Gas Bandit's Political Thread V: The Vampire Likes Bats
- Thread starter GasBandit
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Dave
Staff member
The republican establishment is now fighting back against Trump. His numbers are tanking, he's not taking any direction from them strategically (his strategy is the best strategy - if you ask anyone he always has the best strategies), and now he's doubling down on racial profiling.
You gotta say, though, he's anything but dull.
You gotta say, though, he's anything but dull.
The speed with which the Venezuelan economy has collapsed is breathtaking, from an economic high less than a decade ago to today, where a staggering 87% Venezuelans say they do not have money to buy enough food.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/20/w...stores-as-hunger-stalks-crumbling-nation.html[DOUBLEPOST=1466439086,1466438653][/DOUBLEPOST]For those unaware, this is the big capitalism to socialism "victory" a decade ago when Chavez took power. The constant slow erosion of civil rights, and the government taking over more and more private industries, and regulating others, was fine and dandy until the government stopped making as much money. So far as I can tell there's no way out, unless they sell parts of the country's government run institutions to capitalists, or oil come back up above $100 per barrel (right now it's about 1/3 that).
This is one of the biggest reasons to avoid big government - the more the government takes control of the economy, ostensibly so it can better care for its citizens, the more citizens lose control of their own lives when the government faces hard times.
Here's a quick reminder of their fall for those (like me) who have a hard time keeping track of all these countries failing:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/globalpost-timeline-venezuelas-slide-toward-near-disaster-n315546
Note that it was the citizens who didn't like the way things were going who voted a radical into office, kept feeding him power, and didn't seem to mind so much when he removed rights they had which allowed him to get into power in the first place.
I begin toreplyrevolt, but the noose slowly tightens.[DOUBLEPOST=1466439127][/DOUBLEPOST]Venezuela has a population of 30 million, between California and Texas.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/20/w...stores-as-hunger-stalks-crumbling-nation.html[DOUBLEPOST=1466439086,1466438653][/DOUBLEPOST]For those unaware, this is the big capitalism to socialism "victory" a decade ago when Chavez took power. The constant slow erosion of civil rights, and the government taking over more and more private industries, and regulating others, was fine and dandy until the government stopped making as much money. So far as I can tell there's no way out, unless they sell parts of the country's government run institutions to capitalists, or oil come back up above $100 per barrel (right now it's about 1/3 that).
This is one of the biggest reasons to avoid big government - the more the government takes control of the economy, ostensibly so it can better care for its citizens, the more citizens lose control of their own lives when the government faces hard times.
Here's a quick reminder of their fall for those (like me) who have a hard time keeping track of all these countries failing:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/globalpost-timeline-venezuelas-slide-toward-near-disaster-n315546
Note that it was the citizens who didn't like the way things were going who voted a radical into office, kept feeding him power, and didn't seem to mind so much when he removed rights they had which allowed him to get into power in the first place.
I begin to
The fall of Venezuela has less to do with socialism or big government, and more with cronyism, short sightedness and incompetence. An economy running on only one export will definitely fail when that commodity's price drops or demand lowers. Venezuela put all its eggs in one basket, and now pays the price. The exact same happened in the '80s, under capitalist leadership. Compare and contrast Norway and the Netherlands, both rich countries with lots of oil and/or gas, who invested that money in their semi-socialist economy, or Saudi-Arabia, where the money gets used to keep the populace sedate and happy while the happy few grow ever fatter and richer.
Until they have enough and fly planes into buildings.
This is more a lesson to not base your entire economy on fungible commodities that you don't control the price of... something Russia is going to learn sooner rather than later and that the Saudi Arabia's elite are preparing for. Oil prices will come back up at some point but the fact is that the OPEC cartel only worked as long as everyone was on the same page, price-wise. Saudi Arabia decided to try to quash shale oil in the US (and bank money for the coming war they expect), Venezuela couldn't operate at that margin, Saudi Arabia has no reason to give two fucks about Venezuela. Hence, Venezuela is now another burning mess.
Remember: in unchecked capitalism, the best way to profit is via collusion, not competition. It's simply better and easier to get everyone to agree on the price of a good and sell it at that (inflated) price than it is to try and survive the race to the bottom. This is because capitalism is designed to benefit the producers first and the consumers second. It's also why collusion is largely illegal in the United States.
Remember: in unchecked capitalism, the best way to profit is via collusion, not competition. It's simply better and easier to get everyone to agree on the price of a good and sell it at that (inflated) price than it is to try and survive the race to the bottom. This is because capitalism is designed to benefit the producers first and the consumers second. It's also why collusion is largely illegal in the United States.
Venezuela nationalized their previously independently owned oil fields, and then built the government on top of oil profits.
If the government had stayed out of the oil business and simply taxed those businesses, and if they hadn't nationalized their food/farms/production then I don't think they would be in the situation they are in today.
