Gas Prices

I haven't been inconvenienced by the latest gas price hikes. At least not yet. I'm not driving that much and I'm willing to pay whatever it takes at the pump if it helps to ensure that Putin is removed from power. Unfortunately, I know a lot of people don't have that luxury, and I fear the price increases we're seeing are more from corporate greed (Really? In America? Say it ain't so!) than an actual shortage of crude oil on the world market.

(I don't have any proof of that; I'm just talking out of my ass like everyone else on the Internet.)

I haven't had to fill up in over a week so I haven't felt the pain directly yet. The last time I filled the tank, Premium (which Rabbit drinks) was at $4.499 a gallon. As I was driving past my usual QT this morning, however, I noticed that the price had shot up to $5.099 a gallon, which seems to be the new norm in Phoenix according to GasBuddy. That was a bit of a shock, but not unreasonable, considering my level of consumption, but I can certainly understand how that would easily bankrupt people with lower incomes who have to drive every single day. Ben—who has a 90 mile round trip commute every day—is feeling the pain much more than me, but at least his car sips only regular grade petrol.

Right now, the worst case scenario for me (at current prices) is that if I run the tank dry (which I never do), it will cost around $64 to fill it every two weeks at this current price. Even at these higher prices, that's $32 a week, which was about what I was paying pre-pandemic when I was driving to work every day. (How that math actually works out I don't know; it gives me a stabbing pain when I try to wrap my head around it.)

What's going to be interesting is the week after next. We have a little road trip planned through New Mexico: 1400 miles total (more or less). With the mostly highway/street MPG I get from Rabbit and worst case scenario of $6.00/gallon (or more) gas, it's gonna be rather pricey, but both of us need this trip and we don't want to cancel at the last minute. I'll cover the cost of the gas since Ben got the hotel rooms. We'll come out about even.

It will be an interesting trip, that's for sure!

And Fuck Putin.

 

Notable Quotes

For people who love to boast about Trump's cognitive tests, these people are having trouble remembering how much they loved Putin just a week ago. – Dan Rather

People are just blindly buying houses for hundreds of thousands over asking and that's fine everything is normal and fine. – Jesse McLaren

Say "war" in Russia and face 15 years in prison. Say "gay" in Florida and see what happens. Take your trans teen across state lines from Idaho and face arrest. See a pattern? – Barbara Malmet

What the hell kinda billionaire goes around begging people money to buy a private jet??? – Covie tweet

MAGA: "Hang Mike Pence!"
Mike Pence: "I'm sure they had their reasons." – John Collins
For Lent, I'm giving up Fundamentalist Right-Wing Christians 
who talk all about Jesus while ignoring all Jesus talked about. – John Fugelsang
We don't have enough psychiatrists to treat all these "patriots." – John Collins
If Russia didn't want us involved with Ukraine they shouldn't have involved themselves in our elections. – Tim Hannan
The Obama and Clinton foundations are fundraising to help Ukraine.
Trump is fundraising to buy himself a new plane.
American compassion vs. American greed. -7Veritas4 tweet

And On A Much More Somber Note

These photos must be spread far and wide.

Putin must be removed…by any means necessary.

And as I posted earlier, don't whine to me about gas prices. Be grateful that you aren't sitting on a concrete floor in a subway station, holding your pets or your children, wondering where your next meal is coming from and if your home and everyone you love has been blown to bits.

Breaking News

UPDATE: Apparently three units were sent to kill Zelensky and all of them were eliminated.

A Good Analogy

For anyone that's confused about what's happening in Russia and Ukraine, here's the Coles Notes version:

      • Ukraine used to be in an abusive relationship with Russia, feeding him, letting him use her car, paying for the coffee etc and giving him whatever he asked for until she built up the confidence to call it quits back in 1991.
      • Since then, Ukraine has been working on herself, becoming a strong independent woman with help from friends like France, America, Poland, and others. They give her support, loan her money, and are helping her find her way.
      • Ukraine has been enjoying being single for 30 years and looking forward to continuing to grow and create new friendships.
      • Now Russia, being the toxic ex that he is, wants her back, and doesn't want her meeting new people or creating any new relationships as this impacts the level of power and control he can exert over her.
      • A couple of weeks ago Russia started sitting out the front of Ukraine's house and when her friends ask him what was he doing there, he said "Oh nothing, just getting a little bit of exercise in, that's all."
      • After her friends told her that Russia was potentially getting ready to do something bad to her, he said "They're lying, they just want you to be scared of me and that's not what it is."
      • Yesterday Russia broke into Ukraine's house, beat her up and "took advantage" of her while live-streaming and double dog dared any of her friends to do something about it. She's still waiting for help.

I didn't write this, but it's a great analogy, with one exception: she's not waiting for help. She's kicking that abusive boyfriend's ass while her friends are destroying him on social media.

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