Ok...McBain has truly lost it!

Hey McSame! Nobody needs a frickin' gimmick these days... they need well paying jobs and someone with some sanity (Obama) running the frickin' country. You and your gimmicks have gotten you, a doddering old fool, lying sonofabitch into the running for president. Now that's fucked up!! Lose the gimmicks and bow outta the race, loser!

Its a gimmick, not a plan... That ought to tell you something right there...
As for the logic of it... i.e. That speculators (always known for their humanity haha) will magically rachet down the price of a gallon of crude when they are informed that we're going to dredge up from our coasts and hell, ANWR as well the two or three drops in the bucket worth of crude oil all that developing will amount to compared against the known reserves worldwide... And that this drop in the bucket won't even come online for about 20 years??? Yea, right.. And right after that, the fucking tooth fairy is gonna visit us all and pass out lotto money just for the hell of it....................Shove it McCain, I ain't buyin this line either.....JD

Psychological impacts are significant.

Politics is the art of manipulating such impacts.

It primarily affects the Consumer Confidence. Often it's based primarily on hunches and feelings, but when the Consumer Confidence is published as an index it can have significant impact on the economy.

The problem is the costs, both monetary and environmentally in opening up for new drilling may not balance out the benefits.

And even if it did work temporarily, consumers would go back to their greedy way of over-consumption.

Having a man with Alzheimer's and an anger management problem in the White House would have a pretty big impact too.

So when is the FTC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission going to investigate all the speculative trading by investment banks, hedge funds, institutional investors and other Bushies, who are superficially driving up oil prices? Just asking.

10 Jan Says: Having a man with Alzheimer’s and an anger management problem in the White House would have a pretty big impact too.

Ground zero?

All it takes is reversing an energy bill from 2000 that allowed speculators to run amok.

Who's got the testicular fortitude to do it?

Will Obama do it? Or will he cave in just like he did on FISA?

mmmm ...... $1.50 /GAL .

4 right on! Says: Hey McSame! Nobody needs a frickin’ gimmick these days… they need well paying jobs and someone with some sanity (Obama) running the frickin’ country. You and your gimmicks have gotten you, a doddering old fool, lying sonofabitch into the running for president. Now that’s fucked up!! Lose the gimmicks and bow outta the race, loser!

===============================================
No, we don't want him to bow out.

Ron @ 18:

4 right on! Says: Hey McSame! Nobody needs a frickin’ gimmick these days… they need well paying jobs and someone with some sanity (Obama) running the frickin’ country. You and your gimmicks have gotten you, a doddering old fool, lying sonofabitch into the running for president. Now that’s fucked up!! Lose the gimmicks and bow outta the race, loser!

===============================================
No, we don't want him to bow out.

Exactly, we have a few more months of this so let's give him all the time he needs to prove that anyone with even parts of a brain needs to vote for Senator Obama.

POW's are highly qualified in snuggling up to oil companies and wealthy families as the Bush's.

The Vietnamese hold classes for their POW's that when they are released they can be fruitful in society. Hanoi Hilton University is a well respected economic institute.

JudyLou @ 21:

Hey, can I make my condo payment with this sweet "psychological impact"? Guess I could try!!

Just tell your bank that some day you might make your payment and watch the psychological impact it will have on them.

Bush/Cheney don't know how bad they sound and are either...

See what happens when drilling in allowed in Alaska and off our pristine coasts and big oil screws up? Ruling just in by the Big Oil Court http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSWBT00926720080625

About 1/2 day's rake in for Exxon/Mobile. Yea, that's show em!

JimboSlice @ 15:

But ... But .... But .... My Friends but he was a POW

He also acted in several of their commercials.

Jo @ 29:

Somebody please just flush the toilet. The shit is getting deep.

It's clogged up with gimmicks. Call a plumber quick

Now all that's needed is for some scientist to devise an engine that can run on psychological impact.

Speculators are not the problem, despite what McCain, Bush, Obama, or anyone else says. The problem is increasing demand and the limited ability of suppliers to meet that demand. Check out Krugman for more on the economics or The Oil Drum for more on peak oil.

sodium @ 36:

Speculators are not the problem, despite what McCain, Bush, Obama, or anyone else says. The problem is increasing demand and the limited ability of suppliers to meet that demand. Check out Krugman for more on the economics or The Oil Drum for more on peak oil.

You are quite simply wrong. When pension funds buy up oil futures, with no intent of using the actual oil, and then sell it for more than they paid for it, it has an effect on price. I suggest you study the facts.

