#Congress demands oil companies explain sudden spike in prices
3293 Dead
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Kucinich_sends_letter_to_CEOs_of_0411.html
House committee asks oil firm CEOs to explain why gas might soon cost
$4 per gallon
RAW STORY
Published: Wednesday April 11, 2007
Print This Email This
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the Domestic Policy
Subcommittee, has sent a letter to the CEOs of seven major oil
companies demanding to know why gas prices could soon climb to $4 a
gallon.
Kucinich, whose committee oversees the Department of Energy, is asking
top oil executives what role their companies play in the record high
prices of gasoline.
"We seek to learn how the realities of decreasing refinery capacity,
decreasing gasoline inventories, rising oil company profitability and
increasing market concentration in the oil industry may be the root
cause of new record-high gasoline prices," Kucinich said in a
statement.
Kucinich continued, "Gasoline prices are stealing away the little
discretionary income available to many Americans in this distressed
economy. The federal government must act now to resolve these high
prices."
Kucinich previously introduced a bill, the Gas Price Spike Act, which
taxes excessive oil profits.
The text of Rep. Kucinich's letter follows in full...
#
Gasoline prices in California have recently experienced a considerable
spike, far outpacing movement in the national price average. As we
head into the summer driving season and the likelihood of higher
gasoline prices, possibly reaching $4 per gallon, the Domestic Policy
Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee requests
your assistance in understanding the causes of this price disparity.
News reports have indicated that refinery profit margins on the West
Coast have increased substantially, from an average of $17 per barrel
over the past five years to $39 per barrel currently.
The number of refineries in California has fallen by more than half
since the early 1980s, but more important, the remaining refineries
have not increased supply capacity to keep pace with consumer demand.
West Coast refineries ran at about 76% of capacity in 1985. Outages at
one refinery were easily compensated for by increased production at
other refineries. Now, West Coast refineries are running at nearly 92%
of capacity, leaving little room even for maintenance without spiking
prices due to lack of supply. Current inventory supplies may have
fallen to only 17 days. That is below the very low level of inventory
supply reached in May of 2006, when the state's gasoline prices hit a
new record of $3.38 per gallon. At that time, California had about 18
days of gasoline supply on hand, well below the national average at
that time.
The oil industry has experienced increasing concentration of market
share in the past two decades. In 2006, the three largest refiners
controlled about 50% of the state's market, with the top seven
controlling 81 percent. Chevron alone controls 25% of the state's
refining capacity.
As we approach this year's peak driving season, the Subcommittee
wishes to know how these factors of decreasing capacity, decreasing
supply, rising profitability and increasing market concentration may
be related to cause new record highs in the price of gasoline. I
request that you provide the Subcommittee with detailed answers to all
of the following questions:
1.
What is your strategic plan to raise the supply of gasoline for
the onset of the peak driving season, which is only weeks away?
2.
What steps are you planning to take, and when do you plan to
take them, to bring back online refining capacity that you have
removed from production? When do you plan to have attained maximum
refining capacity?
3.
What steps are you planning to take, and when do you plan to
take them, to find supply other than your own production to bring your
inventory to the national average of up to 30 days supply?
4.
What steps are you planning to take, and when do you plan to
take them, to import either the precursors for CARB gasoline or the
identical product, from outside of the state?
5.
What are you projecting your refinery margins to be during peak
driving season?
The Subcommittee also has concerns about the oil industry's resistance
to deploying technological measures to adjust for the well-known
effects of temperature on gasoline, particularly in summer and in
warmer states including California. As you are aware, gasoline expands
as it warms, and the amount of energy in a gallon falls, thus
providing less value per gallon. Industry standards have long assured
that retailers pay only for the fuel they receive by setting a 60
degree standard and adjusting for the effects of warmer fuel. However,
as recent news stories have reported, the benefits of temperature
adjusted fuel pricing have not been extended to the average consumer.
In fact, one potential provider of temperature adjusted pumps,
Gilbarco Veeder-Root, announced its reversal of a decision to market
such pump equipment in California, citing complaints from the oil
industry.
1.
What, if any, objections does your company have to the
certification and use of temperature adjusted pumps at gas stations in
the United States?
2.
What steps have you taken in the absence of temperature adjusted
pumps to ensure consumers are not paying for units of energy they
aren't receiving?
3.
Would you object to a federal law phasing in
temperature-compensated gasoline sales in the United States?
In addition, the Subcommittee is concerned about market barriers for
alternative fuels, such as E85 fuels. Recent news reports have
highlighted corporate requirements that restrict or discourage service
stations from offering E85 fuels. Among those practices are
limitations on advertisements of E85, requirements for separate
islands for E85 pumps, and allowing stations to offer E85 only after
applying and obtaining a contract exemption. Deployment of E85, which
would reduce demand for petroleum and relieve high prices, is part of
larger effort to conserve fossil fuels.
1.
What requirements do you place on your dealers (such as
requiring they carry all grades of your branded gasoline, and
restricting them from advertising products not produced by your
refineries on roadside signage) that practically affect the ability of
dealers to store, dispense and advertise E85?
2.
What do you estimate the costs to be to your dealers to make E85
available, with your current requirements referenced above?
3.
What changes in the physical plant of your dealers would be
required for your dealers to carry E85?
4.
Would you be willing to allow stations an exemption to rules
requiring that they carry all three grades of branded gasoline, so
they could utilize their midgrade fuel tanks for E85 or other
renewable fuels?
5.
What steps are you taking or do you intend to take to speed up
the deployment of E85?
The Subcommittee would appreciate that you provide detailed and
documented answers to all of these questions by April 25. If you have
any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Jaron Bourke,
Staff Director of the Subcommittee.
#
--
"Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government
talking
about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order.
