Every day I read some kind of authoritative explanation for why I'm paying so much to fuel my car:  Light Sweet Crude is at it's highest price ever, refinery capacity was hard hit by hurricanes in the Gulf, there's trouble in the Middle East and gas guzzling Americans (me, for example) have created demand that beats supply. At least, this is what the pundits and rhetoricians (for you purists - I just made that word up) have to say.

And yet, profits and sales at oil companies are dazzling wall street for yet another quarter.

ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM)  profits are at an astounding 9.92 billion (yes, that's a "B") up a whopping 75% over last year.

What's so confounding is that despite news that might logically suggest oil companies would  be taking a beating, the fact is that prices, set by intrernational demand,  are so high they can't help but make a profit.

I pay about $60 for a tank of gas. Talk about "Road Rage."