Bismarck, North Dakota News

" The producers are just greedy. They always produce less than they can in order to jack up the prices. And, I am sure that most people know this, they get paid by the government with my federal tax dollars for what they did not produce. Now, prices are higher than they ever have been in history. But no, it is not their fault - it is an energy problem. So the farmers, who are the producers that I am talking about, keep getting richer & richer and I cannot afford to feed my family. Have you checked the price of wheat, corn or milk? The farmers are laughing all the way to the bank and back. And they are the only ones that can afford these high energy pices. "

" Dont let Dorgan fool you, the only reason they are using the high gas prices and high demand/low production capabilities to get people to think we need more refineries is because the oportunity to make more money here producing crude refined products. They get the crude here, and pay way less for it than what it is being traded on the world market. The idea of another refinery is fine with me, but the reason they are trying to get is is so whoever builds it can get cheap crude, thus increased profits. I think the whole gas price in ND being the highest is a hoax, just to get people convinced that we need this at all costs. I feel that big oil is happy with the way it is now, as they add on to reineries to increase their capacities, yet say there hasnt been a new one built in X amount of years. They like having the advantage, like saying whenever they feel that a refinery is down 1700 miles away, or there is a shortage, so up the prices go, up 25, down 9, up 25 down 10. I wonder how many time they say in Arkansas that a refinery in Mnadan ND is down, so their prices go up. And why do we have to pay more for fuel during a hurricane, last I checked, the willsiton basin doesnt get a drop of rain from any hurricanes, yet we still pay. "

" Dont tell me I need to get a better fuel economy vehicle, I have parked my truck that gets 14, for a diesel that gets 24, but they have that figured out too now. ULSD diesel in my old diesel truck now gets me 18mpg, and the fuel costs me 3.50, where the gas is 3.02 and I get 14 with that, all comes out in the wash doesnt it, BS. Now I have a truck that isnt worth crap, and I planned on owning it for a long time, but I ended up spending more money on a diesel when diesel was actually diesel, not ULSD crap. now it costs more and has less btus per gallon, so I travel less on a tank of fuel. I have done all I can to get as good as mpg as I can but it gets harder and harder. thanks to big oil and the epa. I have a two 4 cylinder cars, one gets 31, the other gets 40, do I like driving them, no, but I have no other choice. Got to get to work somehow. I went and looked at a new car the other day, they dont get as good as mpg as my old 95 4 banger does, and gas was under a buck when my car was new, now new cars when gas is over three, they get maybe 34, mostly around the 30 range, unless you buy a pos hybrid, they get maybe 40 in the real world, and they cost more and have higher maintanence costs, so again, it all comes out in the end. "

" While gas guzzlers do contribute to the problem, the real problem is actually the energy producers themselves. They intentionally short production, and couldn't care less if additional refineries are built. They use classic Enron-style supply manipulation to run prices up, and sell their product for much higher profits. The don't give a rip if everyone eventually ends up walking, there will still be someone silly enough to pay $12/gallon of whatever type of gas is sold in the future. This is the failing! It is in the countries best interest to manage industries so they don't start doing stuff that is detrimental to the country as a whole, but alas... Therein lies the rub! Our government is no longer acting in the best interest of the country, nor the best interest of the people (the end user the government was designed to serve,) but rather is bending over backwards to assist the greedy corporations in acting AGAINST the people and the country as a whole. It has been going on for decades (probably a significant portion of your life,) and all you do is whine and reiterate the same rubbish the corporate controlled media told you on the unfair and completely biased newscast. YOU are the problem! "

" I have been saying this all along, the refinery makes enough fuel for the whole state, and yet we have to truck it back in, That is so stupid. Plus it gets its crude from the Williston basin at less than half the price that crude trades for, yet we pay the same price for the finished product. And how come that price when at 100 dollars a barrel we are only paying for a gallon of gas at the what, 70-80 dollar a barrel price, how come it is like that. I think we are all being lied too, there isnt any shortage, who cares about a flood in Kansas, Refineries are shut down all the time for maintenence, even when gas was 89 cents a gallon they were shut down. Crude was sold for 30 dollars a barrel in the 80's out of the williston basin, same as now. Gas was under a buck then, now it is over three. Doesnt add up. I would like to know how much fuel is used to make a gallon of Gas, those drill rigs take alot of diesel to run, plus all the workers who are there, they need to drive, and get paid, then a semi that gets 7 mpg hauls it, then the pipeline takes some energy, then the cost to refine it, then the cost to put it in a pipeline again, then the cost to haul it back to a gas station in another semi that gets 7 mpg, and they say that ethanol isnt cost efficiant, give me a break. It seems to me that someone is telling lies. And we have to pay for it. They keep getting richer, we barely make it. "

" People who drive gas guzzling vehicles should have seen this coming a long time ago. Now, it is too late to make the necessary lifestyle changes to reflect better choices when purchasing a energy efficient, low polluting vehicle. Soon, it will be time to park all those gas guzzling large pick-ups, S.U.V.'s and Hummers because it will be too expensive to pull them up to the pump and fill your tanks for $150.00 to $200.00. Anyone with any type of intellectual capabilities should have realized years ago that this time was going to arrive when it is going to be to expensive to drive large, gas guzzling vehicles, but many people didn't get the concept of driving an "more energy efficient and less polluting vehicle." Now it is time to pay the piper! And believe me, it is going to cost plenty of "$" for making poor choices on vehicle purchases. "