Gasoline Wars Happening Right Now

When I was a young man, gas stations had what we called, "gasoline wars". This was caused by one station across the street dropping prices thus causing the other to do the same thing. It kept going like dominoes falling and we eventually got gasoline at $.19 cents per gallon. Man, that was sweet. We would go to sleep at night and as our heads hit the pillows we dreamed of girls and hot-rods; not necessarily in that order because the prettiest girls hung around the sharpest cars. Friends with better jobs or family money would run a '71 Monte Carlo with a 4-barrel 400 four bolt main. Chrome rims and white letter tires and a roaring chrome dual exhaust.

It appears we have gas wars now. Not necessarily between the gas stations, but between consumers and whomever has their finger on gas prices. You people that regulate gas prices (whomever you may be) think you are suckering us because we "got used to" $2.00 per gallon for gas. I think I speak for my American colleagues when I tell you we never got used to unrealistic gas prices. This seems to be controlled by the government and we accepted it because we had to. We had to take our kids to school and go to work. If you would eliminate federal and state taxes on fuel, that would really help all of us. But, I can't help but wander, "do you want to help us"? Home building is rock bottom. People have to boycott gas as much as possible because they can't afford an eighty to over one hundred dollar fill-up. Those of you on Capital Hill can. You make more money than the average American. If a Saudi leader has their finger on oil prices, I have to see this as taxation without representation. You tax the fuel, yet I don't have a senator, representative nor president in Saudi-Arabia. How can I be represented by the taxes you put on foreign fuel? I'm just a dumb southern boy. I need someone to explain this to me, a humble redneck. I thought we had an oil reserve...America. What are we waiting for? A nuclear war where it won't matter anyway? Gasoline is the lifeblood of our nation. You know who you are and you made it that way. Give blood. We are going to shut down if you don't. Is that what our leaders want? One has to wonder. Even the great Roman Empire crumbled because they became complacent and too confident that destruction would never happen. It did. Are there barbarians at the gate?

II've been checking out scooters to help with my gasoline boycott. Not Harley's, but scooters that can be bought for a couple of grand. They will carry two people and get an average of 80 miles per gallon. They will also run about 75 miles per hour. As long as it runs close to the speed limit, I'm fine with it. The only disadvantages I can think of are: You don't have as much room as a car; You can't go as fast, and you are not surrounded by metal which may protect or impale you. These scooters seem practical to me...Washington doesn't.