IN A FIX, WITH 66........

[rooter]

I'm not sure who the author of the following is> but it is most likely legitimate> as I can't find anything on> snopes about it......just yet at least)>> I encourage you to please take a moment to read the missive below.> They are not my prose, but rather they came to me recently from, William> "Bill" Phillips.>>> Bill spent nearly 50 years in the US oil and gas industry; most of > his> career was with the Phillips Petroleum Company. Bill is a descendant of> Frank Phillips. Frank Phillips, along with his brother Lee Eldas (L.E.)> Phillips, Sr., founded the original Phillips Petroleum Company in 1917 in> Bartlesville, OK. Do you remember Phillips 66 gas stations? Phillips> Petroleum Company merged with Conoco, Inc. in 2002 to form the current> ConocoPhillips oil company.>>>> So, when Bill talks about oil and gas issues, I tend to listen - very> closely. I think that you will find Bill's thoughts and facts very> revealing, very compelling and very difficult to argue with.>>> As you prepare to cast your crucial ballots this Fall, please think> long and hard about the far-reaching, cumulative effects of the US > political> philosophies, policies and legislation that have contributed to the > current> and future US oil supply situation.>>>> PS - Here is one of Frank Phillips' better-known quotes. Once you > read> it, is there any question that Frank was an original oil man?>>>> "I am egotistical. I exercise the 'privilege and prestige of the> office.' I'm bombastic, hard to get along with, an easy touch, a farm boy > at> heart, and conveniently hard of hearing. I'm just a sentimental old man. > I'm> tough and I know it. I'm the boss, and don't let anybody try to question> it." Frank Phillips, 1873 - 1950>>>> May 28, 2008>> "Big Oil" Did you know that the United States does NOT have any big> oil companies. It's true: the largest American oil company, Exxon Mobil, > is> only the 14th largest in the world, and is dwarfed by the really big oil> companies--all owned by foreign governments or government-sponsored> monopolies--that dominate the world's oil supply With 94% of the world's oil supply locked up by foreign governments,> most of which are hostile to the United States, the relatively puny > American> oil companies do not have access to enough crude oil to significantly > affect> the market and help bring prices down. Thus, ExxonMobil, a "small" oil> company, buys 90% of the crude oil that it refines for the U.S. market > from> the big players, i.e, mostly-hostile foreign governments. The price at the> U.S. pump is rising because the price the big oil companies charge> ExxonMobil and the other small American companies for crude oil is going > up> as the value of the American dollar goes down. They will eventually bleed> this country into printing even more money and we will go into runway> inflation once again as we did under the Carter Democratic reign.>>>> This is obviously a tough situation for the American consumer. The> irony is that it doesn't have to be that way. The United States--unlike,> say, France--actually has vast petroleum reserves. It would be possible > for> American oil companies to develop those reserves, play a far bigger role > in> international markets, and deliver gas at the pump to American consumers > at> a much lower price, while creating many thousands of jobs for Americans.> This would be infinitely preferable to shipping endless billions of > dollars> to Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela to be used in propping up their> economies.>>>> So, why doesn't it happen? Because the Democrat Party--aided, sadly,> by a handful of Republicans--deliberately keeps gas prices high and our> domestic oil companies small by putting most of our reserves off limits to> development. China is now drilling in the Caribbean, off Cuba but our own> companies are barred by law from developing large oil fields off the > coasts> of Florida and California. Enormous oil-shale deposits in the Rocky > Mountain> states could go a long way toward supplying American consumers' needs, but> the Democratic Congress won't allow those resources to be developed. ANWR> contains vast petroleum reserves, but we don't know how vast, because> Congress, not wanting the American people to know how badly its policies > are> hurting our economy, has made it illegal to explore and map those > reserves,> let alone develop them.>>>> In short, all Americans are paying a terrible price for the > Democratic> Party's perverse energy policies. I own some small interests in tiny, 4> barrel-per-day oil wells in Wyoming. We have 14 agencies that have > iron-hand> jurisdiction over us. If we drop any oil on the ground when the refinery> truck comes to pick up oil from our holding tanks, we are fined. Yet down> the road the state will spray thousands of gallons of used oil on a dirt> road to control dirt. When it rains that oil runs into rivers and creeks.> Yet a cup of oil on the ground at our wellhead is a $50,000 EPA fine plus> additional fines from state regulating agencies. They treat oil as if it> were plutonium that has the potential to leak into the environment. We are> fined if our dirt burms are not high enough around a holding tank, yet the> truck that picks up our oil runs down the road at 60 mph with no burm > around> it. People wonder why there is no more exploration in th is country. It's> because of the regulators; people who have lived their whole lives doing> nothing but imposing fines on small operators like us for doing mostly> nothing.>>>> So, America enjoy your $4.00 per gallon gasoline. Your dollar is now> worth 0.62 Euro-Cents. The lack of American production of GNP, the massive> trade deficit (as labor markets have moved overseas to fight insanely high> union imposed labor costs in America) and the run away printing of money> (backed by nothing of value here in America) has caused the dollar to > become> more worthless on the international market. And that's where our oil comes> from. It's paid for with dollars that become more worthless everyday. If > we> had just kept par with the Euro we'd be paying $62 dollars per barrel for> oil (42 gallons) or about $1.50 instead of $2.50 a gallon for crude oil.>>>> What the US government also does not tell you is that it is the> leaseholder and royalty recipient of most oil production and receives 25% > of> the gross oil sales before we pay for electricity to lift the oil, propane> to keep the oil-water separators from f reezing in the winters. We pay a> pumper to visit each well everyday plus we have equipment failures all the> time. We pay for that out of our 75% of gross sales. The government does > not> share in any expenses to run any production well. So, if the Big Oil> Companies are making record profits, then so is the federal government > from> it's 25% tax on every molecule of oil sold to a refinery in this country.> Why isn't the government on the stand for "Record" profits? What you don't> see is this 25% of the sales price of crude oil being siphoned away by the> government. That money plus the road taxes, state taxes, etc. amounts to> over $1 per gallon of gasoline you are buying while the governments only> admit to about 50 cents per gallon.>>>> To all you Democrats, when you go vote for your candidate, a blazing> liberal like Barrack Hussein Obama or Hillary Clinton, just keep in mind> that their liberal spending habits will further decrease the value of the> American dollar on the world market and your gasoline costs will hike even> higher. As they introduce more give-away programs, raise taxes on everyone> ;to pay people not to produce or work, your dollar will continue to > dwindle> on the world market and you will be paying $10.00 per gallon at the next> election. Cheap hydrocarbon fuel is all over. Enjoy! Enjoy the fruits of> your decision to elect these folks when you are there in that voting booth> and you stab your pin through a Democrat's name.>>>> William "Bill" Phillips