Nothing has
changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists,
we're
talking about getting a court order before we do so"
-George W. Bush, April 20, 2004
Not dead, in jail, or a slave? Thank a liberal!
Pay your taxes so the rich don't have to.
http://www.zeppscommentaries.com
For news feed, http://yahoogroups/subscribe/zepps_news
For essays (please contribute!)
http:yahoogroups/subscribe/zepps_essays
--
"I am fully committed, as the administration's fully committed, to ensure that, with respect to every United States
attorney position in this country, we will have a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed United States attorney."
--Alberto Gonzales, committing perjury before Congress
Putsch: leading America to asymetric warfare since 2001
Not dead, in jail, or a slave? Thank a liberal!
Pay your taxes so the rich don't have to.
For the finest in liberal/leftist commentary,
http://www.zeppscommentaries.com
For news feed (free, 10-20 articles a day)
http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/zepps_news
For essays (donations accepted, 2 articles/week)
http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/zepps_essays
a.a. #2211 -- Bryan Zepp Jamieson
Foxtrot
>http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Kucinich_sends_letter_to_CEOs_of_0411.html
>
>House committee asks oil firm CEOs to explain why gas might soon cost
>$4 per gallon
>Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the Domestic Policy
>Subcommittee, has sent a letter to the CEOs of seven major oil
>companies demanding to know why gas prices could soon climb to $4 a
>gallon.
I hope they tell Cuckoo Kucinich NOYFB, loon. It's a free country
and they can do whatever they want with their product. Anybody
who doesn't like it is perfectly free to start their own oil company
and proceed to explore, drill, refine and distribute their own oil
and charge less than they do.
> 1.
>
> What is your strategic plan to raise the supply of gasoline for
>the onset of the peak driving season, which is only weeks away?
Not our problem. Let us drill offshore and in ANWR and let us build
more refineries then maybe you'll have more gas. Otherwise quit
your whining and STFU, liberal loon.
> 4.
>
> What steps are you planning to take, and when do you plan to
>take them, to import either the precursors for CARB gasoline or the
>identical product, from outside of the state?
Not our problem. We're in business to make a profit, not waste
our money on your stupid agenda driven ideas.
Mitchell Holman
news:h99r13da4sv40pucl...@4ax.com:
> 3293 Dead <zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> What is your strategic plan to raise the supply of gasoline for
>>the onset of the peak driving season, which is only weeks away?
>
> Not our problem. Let us drill offshore and in ANWR and let us build
> more refineries then maybe you'll have more gas. Otherwise quit
> your whining and STFU, liberal loon.
And as for why drilling is banned in offshore Florida,
we, darned those Liberal Loons, ya know?
"I'm going to work with your governor on offshore
drilling here in Florida. We're both against it."
George Bush, opposing oil drilling in Florida, October 2000
"I would work with Gov. Jeb Bush to support an offshore
drilling ban in Florida."
George Bush, August 1999
Foxtrot
>Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote
>> Not our problem. Let us drill offshore and in ANWR and let us build
>> more refineries then maybe you'll have more gas. Otherwise quit
>> your whining and STFU, liberal loon.
>
> And as for why drilling is banned in offshore Florida,
>we, darned those Liberal Loons, ya know?
The entire Bush family is a bunch of idiots. You think this is news,
Mitchy?
You're missing the point. The oil companies aren't branches of
the federal government. They can do whatever they want. If there
is reasonable cause that they're breaking any laws, civil or
criminal, federal, state or local, then the proper agencies are
free to pursue legal avenues against them. But what they do is
none of congress' business. Get it yet Mitchy?
Bill Bonde
3293 Dead wrote:
>
> http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Kucinich_sends_letter_to_CEOs_of_0411.html
>
> House committee asks oil firm CEOs to explain why gas might soon cost
> $4 per gallon
> RAW STORY
> Published: Wednesday April 11, 2007
> Print This Email This
>
> Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the Domestic Policy
> Subcommittee, has sent a letter to the CEOs of seven major oil
> companies demanding to know why gas prices could soon climb to $4 a
> gallon.
>
The market is reacting in anticipation of increased demand. Isn't that
obvious? If you don't want to pay $4 a gallon, don't drive around in
those gas guzzling SUVs. It just boggles the mind that *Democrats* are
ranting against the market when the market is doing what Democrats like
Gore keep whining for, reducing carbon emissions.
3293 Dead
I don't drive around in a gas-guzzling SUV, and I'm STILL paying $3.40
a gallon.
Your market is also reducing your economy.
But hey, you're rich. So it's not your problem, right?
Clave
news:u5cr135pqsv8pn0pv...@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:59:48 -0700, Bill Bonde
> <tributyl...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>3293 Dead wrote:
>>>
>>> http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Kucinich_sends_letter_to_CEOs_of_0411.html
>>>
>>> House committee asks oil firm CEOs to explain why gas might soon cost
>>> $4 per gallon
>>> RAW STORY
>>> Published: Wednesday April 11, 2007
>>> Print This Email This
>>>
>>> Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the Domestic Policy
>>> Subcommittee, has sent a letter to the CEOs of seven major oil
>>> companies demanding to know why gas prices could soon climb to $4 a
>>> gallon.
>>>
>>The market is reacting in anticipation of increased demand. Isn't that
>>obvious? If you don't want to pay $4 a gallon, don't drive around in
>>those gas guzzling SUVs. It just boggles the mind that *Democrats* are
>>ranting against the market when the market is doing what Democrats like
>>Gore keep whining for, reducing carbon emissions.
>
> I don't drive around in a gas-guzzling SUV, and I'm STILL paying $3.40
> a gallon.
>
> Your market is also reducing your economy.
>
> But hey, you're rich. So it's not your problem, right?
He works in the oil industry. 'Nuff said.
