Har har.  Okay, so not the funniest line I've heard, but maybe it still works.

Ha ha, good stuff! You are in Bejing, huh? Wow! I just had a good friend move down to the Philippines to do computer programming work . . . lucky lucky lucky. And here I am stuck in the stuffy Journal newspaper office.

Anyway, speaking of gas prices, WOW! I heard that in parts of California it is already nearing $4 a gallon! I always get those random e-mails that say something like, "Don't buy gas today! If nobody buys gas for one day the oil companies will have to lower prices!" But does that really work? I don't think that enough people participate in those things to even make a dent. Now there is one going around that says, "don't buy gas from Exxon or Mobil since they are the two largest oil companies." Well, I don't know about everyone else, but I usually don't look at the brand name of the gas I am buying. Gas is gas, ya know? Of course I try to find the best price, but usually they are all about the same . . . Outrageous!

I don't have any advice to offer except the usual . . . don't drive as much, tune up your car so it is more fuel efficient, etc. But I am a single mother (I have a beautiful 4 year-old daughter) and I am definitely feeling the pinch. I would ride my bike, but that is not very plausible for me since I am a journalist and am always getting sent out on assignments.

I did discover something very cool this morning, however that I would like to share with everybody . . . you go to http://gasprices.mapquest.c... and type in your zipcode it will list all the local gas stations' prices in order from cheapest to most expensive. Pretty cool, huh?  The new Maverick  on Center St.is currently the cheapest at $3.28 and from there it goes, not surprisingly, to $3.29 at the Chevron on the Old Bannock Highway and then $3.30 for pretty much every where else. The most expensive places to buy gas are at the Stinker Stations at $3.36 a gallon. Yikes! So I guess it pays to shop around.

Anyway, I was thinking about writing a blog about high gas prices anyway, so there is my rant!

To make you laugh  . . . . I was watching a CNN segment on high gas prices once and they showed a sign at a gas station back east that read like this . . .

UNLEADED: An arm
SUPER UNLEADED: A leg
PREMIUM: Your first born

Made me laugh. I love that people can have sense of humor about these things!

I see little logic in the "don't buy gas today" attempts, or the "don't buy gas from Exxon". First, if you attempt the "don't buy gas today" scheme, you're either going to fill up your tank before the day, or after; either way the gas station wins. Only in the event people stop driving all together would there be any sort of an impact.

Second, if I'm going to buy gasoline, I'd rather buy it from my American homies, Chevron, Conoco, Exxon, the like. I do have a personal quarry buying fuel from Chavez owned Citgo, and I'd almost rather push my car than fuel up there (besides, prices are usually higher there).

People always complain about the horrendous profits these oil companies are raking in. There are a couple of truths most aren't aware of: First, the government tax on a gallon of gasoline is higher than the profit of said oil companies. Logic says, if the government really wants us to have lower fuel costs, they could lower their tax. But logic does not usually beseech Congress.

Second, these oil companies make less than Coca Cola and Microsoft. No one is complaining about their profit margins.

Also, Exxon's profits are less than 10% of their revenue, which is normal for all major institutions.

Third, the "horrendous" profits that we speak of, most of it goes back into the economy. Only 1% of Exxon is controlled by Exxon executives - the other 99% is controlled by normal share holders, hedge funds, pension funds, etc. Profits for Exxon also means retirement for many Americans.

Forth, the cost of oil makes up for 70% of the cost in gasoline. Therefore, Exxon (and the like) have less than 30% control over the price of fuel. We shouldn't be blaming them...

We can rant and complain all we like, but that won't solve any of our energy problems. Our government has our own hands tied, yet practically demands from the oil companies they do more to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

For example, ANWR. Environmentalists cry that we'll do damage to the wildlife in Alaska if we drill in ANWR, however they ignore the fact that the other oil sites in Alaska (Prudhoe Bay, for example) have done zero damage to local environment. Chalk another one up to liberal demagoguery.

Second example, the lack of nuclear reactors. Its disturbing to think the French, of all people, find nuclear power safe - safe enough to provide over 70% of the power that hits the grid. To this date I haven't heard about any melt downs, nuclear disposal problems, or any other catastrophes. And I'm quite sure our liberal media would quickly apprise us if there were...

Sure, we need to get off of foreign oil, but we should exploit the resources we have available now to help keep us afloat.

John McCain also has a great idea - the government currently buys 2 million barrels of oil daily to restock its reserves. If the gov pauses their efforts to restock, that would drop demand like crazy. Some economic reports I read estimated it would drop oil down into the $70 - $80 range. Overnight, too. This is something the gov can do immediately...