It's a bad, bad joke

So after doing a good deed last night I'm driving home, listening to CFRA as I usually do. John Counsell is bleating about the price of gas. I think to myself that finally, someone is complaining about the fact that oil market prices are at a what, six-month low, and prices at the pump have not followed. Sure, they came down a bit when the barrel fell below $145, but they have recently been a holding pattern of sorts despite a price free-fall on the international market.

After listening for a few minutes I realize that the so-called "price watchdog" Liberal MP actually warned us that the prices at the pumps would be going up an unprecedented 12.9 cents per litre overnight in most parts of the country. I'd love to know if prices went up 50 cents a gallon down south.

The ironic thing?

The big talking heads that run the mob here in Canada... I mean oil companies... are blaming incoming hurricane Ike and its effect on Texas oil refineries. OK, that "excuse" has proven to be an effective one in the past, causing the international oil market to spike the prices which in turn magically inflate the price of gasoline that has already been delivered to retailers.

Someone forgot to tell the international oil traders. The barrel has consistently fallen throughout the week, Ike be damned! In fact, after watching some of CBS' Early Show taped this morning on my PVR, I see that Ike is real and he's coming. Yet, at 11:42ET this morning, oil was trading upwards... but not up $38 to go back up over $131 a barrel, but up 38 cents.

Why is it, then, that the commodity itself has not zoomed upwards, yet the retailers hike pricing like they never have before? It seems that the speculators have finally moderated themselves on an international scale. I get it that production might and will fall as a result of this storm, likely resulting in price hikes some days or months down the road. What I do not get, however, is how these bozos have come up with yet a new way to stick it to each and every one of us and to such an unprecedented degree.

They can't blame it on the barrel - it's still trending downwards and traders are yawning as they watch Ike make landfall! Oh that's right, it doesn't matter why. They do it because THEY CAN. There's no collusion, there's nothing untoward or illegal going on. Maybe we should all vote for Jack Layton's NDP - he was heard on the radio today saying he'd take care of Canadians and stop all of this.

Riiiiiight. And Dion's Green Shift will be revenue neutral. Oh yeah, I believe everything politicians tell me - they wouldn't lie, would they?!

PS: As I clicked on PUBLISH an e-mail from CNN found its way to my mailbox. It was titled "Oil trades below $100 for first time in more than five months." Explain last night's move to me then, crooks who run Petro Canada, Esso, Shell et al. Just try reconciling the two.