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Man climbs onto gas station roof to protest high gas prices
Valparaiso Police and Fire departments were dispatched to the scene to remove musician Jay Weinberg from the roof and control his group of friends who were singing protest songs with the rooftop crooner. "That's just what we need, another headline," muttered a gas station employee. (Northwest Indiana News)
May 7, 2008 | Permalink
Comments
Another asshat that thinks the entire US is unaware of high fuel prices. If you are not deaf and blind you are well aware of the high fuel prices. All this asshat did was create a traffic jam which caused others to waste even more fuel.
Someone throw a bucket of urnine and poo on this guy.
Posted by: The Asshole Guy | May 7, 2008 6:20:25 AM
I generally have mixed feelings on the death penalty, but for this guy I think it is totally justified.
Posted by: G-Man | May 7, 2008 6:21:35 AM
Now, if he were to set himself on fire, that would be something.
Posted by: twerp | May 7, 2008 6:49:18 AM
Other than the trespass and unlawful assembly and general contempt for the rights of property owners, I would agree the protester that something needs to be done. We all are paying for King George's war at the pump and we will continue to do so until we come home from Iraq and find alternative fuel sources.
You want real change? Sell your car and ride the bus or the train. When gasoline isn't in demand then the price will come down.
Posted by: Ted | May 7, 2008 6:53:06 AM
REALLY..........GET A LIFE!
Posted by: ULTRA | May 7, 2008 6:54:13 AM
"Now, if he were to set himself on fire, that would be something."
Too expensive.
Posted by: stopeatingmysesamecake | May 7, 2008 6:56:16 AM
He's mad as hell and he's not going to take it any more!
Seriously, he should have pulled this stunt at Exxon-Mobil HQ or the White House or something. It would have made it slightly less pointless. His local gas station is just as much under the gun as he is -- their margins are slender and they aren't the ones cleaning up on higher oil prices.
Anyhow, we're screwed in many ways by rising gas prices because we've organized our entire society around the idea of cheap fuel. Even if you bike or take public transit, the costs of food and everything else are rising because of the oil price spike.
Posted by: Phranqlin | May 7, 2008 7:06:01 AM
Ever heard of India or China?
Happen to know what's been going on there the last five years? They are in the kind of growth we were in 20 years ago and they are all driving SUVs and consuming oil like it was water. That demand and the fact that oil is traded as a commodity are the true reasons for the high prices, not anything done here politically.
We have less control over it than you all would like to think.
And the food prices are more due to the idiotic ethanol legislation than anything else. Corn based ethanol is simply moronic.
Posted by: ScubaSteve | May 7, 2008 7:15:52 AM
ScubaSteve, how dare you post something reasonable! What were you thinking? The least you could have done is throw in a quick "you know who else liked to consume oil?" just to take away the sting of your rationality.
:P
Posted by: Soo | May 7, 2008 8:29:32 AM
So this idiot thinks gas prices are too high? Who doesn't????
How does him and all his friends DRIVING over there, all the emergency response DRIVING over there, all the media DRIVING over there wasting fuel HELP the situation??????
Posted by: ttjack | May 7, 2008 8:32:54 AM
SS,
Corn-based ethnol is stupid, BUT as long as 10 years ago when bio-fuels were just a glint in a nerds eye, there were CONFERENCES, MEETINGS etc. explaining the defect of corn-based ethanols. I attended conferences like this, read the effing articles and so did a lot of other people. Several other plants were suggested as alternatives (better ethanol conversion, could grow on non-prime farmland) and even some agriculture stations started trial bio fuel crops other than corn.
However, certain countries (yes I am pointing at you Brazil, don't just stand there with your thumb up yer bum and yer mind in neutral) went to all corn-based biofuel without a freaking plan.
Fuel collection and distribution systems can't just be bullied and are relatively unresposive to emotional displays; you have to think it through, do the research and PLAN. And that takes time and talent.
If you really want to do something about the fuel "crises" then demand that your kids ace math, science, and language (and don't rely on the school system to do it), get them into college, support higher degree programs. That's how you get solutions that work.
Posted by: nellagain | May 7, 2008 8:48:52 AM
nell - Brazil has a fine plan. For one thing they make most of their ethanol from sugar cane which happens to be cheaper than corn based ethanol. They are also completely self-sufficient (net exporter of both ethanol and oil). And all their cars are flex fuel vehicles so they can switch between ethanol and gas depending on price.
The US on the other hand rushed the recent ethanol laws through Congress as more of a publicity stunt than anything without any real research. Now that it has backfired none of them (especially the congressman in the corn growing regions) have the guts to reverse course. BTW - The U.S. also has a high tariff on Brazilian ethanol to 'encourage' our own farmers.
Posted by: G-Man | May 7, 2008 9:13:50 AM
There is nothing wrong with retail prices for gasoline and diesel. They simply reflect the realities of the market, and there is no better economic model than a free market. I purchased shares in the major oil companies more than 15 years ago. I'm fine with prices as they are. Anyone who believes ethanol is a viable fuel source is a fool.
Posted by: Dick Tater | May 7, 2008 9:20:04 AM
Gman,
Sugar cane is a land and fuel intensive crop. It shares with corn the difficluty of generating a monocrop culture, which is particularly vulnerable to disease, and other massive failures (cf the potato morraine).
Brazil is still importing oil (yeah they export gasoline and import oil, as well as being a reasonably sized player on the world oil market--don't let anyone tell you that the oil market isn't weird)
Ethanol can't replace everything you do with petroleum. And, though I hate to say it, it is a matter of scale--5 million cars in Brazil; 231 million cars in the US.
Since I'm picking on Brazil, the conversion from oil to sugar hasn't changed much ---It used to be that they grew food and sold on the international market to the benefit of the very rich. Now they do the same with ethanol. As usual the peasantry takes in the shorts.
The point is, and I probably didn't make this clear, is that any single fuel solution is going run smack into exactly the same problems that fuel oil does. When you single source your fuel supplies, especially when they can become conflated with food resources, you will invite trouble through the front door.
Americans, at least from my perspective, have a tendency to come up with Grand Schemes to Solve It All At One Go. (Hence your accurate assessment of the current US regulations)
Posted by: nellagain | May 7, 2008 10:38:08 AM
On the plus side, at least he isn't syphoning gas from his neighbor's lawnmowers like I've been thinking of doing.
Posted by: CryMeAriver | May 8, 2008 4:30:33 AM
Good for Him
Posted by: Lives for Jesus | May 8, 2008 8:34:11 AM
Lives for Jesus,
Jesus said, "Let the rich charge what they want for their products, if people are willing to pay, then you will prosper." John 3:16 I believe. Soon after he wrote "Wealth of Nations" as the shadow author for Adam Smith.
Posted by: lives for a higher truth | May 10, 2008 12:28:34 PM