Jim
Bill Bonde
3293 Dead wrote:
>
> On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:59:48 -0700, Bill Bonde
> <tributyl...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >3293 Dead wrote:
> >>
> >> http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Kucinich_sends_letter_to_CEOs_of_0411.html
> >>
> >> House committee asks oil firm CEOs to explain why gas might soon cost
> >> $4 per gallon
> >> RAW STORY
> >> Published: Wednesday April 11, 2007
> >> Print This Email This
> >>
> >> Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the Domestic Policy
> >> Subcommittee, has sent a letter to the CEOs of seven major oil
> >> companies demanding to know why gas prices could soon climb to $4 a
> >> gallon.
> >>
> >The market is reacting in anticipation of increased demand. Isn't that
> >obvious? If you don't want to pay $4 a gallon, don't drive around in
> >those gas guzzling SUVs. It just boggles the mind that *Democrats* are
> >ranting against the market when the market is doing what Democrats like
> >Gore keep whining for, reducing carbon emissions.
>
> I don't drive around in a gas-guzzling SUV, and I'm STILL paying $3.40
> a gallon.
>
So why do you care? If your car gets 50 miles per gallon, are you really
saying that $3.40 a gallon is killing you?
> Your market is also reducing your economy.
>
> But hey, you're rich. So it's not your problem, right?
>
I'm discussing all things from a disinterested perspective.
3293 Dead
>3293 Dead <zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>
>>http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Kucinich_sends_letter_to_CEOs_of_0411.html
>>
>>House committee asks oil firm CEOs to explain why gas might soon cost
>>$4 per gallon
>
>>Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the Domestic Policy
>>Subcommittee, has sent a letter to the CEOs of seven major oil
>>companies demanding to know why gas prices could soon climb to $4 a
>>gallon.
>
>I hope they tell Cuckoo Kucinich NOYFB, loon. It's a free country
>and they can do whatever they want with their product. Anybody
>who doesn't like it is perfectly free to start their own oil company
>and proceed to explore, drill, refine and distribute their own oil
>and charge less than they do.
Freedom is for corporations, not people.
Right, Fauxy?
>
>> 1.
>>
>> What is your strategic plan to raise the supply of gasoline for
>>the onset of the peak driving season, which is only weeks away?
>
>Not our problem. Let us drill offshore and in ANWR and let us build
>more refineries then maybe you'll have more gas. Otherwise quit
>your whining and STFU, liberal loon.
>
>> 4.
>>
>> What steps are you planning to take, and when do you plan to
>>take them, to import either the precursors for CARB gasoline or the
>>identical product, from outside of the state?
>
>Not our problem. We're in business to make a profit, not waste
>our money on your stupid agenda driven ideas.
Foxtrot
>Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote:
>>I hope they tell Cuckoo Kucinich NOYFB, loon. It's a free country
>>and they can do whatever they want with their product. Anybody
>>who doesn't like it is perfectly free to start their own oil company
>>and proceed to explore, drill, refine and distribute their own oil
>>and charge less than they do.
>
>Freedom is for corporations, not people.
What do you think owns those corporations?
The article says Cuckoo Kucinich is demanding answers. What
authority does he have to make such demands?
Carl Swanson
Ever heard of anti-trust laws? Ever heard about laws banning price
fixing? Ever heard of the right of Congress to investigate illegal
activity or do you think they can only investigate a blow job?
Foxtrot
>Foxtrot wrote:
>> The article says Cuckoo Kucinich is demanding answers. What
>> authority does he have to make such demands?
>
> Ever heard of anti-trust laws? Ever heard about laws banning price
>fixing?
You think congress has the power to enforce those laws? Didn't
you take government class in junior high school?
>Ever heard of the right of Congress to investigate illegal
>activity or do you think they can only investigate a blow job?
Heh, another lib who's obsessed and bitter about Billy Jeff's
impeachment.
Carl Swanson
> Carl Swanson <cswa...@palpubtelex.com> wrote:
>
>> Foxtrot wrote:
>>> The article says Cuckoo Kucinich is demanding answers. What
>>> authority does he have to make such demands?
>> Ever heard of anti-trust laws? Ever heard about laws banning price
>> fixing?
>
> You think congress has the power to enforce those laws? Didn't
> you take government class in junior high school?
Obviously you never did and you have comprehension issues. I never
said they had the right to enforce the laws, just that they have the
right to investigate violations of those laws.
>
>> Ever heard of the right of Congress to investigate illegal
>> activity or do you think they can only investigate a blow job?
>
> Heh, another lib who's obsessed and bitter about Billy Jeff's
> impeachment.
>
As opposed to your bitterness over his acquittal and the absence of
any criminal charges ever being filed against him.
Steve
<zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:59:48 -0700, Bill Bonde
><tributyl...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>3293 Dead wrote:
>>>
>>> http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Kucinich_sends_letter_to_CEOs_of_0411.html
>>>
>>> House committee asks oil firm CEOs to explain why gas might soon cost
>>> $4 per gallon
>>> RAW STORY
>>> Published: Wednesday April 11, 2007
>>> Print This Email This
>>>
>>> Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the Domestic Policy
>>> Subcommittee, has sent a letter to the CEOs of seven major oil
>>> companies demanding to know why gas prices could soon climb to $4 a
>>> gallon.
>>>
>>The market is reacting in anticipation of increased demand. Isn't that
>>obvious? If you don't want to pay $4 a gallon, don't drive around in
>>those gas guzzling SUVs. It just boggles the mind that *Democrats* are
>>ranting against the market when the market is doing what Democrats like
>>Gore keep whining for, reducing carbon emissions.
>
>I don't drive around in a gas-guzzling SUV, and I'm STILL paying $3.40
>a gallon.
