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Oil Prices

Economics

Matt Walsh says we’re wrong to ascribe our current sky-high gas prices to the Iran/Gulf business:

According to Goldman Sachs, the price difference between diesel and gasoline in the United States is now over $60 per barrel, when it was just $3 a barrel one year ago. So there’s much, much more money to be made by refining diesel right now. And because refineries are already operating at full capacity, any effort to refine more diesel means that less gasoline will be refined. 

That’s why global exports of gasoline have dropped 24% in the past year. Everyone’s switching to diesel if they can swing it. From March to August of this year, diesel yields in the United States are well above their historical averages, while gasoline yields have been cut. Meanwhile, demand for gasoline hasn’t gone down. In fact, it’s gone up, especially in Russia, since many of their oil refineries have been blown up.

So if Ukraine agreed to stop bombing Russian refineries, and allowed the world’s number-two diesel exporter to get back to refining diesel, that would be great news for the American consumer — unequivocally.

Of course, they won’t — for the simple reason that Ukraine is involved in a life-and-death struggle with the Russians and every gallon of diesel they destroy means less fuel for the invaders.  Hard to argue about that.  But as Walsh suggests, it’s very definitely a part of the puzzle we face as we deal with the ridiculous cost of gasoline.

Walsh’s article is a long read, but very much worth the patience required.  I hadn’t thought about all the linkages in the global petroleum industry, but I should have.  The Iran thing is just one part of the issue.

Thursday Landscape

Travels

Breakfast Room, Grand Hotel Ste Michel, Paris (2004)

Talk about atmosphere…

The hotel has my full endorsement, by the way — it’s literally across the street from the Sorbonne, so there are any number of inexpensive (for Paris) bistros and restaurants scattered around the neighborhood.

The interior decor above ground is Art Deco, kinda like Claridges in London.

Several of my buddies have stayed there after my recommendation;  everyone had good things to say about it.

More Reasons

Foreign Affairs, Marxists

Following yesterday’s post about China (and Xi), I see that I’m not the only one who considers them the enemy, for a different reason:

Even if Chinese technological theft is less frequent in Europe than in the United States —there is far less technology to steal from Europe than from the US — it is nevertheless all too present.

The practice follows what the current director of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, long ago called the business model of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP): “Rob, Replicate, Replace.” They steal the technology and know-how for a product, copy it, then flood it back into the marketplace at a far lower price, thereby putting the product’s original manufacturers out of business. When the CCP believes its hold on the market share has been consolidated into something resembling a monopoly, the prices go back up.

And there it is:  implacably hostile, amoral, brutal and intent on spreading Marxism (and their control) over the entire world.

As New Wife would put it:  Not our kind, dear.  Even their “Three Rs” aren’t the same as ours.

Snowball

Food & Drink, Health

This one’s interesting:

Americans saw a 2% drop in overall drinking and 8% in heavy drinking in just the 2022 to 2024 window. Total drinking dropped most dramatically among Gen Z, with rates falling nearly 6% from 2022 to 2024, compared with about 2% for Millennials. Heavy drinking fell by roughly a fifth in both generations.

Doesn’t surprise me.  The Snowflake Generation(s) are more likely to be disturbed and/or frightened by all the Nanny Government Bullshit© about the dangers of, well, just about everything.  Small wonder, then, that they’re going to go all Carrie Nation about the Demon Booze.

However:

Older Americans, however, went in the opposite direction, with those in the 50 to 64 age group seeing an increase of 4% in overall drinking, and 36% spike in heavy drinking from 2018 to 2024.

Only 4%?  Sheesh, we need to work harder (hence the title of this post).

Never mind all that “Cheers!” bullshit.  Get stuck in.

 

A Question Of Majority

Good News, The Gun Thing, Today's Yoot

Here’s some news that had me reaching for a celebratory gin:

The DOJ announced it has concluded that the federal ban on handgun sales to 18- through 20-year-olds is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.

I’ve talked about the age issue before.  If kids are assumed to be majors at age 18 and entitled to vote (I’m still somewhat unsure of the wisdom of the 26th Amendment, by the way), get married without parental consent, sign contracts and all that, then gun ownership should definitely be included in those freedoms (along with the responsibilities, a discussion for another time).

What I like most about this latest announcement from the DoJ is that they haven’t waited for lawsuits to pitchfork them into doing the right thing, but rather have done their own homework before prosecuting such cases — as any decent government department should.

The Office of Legal Counsel determined that 18 to 20-year-olds are among “the people” protected by the Second Amendment. “Eighteen-year-olds may vote, serve on juries, be drafted, and face adult criminal penalties, including capital punishment,” said Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser for the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel. “The Constitution protects the people’s right to keep and bear arms. The Department of Justice may not constitutionally seek to impose criminal penalties on dealers who sell handguns to law-abiding adults who, in nearly every other relevant respect, are members of the political community.”

Of course, the Nanny States all have age restrictions on gun ownership by “juveniles”, but up until now they’ve been able to take cover behind the federal ban.  But that just means that Our Heroes at the Second Amendment Foundation — y’all are SAF members, right? — can proceed with litigation against those states, using the DoJ’s findings as supporting material.

All in all, good news.