We lost the Vote.

Dear Tara,

Today the U.S. Senate voted by a razor-thin margin to take the first step towards drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as part of the Federal Budget Resolution. A bipartisan group of Senators attempted to safeguard this national treasure and the native people and wildlife that depend on it, but 51 Senators voted against an amendment to strip Arctic drilling revenues from the Budget Resolution.This obviously is a disappointment, but many hurdles remain before the budget is adopted and signed into law. The Sierra Club will continue working at every step along the way to keep this pristine wilderness from being despoiled forever.We owe our thanks and heartfelt appreciation to everyone who has helped with this fight by signing our petition, calling their Senators, and supporting the Sierra Club. We promise to keep you informed as the situation unfolds and to let you know when and how you can help in the future. We have lost this round, but the fight to save the Arctic Refuge continues. You can still make a difference by staying involved.

Thank you,
The Sierra Club

Received this from the Sierra Club today. Thanks to everyone who tried to helpby calling the number yesterday. It sucks, but it ain't over 'til it's over. If you want more info, check out sierraclub.org.
I immediately fired off an email to Texas senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who voted against the amendment to stop the possibility of drilling. According to her website, she feels this is a matter of national security. What a bunch of baloney. Our other senator (Cornyn) voted the same way. Sometimes I really hate Texas. Please forgive me. I'm just really mad. Tomorrow when I am not so mad, I will blog about the great Elvis Costello, and cool mail I got from Team Earth.