Energy

[MagnificentMarcus]

Does anyone remember me posting about three years ago that the biggest problem we face is energy. Well I told you so! Just filled up my car last night-paid $3.04 a gallon.

It amazes me that in the UK and Canada they pay $4.00 to $5.00 a gallon, of course the majority of that is taxes. We are faced with a uphill battle with corporate greed. Oil companies, drug companies, auto manufacturers (we should be getting 60 mpg as a average) are going to be the bain of our existence over the next 20 years. They have the politicians in their pockets both Democrats and Republicans. For you partisians who deny this, remember it was Clinton who approved the mergers with the Oil companies.

[Padre2]

Marcus, try $8 or more a gallon (when converted to a US gallon), in the UK and other countries. It was over $6 a gallon last year when I was over in London, and they handled it without a problem. Of course it's a small island, where can you go (just kidding!!)

[Skuff]

I think I'm about ready to get a horse.

[wayshway]

heh heh, I'm in Walnut Creek , Bay Area, CA. A posh little town that pays $3.59 at the pump.

I'm going to be walking to the Post Office everyday now. Pretty soon it will be 95 -100 degress everyday.

[MagnificentMarcus]

Sorry, but may be it will finally force us to get off our butts and conserve and explore other alternatives.

[Skuff]

better believe it will! lol

[lordsmurf]

Republicans don't care about anything but maintaining the status quo (literally, that's what the word "conservative" means) and lowering taxes, it's the party of the rich and self-proclaimed pious. So until those people are gone from power, don't expect anything to change here. All they care about is foisting morals on the people, and holding onto every nickel at the cost of social imbalance.

Energy is not a concern, nor is anything else that most affects lower and middle class persons.

[MagnificentMarcus]

The same thing happened in the late 70s with the Iranian Hostage situation and all the politicians sworn they would make sure it never happen again. Guess they forgot!

LS, I guess you didn't read my earlier post. Clinton approved the merger of the oil companies so cut the crap about Republicans, they are both guilty! You really piss me off with this Democrats take the higher road stuff! For every time you have something negative to say about Republicans there is something of equal if not more pious behavior with the Democrats. They are both screwing us!! Take the blinders off!!!!!

[lordsmurf]

You'll notice I didn't praise the Democrats or anybody else, I just insulted the Republicans, whom are most guilty on the list (darkest shade of gray, as compared to others).

Mergers of companies doesn't seem related anyway, that's not the root cause of a governmental lack of funding research and pushing for alternative fuels. I studied corporate mergers for about 5 years, that's a complex topic, but in a nutshell, these companies would all act the same or worse as separate entities. Believe it or not, having just a few competitors often leads to better service and prices than having several dozen smaller ones.

The problem always comes back to countries needing payroll laws. Something that states the highest paid person cannot make more than 20-30 times the amount of the lowest paid person. That would both raise lower wages, and lower grotesque higher ones. And the higher wages are what really eat into costs, need to cut the pork, and hopefully create not only lower priced goods, but insure everybody can afford what they need, and maybe even a few things they want.

There is a big problem when a hardworking blue-collar guy makes $10K per year and the CEO makes $100M per year. If that CEO wants to make even $10M, he'd have to pay the lowest employee $50K for the year.

In the short-term, it has less to do with gas, and more to do with economics. Same for healthcare. Time to cap off prices at the federal level, no more $50 rolls of toilet paper for the uninsured.

We have enough oil to last another 100 years (ignore boogeyman stats of 20-30 years), so definitely time to research alternatives. And we do need to start now. If for no other reason than to quit paying Arabs money to funds terrorism and barbarism, many of those people are just mongrel sub-humans in my opinion. Even if we find a viable alternative, it'll take several decades to implement.

[MagnificentMarcus]

LS- save the Ben & Jerry economics. It actually was the founders of Ben & Jerry ice cream that started floating this payroll theories of economics. Of course while they themselves are racking in millions of dollars. I suggest that you go back and read a couple of economic books by Adam Smith. Monoplies lead to less competition and less innovation.

Getting back to the cost of energy. Energy costs drive the economy and our lives. Think about your day; You get up to a warm house, you turn on the lights, you probably turn on your computer. Then you take a shower (warm water I hope), makes something to eat, etc, ect. When the costs of doing your regular routines go up so does everything else. If you don't think so go live in the woods for a couple of weeks and see how your life deterioates! Plus energy cost affect healthcare, business, etc!!!

[wayshway]

I was bred and raised in a Republican family.
Sigh... The 80's were the best.

[MagnificentMarcus]

Both parties are bloated,corrupt and decadent. It is nothing but a shell game. They love it when people blame the other party as the cause of all the ills that plague the world. The blame game keeps us from looking at the real problems we face and coming up with real solutions that solve our dilemas. Frankly, we have been stuck in the status quo for 40 years. Technologically, we've moved at a snail pace of what we are really capable of. If we would have gone in to a different direction regarding our energy source we wouldn't be funding all the problerms the middle east is giving us. They would all be a bunch of camel jockies asking for a hand out..

[DAJIZZARIZZA]

BOTH PARTIES SUCK
OHH I FORGOT TO SAY ,.. "BUT IT'S ALL WE HAVE"
PICK YOUR POISON ... KNIFE OR GUN.

