Screwed again by Big Oil

All right, Swami:

It happened again Tuesday. The wife and I went for a drive in the morning, and gas was $3.79 a gallon. When we went out again after lunch, it was $4.09. But I heard on the radio that oil is falling back around $100 a barrel! Should I be outraged, or amused?

The Middle Class

Dear EmCee:

Are you saying that you think there is no rhyme or reason to what we're being charged for a gallon of gas? Are you saying that there is something rotten in the state of Big Oil when last week we were being told that Hurricane Gustav was going to be a direct hit, and our Labor Day Weekend gas prices held steady, and now we're being told that Hurricane Ike is going to miss the oil bull's-eye, but those same prices went up 30 cents while America ate a sandwich?

Poor Big Oil. As they would explain to you through their army of Nick Naylor spokesmouths, they're just misunderstood. Victims, really.

But to your question: outraged or amused? Answer: Both. Be outraged enough to demand that our legislators enact laws that prohibit gas stations from altering a price that has been posted at the start of the day's business (or midnight for all the 24-hour joints), and then be amused when your outrageous request is denied.