The heroes, the hotties, and gas

Republicans just named a ‘hero’ and a ‘hottie’ as their 2008 Presidential and Vice-presidential candidatesMeanwhile, Panamanian motorists are getting hosed by jacked-up gasoline pricesWill the Internet stop the thievery ?

¦THE ‘HERO’ AND THE ‘HOTTIE’Political conventions, are tightly-scripted infomercials infused with lame sloganeering, calls for party unity, and nasty insults directed against the oppositionAlthough both the Democrats and Republicans campaign for change with both substance and symbolism, Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama is more believable because his party has not run the much-despised federal government for the past 7 yearsObama’s other strong suit is his detailed plans to stimulate the economy by repairing America’s infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.).Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, on the other hand, has mobilized his party through the adroit use of symbols like his prisoner-of-war ‘rebirth’ and by naming Sarah Palin as his Vice-presidential running matePalin’s a feisty, conservative Right to Life advocate (for anything not running on four legs) and Alaskan governor who enjoys speechmaking and can think on-her-feet when ambushed by the press in ‘gotcha’ interviews—two talents McCain never hadIn fact, McCain’s Convention acceptance speech was mostly a boring expression of leftover clichés, until the end, when he got emotional about his war record and exhorted Republicans to ‘fight, fight, fight’ to change Washington,And, Washington WILL change—no matter which team winsWe will see either a black American or a woman (with five kids and a rifle, to boot) elected for the first time, to one of the top jobs in the country

GAS PAINSFalling oil prices in the States have been met by higher gasoline prices in PanamaWhy? Because we don’t have effective legislation to stop price-gouging and there’s been no way to comparison shop, without burning more gasFortunately, we can now check fuel prices at 240 stations in Panama, at www.masgasolina.netJohn Pardini, one of the co-creators of the site, says gasoline stations will have to lower prices because Internet-savvy drivers will boycott the higher-priced fuel.How much of a difference is there? Consider this: on the website, the Delta station just beyond Arraijan on the way to Chorrera sells 91-octane for $4.20 a gallonYet, the same fuel costs only $3.92 a few miles awayWhenever the price of a barrel of crude rises, gas station owners almost immediately change their signs? But, when fuel prices go down, there are no ladders in sight, just the same thing.