UPDATE:
The Bush family depends on a certain type of mentality to exist or they couldn't survive the way they do. The point was to make the ExxonMobil stores less profitable. If the stores remain open they would cause a huge drain on the company times the number of stores would make a significant impact and yes they would take notice. They will pay an ungodly price for P.R. work to show the public that they are rolling in tall cotton even when their in poison ivy. They are not as stupid as the people on the other side. They would hurt and they would suffer because these people are used to getting ever blood sucking penny from us and when they don't, they get infuriated. I have lots of experience with all of the big oil companies and big corporations. The real point is, not to close them down, but to show them an intelligent show of force which in your mind, is an impossibility. I know you are wrong, I think the apple is right to pick and it's time to shake the tree. See the real problem is just like with Saddam Hussein, one has to ask how can one man, no brighter than Saddam, and no brighter than the Bush family, position themselves in a position to control the masses of people like they have. The answer seems to be "the collective mentality" of the people v. the collective mentality of the other side, the elite's, the corporations, the institutions the government. See we have brilliant people on our side of the line but they have all been given a task to keep their minds occupied and off the important things like democracy. Democracy has been stolen from us and nobody has even noticed, they have been too busy following the leader. When people are busy working they have no time for problems, raise the price of fuel and nobody has time to think or research it, they take the easy excuse given to them: supply and demand. Then there are those who have plenty of time on their hands and still can't see the light.
We can see the reason Bush was able to stage his own terrorist attack on 911 and then switch labels from "War on Terror" (his perceived threat), to "War against Iraq". He practically telegraphed Osama Bin Laden a message so he didn't get hurt in his escape, then went in and bombed the hell out of some remote, vacant, uninhabited, mountains as a way of proving his manhood to the American people, something he couldn't do in the guard under daddy's protection. Next he again changed the agenda completely to a non-threat country, IRAQ, for the benefit of old Mom and Dads who f...d up the job the first time. Then he concocted the excuse to escalate oil prices and the people still don't get it and don't want to get it. The incidental disasters like Katrina, brought on by mans abuse and lack of regard for Nature, are just frosting on his cake. Him and his friends profit going and coming, up or down, good times or bad. It was called "the new world order" and "global governance" by old daddy Bush 41. Now its a perceived threat and shortage.
Some of the less fortunate people can't see it today, they still think "Supply and demand" is a real and viable excuse but it's not when you apply the same excuse to other areas equally. It's strange because when someone takes the time to think about it, supply and demand doesn't work for wage earners, it only works on the corporate side of the line with their profits margin. On the working poor side of the line, the same action is called "price gouging" when a working man asks for a fair wage, it's called gouging and the corporation is allowed to outsource his work. If his wage is converted to gallons of gas one can see the lop-sided-ness. It just depends on the pocket it's going into and some people just refuse to see it and admit it.
No one can change the behavior of a large corporation if one already has a defeatus mentality. There is no modern example of anything like this because the people are so confused and scrambled but the government and it's corporate buddies know exactly what to do, run over the American people and keep them busy, and get all you can get. You present a good example of how this is achieved without anyone so much as lifting a hand against them. All I can say is hopefully people will catch on and if they don't, no matter. Just so they don't interfere because they already feel defeated.
Now for those who feel saving fuel is going to decrease the price of gas, dream on. If they don't sell the fuel here, they will sell it elsewhere but they don't get as much elsewhere. I live in Las Vegas where water is in short supply due to over development. They said the same thing about water as gas, you residents are evil people for using so much water. So people conserved and cut back. This made it easier for the developers to develop more and more. The elite's never participated and never cut back, all their water falls and streams were what made them important and stand out from the rest. Only the working class people bought the phony guilt trip and changed to the elite could waste more.
People had better get wise to politics, it's corrupt and dirty and getting dirtier by the minute. The American corporations are just another branch, another arm of the government just like NASA and NOAA and FEMA, DOE and all the rest. You and I and the rest of American people are the minorities now, our vote doesn't count if you haven't noticed. If we just happened to vote for the guy that won the election, we think the system worked but it didn't. Ever wonder how much gas we'd save by getting our asses out of the Iraq war? Or are you one of the few believers in the Iraq war? How about making all "Federal Employees" walk or ride a bike to work, move closer to work after all because they will be there for the rest of their life. Especially the IRS, it may put them in a better mood. How about boycotting the junk cars and trucks that Detroit produces that are now deemed to be "Gas Guzzling Junk". You think its real supply and demand? Why was that junk car designed and built in the first place, and why is it now deemed as gas guzzling junk, can it one day be worth forty thousand dollars and no more than a couple years later we are guilty for buying the damned piece of crap. If it's junk, and I cannot agree more that it is, then Detroit should be forced to recall them and replace them free of charge with a worthy car.
