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I'm not particularly impressed by darkdaze...

Daily Kos: Countdown to $200 oil: International Energy Agency says current prices justified

I dont think the world get our mindset either.  If I am out of work, broke, cold and hungry, I will want my government to go grab the worlds oil. If it means war, then war it is. If we lose our way of life, we are going to be the worse thing the world has ever seen.

The last depression we had no real standing military, Now we have the largest the earth has ever seen. I dont think we will sit and suffer, the mideast will become our next occuppied territories.

by Nomad on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 06:46:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]
He's a bit extreme for Big Orange, but not at all, I would say, for the American public at large. Luckily for the rest of us, they probably can no longer back up the threats and posturing. And it clearly couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys.
by PIGL on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 06:56:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I disagree.  That's extreme even for the general public.  The general public isn't getting hit anywhere near that hard.  Not yet at least.

Remember, you have to make adjustments for the Drama Queen factor when reading Daily Kos.  Wonderful site, but Daily Kos really is little more than a giant Prozac advertisement at times.

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 07:10:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]
And I must disagree in turn. You are probably correct that Joe Average is not seething to invade Iran yet. But our dazed friend is probably correct that Joe could be fairly easily convinced once things really start to bight. Case in point: Iraq. The circumstances and specifics of the pack of lies will differ, but not the outcome. What will prevent the eagerly anticipated bloody conquest of their birthright is "their brother monarchs of the earth."

And yes, I know dKos well...I was a TU and everything for a couple years. Except for the following of the occasional link as last night, I have stayed away since January 1. One of the very few New Years resolutions I have ever kept. Much more civilised here.

by PIGL on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 07:42:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I live in one of the most conservative whack-job cities in the country, and I've never heard the idea of just taking the oil as a proposition. I've heard plenty of people say that the solution to the problem in the middle east is to turn it into glass, but even those are only half-serious. By far, most Americans think that we are in Iraq, etc., for reasons based on good, traditional morality, not to get the oil.
by asdf on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 08:33:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]
What city?

That's been my experience, too.  In fact, the conservatives go out of their way to state that we didn't go for the oil.  I don't think most people believe we went for good reasons anymore, though.  At first, I'm sure most did.  But these days I think people generally believe we went simply for the benefit of Bush's cronies.

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 08:44:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Colorado Springs.
by asdf on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 08:44:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I'd heard Colorado Springs was coming along quite nicely into the modern era.  I knew it was one of those bizarre survivalistish-conservative western towns for a long time.

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 08:53:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Nope, it's still one of the most conservative places you can find.

There is a pretty solid lefty community in the downtown area, but the city is very dependent on the military (Fort Carson army base is one of the main Iraq embarkment places, and Peterson AFB, Schriever AFB, the Air Force Academy, and NORTHCOM headquarters are here...) and there's a huge retired military population. Also it has a strong southern flavor with the attendant problems. And there is a big evangelical christian community, including the headquarters of a whole bunch of mission groups that you only will know about if you listen to short wave radio.

Plus we have some world class conservative idiots in our political system, including the famous Doug Bruce, inventor of the TABOR system of tax indexing that has ruined Colorado's finances, and who has only this year been caught kicking a photographer during the legislative swearing-in ceremony and then shortly afterwards calling undocumented workers "illiterate peasants."

Bottom line is that we have a lot of nutjobs around here. But if you don't read the newspaper it's easy to avoid knowing about it!  :-)

by asdf on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 09:13:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]
asdf:
and who has only this year been caught kicking a photographer during the legislative swearing-in ceremony and then shortly afterwards calling undocumented workers "illiterate peasants."

Just wow.

by Nomad on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 09:55:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Nomad, you should consider a tour of some of the more politically "scenic" parts of the USA just to properly calibrate your sense of "Wow."  We have areas here that even hard line, pre-Mandela Afrikaners would find congenial.  As a bonus, some areas are very beautiful, Colorado Springs and San Diego being two examples.  However, it would take a while to properly assess local attitudes.  There are many genuinely friendly people, even in small, rural towns there are usually humane and worldly souls and the really dark side of the others normally only emerges when they feel pressed.

The distance we have come and the distance remaining to go are both impressive.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 12:27:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
As a virtual alternative one could browse through many of the newspapers in the Gannett family.  My mother used to subscribe to the Tucson Citizen and the LTEs were always a plentiful source of RW foam.  My local paper, The Baxter Bulletin, is also a Gannett paper.  It is the paper of record for North Central Arkansas.  I can only dream of having the Bulletin bought by McClachy.


