How does gas at $4 and higher impact you?

lemko

Funny how those who railed against "The Establishment" became as bad or worse than that Establishment. Hypocrites! Subsequent generations will not look kindly upon them!

lemko

Today, we have the Chinese building massive "ghost cities" in the middle of nowhere hoping they will soon fill up:



Your Wal~Mart dollars at work!

How about visiting Paris, China?

http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/51fbac9a69beddfd12000003-1200/the-town-- - - was-designed-to-accommodate-10000-people.jpg

gagrice

I have read a quite a bit about that. They are also building cities like that in Africa to house their soon to be cheap labor forces. Too bad the USA is too stupid to get involved in African resource development. We just send money and weapons to corrupt dictators hoping they will like US. Maybe we could learn some lessons in putting our derelict population to work?

Didn't the Chinese just buy a big interest in the GM building in NYC? The Chinese will own control of GM before the end of this decade.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324563004578521403385784638.html

stever

Yeah, we should nationalize the car companies so those greedy capitalists in China will keep their hands off our stuff.

(insert your joke here about how GM is already nationalized, which begs the question of how the Chinese are controlling it).

fintail

More money to be made by the few by creating conflicts and buying arms than aiding domestic conditions

I think the Chinese would rather force companies into joint ventures where IP is stolen than actually own them. Their company-buying record so far isn't great - Volvo, really. The property buying is probably just connected to money laundering, or to have a place to flee when things finally boil over at home.

gagrice

When the Feds dump their 17% on the market next year I would expect a lot of that to be bought by the Chinese.

Chinese investors like the security of buying US properties. They will soon be the largest foreign property owners when they pass up the Canadians.

http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2013/08/09/n-chinese-homebuyers.cnnmoney/index.h- tml

Mr_Shiftright

Well you always said you wanted immigrants to be hard-working and industrious, so there you go! You don't create a 5,000 year old civilization without some good reason for it.

fintail

Much of that is money laundering, or making an escape pod for when things fail at home. Most zillionaires from the mainland today aren't exactly hardworking Horatio Alger types, the money is as dirty as anything from the west or Arabian peninsula.

Mr_Shiftright

If you examine most people's fortunes, there are dubious elements in them.

fintail

I'd trust the average (non Wall St. or war machine) fortune built in my backyard than one from Guangzhou or Moscow. Some scary stuff out there in this age of investor visas.

Mr_Shiftright

I wouldn't.

stever

Gas is "cheap" for the Labor Day weekend.

Probably won't last long - crude is going up again and Syria looms big in the headlines. Various news outlets report that current national average is $3.54 for regular.

michaellno

I filled up my car yesterday morning ... RUG was set at $3.339/gal. I got $.20 in discounts, so paid only $3.139/gal.

When I drove past the same station last night, RUG had increased to $3.399/gal.

I will be spending a lot of time in the car over the next 6 months driving back and forth to Colorado Springs (41 miles one way). Let's hope gas prices stay relatively stable for a while.

fintail

I like it - another crisis in an area that has been in crisis for generations and has zero to do with our oil - excuse to speculate and raise prices. Capitalism!

fintail

Examine where it comes from. Seriously, you won't find much that isn't either embezzled by officials or otherwise politically connected. At least in the US, you don't need to support a murderous and irresponsible regime to achieve a little success.

gagrice

When we pulled into Costco last Thursday gas was at $3.55. Too bad we were not in the PU truck. Yesterday we went to Costco and the price was $3.67. Diesel at the Chevron I will buy from next time I need fuel went down 4 cents to $3.95. Diesel does not vary much here. Between $3.89 and $4.09. RUG today is listed from $3.58 to $4.89 within a 5 mile radius.

Mr_Shiftright

There are levels of immorality within *some* corporations that, while not blatant, are equally chilling. While a gangster is individually reprehensible, a corporation can be individually moral amongst its employee and yet collectively reprehensible. The moral imperative of many corporations is to protect the organism at any cost.

Take for instance the pure speculation of oil and gas futures. By this speculation, or by deliberate rumor mongering, profiteers suck HUGE amounts of money out of the economy by artificially jacking fuel prices on us. Who can say, or plot, the actual harm of this? And who protects us from it? What about THEIR morality?

