In November of 2021, I turned 50. As this coincided with the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World (the one in Florida), Mrs. TOK and I got together a big group of friends and planned an epic birthday trip. This had been in planning stages for years. But the trip turned out to be significantly less than magical. Our party ultimately dwindled from 30 to 9, making park and dining reservations became unruly and time consuming, the COVID policies at the parks were onerous, the usual stellar service and attention to detail were no longer there, and already high prices were increased even more.
We Need a Vacation from our Vacation
In December, when my father in law asked if we’d like to join him and my step mom in law on an all-inclusive trip to the Caribbean, which coincided with our wedding anniversary in February, we were all in. Sitting on a beach while other people take care of the details seemed like a great idea. After a few back and forth texts and calls, we found a travel agent and decided on visiting Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, at a resort called Dreams Palm Beach. It was all inclusive (including all food, drinks, and some activities). This was a cheaper resort, costing $2800 for the two of us for a week including airfare on Frontier, an upgrade to “Preferred Club”, and travel insurance including some COVID provisions. There were other fancier adults-only resorts nearby, but those could cost two to three times as much and were way out of our budget.
The Government Does Something Efficiently
This trip would require passports, which Mrs. TOK and I had never owned. So we went to the post office and put in our applications. We opted to pay the fees for expedited processing, knowing that even expedited, we were cutting it close by about two weeks. Our passports arrived in a record-breaking 19 days, still in the month of December.
Prep Work
One reason we chose the DR was because they do not have vaccine requirement for travel, as opposed to Mexico or the US Virgin Islands. With me under vaccinated and Mrs. TOK not at all vaccinated, this was an important factor. One thing they do require is an electronic form that is filled out 2 days before travel. This basically asks the reason for your visit, passport number, and “are you sick or have you been around sick people” questions. To re-enter the US, we would have to take a rapid COVID test 24 hours before our flight.
The Big Day Arrives
Our flight was around 6am, so on Sunday morning at 2am, we got in the truck and headed to pick up the in-laws a few towns over. We arrived at O’Hare Airport before 4am, parked the truck, then waited 30 minutes in single digit temperatures for a shuttle that was supposed to arrive every 10 minutes. The counter for Frontier had a long line and we made it to the gate just in time to board. The flight was a long 4.5 hours, which was fairly uncomfortable on a budget airline that had no Wi-Fi, uncomfortable seats, and no food service. But we stepped off the plane to 81 degree weather and all of that was forgotten. At the airport, they just looked at our passports, typed a few things into a computer, and sent us on our way.
The Resort
While not a five star resort, the room was decent even though it needed some maintenance. It had a bedroom, bathroom with separate toilet area, giant shower, and a patio. This was a Preferred Club room so it was nicer than the standard room. The grounds were beautiful, covered with plants and fountains. There were six restaurants, five pools, and several lounges and bars. You could get room service 24 hours a day, and anywhere on the resort and the beach there were servers who would get you drinks or food. There was a small casino, and nightly entertainment including DJ’s, a magic show, and a great performance by Cirque du Soleil. There was also an overpriced spa. The beach had nice white sand and wasn’t too wide, so it was perfect for me. It had shelters and chairs, and every day a staff member named Luis would set up four chairs for us right at the beach entrance.
The lovely grounds
A Preferred Club pool
A pool near the beach
Our spot on the beach, chairs courtesy of Luis. You can see one of the beach vendors at the far left.
Our room, but I forgot to take an inside photo
The view from our favorite beach-side restaurant
Trouble in Paradise
Upon arrival, we were given a bunch of papers to sign, and one of the staff members offered to give us $100 per couple credit for a “romantic dinner” if we visited one of the other resorts. We asked several times if this was a time share, and how long it would take, and he assured us it was a 15 minute ride there, and the presentation would only take as long as breakfast.
The next day, as we got into the van, we were informed it would be a 90 minute presentation. The van ride took 40 minutes instead of 15. When we arrived at the high end, beautiful Secrets resort we were quite angry. We complained to the staff, and they called Laura, the manager of several resorts. She apologized, gave us breakfast at their restaurant, and put us in a cab back to our resort.
Later in the week, Laura showed up at our table at breakfast and informed us she had given the staff member a talking-to, and she gave us $50 in resort cash per room. We never did go to the “romantic dinner” but I think this was handled pretty well.
INXS(ible)
We attempted to sign up for some off-resort side excursions including zip lining, swimming with dolphins, and snorkeling through Apple Vacations. However, the staff member in charge called each of the parks and informed us that they wouldn’t accept wheelchairs or crutches. There were boat excursions run by the resort, but when I tried to sign up for those I was given the same story, no disabled people because they had a bad experience one time.
Fortunately someone from the staff hooked us up with a few local guys with a boat who would take the two of us out for $100. It sounded sketchy but we both know how to swim… This turned out to be the highlight of the trip. They took us to view the dolphin encounter from the outside. Then we snorkeled on a reef for about 45 minutes and saw big schools of at least 15 varieties of fish. They gave us food so the fish would eat right out of your hand. After that they took us to a party cove, where the water was shallow and there were dozens of boats with people partying and playing loud music. The boat captain was a great guy, and he had two teenagers as helpers. One named Jose took photos of our trip. He was dancing on the boat, and taught us some Spanish and we taught him some English. Then at the party cove, he wanted to take our picture, and couldn’t communicate how he wanted us posed. So he said “I’m not gay”, and got behind me and demonstrated. That kid was a riot.
The Return Trip
This is where there were big differences between the DR and the US. At the airport we had to submit proof of a negative COVID test and fill out a “contact tracing” form. I have talked about the invasive TSA searches I usually get, but in the DR they sent me to a guy who just swabbed my wheelchair for explosives and didn’t even pat me down. The whole thing took about a minute. At the airport you were supposed to wear a mask, but they didn’t enforce that. Back in the US, we had customs forms to fill out, and then two customs checkpoints. Fortunately for some people who might be inclined to bring back Cuban cigars, they didn’t open up anyone’s luggage.
Random Thoughts
- I was apprehensive traveling to a new country, but after a few days I got more relaxed and learned that the people at the resort were genuinely friendly and helpful.