Booo hooo hooo
Steve
<zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:32:04 -0700, Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote:
>
>>3293 Dead <zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>>
>>>http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Kucinich_sends_letter_to_CEOs_of_0411.html
>>>
>>>House committee asks oil firm CEOs to explain why gas might soon cost
>>>$4 per gallon
>>
>>>Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the Domestic Policy
>>>Subcommittee, has sent a letter to the CEOs of seven major oil
>>>companies demanding to know why gas prices could soon climb to $4 a
>>>gallon.
>>
>>I hope they tell Cuckoo Kucinich NOYFB, loon. It's a free country
>>and they can do whatever they want with their product. Anybody
>>who doesn't like it is perfectly free to start their own oil company
>>and proceed to explore, drill, refine and distribute their own oil
>>and charge less than they do.
>
>Freedom is for corporations, not people.
>
Zepp has all the freedoms aliens in the USA have always had... well,
except for the freedom to become a citizen... He lost that one
because he was a coward... he still is.
David Hartung
> On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:59:48 -0700, Bill Bonde
> <tributyl...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>
>> 3293 Dead wrote:
>>> http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Kucinich_sends_letter_to_CEOs_of_0411.html
>>>
>>> House committee asks oil firm CEOs to explain why gas might soon cost
>>> $4 per gallon
>>> RAW STORY
>>> Published: Wednesday April 11, 2007
>>> Print This Email This
>>>
>>> Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the Domestic Policy
>>> Subcommittee, has sent a letter to the CEOs of seven major oil
>>> companies demanding to know why gas prices could soon climb to $4 a
>>> gallon.
>>>
>> The market is reacting in anticipation of increased demand. Isn't that
>> obvious? If you don't want to pay $4 a gallon, don't drive around in
>> those gas guzzling SUVs. It just boggles the mind that *Democrats* are
>> ranting against the market when the market is doing what Democrats like
>> Gore keep whining for, reducing carbon emissions.
>
> I don't drive around in a gas-guzzling SUV, and I'm STILL paying $3.40
> a gallon.
>
> Your market is also reducing your economy.
I own a business, I set my prices based upon what I believe I need to make, and
upon what I believe my customers will pay. I suspect that the oil; companies do
the same thing. Why is this any business of Congressman Kucinich?
The idea that any congressman believe that Congress has the right to control any
prices, is morally repugnant.
David Hartung
Unless he has evidence of oil companies collaborating to fix prices, his letter
was out of line.
Mitchell Holman
@4ax.com:
> Mitchell Holman <Noe...@comcast.com> wrote:
>
>>Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote
>>> Not our problem. Let us drill offshore and in ANWR and let us build
>>> more refineries then maybe you'll have more gas. Otherwise quit
>>> your whining and STFU, liberal loon.
>>
>> And as for why drilling is banned in offshore Florida,
>>we, darned those Liberal Loons, ya know?
>
> The entire Bush family is a bunch of idiots. You think this is news,
> Mitchy?
>
So how is that it is "liberal loons" that are responsible
for blocking oil drilling?
Are the Bushes "liberal loons"?
> You're missing the point. The oil companies aren't branches of
> the federal government. They can do whatever they want.
Not on public property, they can't.
> If there
> is reasonable cause that they're breaking any laws, civil or
> criminal, federal, state or local, then the proper agencies are
> free to pursue legal avenues against them. But what they do is
> none of congress' business. Get it yet Mitchy?
Show us where they have any right to drill
on public land.
Jeffrey Scott Linder
>Foxtrot wrote:
>> 3293 Dead <zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote:
>>>> I hope they tell Cuckoo Kucinich NOYFB, loon. It's a free country
>>>> and they can do whatever they want with their product. Anybody
>>>> who doesn't like it is perfectly free to start their own oil company
>>>> and proceed to explore, drill, refine and distribute their own oil
>>>> and charge less than they do.
>>> Freedom is for corporations, not people.
>>
>> What do you think owns those corporations?
>>
>> The article says Cuckoo Kucinich is demanding answers. What
>> authority does he have to make such demands?
>>
>
>
> Ever heard of anti-trust laws?
The legislative branch writes the laws, it doesn't enforce them.
>Ever heard about laws banning price fixing?
Let Kucinich take his evidence to the Justice Department.
>Ever heard of the right of Congress to investigate illegal
>activity or do you think they can only investigate a blow job?
Sigh.
JSL
3293 Dead
And of course, a captive and dependent group of customers is ideal,
from your perspective. It's why restaurants in South Asia were
sometimes tempted to slip addictive items such as opium in their
servings.
But that's also a classic example of how what's good for the
businessman is NOT good for the society in which he lives. If you're
selling apples, nobody NEEDS apples in order to fucntion, so you can't
get away with selling them at $4 each.
One of the roles of government on behalf of the American people is to
prevent preditory business practices from ruining the economy and
turning the people into economic slaves. That is one of the reasons
the people created responsible government in the first place, and up
until the rise of fascism in America, it worked well.
>
>The idea that any congressman believe that Congress has the right to control any
>prices, is morally repugnant.
3293 Dead
Gosh, every gas station in town here is within two cents a gallon of
each other. Every day. Within minutes of a price change. It's a
marvel to behold. It's like when an entire school of fish all change
direction in the same instant.
Gosh, how could that possibly be collaboration?
3293 Dead
Linder) wrote:
>Carl Swanson <cswa...@palpubtelex.com> wrote:
>
>>Foxtrot wrote:
>>> 3293 Dead <zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote:
>>>>> I hope they tell Cuckoo Kucinich NOYFB, loon. It's a free country
>>>>> and they can do whatever they want with their product. Anybody
>>>>> who doesn't like it is perfectly free to start their own oil company
>>>>> and proceed to explore, drill, refine and distribute their own oil
>>>>> and charge less than they do.
>>>> Freedom is for corporations, not people.
>>>
>>> What do you think owns those corporations?
>>>
>>> The article says Cuckoo Kucinich is demanding answers. What
>>> authority does he have to make such demands?
