Newt Is Still An Idiot

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich must think that Sean Hannity's audience is pretty damn stupid. Do they really believe all the lies that Hannity and his guests tell them? Well probably, but some things are just too hard to swallow. One of those untruthful stones was force-fed last night on the Fox News show.

From ThinkProgress:

Last night on Fox News, host Sean Hannity and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) returned (as they often do) to Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) recent suggestion that Americans inflate their tires properly in order to save energy costs.

Seeming to outdo his previous false attacks on this issue, Gingrich claimed that Obama’s idea is actually encouraging Americans to “enrich Big Oil” because selling air has “a higher profit margin than selling gasoline”:

GINGRICH: Well, I got a very funny e-mail from a retired military officer in Tampa who pointed out that most tire inflation is done at service stations and you pay for it. And it’s actually a higher profit margin than selling gasoline. So Sen. Obama was urging you to go out and enrich Big Oil by inflating your tires instead of buying gas.

Um, since when do gas stations buy air from oil companies? Why would oil companies sell air? The fact of the matter is, the only profits go to the service station owners, not big oil...that is if the station in question charges for air at all. Also, people can go out and buy an air pump or pressure tank and do it themselves. Of course, Newt probably never deals with the maintenance of his car(s), so what the hell would he know anyways?

Sen. DeMint Obviously Doesn't Know Americans Too Well

Jim DeMint got into the Senate four years ago so excuse him for not knowing South Carolinaians (sp?) or Americans for that matter. Being a Republican stooge in the Senate and Capitol Hill to speak generally, he does not have his finger on the pulse of America and he proved it on Fox News today.

From ThinkProgress:

House Republicans are threatening a “government shutdown if the Democratic-led Congress doesn’t vote to lift a moratorium on new offshore oil drilling.” Just as he did in 1995, Newt Gingrich is leading the push for a government shutdown. Today, Fox News asked Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), “Do you think people would go for that?” DeMint responded:

I think the American people are mad enough that they would say, ‘the heck with government, we need energy.’ And if the Democrats are crazy enough to attach a ban on drilling to the end-of-the-year spending bills, then they’re the ones, I think, that are gonna get the blame for closing the government down.

Only thirteen years ago, Newt Gingrich pulled this hare-brained stunt and failed miserably at it. Bill Clinton was the hero of the day and the newly empowered Republicans in Congress had to retreat from their radical agenda (for the moment). Americans knew that they were up to no good then and they are on to the shrunken Republican caucus this time. The GOP doesn't care about reducing the cost of oil and gasoline, their only motivation is to give more money away to oil companies that donate to their campaigns.

John McCain Proves His Allegiance To Oil With Snub Of Wind Power

John McCain gives occasional lip service to clean and alternative energy, but when it comes to the specifics oil is his true love. McCain talks a good game about opposing earmarks and special interest money, but when push comes to shove, he delivers for the industry that writes him the big checks.

From TPM:

McCain recently opposed the big $300 billion farm bill, which itself is extremely popular throughout the upper midwest, describing the bill as "a $300 billion, bloated, pork-barrel-laden bill" because of subsidies for industries like ethanol.

But in a little-noticed development, the bill also contained a measure extending a tax break for developing wind power, which McCain specifically opposed. Obama backed it. According to Senator Tom Harkin, an Obama ally, the wind energy industry is employing close to 2,000 people, some concentrated in those key swing states. It's little local issues like these that can move votes in states where the voting is expected to be extremely close.

Making matters more difficult for McCain, Congressional Dems, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are edging towards supporting that recent bipartisan compromise energy bill that would open up some areas for drilling but repeal Big Oil's tax breaks.

McCain is counting on ExxonMobil and other oil giants' money. He won't let them down because in the end his friends are those that keep his campaign well-financed and the environment/good clean energy jobs be damned. Here we have yet another clear difference between who McCain is beholden to and who Obama is not.

Newsflash: Republicans Hate Big Oil Too!

