C19 Open Discussion Week 17

From CBS News:

Hoboken Mayor Confirms Highest 2-Day Total Of New COVID-19 Cases Since Mid-May

While coronavirus numbers have been trending down in the tri-state area, there’s concern about a recent spike in some places, especially as crowds gather to celebrate July 4th.

Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced Saturday the city recently saw its highest two-day total of new COVID-19 cases since mid-May.

The mayor said 13 cases of the coronavirus were confirmed on July 2 and 3.

“All 13 of the new cases that we’ve seen are ones that have traveled for work or for pleasure outside of the city of Hoboken,” Bhalla said. “Twelve of those 13 cases went to states on New Jersey’s quarantine list, including Florida, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina.”

Bhalla said the positive tests are all people under the age of 45, mostly between 20 and 35-years-old, and who attended indoor and outdoor events with groups of people. In some cases, he said, they showed no symptoms of the virus.

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226 Responses to C19 Open Discussion Week 17

  1. grim says:

    One thing that irks me, is the total ignorance of posting active cases. I’m not sure what the point of aggregate total case counts is that this point. It’s a big number, it gets a little bigger every day, what’s the tell us? Pretty much nothing.

    So, if our Rt is .89, or thereabouts, can’t we back into the potential active case counts?

    Let’s take Bergen County for giggles.

    They had 37 new cases yesterday. So based on the Rt, we would need 42 active cases transmitting covid on that day. Multiplied by a 14 day transmissive window (which is probably an overstatement), we’re talking about 588 people in the whole of Bergen County with active cases. 588/930000 = Roughly 0.06% of the population.

    Rt would have to include hospital patients as well, likely understanding that their transfer rate is overall lower, meaning general population Rt would need to be higher. However, we’re only talking about 406 hospitalized right now in North Jersey. So realistically, it’s probably not a big deal.

    Looking at recent deaths, still seems to be running pretty strong in long-term care facilities.

  2. dentssdunnigan says:

    Don’t worry Murphy has it under control ..

  3. AP says:

    Last night there was a poster here comparing Fast Eddie and AOC, which is pretty amusing in itself.

    Having said that I do sympathize with the sentiment. Social change is scary and dangerous, and the inclination to “go with what’s working” has an element of wisdom in it.

    The thing is that there needed reforms that are not coming from the center, let alone the right. So, sure, don’t subscribe to AOCs newsletter of whatever, but keep in mind that the status quo could be improved and sometimes a little creative abrasion is what’s needed.

    Lastly, in the same spirit of though experiment: what poses a bigger threat to our Constitution and our Democracy: strange dudes wearing Hawaiian shirts while carrying military grade weapons to make political points, voting in folks who adhere to dangerous conspiracy and doomsday theories into Congress, or a bunch of unemployed Baristas who rather hit their vape pen then get into a physical fight?

  4. Fast Eddie says:

    Question of the day. Who is more dangerous, Fast Eddie types or AOC types?

    Quite simple… one side inspires, leads by example, encourages and produces quietly and the other side lashes out in anger, creates chaos and destruction and demands more due to their inability to adhere to rules and structure.

  5. AP says:

    Fast for prez

  6. 3b says:

    AP Reforms are needed, and that is why I wanted Bernie or Warren as I thought it might scare the entrenched special interests to make the necessary reforms. However, with Biden that won’t happen, and with Bernie and Warren out of the picture , the AOC crowd are going to take over the Democratic Party; Bernie and Warren not radical enough for the far left. The Democrats made a huge mistake with Biden.

  7. Stop Huffing Eddie says:

    Eddie,

    You are very right about ” one side inspires, leads by example, encourages and produces quietly and the other side lashes out in anger, creates chaos and destruction and demands more due to their inability to adhere to rules and structure.”

    See below,

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/hundreds-of-armed-men-went-to-gettysburg-to-defend-it-from-a-phantom-antifa-flag-burner-created-on-social-media/2020/07/04/206ee4da-bb05-11ea-86d5-3b9b3863273b_story.html

    AP,

    There are things that are going to happen by default in the next 5 yrs, 3 of them are :

    -Medicare for All – The virus will bankrupt a lot of hospitals, unless we get M4A, it will go back to the 30’s – you want a hospital go to a major city.
    -War with China, where we don’t do well. It will grind to stop all the globalization, global corporations neo-liberal economics bs.
    – Because of the economic damage of above, big anti-trust enforcement, break up of tech companies, and balkanization of internet, except for those able to use Musk’s Global StarLink.

  8. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Just imagine an entire country with your mindset…inspiring, leading by example, and producing. Instead we get a good portion of the population lashing out in anger, creating chaos and destruction, and embracing anarchy.

    The really funny part, these same people consider trump a danger to America. They need to look in the mirror long and hard. If you need to resort to anarchist moves, you are the danger. You risk destroying it all..

    Bottom line, these people want change that they don’t understand. They need to hit the history books. A perfect society doesn’t exist, and the American economic system/form of govt is the best this world has ever seen. Some change is needed, but not massive change like they advocate for.

    Fast Eddie says:
    July 5, 2020 at 8:31 am
    Question of the day. Who is more dangerous, Fast Eddie types or AOC types?

    Quite simple… one side inspires, leads by example, encourages and produces quietly and the other side lashes out in anger, creates chaos and destruction and demands more due to their inability to adhere to rules and structure.

  9. 3b says:

    If we go to war with China, I don’t think they will do well. They have a huge army but I don’t think they will have the will to fight. They have been too coddled.

  10. ExEssex says:

    quote:
    “[Trump] strikes me as a distillation of everything that is wrong with the American character. This could be, in large measure, a caricature, but he has brought the caricature to life. If you take our materialism, and our ignorance about the rest of the world, and our satisfaction in that ignorance, our overconfidence, our pretension to greatness, even when we’re actually being merely petty, our vanity, our sexism, boorishness, narcissism . . . a kind of childishness that doesn’t have the virtues of childhood — it’s a kind of malignant childhood that is just all boastfulness and ME-ME-ME-ME-ME, without any of the curiosity or sympathy that you meet in actual children — he is the living embodiment of a kind of American Grotesque. It’s almost like he’s a golem that has been conjured by the worst things that have ever been said about us as a country. If he can’t grope it or put gold letters on it, it doesn’t exist [to him].” Sam Harris

  11. Fast Eddie says:

    Stop Huffing,

    So, you’re posting a link about people ready to defend the history of my country from resentful losers, outcasts and looters who are littering media with their acts of destruction. Thanks for proving my point.

  12. AP says:

    Grim, regarding Covid, I’m planning on staying pretty cooped up for at least a year …or I shudder to think, two.

    Herd immunity is not guaranteed, with mutations and other unknowns posing an unacceptable risk to me as a income-earning, head of household and parent.

