[gratelady1]

Black Gold- Texas Tea... It's only money yall, My question is how much and for how long will the average American tolerate the Corporazation of Oil- the selling on the stock market, the control by folks and elements that dont have our best interest in mind?

Drip....Drip...Drip.. Kaching... kaching....Kaching.. Guess what sound you will hear next....

[snowdog]

Gosh gratelady none of us know. Do Tell!!!

[Randy]

If anyone is interested, I researched several of the larger oil companies over the past three years. While scores of people are working for minimum wage, or slightly above, the CEO's of several of these corpoations have reaped pay increases of over 200 percent. Now keep in mind, they are already being compensated millions of dollars in wages and options. This is the first time I read the reports and its amazing to know what these companies bestow upon these oil-slick CEO's.

We were able to negotiate a four percent increase in wages this year and I thought we did good!

Now I ask you, how can an honest hardworking slob working at the Wal Mart :mad: afford to drive to work and feed thier families. Gasoline in West Virginia went as high as $3.59 per gallon. Oil companies could care less. Bush could care less.

[MAGI]

When the oil companies were getting $50.00 a barrel.....not to long ago...........oil companies were making $35.00 PROFIT per BARREL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last time congress tried price control. in the 70's...................I/2 of this countries oil refineries closed........and stayed closed! As did so many of those little pumping oil dragons ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY! I watched a refinery HEAD MAN on C SPAN Sunday who told the refinery story after a former oil worker in one of the central northern states called into the program about information HE KNEW!

At last the price is where the Oil producers' WANT it!

Is it time YET to expect our government to DEMAND MORE ethanol production? Subsidise Solar energy on EVERY home in ARIZONA, for that matter on every home in the country? How about telling our car manufacturers to offer us vehicles that get lots more miles per gallon....electric/gas hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells! These ARE ALL POSSIBLE NOW!

I called my Democratic committee today and asked how we can get some competition in our democratic party.....I want our good ole boys OUT! I got transferred twice and put on hold 3 times with the last person I was sent to and told I didn't have to vote for them ??????????? I had to hang up because I was expecting an important call.

WHAT THE HECK CAN WE DO? :mad:

Did anyone SEE that SICK introduction to the Brown/Katrina investigation?
That's when I called the democratic state Headquarters..........

:confused:

[MAGI]

Here's an interesting read:BUSH STILL TRAVELING THE COUNTRY FOR PHOTO-OPS: Bush's comments yesterday -- encouraging the country to skip non-essential trips -- raised questions about his own recent travel habits. Today, Bush embarks on his seventh trip to the Gulf Coast this month. (According to the Air Force, "fuel costs for Air Force One have risen to $6,029 per hour, up from $3,974 an hour in the last budget year.") White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the president took the trips because he needed "to provide support or encouragement to lift the spirits of all those who have been working around the clock to help people in need."

CONGRESS PUSHES MORE GOVERNMENT GIVEAWAYS TO OIL COMPANIES: Bush's allies in Congress are using high gas prices as another excuse for massive giveaways to the oil industry. The Los Angeles Times reports that conservative "leaders in Congress announced plans to introduce new legislation or amend existing measures to bestow more tax breaks on the industry and provide other incentives left out of the big energy bill Bush signed into law in August." The oil industry hardly needs the help. Even before Katrina hit, oil companies were flush with cash. ExxonMobil's profits are expected to exceed $10 billion in the third quarter of 2005, "more net income than any company has ever made in a quarter." Now the industry is using Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to jack up prices -- and profit margins -- even higher.

RIGHT-WING PLAN WOULD MAKE A BAD SITUATION WORSE: A right-wing plan to cut the federal budget by $500 billion over ten years would destroy nearly all existing programs that promote energy efficiency and conservation. The scheme, dubbed "Operation Offset," would eliminate the EnergyStar program, the Hydrogen Fuel initiative, the Freedom Car program, funds for research on renewable energy, and programs that support high-speed rail. A progressive approach would save more money in half the time and would preserve all of those programs.

