Biden: Well Played -- It's All Russia's Fault -- March 9, 2022

From The Los Angeles Time today:

California to experience high gas prices from the Russian oil ban.

President Biden said the U.S. will ban the importing of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas and coal, broadening the economic sanctions leveled against Moscow over its war in Ukraine. California drivers will be uniquely squeezed at the fuel pump with this ban because West Coast oil refineries are Russia’s best U.S. customers.

Russian oil is only a small piece of the U.S. energy picture. But nearly half of Russian oil shipped into the U.S. last year, or close to 100,000 barrels a day, ended up primarily in California, Washington and Hawaii, refinery consultant Andrew Lipow said. And the amount of Russian oil imported into the West Coast has been on the rise.

Of course, taking a hard stance against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was never going to be cost-free. But many people have been surprised and concerned at how quickly those costs have hit home — especially after gas prices jumped almost overnight.

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Bacon

Wow, for those with money, life can be great. I don't have an oligarch's yacht, but I have bacon. LOL.

Seriously.

We live next door to thirty-seven incredible restaurants. We can walk to most of them, and if too far to walk, I can bike, and, for those that are one-half mile away, we can always drive. 

Yesterday we took our home-from-college granddaughter to brunch at "Morning Watch." My wife and Arianna had a very, very nice full-brunch-entree. Me? An English muffin and a Bloody Mary. I don't recall the price of the English muffin; it was relatively "free." It was certainly way less than the tax on the whole meal. 

The Bloody Mary, $8.19. 

But, wow, the bacon that garnished the Blood Mary was worth $10. LOL. The Bloody Mary, in other words, was free.

So, when we got ready to settle the bill, I ordered a side order of bacon to take home. We would have it for tomorrow's (which is now today's) brunch: a tomato-lettuce-and-bacon sandwich. 

And we did. Four huge slices of bacon. My wife and I each had one slice, cut in half, leaving two slices again for tomorrow.

The four slices of bacon cost $5.89, but we will get four BLTs out of it. The restaurant BLT at "First Watch" is $9.99. Four BLTs would run us $50 in the restaurant -- at home, about $2/sandwich.

I've talked about this often. 

I asked the waiter, Philip, why their bacon was called "Million Dollar Bacon," because it tastes so good or because it costs so much?

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A Musical Interlude 

Woodstock, 1969

 

This was not part of the film. John Fogerty did not want it to be included in the film. 

Put A Spell On Me, CCR