For one thing, who determines what “the right thing” is?

Sure, but what typically happens is people start reducing even the time they “have to do” driving. Yeah, you have to go to the grocery store to eat, but what if you normally go a couple times a week, so you scale back to once a week... or instead of once a week, you go twice a month. Instead of hitting the store 10…

Yeah, but demand destruction is still a thing. Sure, it’s higher than in 08, but $1 in ‘08 is about $1.34 now. So if demand destruction was north of $4, then odds are anything north of $5.50 is going to curtail demand. I’m sure the pandemic has an impact on pent-up demand, but the economic realities of not just $5.50…

Yes, but the last 5 times prices spiked majorly, people absorbed the costs.... for awhile.  Then they started cutting back.  If they’re talking through August AND prices going up 37%, I think demand will start falling.  

One thing we know about rising prices.... it leads to falling demand.  I think they’re all assuming everyone will just suck it up and pay whatever it costs to drive wherever they want/need.  I can say for myself it’s curtailed my driving plans, not to mention lead me to push back against more days in the office.  

For me the critical bit is this “used to be a hunter who had multiple guns as part of his hobby”. The NRA will use any bullshit excuse to make sure profits remain high. If it’s fear of the ‘other’, they’ll use it. If it’s variety for your ‘hobby’, they’ll use that. If it’s sexist rhetoric about ‘real mean’, they’d use…

I think GM will be a major contender in EVs shortly. I mean, not for MY money personally... I wasted too much of my youthful Saturdays helping my dad fix a POS GM product so it could get to work on Monday to ever seriously consider giving them my money.  But I think a lot of people will be happy with a GM and EVs.  

Exactly. That’s my point. Normally I’d look to Toyota, Honda, or Mazda, but since they have nothing in the area, Hyundai has grown to the point I now feel comfortable enough with Hyundai to consider them a real possibility for my personal cash.

White replacement ideology and associated ‘solutions’ have been mainstream for all of our US history. Too many of us liked to pretend it wasn’t true 10, 20, 30 years ago, but it absolutely has been there since the Civil War.  I don’t know if we’ll ever solve the problem of racism in the US or not.

These people’s worthwhile and fulfilling lives were cut short because we’re collectively too cowardly to fight the gun lobby and we’re collectively too cheap to pay for mental health care.

I’ll be 100% honest in that given a choice between Hyundai and a Honda/Toyota/Mazda ‘equivalent’, I’ve pretty much always had the feeling I’ll pick the Honda, Toyota, Mazda. Even though it might cost a tad more, it’s more of a known quantity for me personally. But Hyundai has been making serious in roads in both…

Which of those supposed “big” wins did we get? Do you mean the minimal stimulus checks or the barely passing infrastructure investment that was decades past due already?

Say what you will about the GOP, but they’re incredibly clever at how to motivate their base. Look, they’re well aware the future looks bleak for them without radical change. They’ve had the “Abortion is MURDER!!!” scare card in their back pocket for about 50 years and that’s about to go away. They need something else…

I don’t have to imagine. I live in WV - the strongest Trump support state in the country. I witnessed it first hand. They weren’t that frustrated at all. Some, sure, but mostly they trusted the party to have their best interests at heart. Know what most of the rank and file were saying? That it wasn’t the Republican…

Republicans don’t need to pass “every” piece of legislation. They’re adept at passing the big ones, which is why they keep getting rewarded. The Democrats need to get shit done. They just do. Disunified party? Tough. Figure it out and make it happen. Voters reward success, not excuses. Success leads to success.

Yes, but neither are the Republicans, yet somehow their agenda seems to have succeeded. A ‘loose political party’ isn’t a shield from criticism when their agenda fails to move forward.  That ‘loose political party’ needs to get its act together and find SOMETHING they can agree upon and turn into policy.  

How can anyone seriously be asking why they should keep voting for Democrats?

They have a bare majority

There is no solution to this problem until the next election.

I say this as a person with slightly over 500 (and growing!) vinyl records.... streaming is just better. You pay a flat fee and you can listen to pretty much anything you want. You can explore things you’d never touch otherwise because, hell, it’s included in what you’re already paying, so it’s just your time, not…