Yesterday's news broadcast reported yet another drop in gas prices, for the 20th day in a row. Good news for sure, but plenty of room for more improvement there. After all, with gas still so high it's premature to do any celebrating. Still, falling gas prices is a good trend.

So what's causing prices to drop?

It isn't speculators, that's for sure. Speculators have been blamed for rising prices, but they are no more than investors gambling on which way prices will go down the road. They're smarter than the slot-machine jockeys you'll see in Atlantic City or Reno too -- if they bet prices will go up, that's because there's a good chance prices will go up. It's a cause-and-effect thing lost on many of our Congressmen, who seem to think that prices go up because the speculators "bet" it up. By that thinking, will black come out on a roulette wheel because I bet the farm on black? I don't think so...

It isn't Iran either. Sanctions remain in place, with talk of additional ones, due to continued intransigence over their nuclear plans. In the past, skittishness over this subject has goosed up prices. Didn't happen this time, though. 

Think back a bit, what happened about three weeks ago that could have caused this steady drop in prices?

On July 14, when a barrel of oil cost $144, President Bush reversed the executive moratorium on offshore drilling. It meant little at the time, we were told, because Congressional and state bans were still in place. Besides, as many Congressmen assured us, we can't drill our way out of high gas prices. Drilling wouldn't bear fruit for ten years, they said.

Curious how quickly "ten years" have passed, though. Prices started dropping almost immediately on this first step by our government down the road of "we're not going to take it anymore." Poll after poll shows the American voter overwhelmingly wants this drilling, if only to help reduce prices. Congress, meanwhile, has utterly failed to do anything to help. Plus, in an ironic twist, the ban they refuse to consider voting to lift may expire from their inactivity.

By the way, a barrel of oil is down to $118. 

Have I mentioned that I'm really not happy about Congress, or that our only two real choices for President -- McCain and Obama -- are Congressmen?