Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) had been the Speaker of the House?  There would have been no gold rush!

Pelosi would have pushed through a bill to...."stop the mining of the streams" because..."it might harm the Sierra dove-tailed mountain blowfish," or some other hapless creature that might have stood misfortune.

And what would have been the fate of the Nevada Comstock Lode if Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had been under siege from environmental groups? He would have shut down all legal claims in the territory because..."mining was inherently dangerous...and too many lives would be lost working in such dark and dangerous conditions."

There would have been no Comstock Lode silver bonanza!  Radical environmental groups would have urged Reid to ..."stop the destruction of our Western woodlands" and ..."eliminate the toxic threat to the water table by run-offs from underground tunnels."

Indeed, the fate of our country would have been ENTIRELY different; the South would probably have won the Civil War.

And besides no California gold rush, or Comstock silver strike, would there have been a transcontinental railroad? Of course not! Because..."too many valuable trees would be sacrificed for the thousands of railroad ties." 

And for the rails? "All the iron and steel made in the eastern regions would contribute to the fouling of the air, and the warming of the planet."

Doesn't it all sound ridiculous?

And today, is the political climate in Washington DC any less ridiculous? How much worse has the quality of life become in America (in only the last decade) now that the radical environmentalists have seized control --how's that been going for America?

Schumer; Boxer; Durbin; Frank; Dodd; Markey; Hoyer; Waxman; Baucus—what they (and the other leftists) are doing basically amounts to the economic blackmailing of America; and by keeping them in power, we enable these knaves to stifle America’s modern day Comstock Lode buried deep underground- our domestic oil!

Haven't these odious leftists damaged the wealth of America enough? Look at the economic destruction they have already wrought upon our country:

Nancy Pelosi has blocked all Republican drilling bills from reaching the House floor for a vote. We have 4 trillion dollars worth of oil sitting in the ground around us. FOUR TRILLION DOLLARS! Sitting wasted! For what? The Sierra Club? Greenpeace? Earth First?

We could rebuild this country's infrastructure. We could invest in alternative energy vehicles, or energy expansion in Alaska, or in the Gulf of Mexico; or to encourage new  R&D for high technology and pharmaceutical advancements; for grants toward hundreds of new entrepreneurial ideas, which would spawn a bounty of new small businesses-- creating a plethora of innovations-- and a bounty of new jobs that would accompany it all. 

The list is endless.

But Earth First; Green Peace; the Sierra Club-- do they drive gasoline cars? Don't they fly on fossil fuel-powered airplanes? What contribution do they make to society other than the millions in secret campaign contributions to these liberal traitors? Could the Congressional left survive politically without the covert co-operation of these "agencies?"

And where is the sacrifice from them that they require of us? Where are their contributions to the environment; where is their concern for global warming? Do they not drive around Washington in chauffeured limousines? Do they not fly around the globe in chartered jets?

And worse--why does the media ignore their arrogant hypocrisy?

Is radical Islam America 's number one enemy...or these radicals in Congress?  If they had existed 150 years ago, would there even be a United Sates? And if they continue to promulgate these traitorous environmental policies-- by the next generation-- will there be anything left of our country's economy? Like the ancient Roman empire, and early 20th century England-- are we about to become the next great nation to decline and fall?  

In 1995, Bill Clinton—under pressure from the environmental lobby-- blocked oil exploration in ANWAR; and there was no "squawk" because oil was at $12 barrel. But since then, the price of oil has increased seven-fold, and the price of American gasoline has more than tripled. And in these last 14 years, how much of America’s wealth has unnecessarily been passed along to OPEC? 

Since 1995, the rate of discoveries of oil fields in the U.S. has greatly decreased; and it seems unlikely that any new large fields of oil and gas will ever be found again--unless these radicals are defeated!

The U.S. trade deficit on net petroleum imports was $48 billion in 1995, which was about 30% of the total trade deficit (and 7% of total imports). And last year, when the United States broke its 20-year record for oil-import dependence, few voices (republican or democrat) were heard decrying these outrageous (and unnecessary) levels.

If we were to go into energy expansion mode, the DOE estimates that 828,400 jobs in the U.S. economy would result by the resumption of offshore drilling-- and a gain of $13.4 billion in tax revenues/royalty payments would flow to state and federal treasuries; money that could be used to bailout bankrupt states (California-New Jersey-Michigan). 

High oil prices are at the root of high gasoline prices. As the world's demand for oil keeps growing, oil prices will invariably keep rising, and that increase has been reflected at American gasoline pumps-- and continues ruining the quality of life in our nation.

Since 1995, estimates of the costs to the U.S. economy--due to dependence on foreign oil imports-- are in the vicinity of $17 trillion, about as large as the sum total of payments on the national debt.

This is an incredible wealth transfer abroad; and money that will never return

If Congress passed legislation allowing oil production in ANWAR, America could produce an estimated 10 billion barrels of oil. That is roughly the equivalent of two decades of imported oil from Saudi Arabia .

Yet Congress will have none of it; and Saudi Arabia (plus our other sworn enemies) will continue to literally bleed us dry of our precious wealth, while Schumer, Pelosi, Reid, Waxman, Leahy, et al. will continue to live the life of the rich and famous, as they hide behind their environmental shields-- wielding their swords of economic fascism-- and continue to slash our economy to pieces.