Saturday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Saturday, March 7, 2026
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19 comments
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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BlueSky.
The price of gas is going up. WSJ has convenient charts and maps. The price is rising fastest in a number of very interesting states: Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia and Ohio. States that are all in the target zone for a Blue take-over of House and Senate.
The price rise is lower on the west coast, most of New England and New York.
Worst-hit state by a substantial margin is Florida – 50 cents a gallon Not a take-over target, sadly, but added to the Canadian embargo, and drop in all foreign visitors, it’s not going to be a great year for the Florida beach towns and Orlando theme parks. I wonder if that will lead to even lower employment figures. I wonder if the price of oil will give inflation a bump.
Reporting from rehab: I’ll be here another 2 or 3 weeks, learning the ins and outs or walking. sitting, standing, et al. with a mechanical leg. This is a really nice facility, not at all institution-like. The staff is also top-notch, and very warm and friendly on top of being professional. And boy,it’s nice not to have to do housework.
Fatso is going to take over Cuba next. He bleeds jobs, spreads measles, and murders his own citizens. But thinks he can run all these other countries.
@CSK:
So, how long until you are able to rejoin the women’s Olympic pole-vaulting team?
@CSK:
Glad to hear that you are getting better. Now for graduation, do you need to show that you can tango?
There are 9 places to buy gasoline in Sleepytown. Most of them have held the price of $3.399/gal with no discounts that they increased to since the price jump from $2.999/gal 5 days ago. One outlet is $3.499/gal. Gas buddy is not reporting a price for one place. This is a Shell station that is actually a service station with a 2 bay garage, a full time certified mechanic and is locally owned and operated. Their gas price is almost always 5¢ to 10¢ higher than the Quickie Mart type gasoline outlets and the Kroger in town.
Our bloodthirsty, child killing, warmongering president blamed President Biden for high gasoline prices earlier this year. “If they rise, they rise.” Chump said about gas prices since he started his war. I’ll bet he can’t say the same about his one eyed trouser mouse.
@Michael Reynolds:
I should be ready by 2030.
@Sleeping Dog:
Nah. Just rumba.
@CSK:
Well, that doesn’t sound like something they are forcing you to type at all! Perhaps your captors will give you excellent medical care.
@Gustopher:
I have all of them eating out of my hand.
@CSK: Very glad you are feeling well(er). I found the PT people much more fun than the docs too. Moreover, rehab gives one something to do, and us gimps tend to like to hang together, share “war” stories and stuff. It’s an amazing thing, being able to get used to it, which seemed totally, absolutely impossible at the beginning.
@dazedandconfused:
Hey, I didn’t realize you were a fellow gimp! Yup, the PT and OT people are fun.
@CSK:
Great to hear you’re recovering.
@CSK:
My father lived with an artificial leg for 67 years.
He did sometimes remark ironically that it made dancing dificult: “Slow waltzes, and that’s it.”
@JohnSF:
Thank you!
@JohnSF:
He must have been quite a guy.
@JohnSF:
Thank you!
@JohnSF:
He must have been quite a guy.
@Michael Reynolds:
@Gregory Lawrence Brown:
If Hormuz stays shut, hydrocarbons prices are going to go through the roof.
Not only that, but in short order much of Asian manufacturing will start to shut down; especially petro-chemicals.
With massive imapcts on prices and supply chains globally.
A little further on, fertiliser shortages are going to start impacting agriculture, and food prices will start climbing.
Who knows, but that we may yet see a Chinese/Indian/European naval task force securing the Straits?
I’m joking; but only just: the consequences could be enormous, and Trump has failed to position sufficient forces for securing/convoying at Hormuz.
I’ve little doubt the Pentagon pointed out this vulnerability.
Why it was overlooked will await the post-mortem on all this.
@CSK: Ex-gimp now, pretty much, but it took me about a decade to ditch the wheelchair, and another three years to really be something like normal. Brain damage (hence the moniker), left side motor cortex, resulting in broad, but thankfully not complete, paralysis from the neck down on my right side. I would’ve gladly traded my good left leg for a working right arm because when the arm is dead on the same side as the leg you’re screwed. Can’t use crutches and only a motorized wheel chair will serve.
But now I walk almost normally. Can maintain a brisk pace too. Have good strength in both limbs again. Bench 250 and intend to be benching 300 before long. Not even using a cane anymore. Starting to write with my right hand again last year. The brain is plastic and re-wires but it takes time. Most improvements stop in 8 years or so but here I am, still improving after 15. The PT people just love that.
But the beginning was hard, very hard. It’s thrilling to see you’re getting a good attitude a hell of a long time before I managed to.
@CSK:
He was.
Consequences of his plane getting shot up and crash-landing.
Most amusing story he told:
He was a production manager at the Austin Works Longbridge car plant in Birmingham.
One day when checking a problem on the assembly line, his leg foot got stuck in the tracks, and got detatched, and continued on down the line.
Brummie voice of track worker: “Jack, you want a V6 and wing mirrors on this?
Father: “Very f@cking funny, you cock. Now stop the f@cking line while I hop down there and beat you to death with my leg.”
Apparently the seat-stitchers sewed up a temporary harness.
And now Longbridge is all gone to apartment blocks, warehouses, and a retail park.
A bit sad in a way, that all that massive industrial site just sort of withered up and blew away on the winds of change
@dazedandconfused:
I’m very sorry to hear of what you went through, but I’m thrilled for your recovery.
@JohnSF:
Great story.