No One Cares Because Nothing Matters Anymore

[ousdahl]

The complaints of the privileged are too often confused with the voice of the masses.

The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.

Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everybody gets busy on the proof.

The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking.

One of my greatest pleasures in writing has come from the thought that perhaps my work might annoy someone of comfortably pretentious position. Then comes the saddening realization that such people rarely read.

John Kenneth Galbraith

potd defixione

No wonder Qusdahl was so reviled around here.

[zsn]

craft beer would not be 13 dollars for a 6 pack.

So conservatives would regulate beer prices? I thought conservatives hated regulations??

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

craft beer would not be 13 dollars for a 6 pack.

So conservatives would regulate beer prices? I thought conservatives hated regulations??

Lulz.
I'm surprised MICH didn't say the price of hockey pucks would be cheaper under a Republican majority.

Meanwhile, let's talk about gas prices. Here is my not so intelligent take......
It's not funny when Dems say the President has NOTHING to do with gas prices - because it's not really true - is it?
Meanwhile, fair of not, Republicans place the blame on Biden for high gas prices.
Ok, but do they realize how we got to the situation we were recently in? Am I wrong to believe it may have basically started when Trump was the guy who told Saudia Arabia, Russia, OPEC to cut gas production? People feel that was a good thing (but in many/most ways "crashing" the oil market really isn't/wasn't).
Then after he did that, he did this and actually boasted about it the other night in Pennsylvania. https://theweek.com/speedreads/906636/t ... ve-tax-cut
So in other words, Trump encouraged the gas companies to profit more on the American consumer at the American consumer's expense. Gee, why didn't I hear any Pubs bitching about that - at the time?

On a side note, Trump (being the guy who loves to embellish his accomplishments) has said gas prices were $1.86 when he left office. Maybe in some places but the national average was about $2.40

[Deleted User 863]

I care more about fixing the problems than I do about winning blame game arguments. I wish the same could be said for more Americans.

There is enough blame to go around for both of them.


Unfortunately so many people almost seem to hope for bad things to happen so they can add a tally mark to their personal blame game scoreboard.

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

I don't disagree.

[zsn]

Actually there’s an extremely simple explanation for gas prices. At the end of Trump term the economy was still in doldrums and most people were working remotely and not traveling. Low demand for fuel. Low prices therefore. Beginning of summer this year saw most people return to work and what’s best described as revenge travel. High fuel demand. High costs. If you want to attribute to Biden the turnaround of the economy and control of the pandemic then (and only then) can you “blame” him for high fuel costs. Of course the Ukraine situation didn’t help, causing war profiteering by Big Oil.

[Overlander]

How can anyone ignore the massive profit increases for oil companies the past year, and not see the true root of the problem?

I guess billions in subsidies just don’t go as far as they used to.

[twocoach]

I care more about fixing the problems than I do about winning blame game arguments. I wish the same could be said for more Americans.

There is enough blame to go around for both of them.


Unfortunately so many people almost seem to hope for bad things to happen so they can add a tally mark to their personal blame game scoreboard.

It is important to understand what happened and why when things go from working to not working. When things have a worldwide impact to the daily lives of the vast majority of humans on earth, you can't just ignore what actions resulted in it beginning of the change.

It's not about "blame"; it's about trying to figure out how to lesson the likelihood and severity of such a confluence of insanity between an utterly unqualified criminal in the Oval Office followed by a global pandemic, and now a key player in global energy and fuel production at war.

[ousdahl]

How can anyone ignore the massive profit increases for oil companies the past year, and not see the true root of the problem?

I guess billions in subsidies just don’t go as far as they used to.

^^^^^

and not that I understand economics, but with big oil as well as pretty much every other consumer good and service, I also can't help but wonder where the line is drawn between "inflation" and "corporate price gouging..."

[twocoach]

How can anyone ignore the massive profit increases for oil companies the past year, and not see the true root of the problem?

I guess billions in subsidies just don’t go as far as they used to.

^^^^^

and not that I understand economics, but with big oil as well as pretty much every other consumer good and service, I also can't help but wonder where the line is drawn between "inflation" and "corporate price gouging..."

I assume that many companies and corporations that could afford the initial pain of the initial lack of demand for goods and services took advantage of the pandemic climate to artificially create "shortages" to allow them to drive their prices and profits up and that those efforts are continuing because really, what company wants to make less money?

[MICHHAWK]

everything wrong with the world is conveniently blamed on the china fungus.

5 years from now, everything wrong with the world will be conveniently blamed on the china fungus.

the lazy and worthless will milk the china fungus for all it's worth. they're gonna milk it dry.

[defixione]

I know, right? It's given you fodder for the last year and a half.

[ousdahl]

is it bad that to this day every time Mich mentions the China fungus my mind still goes to, "you mean shiitake?"

[jhawks99]

is it bad that to this day every time Mich mentions the China fungus my mind still goes to, "you mean shiitake?"

Shiitake is Japanese.

[japhy]

is it bad that to this day every time Mich mentions the China fungus my mind still goes to, "you mean shiitake?"

Shiitake is Japanese.

Oussie can't help it if all Asian fungus look the same to him.

[ousdahl]

Dangit.

Shiitake?

More like shit take.

[Overlander]

I know, right? It's given you fodder for the last year and a half.

POTD

[Cascadia]

I know, right? It's given you fodder for the last year and a half.

POTD

Covid and Trump have completely ruined MICH’s mind.

[ousdahl]

RIP Doyel.

your retweets are the best.

[ousdahl]

maybe I got too pols boredy in the weather thread about Puerto Rico.

and maybe Qusdahl is too quick to vilify things like the privatization of public utilities.

But, for context:

An arrest warrant, a fugitive CEO: Puerto Rico’s effort to privatize its electrical grid is off to a rocky start

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2 ... ma-energy/


Puerto Rico governor publicly criticizes private company over power outages
It's the first time Gov. Pedro Pierluisi has denounced Luma Energy, which has a contract for power transmission and distribution, after public outrage over the spike in outages.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/pue ... -rcna43786