douglaschick10's Blog

Sounds like sour grapes. We have met the enemy, and he is us.

Adapt or die is a good general rule when times get tough.

Lets hope the oil companies protect you two, like you protect them.

Hello Bloggers

elkahna here.

I read these posts with interest. douglaschick10, those type of headlines could only happen in a country devoid of freedom and free enterprise. Now before I get stoned (rocks thrown at :-) let me say that I have not much love for the profiteering of Big Oil BUT, we live in a country of free enterprise. The way you control the rampant profits of Big Oil is to simply close your wallet. Yes it will hurt. Yes we have to buy fuel but the American people can by their sheer buying power effect the ever rising demand for oil and gas. Simply and I know it is a simple view. But, using less, increases inventory, when there is an inventory glut prices have to fall. Shucks, we are so conditioned to high gas prices we think $2.50 is cheap. We are not yet willing to pull back on the reins and slow this mule down. Just 1 of us closing the wallet wont effect much it takes a bunch and they are just about at the tipping point. I too dont like the coziness of our government with Saudi Arabia but we as a nation have yet to figure out that OPEC is not our friend. So hit them in the wallet. I have been doing it regularly. Go if you must but the dollar speaks loudly when it is not coming in, doesn't it?

Enjoyed the read and be blessed

elkahna <

Doug, I am a bit confused re: Who is the "enemy at home"?

Is it big oil which gouges us to satiate corporate greed or is it Dumbo the Flying Fool, who is quite capable of doing exactly as you theorize. Guantanamo will be the example of brutal human abuse and the lingering legacy of Crudo the Creeping Crud.

Or both?

Don't get me wrong, I do agree with stang (to a certain extent at least). Free enterprise should be FREE to make as much as possible following the legal guidelines (anti-trust, truth in advertising, fair labor practices, ect.).

If we are not dependent upon oil who cares how much it costs? Tell the Arabs and Chavez to eat sand. We have been remiss as a nation to wean ourselves from oil and to develop more forms of energy and less consumption of all energy. The chickens have come home to roost and we are paying the piper.

But....corporate greed and shareholder demands have stripped companies of any regard for the greater good or for humanity. It's all bottom line now and consequently a good argument can be made for the classification of "free enterprise" as being "evil in nature". When profit surpasses compassion and humanity it may be an evil enterprise.

Just a thought.

May I suggest that all read the book;

Petrodollar Warfare: Oil, Iraq and the Future of the Dollar (Paperback)
by William R. Clark (Author)

http://www.amazon.com/Petrodollar-Warfare-Iraq-Future-D
ollar/dp/0865715149/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid
=1210123964&sr=8-1

It will open your eyes to the way "big energy" shapes all of the USA policies. Will we ever know what occured in the meetings between big energy and this administration at the strat of dumbya's first term?

"The invasion of Iraq may well be remembered as the first oil currency war. Far from being a response to 9/11 terrorism or Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, Petrodollar Warfare argues that the invasion was precipitated by two converging phenomena: the imminent peak in global oil production and the ascendance of the euro currency.

Energy analysts agree that world oil supplies are about to peak, after which there will be a steady decline in supplies of oil. Iraq, possessing the world's second-largest oil reserves, was therefore already a target of US geostrategic interests. Together with the fact that Iraq had switched to paying for oil in euros-rather than US dollars-the Bush administration's unreported aim was to prevent further OPEC momentum in favor of the euro as an alternative oil transaction currency standard."

"Meticulously researched, Petrodollar Warfare examines US dollar hegemony and the unsustainable macroeconomics of petrodollar recycling,' pointing out that the issues underlying the Iraq war also apply to geostrategic tensions between the United States and other countries, including the member states of the European Union, Iran, Venezuela and Russia. The author warns that without changing course, the American experiment will end the way all empires end-with military overextension and subsequent economic decline."

I think the oil company profits are more like 7.25%, but have any of you had your car serviced at a dealership lately? Those SOB's charge $60/hour and up when they pay the mechanics 10 - 15. Or maybe you've purchased toner for your laser printer lately...I did. $75 for $2.00 worth of powdered ink. The only difference is volume - and the oil companies sell tens of millions of gallons a month. And for those that think the only thing we do with crude is make gas, look around you. Anything from garbage bags, to tires, to styrofoam cups to the ground effects on your Mustang - all of it is made from oil and the by-products of the refining process. Something like 70% of all oil company profits come from products other than gasoline. I should know, I have an uncle that works for the 'evil' oil companies.

Beyond greed, there are a dozen reasons for the high price of oil:
1. Increased World Demand
2. Environmental Pollution Restrictions (i.e. Designer Fuels)
3. No Drilling in A.N.W.A.R.
4. No Drilling off the East Coast
5. No Drilling off the Left Coast
6. No Drilling off the Gulf Coast
7. No Wind Turbine Power near Teddy 'Andretti' Kennedy's estate on the bay.
8. The moratorium on Nuclear Power Plants
9. Selfish American drivers (i.e. those that refuse to use mass transit and carpooling)
10. Dormant patents held by oil companies (OK, that's more of a conspiracy theory...;)...)
11. Massive increases in consumer power demand (i.e. A/C in most homes, my 50" Plasma T.V., etc.)
12. Instability in oil supplies (i.e. a threatened strike in Nigeria)
13. (Bonus reason) Insuff

Well said, Jab! Right On! From my view of the public boat ramp which launches into Tampa Bay I don't see any less boats (of all sizes) on any given weekend. People aren't giving up their recreational motoring. If they can afford it...they will play.

Free enterprise it what makes the U.S a great country. However, our economy is driven by oil. Google Greenbacks for oil. If our economy is oil driven, then Oil Robber Barrons are in control of our jobs, food prices, fuel, and everything we depend on.

Oil Robber Barrons = U.S controlled Economy

Coca cola is entirely an elective product.

Oil is not.

Our economy will not be crippled if Cokes are unavailable but will if we can't buy gas.

We will not start WW3 to secure a supply of Coke but we will to secure oil (Iraq, maybe Iran soon?).

In order to ensure a vital supply of energy we may be forced to Nationalize the oil companies (we did so with industries during WW2).