Political Discussion

Gas prices are now approaching $3 a gallon for our national average. And we could see $3.50 by Memorial Day weekend. Some states like California will for sure see $4 a gallon gas.

Why are gas prices going up so much? Sure demand is returning, but there is still 13% less demand than there was this time last year. The issue is oil supply. The United States shut down 2/3 of its oil rigs in 2020 because of the drastic drop in demand. It wouldn't be profitable to keep them all operational so they shut down rigs and laid people off. Now that demand has started to come back we have less supply. And the oil companies have yet to reopen any of the rigs closed down in 2020 due to uncertainty with future demand. They don't want to reopen any only to have another waive in the pandemic hit and have to close them down again. So they wait, all while enjoying near record profits again.

Gas prices is also one of the go to things for Republicans to point fingers at and blame democrats for. High gas prices are because of their policies according to them. And republican voters buy into this.

There is a lot of anger right now about the soaring price for gas, and it's all being pointed at Biden.

I just wish we has the same anger over high costs of living and food insecurities. But nope, that's just the way things are and aren't political. And trying to fix them is being radical.
 
Reading up on Texas and how Texas was already the hardest state in the nation to register to vote and to actually vote before this new wave of restrictions was proposed.

Texas does not allow:
  • Online voter registration
  • Automatic Voter Registration (when interacting with government agencies such as the DMV)
  • Same Day Voter Registration
To register in vote in Texas you must:
  • Complete your voter registration 30 days prior an election
  • Do it in person (where there may be only one site in the country)
To be a worker that collect voter registrations you must be:
  • Complete a training course
  • Certified (Certificate is only good for the county you were certified in)
  • Training courses are only offered once as few times as month at a single location per county.

Texas also has one of the shortest hour windows that polls are open.
 
Dtknuckles said:
I’ll still pay my public sector union dues though. (I may take shooting lessons this summer though)
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I wanna touch back on this to say that you absolutely should take those lessons. Regardless of one’s views on gun control or overall political leanings, I highly recommend getting some actual firearms education.

Even if you never plan on purchasing or using a firearm, in a nation with nearly 5 guns for every 4 people, instruction on basic firearms handling, function and usage is very valuable knowledge to have.
 
RenegadeMonster said:
Gas prices are now approaching $3 a gallon for our national average. And we could see $3.50 by Memorial Day weekend. Some states like California will for sure see $4 a gallon gas.

Why are gas prices going up so much? Sure demand is returning, but there is still 13% less demand than there was this time last year. The issue is oil supply. The United States shut down 2/3 of its oil rigs in 2020 because of the drastic drop in demand. It wouldn't be profitable to keep them all operational so they shut down rigs and laid people off. Now that demand has started to come back we have less supply. And the oil companies have yet to reopen any of the rigs closed down in 2020 due to uncertainty with future demand. They don't want to reopen any only to have another waive in the pandemic hit and have to close them down again. So they wait, all while enjoying near record profits again.

Gas prices is also one of the go to things for Republicans to point fingers at and blame democrats for. High gas prices are because of their policies according to them. And republican voters buy into this.

There is a lot of anger right now about the soaring price for gas, and it's all being pointed at Biden.

I just wish we has the same anger over high costs of living and food insecurities. But nope, that's just the way things are and aren't political. And trying to fix them is being radical.
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The big thing down here is the Biden moratorium on off shore drilling. We produce roughly 20% of the nation's oil down here and it's mainly done off shore on drilling rigs. Biden isn't letting this happen because these rigs are in federal waters. Thus, we have a large supply of oil, a work force eager to get back to drilling, but are hamstrung by the Biden ban on drilling.

Newly inaugurated President Joe Biden enacted a 60-day ban today on new oil and gas drilling permits and leases for federal lands and waters, including the Gulf of Mexico.

During his campaign, Biden vowed to halt new oil and gas leasing on federal land and waters and made addressing climate change and environmental pollution a centerpiece of his platform.

Reaction was swift from oil industry advocates locally and across the U.S.

