Ka-BOOM!

Just in time for the rising cost of gas, Da Kid traded in his paid for 2000, 6-cylinder Ford Ranger for payments on a brand-spankin' new, 8-cylinder Nissan Titan. My job, as his mother devil's advocate during the process, was to tell him what his mistakes were and suggest ways to remedy them. (My primary argument was that he'd just paid the Ranger off and since it hadn't ever given him any trouble he didn't need a new freakin' truck, especially a new-new monster-sized one.)

For the most part he listened to me and did what I suggested, except for buying the truck that is. He knew exactly what he wanted (I wonder where he gets that from.) and after a week of him throwing stuff and saying nasty things (about car salespersons and dealerships) as soon as he walked in the door, he came home with the truck he wanted at a danged good price, amazing even since after the deal was done he'd even gotten the dealership to toss in a few freebies (like the top-of-the-line spray-on bedliner) instead of charging him extra.

As soon as Da Kid got The Truck gas prices started to climb. He's smart enough to know not to complain to me about it because that was one of my arguments to him for keeping the Ranger.

But now like he's been doing even when he was driving the Ranger, when my car needs gas I've found a way to save 20 cents a gallon.

I don't buy it here.

He works up there and I don't but when my tank gets to about a quarter full (I have this thing about not letting it get any lower than that.) I go to a station 25 minutes away and fill it up. The difference in price is every easy to explain: Florida's tax on gasoline is 20 cents more a gallon than Georgia's.

I love as the prices started climbing again, the usual suspects once again started blaming the "Big Bad Oil Companies" and, of course, Dubya.

Too bad no one ever takes an honest look at why we're paying so much at the pump. Oops! Via Boortz it looks like the Washington Post did.

Add to that if I recall correctly, and I think I do, Dubya has been pushing from the start to reduce our dependence of foreign oil by FINALLY opening up ANWR. Alternative energy sources completely aside, we have oil deposits that have never been tapped because of objections raised by environmental whackjobs.

Speaking of environmental whackjobs, not only have no new refineries been built in the US because of their objections but the price is jumping now because many distribution terminals have been taken off line while they convert from what they were processing (that's being phased out) for one mixed with corn-based ethanol.

Anyone remember how when gas prices were going nuts immediately after Katrina how they dropped and how quickly they did the instant Dubya ordered that refineries stop worrying about producing environmentally-sensitive designer blends of gasoline and just start cranking out the plain ol' ordinarly kind?

Of course I'm not suggesting that Dubya do that again.

If he did I'm certain the skull of each and every environmental whackjob would simply explode, further increasing global warming.