WTF
By their command and like Christmas and before that Thanksgiving, I'll be having Easter dinner with Herself's family. When I asked what I could contribute to it I was, as always, told nothing except being there.For Thanksgiving and Christmas my "being there" turned into helping them prepare the numerous dishes and desserts the day before, not that I did any of the actual cooking. I did prep.
Mama, Herself's mother, and Sis, Herself's older sister, piled stuff in front of me and when one of them said "Chop!" I chopped. "Dice!" I diced. I did so well helping them get ready for Thanksgiving, that when Christmas came they even trusted me with a sharp knife!
Easter is different. Instead of having enough food ready for all the family and friends (100?) who might come by on Thanksgiving or Christmas, this time it's much more relaxed since it's just ten, or so.
"The Mayor," Herself's father, smokes two tons of ribs; Mama and Sis do side dishes: baked beans, potato salad, deviled eggs and such.
"Maybe I'll fix some cucumber salad," I said.
The Mayor barked that I didn't have to bring anything, but I am. Especially after Sis elbowed me in the ribs and mouthed, He loves that stuff. We all do.
I don't like shopping for groceries to start with. I absolutely despise going to grocery stores when they become a mob scene, as they increasingly will as Easter comes closer. So today, I went to the store pick up the vegetables.
On the way I had another "Jeez Gawd" moment when I saw that the price for Regular at the gas station I drove by was now at $2.65. When I came back by only an hour later, it had jumped to $2.68.
Strangely, or perhaps not so strangely now that the Dems control Congress, the media hasn't been filled with Big Oil conspiracy stories like they were last year when prices also climbed. That hasn't stopped the Lefty-Loons, though, as evidenced by a couple of letters to the editor in the local mullet wrapper.
One genious wrote that the rapidly increasing prices was proof of how Big Oil had decreased prices last fall trying to influence the elections. Another opined that, as always, Big Oil artificually increased its prices at the pump every year at this time, because they KNEW the public consumed more during the summer months.
Oil companies make about 13 cents on a gallon of gas. Government makes much more. The federal tax is 18.4 cents per gallon.. . . Forty-nine states -- all but Alaska -- make more than the oil companies do on every gallon. -- George WillRead the whole thing. All of it. The other numbers Will provides are equally stunning.
posted by doyle at 6:37 PM
5 Comments:
It is 2.75 plus here although a county away it is five cents cheaper..county taxes vary
About the same here yesterday. Since, per The Mayor's ORDERS, I was runnning a plate (or two) of food from dinner out to Da Kid who was on duty, on the way back I filled the tank in SE Georgia where with the difference in state taxes, it's usually 15 to 20 cents cheaper.
Not this time: 2.64.
I wrote up my Easter menu at my blog and I think I forgot the deviled eggs! I try to have everything ready so people stay out of the kitchen. I'm sure holidays are hard, and hope you a a pleasant time with your family.
There are three things the US Congress could do that would immidiately drop the price of gasoline:
1) refineries have to make over 28 different blends of gasoline because each large city has a different "standard". A national standard would reduce this to 3 blends. This would save about 15%.
2) There is a severe shortage of refineries because there hasn't been a new refinery built in the US in over 20 years. Granting some of the license applications for building of new refineries that have been pending for 10 years or more would save somewhere around 10% as gasoline supply was increased. There isn't really a shortage of oil, there is an artificial shortage of gasoline.
3) Refineries are forced to add ethanol to their gasoline. Ethanol costs more, burns less efficiently, and requires the refinery to handle yet another ingredient. Dropping this requirement would cut gasoline prices around 5 cents a gallon and you would get better mileage.
Adding up my guestimates it comes to about 45 cents a gallon.
In reply to curious:
1)After Katrina, Dubya signed an executive order that temporarily suspended all the requirements to provide "environmentally-friendly" gas. There shall be gasoline! he ordered. The exploding prices dropped because gas was plentiful.
2) Try 30 to 35 years since a new refinery has been built. And there are fewer operating now than there were. There's no reason for companies to even apply to build a new one when the cost of refurbishing existing ones to meet impossible, whackjob "environmental standards," makes it far more sensible to shut just 'em down.
(Note: I'm not against environmental protections, just ones that are designed purposefully to be ever-increasingly impossible to meet.)
I also lurve the politicians who yammer endlessly that we MUST become less dependent on FOREIGN oil, while yelping loudly that domestic drilling in ANWR must NEVER occur. Or off Florida's coast. (Where Cuba, China and such are doing just that!)
Gives me a headache, it does.
3) Ethanol? Popular Mechanics did a piece a while back on the cost/benefit of alternative fuels.
I'll try to find the link to it, curious, if you haven't read it.
Meanwhile, have you noticed the articles saying if the U.S. starts diverting its corn (and other grain) crops to the production of ethanol, we will be (even more) responsible (than we already are) for world-wide starvation?
Have you also noticed, curious, that no matter what it's always a no-win for the U.S.?
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