>>>
>>
>>
>> Ever heard of anti-trust laws?
>
>The legislative branch writes the laws, it doesn't enforce them.
Nor does anyone else in this criminal administration.
So laws are good as long as they aren't enforced, Jeffy?
>
>>Ever heard about laws banning price fixing?
>
>Let Kucinich take his evidence to the Justice Department.
>
>>Ever heard of the right of Congress to investigate illegal
>>activity or do you think they can only investigate a blow job?
>
>Sigh.
>
>JSL
>
3293 Dead
<tributyl...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
>3293 Dead wrote:
>>
>> On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:59:48 -0700, Bill Bonde
>> <tributyl...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >
>> >3293 Dead wrote:
>> >>
>> >> http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Kucinich_sends_letter_to_CEOs_of_0411.html
>> >>
>> >> House committee asks oil firm CEOs to explain why gas might soon cost
>> >> $4 per gallon
>> >> RAW STORY
>> >> Published: Wednesday April 11, 2007
>> >> Print This Email This
>> >>
>> >> Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the Domestic Policy
>> >> Subcommittee, has sent a letter to the CEOs of seven major oil
>> >> companies demanding to know why gas prices could soon climb to $4 a
>> >> gallon.
>> >>
>> >The market is reacting in anticipation of increased demand. Isn't that
>> >obvious? If you don't want to pay $4 a gallon, don't drive around in
>> >those gas guzzling SUVs. It just boggles the mind that *Democrats* are
>> >ranting against the market when the market is doing what Democrats like
>> >Gore keep whining for, reducing carbon emissions.
>>
>> I don't drive around in a gas-guzzling SUV, and I'm STILL paying $3.40
>> a gallon.
>>
>So why do you care? If your car gets 50 miles per gallon, are you really
>saying that $3.40 a gallon is killing you?
It kills business if people can't afford to travel to conduct
business.
Remember stagflation, or was that before your time?
>
>
>
>> Your market is also reducing your economy.
>>
>> But hey, you're rich. So it's not your problem, right?
>>
>I'm discussing all things from a disinterested perspective.
3293 Dead
>3293 Dead <zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>
>>Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote:
>>>I hope they tell Cuckoo Kucinich NOYFB, loon. It's a free country
>>>and they can do whatever they want with their product. Anybody
>>>who doesn't like it is perfectly free to start their own oil company
>>>and proceed to explore, drill, refine and distribute their own oil
>>>and charge less than they do.
>>
>>Freedom is for corporations, not people.
>
>What do you think owns those corporations?
Certainly not the people. Usually, it's other multinational
corporations.
>
>The article says Cuckoo Kucinich is demanding answers. What
>authority does he have to make such demands?
He's a member of Congress.
David Hartung
You need more than that to prove collaboration.
Have you considered that all the stations in your area are getting their gas
from the same refinery? Memphis has a refinery and some years ago I was doing
some work at their truck loading facility. For me, the most interesting thing
was that just about every brand of gasoline sold in Memphis was loading at the
same facility. The refinery had a device to mix the appropriate additives into
the gasoline as it was pumped into the trucks. The refinery was owned, at the
time, by a company called Williams. In other words, if Williams raised the price
that they were selling their gas for, then it stands to reason that the
retailers would raise all their prices, by about the same margin. This is not
collaboration.
David Hartung
> On Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:43:03 GMT, linde...@osu.edu (Jeffrey Scott
> Linder) wrote:
>
>> Carl Swanson <cswa...@palpubtelex.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Foxtrot wrote:
>>>> 3293 Dead <zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote:
>>>>>> I hope they tell Cuckoo Kucinich NOYFB, loon. It's a free country
>>>>>> and they can do whatever they want with their product. Anybody
>>>>>> who doesn't like it is perfectly free to start their own oil company
>>>>>> and proceed to explore, drill, refine and distribute their own oil
>>>>>> and charge less than they do.
>>>>> Freedom is for corporations, not people.
>>>> What do you think owns those corporations?
>>>>
>>>> The article says Cuckoo Kucinich is demanding answers. What
>>>> authority does he have to make such demands?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Ever heard of anti-trust laws?
>> The legislative branch writes the laws, it doesn't enforce them.
>
> Nor does anyone else in this criminal administration.
You are on drugs.
David Hartung
> On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:34:04 -0700, Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote:
>
>> 3293 Dead <zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote:
>>>> I hope they tell Cuckoo Kucinich NOYFB, loon. It's a free country
>>>> and they can do whatever they want with their product. Anybody
>>>> who doesn't like it is perfectly free to start their own oil company
>>>> and proceed to explore, drill, refine and distribute their own oil
>>>> and charge less than they do.
>>> Freedom is for corporations, not people.
>> What do you think owns those corporations?
>
> Certainly not the people. Usually, it's other multinational
> corporations.
Try again.
You really do not know much about business, do you?
>> The article says Cuckoo Kucinich is demanding answers. What
>> authority does he have to make such demands?
>
> He's a member of Congress.
That does not give him the right to make demands of private sector business.
Kucinich may have the right to subpoena records, or individuals, but other than
that, all he has the right to do is to politely request.
David Hartung
> One of the roles of government on behalf of the American people is to
> prevent preditory business practices from ruining the economy and
> turning the people into economic slaves. That is one of the reasons
> the people created responsible government in the first place, and up
> until the rise of fascism in America, it worked well.
Where is this in the Constitution?
3293 Dead
Read the preface.
Steve
<zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:34:04 -0700, Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote:
>
>>3293 Dead <zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>>
>>>Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote:
>>>>I hope they tell Cuckoo Kucinich NOYFB, loon. It's a free country
>>>>and they can do whatever they want with their product. Anybody
>>>>who doesn't like it is perfectly free to start their own oil company
>>>>and proceed to explore, drill, refine and distribute their own oil
>>>>and charge less than they do.
