As if on cue, the price of oil is steadily falling. Many bloggers around the country are noting the irony that prices are dropping just in time for the November elections. I believe firmly that there is no such thing as a coincidence.

It is no secret the closeness of the GOP and the oil companies, so there should be little to question. The GOP needed help in this election and turned to their good friends in the oil fields and refineries, it’s as simple as that. It just goes to show how the party in control can remain in control through social engineering at its finest.

According to the New York Times this morning, four inspectors for the Interior Department are suing their department for blocking their efforts to recover fees and royalties owed to the federal government by oil companies extracting oil from U.S. controlled land and water. 

The auditors contend that they were blocked by their bosses from pursuing more than $30 million in fraudulent underpayments of royalties for oil produced in publicly owned waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

“The agency has lost its sense of mission, which is to protect American taxpayers,” said Bobby L. Maxwell, who was formerly in charge of Gulf of Mexico auditing. “These are assets that belong to the American public, and they are supposed to be used for things like education, public infrastructure and roadways.”

At this point, I’m not even sure why this is in the news. The Bush administration is the most corrupt of any administration seen by the American public, and from recent reports of growing support for W, I say the American people deserve what they get. It is obvious that they (the Bush administration) don’t care about anyone other than their own personal friends, who happen to be oil executives. Perhaps the MSM should just stop reporting on tales of cronyism and corruption or any other bad news for this administration, and just tell the public how great King W is and how wonderful our lives will be after we drink the refreshing Kool-Aid.  If you ask me, the American people have their own “war on terror” to conduct and it should start in Washington.

By any measure, the Interior Department under President Bush has placed top priority on increasing oil and gas production in the United States. Under its business-friendly agenda, the department has increased incentives for drilling in risky areas, has speeded approvals for drilling applications and has campaigned to open more coastal areas for oil exploration.

Americans could learn a thing or two from Texans. If there is a single defining moment in Texas history that every American should know, it would be the famous battle at the Alamo. Yeah, the independent rebels like David Crockett and David Bowie lost the Alamo to the Mexicans, but they won much more. The battle of the Alamo set forth an emotional and passionate fight that ultimately led to Texas becoming a free state. The mantra for those freedom fighters through the reamaining days of the fight for Texas Independence was “Remember the Alamo”.

Americans need to keep this history lesson in mind as they head to the voting polls in two months. As you look around as you are driving around notice that gas prices are considerably lower in  most areas than they were say three or four months ago. What’s the cause of this drop in consumer level pricing? Is it because the busy summer driving period is ending? Unlikely considering that prices began dropping well before the Labor Day weekend. Are oil supplies up? Again, the answer is no.

Could it be that gas prices are directly tied to the upcoming general elections? As unlikely as it seems, this administration and the GOP have put themselves in a position where they deserve to be questioned along these lines. Is it completely unimagineable to believe that oil companies would artificially lower their enormous profit margins for a few weeks just to ensure that their own hides are covered by a friendly GOP controlled legislature, and executive branch.

If we are lucky, Americans will take some advice from Texas and “Remember the Alamo”, or in this case “Remember the Price of Oil” as they cast their votes on election day.

Iraq, a once prominent player in the production of oil exports to the rest of the world, is now facing its worst oil shortage as the insurgency attacks the oil producing infrastructure, according to the Indystar.com website.

Iraqi officials announced plans to double the amount of money spent to
import fuel to combat the country’s worst oil and gasoline shortages in years.
Much of the fuel crisis is due to insurgent attacks on convoys and on Iraq’s
fragile pipeline network, Oil Ministry officials said.