The Public B***h
If you have an automobile like I do, then you're definitely getting upset about the current gas situation. I hate it. I was in my new hood on the west side and saw regular for $2.67 at the Shell station. I pulled over immediately. Unfortunately, every pump read, OUT - OUT - OUT - OUT. So i was forced into going down the next block and paying around the standard $3.00.But who's really behind the gas debacle? Is it OPEC, is it Osama's fault, is it Bush's fault? I say no. This is supply and demand. We love driving, we love our cars, we love saving time, we love being fat on our asses and lounging around. Granted, I take the bus or bike to work sometimes but, I'm still overweight. I will tottally drive if i don't feel like waking up early to get on my bike or the bus. Its our fault for not learning from the original gas problem we had in the 70's. We got into this whole movement for smaller more fuel efficient cars and research into alternative fuels; then OPEC was like... hmmm ok you can have gas again. Forward to the new millenium we get back into SUVs.
Its becoming a big deal though. Just to conspiracize maybe Bush made a deal with the Saudis that was all about, "Hey, let us invade and you can charge us more for gas then we'll be homies." And not to dismiss Liberals there's the counter-conspiracy, "Alright, global warming is a bitch. Lets raise gas so high that no one will want to drive anymore and we can reduce emissions and force more fuel efficiency and commuter travel." I like that one. Its in line with my goals to take over the world and use energon cubes instead. First the Earth then Cybertron.Moreover, we're just fat bitches in the U.S. We bitch on everything. Lets see how Europe stands out:
Highest gas prices in Europe
Prices converted into $/gallon
Netherlands $6.77
Norway $6.56
Denmark $6.29
Belgium $6.02
UK $6.02
I think we're definitely just wussy about it all. Consider this also, 60-75% of european gas pricing is in taxes.
In the meantime we should all use this as long as we can bear it.Seattle Gas Prices website
This site works really well from public updates by local drivers. You can also specify the region to your hood whether you're in Shoreline, Renton, or South Seattle. With the money you save it'll hopefully allow for more poker games.
posted by theDUKE at 8:08 AM
33 Comments:
It's times like these when I'm glad in bussin' it. My favorite part about the whole situation is the bullsh!t that GW has been recently saying about how he's going to intervene. Pllllllllleeeease... there's no way GW is going to slap the hand that feeds him (big oil, big biz, Texas oilmen, etc.) anymore than he'll let anyone of merit "resign" on his cabninet to try and quell public approval towards his administration. Laughable.
Also, the $100 gas rebate thing isn't going to make a dent in most peoples lives. My civic is going over $30/gallon. WTF, A FRIKKING CIVIC!!! I hope GOP fundraisers don't get 5 rebate checks for each of their Escalades.
I don’t really know what to think of the Gas issue. I just get a laugh when I see that guy on the street next to his SUV complaining about gas prices who turns around and walks into a Starbucks and orders his 4$ Mocha… It’s all relative my friends. Gas prices go up and they go down. You just have to see what your priorities are. I really don’t know what the cause of it is. I just know that it’s got to be a combination of things you can’t just say it is the environmentalist and you can’t say it is the GOP.
Finally, Reagan's goal of trickle-down Econ 101 has come true...this whole thing is not just about paying $42 3x a month to fill up the Outback...but, the $2 toothpaste that becomes $2.50 then $3...the new home that used to cost$275k is now $325k, that drives the older homes up by 10%...the minimum wage that remains firm w/ no adjustment made...the upper 5% gaining more from the lower 95...and the bottom 5% growing to the bottom 15%...
Capitalism alone can not run a government...free market economics has served this country extremely well for 200+years, but we rely on our elected representatives to keep a solid middle-class, the increase in gas prices goes way beyond environmental and point to point charges...under the current conditions the American economic structure will desolve within 50 years...here's to corn-based ethynol...what the hell else is Kansas good for ?