This isn't about the elected officials in the back pocket of oil lobbyists, so lets be clear on that first. We are talking about the Republican primary voters in Tennessee who ousted their long time Congressman David Davis. The challenger, Phil Roe, a Republican mayor in the area beat out Davis by a slim margin, but the fact that he won in an area where incumbency rules is huge. The fact that he did it by calling out Davis' connection to big oil is also tremendous.

From RawStory:

Being linked to "big oil" turned into a big problem for Tennessee Republican freshman Rep. David Davis, who became the first congressman from that state to lose in a primary in more than four decades.

Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe beat Davis by a 500-vote margin Thursday in the solidly Republican 1st District in the northeastern corner of the state.

Roe's victory came after a bruising campaign in which he accused Davis of selling out to "big oil."

Congressional incumbents from Tennessee are rarely voted out of office. Statewide, the last time an incumbent was defeated in a party primary was 1966 when Democrat Tom Murray lost to Ray Blanton in what was then the 7th District. Blanton won the general election then became governor in 1974.

Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, everyone is equal, depending on the car they buy of course, when standing in front of a gas pump. Sky high prices will drive (no pun intended) people to do extraordinary things, such as kicking out local Congressman in the desire for change. The residents of TN-01 may have just picked another Republican, but it business as usual was not what they voted for this time around.

Oil companies, their lobbyists and the politicians who take their money better beware. This small primary could be more telling than they'd like it to be.

When It Comes To Gas Prices, Narrow-Minded GOP Sees Only What They Want To Believe

When you want something and you wish really hard, it isn't the wishing but finding the willingness to take an action that gets you to your goal. Congressional Republicans seem to not have learned that lesson as children (or as adults) because they believe their collective whining on offshore oil drilling made gas prices drop.

From ThinkProgress:

House conservatives, engaging in a third day of political stunts on the floor of the House, are now claiming that gas prices across the nation have dropped in response to their theatrics calling for a vote on offshore oil drilling. “I think the market is responding to the fact that we are here talking,” said Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) in a GOP press conference today.

Shadegg claimed that “gas prices have gone down” because of the “pressure” coming from pro-drilling conservatives:

“Gas prices have gone down, and they’ve gone down in part because the market is realizing that this kind of pressure from the Congress may actually cause a change in American policy,” said Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), one of the ringleaders of the protest demanding that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) bring Congress back to vote on oil exploration measures.

But actual experts don’t believe the political stunts have anything to do with the drop in prices. In fact, oil and gas prices are down because of simple economics as the high energy prices and the weak economy are “curbing consumer demand” for gas.

The idiots in the GOP caucus have made themselves oblivious to the fact that Americans cannot afford the gas prices that Republican policies have created. Without a coherent, 21st century energy policy in the United States for several years now, our addiction to oil has crippled our economy even though many experts saw peak oil coming decades ago. Jimmy Carter knew what he was talking about in the 1970s, but the advent of the selfishly-driven policies stemming from Reagan destroyed those efforts. People didn't want to hear about the oncoming energy crisis (even though they got a taste of it at the time) but now it is here to stay. So Republicans can make believe that their grandstanding is reducing oil prices, but we need real leadership and a sound strategy to take the oil needle out of our vein.

Drill, Drill, Drill Or Get A Tune-Up

As I am going to the dentist in two hours, the word "drill" repeated several times over almost immediately has me searching for an alternative. Although this isn't about my teeth, it is about our nation's coastline and pristine wilderness. Republicans want to lease even more land so that oil companies can have "instant assets" by taking their new properties (c/o us, the taxpayers) and selling them on the market to increase their margins.

This really isn't about reducing the price of oil, no matter how many times Minority Leader Boehner threatens to shut down the government in order to achieve it. However, there is an easy way to get that supposed oil that drilling proponents claim will come with their idea. It is called conservation, but there's an easier way than that, as Barack Obama pointed out, just get your tires inflated and your car tuned up.

From Time Magazine:

How out of touch is Barack Obama? He's so out of touch that he suggested that if all Americans inflated their tires properly and took their cars for regular tune-ups, they could save as much oil as new offshore drilling would produce. Gleeful Republicans have made this their daily talking point; Rush Limbaugh is having a field day; and the Republican National Committee is sending tire gauges labeled "Barack Obama's Energy Plan" to Washington reporters.