Furthermore, the Fed has about 50% more dollars to pass around since the beginning of the Bush administration. They had 6 Trillion (national debt) in 2000, and now have 9 Trillion. That's a 50% increase, and anyone who knows anything about economics knows that more dollars chasing the same number of goods will result in price inflation.

I would bet that organizing truckers and motorists to strike on a particular day of the week, let's say Monday's throughout the remainder of the year or until the prices drop. If everyone stopped driving and blockades of organized civil resistance were employed, then we would have some psychological impact.
But then hahahhhaaa bwahhaahaaaa hooooeeeee wtf am I thinking? People would have to care and be willing to take action as if habeas corpus or the Constitution were threatened or we were to start torturing people, or limiting your rights or ability to travel, and you know, take to the streets and do something civil, yet disobedient or ...or....aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh fu*kit! Ain't gonna happen. Shit.............................

It's this sort of thinking on McCain's part that should worry a whole lot of Republicans. You know they cringed when he said this.

McBush is showing way too many signs of the psychological impact of his detainment in N Vietnam!

Listening to or reading rebubliscum lies is a real mind-fuck. Is that a psycho-sexual impact?

Speculation IS NOT THE PROBLEM- it is a scapegoat and a ridiculous one at that. Speculators have absolutely no incentive for wanting oil high for the sake of it being high.

Blaming speculation and "the market" is ridiculous- people seem to forget about supply and demand- and I'm not even talking about oil in that regard.(Demand has not gone up enough to warrant the current price of oil)

The supply of US dollars is way too high thanks to the Federal Reserve- a super-regulatory institution that regulates the money supply- and is therefore the most powerful interference in the economy and the market. The Federal Reserve has put out so many dollars(to pay for all our domestic and foreign programs[wars]) that it has caused inflation due to a weak dollar. This is the true reason for oil's dramatic rise in price.

Why ignore the fact that when oil is measured in terms of Gold, which is a stable currency, that its price has remained relatively stable? That shows you right away the impact of the US dollar on oil prices. Speculation, Oil companies, OPEC- they are all scapegoats and people need to stop focusing on them and focus on the true cause of our problems. Oil supply dwindling will happen eventually, but that's not the reason for the current rise in prices.

C&L has smart people but for some reason never focus on the Federal Reserve institution. They did infact create the housing bubble(and VERY predictably, bubbles burst when they are artificial), but keeping low interest rates to stave off the recession that should've happened after the dot-com bust- but what that really did was delay the recession and make it even worse. The government causes problems then arrests and blames every person on earth except them. As Peter Schiff put it- if a teacher gives a bunch of 5 year olds pixie sticks and then leaves the classroom for a halfhour, should we blame the kids for creating havoc? The Fed creates and gives out all this easy money to their friends at wallstreet- so of course malinvestment and collapses are going to happen. Too bad they also bail their wallstreet friends out at our expense.

46 Saint Augustine Says: Listening to or reading rebubliscum lies is a real mind-fuck. Is that a psycho-sexual impact?
__________________________________________________________________

I often consider philosphy to be a form of intellectual onanism.

Sure it feels good, but what exactly is it good for?

Does it put beans in our pots or methane in our sphincters?

Here we go again! Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R GA, is on CSpan 2 re FISA. He is playing the scare card. Quote: We may not have an attack any time soon but need to be prepared.
This isn't word for word but basically what he is saying. He also keeps inciting 9/11. He is reading his script; probably prepared by some aide. Chambliss probably hasn't even read the bill. I don't believe one single word coming out of the repugs mouths. They keep repeating and repeating that we should be scared, very scared. They are right we should be but not of terrorists, we should be afraid of the repugs.

Theguy @ 48:

Speculation IS NOT THE PROBLEM- it is a scapegoat and a ridiculous one at that. Speculators have absolutely no incentive for wanting oil high for the sake of it being high.

Blaming speculation and "the market" is ridiculous- people seem to forget about supply and demand- and I'm not even talking about oil in that regard.(Demand has not gone up enough to warrant the current price of oil)

Economic goods times for the US over the last few decades have always coincided with oil supply growth.

Since 2001, we had supply dips and pitifully low growth rates.

If supply is growing at zero 0% and demand grows at 2%, then the price will rise until demand growth is at 0%.

It doesn't matter how fast demand growth is, if it is not matched by supply growth. So long as the two are out of sync, the price will change and keep changing until. they are in sync again.

