<!--StartFragment -->I like Glen Beck and watch his TV show from time to time, but his stock and trade is fear mongering. He has us all living as savages in an anarchist world, or so one would think. He makes some good points however.
This is still the best and greatest country in the world to live in. Any of you want to live elsewhere?

The recent problem in the Mortgage Markets has left those investers with no place to invest their money, so guess what, they are investing in "Oil Futures". And now they compete with the capitolists that were already in the market driving the prices up. I hope a lot of them lose their a**s!

You hear very little about the new Bakke Oil Field being developed in North Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. Proven reserves already announced at 3 billion by the USGS, and predicted to grow to 300 billion. They are drilling like mad right now. At 300 billion it would exceed all the oil that Saudi Arabia has.

For years now the cheap oil importation has shut down a lot of production here in the states. Friends, we have a LOT of oil. We just didn't have the need to go get it. Many wells were shut down because they couldn't pump it out of the ground and compete with the prices offered by OPEC. Well, guess what? We now have the incentive. Don't be surprised if the American people rise up against the "Green Weenies" and demand that we drill for our own oil! Modern methods disrupt the environment very little.

We are the Mideast of Coal. New technologies allow us to burn coal cleanly and economically. It makes very little sense to not use what we have.

The high price of oil is not really new. In the seventies we had the Arab Oil Embargo. I sat in gas lines on alternate days just so I could get to work. Just when our own oil industry was gearing up the Arabs saw what was happening and dropped the price right out from under them. I hope that doesn't happen again.

Why you ask? Well, I would like to be free of the Mideast clutches. I would like our own industry to supply us. Yes, it can be done. If the price stays up just sit back and watch. We can and will kick their butts.

With the falling dollar people will vacation here in the states. Better value for the money. Yep, they'll come from overseas too. It's happened this way before. Our products will compete better as well. More for the dollar.

I want to see new fuels come on line as much as anyone else. I just don't think there is anything ready as of yet. I like hydrogen. The problem is that we really don't have a cheap way to manufacture it yet. Until then we have all we need right here at home. We only need the incentive to go get it.

We make a trip to Duluth each Summer to a convention.  I toyed with the idea of not driving the Motorhome this time and getting a hotel room instead.  NOT!  I wouldn't save a penny.  When I figured the actual cost of fuel it wasn't that much when included in the over all costs.  We will be camping!

The oil sands project in northern Alberta also has reserves greater than Saudi Arabia. Although the cost is greater to get it out than pumping up a hole, it is a lot less that the current barrel price.

As you mentioned, it no longer is a supply/demand market. It is speculation and the problem is the in our part of the country we heat our homes with oil ( my business) and there are many who have the choice of a warm home or food. Not both.

It will cycle and come down but it could be a few years till the US ecomomy comes back online.

Well, actually I hope it doesn't come all the way back down.  I would rather see your tar sands and our oil fields develop and the US and Canada able to supply our own needs. 

In time everything will adjust.  Trucking Companies, Airlines, and all other aspects of the economy will level out with the higher prices by adjusting rates and fares and wages too will eventually go up.  In the long run the big losers will be the Mid East oil states, and the Green Weenies here at home. 

By the way, we have a horde of females involved in the Green Movement in our area.  Should I call them "Green Witches"?  It does seem to be a religeon with them.

Okay, from now on I will refer to them as the "GW's".  That covers both Weenies and Witches.

We have a "Green Party" in our Canadian political arena. Due to unfortunate circumstances the leader of said 'party' is running in my area. So, when the next federal election takes place I will be moving elsewhere during the campaign. But not before I drive my m-h right past her door and let off a few blasts with the airhorn.

Now I am not totally against the concept of saving energy and keeping our planet healthy, but why not pick on the large corporations first. But then again I do not have multi millions to for a lobby group.

The worst part is it seems to be working. As the cost of fuel goes up, so do the costs of everything we move from one  point to another and also the cost of heat and electricity.
To offset that up go the prices of everything else. Another offset is redundancy/layoffs.
Net result is recession.

With the recent profit announcemnets for the oil companies for the first quarter, one analyist said that the oil companies have to spend big bucks to modernize plants and find new resourses. Problem is that most of that expense is government subsities.

We pay now and we pay later.