- The whole place was extremely humid. It rained a few days, which didn’t help. Our room and the bed sheet always felt damp, as did any clothes or papers that were left out. We ended up drying our clothes in the sun on the beach.
- Fortunately our room was on the ground floor. There were no elevators, so I had to get out of my wheelchair to climb the stairs to get to two of the restaurants.
- COVID restrictions at the resort weren’t too extensive. In restaurants they gave you hand sanitizer and a mask, which you could then take off right after you got to your table. The staff all wore masks, even on the beach.
- There were people on the beach selling things, but they weren’t allowed to come up too far from the water. We bought some beach cover ups and cigars, and Mrs. TOK got her picture taken with some parrots, and iguana, and a monkey. The guys on the beach weren’t too pushy and left you alone if you said no. Inside the resort one night there were vendors with table set up, and those guys were pushy and didn’t take no for an answer.
- The food was good or excellent at most restaurants. The portions were small but you could order as many things as you’d like, and if you were still hungry you could go to the buffet later. At one restaurant they had Dominican Night, featuring the local cuisine, which was quite tasty.
- The local drinks in the DR are Colo Loco, which is a frozen drink with coconut and rum, and Mamajuana, which is a strong shot of either rum or wine that was stored in a bottle with a certain type of wood that added a spicy flavor. Coco Locos were amazing and we had a lot of those, but none of us liked Mamajuanas, which we all thought tasted like spicy cough syrup.
- The water in the DR is not safe to drink, but all the bottled water you needed was included. Brushing your teeth with a bottle of water was only mildly inconvenient.
- Service was much better than Disney World. Every day our room was cleaned, we got new sheets and towels, and our mini-bar was restocked with beer, water and soft drinks.
- Preferred Club got you into two adults-only pools, a few exclusive restaurants, and top shelf alcohol. You also got the required COVID test for free instead of paying $35 for it. We paid an extra $80 per person for that, and it was well worth it.
- You aren’t required to tip at the resort, but we appreciate good service and so we tipped almost everyone. American dollars go a long way so a $1 or $2 tip was customary, and we’d tip $5 at dinner or for something exceptional.
- US phones don’t work in the DR, but as soon as got off the plane Verizon sent us a text message offering a $10 a day option to make our phones work. Mrs. TOK did that just so we had one working phone, and I kept mine on airplane mode and used the resort’s Wi-Fi.
- I think Q is designing swim suits these days. They were a lot of high cut swim bottoms so many female butts were visible on the beach which was awesome quite shocking and inappropriate.
- There were guests from several countries, but I think Canada, the UK , and Russia were most represented. There were also a lot of people from Michigan for some reason.
- I had taken Spanish in high school, and used Duo Lingo a few times, but I wasn’t at all confident of my Spanish. I surprised myself and I was able to carry on a conversation, which turned out to be useful several times.
- Despite the accessibility issues, I’d return to this resort. Mostly because we know what to expect, and know how to get around those limitation. However, I would also like to see the other side of the island, on the Caribbean Sea.
- We kept in touch with our travel agent the whole trip, and she let us know that because of our experience, her tour company has started a program in which they will assess the accessibility of all their resorts.
The Other Kevin’s travelogue gets the honor of being my First First in my new Firsting cape.
Honored.
Is this your first actual first?
I’m not about to explain the intricoes and rules of Firsting to a seconder Mooninite.
Asshole is as Asshole does…
You’re sad three dimensional understanding of fisting is pathetic. Don’t make me get my brother and unleash the Quad Laser upon you.
I’ll First you in every dimension.
You keep hitting on me.
I love the Quad Laser.
You have a Firsting Cape? That’s commitment.
It doubles as a spank rag.
And his covid mask.
UCS has the glove market cornered. Bro needed a new schtick
great detail….thanks for tapping it all out
You are welcome.
Yes, very useful for this next year planning
I think Q is designing swim suits these days. They were a lot of high cut swim bottoms so many female butts were visible on the beach which was awesome quite shocking and inappropriate.
I thought he was a boob guy?
I had taken Spanish in high school, and used Duo Lingo a few times, but I wasn’t at all confident of my Spanish. I surprised myself and I was able to carry on a conversation, which turned out to be useful several times.
In Ecuador I tried my Spanish out after using Duolingo for a refresher. Didn’t work for me.
This sounds like a good trip. Thanks for the write-up!
“I thought he was a boob guy?”
-1 Ass Wednesday
He does pay lip service to others during the mittwoch.
It all sounds pretty lovely.
Oh… deal-breaker for me.
The whole place was extremely humid.
Islands tend to be that way, moreso as you approach the equator.
I can barely tolerate summers living on the Atlantic 40-something degrees north of the equator.
I spent two years in the Azores, similar latitude. Summers were warm and humid, winters were cold and humid. Wife would clear the mold off of the walls in our apartment with bleach on a monthly basis.
And I’m a desert rat; I like the dry. The Air Force was quite un-accommodating.
See, I was waiting for a Frontier Air story…
Thanks for the report!
+1 Spirit merger.
That’s how you get Gogeta.
Western nations: impose less realistically onerous sanctions on the Putin bunch than what’s being imposed on Canadian dissidents. Just a guess. I’m just guessing that Trudeaușescu has more meaningful impositions to weigh against his protestors than the entire Western hemisphere (what the fuck does that mean, anyway?) can bring to bear on Russia’s leaders.
And no Russian will bear as great a brunt of force as the American dissidents who dared defile the hallways of Congress.
But the Jeopardy tiebreaker, that was something.
It was something, I enjoyed that. Didn’t get the final clue. Or any clue. I’m clueless. But it was entertaining seeing it go into overtime.
Even if Aaron Rodgers is a better host. Not, like, objectively, but more enjoyably. Objectively more enjoyable. Come on, this Jennings guy is Trebek minus Trebek.
Nice write up TOK! Your experiences mirror my own traveling to other countries, including the surprising usefulness of long past high school español. Similar for my wife with high school German.
Completely unrelated, what a piece of shit.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_Generation_Delivery_Vehicle
We have two transit 350s and about 25 transit connects. The 350s aren’t too bad, but the connects are straight garbage. I call them lego vehicles. All plastic and incredibly flimsy. Every once in a while, you need to press the bricks back together. Judging by the wheels, this one is based on the larger transit 350 chassis. Still not my first choice, but much better than the little one from India.