    I really hope I’m wrong, as being trapped home is beyond getting old.

  13. ExEssex says:

    Trump isn’t going to win. He’ll leave the Country bankrupt as is his only ‘experience’.
    His skill set is losing.

  14. The Great Pumpkin says:

    What Mr. Harris fails to acknowledge; trump is not representative of the Republican Party. They embrace him, because in their minds, anything was better than Hilary or another Democrat.

    True republicans are watching their society be destroyed by a war between democrats and trump. They are obsessed and consumed with trump and change. And the idiotic arrogance to think they have the answers for the creation of a perfect society… Get your head out of the sandbox and grow up.

    ExEssex says:
    July 5, 2020 at 10:45 am

  15. ExEssex says:

    “But what I think we didn’t get right was the national political scene,” he said. California, despite its reputation as a progressive state, wasn’t immune to a growing conservative movement that rejects face masks as muzzles on independence and vilifies public health officials as enemies of the people.”

  16. ExEssex says:

    There is concern among Democrats that Republicans strongly oppose the legislation—and any future bills like it—for including a host of measures aimed at fighting climate change, such as reducing carbon emissions.

    McConnell, for his part, has said he would not bring it to the Senate floor for debate, while President Trump recently criticized the bill as “full of wasteful ‘Green New Deal’ initiatives” and indicated that he would veto it.

    BIG NUMBER: OVER 700

    That’s how many cities plan to delay or cancel infrastructure projects because of budget cuts amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent survey from the National League of Cities (NLC). This will “not only stifle job growth and slow local economic activity, but further jeopardize economic recovery efforts in communities across the nation,” said Clarence Anthony, CEO of the NLC. “Without congressional action now, the forced delay or cancellation of infrastructure projects will create an economic ripple effect throughout the nation not felt in decades.”

    CRUCIAL QUOTE

    “This so-called infrastructure bill would siphon billions in funding from actual infrastructure to funnel into climate change policies,” McConnell said on the Senate floor earlier this week. “It will just join the list of absurd House proposals that were only drawn up to show fealty to the radical left,” he added.

  17. Eddie Stop Huffing says:

    Eddie,

    Obviously, you did not read the article. You did not stop huffing long enough.

    Starts about the rally and its attendants – notice their ages and professions, but it goes on to track the guy the promoted the Rally from the left. How everything he said about himself and he cross promoted on all his social media sites was all “fake”. Even his photo is a german stock photo.

    In short is all fake, as in coming very likely from Putin’s FSB’s RIA, or another state actor. We are being heavily manipulated into each other nerves, if you look at facts and stop huffing long enough you will noticed that there is a big “gaslighting” operation on American citizens and Trump is an willing by nature of his self interest and how he ‘s compromised.

  18. Eddie Stop Huffing says:

    Eddie,

    A decade from now will know publicly that Trump was a Russian asset. No different than Kim Philby in the 50’s in UK. Difference is Philby had a weakness for communistic ideals, Trumps just needed Russian monies and loved their women.

  19. RentL0rd says:

    God forbid we have a leader like Fast. Or any leadership position for that matter. One that pouts anger, creates division, reduces morale and reduces overall productivity. Still pats himself on his back for the little things he did on top of others hard work. Wait… don’t we have one like that already?

    AOC, while a little over the top, inspires a whole generation into civic duty and work hard for what’s right and not let a few plunder the coffers of government.

  20. Phoenix says:

    Well at least we know which women are more family oriented and less materialistic. My body, my choice. The stats show the result of that. It was your choice and you made it.
    Then, for the few you have, it’s I can’t wait to put them on a bus and toss back a liter of wine.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8491551/US-population-growth-driven-minorities-white-population-declining.html#newcomment

    https://bit.ly/38uoEBD

  21. AP says:

    What makes the USA the greatest country in the world is our Freedom. Freedom to wear whatever you want, say whatever you want, worship however and whatever you want.

    Even smoke whatever you want, or marry whoever you want or read “obscene” literature.

    None of these strongman regimes allow that, none. These clay feet macho-men and religious zealots are not models to be emulated but warning signs to avoid.

    This “return to past greatness” is the opposite of what America stands for, which is optimism and the pursuit of new frontiers.

  22. 3b says:

    AP The radical left does not support much of what you just posted. Freedom of speech? If you don’t agree with them on some topics than you are labeled, and as a result people will remain silent. Freedom of religion? The left vilifies Evangelical Christians and Catholics, but remains silent on Islamic treatment of women.

    All forms of racism and bigotry and intolerance, including tolerance of different opinions should be what all Americans stand for. It appears to me the radical left does not see it that way, same as the radical right.

  23. Hold my beer says:

    3b

    Are you going to vote for Kanye as a protest vote? I am tempted.

  24. Napping Timefor 3b says:

    3b,

    OK, Boomer. You are opinion has been noted and will consider as much as the ” I can breathe after the knee on neck at 2 minute mark”. Or ” As the lady cries on the phone with the rep ” please forgive part of student loan or mortgage so we don’t end on the street” while she reads BOA, GS, JPM bail out figures. Or ” the TX resident saying ” my kid has cancer and can’t afford his medication and can’t get Medicaid.

    Now go back and do your hit of acid and sip your soylent green and hope you pass from the virus before they put a bullet in you.

  25. 3b says:

    Napping: Obviously your reading comprehension is limited, because if that is what you gleamed from my post I can conclude your reading comprehension is limited. If you are representative of the upcoming generation, than we are in a sorry state indeed.

    You strike me as a hateful evil individual, with a lot of resentment. I suggest you concentrate on your reading comprehension as if you can understand what you read, you might not be so hateful.

  26. Fast Eddie says:

    RentL0rd,

    I did every shit job under the sun and stayed humble and frankly, much too compassionate towards others. I always gave everyone the benefit of the doubt and always pumped up their strengths. Don’t assume you know me or what I’m like. People here know me and have hung out with me.

  27. Napping Timefor 3b says:

    3b,

    I don’t think any future history is going to be kind to the boomers.

    The damage is so great that you will live behind that to paraphrase JFK’s speech about nuclear war. All you are leaving behind is ashes in the mouth. And we still not finished with 2020.

  28. 3b says:

    Hold: I was going to vote for myself, but sure why not, I
    Will vote for Kanye. It can’t be any worse than the two sorry candidates we have.

  29. RentL0rd says:

    Fast, duly noted that you are ego centric too. Thanks for the clarification.

  30. Andre L Pitanga says:

    3b, I really don’t think the radical left has any legitimate place or role in the USA. We’ve had a revolution some two hundred years ago and we won it, now we just have to preserve the republic and continually work to perfect it.

    Painful to watch as some of the protests that have gotten out of hand are, overall this social movement actually shows that the system works. In other countries there would have been a brutal crackdown.

