Dow(n) to $8,451

Where/when does this crisis end? We've easily cleared 1987's carnage and yet the freefall continues. Rememeber, 1987 was only topped by the Great Depression, and so this has got to worry you. Even if you've not a penny in the stock market.

Oil prices are plummeting, too, though, with the price hovering now at around $80/barrel. In case you're among the few who buy by the gallon and not the barrel, that means it should be costing you about $3.50 now. An obnoxious price by 2006 standards, but a "bargain" by today's. Experts predict that it will keep spiraling downward with the economy...one expert predicted that it would fall to $40/barrel. Wow, what a deal.

And it begs the question. How is it that in tough times Oil comes down but Milk doesn't. People need both...why suddenly is Oil able to severely lower prices but not Dairy Farmers or Orange Juice producers or Electronics dealers. The answer is almost too obvious, but it's about time we started outwardly acknowledging it-- The Oil Industry-- OPEC and the Middle East, Russia and others-- have been artificially inflating oil prices for years now. Producing electronics, eggs and milk costs real money. So those producers can only lower prices so much until they are taking a loss. Not so for our enemies in the middle east whom we continue to support by allowing them to gauge us. Are oil costs suddenly lower than $80 a barrel? You mean they weren't last week?
Fact is, Oil costs our Arabic and Russian friends about $2/barrel. And I'm not even sure how much of that goes towards the barrel itself. Fact is, we're allowing our enemies to gauge us, to build up their economies --and in many cases, yes, terrorist factions-- by continuing to pay whatever price they demand. Fact is, our economy is collapsing and the ever merciful OPEC lowers prices somewhat. To an only slightly offensive amount. To make sure we keep buying. So we lose our focus on how abhorrent, how vile, how treacherous our association with oil is.

I bought a Hybrid car 3 weeks ago and regret only that fully-electric was not an option. Our enemies tore down our towers and will relent not at all in tearing down our economy when we are at our most vulnerable. The key is to make ourselves less vulnerable. No, not less...completely. And that means complete independence from foreign oil.

Silicon valley has invented an electric car... and so has chevy (the "Volt"). Others are finally working on it too, and it's about freaking time. These vehicles won't be publicly available for another couple of years, and the day can't come soon enough. Desperate times call for the most desperate of measures.

"Desperate measures?" I know-- it sounds melodramatic. Only, it's not. Israel has committed to converting its entire nation to electric only transportation within the next few years. Electric only. And, in reality, everything Israel always does is out of desperation and self-preservation. Finally, we're following their lead on something instead of the other way around.

Yala. Get those vehicles on the market. Achshav.

More to come...