♠Bangkok Bob♥ @ 51:

“I don’t see an immediate relief,. But I do see that exploitation of existing reserves that may exist, and in the view of many experts that do exist off our coasts"

Who are these "experts", and where do they come from john. I notice he never states any names when he says these type of things. Kind of like the typical GOP bloggers, no links..

I think most everything McCain says, that is not written into a speech, are just desperate ideas he grasps out of nowhere.

53 Robt Says: Have you heard of any shortages? Saudi Arabia had finally announced it will pump more oil. Bush hasn’t kissed up to Chavez and begged him to pump more.?

Not without more KY Jelly.

" 49 pissed off patricia Says: Someone said today that independents were trending toward McCain. Why? If they are smart enough to be independents, why would they even consider voting for McCain? "

It is sales and promotion. Make them believe people are going to McCain and others will follow.
its called hearding..........................

ysbaddaden @ 58:

53 Robt Says: Have you heard of any shortages? Saudi Arabia had finally announced it will pump more oil. Bush hasn’t kissed up to Chavez and begged him to pump more.?

Not without more KY Jelly.

Saudi Arabia promised twice in 2001 to increase production, then they went into decline and a serious crisis that was temporarily solved with $billions in infrastructure upgrades.

Sometimes they tell lies. We won't be able to fact check them for a few years.

In the mean time, their promised increases do not bring world oil production back to the needed 2-3% growth level.

SilentPatriot:

This may be off topic by now, but can you give some insight as to why you feel the "fair market" price of oil should be lower than it is? As you say "legitimate supply and demand level?"

Being on oil to that degree and still is more of the issue, sort out geo-thermal and electrification of transport and agriculture, job done.

Opposed to GM et al buying up public transport and dismantling it and showing the way forward is SUV's etc .... decent public transport, hmmm must be European hence soooo evil and socialist.

Oh wait then the oil companies go out of business ....... well that's not going to happen seeing as they mostly run the country.

Weaseldog @ 47:

Epinnoia @ 38:

sodium @ 36:

Speculators are not the problem, despite what McCain, Bush, Obama, or anyone else says. The problem is increasing demand and the limited ability of suppliers to meet that demand. Check out Krugman for more on the economics or The Oil Drum for more on peak oil.

You are quite simply wrong. When pension funds buy up oil futures, with no intent of using the actual oil, and then sell it for more than they paid for it, it has an effect on price. I suggest you study the facts.

Furthermore, the Fed has about 50% more dollars to pass around since the beginning of the Bush administration. They had 6 Trillion (national debt) in 2000, and now have 9 Trillion. That's a 50% increase, and anyone who knows anything about economics knows that more dollars chasing the same number of goods will result in price inflation.

I think you're wrong in believing that only one factor is at play here.

Speculation wouldn't work to drive prices so high if we had a supply glut.

All of these factors reinforce each other to drive prices higher.

The only single factor that can be changed to bring the price down, would be to dramatically reduce demand. And that would really hurt us.

We will bitch and argue over our pet reasons why the price keeps rising, and our politicians will continue to use these varied reasons to divide us. And prices will continue to rise until demand destruction begins snowballing.

Get ready.

Did I suggest only one? I gave two -- speculation, and dollar devaluation -- and there are many more. Our military equipment, which is generally rated in gallons per mile, instead of miles per gallon, is also a cause.

However, I do believe the testimony from the witnesses before the committee recently. The price would be about 50% less were it not for speculation.

How Senator John McCain brought the horse-and-buggy back, renounced militarism and became President: a fanciful tale:

A few days after Senator John McCain's proposal for a three-hundred million dollar prize or bounty for a super auto battery was generally derided in the media and on the internet, he made a new proposal. He offered a three hundred dollar cash prize to anyone who could produce a low-cost and environmentally-green form of personal transportation.

Several hours after he made this offer public, he claimed his prize himself. He decided that a hay-fed and oats-fed horse pulling a light-weight buggy would fill the bill perfectly. He called it the McCain Horse-and-buggy transportation system. At first, folks were skeptical, but after being hammered with gas costing upwards of four dollars a gallon, they were ready for some real change. Change they could believe in. Horse-and-buggies they could believe in. Back to the good old horse-and-buggy days? No, forward to the new improved groovy environmentally-green horse-and-buggy days.

Folks across this great land decided that it was finally time to give up on their SUVs, and other vehicles powered by gasoline, diesel fuel or other oil derivatives. They began to lay out horse pastures, build barns, and storage areas for horses, buggies, sleighs, winter hay and other related things used back in the mid-19th century for ground transportation. Hay lofts came into vogue again. Farmers in the Midwest gave up growing corn for ethanol production and switched to growing oats for horses. People would say, "And that ain't hay" and "Get a horse" in their conversations with their neighbors.