    That’s why the “radical left” rhetoric is so dangerous. It goes against what America stands for, the right of the aggrieved to seek redress. The right to protest, to seek justice, is as American as apple pie.

  31. Juice Box says:

    I am voting for Tom Cruise…

  32. chicagofinance says:

    AOC is naive. If social media didn’t exist, she would be a nobody. Of course, social media does exist, so that counterfactual is pointless. She will eventually be placed in a position of enough significance that her limitations will be exposed. It remains to be seen whether she is indeed fundamentally naive, or merely young and inexperienced.

    RentL0rd says:
    July 5, 2020 at 12:15 pm
    AOC, while a little over the top, inspires a whole generation into civic duty and work hard for what’s right and not let a few plunder the coffers of government.

  33. chicagofinance says:

    I am resigned to the view that we need to have a major left-leaning breakthrough, similar to what is occurring in NYC. The only way the creampuffs that are aged 15-35 are going to learn the error of their myopia is that they need to wrest control in their domineering and entitled way. Only after the societal destruction is exposed will they understand how tenuous their little iPhone utopia is. They will need hard knocks to realize that their leaders are selling snake oil. We are in for a bad decade, but I don’t think many of us here are going to bear the brunt of it. I feel a sense of empathy and regret for the people who are going to be used up and spit out………

    July 5, 2020….

    Andre L Pitanga says:
    July 5, 2020 at 7:51 pm
    3b, I really don’t think the radical left has any legitimate place or role in the USA. We’ve had a revolution some two hundred years ago and we won it, now we just have to preserve the republic and continually work to perfect it.

    Painful to watch as some of the protests that have gotten out of hand are, overall this social movement actually shows that the system works. In other countries there would have been a brutal crackdown.

    That’s why the “radical left” rhetoric is so dangerous. It goes against what America stands for, the right of the aggrieved to seek redress. The right to protest, to seek justice, is as American as apple pie.

  34. AP says:

    Chi, turning that around, what is the positive outcome you would hope to see instead? Apathetic and disengaged youth?

    I’m doing fairly well as a working stuff but so many “creampuff” youth are seeing their futures sold down the river.

  35. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Powerful post. Some people have to learn the hard way.

    chicagofinance says:
    July 5, 2020 at 8:59 pm
    I am resigned to the view that we need to have a major left-leaning breakthrough, similar to what is occurring in NYC. The only way the creampuffs that are aged 15-35 are going to learn the error of their myopia is that they need to wrest control in their domineering and entitled way. Only after the societal destruction is exposed will they understand how tenuous their little iPhone utopia is. They will need hard knocks to realize that their leaders are selling snake oil. We are in for a bad decade, but I don’t think many of us here are going to bear the brunt of it. I feel a sense of empathy and regret for the people who are going to be used up and spit out………

  36. SomeOne says:

    Phoenix @ 12:43 pm

    Most families may be having the standard 2 kid set up (below replacement rate, but …). For families with double income and still face financial uncertainties, it is probably an informed decision to stop at one or two. The world has more than enough people already. I am sure there is no race war to worry about!

    I hope you are not recommending the path of the moms you showed in the pic — 4 moms, 18 kids.

    I believe most of the increase in minorities is driven by immigration. That, and any white + black mixed race children get moved to black due to the one drop rule.

  37. leftwing says:

    “The only way…to learn the error of their myopia is that they need to wrest control…”

    Jimmy Carter v2.0? That would actually work lol.

    “I’m doing fairly well as a working stuff but so many “creampuff” youth are seeing their futures sold down the river.”

    Problem is, their solution is at best to double down on the same failed policies, politicians, and political ide0logy that got them to their current situation. Modern L1b3ralism – as opposed to classical – is a abject failure.

    As a ‘working stiff doing alright’ have you yet come to the conclusion that the wh0lesale taking of your work and effort for mass red1stribution to those who do neither never made sense in theory and has failed miserably in practice?

  38. leftwing says:

    Related, first cut of MSM this morning has the mayor of Atlanta commenting on black on black crime as an 8 year old girl is killed when she and her mother approached a group of protesters and were shot, one of 20 shootings there on July 4…how soon before some senior editor rolls out of bed and drops the clip because it doesn’t fit their narrative….The POC mayor: “we are fighting the enemy within when we are shooting each other up on our streets, you sh0t and killed a baby”

    Meanwhile closer to home NYC sh00tings up 140% from same time last year…if the police have any sense they will step back and let the animals kill eachother…arrive when the sh00ting stops to give cover to the DPW when they show up to wash the entrails down the drains. No investigation, stamp everything ‘pending’ and put it on a shelf.

    Established society has given cover to these criminals, charlatans, and their political promoters way too long. Pull back that support to zero, let the blood flow, and mop it up afterward for a clean reb00t.

  39. leftwing says:

    Futures up through a key level this morning.

    Either the headlines or markets are correct. Can’t be both.

    Place your bets before the croupier call.

  40. AP says:

    “wh0lesale taking of your work and effort for mass red1stribution”

    I’m not aware of any mainstream politicians advocating for this, and I certainly never advocated for or endorsed such views.

    Some folks like to take politics, or even political or economic philosophy, as a team sport thing. Leads to dogmatic thinking.

    Personally I advocate for pragmatism, tolerance and dialogue across the aisle. Yes, even this late in the “game”.

  41. leftwing says:

    “I’m not aware of any mainstream politicians advocating for this, and I certainly never advocated for or endorsed such views.”

    It’s not advocated, it is in practice.

    One half of the population is supported by the other half.

  42. leftwing says:

    It’s like the old poker saying…if you sit at a table and don’t know who the mark is, it’s you.

    Nice and comfy in your seat?

  43. AP says:

    Left, respectfully I don’t see it that way. I see our society as one that offers unlimited opportunity. There’s enough to go around. We can all be rich.

    Are there folks all across the country living parasitically on government support when they are in fact able to work and fend for themselves? Sure.

    I’m personally prospering and I support smart government program that increase market access and drive the economy while helping the most vulnerable.

  44. joyce says:

    One half of the population is supported by the other half.

    It’s worse than that. A number of industries do not produce anything of value nor provide a useful service… i.e. they are parasitic.

  45. leftwing says:

    “I see our society as one that offers unlimited opportunity.” Agree.

    “We can all be rich.” Disagree. Mathematically impossible. Life is a bell curve.

    “I support smart government program that increase market access and drive the economy while helping the most vulnerable.”

    You go. I am pulling for you to land at the top of every bracket below.

    Just note the highlighted text, the top 50% of taxpayers paid 97% of all personal income taxes, while the bottom 50% of taxpayers paid 3% of all personal income taxes.

    And, recall, that is among taxpayers, ie, not even accounting for those you see ‘living parasitically’.