>>>
>>>Freedom is for corporations, not people.
>>
>>What do you think owns those corporations?
>
>Certainly not the people. Usually, it's other multinational
>corporations.
Actually, the people do own all the corporations... people like me,
not people like Zepp. Zepp is way too stupid to invest in his own
future.
3293 Dead
<dhar...@quixnet.net> wrote:
>3293 Dead wrote:
>> On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:34:04 -0700, Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote:
>>
>>> 3293 Dead <zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote:
>>>>> I hope they tell Cuckoo Kucinich NOYFB, loon. It's a free country
>>>>> and they can do whatever they want with their product. Anybody
>>>>> who doesn't like it is perfectly free to start their own oil company
>>>>> and proceed to explore, drill, refine and distribute their own oil
>>>>> and charge less than they do.
>>>> Freedom is for corporations, not people.
>>> What do you think owns those corporations?
>>
>> Certainly not the people. Usually, it's other multinational
>> corporations.
>
>Try again.
>
>You really do not know much about business, do you?
More than you do, obviously.
Quick: Who owns Nabisco? Taco Bell? The LA Times?
>
>>> The article says Cuckoo Kucinich is demanding answers. What
>>> authority does he have to make such demands?
>>
>> He's a member of Congress.
>
>That does not give him the right to make demands of private sector business.
>Kucinich may have the right to subpoena records, or individuals, but other than
>that, all he has the right to do is to politely request.
3293 Dead
<dhar...@quixnet.net> wrote:
That's enough to investigate to see if there is collaboration.
You spent $90 million investigating Clinton on far flimsier evdence.
>
>Have you considered that all the stations in your area are getting their gas
>from the same refinery? Memphis has a refinery and some years ago I was doing
>some work at their truck loading facility. For me, the most interesting thing
>was that just about every brand of gasoline sold in Memphis was loading at the
>same facility. The refinery had a device to mix the appropriate additives into
>the gasoline as it was pumped into the trucks. The refinery was owned, at the
>time, by a company called Williams. In other words, if Williams raised the price
>that they were selling their gas for, then it stands to reason that the
>retailers would raise all their prices, by about the same margin. This is not
>collaboration.
omare...@aol.com
> http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Kucinich_sends_letter_to_CEOs_of_0411.html
>
> House committee asks oil firm CEOs to explain why gas might soon cost
> $4 per gallon
> RAW STORY
> Published: Wednesday April 11, 2007
> Print This Email This
>
> Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH),
You mean Representative Nutjob McEmbarrasstheleft "demands," liar.
Better luck next time :)
chairman of the Domestic Policy
> Subcommittee, has sent a letter to the CEOs of seven major oil
> companies demanding to know why gas prices could soon climb to $4 a
> gallon.
>
> Kucinich, whose committee oversees the Department of Energy, is asking
> top oil executives what role their companies play in the record high
> prices of gasoline.
>
> "We seek to learn how the realities of decreasing refinery capacity,
> decreasing gasoline inventories, rising oil company profitability and
> increasing market concentration in the oil industry may be the root
> cause of new record-high gasoline prices," Kucinich said in a
> statement.
>
> Kucinich continued, "Gasoline prices are stealing away the little
> discretionary income available to many Americans in this distressed
> economy. The federal government must act now to resolve these high
> prices."
>
> Kucinich previously introduced a bill, the Gas Price Spike Act, which
> taxes excessive oil profits.
>
> The text of Rep. Kucinich's letter follows in full...
> #
>
> Gasoline prices in California have recently experienced a considerable
> spike, far outpacing movement in the national price average. As we
> head into the summer driving season and the likelihood of higher
> gasoline prices, possibly reaching $4 per gallon, the Domestic Policy
> Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee requests
> your assistance in understanding the causes of this price disparity.
>
> News reports have indicated that refinery profit margins on the West
> Coast have increased substantially, from an average of $17 per barrel
> over the past five years to $39 per barrel currently.
>
> The number of refineries in California has fallen by more than half
> since the early 1980s, but more important, the remaining refineries
> have not increased supply capacity to keep pace with consumer demand.
> West Coast refineries ran at about 76% of capacity in 1985. Outages at
> one refinery were easily compensated for by increased production at
> other refineries. Now, West Coast refineries are running at nearly 92%
> of capacity, leaving little room even for maintenance without spiking
> prices due to lack of supply. Current inventory supplies may have
> fallen to only 17 days. That is below the very low level of inventory
> supply reached in May of 2006, when the state's gasoline prices hit a
> new record of $3.38 per gallon. At that time, California had about 18
> days of gasoline supply on hand, well below the national average at
> that time.
>
> The oil industry has experienced increasing concentration of market
> share in the past two decades. In 2006, the three largest refiners
> controlled about 50% of the state's market, with the top seven
> controlling 81 percent. Chevron alone controls 25% of the state's
> refining capacity.
>
> As we approach this year's peak driving season, the Subcommittee
> wishes to know how these factors of decreasing capacity, decreasing
> supply, rising profitability and increasing market concentration may
> be related to cause new record highs in the price of gasoline. I
> request that you provide the Subcommittee with detailed answers to all
> of the following questions:
>
> 1.
>
> What is your strategic plan to raise the supply of gasoline for
> the onset of the peak driving season, which is only weeks away?
> 2.
>
> What steps are you planning to take, and when do you plan to
> take them, to bring back online refining capacity that you have
> removed from production? When do you plan to have attained maximum
> refining capacity?
> 3.
>
> What steps are you planning to take, and when do you plan to
> take them, to find supply other than your own production to bring your
> inventory to the national average of up to 30 days supply?
> 4.
>
> What steps are you planning to take, and when do you plan to
> take them, to import either the precursors for CARB gasoline or the
> identical product, from outside of the state?