I remember The Road Warrior. The man we called "Max". To understand who he was, you have to go back to another time. When the world was powered by the black fuel. And the desert sprouted great cities of pipe and steel. Gone now, swept away. For reasons long forgotten, two mighty warrior tribes went to war and touched off a blaze which engulfed them all. Without fuel, they were nothing. They built a house of straw. The thundering machines sputtered and stopped. Their leaders talked and talked and talked. But nothing could stem the avalanche. Their world crumbled. The cities exploded. A whirlwind of looting, a firestorm of fear. Men began to feed on men. On the roads it was a white line nightmare. Only those mobile enough to scavenge, brutal enough to pillage would survive. The gangs took over the highways, ready to wage war for a tank of juice. And in this maelstrom of decay, ordinary men were battered and smashed. Men like Max. The warrior Max.....
I have seen the future and Mel Gibson is our saviour...
Gas prices do not go up and down. They go up and relent, then they go up, and up, and plateau briefly. That brief flat line gives you the illusion that prices somewhat dropped. I paid $1.00 a gallon my Senior year in high school. Gas was cheaper than milk. Milk can be considered a renewable commodity. WTF. You are definitely right Jimbo; middle class is losing it bigtime right now to ridiculous expenditures on our daily living. We are forced to rethink our lives with no real benefit. TRAVESTY TRAVESTY TRAVESTY! There is definitely something to the dependence we have on oil, and also something in our unwillingness to find effective change. The first cars developed were from France in the late 19th century and were originally powered by batteries. Imagine what our environment and lives would be like if that trend continued with the same technological curve we experience in the early twentieth century. Were we smart enough? Damn right we've been smart since B.C. and the Romans with their Steam Engine. We just don't like applying things correctly.
as he's always been...WHO RUN BARTERTOWN!!!
Yellow Oil... I hear ya, Jimbo. Some of Seattle Metro Buses are running on it now. Kansas and the rest of Middle America.
The SUV guy is funny. But that $4.00 Latte helps pay Ericka (Jimbo's wife) & Melissa's (Seatownshawn's Fiancee) salaries... so although I don't drink them. I'll support them. Plus, Starbucks actually cares for their workers and the countries/communities they are involved in business with. Whether it's the bean grower/picker in Guatamala or the Taiwanese village Starbucks in Nanfang Ao.
MASTERBLASTER!
I am the Nightrider. I'm a fuel injected suicide machine. I am the rocker, I am the roller, I am the out-of-controller!
****
goose also entertains across time and across dimension:
Goose: [describing the supercharged Interceptor that's idling, in particular the supercharger itself] You can shut the gate on this one, Maxie...it's the duck's guts!
Barry, MFP Garage Mechanic: [excitedly] She sips nitro...with Phase 4 heads! 600 horsepower through the wheels! She's meanness set to music and the bitch is born to run!
Goose: [looking at Max just staring at the engine] He's in a coma, man!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
"ah, That's the last of the V8 Interceptors"....
We don't wanna go the way of the way of Bartertown. Come on, life energized by pig dung??? Masterblaster ... devo says no.
thanks for the kind words 2.0 and yes that $4 Mocha pays my mortgage...so drink up America...
Man...I feel ya on the SUV BS....I've got one, AND I drive about 50 miles a day.....go frickin' figure that one! Melissa and I really need a truck/suv/outback kinda thing do to the dog and all of the climbing/outdoor activities that I like to participate in. My Exploder is the first NEW car that I have ever bought...and I bought it when I was workin' in dot-com bliss with no expenses other than pot pies and beer. Up until then, I had owned my used cars outright...and now I'm tied to this pig for another 13 payments. Too many payments to sell the thing now and lose ass on another vehicle. I'll ride it out and then have no payments in another year....but in that next year, I could conceivably pay about $4,000 in gas.
It gives everyone an additional complaint to register that we can all relate to now. You can bump into a complete stranger and talk about the weather and gas prices, because everyone is affected. People like to complain. Unfortunately, complaining is about the only thing that people are really willing to do. What will the price have to be before people start making fundamental changes in the way that they think? Nobody is willing to DO anything if it involves sacrifice. Everyone is "entitled" and if it hurts, then they have to bitch about it.
