An example of capitalism, or whatever it is we have:

Went to the beach in Santa Monica yesterday. Santa Monica is a small city on the coast, middle class---with an increasing Mexican gangster presence---with lots of shops and so on. I returned to LA along a major street on the south side of the city. I noticed very quickly that three major gas stations have shut down, are fenced, and may be going out of business. As a result, gasoline prices are $2.61 per gallon in all stations that are doing business. When I got to West LA, where there is competition, the price per gallon averaged $2.42, with one at $2.39.

Q: WTF is going on? Most likely the radical environmental wing of the Democratic party that controls Santa Monica has forced stations that don't comply with a local environmental ordiances to shut down. It's possible that big retailers like ARCO are trying to control prices. It's also possible that the major oil companies are attempting to force customers to fill up in other areas of the county.

Anyway, it's weird.