The price of gasoline - plus other general economic impacts - as it pertains to the upcoming election

[TIDE-HSV]

Easy to blame this all on Trump. My question to y'all is what are the rest of our so called leaders doing? I don't agree with a lot of what Trump says or does but he's not the end all be all of all our troubles no more than Obama was.
The airlines could have voluntarily suspended travel to/from China and other areas but did not, the media could certainly have done a better job of reporting facts instead of things that cause hysteria on both sides, etc. A lot of people/orgs can be blamed. But, China deserves the brunt of the blame and should pay dearly for it.

Look! He has basically dug his heels in against testing and keeps insisting anyone can get a test. That's a lie. Everyone knows it's a lie. Obvious, open lying damages confidence in the government, the last things that's needed in a crisis like this...

 

[NationalTitles18]

Easy to blame this all on Trump. My question to y'all is what are the rest of our so called leaders doing? I don't agree with a lot of what Trump says or does but he's not the end all be all of all our troubles no more than Obama was.
The airlines could have voluntarily suspended travel to/from China and other areas but did not, the media could certainly have done a better job of reporting facts instead of things that cause hysteria on both sides, etc. A lot of people/orgs can be blamed. But, China deserves the brunt of the blame and should pay dearly for it.

If you had not spent the last four years with blinders on and your fingers in your ears singing lalalalalalalalalalalala "fake news" you might not be so delusional right now. What the hell is it going to take for you to wake up?!

 

[Padreruf]

Paid 1.879 per gallon today at Costco in Charleston. With my 4% rebate that gets it even lower...

 

[Bamaro]

Looks like we may have a market bounce today. Dead cat?

 

[NationalTitles18]

Looks like we may have a market bounce today. Dead cat?

Volatility: Panic from lack of leadership and relief that others have stepped into the vacuum will lead to slightly more confidence.

 

[CrimsonNagus]

the media could certainly have done a better job of reporting facts instead of things that cause hysteria on both sides, etc.

If Trumpers would watch more than Fox News you would have seen plenty of facts. Plenty of news outlets have been doing a fantastic job getting the facts out for a long while now. Just because you and Trump don't like those facts doesn't make them untrue.

But, China deserves the brunt of the blame and should pay dearly for it.

You think China did this on purpose? They shut down their country, they have done far more to try and protect people then our government. What do you want to do, go to war over a virus? Okay, the next time your kid gets my kid sick at school, we will sue and you will pay dearly.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

I think some liberals get caught in this trap at times. Because other people's views seem so extreme to us we take opposite extreme stances to counter balance it even if we don't fully believe it. Or at least appear to take those stances in our responses. One example of this IMO is defending the media.

The media IS sensationalist.

When the circuit breaker hit the other day there was a CNN article titled something like "Stocks crash so hard they may close the stock market" Which was a ridiculous misrepresentation. Sure, if you actually read the article they explained what was really happening but the media knows that many Americans don't even read anything but the headline.

This morning my wife told me (I haven't read the article yet) she was reading a NYT article that was talking about some CDC modeling and how bad it could possibly get. But later in the article they started talking about how the CDC didn't want to share that modeling information with the general public because it's so uncertain and basically its a no win situation to share that kind of modeling. MANY people would just read the projections but fail to read the context provided later in the article. Again, I find it hard to believe media types don't know this.

I'm not saying this stuff isn't serious, it is. But, I also think we need to be careful of taking too extreme of stances or appear to take those stances.

 

[NationalTitles18]

I think some liberals get caught in this trap at times. Because other people's views seem so extreme to us we take opposite extreme stances to counter balance it even if we don't fully believe it. Or at least appear to take those stances in our responses. One example of this IMO is defending the media.

The media IS sensationalist.

When the circuit breaker hit the other day there was a CNN article titled something like "Stocks crash so hard they may close the stock market" Which was a ridiculous misrepresentation. Sure, if you actually read the article they explained what was really happening but the media knows that many Americans don't even read anything but the headline.

This morning my wife told me (I haven't read the article yet) she was reading a NYT article that was talking about some CDC modeling and how bad it could possibly get. But later in the article they started talking about how the CDC didn't want to share that modeling information with the general public because it's so uncertain and basically its a no win situation to share that kind of modeling. MANY people would just read the projections but fail to read the context provided later in the article. Again, I find it hard to believe media types don't know this.

I'm not saying this stuff isn't serious, it is. But, I also think we need to be careful of taking too extreme of stances or appear to take those stances.

When people BLAME the press for panic induced by poor leadership AND call for that same poor leadership to CENSOR the press you're damned right I will defend free speech in the extreme. We can quibble over how much is fact vs sensationalism but I will come down hard on free speech vs censorship. Trump supporters are wanting speech they don't like or apparently understand stopped by the government that is causing the panic they blame on the press. The media have problems, but the government has bigger problems.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

When people BLAME the press for panic induced by poor leadership AND call for that same poor leadership to CENSOR the press you're damned right I will defend free speech in the extreme. We can quibble over how much is fact vs sensationalism but I will come down hard on free speech vs censorship. Trump supporters are wanting speech they don't like or apparently understand stopped by the government that is causing the panic they blame on the press. The media have problems, but the government has bigger problems.

That has nothing to do with the media being sensationalist or not. They are. Or at least they tend to be.

Two different entities can have problems that need fixing at once. It's not mutualy exclusive. In fact, some of our government problems are probably caused or made worse by the media and vice versa.

I'm not saying we shouldn't defend free speech? I am saying we should be real about the media and its issues. It's not just Fox News, they're just the worst.

 

[NationalTitles18]

That has nothing to do with the media being sensationalist or not. They are. Or at least they tend to be.

