This was reported last Sunday in the Hattiesburg American: Power crews diverted / Restoring pipeline came first.

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina roared through South Mississippi knocking out electricity and communication systems, the White House ordered power restored to a pipeline that sends fuel to the Northeast.

That order--to restart two power substations in Collins that serve Colonial Pipeline Co.--delayed efforts by at least 24 hours to restore power to two rural hospitals and a number of water systems in the Pine Belt.

At the time, gasoline was in short supply across the country because of Katrina. Prices increased dramatically and lines formed at pumps across the South.

"I considered it a presidential directive to get those pipelines operating," said Jim Compton, general manager of the South Mississippi Electric Power Association - which distributes power that rural electric cooperatives sell to consumers and businesses.

"I reluctantly agreed to pull half our transmission line crews off other projects and made getting the transmission lines to the Collins substations a priority," Compton said. "Our people were told to work until it was done.

And what did it do to lower gas prices in the immediate short term? Apparently nothing. But Big Oil keeps getting its profits, and "we the people" were placed second, once again. The doctor in Gulfport, I surmise, was speaking for most of us.

Would you have delayed a gas price decrease, that took more than two weeks to materialize as it was, to save maybe $2 a tank to have power immediately restored to a rural hospital and water systems put out by the storm?

Depends upon where one's priorities lie. They want us all to "give," except Big Oil, which continues to suck us dry. Even before Katrina, Exxon-Mobil made record profits, thanks to the War in Iraq. After Katrina, prices were rising on gas already paid for and in the tanks, sometimes twice a day.

The real looters in the wake of Katrina were not even on the streets of New Orleans. They are all over America.

They arrest a 73 year old diabetic grandmother storm victim taking food that could not be bought as reported here, but have done nothing to the price gougers. And they will do nothing. Can't bite the hand that feeds.

And so it goes...