I live right outside of Houston where Hurricane Rita hit in the Port Arthur/Beaumont area. (I was raised right outside of Augusta and have my true GA roots). First hand knowledge is our refineries (which there are over 20 within 40 miles of my home)were all heavily damaged and have to have massive construction to have them running properly again so gas prices can come down. Also, the one thing you won't see on the news or in the AP is that the oil refineries are our tax base in Texas, we have no income tax, and since we took in so many LA residents and housed, fed, clothed, and schooled all the tens of thousands of residents on our tax dollar (which comes from the oil refineries) I guess you could say some of that money was well spent. FEMA, Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc.. has refunded very little of our tax dollars back to replinish our school funds, diaster emergency funds, etc.. Thank the Governor of LA and Mayor of New Orleans, had proper procedures been in place and taken, they could have taken care of thier own and THEN it could be considered price gouging, right now it's considered reflinishing tax dollars that the Federal government didn't. The oil industry did make profit, but when the damage is all assessed and the final check is written for repairs, that profit margin will quickly come down.

Times are changing people. I am a former Augusta native living in Southern Ca. This is the land of gluntly. For years I have seen Hummers huge suv's large pickups. Most vehicles on the road out here probbly only get 10 miles to the gallon. And that is being nice. But now I am seeing things change. People are getting away from these gas guzzlers out here. The car lots are full of them, and people aren"t buying them. We can all scream and cry, and call foul on the oil companies, but it's our own fault. Look at our habbits. Change starts with comprmizing. Is it that important to us to drive a car or truck that is so big and powerful, that we are willing to stuff 70 to 80 dollars in the tank every time we fill up. Myself I have learned my lesson. I drive a small car that gets 35mpg. t cost me about 20 dollars to fill up and drive about 340 miles. A savings of about 150 to 200 dollars a month. Think about it. My quality of life has improved dramaticly since I made the choice to down size. As I say I am now seeing a lot of people out here doing the same thing. If you don"t like what the oil companies are doing stop lining their pockets. I'll leave that choice up to you. I've already made mine.