Just because a person doesn't point a gun at you doesn't mean he isn't robbing you.

fintail

Corporations weren't the context, though, at least not of what I was mentioning - I was after individuals. The profiteering is expected in an oligocracy like this. Those who buy the rules are always waiting for an irrelevant event to take place, so "supply and demand" can take over. Then prices will be three steps forward, one step back, to fool people without memory or grasp of reality.

Oh...corporations are people too, right?

fintail

That looks like the typical character who complains about the speed of traffic, as he sits in the left lane in his Prius or pickup, justifying his ways via fuel consumption.

Mr_Shiftright

I'll believe that corporations are people when Texas executes one

fintail

I've had my fingers crossed for that for a while now. So far, the best we've had was a TX corp falling on its own sword with no real punishment given, of course. If corporations are people, then self-titled capitalists should have no problem with much harsher punishments for these crimes.

stever

Six cents isn't too awful - when I first skimmed your post I thought you had posted a 60 cent jump.

I'm cruising up your way next week to Ft. Collins on our way back home and the idea of $3.99 was a bit concerning. Shouldn't bother me though, since I was paying $3.89 at home a couple of weeks ago. Funny how fast you get used to paying $3.29 though.

gagrice

Have you noticed an improvement in your MPG using NM gas. I know I always do.

gagrice

What part of the planet do you live on? That guy is one of the most popular people on TV. That is his constant glass of ice tea. I think someone added the line, though it sounds like something he would say.

stever

Yeah, last tank was 26.53. Got 25.22 the one before that, and the TX/OK tanks were 22.5 (lots of high speed driving).

That's running 86 octane with "up to" 10% ethanol here in NM, and we're at 7,000 feet.

(I have no idea who your "Festus" guy is either.)

andre1969

Dude looks like a real duckwad to me. Wonder if that's One of Miss Boo-Boo's Baby-Daddies... :P

michaellno

I'm cruising up your way next week to Ft. Collins on our way back home and the idea of $3.99 was a bit concerning. Shouldn't bother me though, since I was paying $3.89 at home a couple of weeks ago. Funny how fast you get used to paying $3.29 though.

Wave as you drive through Castle Rock -- or, better yet, if you know when you'll be coming through, perhaps we can meet up - if my schedule allows.

gagrice

He is one of the stars in the most popular show on TV. Duck Dynasty. You cannot go into a big chain store and not see his face along with the others.

http://www.aetv.com/duck-dynasty/

fintail

I seriously don't watch that junk. I thought you abhorred modern TV?

andre1969

I seriously don't watch that junk. I thought you abhorred modern TV?

I have one friend who watches "Big Brother" or some other reality crap like that. He tried to get me to watch it. And then there's all those Survivor/Ninja-whatever ripoffs.

After sitting through that torture I told him I don't ever, EVER want to hear him speak ill of "Mama's Family" again!

gagrice

I saw them on the Drudge Report and pulled them up and watched a couple programs online. They broke all cable records last week with their Season 4 start. For an unscripted reality show it is pretty funny.

http://sirobertson.net/si-robertson-army/

Mr_Shiftright

A fanciful view of history to say the least.

gagrice

The Robertson family epitomizes the American Dream. From dirt poor to millionaires without any special help from the Federal Government. The hit TV show is just frosting on the cake for them.

stever

Sounds like the Beverly Hillbillies redux. But I like fish out of water stories (and I do guzzle ice tea all day long).

May give you a holler for coffee or something Michael but not sure yet when we're heading up that way. Sounds like we're camping to the SE of Ft. Collins that day. Hold those gas prices down for us, will ya?

fintail

One in a million, and they hit it. Like Andre, I'd rather watch Mama's Family

I hope prices stay low at least another 3 weeks or so, as in 10 days I'll be in Florida...it'll be cheaper than here anyway.

gagrice

You will only have to fill 3-4 times driving to FL. OK & MO look like good states for cheap diesel.

One in a million who hits what? Duck Dynasty is the biggest thing on Cable TV. They had the largest duck call business, $40 million last year, before A&E grabbed them for the reality show. I never heard of Mama's Family. Is it on TV?

imidazol97

Show makes me think of Deliverance, the movie.

>unscripted reality....

Is it actually unscripted or one of those things where some of the prompting is dome for some of the clips and then other clips from 40 hrs of film is cut and pasted to create drama.

Son watched that awful show while he worked on his desktop computer set up in the back family room. He watches TV and does games on the computer at one time. Guess that show doesn't require much concentration from what I saw.

I never care for Mama's Family, but it sure looks good now. My type is the humor in Golden Girls, MASH, and some I Love Lucy episodes.

