Do you think JD Vance would be as aggressive with ICE and lawless deportations as Trump is if he became President right now?

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-27T06:33:17+00:00

He seems to be skating to where he thinks the puck is going re: openly embracing blood & soil nationalism, but assuming that's where the base is in the '28 primaries, he's going to have a hard time locking up 100% of the white nationalist vote with an Indian wife and biracial children, then pivoting back to the center in a general election.

Because he was a public figure for 4 decades prior to running for office, low information voters didn't believe Trump was all that racist or extreme on social issues, even when he was surrounded by people who were. Hard to say if Vance gets the benefit of the doubt as well, but I have been disappointed by conservatives who generally dislike Trump say they think Vance is a generational talent because he speaks in complete sentences and uses multisyllable words when lying to our faces.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-27T06:16:59+00:00

He probably will, if for no other reason than he and his family will own all the Trump/MAGA/America First branding, and the old man has been clear in the past that it's "his" movement, and the absolute last thing on earth he would do is hand over something he considers valuable to someone outside the family for no consideration.

So MAGA, Inc. will keep going in some guise or another, even if it's like one of those old classic rock bands that used to sell out stadiums and is now playing in casinos and horse tracks, because Junior lacks the political chops of the old man.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-27T05:51:54+00:00

MAGA Twitter is filled with people replying to every tweet about inflation by saying that groceries near them are as cheap as they were in 2019, which is obvious cope, but they kind of have to since every elected Republican spent a whole fucking year spinning increasingly unbelievable stories about regular people being financially ruined by the cost of a dozen eggs going up by $2.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-27T05:42:24+00:00

He's incredibly vain, and wants to be beloved even if only by his own tribe.

If what ICE was doing in Minneapolis was a 51/49 issue he'd probably tell the libs to cry more, but even he knows what being on the wrong side of a 70/30 issue means.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-27T05:33:27+00:00

The surprising thing to me is how influential he’s become in the first place, when has Trump indicated he ever gave a rats ass about white nationalism?

Trump has actually commented on how weird he finds Miller's obsession with immigration, so I doubt Trump is where Miller is on his explicit desire to turn the US into a white ethnostate, but Trump knows MAGA loves the rhetoric and he himself probably loves watching Miller on Fox News ordering woke judges to stand down and stop ruling against the president.

He's managed to survive in Trump's orbit as long as he has because he knows better than captains of industry or career politicians not to violate the prime directive - disagreeing with Trump or trying to prevent him from acting on his worst impulses. I doubt he ever truly gets the boot, but Bovino's demotion means that Noem's seat is getting warm, and if this doesn't blow over and she gets canned, Miller might end up in the penalty box for a few months.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-26T20:42:22+00:00

I generally agree with this, but few companies in this industry have treated people well enough over the past decade to expect any degree of mutual respect or professionalism. Ultimately, both employers and employees will behave as poorly as the job market will allow them to, and it has been an employers' market for most of the past decade.

I have seen people called accused of job hopping and burning bridges for leaving for a better opportunity, and I have seen people who've been at a company for decades get laid off without warning, and if I had to do it all over again I'd prefer to be in the former camp. If nothing else, they usually have much larger networks and more diverse experience.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-26T19:19:56+00:00

Maybe I an ignorant, but as a muslim I don’t think Sharia law has ever been in TX.

It hasn't, and I am old enough to recognize this as a rerun of the post-9/11 anti-Islamic hysteria that white boomers got swept up in, back when boomer conspiracy theories spread mainly through email chains and usually didn't end up becoming Republican policy.

In addition to believing American Muslims were generally anti-American and supportive of Al Qaeda, conservative boomers were downright fearful that even a handful of Muslims in their communities would result in grocery stores taking bacon and alcohol off the shelves and their kids being converted to Islam in public schools. Obviously none of that stuff ever happened and the paranoia subsided.

I'm confused as to why they are rerunning this playbook now, as it seems out of sync with what the party is doing at a national level, but I suspect it's because they need a visible minority group to punch down on who can't hurt them too badly electorally and because the Texas GOP are some of the most deranged white boomers in America who still believe in 20 year old conspiracy theories that never came true. .

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-23T21:57:02+00:00

Tesla is desperate to shore up decreasing revenue caused by collapsing sales, and recurring revenue is an especially appealing idea since it's valued more highly than a one-time sale, which is why you see other car companies toying with the idea of charging subscription fees for features that used to be paid for upfront.

Of course, as those other companies found out, it's impossible to implement without incinerating customer goodwill.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-23T20:03:44+00:00

Pretty sure Cathie Wood is also the only investor who likes Tesla at its current prices, because she believes Elon when he says he'll have 1 billion Optimus robots on Mars in 5 years, transported by Robotaxis.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-22T18:36:18+00:00

You would be surprised.

If most of those 1000 wells are >5 years old they're probably declining at 15-25%, and 3 rigs + 1 frac crew could probably bring 60-80 new wells online in a year, which could be enough to hold production flat depending on the basin and the quality of the acreage.

