ABOUT THE BOOK Many have stated that the oil and gas company mergers of the late 1990's simply put Standard Oil back together again. By allowing most of it's former companies to merge into a handful of companies, they are now united in effort to manipulate the refining and distribution of oil products, much the same as Standard Oil once did. In one respect, the politicians have allowed a 'corporate oil cartel' to be created. One much more powerful than OPEC. In May of 2001 Senator Carl Levin pointed out in a letter to the General Accounting Office (GAO) that oil and gas company mergers of the late 1990's had had an adverse effect on consumers. He expressed his concern about price manipulation. The GAO in an earlier report had also concluded the oil company mergers had led to higher prices for the American consumer. Yet the politicians we elect have done nothing about it. Unless you count the tens of millions of dollars they have taken from the oil companies ($52 million from 2001-2004, mostly to the Republicans), or from the Wallstreet investment and commodity firms ($26 million in 2005 alone, 52% to the Democrats), in order to do nothing about it. The goal of this book is to educate and explain in basic terms how the oil and gas companies, and Wallstreet commodity firms, have driven up the cost of oil products and natural gas. It will also give the reader information to help bring about political and economic change.