posted by jmog

You have to understand this right?

Try not assuming you’re smarter than everyone around you - even for a day.  It’ll open your ears a bit.  You will realize there are a lot of intelligent people out there - some in the most unexpected places.  Might even make you some friends.

posted by jmog

Current prices are also effected by speculation almost as much as current supply/demand.

I'm not sure how accurate that is with oil.  It's unique in at least two respects:

Production is very inelastic - you don't just flip a switch for "surge" demand.  Arbitrage is limited by the fact there's not a lot of storage capacity (the system is mainly designed to operate efficiently at a relatively constant supply). This is why the price was briefly negative during the pandemic - there was nowhere to store it and sell at a later date when the prices normalized.  Speculators were tripping all over themselves to take advantage, even trying to buy tanker trucks.  The fact the price still went negative tells you the speculators are completely dominated by market factors.

OPEC effectively lost its ability to control price decades ago when places like US, Russia and some South American countries became major players.  So, yeah, there's plenty of speculation but it's very hard to move prices from basic supply/demand fundamentals.

Afghan refugees may not be granted citizenship!

Waiting for QO to tell me what I'm outraged about and who I should be outraged at....

posted by 

Waiting for QO to tell me what I'm outraged about and who I should be outraged at....

What: NIL tampering

Who: Megan Markle

posted by gut

Afghan refugees may not be granted citizenship!

Waiting for QO to tell me what I'm outraged about and who I should be outraged at....

Not sure what you're talking about, but have a great weekend.

Love our vets! Dangerous people who don’t display their license plates properly! 

https://www.csindy.com/news/local/update-cspd-officers-shown-on-video-beating-homeless-veteran/article_c361b3ba-7a49-11ed-b330-7bd3eda17682.html

What does that have to do with being a veteran at all?

posted by Dr Winston O'Boogie

Yes, I suppose if a president said he was shutting down all drilling, or that he was declaring nuclear war, or some other outlying circumstance, that could affect prices.  But that’s not what’s happening.

It isn’t just the extremes that affect speculation.

Also, to be fair, my scenario I made up is not far off what Biden has actually said and done so far.

Biden admin has not allowed any new drilling leases on federal lands, first President to do so (that I can remember).

Biden during his campaign actually said he planned on shutting down fossil fuels completely. That will and did change speculatory futures.

It doesn’t take a nuclear war to change oil speculation, especially with that BS OPEC group. A single hurricane no where near anything will cause them to change prices due to speculation well before said hurricane affects supply.

You really think it would take a President threatening nuclear war to get them to alter prices to change future supply? Come on, you’re smarter than that. 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-questions-fbi-raid-biden-homes-look-more-classified-documents

Look forward to FBI raids of biden properties. 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-classified-documents-found-his-delaware-garage

Let's see, this must be batch # 3.  My goodness, they're everywhere.  Where does the FBI go first.   LOL

AG appoints special counsel to investigate biden  -  merely perfunctory, unless the puppet masters have a grander scheme.

posted by QuakerOats

AG appoints special counsel to investigate biden  -  merely perfunctory, unless the puppet masters have a grander scheme.

To be fair, Biden was happy just to return the documents.  Whereas Trump thought he could "negotiate" to keep "his" documents.  And it was only after about 1.5 years of that the DOJ finally said enough and executed a search warrant.  Even then, they might not have gone forward if he wasn't under investigation for trying to overturn an election.

While I think it's hilarious the Dems are suddenly quite, and the Repubs suddenly care about classified documents...Granted, McCarthy is just enjoying serving-up some pwnage.  But that raid was 100% due to Trump's own actions.

Seems like something bigger going on ................this may be yet another deflection.   

That aside, the guy reads, I mean stumbles and mumbles through a prepared statement, and then walks away.   Hilarious on one hand, but almost terrifying (favorite lib term) on the other hand to think he is the supposed leader of free world. 

posted by gut

To be fair, Biden was happy just to return the documents.  Whereas Trump thought he could "negotiate" to keep "his" documents.  And it was only after about 1.5 years of that the DOJ finally said enough and executed a search warrant.  Even then, they might not have gone forward if he wasn't under investigation for trying to overturn an election.