But who's really out of touch? The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.

And as Time points out a few paragraphs below, conserving energy is easy as long as you get in the habit of doing so. Unplugging appliances, having low-energy bulbs, taking mass transit, all things that are good for your wallet and the environment simultaneously. So while the right makes fun of Obama for leading people to conserve and help our energy crisis in a multi-faceted way (of course wind and solar projects are on their way too), he actually has a plan, while McCain is offering someone $300 million for a battery.

Romney Continues To Lie For McCain

Ah, Mittens Romney is up to no good again. In this run-up to the selection of VP running mates, the former Governor is trying hard to please Mr. McCain and on CNN, he delivered a doosey of a lie to make his man look good.

From ThinkProgress:

Today, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney appeared on CNN’s American Morning to discuss an ad by Barack Obama that argues John McCain would give $4 billion in tax breaks to Big Oil. Romney declared the charge “dishonest” and “below the belt.” He claimed that McCain “doesn’t ask for any tax reduction for oil companies.”

There is nothing dishonest about pointing out the fact that McCain’s plan to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent would give nearly $4 billion in tax breaks to the six largest oil companies. Ensuring that corporations pay dramatically fewer taxes is an integral part of McCain’s regressive tax plan that skews its benefits heavily toward the wealthy and offers little for the poor and middle class.[...]

Just since McCain’s embrace of offshore drilling in June, donations to his campaign from the oil and gas industry have skyrocketed. He has received $881,450 in the last 6 weeks alone.

The McCain campaign may claim to “stand up” to the oil industry, but McCain’s own plans are the stuff of Big Oil’s dreams.

Perhaps because Romney is a multi-millionaire himself, he doesn't see stuff like this as a tax break but good fiscal planning and his and others like him god-given right. Why would this plan draw any ire from Romney when he has no clue as to the sentiments of the middle class, millions of Americans who he has no idea on how to relate to?

McCain Says Anything To Big Oil For Big Contributions

Despite the McCain's desperate attempts to still have their candidate labeled as a maverick, more and more people (including some in the press) are realizing that the Straight Talk Express had derailed a long time ago. One item he was adored for previously was his tough talk against special interests and for campaign finance reform. Now, in regards to the oil industry, he'll do and say anything to get the big petro-contributions....and boy are they coming in.

From ThinkProgress:

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has made his complete reversal on offshore drilling a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, insisting that expanding offshore drilling into protected areas would lead to more oil supply on the market “within a matter of months” — regardless of the Energy Information Agency’s projection that oil would not reach the market for nearly a decade and “would not have a significant impact” on oil prices.

Though more drilling won’t help Americans save money at the gas pump, it has certainly helped McCain win massive campaign donations from Big Oil. A new report by Campaign Money Watch shows that contributions to McCain from Big Oil skyrocketed directly following his June speech in Houston, when he pledged his support of offshore drilling before an audience oil executives. The report notes:

In Texas alone, June oil and gas-connected donations to McCain’s Victory ’08 Fund, his hybrid fundraising venture with the RNC and state committees, reached $1,214,100.

Of that total, $881,450, or 73 percent, came after June 15. McCain announced his position in favor of offshore drilling on June 16.

Now that my friends, is the way old Washington works. With record profits being recorded by ExxonMobil, Chevron and others, a few hundred thousand in "investments" is nothing compared to the ridiculous profits they are and will continue to make as long as George Bush's third term commences under John McCain.

ExxonMobil Continues To Clean House

The majority of Americans are struggling at the pump and consequently in all other places that deal with their bank account (food, health care, utilities, etc). With record prices for oil and the popularly refined product known as gasoline, people are being tapped out more than ever to get from point A to point B. So where is all that money going?

From RawStory:

HOUSTON - Exxon Mobil reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation, but the results fell well short of Wall Street expectations and shares fell in premarket trading.

The world's largest publicly traded oil company said its net income for the April-June period came to $2.22 a share, up from $10.26 billion, or $1.83 a share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 40 percent to $138.1 billion from $98.4 billion in the year-earlier quarter.