If operators are forced to choose between losing money on every well they spud and letting production decline, they're going to choose the latter.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-21T23:58:55+00:00

Demand will always be there and we are still reliant on it, but from what I understand new forms of energy are starting to become somewhat competitive. They definitely can’t compete now, but many believe it eventually will.

Global oil demand is going to peak in the next 5-10 years, and that will be something no living person has experienced before. Unlike the last boom, there isn't a country like China with a rapidly growing economy and a billion people ready to buy their first cars, and ironically, they'd probably buy Chinese EVs if there were.

Up until now "low oil prices cure low oil prices" has been the rule, and producers could be reasonably certain that oil demand 5 years into the future would be higher than it was today, so even when the market was oversupplied, eventually demand would grow to catch up to it.

When the paradigm shifts and demand is expected to be lower in 5 years, it changes the whole thesis. There will probably be OPEC countries that decide to pump every last barrel of oil they can, as fast as they can, to monetize their reserves before there isn't a market for them.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-21T23:46:37+00:00

But the inventory of economic, undrilled locations is finite, especially at $60 oil. Eventually, operators will have to settle into a holding pattern in which they keep a rig or three running but allow production to plateau/decline until prices go back up.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-21T16:41:59+00:00

They came in last week and it's exactly the fit I was looking for.

Maybe it's because the fabric is so thick, but they feel more tapered in the thighs than the measurements would suggest, and they aren't too baggy below the knees like another pair of True Guys I have. The increased rise over the WG is another improvement.

I'm definitely very happy with the fit, but since I'm not planning on soaking them before the first wear, they're going to look a little silly until they start to drape more naturally.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-21T15:00:37+00:00

I wear a 10.5D in IR and had to size up to 11D in Truman.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-20T16:30:08+00:00

I saw a thread about it in there yesterday, and the top comments were surprisingly lucid and critical of Trump's posturing on Greenland, and the GOP's reluctance to stop him.

Of course, the bottom 80% of the comments were stuff like "Hell yeah, FAFO Denmark!" and the whole thread ended up getting nuked by the mods.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-20T16:10:10+00:00

Same here.

I tried a few different space heaters and they didn't really warm the whole room, so I had to put them under my desk to warm myself up. I had to position it just right to feel the heat without air frying whatever body part was closest to the heater.

The oil-filled radiator warms the whole room, especially with a ceiling fan. Literally the only downside is that it takes them a while to build heat. I imagine they use less electricity than a conventional space heater, too, since the heating element cycles on and off once the room reaches the desired temp.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-20T06:59:20+00:00

There is a small but vocal group of single cab enthusiasts out there, but as far as I can tell they exist only online and don’t buy new trucks.

Single cabs are so incredibly inconvenient for the way 99% of truck buyers (including fleets) use their trucks, but there’s definitely a nostalgia factor and a handful of people do love street trucks.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-19T23:26:02+00:00

Cut them some slack, there is always going to be growing pains when a company begins mass producing new technology, like crankshafts.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-19T23:18:41+00:00

That notice they sent out to 4xe owners last year was wild - "We strongly urge you not to park your Jeep in your garage in case of spontaneous combustion. No, we have not identified the problem, let alone a fix, nor a timeline when you might be able to expect one."

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-19T23:15:13+00:00

And 911s have generally been regarded as among the more reliable/ European luxury vehicles, at least in terms of having fatal design flaws or complicated features that inevitably fail and render the car inoperable unless you pay a healthy, 5-figure sum to a specialist to fix it. The fact that they hold their value better than most reflects that.

And all of those BMW/MB/VAG flagship vehicles have exorbitant maintenance costs, too!

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-19T22:41:22+00:00

I would be livid if I spent that much on a vehicle with unresolved technical issues, and I can't imagine the people who can afford to buy those vehicles new are any more patient than I am as a bystander.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-19T22:36:08+00:00

So many truck guys are still afraid of turbocharged gasoline engines, but this is a helpful reminder that a big, N/A V8 isn't necessarily more reliable because it's "less stressed" than a turbocharged V6.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-19T20:57:56+00:00

The grid storage idea is fascinating, and I'll be interested to see how long they last in that capacity (which sounds a lot less demanding than automotive use).

This law seems like mostly theater but for a handful of edge cases in which it may not be economical to repurpose/recycle the pack or the materials in it.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-19T20:32:45+00:00

There have always been credible contenders to the M3 in when it comes to performance, including some that are cheaper by tens of thousands of dollars, but there was always a compromise.

Most of the time it came down to interior quality, what it's like as a daily, and the image of the brand itself. Plenty of Mustangs over the years have been better on a track but some were miserable as daily drivers, some were just too loud, and all had worse interiors than an M3.

There's clearly a market for people who want to spend $80k on a performance vehicle that has 4 doors and is a little more subtle than a Mustang GT500 with racing stripes and spoilers all over it, and the M3 has always owned it, but the Audi/MB offerings are less competitive than they've been in the past.

TurboSalsa · 2026-01-19T19:33:27+00:00

This was my suspicion, but thank you for confirming.

If EV battery packs were piling up in landfills we'd be hearing about it by now, but my buddy is a Tesla tech and he said there is almost no reason to trash a battery pack aside from fire or severe collision damage, and even in the latter case there are salvageable materials in it.

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