We had a couple of Transit connects at the phone company that were set up for nat gas. They couldn’t make it up the hills of Berkeley.
Still, when you needed to find a place to park in the Bay Area, they were pretty handy. Not like the E350 extra long I was stuck with at first.
Just drive on the sidewalk, turn the strobe on, and throw your cones out.
*does not work in jurisdictions that have a hardon
Ours are CNG also. Every time I get one in, it needs a shit ton of cheap plastic parts. Test drives make me feel really bad for the assigned drivers. But, yeah, they probably park easily in SF, so there’s that.
Wow…
That truck is awful.
(White guy speaking Japanese is always a trip…)
Yeah, and looks pretty wide to boot. The current LLVs barely stay in the shoulder, and not even that on narrow places.
It looks like DuckMan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blppKS-nz9g
A very good travelog. So much useful information. I’ve never been to the DR but I’m thinking about it as a potential destination given that the country isn’t completely covid crazy. My partner’s brother’s family traveled there recently. And I’m not surprised there were plenty of Russians there.
The travel agent said it’s popular with people who aren’t vaxxed. There’s a good reason for it.
!
Sorry Kevin, but Gordilocks is in the zoom if people want to talk to him. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81891984758?pwd=Z3lqZE96eElxeVBxZ2lXNjNPY24wZz09
Don’t be sorry that’s awesome!
Nice write-up, make me think about traveling by plane one more time.
Thanks, TOK, for the article.
I swore off flying since the existence of the TSA but my resolve is starting to melt since I’d still like to visit Alaska but don’t want to travel into Canada. This sounds like a nice place and a decent price.
Also RE: travel, we’d like to visit Cabo but wonder about road travel in the Baja, especially with an RV. Perhaps Ksuellington (or someone) can offer some tips.
Hey Hobbit, that sounds like a fun time. I’ve taken a friend’s RV down as far as San Quintin to fish from San Diego. We have taken about ten trips (flying) to Cabo San Jose and then we rent a car and drive about an hour or so north to what is known as the East Cape on the Sea of Cortez. I’ve been to Cabo San Lucas once to stay in another friend’s time share, once was enough as I am not a resort kind of guy and Cabo San Lucas is far too touristy for us. The joy of Baja are the remote beaches and small towns, although I kinda dig the capital of La Paz. What kind of trip are you thinking of? I’d be happy to give you any info that may help!
When we retired 4 years ago we had planned to purchase a motorhome and travel. I had planned to touch the 4 corners of the continent: Key West, St.Johns, Prudhoe Bay, and the tip of Baja. Well, the outside world has conspired against us and it looks like travel plans are going to be modified.
We can still plan on the southern trips. As a teenager I always wanted to ride the Baja 1000 but, hey, I was a kid. Now I hear a number of horror stories about travel in the interior of Mexico. Baja is often singled out. These stories involve the Federales as often as the banditos. Even taken with several grains of salt I wonder if a semi-elderly couple in an RV towing a car is asking for trouble. Or maybe my fears are overblown. I have driven through the South Valley of Albuquerque without being killed in cross-fire.
Thanks, KS. Any comments or advice are welcome!
KSuellington,
Bailing for the evening. If you are interested in passing along Baja travel info you can email me at jemezhobbit at the evil ones.
Thanks.
I would do it in a heartbeat BH. The worries about bandidos and Federales are massively overblown. Your biggest worry, and it is a worry, would be vacas. Yes, cows. They roam free there and the Transpeninular twists and turns so you want to avoid doing long stretches at night. This book is a bit outdated, but it has tons of info about camping and overland travel in Baja. It’s also fun reading. Mexico 1 is in much better shape than it was 20 years ago, it is mostly paved now. Make sure you get Mexican auto insurance. If it were me I would go with a smaller RV. I’ll give you my email if you want some details. Time to read to the kids for bedtime for a bit.
https://archive.org/details/bajacatchfishing00kell
Four minutes before my post and you reply!
Mostly paved? That doesn’t bode well for a 32 foot RV towing a Jeep. Maybe we’ll leave the RV behind and just drive the Cherokee.
Thanks for the encouragement. Will give the book a look-over. My limited experince with Mexico is limited to Tiajuana and Juarez. We used to visit the latter quite often but the gang wars have driven us away. I figured we’d try to enter at a much smaller town.
Kids all in bed, thank the Lord.
If it were me I’d just bring the Jeep and bring some camping gear so you could stay at remote beaches easily. For the amount you’d save in gas you could stay in pretty nice hotels and houses. We always rent a house there, and since food is so cheap and I fish constantly it ends up being a reasonably inexpensive vacation, even renting a nice beach house. Remember that summer is super hot there, so if you can go in spring or fall that would mean awesome weather.
If you live near SoCal you can get a crew position on a sailboat to Cabo. Every year is a large rally that sails down there, I think from Long Beach. Since it is not a race the fleet pulls into a different anchorage each night. It’s a floating party.
Thanks dbl. That sort of thing would definitely be on my radar in a few years. Right now the kids are still little, but I’d love to sail down there. I have a good buddy who sailed down there with a friend last year. There are a bunch of cool islands to check out. I love the remoteness down there and the combo of desert and sea. Just a fantastic place that I want to explore more of.
Years ago, a friend of mine was crewing a boat that was scheduled to race from Mobile to Cancun. They were short a man, so my friend asked another buddy, who thought the trip was less America’s Cup and more a wind-powered Love Boat. Hilarity ensued. My (sadly, now departed) friend got a song out of it.
Got your email, Shpip, thanks. We may invade your neck o’ the woods instead of a Mexico trip.
Thanks for the advice but I doubt a sailboat is going to be interested in an old fat man who can barely handle a rowboat and his *very* nervous wife.
Now, 40 years ago I would have been on that like a high schooler on a prom queen.
I’ve been too old for camping for a number of years but the Jeep is probably the way to go. I like to do loop trips so we may go down the west coast maybe as far as Acopulco. We could take a ferry in Mazatlan to Cabo then up the penensula. Or maybe the reverse direction.
Still have to convince the wife. She’s very nervous about travel south of the border.
Thanks for the reply.
Thanks, Kevin.
Costa Rica has been on my list for a while. Prices seem reasonable (I’ve always heard that CR was expensive).