While I think it's hilarious the Dems are suddenly quite, and the Repubs suddenly care about classified documents...Granted, McCarthy is just enjoying serving-up some pwnage.  But that raid was 100% due to Trump's own actions.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/01/13/is_the_deep_state_coming_after_joe_biden_148726.html

I predicted all along that the Dems would be done with Biden after the midterms.  They are going to use this to force him out of office so they can install Kamala and get her reelected twice.  

Nice prediction. Spock give you the inside track on that one?

posted by Automatik

Nice prediction. Spock give you the inside track on that one?

You're watching it happen in real time. 

posted by superman

I predicted all along that the Dems would be done with Biden after the midterms.  They are going to use this to force him out of office so they can install Kamala and get her reelected twice.  

Same thing about 1.5 million other people “predicted”.

Gotta say, it'll take some doing to get two re-elections from Kamala considering she fired up the Ds so much in the last presidential primary that she quickly dropped out with about as much support as Quaker would get from that party.

Don't get me wrong, it can happen -- especially if the Rs concede enough influence to the Freedom Caucus, or whatever they call themselves, nut-jobs to create another over-the-top "We need everyone to get out and ROCK THE VOTE or they'll have us living in a country that's a combination of dystopian hellscape and Handmaid's Tale." deal.  And if there is one thing I've learned about political parties over the past however many years, it's that they are stupid enough to prioritize their core bases over everyone else to the degree that someone who would normally be a non-entity also-ran can have a lot of success running on a platform that's little more than "At least I'm not that POS fuck!".

posted by Heretic

 they are stupid enough to prioritize their core bases over everyone else to the degree that someone who would normally be a non-entity also-ran can have a lot of success running on a platform that's little more than "At least I'm not that POS fuck!".

Kind of how like the Dems REALLY didn't want Biden, but they knew none of the other dipshits could beat Trump.  That's all incredibly unbelievable when you think about it.

The needle has moved enough that I don't know if Trump will get the nomination, and it's moved enough that he DEFINITELY won't win the general, much less match his vote total from 2020.  And the fact we're still talking about Trump's chances at this point is also pretty unbelievable.

All I can say is this country is filled with stupid people....who vote for stupid people.

posted by gut

Kind of how like the Dems REALLY didn't want Biden, but they knew none of the other dipshits could beat Trump.  That's all incredibly unbelievable when you think about it.

The needle has moved enough that I don't know if Trump will get the nomination, and it's moved enough that he DEFINITELY won't win the general, much less match his vote total from 2020.  And the fact we're still talking about Trump's chances at this point is also pretty unbelievable.

All I can say is this country is filled with stupid people....who vote for stupid people.

posted by Heretic
The average person just wants someone to tell them who to vote for, so they don't have to put any thought into it. Therefore, the guy with the most coverage -- either because the media backs him as the candidate they want or because he makes the most noise as far as soundbites go -- gets the nod.

I don't even think it's that complex.  People WANT to vote for a winner.  Granted, that's hardly mutually exclusive from what you wrote, and explains why money (to run ads) plays such a huge role.

I almost think you can get more votes (outside of the 70% of the country who vote straight ticket every time) just by convincing people you're going to win.  Probably more effective than trying to gain their vote on policy and issues.

posted by superman

I predicted all along that the Dems would be done with Biden after the midterms. 

Well, Repubs don't want Trump to run, either.

So maybe both parties go behind closed doors and figure out how to use this to keep BOTH from running.  That sort of win-win is a rare opportunity for bipartisanship.

posted by gut

Well, Repubs don't want Trump to run, either.

So maybe both parties go behind closed doors and figure out how to use this to keep BOTH from running.  That sort of win-win is a rare opportunity for bipartisanship.

That would be the best thing for the country. 0% chance it happens

His brain does not work 

NOW - Biden: To take "on the federal government, you need some F-15s. You don't need an AR-15."pic.twitter.com/WtKUlIYAei

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) January 16, 2023