"The Federal Trade Commission has ruled that oil companies are not gouging customers. They say, technically, they're screwing customers."
~ David Letterman

The eminently popular and omnipresent nobody has once again struck.

Before you could say ‘Holy Cow!' Tuesday afternoon, the price of gas went up 20 cents in Covington, falling just short of $4 per gallon at several stations.

According to a recent comment by our own local Jim Tudor, a lobbyist for the convenience store industry, the price hike is not the station owners fault, so don't be mad at them.

"They have less control over the price of motor fuel than anybody in the supply chain," Tudor told AccessNorthGa.com.

However, the oil companies aren't talking and, for the life of us, we've never been able to identify the mysterious middle man so often responsible for all of the trouble. So, who the heck do we blame?

According to news reports, Hurricane Isaac is to blame, as oil refineries were forced to shut down because of the storm. If only Poseidon had had a girl.

Americans use a lot of gas. Sure. Hurricanes disrupt production. But if gas stations aren't experiencing shortages than why in the world is the price increasing that much? And, more importantly, if gas stations experience high turnover and fill up their tanks frequently, why does the price of gas at the pump remain high after supply issues have been solved?

Gas prices are what they are, and we don't expect prices to experience a sustained dip until supply issues are solved more fundamentally by increasing domestic drilling and production.
Several reports tell us the U.S. has significant oil reserves. Unless this country is prepared to get off the black stuff altogether, we suggest this country open up to exploration and promote technological advancement in drilling.

Gouging the American people in these economic times is barely short of sinful. Raising prices before the problem even occurs is obvious price manipulation.

We find the actions of the people and companies that take advantage of their fellow man - many of whom are simply struggling to get by - to be despicable.

We hope our strong wording doesn't offend anyone; after all, we were just talking about old nobody.