Mr_Shiftright

your dream, my horrifying nightmare

But you bring up a VERY interesting subject---the American Dream---

remember this billboard?



But was it ever so, or was it always a myth that everyone aspired to. It certainly smacks of the tremendous optimism of the American people at that time, but it didn't seem to last very long. It was pretty much shot down by Vietnam.

Ironically the "dream cars" lasted well into the late 60s, early 70s. Cars are excellent dream-weavers.

andre1969

I never heard of Mama's Family. Is it on TV?

Well Good Lord!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs8gIgGuBAw

Fintail might be too young to remember this opening...this is from the old NBC days, 1983-84, before it went syndicated.

And in this clip, around the 7:20 mark, Betty White pulls up in her own personal car, a 1977 Seville...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd3awGHlGKM

berri

I don't know if you ever caught any of those original Mama skits on the old Carol Burnett show, but throw her in along with Harvey Korman and I thought they were even funnier than the Mama's Family TV show. I like a lot of the older TV comedies because they had to rely on good writing instead of "shock" to get their laughs and ratings.

Speaking of Betty White, I thought her SueEllen Nivens character sometimes stole the show on the old Mary Tyler Moore series.

fintail

Oh, I am flying, not driving - when I can do it for $280 RT from all the way up here, driving would be silly, and more expensive. But I will have an MB rental car there - likely not diesel.

The quirky duck call family is a one in a million hit, not many like them out there. Mama's Family was a 1980s sitcom.

fintail

Yep I don't recall that one, just the later one with her and the house. I see the house in that one, and in the car clip, is different from the house in the later opening credits. I am going to be in LA late in the year, and am planning to do some movie location sightseeing - Mama's house is on my list.

Here's a classic episode:

http://youtu.be/3mZIBgmpjGs

gagrice

The quirky duck call family is a one in a million hit, not many like them out there. Mama's Family was a 1980s sitcom.

I did not have much access to TV during the 1970s or 1980s. We did not get satellite TV in the Arctic until the 1990s. Then it was very limited. I do remember seeing Burnett and Korman. My favorite on that show was Tim Conway. Most TV in the 70s came to Alaska taped. Very little live TV back then. Only two sitcoms that are memorable for me Seinfeld and MASH. With a honorable mention for All in the Family.

stever

Not only taped, but delayed two weeks (or more) since the shows were boxed up and mailed north.

Now you can sit in Barrow and literally buy a Mazda in Seattle or somewhere on your smartphone. We even have apps for that (doesn't everyone?).

fintail

You didn't miss much, but there are a few old favorites that will always live on. I don't watch much new TV, but I'll watch a rerun of a decades old show. Seinfeld and All in the Family can still be a good laugh - MASH to me is something my dad and grandpa watched

Another car themed Mama's clip

stever

No love for Newhart?

Seems like he'd be a Dodge Dynasty guy, although I'm sure he took the El home to Emily.

gagrice

You can thank me for that now if you like. I was part of the crew that installed cell service into Barrow and the nine other Arctic villages. I was also working for Alascom when they first started getting live TV feeds. Though that was downstairs in the ghetto. ;-)

If you think Anchorage was bad. When I went to Prudhoe in 1980 there was NO TV of any kind. And our only entertainment was 16MM movies sent up once a week. That was a big deal going to the movie room watching a 2nd rate movie. We installed the first sat dish for Dishnet service. It was a 16 foot dish and it was far from great service as far off the footprint as we were. It cost the camp $50,000 for the dish and receivers plus our labor which we mostly donated to the cause. Within a few years they redirected and you could get decent signal with a 6 foot dish. That it what is mostly used today up there.

stever

I still remember all the PSAs saying "not current for Alaska". Now with all the state subsidies, the TV reality shows and movies are booming up there. Crabby Iced Up Bush Pilots at Gold Pan Pawn is my favorite.

gagrice

Crabby Iced Up Bush Pilots at Gold Pan Pawn is my favorite.

Say it ain't so? I have a friend that was working at that lodge where some reality show was being done. Never got to see an episode. TV just has no allure for me. When I was involved in getting it going I was into it. After that it bored me to tears. I like interaction with people.

imidazol97

>Seems like he'd be a Dodge Dynasty guy

The leadin to the show used a brown Oldsmobile. Did they actually show vehicles during the content? I don't recall that they did, but that was 10-20 years back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0StDroRiCs