IN PRAISE OF OIL

ModernConservative.com ^ | Burt Prelutsky

[connell]

Please pay close attention because we're going to be discussing numbers, and I

happen to know that most of you are lousy at math.

In 1933, a movie ticket cost a quarter, a hamburger was a dime, and a soda pop

was a nickel. Assuming you actually had a dollar in 1933, you could go out on a date for

a dollar and come home with change.

In 1936, a gallon of gas cost 25 cents. A year later, my dad bought a new

Plymouth sedan for less than $800. In 1946, it was the car he was still driving when our

family moved from Chicago to L.A.

In 1949, a 14-oz bottle of ketchup cost 15 cents, and a t-bone steak cost 55 cents-

a-pound.

My reason for giving you this brief history in practical economics is to...

[Pessimist]

I disagree with his thesis.

I don't think that people are hyper-sensitive to the price of gas because of politicization by the left.

Instead, I think people always tend to be hyper sensitive to the prices of necessary commodities. Note that I said commoditites, not "luxuries" or status symbols.

People gripe just as much about the cost of milk, etc.. And its not unusual for people to clip coupon and drive half way across town to save a few cents on many grocery items.

[Chena]

bttt

I received an e-mail today from a liberal who could pose as the posterchild for the "Hate Bush" crowd.

Here's the e-mail: "NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Corporate profits among the FORTUNE 500 roared
in 2005, led by $36.1 billion that flowed into Exxon Mobil's coffers --
the biggest annual profit on record for a U.S. company.
That means the nation's biggest oil company was earning nearly $99
million a day, or about $1,140 a second.

The Lib also said, "Just a note: The Sheiks of the Middle East aren't the only ones making
money. Oil is a dirty business and the sooner we find workable alternatives
the better off we will be.
So....how are you profiting under dubya????? Times money."

I guess this person hasn't heard about President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative, and missed the criticism he received for saying that we're addicted to oil. This person believes that the war was for oil, Bush is Satan incarnate, and that the tax cuts were for the rich. This person would also probably get a serious case of hives if ANWR is opened for oil exploration. LOL

I haven't responded to the e-mail yet. Any advice?

[M1Tanker]

Tell him his "two minutes hate" is up and his irrational lies have no place in civil discourse.

I doubt he will get the reference to the book 1984, but then, few leftists do.

Ask him what did Clinton do in the 90s about oil dependence? And emptying the Strategic Reserve to drop prices for an election (oil we had to pay MORE for to replace) does not equal "doing something about it".

But then, reason and rational arguments never worked with these people in the past.

[Chena]

I've tried reason, facts and rational arguments in the past on a variety of issues but the only responses I get are emotional rants based on nothing but hatred for Bush. That's one of the reasons I decided last year that I wasn't going to even attempt reasoned debate with this person in the future.

Thanks for the advice, M1Tanker. I'll keep gathering my thoughts until I can find a short, yet accurate response.

[dhs12345]

What were the profits like in the 80s? The downturn in the cost of oil in the 80s really hurt Colorado's economy.

[Chena]

I don't know; I'd have to research that.

[connell]

Giving advice on this matter is complicated. I regularly struggle with the question of how to deal with---and in some cases, whether to continue communications with---angry liberals. For now, the best thing I can say is this: stay calm, and know your facts cold. Or, decide that if someone is too far gone, it is better to keep your powder dry for someone who may be convincible.

I do not regularly post here, but our contributing authors (such as the author of this article) and I regularly post our opinions, along with lots of good information, over at ModernConservative.com

An example worthy of memorization is yesterday's article, The plight of American blacks: the Democrats' fault from the start.

Cheers!

[Chena]

Thank you, connell. It can be frustrating trying to explain even the simplest facts to some Liberals, but I do keep my cool 99% of the time.

I'll pop on over to that website and check it out. I enjoyed the article posted on this thread and want to read, "The plight of American blacks: the Democrats' fault from the start." The Dems have been using their black base for years, and that's not because they want what's best for them.