You point to Norway and Netherlands, and the big difference I see there is "state owned" to them is infrastructure, transportation, communication - trains, airports, post, radio, TV. The government doesn't depend on the income from these enterprises.
Venezuela is a very different form of "state owned" where they took everything that was profitable and made it a government owned business, and then based their government income on those businesses.
So yes, while the oil dropping would have caused problems due to lower government income under the old system, it wouldn't have also resulted in shuttered farms and food production - they simply wouldn't have had so much money to start off with, and the oil fall wouldn't have affected the government income so drastically.
Venezuela, with perhaps the world's greatest oil reserves, started importing oil recently because it was cheaper than producing it themselves.
Norway and Netherlands depend only partially on taxing oil businesses.
GasBandit
Staff member
Mealy mouthed pansy writes "Guns are scawwy" article about the AR-15, says the experience of firing one on the gun range as research for the article gave him PTSD and bruised his shoulder.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/firing-ar-15-horrifying-dangerous-loud-article-1.2673201
The internet responds:
[DOUBLEPOST=1466457833,1466457755][/DOUBLEPOST]
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/firing-ar-15-horrifying-dangerous-loud-article-1.2673201
The internet responds:
[DOUBLEPOST=1466457833,1466457755][/DOUBLEPOST]
GasBandit
Staff member
Yesterday the Washington Post (inadvertently, I'm sure) let slip that the Orlando shooter was a Hillary supporter.
In fact, he'd been a registered Democrat since 2006.
....So?
This is the correct response. However, had it been a Republican Trump supporter, it is unlikely that that particular detail would have been left out or dismissed.
GasBandit
Staff member
Exactly.
Also, people might want to take it into account when they're deciding the criteria for cutting people out of their life or whatever.
And it feeds into the "mass killers tend to be democrats" trope that everybody loves to hate.
GasBandit
Staff member
Chicago Sun-Times reporter attempts to buy AR-15 to show how easy it is for anybody to get one, surprised to be denied on the background check because of domestic abuse he committed in his past.
http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/reporter-attempt-show-ease-obtaining-ar-15-denied-due-past/
Philadelphia Daily News columnist Helen Ubinas also wanted to write about how easy it was to legally obtain a firearm, violated state and federal law in the process.
Cody Davis claimed that he was able to purchase an AR-15 using an expired ID card, when in fact he never even filled out the 4473 and told the store employees that he would come back later.
X
http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/reporter-attempt-show-ease-obtaining-ar-15-denied-due-past/
Philadelphia Daily News columnist Helen Ubinas also wanted to write about how easy it was to legally obtain a firearm, violated state and federal law in the process.
Cody Davis claimed that he was able to purchase an AR-15 using an expired ID card, when in fact he never even filled out the 4473 and told the store employees that he would come back later.
X
So far the current panacea I see repeated most often that would have avoided this tragedy is "ban assault weapons."
--Patrick
--Patrick
GasBandit
Staff member
In Oaxaca (Southern Mexico), a teachers' protest has devolved into anarchy with several deaths and over a hundred injured, including 55 police officers.
The teachers say the police opened fire on them, but the teachers are also alleged to have been throwing molotovs.
The teachers say the police opened fire on them, but the teachers are also alleged to have been throwing molotovs.
I see where you're going with this. Only one candidate, ONE, has stood up and actively called for the murder of women and children. Only one candidate has stated his intention in advance to commit war crimes. Only one candidate has openly stated that he doesn't care that his plans blatantly violate the constitution. Only one candidate has threatened the military to obey potential orders he already knows are unlawful.
GasBandit
Staff member
Obama's not a candidate, though.
Hey now, Obama is at least doing it secretly, not openly. Doing it secretly is clearly better than openly saying you're going to do it.
Dave
Staff member
Dude. You know I lean left. But this is total crap. Have you SEEN the things Hillary has done as SoS? She might not come across as calling for the murder of innocent women and children, but she's fucking done it! War crimes? Check. Breaking the law? Fucking checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck...
Don't act like the opposition candidate is the only terrible one.
I never said Hillary was a saint, or even acceptable. I voted Bernie, remember. But does anyone but Trump give off those 1930s Germany vibe?
You should've used Italy. Mussolini is more comical.
GasBandit
Staff member
The state department is saying the only real way to eliminate ISIS is to first get rid of Bashir Assad, because their military opposition to the Syrian regime is lending them legitimacy which allows them to more readily recruit.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/16/politics/state-department-syria
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/16/politics/state-department-syria
Except bombing all the leadership just makes a random student take charge and he turns his peaceful regime into a terror campaign the second he can get away with it. This isn't KOTOR, it's KOTOR 2 and the game wants you to remember that everything you do has consequences by turning a random dude off the street into Hitler.