    Let me get you a pillow for your seat at the poker table and a drink….

    https://taxfoundation.org/summary-latest-federal-income-tax-data-2018-update/#:~:text=In%202016%2C%20the%20top%2050,percent%20combined%20(30.5%20percent).

  46. AP says:

    I don’t know. For me the shift happened between the ages of 35 to around 40, where I realized it’s not about “them”, it’s about “me” and it’s about “us”.

    There’s no barrier, other than destiny perhaps, preventing me from building my life exactly the way I want it. The problem is not “Jose” or “Leroy” or even “Karen”. The key is finding the focus to get my work done with mastery and the time to enjoy the fruits of my labor : )

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  48. 3b says:

    Andre L But they are the radical left, they want to silence dissent. You must agree with them, or they will destroy you. They will tell you how you should think on every issue. Agree or stay silent. It’s happened before in history, which is why it’s a pity history is not valued in this country. Re-education camps, the gulag. The radical left claim to care about the poor and the working class, yet as history shows they slaughtered millions.

  49. 30 year realtor says:

    As one of those 50% paying 97% of the taxes, I am happy to contribute. It is a privilege.

    You angry white men who feel you are always being f*cked over by society are a bunch of snowflakes. Keep telling us how smart you are, how hard you have worked, how kind you have been to others and how under appreciated you are. As Junior Soprano would say, ” you are like a woman with a Virginia ham under her arm crying because she has no bread.”

  50. Chicago says:

    I am fatalistic about it. I think the well is poisoned. There is no other option because youth (especially this group) deals in absolutes. They need to get their way and be burned by it. It is the only way they will accept it.

    AP says:
    July 5, 2020 at 9:51 pm
    Chi, turning that around, what is the positive outcome you would hope to see instead? Apathetic and disengaged youth?

    I’m doing fairly well as a working stuff but so many “creampuff” youth are seeing their futures sold down the river

  51. homeboken says:

    We have watched an eerily similar election scenario play out very recently. It happened with our former colonizers in the UK.

    There was an extraordinarily vocal party that was certain, absolutely certain, that their candidate would win. That Britain would never Brexit. The papers, news channels, blogs and twitter feeds were loaded with this opinion. If you questioned it, you were wrong and branded “too dumb to realize the winds were changing” or worse “racists”

    Then the people voted. Not only did the Corbyn lose, the people voted in favor of Brexit.

    This is all feeling so similar to me. I wonder if the result will end up being the same.

  52. Phoenix says:

    “There’s no barrier, other than destiny perhaps, preventing me from building my life exactly the way I want it.”

    Marry someone that turns into a “Karen,” let the system do it’s thing to you and get back to me. You can see a lifetime of savings vaporize into thin air, and not recoverable when you are not 30 anymore. A “Karen” can set a pack of dogs on you with just a phone call.

    I’m okay with letting it burn. It was fine with lighting me on fire for no reason. Something needs to change.

  53. homeboken says:

    Every time I read a Phoenix post, I look at my wife with a deep suspicion. I am pretty sure I married better than he did, but I am suspect nonetheless

  54. Phoenix says:

    SomeOne

    “I hope you are not recommending the path of the moms you showed in the pic — 4 moms, 18 kids.”

    Do those 4 look like they could handle 18 kids between them? Or even one each? Do you think that children that see pictures like that find it funny? Maybe it’s not really a joke. Some people have to fight hard just for the ability to have/see their children. Just imagine having one of those 4 living with you every day and constantly complaining.

  55. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Lefty is absolutely killing it this morning. ESP this one…

    leftwing says:
    July 6, 2020 at 6:59 am
    It’s like the old poker saying…if you sit at a table and don’t know who the mark is, it’s you.

    Nice and comfy in your seat?

  56. Bystander says:

    I saw Ecodome in Westport, MA with two ten foot high Trump banners an Trump flag flying high. No joke. That has to be a sign of the end.

  57. The Great Pumpkin says:

    It’s why the left extremist mindset is so dangerous. They can’t accept the system for what it is. They romanticize about a utopian system where everyone is equal and rich. They are insane.

    ““We can all be rich.” Disagree. Mathematically impossible. Life is a bell curve.”

  58. The Great Pumpkin says:

    The guy always crying about others being racist brings race into it once again…

    30 year realtor says:
    July 6, 2020 at 8:39 am
    As one of those 50% paying 97% of the taxes, I am happy to contribute. It is a privilege.

    You angry white men who feel you are always being f*cked over by society are a bunch of snowflakes. Keep telling us how smart you are, how hard you have worked, how kind you have been to others and how under appreciated you are. As Junior Soprano would say, ” you are like a woman with a Virginia ham under her arm crying because she has no bread.”

  59. AP says:

    Phoenix, I may have hesitated for a beat before adding Karen to that line : )

    Joking aside, the war of the sexes proceeds at full speed in 2020. Scary, unfair stuff. Reforms are urgently needed everywhere we look it seems.

    That may be the impetus behind so much wingnut radicalism. Everyone is just fed up and lashing out. At a moment when calm deliberation and super-majoriries are most needed.

  60. Phoenix says:

    Pumpy,

    What exactly is “the system” and why should anyone accept it for “what it is?”

  61. AP says:

    Some people may say that a system where everyone is equal is utopian. Actually it is called the USA. Equality is one of the nation’s founding principles.

    But there’s a lot of misunderstanding about what the founding fathers meant by equality. It basically means that we all share commonalities, including in our differences. This is the basis from which we proceed.

    Regarding “everyone being rich” it is absolutely true. Infact even the poorest person in the USA is probably “rich” in a global standard. Project that outwards as technology evolves.

  62. Phoenix says:

    AP,

    “The system” as Pumpy calls it, is dysfunctional. It’s the reason people are using social media for justice, as the overpriced, slow moving justice for sale system is worthless.

    Look at this group of kids and what they are doing, and this is happening all over the country- I randomly picked one group. Law enforcement is busy dealing with single women calling them to fix a pipe or get a squirrel out of their attic plus dealing with false allegations of abuse like Central Park Amy Cooper.

    Kids like this are doing their job.
    https://bit.ly/3e5lN3s

  63. leftwing says:

    “As one of those 50% paying 97% of the taxes, I am happy to contribute. It is a privilege.”

    Very cool, and your perogative. Just take a quick look around – not even nationally, but just in this State – and see how the fruits of your (underscoring your) labors are spent.

    “You angry white men who feel you are always being f*cked over by society….”

    Back off. You know nothing of me, how I feel, or who I am. Most certainly I am not some ‘angry white guy’. And, in any case, as I grant you your viewpoint above, I am entitled to mine. Or have you so fully embraced Leftist dogma that you feel empowered to take that as well?

