No End To The Madness

Wow, here I go again, getting off a rant, but frankly, I couldn't believe my ears today while listening to the news. Once again (shock, shock, shock) the price of crude oil has reached an all time new high, over $75 a barrel, and this time, the blame is being put on the missile launch from Korea!

Okay, so now someone please tell me, but just how much oil do we actually get from Korea? Are we seeing the price raised because of "projected" fear of just what this tremendous shortage might come to? Are we afraid that maybe the missile might start a typhoon that will send rampaging waters across the continent and into the oil fields in the Middle East? Are the oil companies afraid that their executives might be the target of such a missile launch?(Actually, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea to me, really!)

We had the typical raising of gas prices last week because of the impending holiday weekend. After all, the news jumped all over the fact that the 4th of July is the largest travelled holiday during the entire summer in the US of A! Lots of factories and businesses shut their doors during the first couple of weeks of July each year allowing their employees time off from work and a lot of those same folks travel, so it's not any wonder at all why gasoline prices jumped nearly a quarter a gallon last week.

To boot, the really worst part of the hurricane season is yet to arrive, and of course, when it does, once again the greed of the oil companies will once again take over and cast common sense aside and gasoline will once again have the price driven further up by even more "projected fear."

I love that phrase, "projected fear." It has to be one of the most flimsy excuses for true price gouging I have ever read. And trust me, folks, that's exactly what we are being exposed to daily now, good old-fashioned price gouging, which of course, is against the law, unless of course you're in the oil industry. Then all you have to do is make the statement "projected" and add a word or words to the end, you know, like fear, higher usage, possible shortage, refinery cutbacks or maybe even profit shortfall! As long as that is stated to those who are supposed to be in charge of not allowing price gouging, all is forgotten and you and me and the rest of us working class folks are going to have to cough it up each and everytime we pay at the pumps.

Earlier this spring I bought my new scooter I told you about, and I had it in my mind about all the money I was going to save this summer by riding my scooter back and forth to work. Then my freak mowing accident happened, I broke my ankle, and the scooter has sat the past 7 weeks in the garage getting dusty and pretty much nothing more.

Next Tuesday, however, the cast is supposed to be coming off, and I double damned guarantee you I'll be back on it next Wednesday and driving it back and forth to work, getting my 75 to 8o miles to the gallon. I'm fortunate in that I only have an 8 mile drive to work. I can't imagine the people who have to drive 40 to 90 miles each day to work and what they have to be paying. I used to never let my vehicle get below a half a tank before filling it up. Now it's very rare I let it go below three quarters of a tank.

As the oil companies continue to rake in these huge, never before seen profits each quarter, the American public continues to pay more and more thru the nose, and they will continue to pay thru the nose until something is finally done. However, by the time that ever, if ever, happens, the damage will be done. Our economy is going down further and further each day, people can't afford necessary things anymore because their money is being eaten up by ridiculous gasoline prices.

My sincerest hope is that if an end is ever put to this madness, that those higher ups pay dearly for the larceny they are getting away with, and I also hope the lawmakers in this great land of ours also pay by not being re-elected to office. Unfortunately, this nation's people have a tendency of forgetting about being robbed whenever election time comes around, so it's no wonder the Amercian people are getting shafted more and more each day by the big oil fat cats.

Prediction: By Labor Day of this year I bet we see gasoline prices top the $4 a gallon mark and touch the $4.49 to $4.79 range, if not higher. Then, when gasoline drops back down to around the mid $3 range, people will be conditioned into thinking they're getting a bargain again. And if you think I'm wrong, take a look at what has happened the last three years or so...gas goes up 60 cents a gallon, drops back 40 cents, and people are thrilled that it's cheaper.

Pardon my bluntness, but BULLSHIT!

Two years ago you could buy a gallon of gas for around a buck ten a gallon.

However, that was before the world ever experienced:

PROJECTED FEAR!

Hey, oil companies and Washington fat-cat lawmakers, PROJECT THIS!