http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/citgo.asp

I thought that our hybird community might be amused by this, as the conclusion is contradictive (is that a word?).

We, as hypermilers and potential hypermilers, that the only way to accomplish anything like this is to reduce consumption.

Personally, I like to have the cash in my pocket and not in someone else's pocket.

 

Ha ha ha! Actually, I go out of my way to buy Citgo gas. 1. Hugo Chavez hates Bush (which proves Chavez has taste and discretion). 2. The Religious "Right" hates Chavez (which proves that Chavez reads books and sees museums).

What's not to like?

 

I like www.snopes.com

A number of people (not here) mindlessly send chain mails and the like without going to the above site to check it out.

 

several members here specifically patronize Citgo.

Citgo is providing FREE heating oil to low-income families in the Northern states.

The few E85 stations on the east coast are frequently Citgo.

My personal take is that Hugo may not like US policy, but (yawn) he's just another demagogue joining a long line of Latin leaders. At least he isn't out to destroy our entire way of life. And as the oil industry goes, Venezuela's state-owned companies are one of the more benign evils in the long view.

Your other non-Persian Gulf fuel options are very limited:

Sunoco, Shell: Nigeria... read a newspaper lately?

BP: Canada, North Sea, small amounts from the mideast (historically very very little)

Hess is a stange bird because their refinery is offshore, so the import records begin from the Caribbean- no easy way to discern the original source.

Pick which negative-impact company/region you prefer to send your money to. None of them are very pretty.

The EIA website has a monthly import breakout by product and source. More importantly, it has a good primer on why you can never guarantee that your fuel is coming (or not coming) from one place or another. The best you can do is limit the $$ that goes to a franchiser/company that you don't like. The fuel source itself is still a wildcard.

 

I hope the friendly nation of Venezuela doesn't turn into a communist nation like Cuba at the hands of Hugo Chávez (Or anyone else).
Both for us here in the U.S. as well as the Venezuelans there who don't prescribe to his rhetoric.

 

Most people don't really understand the primary difference between Socialism and Communism, that being property rights. In Socialism, the citizens can own land, homes, and businesses. In Communism, *all* property belongs to the State. In the case of Cuba, children under 18 are actually state property, not citizens.

So... I have a hard time believing that a Socialist nation could easily "slide" into Communism.

Personally, I thing *unconstrained* Capitalism and *unconstrained* have an identical end product: universal poverty and oppression for everyone except the ruling elite (CEOs in Capitalism and high-ranking politicians in Communism.) I think that Socialism is the realization of all the constraints needed to keep wealth and power in the hands of the citizens.

 

My view should be pretty clear, I recommend a BUY-COTT of Citgo. I fully support the main policy of Chavez, spending the nation's oil wealth to improve the lives of the poorest (access to the basics like food, medical expertise, education and housing) instead of "investing" in American government debt, as was the case with the past oligarchy, whom also enjoyed "the good life" at the expense of everyone else, thanks to their elitist worldview.

If you haven't already done so, please check out "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" to get an idea for what it is that's going on down there. You honestly will not hear the truth from the corporate media, they have proven themselves to be the government's mouthpiece in this case, and many others and it seems people are starting to realize this. Ever wanted to know what it felt like to read the Russian newspapers? Now you know.

 

I'm boycotting Exxon Mobile, until they pay their fine, from the Valdez disaster. They keep fighting it in court, because it's less expensive than paying.

 

The other gripe I have with Exxon is that they cancelled all the health insurance benefits for gay/lesbian couples when they took over Mobile. They cited that they had "high family values" to look after. whatever.