[wigam]

Knife...no gun...dang it, too many choices

[MagnificentMarcus]

They only suck because we let them get away with it! Even the corportions can't out lobby an aware public.

[weevil6772]

True if the sheeple would just wake up and decide they no longer want to be fleeced by an oil industry bleating lies to justify the outrageous prices at the pump, all the while posting RECORD profits themselves.If the people woke up and decided they'd had enough of the most corrupt government we've ever had.If the people would wake up and decide they no longer wanted their existence to be defined by the term "consumers".If the people woke up and decided life is so much more meaningful and they are so much more capable of greatness than tv would have them believe.If the people would wake up and decided they no longer wanted their lives to be about the new Tahoe, or the new bass boat,clothes,electronics,buy,buy,purchase,purchase ,you must consume!!Also if people woke up to the fact we have a fiat currency that is absolutely worthless and backed by the thin air it's picked from.The Federal Reserve(a bank that has NOTHING to do with our government and is owned by private FOREIGN bankers)prints money out of thin air, it's never existed, doesn't exist now, and never will exist.It is and always has been digits on a computer screen.They then charge interest on said thin air..err money, and when people can't pay back the imaginary monopoly money they collect the real wealth of people, ie homes, cars, land, etc.For god's sake the income tax is illegal and unconstitutional right now!!It was never ratified by the mandatory two thirds of the states in order to be passed into law.But just like as now the people lie down and say nothing as they watch themselves and the world trampled by the vile machinations of the globalist elite.Look at who benefits, that goes for all of this that's happening and has been happening to the people of the USA and the world.Follow the money and you'll find your answers.They keep everyone bickering and divided through the false choice paradigm of left/right wing propaghanda.Or republican/democrat, which are two arms of the same monster.It's really sad to listen to people these days, how utterly uneducated and uninformed 90% of the population is on the real issues, and the source of our woes.They churn out canned mainstream media propaghanda they heard on CNN/Foxnews, or regurgitate something they learned in Economics 101 ten years ago in college.It's all completely irrelevant.Ever noticed ten people arguing, ten different positions on the same subjects all blaming a situation on ten different causes, only to realize not a dang one is right?It's that way for a reason, you have to educate yourself.Try critical thinking for yourselves not rehashing the same old lines over and over that never get to the true root of the situations.Screw the mainstream news, they do nothing but LIE.Anyone even notice the new white house press secretary was a Foxnews anchor???HELLO?

I leave you with a quote from 1984 by George Orwell that is as relevant today as it's ever been and inspiring to me as I realize unless WE decide to make a chance in the world it will not be done.The politicians and governments are too busy reaping massive profits to care about the people.WE must educate ourselves and our children.They need to know the real history of this world, and the various scams/schemes that keep everyone distracted and in financial/spiritual bondage.They use politics and religion to divide and conquer.As long as we proliferate the military-industrial complex through our own apathetic disinterest we have no room to gripe and complain.Don't curse the dark light a candle!

"If there was hope, it must lie in the proles because only there, in those swarming disregarded masses, 85 percent of the population of Oceania, could the force to destroy the Party ever be generated. The Party could not be overthrown from within. It's enemies, if it had any enemies, had no way of coming together or even of identifying one another. Even if the legendary Brotherhood existed, as just possibly it might, it was inconceivable that its members could ever assemble in larger numbers than twos and threes. Rebellion meant a look in the eyes, an infl

[weevil6772]

And this one which sums up the majority of people in this country:

Heavy physical work, the care of home and children, petty quarrels with neighbours, films, football, beer, and above all, gambling, filled up the horizon of their minds. To keep them in control was not difficult. A few agents of the Thought Police moved always among them, spreading false rumours and marking down and eliminating the few individuals who were judged capable of becoming dangerous. No attempt was made to indoctrinate them with the ideology of the Party. It was not desirable that the proles should have strong political feelings. All that was required of them was a primitive patriotism which could be appealed to whenever it was necessary to make them accept longer working-hours or shorter rations. And even when they became discontented, as they sometimes did, their discontent led nowhere, because being without general ideas, they could only focus in on petty specific grievances. The larger evils invariably escaped their notice.

[MagnificentMarcus]

WHOA Nelly! I don't believe there is any government, governmental agency or secret skull & bones baffons that are smart or strong enough to do the above. Nor do I believe complete anarchy is the answer either. Just little thought and planning for the future would be nice. Look at us, spending all of our time collecting television shows. We could easily be perceived at the pinnacle of this apathy.

[weevil6772]

lol no one mentioned skull and bones, I'm talking legit facts bro.There is no theory about the federal reserve it's 100% provable and true.Common knowledge in fact, my wife was finally convinced after years of my harping when one of her college text books quoted the money as being printed out of "thin air".Also 100% provable on the income tax, etc.I agree with the conservation of energy and working on alternate energy, etc.I also don't condone anarchy, I'm merely stating the truth.If we were to educate ourselves fully then there would be no more manipulation and the machinations of control would cease to function.Nuff said lol.

[SavageAmusement]

Yes right now I have to agree with Daj...its almost liek picking Cafeteria Food? Or Airline?

Sigh*

I took to riding my bike 2x a week.
I do agree energy is a resource and should be conserved to an extent- but, I also believe some parties are using it as a platform for the wrong reasons.

I am not intelligent enough to argue politics. So I'll stop there