It really is different this time.

I thought there wasn't very much that could shock me on the subject of oil until today I heard Martin Whitman of Third Avenue Value Funds extolling the virtues of Suncor (SU) on Bloomberg TV.

Martin Whitman is a well known value investor who does his homework. When there is something cheap around, he'll usually be there. And not just the obvious cheap stuff either, he and his firm tend to dig a while before they come up with something.

He was in Kmart bonds before they went bankrupt and I'm sure he made out nicely when they went bankrupt and he came out with equity.

Anyway, on oil: Suncor, Encana, Nabors, Tidewater, Pogo, St. Mary, Whiting. Each in one of his various portfolios.

So we've amassed an interesting list: Jim Rogers, David Dreman, Douglas Cliggott, Martin Whitman, the American Funds, Ken Heebner. These are world class allocators of capital who have withstood the test of markets and time. (I'd throw Peter Thiel in there, but his record, although promising, is fairly short.)

It really is different this time.