> 5.
>
> What are you projecting your refinery margins to be during peak
> driving season?
>
> The Subcommittee also has concerns about the oil industry's resistance
> to deploying technological measures to adjust for the well-known
> effects of temperature on gasoline, particularly in summer and in
> warmer states including California. As you are aware, gasoline expands
> as it warms, and the amount of energy in a gallon falls, thus
> providing less value per gallon. Industry standards have long assured
> that retailers pay only for the fuel they receive by setting a 60
> degree standard and adjusting for the effects of warmer fuel. However,
> as recent news stories have reported, the benefits of temperature
> adjusted fuel pricing have not been extended to the average consumer.
> In fact, one potential provider of temperature adjusted pumps,
> Gilbarco Veeder-Root, announced its reversal of a decision to market
> such pump equipment in California, citing complaints from the oil
> industry.
>
> 1.
>
> What, if any, objections does your company have to the
> certification and use of temperature adjusted pumps at gas stations in
> the United States?
> 2.
>
> What steps have you taken in the absence of temperature adjusted
> pumps to ensure consumers are not paying for units of energy they
> aren't receiving?
> 3.
>
> Would you object to a federal law phasing in
> temperature-compensated gasoline sales in the United States?
>
> In addition, the Subcommittee is concerned about market barriers for
> alternative fuels, such as E85 fuels. Recent news reports have
> highlighted corporate requirements that restrict or discourage service
> stations from offering E85 fuels. Among those practices are
> limitations on advertisements of E85, requirements for separate
> islands for E85 pumps, and allowing stations to offer E85 only after
> applying and obtaining a contract exemption. Deployment of E85, which
> would reduce demand for petroleum and relieve high prices, is part of
> larger effort to conserve fossil fuels.
>
> 1.
>
> What requirements do you place on your dealers (such as
> requiring they carry all grades of your branded gasoline, and
> restricting them from advertising products not produced by your
> refineries on roadside signage) that practically affect the ability of
> dealers to store, dispense and advertise E85?
> 2.
>
> What do you estimate the costs to be to your dealers to make E85
> available, with your current requirements referenced above?
> 3.
>
> What changes in the physical plant of your dealers would be
> required for your dealers to carry E85?
> 4.
>
> Would you be willing to allow stations an exemption to rules
> requiring that they carry all three grades of branded gasoline, so
> they could utilize their midgrade fuel tanks for E85 or other
> renewable fuels?
> 5.
>
> What steps are you taking or do you intend to take to speed up
> the deployment of E85?
>
> The Subcommittee would appreciate that you provide detailed and
> documented answers to all of these questions by April 25. If you have
> any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Jaron Bourke,
> Staff Director of the Subcommittee.
> #
>
> --
> "Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government
> talking
> about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order.
> Nothing has
> changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists,
> we're
> talking about getting a court order before we do so"
> -George W. Bush, April 20, 2004
>
> Not dead, in jail, or a slave? Thank a liberal!
> Pay your taxes so the rich don't have to.
>
> http://www.zeppscommentaries.com
> For news feed,http://yahoogroups/subscribe/zepps_news
> For essays (please contribute!)
> http:yahoogroups/subscribe/zepps_essays
>
> --
>
> "I am fully committed, as the administration's fully committed, to ensure that, with respect to every United States
> attorney position in this country, we will have a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed United States attorney."
>
> --Alberto Gonzales, committing perjury before Congress
>
> Putsch: leading America to asymetric warfare since 2001
>
> Not dead, in jail, or a slave? Thank a liberal!
> Pay your taxes so the rich don't have to.
> For the finest in liberal/leftist commentary,http://www.zeppscommentaries.com
> For news feed (free, 10-20 articles a day)http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/zepps_news
> For essays (donations accepted, 2 articles/week)http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/zepps_essays
David Hartung
> On Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:14:56 -0500, David Hartung
> <dhar...@quixnet.net> wrote:
>
>> 3293 Dead wrote:
>>
>>> One of the roles of government on behalf of the American people is to
>>> prevent preditory business practices from ruining the economy and
>>> turning the people into economic slaves. That is one of the reasons
>>> the people created responsible government in the first place, and up
>>> until the rise of fascism in America, it worked well.
>> Where is this in the Constitution?
>
> Read the preface.
I think that you mean "Preamble"
Here it is:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,
promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
States of America.
Now, please explain how the Preamble give the Federal Government the authority
to do all the things you stated in your post, especially given the the ninth
Amendment which says:
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed
to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Or the tenth Amendment:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to
the people.
Bill Bonde
I think the solution is to migrate away from that monster SUV to
something you can afford to drive around in. Since gasoline in Europe is
often double what it is in the US, what was your complaint again?
> Remember stagflation, or was that before your time?
>
Carter's stagflation? He didn't have the guts to go through the
difficult recession that the Fed put the country through under Reagan to
come out into the Shining City on the Hill that Reagan built.
3293 Dead
<dhar...@quixnet.net> wrote:
"Promote the general welfare" chuckles. That means the government is
there to prevent churches, aristocracy, or corporations fron enslaving
the American people.
Docky Wocky
""Promote the general welfare" chuckles. That means the government is
there to prevent churches, aristocracy, or corporations fron enslaving
the American people..."
__________________________
Considereing the source, that sounds a lot like..."Hi! I'm from the
government, and I am here to help you."
Steve
<OL> Another keeper from Zepp.... Zepp has a big problem
understanding the Constitution.... See below.
"The first amendment means that you are protected by law from haters."
--Zepp Jamieson
"http://groups.google.com/groups?oi=djq&selm=an_541474719
David Hartung
Does it now.
Funny, I don't see that anywhere in the Constitution.
The government classes I took years ago taught me that the purpose of the
Constitution was to prevent the government from enslaving the people by limiting
the powers of the government.