  64. leftwing says:

    “Regarding “everyone being rich” it is absolutely true. Infact even the poorest person in the USA is probably “rich” in a global standard. Project that outwards as technology evolves.”

    Agree, if you expand the data set (globally) then the US becomes the right hand tail of that bell curve and everyone is ‘rich’ relative to the 7 billion +/- people on the left.

    Equally interesting, which you touch upon, is measuring wealth longitudinally. Poor US citizens today are so ‘wealthy’ compared to the poor of a century ago.

    A logical conclusion of that analysis, however, is to de-emphasize the ‘wealth gap’. Try making a longitudinal argument on wealth in this environment, you’ll get your face ripped off by the Left and likely branded some -ist. Which of course will not be beneficial to that rosy personal future outlook.

  65. Fast Eddie says:

    As one of those 50% paying 97% of the taxes, I am happy to contribute. It is a privilege.

    Wanna buy a bridge?

  66. chicagofinance says:

    30: I am probably not one of the main targets of this post, but I do assume that I fall in your aim. Bear in mind that I need to stand down everywhere in my every day life right now. This forum is one of the few places I can vent. It is really troubling what I see out there among the pool of families and clients. I see some of the mistakes that young people are making, and I feel powerless to stop them because they do not see my life experience as wisdom, but rather part of an endemic long-standing conspiracy against what they perceive as their unearthed moral authority.

    The lesson is that their is no external moral authority. Others want to steal your money, time, passion, voice, vote.

    30 year realtor says:
    July 6, 2020 at 8:39 am
    You angry white men who feel you are always being f*cked over by society are a bunch of snowflakes. Keep telling us how smart you are, how hard you have worked, how kind you have been to others and how under appreciated you are.

  67. The Great Pumpkin says:

    So when are you giving up your status of being rich in support of the world being equal? When are you going to lower your living standard so someone can be equal with you? Equality in economics always sounds good when you are at the receiving end as opposed from the giving.

    “Regarding “everyone being rich” it is absolutely true. Infact even the poorest person in the USA is probably “rich” in a global standard. Project that outwards as technology evolves.”

  68. AP says:

    Left, I’m aware that to speak your mind these days risks attacks from all corners. That’s why I make a point of doing so. I try to approach it non-dogmatically and constructively so hopefully that option will remain open as we go into the future.

    Interesting point re wealth gap (which Im not quite ready to agree with yet) and always good to keep caution with excessively rosy outlooks. Reminds me of Hunter Thompson’s warnings about “meat hook realities” of the American Dream.

    Phoenix, I think civic engagement is key. Ask not what your country can do for you. We’ve gotten so cynical. It’s our democracy to fit for and keep. It’s gotten that serious, I think.

  69. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Capitalism…the greatest economic system man has ever created. It is not based on some naive view that everyone must be equal. Instead it focuses on what matters. It creates an environment where hard work, risk taking, luck, and intelligence are rewarded….and everyone is better off because of it. So focus on what matters, or destroy this system with economic equality. It does not function well when the reward is equality for your risks and hard work.

    Phoenix says:
    July 6, 2020 at 9:35 am
    Pumpy,

    What exactly is “the system” and why should anyone accept it for “what it is?”

  70. Bystander says:

    You have president tweeting out ‘white power’ videos during one of most fragile and angry times in American society. Let’s get rid of the guy and hopefully some of this will settle down. Even some of hardest right on this blog say “Trump is a morally bankrupt, moron but”..lets just leave the argument there. You can’t defend him. Get someone else in. For right, just hope Biden selects Duckworth and she might be president before 2022.

  71. Bystander says:

    Says the lying teacher, who has never competed in corp America a day in his life..plus used females around him to step up on the economic rung.

  72. Fast Eddie says:

    Let’s get rid of the guy and hopefully some of this will settle down.

    By all means, let it happen. But the real issues will remain. When every monument, statue, book, object, rock and counter thought is removed and deemed contentious, the laws of physics will still apply.

  73. homeboken says:

    chicagofinance says:
    July 6, 2020 at 9:55 am –
    ….hey do not see my life experience as wisdom, but rather part of an endemic long-standing conspiracy against what they perceive as their unearthed moral authority…..

    That post is very well stated Chi, you are not alone in those viewpoints. Same here.

  74. AP says:

    Fast, that is an Objectivism quote to a letter. I see you, man : )

    Objectivists spent a great deal of effort attempting to link the laws of physics, via Aristotle, to their conception of “enlightened selfishness”.

  75. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Ahh, no wonder you are a democrat, just another hater.

    That’s right, I’m destroying it because of passive income. Don’t you wish you were smart enough to start focusing on making money with your money when you were a teenager?

    Check out VWUAX. I absolutely knocked it out of the park on my wife’s 401k. I put 85% of her 401k in this fund at the bottom in 2015. Lovely chart, don’t you agree? This was based on my research and position that the major tech stocks would kill it back in 2015 when no one was high on them. Boy, did I nail that. They absolutely destroyed the rest of the market in the last 5 years. Not bad for a dumb (like you imply) teacher.

    Bystander says:
    July 6, 2020 at 10:11 am
    Says the lying teacher, who has never competed in corp America a day in his life..plus used females around him to step up on the economic rung.

  76. Phoenix says:

    Not to defend pumps here but does this not usually work the other way around and why is that okay? More women go/graduate from college today-there are women’s centers in colleges to help women, but if less men are going/graduating why no help for them?

    “plus used females around him to step up on the economic rung.”

  77. Phoenix says:

    “chicagofinance says:
    July 6, 2020 at 9:55 am –
    ….hey do not see my life experience as wisdom, but rather part of an endemic long-standing conspiracy against what they perceive as their unearthed moral authority…..

    That post is very well stated Chi, you are not alone in those viewpoints. Same here.”

    Third this. I see it happening with the youngsters I work with. They see the obstacles, but are so optimistic/no experience with real hardship so just don’t believe it could happen to them-like Corona virus.

  78. AP says:

    It started when kids got TVs in their own bedrooms. Even just watching shows and news and talking to your parents, laughing together, helps.

    Some of my fondest memories are of watching early Simpsons episodes with my parents on the family couch and cracking up.

  79. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Anyone want to share where they believe money should be invested over the next 5 years? I know based on the virus, it’s almost impossible to say, but you still have to make a choice and act on it. So just wondering what some people think.

  80. Bystander says:

    Phoenix,

    Let’s start with fact that for years he lied about killing it in the private sector while exposed that he could not support his family without his alpha wife. Start proclaiming how capitalism works for all. He is simply a parasite winding down days til he can suck off NJ taxpayers for rest of his life. Realize this buffoon is actually teaching kids..f-in scary.

  81. Fast Eddie says:

    AP,

    Fast, that is an Objectivism quote to a letter. I see you, man : )

    There are certain absolutes that can’t be disputed. You can accept evidence that leads to logical conclusions or take the appropriate-colored pill and escape reality. Everything else is an optical illusion designed to sway your mind from rational thought for the benefit of those more intelligent than their very own, ardent supporters.

