Friday's Washington Post displayed that annoying trend of hyping already high gas prices with a photograph of astronomical gas prices. As reporter Steven Mufson reported that AAA marked that regular gasoline price at $3.36 a gallon, a photograph right next to it online (and on an inside page in the paper) displayed a gas station sign marking the regular price as $4.19. Mufson explained the prices this way:
On the eve of the summer driving season, crude prices defy gravity, hovering around $110 a barrel, keeping gasoline prices at record levels and sapping money from cash-strapped consumers. Yesterday, the AAA auto club said prices at the pump set records of $3.357 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline and $4.045 for diesel, even though U.S. gasoline consumption fell 0.6 percent in the first quarter.
That could make oil prices a politically volatile issue this year among voters who think prices are excessive and are looking for someone to blame.
In other words, the oil companies could be a big target this year of Democrats. Mufson began the piece:
Is there a fair price for oil?
It doesn't seem that way. Over the past year, the price of crude oil has nearly doubled even though oil inventories are ample, there has been no disruption in supplies, and petroleum demand in the United States, the world's biggest consumer, has leveled off in recent weeks as the economy has slowed.
Often, newspaper editors and reporters can look down their noses at television and how it distorts the news as it simplifies it. In this case, newspapers are as bad as TV with misleading photographs of atypical gas prices like the Post's.
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Problem solved!
April 13, 2008 - 08:20 ET by DontFeedTheTrollsThe democrat solution to high fuel prices? Raise taxes on fuel.
D
Keep the ILLEGALS out, join NumbersUSA to send free faxes to your reps.
The libs were the ones
April 13, 2008 - 11:40 ET by motherbeltThe libs were the ones saying for years that we paid too little for gas; we should be paying $4-$5 a gallon like they do in Europe. Now that it's creeping up to $4 they are beside themselves.
They don't really care about high fuel prices. What they care about is where the revenue is going. If the price is high because they have added taxes in order to "penalize" people and make them use less, that's OK. But on the other hand, they can't really be hoping that people will use less, because that would decrease the amount of taxes they collect. Same reason why they don't really want people to quit smoking...they need those tobacco taxes!
PS: The WaPo doesn't exactly give me "gas"....in my family we call it "agita."
Mother
April 13, 2008 - 13:24 ET by iveseenitallExcellent points, Motherbelt. Liberals are such lying hypocites. And you know, it doesn't matter what ANY "liberal" says at ANY time. They are never held accountable for what they say or do. Sad.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
And for a view both the NB masthead & the Wapo tend to ignore...
April 13, 2008 - 08:27 ET by sarcasmoThe problem may not be as simple as it's depicted by media types shilling for both "major" parties who want us to assume "the dollar" somehow remains a stable way to objectively measure anything these days...
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.
Between ANWR, and the new
April 13, 2008 - 08:59 ET by Gary P JacksonBetween ANWR, and the new oil finds in the Dakotas, we have a century worth of oil under our ground. I think it's rapidly becoming time to have a revolution. It's becoming time for all sane people to march on the Capitol and DEMAND they throw the warm-mongers under the bus, and start drilling for oil right here. We need refineries. We need nukes. We need clean coal. We need to make it illegal to be a warm-monger! We need to indict Algore for fraud, and take him off the streets too. This BS has gone far enough!
Gary, SPOT
April 13, 2008 - 09:37 ET by USA4freedomGary,
SPOT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.
Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.
Romney / Jendil 2012 (if,we survive)
A-MEN!!!
April 13, 2008 - 09:53 ET by motherbeltA-MEN!!!
I'm just waiting for the "Gridiots" (Greenie idiots) to find a reason why we can't drill in the Dakotas...must be some Indian (oops...Native American) burial grounds or something up there....
In the end it's not about ecology, or stewardship, or conservation...it's about "control."
The environmental movement is the new home for Communists in the US (paraphrasing Rush Limaugh).
He is right...look at one of their other heroes, besides Algore: none other than Mikhail Gorbachev, who is the head and founder of Green Cross International
Here is a snippet from them :
Our mission
The mission of Green Cross International is to help ensure a just, sustainable and secure future for all by fostering a value shift and cultivating a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility in humanity’s relationship with nature.
