yes, we can lock in prices.  It usually involves prepay, which I won't do. 

Oh wow, We don't have to prepay. I couldn't do that.

Gas here between 3.67 and 3.95. Closer to downtown Chicago its over 4.00 a gallon.

I also stopped prepaying for natural gas that we use here to heat our homes and cook food with. When they asked for almost $40.00 more for my budget amount I stopped being on the budget plan. No more prepaying.

Now if we consider the amazing profits above--how does it happen?   And here is our president:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/29/AR2008042900698.html?nav=rss_email/components&sid=ST2008042901305

"If there was a magic wand to wave," Bush said, "I'd be waving it, of course. . . . But there is no magic wand to wave right now. It took us a while to get to this fix."

Although oil-related proposals were at the center of his remarks, Bush also offered a broader critique of congressional inaction, arguing that Democrats have worsened the nation's economic problems by opposing his housing reforms, a Colombia free-trade agreement and other proposals.

"Only President Bush could allow Big Oil to write our nation's energy policy," said Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).

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I have an idea about where Bush could wave his magic wand!  Shake it at them:

"Two oil giants, BP and Royal Dutch Shell, announced record profits yesterday totaling $17 billion in the first three months of the year. Exxon Mobil is expected to smash its own previous records for quarterly corporate profits tomorrow. Average gasoline prices, meanwhile, have surged to a new high of $3.60 per gallon. "
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How do they get away with bilking us for all we have while they rake in record profits and blame terrorism or whatever!  And this is certainly not the first year.  Every year, every quarter has been a record breaker lately.   These profits are just wrong and would seem to come out of a totally different economic reality than the one that is being politically marketed to us.  Oil barrel prices are being rancorously thrown out there by the media; they better start throwing these multi-national oil companies out there as well.   Who is benefitting from terrorism these days?  Robber baron terrorists!!   And our government doesn't want to rely on Middle Eastern governments that support terrorism so they can rely on themselves and fund their own economic/political terrorism.