  82. leftwing says:

    Chi, two more truthful statements were never spoken.

    I’m just trying to determine which one is more sad….

    “Bear in mind that I need to stand down everywhere in my every day life right now.”

    “I see some of the mistakes that young people are making, and I feel powerless to stop them because they do not see my life experience as wisdom, but rather part of an endemic long-standing conspiracy…”

  83. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Bystander,

    My wife and family are/were all doing well in the private sector. I wasn’t lying about it. My only lie was not saying I was a teacher for obvious reasons.

    Buffoon? Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it is telling. You represent the left, attack and pillage anyone that is not with you. You never see me being rude to other people on this blog despite their constant put downs…it is telling.

  84. AP says:

    Fast, I’m with you on having solid fundamentals.

    I can be an Idealist at times but I’m not a fan of “create your own reality” by any means, in the sense that there’s actual work that needs to be done in the real world so let’s get to it.

    Objectivism was an incredibly interesting philosophical experiment. It has had a lasting, although mostly ignored by scholars, impact on American culture. One day there will be a NetFlix docu on it I’m sure.

  85. Bystander says:

    My father came from nothing, worked his way up to service academy, went to night school at Columbia for MS, had 6 kids while running commercialmarine manufacturing companies for 40 years. He finally retires in Tampa at 72 and get his dream to own his own small boat on water. His reward? Surrounded by retired NJ cops, fireman and teachers in their 50s living same lifestyle. He admits it is insane.

  86. Juice Box says:

    Seems a bubble burst is coming to higher education. News is reporting college financial aid applications fell by nearly 50% nationwide.

  87. 1987 condo says:

    Bystander, I feel his pain. Grew up in NYC and brothers are retired FDNY with retired teachers as spouses. It is a constant internal battle not to dwell on the sizeable pensions and just how much cash they have coming in. My retirement goal is to make sure I do not live anywhere near where NYC employee retirees live, you end up feeling bad about your retirement savings!!!!

  88. AP says:

    To the great point made earlier about children refusing to take advantage of their parent’s hard won wisdom and the effect that has on a successful father’s psyche, please check out American Pastoral, by Philip Roth.

    It takes place in the sixties and follows the life of a first generation immigrant’s path to great success in the 1920-50s and the whirlwind that the sixties unleashes on a family.

    It has great New Jersey tidbits and scenes. Great meditation about themes often discussed in this blog.

  89. Hold my beer says:

    Ramen and prepper food.

    “The Great Pumpkin says:
    July 6, 2020 at 10:59 am
    Anyone want to share where they believe money should be invested over the next 5 years? I know based on the virus, it’s almost impossible to say, but you still have to make a choice and act on it. So just wondering what some people think.”

  90. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Should I feel guilty about a pension? If so, why should I?

    If being a teacher or cop is such a great job, why didn’t you do it? You think blue ribbon is killing it? Look at how much he has to sacrifice to support his family.

  91. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Hold,

    That’s probably really good advice…lol

  92. Bystander says:

    87,

    The only thing that binds this blog, left or right, seems to be the true enemy – public sector spending and polticial grift. This is at federal level and state levels. Military spending and govt spending is absolutely out of control. We do not have capitalism anymore. It is a tipping bridge waffling in either direction with the political winds – one side arguing less wealth tax and other saying more wealth tax. The spending is done and die is cast. Fed bailouts, govt. expansion and history of generous boomer benefits…the economic system matters not. Constantly trying to reward long-holding asset holders at expense of current gen will not work anymore. Kids have every reason to be p*ssed. They just has jobs pulled and we want them to pay for expensive housing, loan debt. All older crowd can say is they are glass-touchers..blah. SAMO SAMO argument always about prev gens. How is capitalism working for many under 35 crowd now? Fed lifting all boats then acting like investment genius ala Blumpy? He married up otherwise he would be on those protest lines as poor teacher. He is blind, as many bloodsuckers are..

  93. Bystander says:

    Dufus,

    How about you start doing it first since post all day? Report back. Wait, don’t do that.

  94. 3b says:

    Juice as in people are not applying for aid, or not applying to college.

  95. zapaza19 says:

    Couple things, reading the babble and such this morning…

    30 year must have a chemical imbalance due to drinking to much Kool-Aid. Man, if that was me being a realtor for 30 years, I would be long retired. Well, as a matter of fact, I am retired, except for the income stream derived from my rentals. I am also a boomer and proud of it. A generation never lived through so interesting time in modern history…Assasinations, wars, protests, NO INTERNET/SOCIAL BS, Woodstock, greatest music ever written and yes, we played outdoors all the time. Sticks and stones may break my bones….

    As to the readers of relative youth and inexperience here, I will comment to those that state we are the locust generation and the like: The boomers thought the same of the prior generation, not those that fought mightily in WWII, but the in-betweens. E.G., they bid the prices up of homes in the early eighties when I was just about ready for my first time purchase. Those in-betweeners created inflation that put us in 50% + tax brackets when we were only 23 year old rookies on our career paths. Those in-betweeners paid a FICA rate of just 1% starting out and then left the burden on us just as we will leave a burden on you.

    No doubt about it, the next generation younger than you guys will laugh straight in your face. Except you will still be snowflakes. Like to dish it out, but can’t handle it yourself.

  96. Bystander says:

    David Cross had a funny bit about raising his kids Amish. “Well, kids, 5 AM..time to get up and till the farm, plant the crops and milks the cows. Daddy is going back to bed. Oh, that is because Daddy was not raised Amish..sorry”

    This is America 2020. Everyone wants today’s kids to work harder, have less job stability, take on insane student debt and accept lower standard of living..hey but I was not raised that way…sorry.

  97. Hold my beer says:

    Pumps

    Hmart has Ottogi ramen on sale this month for $12.99 a case of 20 packs both mild and spicy jin ramen flavors normally $17.99. It’s a delicious brand. They even have flavors like sesame, seafood, black bean sauce, cheese, and more for about $5.99 or so a 5 pack. So far every flavor we’ve tried has been fantastic. Amazon wants $25-$28 a case of it prime for the mild or the spicy one.

    I grabbed 4 cases and a few 5 packs last friday.

  98. Bystander says:

    Zap,

    Sure those greedy kids raised like the Grapes of Wrath. They drove up house prices in early 80s when in their mid 40s…right. I seem to recall my parents buying for 37K in Morris County in ’72 and selling for 152k in 1987. Nice, let me ask my bro who lost $120k on his CT home after owning from 2010 – 2019. Its all the same times really..poor boomers too.