My uncle used to talk about their vacation in CR. He and my aunt loved it. Bit down on the list for me but perhaps moving up.
I kiddingly mentioned Costa Rica to dad and he was elated at the prospect.
I don’t much fancy having my throat slit by Mexican brigands, of which (for whom?) Costa Rica is famous.
See, the Costa Rican government lures you in with those beautiful shores and their fantastic beachfront towns, or as the Mexicans call them, villas. You’ll get a great deal for the night, and the amenities seem incomparable, or as the Mexicans say, supre libra. And then the huevos Mexicalis slip into your pregunta window and slit your bare throat right off your neck.
I’ll be honest. Nothing south of the border holds the slightest appeal to me. Too many unknowns and it’s not the good old days anymore when TV and movies told me that things were more gemütlich down there for gringos.
Nice article Kevin. My wife and I took a trip to an all-inclusive in Punta Cana years ago. Unfortunately, I got some food poisoning (I blame an adventurous approach to the buffet), which made me sick for about 24 hours. But we still had an overall good time.
One good tip for such a trip: Bring your own insulated cups and have the servers on the beach use them for your all-inclusive drinks.
Thanks everyone. Glad I can offer a palette cleanser after today’s Joemala.
Very interesting, TOK, though I don’t think I’ll be traveling much anymore.. We did St Croix about 25 years ago, (my son got married there), I was sick with bronchitis the whole time. The others were swimming, I was sitting in the car with the windows rolled up to stay warm. Got home with pneumonia.
St Croix was very enjoyable, we took a day trip to St Thomas. My son’s in-laws were very hospitable and took us around the island as tour guides.
An airplane ride would be too tough, TSA and masks would be the deal breaker. For others of you the Caribbean sounds inviting right about now, cabin fever is curable. Thanks, Kevin, enjoyable to read about others’ adventures.
So the Putinator has gone and done it. He’s launching military operations in Ukraine and warning Biden to stay the fuck outl.
https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/russia-ukraine-us-allies-sanctions
Word is that Biden is being poked with a stick and offered extra pudding cups as treats to keep him awake in the situation room.
Biden’s gonna bluff even tougher sanctions soon.
Thanks Kevin. Maybe. It’s -4 Murican here right. But last night at this time is was -16 so things are looking up.
The Pope has been doing this in the morning lately and I like it, so here’s my contribution. Have a smile..
https://rumble.com/vver8q-noa-al-rescate.html
We went from 67 this afternoon to 39 now and below freezing soon 🙁
It’s currently -12F here. Heading for -25F. And then there’s the wind chill.
I am your “it could always be worse” commenter.
74 here and the tomatoes, beans, peas, and avocado have all started blooming.
My food costs half of what yours does. ?
Then you are paying too much.
Local seafood is a deal, but everything else can be crazy expensive.
Heh. Yeah, that is something. I remember regular negative temps from growing up on a couple Great Lakes, if not as extreme as anything you could throw down.
The cold doesn’t really bother me except for the fact that it becomes more difficult to manage the air flow in my home. I have to have fresh air.
The cold really isn’t too bad (assuming modern heating and clothing) but when you add some wind to that cold…wow. It can kill quickly.
Cheyenne, WY, I’m convinced, is the coldest fucking place on Earth because the wind never. stops. howling.
Visit Rock Spring, WY. All the cold, all the wind, none of the charm.
We just finished a stretch of 4-5 days where the wind never dropped under 20 MPH and gusted as high as 60mph. And the air temps were under zero.
I’ve read histories of the US plains settlers and people literally went insane from being stuck in their tiny shacks or sod huts and the wind would never. fucking. stop.
I’m a home-body so that wouldn’t bother me at all but I can see how it would be different in olden times when you kind of had to go outside a lot more.
I really like Wyoming, Casper in particular, but the constant wind is discouraging.
Local windsock.
https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/rd7b3/wyoming_wind_sock/
Excellent write-up. Been curious about DR, because it tends to be most economical non-Mexico destination of that type.
Wow, Kevin!
That is one thorough travel article. I really enjoyed the DR as well. Great people and beautiful beaches sounds pretty fucking good right now!
Awesome!!
Right on TOK, enjoyed hearing about your trip and glad you got to get out of the US for the first time. It’s not surprising that the best part of your trip was the boat trip with the locals.
One slight correction is that you mentioned Mexico has Vid restrictions. There are no vax or testing requirements to enter Mexico (nor to eat or go to bars and such). Mexico has been open for tourism almost the entire panic. Some places at some times have required masks, but overall it’s been fairly relaxed.
That’s good to know.
Let’s play Fact Check.
This is a news article in the politics section at CNN
News, not opinion.
Count the number of times it inserts the writers opinion and how many times it inserts argumentation.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/22/politics/rick-scott-plan-republicans/index.html
This is an article about a press release from Senator Rick Scott about his proposals for getting things back on track. The Lede they chose was his proposal that all Americans pay something in income tax, however small.
And in the Lede sentence, the writer talks about what political opponents have to say.
In fact, they spend the second paragraph listing some of his proposals by name, but without any details at all. The next paragraph is a repetition of white house propaganda against it, providing detailed objections to a proposal we have not heard.
Remember, this is a news article. Here is the writers voice, introducing a topic before describing Scott’s proposal:
*Republicans have repeatedly used rising crime to attack Democrats, often misleadingly tying candidates to the “defund the police” movement.*
You got a fact check for that?
And then this. Remember, this is a news article about Scott’s proposals.
,*Trump’s misinformation about mail-in ballots and his lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him have inspired a raft of efforts in GOP-led states around the country to restrict the right to vote.*
There is very little truth in that chunk… But this is a news article.
The whole thing reads like this. Have fun finding the lies, half truths, misleading characterizations and violations of journalistic standards (inserting opinion in a hard news piece And doing so as fact)
Remember…. CNN has journalistic standards, unlike podcasters (who should not be allowed to speak.. because they don’t)
I don’t give CNN clicks; thanks for taking the bullet for us.
I’ve read Scott’s proposals. My conclusion was that most are hard-Republican talking points. I am not a Republican but I can see the need for the pendulum to swing back, even if it passes by the middle briefly. We need pushback at this time and this sounds like a good start.
