consensus? II

from today's new york times...just another line of evidence that this will all continue

consensus?

not bloody likely anywhere around here...not in the late republic...not when you have john thune on one side...

saying that an ar-15 is handy for doing in those pesky pairie dogs....

and the "everything is okay week" brigade on the other...there is no middle ground, only no-man's land...no consensus on gun control or abortion...coke or pepsi...ford or chevy...pabst or bud...i know baptists who think catholicism isn't a religion and catholics who don't see it that way at all... ( i am inclined to see them all as members of a bronze-age cult but i am a notorious crank )...there is no consensus on what it is to be "american"...or "rational"...or "normal"...or "christian"...or "democrat"...or "republican"or, probably, "human"...in-group bias ( a human universal even the cultural anthropolgists cannot escape ) makes humans exclusionary...so...the violence will continue unabated as nothing is done because there is no consensus to fuel a "political will" any more than we will stop our own extinction because there is no "will" to do that either...someone makes a good deal of money manufacturing ( or importing ) and selling guns ( oil seems to be on the profitable side these days as well...that whole climate/extinction thing ) ...the system is consequentialist...it's what you have, not how you got it...as long as there is money in it it will continue...violence would seem to be profitable...who knew?

invisible hand or carny grifters?

i received a raise in reumuneration recently as my employer rushes to meet the current level of pay so as to "hold on" to it "valued employees"...wonderful...coincidentally at around the same time...

the cost of a gallon of gasoline has reached its highest level since the summer of 2008 when oil was at $ 147 a barrel ( which the oil companies fingered as the price culprit )...well...a barrel of opec "basket" pil isn't anywhere near that at the moment and some anylists connected to the "oil price" web site maintain oil is "over valued" by $50 a barrel...hmmm...that same site also says ...

one presumes that would take an act of congress...don't hold your breath here...mcconnell, shumer, ocassio-cortez, taylor-greene, "don't boo" donny...all wholly owned ( fiscally or philosophically ) subsidoaries of someone or other and oil companies ( obviously ) have a lot of cash to spread around..."oil price" also says there is no sign of short-term relief in gasoline prices...another non-shocker...so the "pain at the pump" will continue until the hegemons get their fair share of my new-found prosperity...they don't give away anything and they always take back as much as they possibly can...capitalist...carny grifter...whichever or both ( more likely )...the "invisible hand" slaps us again...