Now you probably think that purchasing a hybrid car will make you a hero of sorts, but far from it. It takes a lot of energy to build a car from scratch whether you drive it or not. Plus they lied to everyone about most of the hybrids. See most of them take a big expensive special battery. As soon as one changes title into their name, it becomes extremely hazardous waste. When it is no longer functional, you will have to buy a new battery plus pay again to get rid of the old one. It's insanity to think a person can trade in your old 2005 gas guzzling junkard for a new hybrid and save gas and energy, just add up the build process or use the sticker price for calculation. That is an absurd fantasy. And then if you didn't take the loss of your junkard by scrapping it out, and you instead traded or sold it, you are still contributing to keeping the Junk Guzzler in service and sucking gas because it's still out on the road. Now, there are two cars out there rather than the one gas guzzler so explain how this saved any gas and did the world a big favor?
See the real solution is really very simple, so simple that anyone, even you can do this. You yourself can put together a retrofit kit to replace your present gas engine and transmission and brake system, with a new, off the shelf, nothing special, diesel engine of your choice of horse power with a matching generator (called a Diesel Generator Set like a welding machine or train power unit), replacing the complete engine-transmission-driveline-differential and brake assemblies in your present car with a new bio diesel, motor generator set which runs at an efficient constant speed except at idle. You wouldn't have to scrap out your other wise junkard, and you would wind up with a real retro fit hybrid at a small percentage of the cost of a new car. In place of your brake system you would replace them with 2 or 4 "wheel motors" which ever you choose. If you selected 4 you would have an "all wheel drive". Wheel motors are electric motors designed to fit on the spindles and inside the wheels. They are as easy to replace as changing a tire. Your vehicle drive can be virtually overhauled or replaced very simply. The wheel motors have brakes built in but even better, they have regenerative braking (They turn into generators rather than motors on deceleration and breaking) so by releasing the throttle, it first begins slowing you down buy recharging a capacitor, not a battery. A capacitor is much cheaper, non hazardous waste, and quick to charge and discharge on demand unlike a battery. Now this isn't rocket science, all these items can be purchased off the shelf today and you can do it yourself, or pay some one, or even start a business doing it for everyone. I feel that Detroit should have to build these retrofit kits and do the retrofit free of charge because they and the Federal Government have scammed all Americans for many years now. By the way I don't know if you know what bio-diesel is but it's corn oil, cotton seed oil, replenishable oils etc. that can be produced by American farmers and used in place of fossil diesel fuel. (check it out on the internet as well as "wheel motors". Stepping motors.) We would have never had to be dependent on fossilized oil if we had true leadership. We are dependent because our leadership has failed us for many years and wanted us dependent so the money would flow to certain corporations of their choice and not to the working man or the American farmer. See the farmer has to be under some perceived threat as well or he won't sell his land to the real-estate developers so more and more people can come here to exploit America. Wouldn't you rather buy your fuel from a deserving American farmer rather than some big huge oil conglomerates that's in bed with the auto companies and our leaders and leaders of other countries? I surely would, even if I have to pay the same or more for the fuel I would at least know where my money was going and we wouldn't have to have these phony "Wars over Oil" killing our children like Iraq. Notice it is "our children" the spoiled Bush Children are not expected to pay their fair shares.
Now if you think what I'm telling you is far fetched or for some reason not true, look at the common diesel locomotives on the railroad that have run on the same concept for many years now very successfully except they haven't switched to bio-diesel for political reasons. Let's say we take the semi truck trailer which happens to be a perfect candidate for this bio diesel generator modification. Why? well you already have the diesel engine, you add a generator or two, wheel driver motors all the way around (10), on the tractor and trailer so now you have an 18 wheel drive system when you need it. (with low maintenance and easy replacement) The beauty of this concept for commercial vehicles is that a master computer (easy replaceable) controls the speed of all wheels at all times unless the motor is out of service which it can be. In a high speed turn for instance, all wheels will turn at their appropriate speed preventing jackknifes, skids and accidents in general. How long are we going to drive the same old cast iron heavy junk before someone brings it up to the 21 century technology? Again compare this to space travel, do you see the inequity?
The word "no" and "impossible" are not in my vocabulary. If we can spend trillions on space travel, we can improve our own country, our leadership and our transportation without fear of ridicule and negativity. Agreed? What say you?
Thanks, and good luck.
Hurricane Guy.