I am against purposeful spreading of false information in order to mislead. When it comes right down to it, who can we trust if people are willing to blur the lines and stretch the truth in order to win a favorable position over others?

Terrorist wackos justify their actions to themselves also.

The oil companies are no different than any other business in that they have a responsibility to society to on the one had earn profits so they can not only pay employees but also make a fair return on investment of stakeholders, and on the other hand operate with ethics not only RE worker safety, tax code, but also environmentally. They like any other business are entitle to both the benefits and costs of the free market system.

An interesting aspect that relates to the cost of fuel is because of dozens and hundred of differing fuel blend requirements at the pump, driven by in-cohesive local and state and regional environmental regulations, the refinery and pipeline distribution systems have built in inefficiencies. The result is higher cost to consumers. Folks who operate industrial facilities know that frequent shut downs of production for change over, as well as the increased inventory and distribution of products drive up the cost of goods.

It might be worthwhile that while we advocate "fair and balanced tax law" as well as expect responsible environmental and safety behavior, that we take a look at how our national / regional / state regulatory process builds in artificial barriers to efficient supply of fuels to consumers who need to get to work.

It's odd that a guy who's earned his living in the business of environmental management for over 20 years would "sound" like he's pro oil company, actually I'm pro common sense. We could improve environmental quality, reduce the cost of manufactured goods, probably use less energy for the same amount of output, and also reduce the cost to consumers - if we only had some common sense in DC. Of course when the Vice President fires Science advisers who object to his political and scientific opinions, there's very little chance for common sense leadership.

We might also take a look at why I can buy a (very low tech) inexpensive VW Turbo Diesel that gets 45 to 50 mpg, and yet Detroit doesn't build them?

KISS is such a lost art in the law making process.