New Year...New Rants

First of all I know that I do not blog everyday...so when I do blog you all should be grateful.
Secondly I do not plan to blog everyday this New Year; I do plan to only blog about things that are really frustrating...so with that said lets look at a new one:

New Frustration is, "Oil hits $100 dollars a gallon the same day that the Iowa voters come out and support a Democrat...coincidence I THINK NOT!"

Yes I know this sounds like a conspiracy theory, but lets just look at some of the lose facts that I misread or made up.

For the past eight years the current administration has undoubtedly fucked up just about everything that made this country great. No I am not anti-American but I am anti-stupid! We are now in the nation's biggest deficit we have ever seen, we have nearly zero foreign political clout in the world, and the Euro is 1.50 to our 1 dollar. So with the country slowly slipping into manic depression and owing more debt than a graduate level art major we now have gas prices raising higher and higher everyday.

Now the experts will tell you that supply and demand is a huge factor in our gas prices. Meaning America uses more gas in a day that can be produced in the same 24 hours. Which is sadly true, we are addicted to gas as much as a lonely house wife is to Opera. However, did anyone else notice that in the past eight years our administration has allowed gas prices to rise? I know we went to war over oil, but hell you would think we would see some sort of benefit by now...dontcha? Also has anyone else noticed that the president's cabinet (as well as old chuckles himself) all have stock, positions, or money in oil. Hum...a mystery as to why gas prices would rising.

I say the current administration has been willfully and knowingly manipulating gas and oil production and reserves to solely benefit their pocket books...possibly since most of them thought they would be impeached by now any way and needed some soft cash to cushion their fall from grace. This gets me to my current frustration, now that there is light at the end of the tunnel and 43% of the Iowa voters chose a Democrat I find it highly suspicious that gas prices would be rising the same day. The voters demonstrate that it is time for a change, and the fat cats are hurrying themselves to make as much money as possible before the preverbal "good times" run out. Oh and it is only at the expense of well EVERYONE!

I personally laugh at our current condition since all it took was a nation of apathy and complacency for this to come about, and now those same people are looking for some poor guy to come in and try to fix the hemorrhaging that is our current United States. I am sure that the poor sap that gets the job will certainly be able to live up to all the promises he/she made on the campaign trail. Please not the sarcasm, I mean this person will only have to look forward right? Or will he/she have to put humpty dumpty together again with only lose instructions and oven mits on their hands. Think about it...it’s really hard to do anything with oven mits on...except take things out of the oven...take the metaphor for what it is you judging bastards.

-pf-

GAS!!

Hello Everyone,
To begin I would like to address a favorite

I hear this one everyday, "Gas prices are too high, we should do something!"

Well your right we should do something, but as it turns out we (as in society) are not doing anything. You can go to site after site on the Internet and see how the prices are at an all time high, how the government is addressing price gouging, and/or how the consumer is truly being effected by the high prices. What you will not find is how we are taking responsibility for the prices nor how we are fighting it.

Seriously people, the oil manufacturer's made record breaking profits last year, and will undoubtedly do the same this year on the bases of a simple plan, "They need gas and we have it." I have to travel to and from work everyday; do you? I have to travel distances for meetings, family, and recreation; do you? We need gas period. So the powers that be did what everyone in business does, they followed the concept of supply and demand. Now the interesting part is that they are also in control of the supply and thus can effect the demand. They even tested the waters last summer by allowing gas prices to hang in the $2.20 to $2.50 range. Ya know what they found out? WE WILL PAY!! Yup we will pay whatever the prices are, no matter the price. That is one of the main reasons you will see gas prices raise this summer. They know that Americans are willing to complain about prices for gas, but will fill up their massive family movers every time.

Knowing this I being to pose a very important question. Since we have demonstrated that we are willing to pay any price, as well as continue to drive gas guzzling vehicles, and have yet to curb our travel; I being to ponder "Why would the oil industry bring the price back down?" Think about it as a businessman/woman. Why would you go back to only making 10 to 20 billion dollars a year, when you can make the current 125 billion dollars (look it up) . I wouldn't and you all know you wouldn't so what make us think the gas prices are going to change. This is the reason I get frustrated when family and friends begin to talk about gas prices. They hate the fact that they have to pay so much, and then they go and fill up their huge Suburbans or Expeditions. I feel for them since I know it takes over a $100 dollars to fill them up and usually this is weekly. No they do not have the means to pay so much, and most of the people I know are not of means either. However, their lack of funding still does not deter them from changing their (or mine) gas use. And thus allows for larger revenue for the oil industry.

I remember a couple of weeks ago I received a email asking me not to buy gas on a giving day. I thought that was an interesting approach. However, I was on a business trip that day and remember sitting in my hotel as the email came flashing up on CNN, and they showed how everyone was still buying gas that day. I am sure those who did not purchase gas on that given day either bought gas the day before or after. My point is that we are all aware of the tiger in our living room, but instead of getting ride of the tiger we feed it so it doesn't consume us, and then complain about having to feed the tiger.

There are smarter men and women out there that can probably tell you how to fight this issue or how to live with it better than I. What I ask of you is when you complain about gas prices, or wonder why the prices are too high, or wonder why no one is doing anything; you take a deep breath and look in the mirror. There is the problem as well as the solution.