Two decades ago when Bush pushed nearly half of families off of the income tax rolls, I aligned with those who worried about the consequences of a world where the majority of voters do not have a dog in the fight when taxes are raised.
So I am sympathetic to the headliner, that we need to return to a world where everyone pays at least a little bit.
#metoo
I know it’s massively complicated by sales taxes and shit, but it ain’t right to just give handouts. As a policy.
LOL this is of course a lie but it’s amusing that CNN feels the need to defend it. Almost like they know it’s a losing position with the vast majority of the public.
Just a few months ago when it became obvious that “defund the police” is electoral cancer, some jackoff tried spinning it as if really, it’s the GOP who’s all about defunding police, because they’re opposed to massive new funding bills for police… and they don’t want open-ended January 6th investigations till the end of time.
They really are shameless.
And I just noticed the “restrict the right to vote” lie.
Wow.
Her name is Jen Psaki.
Too soon.
Please pass the eye bleach.
That is one of the goddamn funniest scenes in my personal movie history.
RIP Meat
What movie?
Fight Club.
Oh. And just like that Rhy broke the first rule.
tsk tsk
I don’t dig “rules”, man.
I’d like some “talking head” from her if you know what I mean and I think you do.
She is a total hate fuck. Sure, I’d have sex with her but only to wipe my dick on her curtains when I’m done.
Oh, she’s a terrible person all right. But that hair…
Fake!
So you are going to put streaks in her hair?
If any of you golfers head to DR, on the Casa de Campo side, be sure to play the “Teeth of the Dog” course. Awesome oceanside course, reminds one of Pebble Beach. It has one feature you may never see elsewhere: on one hole, you tee off over the active airport runway. Then you wait for an armed guard to open a gate to let you across if nothing is taking off or landing. Our group was on the tee box when a large jet airliner came roaring down the runway, seemingly only 50 yards away.
LOL that has a nice old-school feel to it.
It has one feature you may never see elsewhere: on one hole, you tee off over the active airport runway.
A unique mix of oceanside Pete Dye architecture and driving in Gibraltar.
Aside: This wasn’t the first time Dye did something like this (Pete is my favorite golf course architect not named Donald Ross): at his Brickyard Crossing course, you go through a tunnel and play four holes in the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Well, it is time to see how ambitious Putin is. Short of entering a NATO state he can do pretty well what he wants short of a huge land grab. He has an estimated $700billion in extra oil revenues from 2021.
I would be surprised if Putin doesn’t seize a land corridor to connect Crimea with Russia. The breakaway oblasts are just some fertile dirt and Putin has plenty of that already.
Hopefully we have the good sense to keep our military out of it. Let some of joe’s 81M voters voluntarily form a “biden Brigade” if they are hot for a fight.
Germany should reclaim Königsberg and unethnic cleanse it. If historical claims are all that matters, shove that up Putin’s ass. And let the Japanese take all of the Chishima Islands back, not just Southern Chishima.
Does Germany have ammunition yet, or do their soldiers still just yell “BANG!” really loudly?
Still unclear why America should oppose Putin personally taking up residence in the entirety of Ukraine. Squatting over every borscht bowl and squeezing off a beet. What, exactly, except for Biden’s domestic polling, are we meant to shore up in eastern Europe? Europeans barely care enough to fund their own defenses.
Team Blue needs a win, any win, going into the midterms.
I think it would be the height of delusion if any Dem thought a war with Russia in Ukraine would be a quick and expedient victory. But given the other shit these people say and do, I can’t rule out that possibility.
It’s been pointed out already time and time again…but the domestic policies of our politicians have done a shit ton to enable Putin to engage in military adventurism.
They held on to covid restrictions for the longest time because that’s literally the only subject on which they have any credibility, or I should say, on which they’re least discredited. Crime, economy, immigration, it’s all trending downward, but they claimed the faintest shred of credibility on their asinine, hostile covid policy. And now that’s underwater and sinking fast.
I don’t put it out of the question that Biden’s admin would go to war with the thought that it might buoy up their dismal prospects.
There is a historical reason to oppose it. If you mean we don’t have a treaty and Europe doesn’t care, then you’re right.
This is all show. Has to be.
Our cost will be oil prices, not soldiers.
Biden removed sanctions that were enshrined in law and we’re protecting Ukraine. He also blocked Liquid Natural Gas infrastructure that would have allowed Europe to buy American gas, reducing or eliminating their dependence on Russian gas.
Biden very loudly signalled that the US would not do much of anything if Russia invades.
What does Biden get? Is it the chance to look like a tough leader? Millions from Russian-Ukrainian oligarchs?
I do know that the propaganda machine is signalling that the green light was given. They are running around saying that Fox News and Trump are responsible for Russian aggression in Ukraine. They say that by not calling for war, they made him do it.
Confession through projection?
“They are running around saying that Fox News and Trump are responsible for Russian aggression in Ukraine”
That is retardation not just on another level, but another planet. Fuck, people are stupid.
Did you not see scruffy ukraine posts yesterday and today?
He said Russia’s incursions into eastern Ukraine are Ukraine and Americas fault.
Now that Russia has launched a full scale military attack on Ukraine, it will be interesting who he says is at fault.
Biden is Jimmy Carter without the military service, intelligence, or principles. He is a big mush with no fixed principles. He has his finger in the wind trying to discern what Team Blue wants. Don’t look for logic. You won’t find it.
I’ve already seen takes that opposing any US action in Ukraine is *treason* so that’s a plus for them, at least. War gets to unfurl lots of extra govt powers.
“Europeans barely care enough to fund their own defenses”
The Germans voluntarily made themselves dependent on Russian energy, foreign policy idiocy worthy of Obama or Biden. They deserve whatever they get IMO.
As far as Ukraine… I don’t know what else to say other than, sucks to be them. It’s a shame but it’s so not our problem. I agree that Biden’s weakness coupled with the likelihood of his being compromised by his son’s corruption probably brought this on. But, once again, not our problem.
I’m more worried about our closest neighbor and ally becoming a dictatorship.
Germany had the best equipped military in Europe, if you didn’t count our forward deployed forces, at the end of the Cold War. Now all they have is a National Guard and control of the EU’s purse strings.