Two different entities can have problems that need fixing at once. It's not mutualy exclusive. In fact, some of our government problems are probably caused or made worse by the media and vice versa.

I'm not saying we shouldn't defend free speech? I am saying we should be real about the media and its issues. It's not just Fox News, they're just the worst.

Agreed, but some are being sensational about the sensationalism to promote the censorship they desire. I'll worry more about the sensationalism later. We can't allow them to censor the truth in this moment.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

Agreed, but some are being sensational about the sensationalism to promote the censorship they desire. I'll worry more about the sensationalism later. We can't allow them to censor the truth in this moment.

I absolutely get that and largely agree. I think my point is that it may be a more effective way to argue if we conceded a point here or there. I've just seen too many arguments where both sides just end up hating each other even more and both sides feel vindicated and right. And almost all of those situations are when people fall into the trap of taking extreme positions to counterbalance others extreme positions. And then you end up defending points that you don't mean to be. Part of this is the conservative media strategy in the first place and I think we play into it at times.

Heck, I've done this plenty of times, often on TideFans.

 

[NationalTitles18]

I absolutely get that and largely agree. I think my point is that it may be a more effective way to argue if we conceded a point here or there. I've just seen too many arguments where both sides just end up hating each other even more and both sides feel vindicated and right. And almost all of those situations are when people fall into the trap of taking extreme positions to counterbalance others extreme positions. And then you end up defending points that you don't mean to be. Part of this is the conservative media strategy in the first place and I think we play into it at times.

Heck, I've done this plenty of times, often on TideFans.

I disagree in this case. They are saying the media are lying and Trump is telling the truth. They blame the media for causing panic because they discuss and publish what others are saying. If the people can't figure this out it's because they've refused to learn or they have an agenda. I'm not worried about the media causing panic. They haven't. The administration has.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

I disagree in this case. They are saying the media are lying and Trump is telling the truth. They blame the media for causing panic because they discuss and publish what others are saying. If the people can't figure this out it's because they've refused to learn or they have an agenda. I'm not worried about the media causing panic. They haven't. The administration has.

I just see the climate debate repeating itself in a different form. I get your point I just slightly disagree.

 

[NationalTitles18]

I just see the climate debate repeating itself in a different form. I get your point I just slightly disagree.

I'll concede like this though:

The media sensationalizes. The same ones complaining about that when they don't like what is being reported will always complain when they don't like the reporting. The media will always sensationalize. For decades - and increasingly so - I have desired more straightforward reporting and have actively sought it.

That said, the panic has been brought on by incompetent government under the leadership of Trump and calls for censorship are an attempt to deflect and obfuscate.

 

[chanson78]

I absolutely get that and largely agree. I think my point is that it may be a more effective way to argue if we conceded a point here or there. I've just seen too many arguments where both sides just end up hating each other even more and both sides feel vindicated and right. And almost all of those situations are when people fall into the trap of taking extreme positions to counterbalance others extreme positions. And then you end up defending points that you don't mean to be. Part of this is the conservative media strategy in the first place and I think we play into it at times.

Heck, I've done this plenty of times, often on TideFans.

While I don't disagree that the result is as you laid out, I equate this whole thing to arguing with a 4 year old.

4 Year Old: Unicorns are real!
Me: No. Unicorns are not real. They are a fictional animal popular in fantasy stories.
4 Year Old: But the man in the book my teacher read rode one! Buy me a unicorn daddy!
Me: Again, I cannot buy you something that does not exist. Even if Unicorns did exist I couldn't buy you one because they are far too expensive (This statement is the equivalent of conceding the point with caveats.)
4 Year Old: Daddy you need a better job to be able to buy me a unicorn.
Me: That isn't anything close to what I said. My. job is fine, I get satisfaction from it, and I get to come home and see you every night.
4 Year Old: Yeah but you aren't a Unicorn.
Me: ...
4 Year Old: Timmy down the street said his parents bought him two unicorns. Sure would be nice if you loved me enough to buy me a unicorn.
Me: ...
4 Year Old: I am just asking questions here. I mean if you loved me enough to buy me a unicorn, at least the gas is cheap for when you go pick it up from the unicorn store.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

While I don't disagree that the result is as you laid out, I equate this whole thing to arguing with a 4 year old.

4 Year Old: Unicorns are real!
Me: No. Unicorns are not real. They are a fictional animal popular in fantasy stories.
4 Year Old: But the man in the book my teacher read rode one! Buy me a unicorn daddy!
Me: Again, I cannot buy you something that does not exist. Even if Unicorns did exist I couldn't buy you one because they are far too expensive (This statement is the equivalent of conceding the point with caveats.)
4 Year Old: Daddy you need a better job to be able to buy me a unicorn.
Me: That isn't anything close to what I said. My. job is fine, I get satisfaction from it, and I get to come home and see you every night.
4 Year Old: Yeah but you aren't a Unicorn.
Me: ...
4 Year Old: Timmy down the street said his parents bought him two unicorns. Sure would be nice if you loved me enough to buy me a unicorn.
Me: ...
4 Year Old: I am just asking questions here. I mean if you loved me enough to buy me a unicorn, at least the gas is cheap for when you go pick it up from the unicorn store.

Maybe we should adjust the way we talk/communicate with 4 year old kids as opposed to giving up trying though?

Edit: Sorry didn't mean to take over this thread

 

[B1GTide]

Maybe we should adjust the way we talk/communicate with 4 year old kids as opposed to giving up trying though?

That is what Fox News is for.

 

[Bazza]

More commentary from consumer advocate Clark Howard:

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

As soon as the stock market open the circuit breaker hit again.

 

[92tide]

As soon as the stock market open the circuit breaker hit again.

glad we have the circuit breaker. maybe we will get another press conference today since the moronic mango seems to think that worked last friday.