Senator John McCain was riding high on his new found popularity. He realized that if America returned to the ground transportation used in the mid-19th century, that there would be little need for a large imperial U. S. army and navy to steal and secure oil resources abroad. So he renounced militarism, turned his back on his family's three generations of service in the navy and looked to his 19th century farmer-ancestors for inspiration. McCain became vastly more popular with his renunciation of militarism.

Kids were demanding cooked rolled oats as their breakfast cereal to be solidarity with horses. America started a long transformation from a car and truck-based economy to a traditional 19th economy based on horse-drawn vehicles and the reliable iron horse (trains). Our dependence on foreign oil and even domestic oil rapidly declined. As we withdrew our overseas military forces from around the world, terrorist attacks rapidly declined. Senator McCain surpassed the charismatic Barack Obama in popularity and became President. Then Barack knew exactly how Hillary felt when she was passed by him back in the Democratic primary elections in early 2008.

Epinnoia @ 68:

Weaseldog @ 47:

Epinnoia @ 38:

sodium @ 36:

You are quite simply wrong. When pension funds buy up oil futures, with no intent of using the actual oil, and then sell it for more than they paid for it, it has an effect on price. I suggest you study the facts.

Furthermore, the Fed has about 50% more dollars to pass around since the beginning of the Bush administration. They had 6 Trillion (national debt) in 2000, and now have 9 Trillion. That's a 50% increase, and anyone who knows anything about economics knows that more dollars chasing the same number of goods will result in price inflation.

I think you're wrong in believing that only one factor is at play here.

Speculation wouldn't work to drive prices so high if we had a supply glut.

All of these factors reinforce each other to drive prices higher.

The only single factor that can be changed to bring the price down, would be to dramatically reduce demand. And that would really hurt us.

We will bitch and argue over our pet reasons why the price keeps rising, and our politicians will continue to use these varied reasons to divide us. And prices will continue to rise until demand destruction begins snowballing.

Get ready.

Did I suggest only one? I gave two -- speculation, and dollar devaluation -- and there are many more. Our military equipment, which is generally rated in gallons per mile, instead of miles per gallon, is also a cause.

However, I do believe the testimony from the witnesses before the committee recently. The price would be about 50% less were it not for speculation.

We would be running out of gas if we had a supply problem. The gas stations are always full of gas.

Another reason why "big government" regulation of "greed gone wild" shysters is sometimes necessary.
"I'm from unregulated big business and I'm here to screw you"
(with no apologies to President Reagan)

Wow. This perfect.
I just bought a car that runs on psychology!

A difference?

McCain goes to big oil executives and gives a speech to increase more oil drilling land. McChange?

Obama goes to Detroit and gives a speech on building economy autos and future energies and new technology to fuse together. Cognizance change?

If anyone doesn't believe the speculation of oil (energy) futures is in part cause to rising prices.

Understand, every time Bush and his Adm minions decry war with Iran. It makes the speculators nervous and justified to up the price on anticipating such a war would reduce an enormous amount of oil on the market that Iran exports.

All those that rely on Iran for oil will go where to replace their supply if Iran is brought off line of its oil exporting?

Cspan 2 Orrin Hatch R-Utah is a repub ass. His voice keeps getting shriller and shriller. Doesn't he know that the Democrats are planning on caving once again and giving Bush everything he asks for? Probably would be willing to give Bush more than he ever dreamed of getting. Pelosi is drawing up the deal as we speak.

If you want to understand the energy debate you might want to look at some of these editorials written by Matt Simmons, author of Twilight in the Dessert and this television show shot with Energy Minister of the UK.

http://www.worldenergysource.com/newasf/wetv.cfm?vfile=wetv_energycrisis
http://www.worldenergysource.com/newasf/wetv.cfm?vfile=EnergyDiscussion
http://www.worldenergysource.com/hottopics/simmons/

Great....... any one on her able to make their car run on psychological” relief" ????

71 pissed off patricia

Oh bless your heart. Please take care of yourself and keep cool. I would be very sad if I didn’t see your funny remarks on these threads.
_______________________________________________________

Yeesh...maybe I exaggerated a mite.