Green Cross International:
* Promotes legal, ethical and behavioral norms that ensure basic changes in the values, actions and attitudes of government, the private sector and civil society, necessary to build a sustainable global community
* Prevents and resolves conflicts arising from environmental degradation.
* Provides assistance to people affected by the environmental consequences of wars and conflicts. (emphasis added)
mom
April 13, 2008 - 10:03 ET by botgthis may be good news --- Gorby never had trouble drilling for oil it has enabled Russia to hold Europe. shall we say, 'over a barrel'
“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” -Chief Justice John Roberts
Well, that was before he
April 13, 2008 - 11:14 ET by motherbeltWell, that was before he became an "environmentalist." Apparently his attitude has changed now; I don't think he has a problem with the US being oil-dependent on other countries.
Green Cross huh. The
April 13, 2008 - 10:07 ET by radiofitz34Green Cross huh. The whole nomenclature of the organization's name is upside down. Should be Red and cross? Why cross I wonder?
Another thought regarding "Big" oil and big etc. How about Big Hollywood? That would fit. Or Big commie ,Green Cross and the like.
Oil drilling would be good for North Dakota
April 13, 2008 - 10:09 ET by nkviking75If North Dakota's senators, Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad, had any brains, they'd be pushing for oil exploration in ND. The state could really use the influx of money and people. Unfortunately, they're both Democrats, so it probably isn't going to happen.
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
→ ANWR oil
April 13, 2008 - 10:57 ET by Cool ArrowAnd of course those condescending paternalistic Liberals know what's good for the Native Americans of Alaska.
Better not drill ANWR, them Indians wouldn't know how to handle the money. <sarc>
♣ a seal
Yes We Can!
April 13, 2008 - 13:17 ET by iveseenitallI guess some of us just can't handle the Utopia which is coming from the savior.
Let the government, led by Barry and assorted "liberals", take over the oil industry. Then let them take over the medical industry. How about Wall Street ( those dirty capitalist pigs). After all, we have fine examples of the successes of socialism/communism; witness the American public schools, Cuba, Russia. What more do you want?
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
LIBERALS are the reason for high pump prices
April 13, 2008 - 13:39 ET by TheTruth"That could make oil prices a politically volatile issue this year among voters who think prices are excessive and are looking for someone to blame."
The blame sits squarely with liberals on capital hill and the LIBERALS that dominate the MSM for failing to report the truth. . . The oil companies PRODUCE the product and make about fifteen cents per gallon at the pump, the state and Federal governments TAKE about eighty-five cents per gallon.
The same liberals responsible for obscene gas TAX are the same people that have prevented an oil refinery from being built for thirty years! They are also the same people that prevent drilling for new oil. And they are the same people that require boutique blends on a state by state basis.
People think pump prices are high now; wait until Hillary or Barack get into the white house. Why do you think we pay four dollars a gallon while Socialist countries pay eight to ten dollars a gallon – it is called TAX.
Who are we kidding. We can
April 13, 2008 - 13:23 ET by midnight cowboyWho are we kidding. We can find an ocean of oil underneath Detroit, or any other decaying former rust belt industrial city that has a double digit unemployment rate, and the moron senators, congress idiots, and enviro-Nazis wouldn't let the oil companies even scratch the surface. Forget that there would be jobs-a plenty and an explosion for the local economy. And we thought the dems were for the blue collar guy.
Is there a fair price for anything?
April 13, 2008 - 17:03 ET by CobraManIs it "fair" for Americans to pay $1.69 for a bottle of water like Evian (Naive spelled backwards!)? That's $6.40 a gallon! How about $3.75 for a bottle of Jamba Juice? That's $21.82 a gallon! Black ink from an ink cartridge? $2,701.52 a gallon!
http://www.cockeyed....
It looks like oil and gas is rather cheap in comparison, wouldn't you say?
Gas prices
April 13, 2008 - 23:24 ET by Jerry MackBefore the 2006 election Dimocrats promised that if given the majority in congress that they would do something about $2.50 PER GALLON OF GAS. They have! It is now almost $4.00 per gallon. They did keep their word.