Rossputin.com

Just in the past few weeks, there has been a stealth increase in the price of two of the four major food groups, namely breakfast cereal and ice cream. more »

It's nobody's fault but ours that so many of our citizens are susceptible to advertising which tries to make someone look bad simply for being part of a particular industry. It would be amusing if it weren't so dangerous to the economy that millions… more »

Here's another must-read article by someone from the outside looking in on the dangerous econo-nonsense being proposed by those who want to stop "speculation" in futures markets. see "Misguided US plan to curb oil futures speculation", The Australian,… more »

Here's an article from Bloomberg which should be read by everyone who is proposing or supporting legislation or regulation to stop speculation in futures markets: Exchange Says Efforts to Curb Speculation `Foolish' Bloomberg News, 6/25/08 http://ww… more »

As people from both coasts move to the West, where many of our onshore resources are concentrated, we are seeing more application of the BANANA principle: Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anybody. Unless and until that changes or is overcome, Americans should expect environmentalists, liberal multi-millionaires, and their foot soldiers in Congress to continue to saddle us with high energy prices. more »

In these days of $135 barrels of oil and $4 gallons of gasoline, a particular siren song is being heard repeatedly from people of all political stripes: “It’s the speculators!” There is just enough of a kernel of truth in the claims to give dangerous… more »

Shortly after the stock market open on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down over 230 points on a pair of news reports which were quite ugly for America...and by extension likely to be somewhat ugly for Republicans in November if they represe… more »

A few days ago, I posted on these pages a note I sent to a friend who asked about oil and gasoline prices. He passed it on to a couple of his friends, one of whom commented back. Following is my reply to his comments. (His comments are in italics,… more »

A friend of mine asked me a few short questions...and I sent him a very long answer...about oil and gasoline prices. I case you're interested in the subject, here's the conversation: Hi Ross, It's Pat, and now it's my turn to ask you about som… more »

Much political buzz lately has revolved around support by Senators Clinton and McCain, and opposition by Senator Obama, to a "federal gas tax holiday". According to year-old data from the Department of Energy, "The average American uses 500 gallons of… more »