My open letter to Congressman Devin Nunes

As your constituent and as a registered voting Republican I am sending you this letter to confirm the telephone call I made to your Washington D.C. office last week.

I expressed concern and even anger at the high price of gasoline and demanded that the congress in the interest of national security, nationalize all oil refining in the United States and use Army reservists to take-over and run them. Refining should be under the direct control of the government and in particular, the Army Corp of Engineers.

The Army Corp of Engineers already controls 100% of national hydroelectric energy produced by control of dams and waterways.

I believe the government should now control oil and regulate the value thereof much as it does the price of gold.

Nationalization of oil and gas refineries will have a number of desired effects.

1.) Reduce the price of gasoline and diesel fuel needed to move products. 2.) Reduce the price of store products with reduced transportation costs. 3.) Provide a standard fuel grade for all 50 states. 4.) Regulate the amount of exported oil and fuel.

By standardizing fuel grades nationally, fuels can now be transported interstate without blend restrictions or seasonal state adjustments.

Any state wishing to tinker with the fuel blend must then do so at their own cost and have their own way to blend and distribute their own product. Congress should make a law declaring no state shall import or export across their state line any modified fuel. In short, California couldn’t supply Los Angeles, much more the entire state with blended fuel. That’s their states right and let the voters deal with those in state government for fuel shortages and high prices.

The government now controls and regulates offshore oil leasing, all oil drilling on federal lands and waters, nuclear energy, hydroelectric energy, fuel emission standards, fuel mileage standards, interstate pipeline construction, and import and export tariffs.

It’s time the government stops price gouging at the pumps by greedy refineries that create artificial shortages at the pump by shutting down refineries and switching seasonal blends while continuing to sell fuel to foreign countries.

In closing, we here in Tulare County that live on a fixed income can no longer afford the crushing effect of high gasoline prices.

I needn’t remind you congressman, the last time fuel costs were this high, oil was $147.00 a barrel. It is now at $92.00 per barrel yet gasoline is over $6.00 per gallon in Los Angeles County and near $5.00 per gallon in Springville, California.

That’s greed. That’s gouging. That’s price fixing. That’s crime and someone should be jailed for it.

hummm it was 1.84 just 4 years while ago. how’s it working for you?

Hmm ... forgot to tell you this.

I filled up my truck this morning for $3.36 a gallon.

How’s that working for you in California?

I couldn't agree more Jim. The problem is the government has already taken over drilling permits on federal land, hydroelectric generation, pipeline construction, federal mileage standards, fuel emissions, the national oil reserve, refinery building permits, refinery modernization and so much more.

I'd prefer to go back to the days where the federal government did no more or less that what the Constitution deligates to the 3 branches. I think we'd both agree that what has been done to date is nothing but social engineering and pandering for votes by creating groups and classifications based on race, income, education and more.

I admit I am clueless about having an idea to undo any of the above, since voting one bum over another won't work.

I've been around in my lifetime. I have stood shoulder to shoulder with patriots in armed confrontation against the IRS, ATF, U.S. Treasury and Secret Service. I have. Years ago I stood with my local Chief of Police and 3 of his deputies against these invading tyrants and defended my property and constitutional rights from being violated.

I no longer advocate such actions because the days of the beat cop are gone and the Kevlar jackboot paramilitary are here. What we once got away with would now cost us our lives, so I do NOT advocate this type action any longer unless you have a Randy Weaver death wish.

All sarcasm aside, I sincerely hope you're not gloating about lower prices in Texas than in Calistan.

Think about what you just said for a moment.

You just told us that you paid 25% per year more for gasoline for each of the last 4 years. I’d be willing to bet your truck mileage didn't double because of the great Texas secret refining techniques and blending.

For you, the oil companies have screwed you and your family and you seem delighted.

What ever the pump price read, divide it by 2 and ask yourself where the extra money you just paid to the oil companies went.

I for sure wasn't due to higher oil prices because gas cost less when crude was $147.00 per barrel.

The only difference between us seems to be I’m more pissed than you are by California's highest in the nation gas prices.

I don't gloat. About football or the price of oil/gas.

Pansgold, you needn't tell me anything about the oil & gas industry as I have spent my work life there, 35 years of it to be exact. I'm the controller for an independent exploration and operating company.

You needn't tell me either about the price of a barrel or an MMBTU or the marketing cost of the product going from the wellhead to the plant or the refinery or the drilling and cost of exploratory wells or the taxes and fees paid or how the profit is derived or just about anything else about the industry.

Don't goad me about what I have to pay at the pump, just like everyone else does, and am sick of it too.

I can guarantee you that it's not the oil companies that created this mess, it was the government and their regulations and interventions of the industry.

And now you want to hand the industry over to them? That will probably work out just great. Just like Solendra, A123, Chevy and anything and everything else they decide to dabble in, you think? Those worked out just wonderful didn't they? Do you drive a Volt?

You have a right to be pissed off but, aim your piss at the right target please.

“I can guarantee you that it's not the oil companies that created this mess...”

but it's the oil companies that are spending the money they are taking from consumers at the pump.

I also am no stranger to gas prices. I am old enough to remember gas wars and .17.9 cent per gallon gas. That was around 1962 when our family ran a Sinclair station. Then in 65 a Standard Oil station. In 1973 I ran an independent station for a company called Transport Oil Company and well remember the run up in pump prices from the Arab oil embargo.

I remember the outrage from customers at me every time I raised the pump price when I got a phone call from my supplier. “Your cost per gallon just went up a nickle for regular” about once a week. Gas lines 2 blocks long to my pumps.

I sold #1 and #2 fuel and was also a truck stop and #2 sold for around .22 per gallon and we offered a “ 2 cent trucker cash discount” after a 100 gallons.

Like now the refineries were taking the money as I watched my gallonage drop from 300,000 per month to 75,000 and I still made 3 to 5 cents per gallon no matter what the price from which I paid operation costs.

Eventually I could only stay open 3 days a week and had to limit gas gallonage per customer to 5 gallons per day. If I didn't, all my dairy product sales would go out of code date and get tossed.

The best thing I ever did was get the hell out of that gasoline business. You see, I might know a bit about the oil and gas business too.

Been there done that but on the retail end.

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