Nearly twelve billion in profit....that is approximately a billion dollars a week....for one single oil company (granted it is the largest, but still). How we do not have a windfall profits tax on these greedy bastards is incredible. People are suffering across the country because of the high cost of oil and only a select few are making money off of it.

Bush would never sign anything to help anyone but his base, but Congress must get a bill ready for President Obama to sign in January so that we can start to fix this problem by reining in the oil companies and starting to make a meaningful investment in alternative energy.

McCain Hearts Oil Industry Money

And for his positions on offshore oil drilling, the oil industry hearts him back:

McCain Wants To Gamble With North Carolina's Coast

These stunts that people like McCrory and McCain like to pull to show they care about the oil crisis is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Trying to pull oil out of the coastline is a ridiculous and costly (not to mention unseemly) move that will most likely do more harm than good...and that "good" wouldn't materialize for years and years, doing nothing for the gas crisis that America is suffering now.



The only true way to lighten the burden on people's pocketbooks is to work to make our economy dependent on green energy like wind and solar power, not oil, not natural gas, not coal and certainly not nuclear. Our planet can give us more than enough renewable energy without having to risk our lives and our atmosphere to make a few people extremely wealthy.

Finally! A Lawsuit Meant To Expose Big Oil And Climate Change

For a long time now we've known about the dangers of our oil addiction but have not done nearly enough to make a change. People have talked....and slowly acted to achieve a greener lifestyle but only now with high gas prices are Americans taking real notice. Well the oil companies certainly play a sinister role in all of this, determined to tell everyone that what they do isn't all that bad and sure, the weather is warmer but it isn't too bad and even if it is, it isn't their fault. Well now there is a lawsuit being put together to fight that deception.

From Democracy Now:

Attorney Stephen Susman helped file a groundbreaking lawsuit earlier this year on behalf of 400 Inupiat villagers in the Alaskan town of Kivalina who are being forced to relocate because of flooding caused by global warming. The suit accuses twenty oil, gas and electric companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips and Peabody, of being responsible for emitting millions of tons of greenhouse gases causing the Arctic ice to melt.

STEPHEN SUSMAN: "Well, this lawsuit was—in these cases, you need to find the right plaintiff. This was the perfect plaintiff, because it was a village that has—a Native village that has standing under federal law to bring a lawsuit. This is not a class action. The problem with all the tobacco cases, initially, was that they had to be brought as class actions. Individuals’ injuries were too different to be asserted in a class action, so none of the tobacco cases were certified for class treatment. They became successful when the lawyers figured out a way to represent the states, and they didn’t have to be class action, so the state was the perfect plaintiff seeking Medicaid reimbursement. Here, we have a perfect plaintiff: they have federal law standing to sue for injuries to their village, because they’re a Native tribe—it does not have to be a class action—and they have sustained the most direct kind of injury and of interest from global warming."

"An increase in the ambient temperatures in the Arctic prevents the sea ice from forming on the seaward side of this six-mile-long barrier island. And as a result, the harsh storms during the fall and winter wash over the island and are about to wash it away. So there is a direct consequence of the increase in temperatures. You know, you can think of other harms from global warming that are more indirect, like damages from storms. Kivalina was one of those, where, you know, well, the storms—the global warming warms the Gulf Stream, the Gulf Stream creates more severe weather, where the causation is more tenuous. Here, it was direct, people directly injured. The Corps of Engineers says that it will cost between $100 million and $300 million to relocate them to the mainland, which has to be done. And so, they were the perfect client."

It is fantastic news that there can be legal action on this subject. The lives of billions of people are effected by climate change all the time, but only up there in Arctic can a direct correlation be seen. A decision favoring these poor people would be tremendous in the legal world and for all victims of the oil industry.

Iraqi Oil News You Won't Hear In The Traditional Media

Amy Goodman boldly reports where no corporate media men and women will dare to go. As you can see, there is quite a difference between Democracy Now and the rest of the media out there:

Bill Moyers Profiles Big Oil

No one can examine an issue quite like Bill Moyers. When it comes to such a hot topic like oil and our addiction to it, we need to look more closely and often enough to really get on the ball and do something constructive about it.