But then I have to keep my thermostat at home at a higher temperature than I prefer, because of electric bills, and where I work, I think they turn the air off over the weekends for the same reason.

ysbaddaden @ 88:

71 pissed off patricia

Oh bless your heart. Please take care of yourself and keep cool. I would be very sad if I didn’t see your funny remarks on these threads.
_______________________________________________________

Yeesh...maybe I exaggerated a mite.

But then I have to keep my thermostat at home at a higher temperature than I prefer, because of electric bills, and where I work, I think they turn the air off over the weekends for the same reason.

Maybe get a fan to help the ac out a bit. Fans are less expensive to run than the ac. Plus fans are inexpensive to purchase too.

Hatch just said "being president is a hard job." Where have I heard that before. He said Bush has been deliberately maligned and he (Hatch) is just sick of it. Why in hell does he think Bush's rating is so low? Hatch better check his own rating. What a hack. He is making me sicker by the minute. Utah must be proud. Best turn off the TV now.

Know this thread isn't about FISA but if anyone is watching this circus on Cspan 2 you will see what I mean. This is very important and haven't seen a thread about it.

How about this one folks, the US Supreme Court limited damages from the Exxon Valdez... again.

Because a 5 billion settlement was too much, so it was slashed to 2.5 billion. Then that was too much, because after all, why should Exxon be liable for an Exxon mistake costing hundreds of millions in economic and environmental damage to the area? As a side note, on average in 2007, it took Exxon less than 2 days to make $2.5 billion dollars while screwing us all. The final total? 500 million and change.

"Exxon has fought vigorously to reduce or erase the punitive damages verdict by a jury in Alaska for the accident that dumped 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound. The environmental disaster led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of seabirds and marine animals.

Nearly 33,000 plaintiffs are in line to share in the award, an average of about $15,000 a person. They would have collected an average of $75,000 each under the $2.5 billion judgment."

Carlin had it right about them all being long since bought and paid for (The USSC). Stick another nail in the coffins for the little guys.

I will get my psych relief WHEN OBAMA MANS THE WHITEHOUSE !!!!!

The battery idea actually has certain merit.....
............he could use this SUPERBATTERY to torture ALL the prisoners at once with a GONAD-hyperlink

Ruthless People @ 28:

See what happens when drilling in allowed in Alaska and off our pristine coasts and big oil screws up? Ruling just in by the Big Oil Court http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSWBT00926720080625

About 1/2 day's rake in for Exxon/Mobile. Yea, that's show em!

This Supreme Court is the very definition of an activist court. As soon as it was announced that they took the Exxon case, we know they were going to slash the settlement. And then of course there is the ultimate activist decision - Gore v. Bush.

The Senate is preparing to vote on FISA. Sadly, no interest here.

Why in the world do we EXPORT domestic oil??????

Does ANYBODY recall that when Bush first started his Iraq war, he had a huge support level, and we were told that the price of fuel was going up because THE TROOPS NEEDED IT...and we bought that line of crapola because we were feeling like as Patriotic Americans we ought to?
Wow, were we gulled or WHAT!!!???

only a moron or a fool would trust bush, mcbush or the GOP when it came to issues of oil.

yes, only a moron or a fool.

101 Dr. Acula Says:
"I’d like to know how much money the Exxon/Mobile fuckwads have spent in legal fees these last 19 years!"

it is probably only a gnat pube higher than the amount they paid to compromised "scientists" to take an anti-global warming stance

90 pissed off patricia

Actually the people at work were more scared of it than I was. I knew what to do, even though I've never experienced it that bad. The only problem was my thoughts and speech were a little disjointed and a little babbling.

But then you guys are used to that.

(Thanks for the concern, but I'm still not sure what to make of what happened. I almost feel like I'm playing hooky today.)

Y'all want to hear something funny?

While I was sitting here recuperating I noticed through my front door transom that my screen door was opening. I thought it might be a wind (wishful thinking).

There was a mailer attached to my screen door. It was from the US Army looking for volunteers.

Surprisingly the back of the sheet was blank and not printed in Spanish.

So now the mighty Federal Government has fallen to the level of Pizza deal ads and garage sale notices?

"Oh, look! Gas is $4.25 a gallon! That really sucks! But thank god we're drilling off the shores of our country and endangering the environment because even though that won't do a damn thing to ease gas prices, I feel an enormous psychological boost!"

This is the reasoning of the Republicans. Meaningless words and psychology, not real, beneficial action.

What ever.

