Posted by PA_Notary_II on 4/13/06 6:19pm
Msg #113447

Got this in im mailbox today....opinions?

GAS WAR - an idea that WILL work
>
> This was originally sent by a retired Coca Cola
> executive It came from one of his engineer buddies
> who retired from Halliburton. It's worth your
> consideration.
>
> Join the resistance!!!! I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.00
>a gallon by next summer and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to
>come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action.
>
> Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea. This makes
> MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign
>that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at
>that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by
> refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience
> to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever
> thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can
> really work. Please read on and join with us!
>
> By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $1.50 is
>super cheap. Me too! It is currently $2.79 for regular unleaded in my town.
> Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us
> to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75,
>we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the
>marketplace..not sellers. With the price of gasoline going up more each
>day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the
>price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not
>purchasing their
> gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.
> How?
>
> Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we
>CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price
>war.
>
> Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY
>gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and
>MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce
>their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to
>follow suit. But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of
>Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out
>on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to
>reach millions of
> people!!
>
> I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us send it to at
>least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ... and those 300 send it to at least ten
>more (300 x 10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the
>sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers.
>
> If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends
>each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one
>level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!
>
> Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all! (If
>you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is
>send this to 10 people....
> Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician. But I am . so
>trust me on this one.) :-)
>
> How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to
>ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could
>conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!! I'll bet you didn't
>think you and I had that much potential, did you! Acting together we can
>make a difference.
>
> If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest
>that we not buy from EXXON/MOBIL UNTIL
> THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $1.30 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS
>CAN REALLY WORK
>

Retired & lovin' it!

Reply by BetsyMI on 4/13/06 6:30pm
Msg #113449

Have seen this over and over again over the last maybe 6-12 months, so obviously it doesn't work.

Somehow it doesn't seem possible to get everyone on this bandwagon, in spite of the widespread range of people that can be reached via email, since it just hasn't happened.

Reply by CaliNotary on 4/13/06 8:21pm
Msg #113468

" GAS WAR - an idea that WILL work"

Care to place a wager on that? Because I can guarantee you that the big companies aren't even going to notice it's going on.

Reply by Stamper_WI on 4/13/06 8:51pm
Msg #113474

Apparently there is no faith in a grass roots movement! While this measure would really hurt the mom and pop gas stations, I think its on the right track. I haven't bought exxon for yrs!

Remember MAD?It was started by one grief strucken woman whose child was killed by a drunk driver and the snowball effect of that were tougher drunk driving laws. You can still get drunk if you want...just don't put others at risk.

Remember the boycot on Chicken of the Sea tuna? The objection was all the dolphins killed in tuna nets.We bought only tuna packed in water. Chicken of the Sea saw the impact of the statement when the tuna packed in oil sales dropped dramatically. New ways to harvest tuna were found. We still had our tuna but we sent a message.

Smoking was made socially unacceptable. Non smokers stood up for their right to clean air. Smoke your lungs out...just not in my space.

Then there was the grape boycott led by Ceasar Chavez to improve the wages and conditions of migrant workers. I seem to remember that that boycot targeted a certain kind of grape and was the inspiration for the tuna boycott.

Then there was flight 93. Try to kill us and we won't necessarily sit still and let you. That was a failure for the terrorists.

Bottom line is that if we need a change we need to take it into our own hands. That is the foundation America was built on. We just need a new creative idea that the oil producers can't ignore.

Reply by BrendaTx on 4/13/06 11:06pm
Msg #113512

Well slap me neckid and hide my clothes.


That was real pretty Stamper. Say some more!

Reply by CaliNotary on 4/14/06 12:54am
Msg #113538

That's all true. But the movements you mentioned weren't put into action by a freaking chain email.

Reply by Lee/AR on 4/13/06 9:02pm
Msg #113476

To further complicate this issue...

Check out the link and make up your own mind as to Citgo...

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

Reply by MelissaCT on 4/13/06 9:34pm
Msg #113478

Re: To further complicate this issue...

Interesting -- I recently heard something similar in that the so-called 3rd world nations outnumber the US...if they all banded together against us, we're screwed...just some food for thought.

Reply by whitesatin on 4/14/06 12:25pm
Msg #113617

Re: To further complicate this issue...

I've seen this e-mail circulating on the internet for probably 7 years now, and I don't see that it has helped. I believe in grassroots movements, but apparently, as one other poster suggested, a chain e-mail is not the route to go. JMO.

Reply by Jahari Davis on 4/14/06 2:27pm
Msg #113633

Re: To further complicate this issue...

This email has been going around for years and years and has done, NOTHING! It wont matter if you boycott Exxon and Mobile gas stations. They just like BP Aamoco, Shell, Chevron, and the others that escape me at the moment have their hands tied into all the other smaller stations. So either way, they'll get their money. I say bring them to the Hill with a different congress and actually put the executives under oath (they werent swon in last time despite protests from other committee members) and ask them directly if there was price fixing. Once they lie under oath, send them up for perjury and bring a huge class action lawsuit against the oil companies and force them to pay damages to every single american citizen.

Reply by Stamper_WI on 4/14/06 3:36pm
Msg #113647

Re: To further complicate this issue...

Exactly my point. We are numb to emails spewing the same old stuff. We sit on our A's and go "gee thats a good idea" or resort to picking it apart. ..then click the mouse.

There was no email back then. Folks got to gether or sent handwritten letters that required better spelling and a lot more thought. Better yet, they talked to each other more face to face! I think folks put more thought into their actions and everyone knew who was speaking...not some anon." [e-mail address]" or what ever name you want to represent yourself by.

Thats why I rarely read threads when they start sounding like all the others. Can't stand bickering. Especially when the same person says the same inane thing over and over

Find features in past ideas that accomplished something. They all required thinking outside the box and review whats been done. Flood your congressmen or president with letters, petitions etc. Don't just stand there and say "shame". The shame is victimizing yourself by not trying to do something to improve the situation and complaining about it. As long as you do uselees token complaining, you will continue to be taken advantage of by those who benefit from your inaction. Thats free enterprise and you need to understand that.

The old Disney cartoons of Goofy had him singing a song all the time as he fished for his supper in his patched clothes and holy shoes. It went like this "The world owes me a living........"

Reply by BrendaTx on 4/14/06 7:18pm
Msg #113673

Re: To further complicate this issue...

Exactly, Stamper. I am very impressed by your "here is a problem / let's exhaust all the solutions before we complain."

People who DO things don't complain and throw rocks ... they get busy and make something happen. They know the critical commentary is toxic and it is the death of inspiration and energy.