McCain Fueled By Big Oil

McCain likes to talk about his "Straight Talk Express" but never about how he gets his gas, both literally and figuratively. Perhaps there is a reason for that:

Republicans Vote To Let Oil Companies Keep Ridiculous Profits At Our Expense

In an election year one might suppose that the Republican Party would try to have (or make it seen that they) have a heart and want to help the broad majority of Americans instead of the wealthy few at the top of the oil industry and those that trade the commodity on Wall Street. Apparently this year the GOP is going 100% heartless by voting against a windfall profits tax for oil giants like ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, etc that do not substantively work for energy independence. Their argument is that we'll import more oil if we roll back their tax cuts that Bush and the old Republican Congress gave them. Unfortunately since our majority is so slim in the Senate, they have effectively killed the bill by threatening to filibuster it.

From The Huffington Post:

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans blocked a proposal Tuesday to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies, despite pleas by Democratic leaders to use the measure to address America's anger over $4 a gallon gasoline.

The Democratic energy package would have imposed a tax on any "unreasonable" profits of the five largest U.S. oil companies and given the federal government more power to address oil market speculation that the bill's supporters argue has added to the crude oil price surge.

"Americans are furious about what's going on," declared Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and want Congress to do something about oil company profits and "an orgy of speculation" on oil markets.

But Republicans argued the Democratic proposal focusing on new oil industry taxes is not the answer to the country's energy problems.

"The American people are clamoring for relief at the pump," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., but if taxes are increased on the oil companies "they will get exactly what they don't want. The bill will raise taxes, increase imports."

The Democrats failed, 51-43, to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP filibuster and bring the energy package up for consideration.

Of course there was no filibuster, the Democrats led by Harry Reid just caved at the mere threat of it. If he were a true leader, he would have let the Republicans get up there and stall for their buddies in the oil industry. Enough about Harry Reid though, we can deal with him later (for other reasons as well). As I said, this is an election year and the Democratic Party is running Barack Obama as their candidate for President against John "McSame as Bush" McCain.

McCain has claimed he is in favor of working to save the environment but his actions (as usual) are far from words on the campaign. McCain could have shown up today to pretend prove his leadership abilities and stand up for what he claims, to be a departure on the environment and the economy as well. However, as he has done many times in the last few years, he couldn't be bothered to show up for the vote. Republicans already saw themselves winning on the issue and the Democratic leadership in the Senate pathetically resigned to losing. Barack Obama has pledged to enact a windfall profits tax when he becomes President. That is a difference between him and McCain that no one can deny, so remember that when you go and fill up your tank for $3 $3.50 $4 something a gallon.

There's More To The Price Of Oil Than Just Supply And Demand

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission has taken the extraordinary step of coming out with an investigation of oil traders who are suspected of manipulating the market in order to make unconscionable amounts of money at the expense of the American and even world economies. Now it is great that high oil prices get people to switch to mass transit, but if the CFTC can prove there was criminal wrongdoing, the bastards involved should face a long, long prison terms.

From The Washington Post:

The CFTC said its investigation started in December, before this latest surge in prices but after an earlier surge that took oil prices over $90 a barrel.

Congress has been pressing the CFTC to take tougher action to stop what lawmakers call "speculation" -- which is not illegal -- and possible unlawful manipulation of oil markets. Some lawmakers have suggested that the commission discourage speculation by increasing margin requirements so that traders would have to put up more cash to buy positions on commodity markets.

The CFTC said that in addition to the investigation, it had reached agreements with British and European regulators to share more information about oil markets. It also said it would take steps to increase transparency by getting more information from index traders and other financial players.

It was unclear whether the commission's announcements were a reaction to congressional pressure, but they were praised by many lawmakers. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) said he was pleased, adding that "the CFTC must vigorously pursue all leads to protect the American people from market manipulation during a time of record prices at the pump."

