Mike Luckovich for March 20, 2022

That is so typical of a republican response, think big oil might be related!

No surprise that the American OILigarchs who are price gouging and profiteering off a current crisis situation are trying to SHIFT THE BLAME to Biden, Putin or any other squirrels they can get their trained, salivating dogs to chase.

The reality is that these are not merely the PUTIN gas price increases (which are being felt worldwide, not just in the U.S., and less here than in most other countries thanks to our strong economic leadership), but these price hikes are the result of CORPORATE GREED, PRICE GOUGING and PROFITEERING during a crisis.

The corporate OILigarchs are enjoying RECORD PROFITS that far exceed the rates of inflation. This is based on PROFITS, not inflation, or their profits would be commensurate with other inflationary factors.This is more akin to someone charging $100 for a bottle of water during a disaster such as a wildfire, hurricane, flood or tornado, which would be illegal.

Further proof? Gas being sold now was refined from crude previously purchased at lower prices long before Russia invaded Ukraine. Crude oil prices have actually DROPPED in recent days, but prices that were quick to rise on higher oil prices (prices for gasoline refined from previous cheaper crude) are — surprise! surprise! — not so quick to fall.

The ones feeling “pain at the pump” are the ones who were so thrilled to be driving off in their gas-guzzling behemoths to enrich corporate OILigarchs — corporate or foreign economic terrorists.

Those of us who plug our electric vehicles into our solar panels smile and wave as we drive past the guy changing the price signs at the gas stations. We are the ones who are least impacted by prices at the pump.

We do see increased costs to us, but we only see the INDIRECT cost increases due to increased shipping and transport expenses. While the costs of other products may go up because suppliers have been short-sighted in failing to switch to renewables, at leat our driving habits are NOT affected by prices at the pump.

Really?

So typically American: Affordable health care? “That’s Socialism! Let our god Capitalism sort it out.” A livable minimum wage? “Let the (holy and all sacred) market decide!” Gas prices go up? “Acck! Someone do something! The system we worship is working (but now it’s biting us all in the keister)!”

Thanks to Biden, There’s not enough Natural Gas left in America to Gaslight the people into believing Biden doesn’t LOVE high price gasoline and he LOVES the pain it puts on Americans.

Trying to blame the people he won’t allow to drill on land that actually has oil on it just makes him look blind, clueless and uncaring to the misery he’s caused.

Heroin addicts need to get off the drug.

Unfortunately, our parties are populated by [wannabe/multi-]millionaires, and housing, education, and cost-of-living expenses for the middle-class “concern” Congress-members only before elections not after. Hyperpartisanship has increasingly made our Congress almost completely dysfunctional forcing our presidents to attempt to do Congress’s job and being the target for blame when their limited power is inadequate to fully resolve the issues.A Congress that does not communicate, collaborate, cooperate, or compromise should have no place [impeachment?] in a Congress where elected officials take a solemn oath to serve our indivisible nation.

At one time we had an “excess profits tax”, and the government went after big corporations that profiteered from the country’s situation. Just a thought.

Kellogg is but a soggy corn flake in a cereal bowl full of lying turds. That’s its favorite morning meal to start the day off Reich.

So, we’ll see a decrease in prices for natural gas and gasoline since their wellhead prices have been decreasing, right….

No worries: Maserati Manchin will hold the (price) line!

This is true.. had the insurrection gone trumps way or if Pence would have had any balls trump would be in charge.. his buddy Putin would not have attacked Ukraine gas would be at historic lows, visible minorities would know their place.. the wall would be complete and the US would be great again. Definitely Biden’s fault.

Texan oil oligarchs aren’t complaining, ya hoo!

Actually, what high fuel prices point out is the need to quickly move away from dependence on oil wells.

Are electric vehicles the answer? Let’s not be unduly optimistic.

As car manufacturers improved on the energy density of batteries over the years, configurations of batteries have also evolved—from NMC 3-3-3 (three parts nickel, manganese and cobalt) to the latest NMC 8-1-1 (eight parts nickel, one part manganese and cobalt). This dependence on nickel has 2 looming problems:

(1) 70% of nickel usage is devoted to production of stainless steel, demand for which is unlikely to slacken. As demand for battery-grade nickel rises, so will the price of supplying that demand.

(2) Nickel ore is not distributed uniformly around the globe. The leading sources of it are Indonesia, the Philippines, and Russia — all countries ruled by autocrats. To this point, they’re all too self-centered to be willing to form an OPEC-like cartel, but the idea may prove too seductive to resist.

ha!! gas prices are so high here that my mailman calls me on the phone and reads my bills to me!

Business Insider: “Sen. Joe Manchin earned $500,000 in 2020 from his son’s energy firm, which Manchin founded in 1998. He’s also the chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which regulates the industry.”

It’s better to have someone to blame than to try to solve the problem.

Of course they shift the blame. They love making money.

Intellectual comment for the day’s award goes to Jimmy of the Chronister Clan.