“Producing American energy is the heartbeat of Gulf coast local communities from Golden Meadow to Galveston,” Lori LeBlanc, executive director of the Thibodaux-based Gulf Economic Survival Team, said in a prepared statement. “This act of prohibiting leasing and permitting in all areas of the outer continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico is extremely short-sighted and will hurt our Gulf coast citizens at a time when they are already struggling.

Gray cited a recent analysis by his group and the American Petroleum Institute that says an extended drilling ban would impact the Gulf Coast the hardest, estimating 48,000 job losses in Louisiana alone by 2022. The oil-and-gas industry supported more than 249,800 jobs and contributed more than $73 billion to Louisiana’s economy in 2018, the study says.

The Gulf produces about 17% of the nation's crude oil, federal data show.

www.houmatoday.com

President Joe Biden issues 60-day ban on new oil and gas drilling permits in Gulf of Mexico

Meanwhile, two dozen Democratic senators urged the Biden administration to enact tougher restrictions on air pollution created by oil and gas production.
www.houmatoday.com
 
Chucktshoes said:
I wanna touch back on this to say that you absolutely should take those lessons. Regardless of one’s views on gun control or overall political leanings, I highly recommend getting some actual firearms education.

Even if you never plan on purchasing or using a firearm, in a nation with nearly 5 guns for every 4 people, instruction on basic firearms handling, function and usage is very valuable knowledge to have.
Click to expand...
Agree with this. I am very wary of guns in general, but happy my dad taught me basic usage on his own such that I have somewhat of an idea of what I'm doing.
 
RenegadeMonster said:
The part I'm confused on is that the ban says on new permits.

Wouldn't existing rigs be able to open back up?
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It also has a component for offshore oil leases that messed up a lot of drilling down here.

Wednesday was supposed to be one of the biggest days of the year for the offshore oil industry. But the Biden administration’s ban on offshore oil leases canceled a lease sale that could’ve generated millions of dollars.
This was supposed to be the day that the Bureau of Energy was going to bid out leases on 78,000,000 acres of ocean bottom off the Louisiana coast, but the Biden administration has canceled new offshore leases.
www.fox8live.com

Louisiana leaders lament canceled oil lease sale on March 17

Scalise decries loss of revenue due to cancelled new oil lease sale, which had been set for March 17th
www.fox8live.com www.fox8live.com
 
nolalady said:
It also has a component for offshore oil leases that messed up a lot of drilling down here.

Wednesday was supposed to be one of the biggest days of the year for the offshore oil industry. But the Biden administration’s ban on offshore oil leases canceled a lease sale that could’ve generated millions of dollars.
This was supposed to be the day that the Bureau of Energy was going to bid out leases on 78,000,000 acres of ocean bottom off the Louisiana coast, but the Biden administration has canceled new offshore leases.
www.fox8live.com

Louisiana leaders lament canceled oil lease sale on March 17

Scalise decries loss of revenue due to cancelled new oil lease sale, which had been set for March 17th
www.fox8live.com www.fox8live.com
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So, what you’re saying is is that when people go “thanks Biden” while standing at the pump, it may be overly simplistic, but it isn’t entirely without merit.
 
Chucktshoes said:
I wanna touch back on this to say that you absolutely should take those lessons. Regardless of one’s views on gun control or overall political leanings, I highly recommend getting some actual firearms education.

Even if you never plan on purchasing or using a firearm, in a nation with nearly 5 guns for every 4 people, instruction on basic firearms handling, function and usage is very valuable knowledge to have.
Click to expand...

Part of the reason I’m thinking about is that it’s a useful skill to have, if that situation arises. I have shot before. I’m still a little wary of having one in my home even if it is locked up.

The classes are geared to people who are “progressive” basically marketed to people who are not the typical people at a range.

He’s a concert promoter, Vietnamese immigrant, that I’ve talked to a few times at community (free) shows that I went to as a grad student.
 
nolalady said:
It also has a component for offshore oil leases that messed up a lot of drilling down here.

Wednesday was supposed to be one of the biggest days of the year for the offshore oil industry. But the Biden administration’s ban on offshore oil leases canceled a lease sale that could’ve generated millions of dollars.
This was supposed to be the day that the Bureau of Energy was going to bid out leases on 78,000,000 acres of ocean bottom off the Louisiana coast, but the Biden administration has canceled new offshore leases.
www.fox8live.com

Louisiana leaders lament canceled oil lease sale on March 17

Scalise decries loss of revenue due to cancelled new oil lease sale, which had been set for March 17th
www.fox8live.com www.fox8live.com
Click to expand...