If you didn't budget for gas before, you have to now...it's a fact of life. People in other parts of the world have had to do it for years....what makes us so special?
Yeah...I have an SUV. It costs a lot to fill the damn thing up. If it starts to hamper my ability to pick up a six pack so that I can sit around and complain about it...THEN, I may have to seek out an alternative...utnil then....good night, and good luck.
As a lodge we should all prepare to crew up, get chains and spiked gear now. Then when the time comes we'll be ready to maraud and pillage for our necessities. We can even leave our name the same. I'll get the tattoos sketched out this weekend. Although we should definitely modify our motorcycles with some type of high horsepower hybrid configuration.
SUV owners suck!!!...I joke because I care...good points CTown...complaining is what the US is good at, we're also house more inventive companies and work longer hours than the rest of the world...there's no excuse for our government not to diverte funds (1st tip, stop cutting taxes) into creating a realistic alternative energy source...or here's my idea for Murray & Cantwell: cap all US Oil Co.'s profit margin and dedicate %5 of all profit to the exploration of non-oil based energy...the science is there...we must now harness and wield it for EVIL!!!
Devo...I'm totally down w/ that...I want to wear the Boar's Head Helmet...
I'm sure we can pool together some money and buy a nice used Mustang Mach 5. work on it until the time comes.
Goose can take some used shoulder pads... Every good band of mauraders wears pads.
MCP and 2.0 can hook us up with leather for our outfits. Don't ask how I know this but lets just say Vito ain't got nothing on them.
at the very least this now calls for a Mad Max Party. I say open Lodge Party with friends and ladies. Hopefully your wives girlfriends so me and train can have playmates in the Thunderdome. Its ok, for one night you can take your wife or sisters and eyeliner and match up with the beefy dark worn out desert look.
one stipulation: Greg (Vic) may attend but he can only arrive dressed as Steve Irwin - Crocodile Hunter.
As much as I love your line of thinking Jim no US congressman/woman is going to cap any form of profits on any company. I might be out of my element but that bill would be dead in the water.
you are out of your element train...and the chinaman is not the issue
So enlighten men in 500 words or less...Cause we are talking about unchecked aggression here.
If the road warrior says so, it has to be true...
Train...we're not talking about someone that helped build the railroads...
Wow. Nice little political rant here. A little lesson on Economics 101.
Tell me one thing. How can there be a shortage when the Top 5 Oil companies reported Profits of 111 Billion combined last quarter?
Here is an interesting Rule in Florida on Price Gouging that I think should apply nationally to Gas.
In the wake of natural disaster, essentials -- such as food, ice generators, lanterns, lumber, etc. -- may be in short supply. Charging exorbitant or excessive prices for these and other necessities following a disaster is not only unethical, it's illegal.
Under Sections 501.160 and 501.205 Florida Statutes, it is illegal to charge unconscionable prices for goods or services following a declared state of emergency.
Individuals or businesses found guilty of price-gouging could face fines up to $1,000 per violation.
Illinois has a website that is interesting as well
http://www.illinois.gov/gasprices/pgVspv.htm
those violations presupposes that those businesses caught price-gouging are not in fact actually running the United States...
Goose, my wife heard about the record profits and mentioned it when we were bashing GW last night. I agree, it's unethical, illegal and basically lunacy.
i was just listening to the radio and they just brought up the same topic again. good point was the recommendation that we keep gas prices high and force regulations on auto manufacturers that they must put fuel efficient technology into existing cars we have. we simply have lifestyles that require us to have cars and big cars at that. the average new car in europe gets 40mpg. there is no technology regulation there, but because they've had such high gas prices in europe for years its become an automatic application to make cars that are efficient. if gas doesn't reduce the least we can do is improve our own technology. i think a few horsepower can be sacrificed for a few more gallons.
also, saudi arabias oil minister says, "high oil prices are bad for the saudis..." LIAR
Devin, I haven't seen you this pumped up since they cancelled Star Trek.
They never cancel star trek. It has been on for like 30+ years. It NEVER goes away!!!
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