Ukraine may very well be a home for a vast amount of crime, but so is Russia, and we are as well in our own American way. But Ukraine is an independent nation and by international law it can’t be attacked by another nation w/o reason. It has every right to fight back on the Russians. May they kill many many invaders. That right of defense doesn’t mean it is our obligation to enter the war on behalf of the Ukrainians, and I hope we don’t.
No argument about the feckless western Euros. The nations that were under Soviet occupation know what the Russian heel is like, but if Putin doesn’t cross their borders they will hang back as well.
The only thing that might cause Putin some pause is if every nation on Earth forcibly sends every Russian citizen in their borders back to Mother Russia.* Losing that source of wealth and importing millions of people pissed off they were forced to give up their lives and livelihoods might give him a bit of pause- maybe.
*Russians who have US Green Cards may stay and continue with their lives. They just can’t transfer funds back to Russia.
He will have heartburn if the US and UK expel every Russian on a student visa. His crime lord underlings want their children in top flight colleges. Nyet, Ivan.
It would also help if Britain stopped letting oligarchs buy London real estate. It’s no fun being rich if you can’t live or vacation somewhere nice.
I’m super-ignorant on this whole topic but one thing I don’t get is why he “needs” that. He already has a nice stretch of the Black Sea, doesn’t he?
That is their big port. And they have to drive through Ukraine to get there. But not if they take over a chunk of the country to connect it to Russia.
I think there is a bridge connecting Russia with Crimea. I’m sure you are right they want to connect by land.
So build a port at Sochi.
I’m not seeing the big advantage unless he conquers a lot more of Ukraine than the “breakaway” oblasts that were in the news the other day, which don’t even connect to Crimea.
But I’m not a despot so WTF do I know.
The eastern end of the Black Sea is depth limited, constraining deep-water shipping.
Ah. I did not know that. Thanks.
BIPOC Sea, thank you colonialist shitlord
Plus they don’t need to grab that wide of a corridor. Find defensible land far enough from the Black Sea to keep the coastal roads out of indirect fire range. Seize it that deep and start digging in.
Seize it that deep and start digging in.
That’s my move!!
He already owns the White Sea, FWIW.
It’s all white privilege.
https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2022/02/23/the-absolute-worst-ukraine-take-vladimir-putin-very-much-benefits-from-white-privilege/
Cold and ports are prone to icing closed. The sea lanes to it can close and are vulnerable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CaekvINODI
The Oppressor Sea
They already have a connection with the bridge at Kerch.
2.5 years ago, Hong Kongers were protesting for freedom. Now they’re about to get forcibly tested not once, but three times, in a nonsensical effort to meet greater China’s ridiculously phony goals of zero covid.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-60467039
So. Stupid.
“Q is designing swim suits these days”
Don’t blow my cover.
https://archive.md/ByrCg
Ass Wednesday on topic.
I dunno, man – almost all those girls would benefit from Warty’s advice:
“you need to do more squats”
There’s a lot of cellulite on display.
And you’re just the man to supervise those squats.
I need an ass that has orange-peel like a $150 MAACO paint job.
Cellulite is allright!
Great write up TOK. I was concerned about the locals taking you out on their boat. I’m glad it went so well.
A story with a happy ending.
https://dailycaller.com/2022/02/23/hostage-gunpoint-amsterdam-apple-store-standoff/
https://archive.md/UOJ44/8294650df4970abe0cf1df9cb9a8bac309028bf2.webp
NSFW.
https://archive.md/lb0qL/479fbade8e403a7f0de7afafeee3052fd2690237.webp
NSFW.
https://archive.md/CbjGd/cc27573452fdf5f5f441e1c058724ec5075ac7ce.webp
NSFW.
https://archive.md/TUyR0/870c69c2494b74a7dc49a943925f300429c73a7d.webp
NSFW.
Rawr.
Another happy ending.
Apparently one of Putin’s rationales for invading Ukraine is denazification. I think he stole this from the wokerati.
LOL
He’s officially just anti-fascist now. You can’t question anything he does.
I strongly suspect he believes this will have currency among leftists in Europe and the United States.
That’s not a new thing. Putin was ahead of the woke brigade by decades. Ukraine has had a complicated history. If Thomas Jefferson can be portrayed as a liability, doing it to Stepan Bandera is a no-brainer.
Nice to know that Putin is just as stupid about the woke crowd as everyone else.
Putin just set Russia back decades. Russians were let off the hook for Communism since they had a civil war in 1990. Thats a rare second chance opportunity.
Attacking Ukraine full scale is just not going to work out well for Russia.
It will be interesting if Ukrainians in Russia start blowing up Russian stuff n retaliation for attacking Ukraine.
Kudlow’s been repeating it a few times lately, but I think it bears repeating again (albeit preaching to the choir in this instance) – if we had maintained or increased domestic oil production last year, Putin would have vastly less in terms of leverage and hard currency. These new sanctions are obviously trash…but the best thing we could do in the short term – without moving a single troop would just be to lift all restrictions on domestic energy production and exports to Europe, etc. Benefits us, benefits Europe and weakens Russia and Iran, etc.
What does our production have to do with Russian leverage?
This keeps coming up here and I don’t get it.
a) oil is a commodity….commodities are fungible (a barrel is a barrel is a barrel), and you can get all you want from Arabia
b) what lever? oil is no good to a producer if you can’t sell it…it’s like a baby holding its breath
Are you saying that Putin isn’t going to find a buyer for his oil right now given the demand?
And it’s pretty simple how our leverage decreases with our own natural production – it means Russia makes up a bigger share of the market. It means our ‘allies’ in Europe are dependent on Russia for energy along with, sadly, us as we have been one of the top buyers of Russian oil. This compared to the situation a few years ago where we were a net exporter of oil for the first time since forever.
what? per my (a) he has zero problem finding a buyer…that’s implicit. You could not possibly infer from what I wrote that access to buyers would be a problem to him….what do you think a barrel is a barrel is a barrel means?
who cares what share of the market Russia is? how does that matter? My question was clear: what does our production have to do with his leverage? I’m sticking with the caveat presented until it is answered….then we can jump to other notions
Russia is 20% of world production, but our cutting back even 10% doesn’t change their share by more than 1%….what are we even talking about?