AUTO INDUSTRY WANTS ACTION: The auto industry is asking Washington to do more to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. Last week, Ford Chairman and Chief Executive William Clay Ford Jr. sent a letter to President Bush requesting a summit that would "focus on what the auto industry can do to find solutions for alternative fuel resources." Separately, "Jim Press, head of Toyota's US operations, said he planned to go to Washington next month to lobby lawmakers to make energy independence an issue in the election campaign of 2008." Press described America's dependence of foreign oil as an "economic problem" and said the industry needs to "leave our individual companies' bags outside the door to work together on this issue."

CONCRETE STEPS FOR ACTION: American Progress has a plan that outlines practical steps to immediately achieve significant fuel savings. For example, "requiring replacement tires to be as efficient as new car tires, gasoline savings would begin immediately, saving over 7 billion barrels of oil over the next 50 years." Read the whole thing at
progress@americanprogressaction.org

[gratelady1]

If we truely want change of the local democratic organizations, we have to be careful where we communicate or ideas, any new ideas are monitored, and acted upon, faster than we could ever know.
The current local parties' control is locked up tight, and noone even knows where ballots actually end up on election day, if you dont believe me, ask folks at your local precincts, where the boxes go, but alas, now with electronic voting, we will never have hard copy results of elections.

The future will present certain challenges, but the end will bring about local delegate/ electoral college, reconfiguration. In other words- we will have to go in and ask all current folks in charge, to step aside. In my county these are locals, who have maintianed thier spots for decades, these would be considered the "Good ole boys" club. Any attempt to change or even question the structure will find you in trouble and in direct conflict with "the authorities."

It is difficult and the only way to accomplish it would be to start a whole new party, supported and designed by young folks in direct contrast to thier grandmas, and grandpas.

[MAGI]

Glady1, it's not quite that bad here. We're not quite that controlled! However it is Big Bucks that get the candidate, who will follow their direction, elected to Federal positions. So I can speak out to MY democratic leadership and tell them OUR Senators and Representatives are NOT representing their constituency. What can they do to me? I'm fortunate because I'm retired so I can't be fired.

The only thing that can happen is I may loose my mental or physical ability & will not be able to end my life before all our assets are lost! Pretty sad isn't it? In this most prosperous country we must lose everything down to $1,600 before we can get state/federal health aid if a person becomes incapacitated? The only civilized country on Earth that does not have affordable National Healthcare for every citizen!

So, since Many cannot speak, I will! Do you think I might be murdered? Well a lot of us will be, because we ARE calling our representatives and we do have this forum and the people writing BussFlash and Voice America and Lou Dobbs and and and.......
Our representatives HAVE to RESPOND if WE SPEAK OUT! It's the ONLY sane means we have.

[gratelady1]

Your lucky.

[MAGI]

Glady1, it's not quite that bad here. We're not quite that controlled! However it is Big Bucks that get the candidate, who will follow their direction, elected to Federal positions. So I can speak out to MY democratic leadership and tell them OUR Senators and Representatives are NOT representing their constituency. What can they do to me? I'm fortunate because I'm retired so I can't be fired.

The only thing that can happen is I may loose my mental or physical ability & will not be able to end my life before all our assets are lost! Pretty sad isn't it? In this most prosperous country we must lose everything down to $1,600 before we can get state/federal health aid if a person becomes incapacitated? The only civilized country on Earth that does not have affordable National Healthcare for every citizen!

So, since Many cannot speak, I will! Do you think I might be murdered? Well a lot of us will be, because we ARE calling our representatives and we do have this forum and the people writing BuzzFlash and Air America and Lou Dobbs and and and.......
Our representatives HAVE to RESPOND if WE SPEAK OUT! It's the ONLY sane means we have.

haste makes waste......... :o

[gratelady1]

At 56 dollars a barrel, you would think we would be starting to be happy with the cost of oil, but I believe when we start rejoicing over 2 bucks a gallon, it re-inforces my belief that corporate America has us right where they want us!