  99. leftwing says:

    Good comments today, By…in this one you literally answer your own question…

    “We do not have capitalism anymore. It is a tipping bridge waffling in either direction with the political winds….How is capitalism working for many under 35 crowd now?”

    It’s not. The bastardized system currently referred to as capitalism is no such thing.

    And I agree, whatever it is we have now, it’s not working for them.

  100. leftwing says:

    “This is America 2020. Everyone wants today’s kids to work harder, have less job stability, take on insane student debt and accept lower standard of living…”

    I truly don’t want that…philosophically or as the parent of two adult children, one of whom started his first full time job today.

    What I do want is for them to observe, reason, conclude and then act to take back the rights, obligations, and opportunities that will propel them to live better than their parents, rather than act like a bunch of whiny, entitled b1tches.

  101. leftwing says:

    Re: financial aid applications, wish I knew that earlier….I’m guessing that tidbit is behind CHGG’s recent move….

  102. leftwing says:

    For the home gamers…..

    Just threw on a low cost, high return TSLA short through options….this is entertainment money for me, like taking a box on Super Bowl Sunday…..

    It’s just so far out of reasonable norms right now….

    Absolutely all disclaimers apply on this one…..

  103. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Like the idea, but don’t have the balls.

    What if musk turns Tesla into the next Amazon, morphs it into some powerhouse company in multiple sectors/fields. Tesla might be a good long term bet if you think of it as betting on musk and whatever he does.

    leftwing says:
    July 6, 2020 at 1:16 pm
    For the home gamers…..

    Just threw on a low cost, high return TSLA short through options….this is entertainment money for me, like taking a box on Super Bowl Sunday…..

  104. homeboken says:

    Left – Did Elon send you the, officially licensed, uniform? The guy is a nut but at least he has a sense of humor, not just the shorts but also the purchase price $69.420 – expert level trolling by Musk.

  105. The Great Pumpkin says:

    This cleansing of higher education by capitalism is going to be good for one group; college graduates. I assume less people will graduate from college leading to less competition for degree holders. Also, the quality of graduate will go up as crappy schools will go the way of the dinosaur.

  106. leftwing says:

    Out. 19 bucks down from entry. booyah.

    like taking the Pats with points.

  107. AP says:

    Lucian K. Truscott IV is a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson. He just wrote a remarkable op-ed in the NYT proposing replacing the Jefferson Monument with a statue of Harriet Tubman.

    https://nyti.ms/38wl2iP

  108. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Nice move!

    https://youtu.be/lAD6Obi7Cag

    leftwing says:
    July 6, 2020 at 2:19 pm
    Out. 19 bucks down from entry. booyah.

    like taking the Pats with points.

  109. AG says:

    There won’t be a political solution to any of this. USA will be Balkanized.

    Our future consists of these trends if you look at Europe.

    1. Digital currency
    2. 400% tax increases
    3. Universal basic income. Basically sit at home and enjoy TV
    4. Mandatory vaccines
    5. Deindustrialization for the purpose of depopulation
    6. War

    So get a dam gun. Learn how to shoot it. If you are young enough that’s the cards you’ve been dealt. So play them.

  110. Bystander says:

    left,

    Absolutely right. What every parent wants. We keep sawing off the rungs and expecting a magic bullet comes later. I truly feel for the kids with poor working parents, immigrants, or just plain moron parents who don’t know how to guide at such a young age. The consequences are some much higher, nearly life or death. Run in with the law at 17? Better hope you don’t have record. Have a bk early in life? Tsk..tsk. Can’t pay your student loans? Ah,ah,ah…we won’t hire you. All of those questions now appear on hiring form for any decent job application. Imagine you go on the digital fire heap with any Y answer.

  111. grim says:

    What’s wrong with mandatory vaccines? We already have mandatory vaccines.

    Mandatory vaccines are a good thing. The fact that you even mention this invalidates your entire argument. Please spare me personal choice.

  112. leftwing says:

    LOL, what a trading session….need some of SX’s best to decompress.

  113. 3b says:

    30 Year : So are you saying that the likes of Fast, myself,Grim, Lib, Chgo, and others don’t have reason to be proud of all of our hard work and efforts, some of us came from blue collar modest backgrounds, some perhaps even less than modest backgrounds. Are you saying working hard and doing the right thing means nothing and that we should expect nothing for our efforts, for playing by the rules? What if we and millions of others did just the bare minimum or nothing at all? Where would we as a society be?

  114. 3b says:

    Bought first house in 87, fell for the buy now or be priced out forever. What a laugh! My brother paid 120k for a co op in Westchester sold it for 40k.

    Prices were correcting after the housing bust in 07, until the Fed put a floor under them, and than pumped prices up again. Millennials have a right to be pissed about that, some are buying and than of course they too won’t want prices to go down, but WFH will bring prices down when those savvy enough to see realize they now have options.

  115. leftwing says:

    “My brother paid 120k for a co op in Westchester sold it for 40k…Prices were correcting after the housing bust in 07, until the Fed put a floor under them, and than pumped prices up again. Millennials have a right to be pissed about that, some are buying…when those savvy enough to see realize they now have options.”

    Part of the great millennial migration to secondary cities……People adapt.

    The home price volatility in the NYC/SF, etc areas is much higher. Combine with higher nominal cost and you are at risk of a much more dramatic decline in both percentage and $.

    If you don’t need to be tethered to a specific city and you can arb your comp why wouldn’t you? Better quality of life sooner with less risk. I have three family members in their 20s who moved to flyover country. Oncology pharmacist, corporate sales, and software developer. Each is location mobile with a small or no discount.

    The last one is fresh out of school. Took a little less than a 20% hit from the top salary scale NY/SF. Just signed a lease on a 1BR in a modern building, top location, in his new city and purchased a new vehicle ($40k MSRP). His monthly vehicle payment is less than it would cost him to commute to Manhattan by NJT. He is paying in rent for his own apartment what his IB and software peers are paying for a shared place in the city. His entire commute time is less than it takes to walk from NYP to Midtown East. And there is no train commute on either side of it, scheduled for 53 minutes (express) on NJT and always at risk of ballooning to 1:15 or better. Each way.

    When it comes time to buy, same deal. Lower cost, lower variability, better ratio of comp to higher end home price. A 66% decline in value would be unfathomable, prices are much more stable and simply have not run up to the degree to present that risk.

    Most of the broader circle of these kids I know who have moved on to these types of cities have no regrets. One or two of them, maybe at first, until they become aware with their first paychecks of personal budgets, expenditures, savings, and quality of life as they communicate with their peers.

    The kids will be alright. We already know in many fundamental ways their views and pathways differ from ours. Why would we expect different with housing. We were sold on the “must be here, buy before it’s too late FOMO”. They’re smarter.

  116. AG says:

    Grim,

    Re: mandatory vaccines

    You put way too much faith in the FDA. You can get your mandatory vaccine.

