"D.C Madam - Deborah Jeane Palfry who faces charges of running a prostitution ring under the cover of an escort service posted on the internet the telephone numbers of her clients over the years. At $300 per hour, the stock room clerk at K Mart likely will not find his name on the list. The rich, the powerful and the famous must be sweating a little bit. While they abhor the media spot light, they actually fear more a Lorena Bobbit act by a rampaging wife.

First to bite the dust is freshman Republican Senator David Vitter from Louisiana. He admitted being a client of the escort service years ago before he ran for the Senate. He apologized and said that he already confessed to his wife and to God.

What did he confess? My unreliable source says that the senator really wanted to get a romantic present for his wife on Valentine’s day but he was too embarrassed to go to a Victoria’s Secret store and be seen touching a skimpy woman’s underwear. So he dialed Palfry’s number and requested an escort who will pretend as his wife buying the merchandise of his choice. That was all there was to it. He did not join her in the fitting room.

After Bill Clinton and Monica, is it still a big story if some big shot is exposed playing hokey pokey? It didn’t bother many even if it was committed on federal property on official business. But D.C. is a strange town. The judgmental standards differ depending on the political color.

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The price of gas has been hovering around $3 for some months now and it is unlikely to go down significantly in the near future. More money spent for gas means less money for other necessities.

Who do I blame for my bloating gas expense?
We import more than 50% of oil we consume. As other economies expand, so do their demand for fuel. With the world oil production practically almost constant and close to full capacity, we have to compete more with other countries for the limited supply. The increasing demand, particularly in China, India and the strong U.S. economy has pushed the price per barrel upwards for a couple of years now.

As we pay for imported fuel, we prop up regimes abroad who are undermining our national interests. We continue to do this while we sit on our oil reserves. Those who have prevented the exploitation of oil reserves in the ANWAR region of Alaska and elsewhere would rather have us be hostage to foreign suppliers.
The crude oil price however is just part of the story. Even with ample supply of crude oil, the price of gasoline in the U.S. could still spike whenever there is a disruption in the oil refinery facilities that are now running at close to full capacity. There has not been a refinery built in the last two decades. While it makes sense to offer incentives to build oil refineries, this proposal has been criticized by the Democratic leadership as a give away to oil companies. Meanwhile, we just bite the price increase when a hurricane shuts down an oil refinery.

The Democratic initiative in Congress to force car makers to increase the gas mileage of cars can bring something good in the future. However, we will still be dependent on oil for many many more years to come. While we await the miracles from wind and solar energy, let’s bring the price of gas at the pump down. Build refineries and unfreeze our oil reserves. Even the penguins would understand.