As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 12:45:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]
He was the one I had most in mind in my comment.

There's also his (his capitals) NO WAY I'M GONNA WAIT AN HOUR TO CARPOOL MY TIME IS WAY MORE VALUABLE THAN THAT, next to comments about the absolute need for lower gas prices or people would die.

So... his time (one hour of his time) must be pretty hugely valuable if it tops all that.

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi

by Cyrille (cyrillev domain yahoo.fr) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 07:09:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I asked him whether he gets paid by the hour.

I get really annoyed by people who divide their salary by the hours worked and then say "my time is worth this much". If they work one more hour their time is worth less as they don't get paid more, do they?

When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 07:15:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Right, assuming he's a salaried worker.

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 07:17:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, clearly not, given
Carpooling doesnt work for the US corporate professional. I know husband and wife's who couldnt do it , and they worked for the same comapny and both were high level management.  They can come and go as the please and even they said it couldnt work.
The US corporate professional isn't going to freeze to death.

When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 07:27:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]
This is the real point: Others are going to run low on heating oil because of these slobs.

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 07:35:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]
They are the ones most likely to be "two Prius" families.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 12:33:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I'm amazed by the notion that a high level manager can come and go as he pleases.

Is it really like that in USA? Not here. You'll have much more predictable hours as a rank and file employee.

Nevertheless, my wife and I (pretty reasonably high management level) often trainpool. That is, we find a way to be in the same train (not that we need to of course), even though we are unlikely to finish right at the same time.
But in the meantime you can do stuff on your computer, buy the groceries, get registered at a local library and pay a visit, call friends, just plain take a walk, answer the backlog of mails, write a poem...

If we can do it with a train (not everytime of course -but then if one gets in an emergency until 11pm you can always make contingency plans) when it's just for the sake of the 30mn together, I'm sure carpooling once a week must be doable for the not too obtuse.

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi

by Cyrille (cyrillev domain yahoo.fr) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 08:29:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
"Professionals" in the U.S., including engineering and management staff, have pretty flexible hours. Even though we work longer hours than most Europeans, our timekeeping system is not very rigid.

I would say that in a typical large company (computer, biotech, financial), most employees arrive in the office between 8:00 and 9:00 and leave between 5:00 and 6:00. But perhaps 5-10% will arrive at 6:00, and 10-20% will stay past 7:00 in the evening. Off-site lunches can easily exceed an hour and a half. Many people also work at home, either reading email (managers) or working on their projects (engineers), even during weekends.

Also it is not unusual to take an afternoon off for a dentist appointment, and Elk Fever is a frequent excuse for absence during hunting season.

The technicians (lab bench workers, system operators, phone support people) have more tightly constrained hours, but practically every organization has some form of flexible time. Retail workers have even wierder schedules, usually involving some sort of rotating shift system so that our typical 7-days-a-week, 12-hours-a-day opening hours can be covered.

My limited experience in Europe is that the working environment there is more structured than in the U.S. People here work 45-50 hours a week, but not on a fixed 8 to 5:30 schedule.

by asdf on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 08:43:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I don't think there is a big difference in weekly working hours between the US and Europe; The main difference in working time comes from longer holidays for the Europeans.

There might be a difference in weekly working hours for the employees and workers, but mainly in large companies. The working time schedule you mention :

most employees arrive in the office between 8:00 and 9:00 and leave between 5:00 and 6:00. But perhaps 5-10% will arrive at 6:00, and 10-20% will stay past 7:00 in the evening. Off-site lunches can easily exceed an hour and a half. Many people also work at home, either reading email (managers) or working on their projects (engineers), even during weekends.
is very similar to what you will see in Europe. And usually, managers work from 9am to 7pm.

For high-level management, in most of the companies, working hours are not limited and there is no fixed time schedule.

 

"Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

by Melanchthon on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 09:25:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I quite liked the reply that the obvious solution was to let oil appreciate until his time was no longer worth more than the wait.

I also happen that waiting is (if it's not too frequent or too long of course, and having brought a book sure is a safeguard) a very valuable experience in life, but I doubt he would understand.

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi

by Cyrille (cyrillev domain yahoo.fr) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 07:19:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Hear, Hear.

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 07:33:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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