The AP News actually reports the WHOLE story

For the first time, I see that the AP News actually reports the whole story about the why the price of gas is so high:

"The latest increase was prompted by crude oil prices that have topped $36 per barrel coupled with OPEC production cuts and a growth in crude oil demand, chiefly in the United States and China, Lundberg said
U.S. market prices are affected by growing gasoline demand - despite the higher prices - thanks to an improving economy, a tight refining capacity, and new federal rules for formulating less-polluting gasoline which add to the cost and make it harder to import foreign supplies that don't meet the new specifications"

O.K. - so the causes for increase are:

1. Price of crude oil increased
2. OPEC reduced the supply of crude oil
3. Demand for crude oil has increased
4. Not enough oil refineries to turn crude oil into gasoline
5. Federal Regulations defining formula requirements to meet "pollution standards"
6. A limited number of other countries from which we can buy the right standard of crude oil

For those out there who sometime have a hard time reading between the lines, notice who is missing from that list of causes:

Big Oil Companies

The Bush Administration

and their cronies at Haliburton

Amazingly enough, there is no consipracy out there to bilk the customer at the gas pump. Instead we are just seeing the natural economic laws of supply and demand being enforced.