Most liked posts in thread: Gas Prices in Ca today

I wish my salary went up like the cost of gas.

 

I know you're not supposed to begin a presentation with an appology, but I'm left with no alternative as I ponder my inner thoughts regarding all that seems afoul in our society today. So, up front; "I'm sorry Everyone." And to Nathan, this may be more well suited to be posted in a thread more focused on the political arena, so please feel free to relocate my post if need be.

High gas prices are but the tip of a deadly iceberg we have been dodging for far too many years. Am I pissed about the continued rise in my cost of living? Hell Yes I am!

As long as we all remain good soldiers, serving in silence, our leaders will certainly maintain their present course. I believe it's long overdue for the sound thinking masses to make the effort necessary to get the Country back on track. We need to right the wrongs enacted by the current and previous administrations, whose viewpoints and resulting special interest policies have literally made us the laughing stock of the world.

Rather than to be so determined to set policy that results in an increased co-dependence on foriegn nations for our own needs, we must move forward towards returning to a more sound and productive society where pride and integrity once again serve as our foundation. We are entirely capable of producing nearly everything we need to sustain ourselves. Wildly concocted trade agreements aside, isn't it time to restore the industrial base which made us the great power we profess to be?

Politically incorrect as it may be for those who believe it's in everyone's better interest to be so overboard in unnecessarily addressing our environmental concerns, and for those so accustomed to being recipient of the never ending hand-out, I say step aside and make room for a return to an industrious and productive society that will enable the USA to be the center of world interest, for all the right reasons, rather than that of a co-dependent society of weakend minds. In all things, the less active and developmental people are, the greater the opportunity for broadening a person's anger. There's plenty of room in this Country for a return to the way life ought'a be. Regardless of the particular circumstance, we are a nation founded on the ideaology that we are to be self sustaining and productive to suit the needs of its citizens. Sadly, we have become far too concerned for the well being of others outside of our borders and, consequently, people of great integrity here at home are suffering.

Sorry for the rant here... but I am so tired of what's been going on and I'm tired of being told how it is when it is completely contrary to my principles. I just hope that, in time, and sooner than later, sensible folks will band together so that our present course will take us where we all know we should be headed, and we can resume a life of productivity less dependent on others for our own basic needs. We owe it to ourselves and the generations to follow.

 

Minidave I have to disagree, writing your Representative or senator does absolutely no good, those people are self absorbed a**holes, they care for no one but themselves and how much they can line there pockets while in DC.
I don't know what the answer is but I do know they don't represent the people in their districts.
Just my opinion.

 

Our real problem right now in my opinion is not hat we do not a decent Energy Policy or Immigration Policy or Insert Policy Name Here Policy. The real problem as I see it is the lack of focus to fix anything our elected folks have. I refuse to call them "leaders" or "officials". The folks are so beholden to every interest that tosses money at them them that we the people no longer matter. They are also focused on the "other side" being wrong that they refuse to work as a team for the collective good.

Until this incredibly adversarial state of affairs is rectified I fear we will just keep on the long slide into oblivion as the greatest country on Earth.

I wish I could offer a fix, but then again they won't listen to me, I'm just a voter.

Even still, I think the US is the best place to live.

 

Green light the Keystone pipeline project, if Canada doesn't send to oil to us they will most assuredly sell it to China.

With future fleet replacement for city's and government vehicles, such as busses, patrol cars etc they should all be running on natural gas, the US has the largest reservoirs in the world.

Develop hydrogen fuel, it is abundant and clean.

Also, Drill, Drill, Drill. We still have vast reserves here in the US and offshore, the methods they use to drill today are very efficient and can have many horizontal bores from one rig.

Continue developing EV's the technology will catch up to the idea.

Don't force us to use some environmentalists idea of what we should be driving, let us decided for ourselves and choose what fuel source we want to use.