The real question is whether if/when the CFTC finds wrong-doing, will Congress take the appropriate actions and deal the oil industry the crushing blow that it deserves? ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco and the rest have been figuratively raping America right along with their trader friends on Wall Street. Enough is enough, the people demand action and simply talking about how bad they are won't cut it.

As Gas Goes Up, Will Driving Continue To Go Down?

The farthest we went this Memorial Day weekend was Brooklyn and except for a short subway ride to City Hall, we walked across the Birthday Bridge to get there. Many Americans prefer to drive somewhere though but gas prices are getting in the way of car trips and joy rides in general. According to the Department of Transportation, we collectively drove 11 billion fewer miles this past March as opposed to March of 2007. Thats a whole lot of miles and $4-5 for gas is definitely the biggest factor in that. The thing is, will it continue or can it continue when gas hits $7, $9, or even $15 a gallon?

From RawStory:

Robert Hirsch, senior advisor for Science Applications International Corporation, sat down with MSNBC’s Alex Witt to discuss the possibility of an upcoming oil crisis. Hirsch says that gas could reach $15/gallon within a few years because it is “essentially certain” the world has reached the maximum levels of oil production.

“The problem is that there’s not that much oil left in the ground,” Hirsch says. “What we’ve done is been very fortunate to have oil production increase as our economies have developed over the past decades. And now we’re reaching a point where we’re about to get, or we may be, at the maximum world oil production. After that, oil production will then decline and prices, of course, will continue to do what they’ve been doing recently. So what we’ve got today may be the ‘good old days.’”

Hirsch addressed the timeframe in which the US could see $15/gallon gas: “It could happen within a matter of months. It could happen within a matter of a few years. But it’s essentially certain that we are at the maximum of world oil production. And after that, we’ll go into decline, and when there’s much less oil available, then, of course, the price of oil is going to increase dramatically.”

Fifteen dollar gas might just be the beginning of our oil addiction problems (except for that whole global warming thing). Hirsch realizes and has for sometime that this was coming, yet no one in our government has done much about it. George Bush going to beg the Saudis to increase the supply does not count.

People will still need to go places, you know like work and continue the addiction to everything oil, like the plastic products we all use day in, day out. Yet consumption is largely unabated and despite the increasing prices, we are not doing enough collectively or at the macro, nation-state level. Unfortunately Hirsch's dire prediction of GDP decline will follow the supply levels of oil until we finally switch to alternative, renewable energy sources instead of bowing down and bending over for the oil industry that is mesmerized by their windfall profits.

Do Gas Prices Affect You?

Not only for these interviewees, gas prices affect everyone. That goes even people like me that don't drive. Gas prices (and oil prices before that) affect the price of food and anything that requires our oil-based economy to transport or manufacture an item that you may use. We must get off our addiction to this unrenewable resource ASAP.

Literally Praying For Gas Price Relief

As I came back into the city yesterday afternoon, my eyes bulged ever so slightly at the sign advertising $3.50 gas at the New Jersey side approach to the Holland Tunnel. NJ usually has prices on the lower side, so that number was a real shock. Prices have been skyrocketing in the last few years and the tide doesn't look like it will be turning anytime soon. Since our leaders in Washington (especially George Bush) haven't done anything to help consumers out, Rocky Twyman is taking matters into his own hands. More specifically, he's getting it to go into G-d's hands.

From The SF Gate:

Twyman - a community organizer, church choir director and public relations consultant from the Washington, D.C., suburbs - staged a pray-in at a San Francisco Chevron station on Friday, asking God for cheaper gas. He did the same thing in the nation's Capitol on Wednesday, with volunteers from a soup kitchen joining in. Today he will lead members of an Oakland church in prayer.

Yes, it's come to that.

"God is the only one we can turn to at this point," said Twyman, 59. "Our leaders don't seem to be able to do anything about it. The prices keep soaring and soaring."

It isn't that he wants a higher power to strike down those that are integral to the rising prices but for people to pray and keep it simple, whatever that means exactly he doesn't say, only that we need to believe. Although I don't think prayer is the answer to our problem, we could ask ourselves to reduce our consumption and do our part to curb our ridiculous demand on oil. Only then will the oil companies and the oil traders finally begin to be reined in.