I didn’t raise our allies….I raised.our leverage. If some Americans wish to wring their hands over German dilemmas, that’s a political decision, a reaction apart from the facts (you know, like the reactions to a virus being worse than the virus).
I routinely struggle to decipher your posts. And I’m not trying to be a dick when I say that.
I don’t see how someone could struggle with the concept of how us lowering our own production and cutting off new avenues of production before they even get started benefits Russia who primarily relies upon their energy exports. And whatever decline in production we’ve seen is not directly proportional in impact to the increase it causes in prices. Putin has been getting rich off the green energy policies of Western politicians who now want to poke at him.
And further, I don’t see how anyone could ask about US production of oil and gas without factoring in our allies. Those questions clearly go hand in hand. No action we take against Russia is going to be done alone. No response from Russia is going to be aimed at just the US. So yea where Germany happens to get its oil and gas is a pretty important component of all this.
I don’t think you’re a dick
I just think you refuse to respond to the point as answered….it’s like a John ramble back at TOS…..circling and ignoring the very answer already given
for a libertarian site, I remain confounded by how pop notions trump simple economics in how some of the reactions are couched….economics should inform one’s politics, indeed choose your preferred system
maybe someone at Mises will laugh all this off in an essay and everyone can listen to them if they won’t listen to me
Of course not – WE’RE buying Russian oil – which is insane under the circumstances – especially at the same time as we’re sanctioning him. Driving up the worldwide price by reducing our supply only helps all the other producers.
try this: there’s no such thing as Russian oil
it’s an international commodity market…..suppliers pour it into the trough that is the market on one end, and we all slop out of it from wherever on the perimeter our snouts plunge. A barrel is a barrel.
“stop buying from Venezuela” was the nonsense went ten years ago: instead you buy from the market and get delivery from Nigeria…okay. Then the guys who were buying from Nigeria buy from Venezuela. Commodities are fungible! That’s what a commodity is. That’s why Carter’s grain embargo didn’t work..remember how we laughed at that? Yes there are percentage points in friction here and there, it takes time to modify infrastructure and shipping routes, but every barrel traded in the world is bought against spot….Texas or Brent…or proxies for them.
nothing nothing nothing you can with a percent or two of the global market can move it much, and other short-run emotional effects are 40 times more powerful
and if it did, it would be trumped by
Most commodities have various stages from originating market before they disappear into consumers hands.
Oil from russia either gets transported by truck, rail, pipeline or tanker. It appears all oil from Russia to the USA would come by tanker. I couldnt find a pipeline.
Putin, just like Hitler, is counting on a rapid Ukraine campaign. remember, Ukraine has two muddy seasons- spring and fall.
$40; no change in supply; asked and answered: no relationship whatsoever
yes: tiny shortterm friction, not remotely of the relevance being argued here
in a room full of libertarians, are there no Austrians? the true relationships are in the data. please please please look at the last ten years of production versus and price………….there is ZERO GODDAMMED CORRELATION, sir
I was mainly addressing your point about oil is oil and why that is not always true.
Also providing a citation for you production and price numbers would help.
You might be right about Putin oil finding a buyer. Normally funding your attacker would seem unwise.
China unleashed kungflu on America and we bought untold masks from china.
Our production at 2018-2019 levels would have kept the BBL price down significantly. It’s not just a matter of $1/gallon difference at the pumps in the US. We were a net exporter – esp for natural gas as well (and import terminals in Europe have a lot of capacity that we could fill – albeit using non-US ships, since we still can’t build or operate them thanks to the Jones Act). Lower price/barrel drastically lowers receipts for countries like Russia (or most in the middle east) that are single commodity economies without a lot of diversification. When oil was at $45/barrel – that was pushing it for affordability for some of our frackers – but that combined with Keystone would have kept the flow up at great levels (and of course – as others point out, it makes a lot more sense to push cheap oil/gas and use that for affordable power generation while focusing on nuclear construction at the same time – at which point we can then ease off the fossil fuels).
Our production at 2018-2019 levels would have kept the BBL price down significantly.
That’s a notion that just isn’t true for several reasons: the difference, which is exactly the 10% I posit in my example somewhere just inches from this entry is only 2% of world supply. It doesn’t move the needle. I’ll give you points for an academic notion that is generically true in some economic situations, but it doesn’t apply to oil.
because price has nothing to do with supply anyway: they are uncoupled…that’s what inelastic demand is. WTI went up $40 this year with zero change in production……….there is no amount of supply that could have prevented that.
The fever dreams of spot traders has 10 times more influence over what a barrel trades for than anything in supply whatsoever.
You can’t get all you want if you can’t convince SA, etc to pump more. That’s why our gov’t going begging/groveling hat-in-hand while our fields lie ready and waiting (and we’re all paying more at the pump) is so infuriating.
For over a year Putin has been skimming off the top and putting it into the treasury to the tune of an estimated $680-700B. As the price of oil and gas went up, he let the companies keep slightly above the low price and siphoned the rest off. Thanks biden.
You propose the obvious solution that biden’s handlers will never let happen.
How do they get to $700B from 3.5Bbpy? USD20 per barrel for ten years?
War is expensive. Plus, russia now has to divert fuel to all the military units to run ~24/7 until Ukraine is controlled. Putin is betting on a quick campaign in Ukraine.
If America actively seizes Russian assets in banks around the World, Russia is fucked.
It appears Russia and Belarus are attacking Ukraine or at least Russian troops are attacking thru Belarus.
It was expected but if Belarus is included in sanctions, Russia now has to economically support Belarus.
Vishnu H. Christ….
I was off work last night/this morning. So yesterday when I got home, I knocked back some beers, ordered food, and conked out around 12:30 after the noon news.
I just woke around 0230. I feel refreshed.
I also realize I slept through SF’s mid-week Shock Theater. I dont know if I should leave that bullet dodged, or be a masochist and go read it.
Read it. Jack off to some YT feeds of Ukraine while singing the anthem and then call it a night.
Im so patriotic, I made Abe Lincoln puke on George Washington’s tits.
