We agree... somewhat...

Good. Common ground again.

Not to start a fight (honestly), but let's be clear and fair... my beef has always been with the de-regulation of speculation pricing on the crude oil markets, not with Big Oil profit margins. I would hold the margins up as examples of the RESULTS of speculation pricing when comparing them to the cost of crude oil products such as gasoline, propane and diesel oil (especially 07-08) and the effect that had on the general state of the national economy.

I guess I've never understood why someone (like Ryan) that so idolizes Ronald Reagan would not question George W Bush when he removed the very pricing regulations that Reagan implemented in 1982. Who is more a "Reagan Conservative" than Reagan himself? If HE thought the pricing regulations were a good idea and important to our nation's economic future, why would they NOT be 20 years later? When the eight largest oil companies are buying each other's oil futures contracts at ever-increasing prices, who pays that price at the pump? Not the guys buying the futures, I can tell you that. It's you and me, its the local food delivery companies, its the cab companies, its the school districts and their bus fleets, its the cops and fire departments, its the trucking companies, its the airlines... and those costs get recouped in higher and higher prices for goods and services that use oil, gas and diesel.

Your analogy with the Windows platform was good... but not good enough. There are other means to a computer end than simply Windows, no matter how much Macintosh, Solaris, Unix and Linux scream otherwise. Microsoft doesn't hold a monopoly on the market, they simply have the best system (according to market share numbers).

If our ability to import crude oil was STOPPED tomorrow, there is no physical means by which we could operate our society on the amount of domestically-produced crude oil for more then 7 days. None. Our society, in toto, is utterly dependant on the IMPORTATION of 11 million barrels of crude oil every single day (a number that is climbing by 7% every single year, too). Without that crude oil, our national standard of living changes so dramatically as to constitute the single greatest threat to our national security since the end of the Cold War threat of nuclear destruction.

Would life go on in the US without that imported oil? Yes, it would... but not as we recognize it now. Instant gas rationing, driving and delivery restrictions, flight cancellations, government confiscation of stored and reserve supplies (we have 270,000 US troops overseas, using more than 65% of all government fuel and energy expenditures... without gas and oil, they are stuck where they are). Costs of vital goods goes UP with the increase in demand and the limitation on transportation means, and availability goes DOWN across the nation. People in vital positions within the infrastructure find themselves unable to report to work due to transportation issues and costs. Unpleasant, but not unexpected, side effects could include hording, gouging, violence and crime... all needing to be addressed WITHOUT resources like gasoline or oil as a reliable resources.

What other resource or commodity has THAT kind of impact on our society's existence? Soy beans? Copper? Gold? Uranium? Wheat? Pork? The answer is NO OTHER COMMODITY OR RESOURCE IS AS VITAL TO THE EXISTENCE OF OUR SOCIETY AS OIL. As such, I feel that speculation pricing does NOTHING to further the interests or security questions that exist in regard to our nation's well being. Want to speculate on the price of silver in June? Fine, go ahead. You're only risking YOUR money in doing so. Do the same with the price of OIL for the month of June, and you run the risk of hiking prices to the detriment of society as a whole and our national security in specific.