ClearedHot

Which is the lesser of two evils?

100% you can't force U.S. refineries to take it but it never should have been released because it is for emergencies, not correcting poll numbers. Also, 100% oil is a global commodity, but releasing that small amount had no impact on the market, it was simply a gift to China because it was sold at a discount. Regardless, the bigger point is the moronic policy that says taking oil from other countries somehow helps global warming?

No "edgy" meme just a COME ON MAN...of course U.S. based refineries will shy away from sour crude, but in an EMERGENCY the U.S. could still use it...that was supposed to be the purpose of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to provide for U.S. energy needs in emergencies and to protect against import issues. In the history of the SPR it has never been used as a tool to garner votes until our dear leader took over. You know very well that petroleum prices rely on a series of factors some of them being emotional and perception, Joe's release from the SPR was an attempt to sway the emotional variable and calm his poll numbers. Even if your argument had merit and we couldn't use this oil in the U.S. during an emergency, why would you make things easier for China? It makes ZERO sense, it was a political play with a strategic asset and it is failing. And I guess you don't great irony in the fact that the oil went to the same Chinese company Hunter had a sake in, I can only imagine the coverage if any member of the Trump family had ownership. The bottomline is we have a completely disconnected energy policy driven by the extremists in the DNC, "Do not drill here in the U.S., that will solve climate change"....instead, release from the SPR, go to Saudi hat in hand to increase production, work with Iran behind the scenes so they can get more oil on the world market and kibitz with Venezuela to do the same. In short, surrender U.S. oil self-sufficiency because the oil that comes from overseas doesn't count towards climate change. Come on Man.

Sad they never gave Scorpion Jet an honest look. The wing is very modern and extremely efficient versatile allowing high altitude dash speeds then slow down and sit on station for 6-8 hours which would double or triple the range ring of the other players.

So the meat bag in the Oval Office decided to release oil from the U.S. Strategic Reserve to help ease prices here at home (not the intent of the reserves). 5 Million Barrels of that oil was then sent to Europe and CHINA! I know I know...at least we don't have mean tweets from the orange man. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-us-reserves-head-overseas-gasoline-prices-stay-high-2022-07-05/

? I am not a fan of extremism on EITHER side of the aisle, we have got to find a way to get back to the middle.

The continuing impact of uber liberalism is dystopian. I thought the actions of Los Angeles County DA George Gascon was insanity, but New York clearly said hold my beer. A career criminal comes into a store with his girlfriend and tries to buy some chips but his card has no money. Angered he goes behind the counter and starts to beat up the owner saying he wants the chips for free. The owner fights back and stabs the thief who ultimately dies. George Soros funded Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charges the owner with murder and sets a $250,000 bail. The thief's girlfriend stabs the owner five times and she is not charged with anything. WTF is happening to this country?

I think the environment on Crypto has changed for a host of reasons with one of the biggest being China outlawing all Crypto. Two years ago there was a path to $300K but I think the emergence of new options took away a lot of the steam as investors sought to hit a million dollar home run on a $100 investment. Ethereum gained a lot of traction for a host of reasons and hit $4000 before falling, I think the crystal ball believers saw it going to $12,000. I never bought Bitcoin, thought it was fun to watch. I did buy $3K worth of Dogecoin at .055 when it started to bump and sold half at .51 for a nice profit and kept the rest as a long-term Hail Mary. I thought it might go back up due to inflation as you mention but it faces some serious headwinds beyond China...I think it was New York that has outlawed and is actively looking for mining operations.

This one time at band camp...

Do you work with/around boomers? Many don't want to buy a home. In my experience in the tech industry many millennials are driven by a different definition of success. I know several who were offered literally millions of dollars but they had to remain fully integrated with the company we were buying for a few years, they pushed back with a state goal of working three days a week and living in a tiny home. Others have pushed back on coming to the office thinking they are just as effective being virtual and didn't want to make the 30 minute commute. Depends on the sector, if you are millennial with a liberal arts degree working at McDonalds that is probably true, with a technical degree that is completely false. We've started MANY kids right out of college at six figures and given them $30K spot raises (on top of annual raises), to keep them with our company on critical projects. Disagree, in my experience the millennials often don't understand that their idea or pet project must exist within a viable business model. Don't lump everyone into the category of politicians...that just a different game. Why have college costs spiraled? Certainly not a correlation to inflation and the economy. IMHO much of the conflict we see in our country today is the result of our education system run amok. Universities are almost fully entrenched by the liberal thought police who transitioned the system from teaching to indoctrination, all while wrapping themselves in tenure and ever higher salaries. I agree that the value of a college education has declined. I have certainly seen self-taught tech folks become far more effective than those getting a tech degree. There is also a perception problem in that the millennials don't seem interested in the trades which are critically short and paying BIG $ right out of high school.

Dude - this is one of the worst things I've ever read on this forum in almost 20 years. You honestly think homosexuality is a personal morale choice?

That is a very toxic statement, in my opinion that certainly does not match the vast majority of this forum or folks in uniform. There will ALWAYS be outliers in any population distribution which sadly means a few bigots will get through the screening. That being said I think most people believe you should be allowed to be free and love who you want. The issue in my opinion is when you FORCE it down the throats (sts) of everyone. I liken it to other forced training...Airman snuffy in services got a DUI so we are going to lecture EVERYONE about DUIs before the long weekend. Or...There was a rape in one of the squadrons so rather than focus on holding that person accountable we are going to have a stand down and lecture everyone about sexual assault. Now we have the absolute lunacy in the video below. How about we focus on being warriors, lets have training on how to knock down the S400, get to the target, deliver ordinance and get EVERYONE home...that is inclusion training.

Same here but the lead dog at this point rarely winds the race. He has done some great things here and I think he can do the job without being a giant narcissistic douche canoe. Sanders/Warren could have been catastrophic. For the record, I don't want EITHER party to have so much power that they can pass straight party line legislation. I prefer we stay in the middle and SLOWLY agree on change. Concur, but his negative personality traits will likely prevent him from stepping to the side for the good of his party and the country. I also think Biden should be disqualified. The suppression of the Hunter Laptop is in my opinion hiding some corruption, but the bigger issue is his mental decline. It is obvious and very concerning. DeSantis/Haley would seem the most powerful option and I think they would do good things. Both are highly intelligent and seem to make choices that match their beliefs not their politics. We are seeing a new generational gap. Think about the last 50 years where the WWII generation shaped politics as the boomers grew up. Living through a world war gave folks great perspective. The current generation has their face buried in a cell phone and is beyond entitled. For them, war (GWOT/ISIS/Ukraine), is a normalized thing that is FAR away and does not impact their daily life. They see occasional snippets but it doesn't interfere with their insta selfie while holding a venti vanilla sweet cream cold brew with three pumps of vanilla, three pumps of caramel syrup, one pump of cinnamon dolce syrup, three pumps of hazelnut, two pumps of toffee nut syrup, two pumps of mocha, two pumps of white mocha, eight pumps of pumpkin sauce, three pumps of maple pecan syrup, and five shots of espresso.

Took me six on one and five on the other...crazy.