That's billion with a "b".

If you have heard this joke before hang with me while I tell it again.

I went on a blind date with a very attractive woman last night. When I say her I was so taken by her beauty that I asked her what she wanted to do. She told me she wanted to go to the most expensive place in town; so I took her to the gas station......Okay, so it's not exactly Pryoresque.

But I thought of that joke today while I was gassing up my car. $3.85 a gallon? Are you kidding me? And yet, as someone pointed out, a gallon of gas is still cheaper than a gallon of milk.

Honestly I don't know how some people are making it in this country. I do alright money wise, and I even noticed that the cost of things like groceries have shot up over the past few weeks. I suspect that this has something to do with the cost of fuel as well. After all, someone has to drive those groceries to the grocery store.

But how did this happen? Weren't the Iraqis supposed to be giving up their oil to us after we kicked their asses? Didn't we put an oil man in the White House for this very reason?

11.6 billion in one quarter that's how much Exxon made in profits last quarter. Nothing wrong with that of course, this is A-merry-ca, if the market demands it, they have every right to make money. But at what point does the market stop demanding it? When do A-merry-cans say enough? I suspect that if gas was $6 a gallon mofos would still be driving around in Ford Excursions, Hummers, and all sorts of big ass fuel guzzlers. And most folks would still jump in their cars and drive a quarter mile on a beautiful day to buy a newspaper, instead of just hoofing it. This is what we have become as A-merry-cans, we are lazy, and spoiled.

Now the conservatives are blaming the dumbocrats: They won't drill in the ANWR(Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), the damn environmentalist won't let us explore nuclear energy as an alternative to what we have now, we can drill off the coasts, and on an on. That, of course, is bullshit. Because no matter how much oil the oil companies drill, they will still not release it all to the market. No, they will hold back to create demand just like the Arabs are doing now. We have been down this road before. Give these corporations a chance to make more profit and guess what they will do? Make more profit. And if you think they will pass it down to you, the consumer, I have a slightly cracked bell here in Philly to sell you.

So now one of the hottest sellers at Pep Boys is the gas caplock. This is the case because people steal gas now, and it's only getting worse. People in our area have been going to the mall with a full tank of gas, and after a full day of shopping, they find themselves heading back to a car with an empty tank of gas. Talk about a mood killer.

Every now and then I see signs that A-merry-cans are reaching their breaking point. But then as I sat stuck in traffic on Bustleton Avenue this Saturday--- of all days, I had to rethink my position. Here in A-merry-ca we are still driving every damn where, and it doesn't look like the gas price is effecting our habits very much.

So we will keep bitching and moaning, the oil companies, and Manny Moe and Jack will continue to get rich, and the politricksters that we send to Washington will keep pointing fingers at each other to score political points.

I should have bought a hybrid.