Me: "WTF, the United States is the biggest producer of oil in the world. This is crap."
Now we're told that the price of crude oil is dropping because of a "massive surprise" increase in inventory.
The US needs to modernize its petroleum infrastructure so we can refine the stuff we produce. That way, we can withdraw entirely from the world crude market--at least as a buyer--and let those assholes go to hell in their own damned handbasket.
* * *
If you need to know why Illinois is such a shithole, you need look no farther than Mike Madigan. The state has essentially been run as his personal feifdom since 1983. That article explains how.
When I call it the Demokratik Peoples' Republik of Illinoistan, in an homage to how communist nations name themselves, I am not really exaggerating all that much. Because Illinois is not run for the benefit of the voters, but for the benefit of Mike Madigan and the Democrat Party.
...which is why it's on the skids the way it is.
* * *
Modem starts weird bleeping, wife says "We were attacked by China!" because there's a story on her phone.
So I put the TV on and find it's a test of the national alert system, and the "attack" my wife was talking about was when some Chinese skipper decided to bring his ship within 50 yards of a USN ship a few days ago.
*sigh*
As things are right now, China starting a war against the United States makes about as much sense as Canada starting a war with the US. Simple fact is that the prosperity that exists in China comes entirely from selling stuff to the United States, and if they go to war with us, a lot of their exports simply stop happening. Not the least because in a total war scenario even their civilian freighters become fair game.
Because so much of China's economy is built on export, without shipping, China suddenly has no income.
What do the people in "sock city" eat when they cannot even ship out the socks? And ditto for all the other cities that have cropped up around the manufacture of specific commodities? The Chinese government can support things for a little while, even without revenue, but eventually things collapse. And the economic news I hear from China suggests that their "booming economy" is rather hollow.
* * *
Today's job is to get the u-joint in the Jeep done. Og has graciously offered to help with the actual "changing u-joint" part but I need to get my duff over there and get the axle removed from the truck first.
So, off I go.