Grading ExxonMobile’s PR Gambit

I don’t own a car, but historically high oil prices are taking their toll on me.

My airfare for a recent trip was 25 percent higher than I normally pay, and taxis to and from the airport cost me at least 20 percent more than I’ve paid in the past. High oil prices also impact my life because petroleum derivatives are used in thousands of products, including food (plastic containers and pesticides), beverages (plastic and glass bottles), clothing (polyester and rayon), consumer electronics (plastic), home furnishings (carpet) and utilities (gas-powered plants). Even the government is feeling the pinch (which means my tax dollars are wasting away), because petroleum is central to everything from government-owned transportation to government-sponsored works projects. (Asphalt is a petroleum product, and asphalt prices are up about 20 percent over the past year). (Read more…)

Finding Ammunition and Shields

In early 2004, I received a phone call from a reporter for a major business publication. She wanted to know if I was the Ben Silverman who was donating heavily to Democratic political campaigns. She thought it may make an interesting story considering I wrote a business column, one in which I had been critical of the Bush Administration on more that one occasion, for the right-tilting New York Post. (Read more…)