Trying to find an article I read last week.

It went on to talk about this executive order and how it's not what is causing the higher prices at the pump now. While it is true that in the long run this will lead to higher gas prices, the price increase we are seeing at the pump today is coming from increased demand as people start to travel again and oil production is still down.

In the bit term picture, Biden's policies really don't start to effect prices or a couple years. What we are seeing happening now would have happened regardless of what president was in office or if any executive orders were or weren't signed.
 
Indymisanthrope said:
I've posted about this before, but my junior high health class (combined 7th and 8th grades) alternated spring semesters so that one year you got sex ed, and the other year you got a hunter safety course. At the end of the hunter safety module, we all loaded up on a school bus on a Saturday morning and rode out to a field in the middle of nowhere to meet up with the teacher, his buddies, and a whole armory's worth of guns and bows. As long as you had a B or above in the class, you got to go shoot milk jugs for 4 hours or so with a variety of rifles, shotguns, pistols, muzzle loaders, etc.

25 years later, I marvel all the time at how he managed to do that with a bunch of 13 year olds, many of whom were already not model citizens, for years and years without (to my knowledge) a single incident. He knew how to make those kids feel seen ... but he was also lucky.
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I am someone who helps instructs new shooters, in addition to being closely aligned with the entire training cadre at a range I visit and I’m friends with the owner. I guarantee it was not nearly as chaotic there as it appeared to you as a 13-year-old. A well-designed program with invested and caring instructors will reduce the opportunity for mishaps to nearly zero.
 
I worked closely with small arms for nearly a decade. In an enormously self-selecting industry I was the rare person who took that experience to solidify that I will never have one in my home. But I absolutely agree with the sentiment that every American should be comfortable safely clearing a magazine-fed firearm. If you don't plan on ever going to a range at least watch a 10 minute youtube about it or something.
 
The other day my wife got curious what a house down the street was selling for. $300k. Previous owner just 5 years ago paid $150k. Very comparable to everything else in the neighborhood including my house. It sold 2 days later. Today, I got some random sales call wanting to place an offer on my house. I didn't even entertain hearing a number but it is absolutely the first call of any sort I've gotten. What in the actual fuck is going on?
 
TV
debianlinux said:
The other day my wife got curious what a house down the street was selling for. $300k. Previous owner just 5 years ago paid $150k. Very comparable to everything else in the neighborhood including my house. It sold 2 days later. Today, I got some random sales call wanting to place an offer on my house. I didn't even entertain hearing a number but it is absolutely the first call of any sort I've gotten. What in the actual fuck is going on?
Click to expand...
i know you are somewhere near me but here in Durham, housing has gone nuts. Our house would sell for 80% more than we paid for it right now.
 
Lee Newman said:
TV

i know you are somewhere near me but here in Durham, housing has gone nuts. Our house would sell for 80% more than we paid for it right now.
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Where I'm at in Virginia, demand far outstrips supply, particularly for single family homes. In my city, housing prices have gone up considerably during the pandemic, particularly in the $200k plus market.
 
wmeugene said:
Where I'm at in Virginia, demand far outstrips supply, particularly for single family homes. In my city, housing prices have gone up considerably during the pandemic, particularly in the $200k plus market.
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Same. We purchased our first home in Tacoma 5 years ago this June and our home has approximately doubled in value in that period of time. We don’t live in a tony neighborhood either.
 
www.cnn.com

Supreme Court to discuss case that could expand Second Amendment rights

When Supreme Court justices meet behind closed doors Friday, a conference that comes three days after the country's latest mass shooting, they are scheduled to discuss whether to add a blockbuster issue to the docket for next term: the scope of the Second Amendment.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com

Both new Justices that Trump appointed can't wait invoke second amendment rights against any gun restrictions. And it sounds like they could get a chance to do that soon as the SCOTUS.

As we all know, gun restrictions isn't the answer to solving mass shootings, it's allowing everyone to carry.
 
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