~ me

Since the Supreme Court ruled in 1886 that a corporation can be treated as an individual, does that mean they get an economic stimulus check, too? What about corporations that are married and have children? :P

The rise in prices is due to a lack of supply. There is no other answer. Oil is a commodity and if there was extra, the price would come down. It's just that simple. We're using every single bit of it that comes out of the ground. The fundamental equation has changed with regard to how oil gets priced, and we all need to come to terms with it as it will only get worse.

What we need is to get off oil. ASAP.

Drilling more of it won't help. Nor will blaming the price on speculation.

My day has just been made

UPS dropped off a box of my favorite antiseptic, Dettol.

And not only that but they were packed in sheets of large plastic bubbles.

Now my entertainment tonight's all set.

Want some specific details about how exactly all this manipulative bullshit
is actually being done? No problemo. Here they are (this is the end of this
rather long article, all of which is worth your reading):

Oil Manipulations Exposed

How are prices manipulated at the NYMEX?

I don't know a good site for tracking NYMEX contract
volume from open to close but here is the flaw in the
logic that the spot market reflects actual demand.
There is currently an "open interest" on the NYMEX for
378,974 contracts, representing 1,000 barrels each,
that is the "demand" for July.

At the peak of June trading there were close to 450,000
open contracts but the NYMEX allows traders to "roll"
open contracts to longer months WITHOUT PENALTY and
by the close of the June contracts, less than 30,000
contracts (30M barrels) were actually finalized for
delivery. The other 420M barrels that were, at some
point, contracted to be delivered in June, were
"rolled" into July, August, Sept.. contracts. You can
track this nonsense HERE on a daily basis.

[Bandwidth is expensive. You may not reprint lengthy text from your own works or those of others, including news articles. You may link to them-Sitemonitor]

Epinnoia @ 121:
The only way your supply/demand curve works in a situation like that is if the supply were to be greater than the checkbooks of the speculators could buy up. And when you're talking about these very VERY large INSTITUTIONAL investors, that's simply not going to happen.

I made a mistake. The only way your supply/demand curve works in a case like this is if the supply were 20x greater than the checkbooks of the speculators -- since they are able to buy on 5% margin.

Psychological boost? So now he's supposed to be some kinda Jedi?
Public: I don't think this drilling plan is going to work.
Obi Wan McCain: Drilling off the coasts and ANWAR will lower oil prices.
Public: Drilling off the coasts and ANWAR will lower oil prices.
Obi Wan McCain: Vote for me, John McCain.
Public: Vote for me, John McCain.
Obi Wan Mccain: *sigh*

Yeah... as I'm pumping that $5/gal gas and I'm thinking about john mccains oil company campaign contributors getting filthy rich off destroying pristine wilderness I'm going to be feeling real good about mccain being able to bring that about.

wow! I can't remember the last time I was able to spend 'psychological impact' at the gast station or the goddamned supermarket.

Jo @ 29:

Somebody please just flush the toilet. The shit is getting deep.

mercy flush!
:<[)

Jo @ 39:

Thank you Epinnoia @ 38. Speculators are the problem.

like that morgan stanley guy!

ysbaddaden @ 55:
how about this: somone lied. there is no trending toward mcC*nt. they are citing a different poll every day.

ColIntel, I checked your numbers. It turns out that they were scribbled on a notepad by John McCain.

Here they are...

1. Beer $14
2. Chicken $12
3. BBQ Sauce $3
4. Gas for the Hummer $185

Epinnoia @ 121:

zugzug @ 116:

The rise in prices is due to a lack of supply. There is no other answer. Oil is a commodity and if there was extra, the price would come down. It's just that simple. We're using every single bit of it that comes out of the ground. The fundamental equation has changed with regard to how oil gets priced, and we all need to come to terms with it as it will only get worse.

What we need is to get off oil. ASAP.

Drilling more of it won't help. Nor will blaming the price on speculation.

You are wrong, and you won't help yourself be more right by simply repeating it. Yes, Oil is a commodity. But it is a commodity that is being bought up by people who have no intention whatsoever of using it, with the sole purpose of reselling it at higher prices. The only way your supply/demand curve works in a situation like that is if the supply were to be greater than the checkbooks of the speculators could buy up. And when you're talking about these very VERY large INSTITUTIONAL investors, that's simply not going to happen.

Ya know...all this stuff going on now...here in America, and abroad...for some reason...just makes me think of those stories in history books about the rich treating the working class poorly, and then suffering terrible fates because of it....been a long time since I've read world history...and someone please correct me if I'm mistaken...but there seems to be parallels here with pre-industrial revolution France and Europe...our leaders are basically telling us to eat cake...