MURICA! FUCK YEAH!
here for the love of god is the production versus price data for oil
for most of history, production of oil went up AND PRICE STILL WENT UP
the volatility in price has always been orders of magnitude larger than the change in production……………..therefore: the changes in prices have very little to do with the changes in production
over the last decade, oil ranged from $20 to $120……….600%; production ranged from 65 to 85 Mbpd……..30%
production DOES NOT control price………..speculation/hyperventilation/pearlclutching, short run inventory, and rumors of war cause the price to change
therefore, there is no amount of production increase in the world that can control prices AND
there is most certainly no amount of American production that can control the world price
I find it ironic that you note that speculative factors influence the price along with general feelings, yet ignore the impact of hostile political policies and cutting back on domestic production. Your argument is that American oil production being cut back is a drop in the bucket so it wouldn’t have mattered when your entire argument allows for that relatively small production change to have a big impact on how people are feeling about the future of oil production.
Oil and gas prices under Trump weren’t just a happen coincidence.
That is one of the most impressively incorrect uses of “therefore” that I’ve seen outside of professional journalismisting.
I think Putin is just trying to reassemble the motherland so he can play What Fits Into Russia.
you probably remember Texans playing a similar game
thing is, Russia is so huge that it warps time and space….there is no place from which to look at it and have complete perspective: whole time zones disappear over the horizon in both directions
what’s it called when they do the round world flat map thing? doesn’t change the math an order of magnitude, and the affect is probably the same for say Argentina versus Russia, but the perspective could really be thrown off if you fit a map of a smaller, equatorial country into Russia
here’s a Russia-centric globe: https://gisgeography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Russia-World-Map.png
I suppose it’s only enhanced when you do Russia vs. the former USSR.
Fun fact- here in Ohio we have a town, Russia. But it’s pronounced “Roo-she”. I was told that people switched it up during the cold war tensions.
Just one of the best examples of the overarching fun fact that just about any place in Ohio with the same name as a non-English-speaking place will not be pronounced the same way.
Hello, Lima!
Also, Bellefontaine & Versailles
Riga, Charlotte, and Chili NY wave hello.
Our Lima too.
Likewise Toledo.
Its spelled ‘Toledo’ but pronounced ‘latrine’.
Holy shot holy shot holy shot.
I am so screwed on Federal taxes this year. I took an early withdrawal on a 401k so that I could clear all credit card debt and buy my new house outright with no mortgage.
I knew it would be taxed as income plus 10% penalty, but I withheld (i.e. paid at the time of withdrawal) federal and CA state, according to their tables.
But now they are saying I owe WAY more in Fed tax!!! Granted, I haven’t finished putting in all my deductions etc, but this is going to hurt. A lot. I was enjoying being able to finance things and people I believed in. Now I’m probably going to have to get in a payment plan with the IRS.
Fortunately, I was skeptical of the amount the feds withheld, even though it was six figures, so I parked the proceeds from the California house sale into a non-retirement brokerage account and can withdraw to pay the IRS. Very UN-fortunately, the market has tanked in a more two months since.
Still, I’d rather clear the debt now. My employer still has to reimburse the relocation expenses, so that will help a bit, as will the deductions I haven’t put in to TurboTax yet.
Those were all supposed to be “holy shit”.
Why does iPhone not yet know I swear?
Also, I’d feel way less enraged about the taxes if they were being spent wisely instead of lining pockets of parasites.
Not to rub salt in, but don’t you work for a contractor employed by FedGov ?
I thought you were just praising St. Fauci and his Holy Shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ak7H2Qj8zo
Good morning, my dear. How are you?
Good morning, all.
Is that where Putin’s forces are headed?
Good morning, TO’G & TH!
Mornin’, Ralphs. (Who were the night shift? Fred and ? )
Sam or George. It’s too early yet – I can’t tell who’s coming or going.
Ah, ever-reliable GT.
I’ve thought about it, and I think I’d rather be unpredictable and enigmatic.
“Reliable” just isn’t very sexy. ?
Aw heck, I think it’s adorable. Always room for you on my settee. How many lumps? ?
Two, please. And yes – thank you! A scone would be lovely! ?
Scrape your windows off. We gots ice ice baby.
I don’t wanna go out there! ?/whine
I have to take Jugsy to return her Enterprise rental. If I see ya spun-out I have tow straps.
Kidding…it doesnt seem bad. Yet.
We get that shit tomorrow morning. 0.1 – 0.2″ of ice predicted, and Mrs. Patzer has a biopsy scheduled at 9 AM. Perfect.
They’ll pick you up, but they won’t drop you off back at home? ?
‘patzie, I hope Mrs. P’s biopsy goes as well as possible, with the most desirable outcome!
Thanks, GT. Fingers crossed.
Hiya, GT.
If you withdrew for covid reasons, you can spread the income out over the next 4 years.
Mornin’, all. Random thought for the day: Keep it simple.
I know next to nothing about viruses, how they are transmitted, the effectiveness of various treatments and vaccines, and so on. So if/when I get caught up discussing the merits of these things, I am full of it. However, I do know that I own my own self, and no earthly authority has any right to force me or anyone else to inject something into said body. Simple.
I know next to nothing about the intricacies of international relations, alliances, military capabilities, and so on. So if/ when I get caught up discussing the merits of these things, I am full of it. However, I do remember that some old white guy warned about getting involved in foreign entanglements, and that sounds like good advice. Simple.
That is all
I suspect I would have liked Ike.
Every mother@@cker wants to be in the left hand lane, and they have no idea what to do when they get there.
*growls*
I like to get in the left, ease down to 55, and play with my phone. Then watch to see if I can make someone bust a stent.
I had heard the DR had an enlightened attitude towards sex work.
Good Morning All:
Well li guess my comment about Ukraine yesterday is wrong and moot.
Good time to do some panic buying i guess,
I should have cashed in my options months ago. The market is a fickle mistress.
suh’ fam
whats goody
*hat tip*
So… world war 3 started today.
Wouldnt the Cold War count as WWIII and now we’re up to WWIV ?
Goddammit Gavrillo!
1-888-4-VAULT-TEC
Are you saying I dont need to pay my mortgage or other bills for the month? Cause I could put the cash to use before it all ends.
Depends..
Does China invade Taiwan?
I doubt it. Taiwan is heavily fortified, trained and equipped. China talks a big game and can throw down a big game, but even they’re not that brazen.
Another convoy. Quack.
The Rooskies are coming! The Rooskies are coming!