[Magdalen] Gasoline prices and the economy, etc. was Lottery tickets

[Jim Guthrie]

 >Yeah. It kind of depends on your definition of "good" and whether you're
 >talking about The Economy, The Environment, or your personal wallet for
 >today.

The economy? Personal Wallet? How many folk are watching their IRAs and 
retirement plans and savings shrink so mightily as the stock market 
continues downward with every drop in oil/gasoline price? Even the 
longer run implications for those lucky few still on defined benefit 
plans will be paying the price as the investments behind those plans 
sink as well, resulting in shortages and politicians refusing to 
replenish the lost funds and demanding pensioners such as teachers and 
other public employees (except cops, of course).

As for the environment, well, there's lots of lip service but a thorough 
disconnect say, between the idea of trying to stop an oil rig bound for 
Alaska with Kayaks and driving  -- in some cases -- halfway across the 
country to participate -- with that drive a vote for Alaska Drilling if 
there ever was one. Sacrifice in the driving dept in the name of global 
climate change is for chumps, not Americans of course -- whatever the 
political persuasion of ideas on environmentalism.

And then there's Keystone XL, where the nincompoopery has generally 
thought that stopping it would stop tar sands oil (which is pretty much 
stymied by low oil prices at the moment), not seeing the battle between 
Koch Brothers (ultimately the owners of the company that would operate 
KXL) and Warren Buffet whose trains would carry the stuff instead. And 
the best part is the politicos can blame (or congratulate) 
"environmentalists" while not confronting the battle of the 1 percenters 
behind it. Gotta love it!

As for fracking, there's a bit more interest in some circles 
(particularly Oklahoma these days), but people like cheap gas and cheap 
home heating. And what's really funny is that some of the anti-natural 
gas fracking "movement" is quietly funded by the coal industry that's 
been decimated by fracking (and getting to blame Obama and 
environmentalists -- surely a lagniappe!)  -- while the natural gas 
industry supports the anti "dirty coal" lobby.

Of course, then there's Saudi Arabia, America's friendly beheaders (as 
opposed to those nasty ones of ISIS that people fuss about) which 
started the drop in prices -- some would think that a cynical move to 
wreck things like efforts for American Energy Independence, including 
making things like wind and solar power financially un-attractive vis a 
vis oil. Put the competition out of business -- then jack up the prices 
again. Jihad by any other name . . .

Cheers,
Jim