No fueling: Conspiracy theory runs out of gas.(Brief Article)

For some inexplicable reason, American consumers have been conditioned to believe that the laws of supply and demand apply to every commodity except gasoline. The mere act of owning a car apparently entitles us to the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness at 65 miles per hour in an SUV.

Price swings are stoically accepted in all sorts of products. Nobody asks questions when a fruit fly is spotted in Florida and the price of a pound of oranges suddenly jumps at the supermarket. A fire wipes out the Columbian coffee crop and there is nary a peep as the tab for a cup of java jumps. A freak storm flattens an Asian cane field and shoppers quietly …