 

Hydrogen power vehicles at this point is the same as electric vehicles, they are both technology that is yet to be fully realized, until they are, and I am sure they will be in 15 years or so, utilize what we have now, fossil fuel.

I also worked at a facility that was dirty smelly and just not very pleasant, but it was a good paying job as I am sure the refinery jobs were in the northeast, it fed my family and put kids through college and supplied us with a nice home.
The same would happen again if the government would get out of the way and quit hindering what made this country the world leader in innovation and manufacturing.

Yes the plants in the northeast were old and probably too expensive to retrofit but the government stands in the way of replacing those we are closing.
China is now where we were in the boom years after WWII making technology and transportation available to every one. Cheap labor and few restrictions are why our jobs have moved to the Pacific rim, but that is not news to anyone.

It has been fun, time to get off this thread, fill up the MINI with fossel fuel and Motor.:wink:

 

Keep voting idiots into office that don't want us to use our own natural resources and you will continue to see your money redistributed to those places that will...

Hopefully in the next few years we will find viable cost effective energy resources other than oil and coal, but until then, we need to harvest our resources.

Supply and demand is real, I don't care what the Kool-aide says.

 

Actually the majority of the cost of gas in the US is not taxes.

 

I paid $2.96/ gallon at Safeway today. I've bought so may groceries there, I got a buck a gallon off!

Dave

 

Some how I don't feel like a better person because I'm paying higher gas prices.....

 

Certainly glad our fore fathers talked to each other....

...and Firebro, I'm also glad to see that there are others that feel the same way I do.

 

Aside from the tax portion, the price of gas is a supply and demand driven commodity. Want to pay less per gallon at the pump? Then we need to start using less. It's a finite resource and it might be nice if we left some of it for our children/grandchildren.

 

Not how we have been going about it and much to big a subject to go into detail here, but we need to fire everyone at the DOE and close it down for starters... It represents failure by all definition and is beyond repair.

Glad to see though that you are now open to discussion on the subject here!!

 

We all would love a world reliant on non fossil fuels that are completely free of polutants but in reality that day is far in the future.

The question is how do we get from here to there with the least possible discomfort for humans and the planet.

If that is looking to much at the big picture then so be it. I don't have all the answers and don't pretend to but to strangle free speech and an exchange of ideas will not help the situation we are in.

Fact is we have huge energy supplies right here in the US that are being blocked from harvest. The DOE was formed to reduce our dependance on foreign oil. Billions....even trillions of dollars later and this huge oversized agency has not reduced that dependance since day one of its creation. FAIL. Dismantle it and start over with investments in research at places like MIT in advanced clean, cheap technologies. When the research finds breakthroughs, patent those technologies in the taxpayers name with use of those technologies being given for free to companies here in the US and owned by the US. All foreign companies would have to pay for it and or not be able to export those goods to the US....

These technologies need to be viable in their own right, not just when subsidized by the taxpayers... IE: Wind mill farms, built under subsidy, maintained under subsidy and subsidized when the wind doesn't blow enough and subsidized when the wind blows too much.... Why not invest in research into better energy storage solutions so that the energy overproduced when the wind blows to much could be stored for when the wind doesn't blow enough....

Just the tip of the iceberg.....lol

 

So if we were getting more oil out of the ground here, we wouldnt have to depend on Iran or any other country to increase oil supply?

This might be a novel idea, but could we actually become more self dependant?

I'd vote to put that in the new energy policy!

 

Or get more people to save gas by driving MINIs

Dave

 

Wow just noticed from Nathan's link that the last significant oil refinery here in the US started operations in 1977, which also happens to be the exact same year that the Department of Energy was create with the sole purpose to reduce our dependance on foreign oil...

Coincidence that not one major refinery has been built since the DOE started helping us?

Priceless.

 

^^^ docv for US Senate!

 

You know it's bad when......I don't even want to drive either of our Minis.....we have been using the wife's company car....Altima hybrid....sad isn't it