Alaska's Real Bridge With oil now $111 a barrel, Alaska's senators are trying again to persuade Congress to let their state's massive untapped resources help bring prices down. How high do these prices have to go? It'll be a long, hot summer across America with pump prices expected to hit $4 a gallon. It's no longer doom talk; it's real. "Americans are getting fed up with astronomical oil prices being imposed by unstable foreign governments," said Sen. Ted Stevens, "and the problem is getting worse every day." He and fellow Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski are sponsoring a bill to drill for new oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Within just an 8% sliver of ANWR, some 10.4 billion barrels of oil may be recoverable, enough to beef up supply and cut prices. Stevens says he's been trying for 25 years to get such a bill passed, as 75% of Alaskans want. But he's always been thwarted by environmental lobbyists and errant fellow senators — including even John McCain — who busybody Alaskan affairs to everyone's detriment. This time Alaska's two senators are trying to sweeten the deal by setting the trigger point for ANWR drilling at $125 a barrel over five days and dedicating royalties to aid alternative energy. But the straightforward story right now is that our economy needs oil. Recession looms in part because businesses are being squeezed by high energy prices. Consumer spending is falling. OPEC isn't budging on production. And prices are going through the roof....