Yes, Liberals do want to control our oil! errrrr, something like that.

Oil is a global commodity - we cannot privitize the industry - just like gold.

"Why are they free to do as they please?" ahh . . . cause this is a free country.

Jennifer you keep missing the reason why this country is what it is. It's the capitalism, the "Profit" motive that made it as powerful as it is.

I recently heard that the oil companies profits are 4% of total oil sales. I know that in percentage it seems like a small number but in dollars it is astronomical. I also heard that the gov't takes 15% for taxes, that's nearly 4 times more than the oil companies make.

Makes me think that the gov't is intentionally allowing prices to soar so that they could make more. I don't know exactly why, but that's how it seems. maybe so they could even give back a stimulus check to excite people. maybe it's because the need is so great and they can't raise taxes at this time for fear of hurting the country further so they get it this way. maybe you know, what do you think?

Past "estimates" of oil reserves and estimates of oil availability by so-called experts have failed to take many factors into account, including:

• The growth of demand for gasoline and diesel by third-world countries such as India
• The expansion of automobile use worldwide as the global economy raised living standards in the Far East and elsewhere
• Interruption of supply resulting from war, political unrest and civil war in some producing nations

Sorry, but I don't buy the claim of 140 years at 2007 levels.  The words "proven" and "estimate" seem to be in direct conflict with one another.

Jennifer - you are not speaking greek, however, you are comparing apples to watermelons (even farther apart than apples and oranges). A gallon is a gallon is a gallon. No matter how many gallons are pumped. They are fixed units. Are you suggesting a cap per gallon? What is that cap based upon? The cost of the gallon? The cost to get that gallon to the pump? How are you going to determine profit (oh, you don't care about profit, you just want a percentage cap).

Oh, by the way, the mortgage industry is not capped on profits. They can make as much profit as they want, just need to write more loans. Oh wait, they did and now we have a credit crisis.

Take an economics class or thirty. Then, when you understand what you are talking about, you might start making some sense.

By the way, caps in any field are discencentives to performance.

Mike, I used to serve on the Board of Directors of an oil & gas firm in Texas.  Thanks, but I'm fully aware of the "sophisticated process" by which reserves are estimated.

I have friends in the industry who freely admit among themselves that reserve estimates are just that..estimates.  A friend whose wife was an exec at Halliburton loves to joke about the accuracy of the oil industry's published reserve estimates.

Eric Kodner

Madeline Island Realty

Someone correct me if I'm wrong (how silly of me... of course someone will correct me - LOL).  I read 'somewhere' that the oil companies make about 8-9 cents per gallon in profit.  So, even if you capped their profit at 1 cent per gallon it simply isn't going to make a dent in what I am spending at the pumps.

The problem seems to be somewhere else.

For once I agree with Terry...we need to stop focusing our attention on oil and start putting our money into alternatives. The sooner we as a  nation become free of the strong hold oil has on us, the better off we will be.  It would be nice to sit back and watch other countries argue over gas prices, while we sit on the future alternative and wait for them to come to us for the technology.

Terry - I thought you were leaving! CNN and their analysts only air "facts" that support what they want to say. Often, their facts are only other analysts conjecture. I did not see this special, so, I have no idea what their source information was.

I do remember analysts saying, in the 70's, that we would be out of oil by now (and others saying we would be in an ice age). Maybe that's why the temperature here only got to 73 yesterday.

Regardless of whether it is 140 years or 40 years, we have the opportunity to use existing technology to limit cost increase in energy while we are perfecting alternate energy sources and making them economically viable. (All without taking draconian measures that would assure the failure of the economy).

There is a saying I used to tell my bosses Piss Poor Planning (PPP or Pcubed) on Your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. Unfortunately, that is not true with the group of PPP bozo's that have put us in this position and refuse to acknowledge their significant role. There is now an emergency on our part and some of you can only think of ways to make it worse.

There is a nice analysis of the breakdown on the price of gas (per dollar) at this site.

One of the things that really gets my goat is how the conservatives have made the price of gas go up ever since the Democrats took control of congress.  Those people have a lot of nerve keeping the price down while they were in control and now that the Dems are in charge, the conservatives have just let the price go through the roof. 

It's an outrage, I tell you!

And another thing... why, in America, should anyone make a profit on something that is so vital to our lives as oil?  The next thing you know, evil corporations are going to be allowed to make a profit on clothing, shelter, food and medicine too.

This insanity must end now!  We need these things to live.  It's just not right for anyone to make a profit off them.  Fortunately, we have wise people like Maxine Waters looking out for us.  She and her friends will 'take over' all these evil corporations so that we can all live happily ever after.

Ahh, the tired, worn-out myth that "the Dems are in charge".

The Democrats don't have the numbers to override a presidential veto.  But that will likely change in November.