At Exxon headquarters in Houston, management refers to the executive suite as "The god pod." But while the honchos of the world's biggest and richest oil corporation might think of themselves as holy omnipotents, most Americans have more demonic thoughts about them — and they definitely consider today's gas prices ungodly.

So I was not totally surprised to learn recently that a group of church folks have been holding a series of "pray-ins" at gas stations across the country. They gather in front of the pumps, clasp hands and reverently beseech God to deliver us from these high prices.

"God is the only one we can turn to at this point," says pray-in organizer Rocky Twyman. "Our leaders don't seem to be able to do anything about it. The prices keep soaring and soaring."

A public interest group called Consumer Watchdog says it sympathizes with the prayerful. "Given the complete inertia and silence of this White House on a crisis that has people feeling just hopeless, prayer is probably as good as anything," one member of the group says.

Actually, Twyman and other pray-in participants are not simply hoping for a miracle. They believe that God helps those who help themselves, so they're calling for people to do more walking, biking, carpooling and other actions to cut back on gasoline use. They also hope that praying at the pumps will finally cause politicians of all stripes to take notice of the public's desperation, perhaps even prompting them to do something about the rip-off prices that are squeezing so many working families.

To learn about some concrete steps that Washington could be taking on both price gouging and oil dependency, contact Consumer Watchdog at (310) 392-0522 ex. 305 or www.consumerwatchdog.org.

SUPPORT OUR VETERANS

Politicians should not be allowed to utter the phrase "Support Our Troops" — unless they actually do.

None have shouted this phrase more insistently than the Bushites, yet they've been caught again and again shortchanging our troops on everything from protective gear to family benefits. Most damning has been the abysmal failure of Bush & Co. to honor war veterans with adequate treatment here at home, and two recent cases show how empty their words really are.

First is the important, bipartisan proposal made by Sen. Jim Webb to establish a new GI Bill for veterans of Bush's war. The original version, signed in 1944 by FDR, was an enormous success, not only moving millions of vets into the middle class, but also democratizing America's college system. Just in financial terms, the investment paid for itself sevenfold. Webb now wants those who are sacrificing so much in Iraq and Afghanistan to make the same gains.

But guess who says no? Bush, the Pentagon and even John McCain. Why? It would cost too much, say these Washington warmongers, who have already thrown trillions of our tax dollars into the debacle of Iraq.

The second case is the shameful inaction by the top mental health official in Bush's veterans department. Ira Katz has not only gone along with Bush budgeteers who've been shortchanging vets on mental treatment, but he's also tried to cover up the startling suicide rate among veterans who have been victims of this failure.

Katz has now been exposed as the author of an agency email that he titled: "Shh!" The email conceded that there are some 35 suicide attempts each day by veterans — half of them successful. Katz's message, however, was not to call for more help for our soldiers, but instead to stonewall disclosure of the problem.

Abandoning those you've sent to war is traitorous behavior by the commander in chief.

To find out more about Jim Hightower, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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