3293 Dead
<dhar...@quixnet.net> wrote:
Gosh, I don't see anything about murder in the constitution, either.
Guess that means it's ok.
>
>The government classes I took years ago taught me that the purpose of the
>Constitution was to prevent the government from enslaving the people by limiting
>the powers of the government.
Then what was the government FOR? Tell us, chuckles!
3293 Dead
wrote:
Tell us how corporations are your kind masters who only have your best
interests at heart.
David Hartung
> On Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:18:14 GMT, "Docky Wocky" <mrc...@lst.net>
> wrote:
>
>> body counter sez:
>>
>> ""Promote the general welfare" chuckles. That means the government is
>> there to prevent churches, aristocracy, or corporations fron enslaving
>> the American people..."
>> __________________________
>> Considereing the source, that sounds a lot like..."Hi! I'm from the
>> government, and I am here to help you."
>
> Tell us how corporations are your kind masters who only have your best
> interests at heart.
I was not aware that "corporations" were, at any time, my master.
I do have a couple who are customers, but that is something different.
David Hartung
To provide for law and order, and to defend the nation from foreign aggression.
Steve
<zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>On Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:18:14 GMT, "Docky Wocky" <mrc...@lst.net>
>wrote:
>
>>body counter sez:
>>
>>""Promote the general welfare" chuckles. That means the government is
>>there to prevent churches, aristocracy, or corporations fron enslaving
>>the American people..."
>>__________________________
>>Considereing the source, that sounds a lot like..."Hi! I'm from the
>>government, and I am here to help you."
>
>Tell us how corporations are your kind masters who only have your best
>interests at heart.
They give me money regularly.. Does that count?
Jeffrey Scott Linder
>On Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:43:03 GMT, linde...@osu.edu (Jeffrey Scott
>Linder) wrote:
>
>>Carl Swanson <cswa...@palpubtelex.com> wrote:
>>
>>>Foxtrot wrote:
>>>> 3293 Dead <zepp22...@finestplanet.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Foxtrot <fox...@null.com> wrote:
>>>>>> I hope they tell Cuckoo Kucinich NOYFB, loon. It's a free country
>>>>>> and they can do whatever they want with their product. Anybody
>>>>>> who doesn't like it is perfectly free to start their own oil company
>>>>>> and proceed to explore, drill, refine and distribute their own oil
>>>>>> and charge less than they do.
>>>>> Freedom is for corporations, not people.
>>>>
>>>> What do you think owns those corporations?
>>>>
>>>> The article says Cuckoo Kucinich is demanding answers. What
>>>> authority does he have to make such demands?
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Ever heard of anti-trust laws?
>>
>>The legislative branch writes the laws, it doesn't enforce them.
>
>Nor does anyone else in this criminal administration.
That may be...but then that's an opinion...not a fact.
>So laws are good as long as they aren't enforced, Jeffy?
Keep babbling...its about the only thing you appear to be good at.
Jeffrey Scott Linder
>On Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:48:58 -0500, David Hartung
><dhar...@quixnet.net> wrote:
>
>>3293 Dead wrote:
>>> On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:59:48 -0700, Bill Bonde
>>> <tributyl...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> 3293 Dead wrote:
>>>>> http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Kucinich_sends_letter_to_CEOs_of_0411.html
>>>>>
>>>>> House committee asks oil firm CEOs to explain why gas might soon cost
>>>>> $4 per gallon
>>>>> RAW STORY
>>>>> Published: Wednesday April 11, 2007
>>>>> Print This Email This
>>>>>
>>>>> Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the Domestic Policy
>>>>> Subcommittee, has sent a letter to the CEOs of seven major oil
>>>>> companies demanding to know why gas prices could soon climb to $4 a
>>>>> gallon.
>>>>>
>>>> The market is reacting in anticipation of increased demand. Isn't that
>>>> obvious? If you don't want to pay $4 a gallon, don't drive around in
>>>> those gas guzzling SUVs. It just boggles the mind that *Democrats* are
>>>> ranting against the market when the market is doing what Democrats like
>>>> Gore keep whining for, reducing carbon emissions.
>>>
>>> I don't drive around in a gas-guzzling SUV, and I'm STILL paying $3.40
>>> a gallon.
>>>
>>> Your market is also reducing your economy.
>>
>>I own a business, I set my prices based upon what I believe I need to make, and
>>upon what I believe my customers will pay. I suspect that the oil; companies do
>>the same thing. Why is this any business of Congressman Kucinich?
>
>And of course, a captive and dependent group of customers is ideal,
>from your perspective. It's why restaurants in South Asia were
>sometimes tempted to slip addictive items such as opium in their
>servings.
>
>But that's also a classic example of how what's good for the
>businessman is NOT good for the society in which he lives. If you're
>selling apples, nobody NEEDS apples in order to fucntion, so you can't
>get away with selling them at $4 each.
You really are stupid aren't you Zepp?
I need water to survive and its really cheap.
I don't need diamonds to survive and they are very expensive.
>One of the roles of government on behalf of the American people is to
>prevent preditory business practices from ruining the economy and
>turning the people into economic slaves.
It is? Where is that in the Constitution?
>That is one of the reasons
>the people created responsible government in the first place, and up
>until the rise of fascism in America, it worked well.
If that's why they did it in the first place then it should be in the
Constitution.
>>
>>The idea that any congressman believe that Congress has the right to control any
>>prices, is morally repugnant.
JSL
Bert Hyman
news:461fd59c....@nntp.service.ohio-state.edu:
> You really are stupid aren't you Zepp?
That's a strange question to ask of a rotting tree stump.
--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN | be...@iphouse.com
Jeffrey Scott Linder
OK...So there's a nice fuzzy warm reason for setting up the
government...now tell us where in the Constitution we ceded them the
power to do what you claim.
JSL