    Naive is not an acceptable excuse for child abuse.

    A lot of you people need to grow up real quick. Truth is stranger than fiction

  117. grim says:

    Yeah, I suppose you are right, Bill Gates and all.

  118. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    Vaccines have enabled us to wipe diseases like polio and the measles off the continent.

  119. joyce says:

    AP,
    What are your thoughts on America, freedom and mandatory vaccinations?

  120. Libturd says:

    There is absolutely zero evidence that vaccines are harmful in any way. If you think otherwise, you are one of two things. A moron or a personal injury lawyer.

    Just caught up on another two or three days of posts. Some interesting new topics being bought up and consensus seems to be forming around millenials not being as stupid as many of us thought they were.

    On the college front. Spoke with two different parents of seniors who will be having their kids wait a year (hopefully for Covid to resolve) before spending 25-50K for them to take Zoom courses. I would not read too much into the financial aid application drop. It’s definitely temporary.

    On the local Facebook group for Montclair, a relatively recent Montclair High School graduate has just dropped some mad truth on the community. I couldn’t agree more with his line of thinking. Though controversial, it is spot on.

    “You live In Montclair for a reason. You wanted the “diversity” (why have a token black friend, when you can have a token black community). You posted BLM in 2015. You probably where a hippie in the 70’s. But when push came to shove, you buckled up and got down to business. For yourself. Upper Montclair has a Median income of 190k. That money wasn’t made fighting for soc1al justice. It was made fighting for you, and your family, and your creativity, and whatever else people of privilege (including my self, as child of a ivy league graduate) have the rare ability to focus on. When PAARC testing “jeopardized” your child’s education, y’all didn’t march. You didn’t complain. You acted. Y’all drove to Trenton, filled the school board meetings to the brim, you found policies and legal precedent. You did everything in your being to help your wealthy, intelligent child “stay on track”. And then, standardized testing, something I took every single year of my life across multiple school districts was optional. A federally mandated test became optional. Why? How? Because powerful people cared. Why don’t we see the same for black people in Montclair? Because you simply don’t care. 5 years ago the Pathmark that served your token black community closed down. You did nothing. Within that time A&P (that’s .3 miles away from another grocery store and in the wealthier, whiter part of town) became ACME within a week of closing. A historic inn was literally picked up, moved, and rebuilt. A hotel with a rooftop bar was opened, new construction on walnut, new arts district in Seymour, Wellmont Theatre remodeled, brand new condos across from mission street, Walnut street, and many other developments. Y’all even reopened your movie theater. The Bellevue theatre. Think about that. Let that sit. People have to Uber their way to already unaffordable groceries, and you not only reopened but remodeled your MOVIE THEATER? Even in with a global pandemic that has done cataclysmic damage to the film industry The Bellevue Theatre has plans to reschedule its opening to 2021. Still no grocery store. 5 years. In your own FRONTyard. You don’t care. You all March, chant, repost, and put signs on your front yard but you don’t actually give a heck. Montclair is comprised of lawyers, producers, businesspeople, government and officials and more. You have the power to do something, yet you only say something. You are Micheal Jordan in game 7 sitting on the bench. You’ve used ME to fuel your vanity. You say you love Montclair because me and your white kid got a chance to have similar opportunities. I am telling you, objectively, that is untrue. A relatively small number of my friend from Montclair are black. And we all share the same experiences that are completely unique to the town you love. Those experiences where not pleasant. We are not your token. I don’t identify with you. I’m not a “Montclairian”. And it’s not “karen” asking for a permit that has distanced me from you. It’s not the racist police department that arrested me twice before the end of 7th grade without any cause whatsoever, detaining me for 6+ hours, and illegally forcing me to sign away my rights to be in certain public places. Not even them. It’s you, with your BLM sign on your yard, a gay pride bumper sticker on your Subaru. It’s you who invested your hard owned money in a movie theatre but simply shakes your head and sighs at the the strategic loss of a grocery store. It’s you who quietly watches your property value rise, while loudly chanting against systematic oppression. It’s not Minneapolis, that’s brings me to the brink of losing hope. It’s Montclair. It’s you.”

    Shorting Tesla. Crazy. Fundamentally logical. But, crazy. Congrats.

    Gator Junior worked his first day of day camp today. The Covid-protection rules established are worse than anything even Governor Knucklehead has come up with. My son got stuck inside the rocketry room all day. Only the counselors were wearing masks. The kids had to wear them walking to the room. Once in the room, they removed them. I’m guessing the first case of Covid will end the camp and all camps. We’ll give it two weeks. The numbers are pretty low now, so perhaps none of the kids will bring it with them to camp.

    In other news, our Intex pool really is an incredibly engineering feet. How this thing stays up is beyond me? Especially considering how uneven the lawn ended up being after we assembled and filled it. Whenever we are in it (which is every day), all I keep thinking is that the whole family is going to end up in the hedges one day.

    One final thing. As I watched the end of Hamilton and then clicked around to some fun shorts on Disney+. I think this station is going to be very hot as is the the Apple TV. Almost like NetFlix and Amazon are the new ABC and NBC and Apple and Disney are the HBO and Showtime of the 80s. May look into investing in Disney if price comes to poppa.

    How about Amazon? May be my best stock ever (besides CMG). Until it gets broken up, which it probably won’t. Perhaps they should pay some taxes at least?

  121. AP says:

    Joyce, on one hand I’d say it’s a bit early since we don’t even have a vaccine yet, let alone a mandate. But it is an interesting topic and mandates are complex, specialty when it pertains to the sanctity of people’s bodies.

    Individuals and families tend to be the best judge of how to achieve happiness. But in this case it seems some people’s choices can bring harm to others. So is there a clear reason to limit the freedom of one to protect the right to safety of another?

    The proper role of government is to protect our natural rights from infrigement, with our consent, so it’s a question of trust. I believe that if a vaccine will be widely deployed, let alone mandated, it should be made “open source” so independent labs can verify the components, etc.

    In the past certain exceptions have been carved out for a type of “conscientious objectors” for mandates, but I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

    What do you think?

  122. Fabius Maximus says:

    Ayn Rand Institute taking PPP. Not a surprise in many ways. Objectivism is just Grift without Remorse.

    Back from a week Social Distancing at the beach. I needed that. It was good that they cut the capacity of the car parks in half. If you cant park, you cant stay.

  123. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    I’ve always said that they should tie your child tax credit to vaccinations. That will solve the problem.

  124. Fabius Maximus says:

    On vaccines, I’m still under the agreement with “Still Looking” (from back in the day) where we agreed a “cessation of discussion”. I will still keep the spirit of that agreement.

    I’ll post this and ask you to compare US vs UK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccination_schedule
    I always said that US took a bazooka to an issue that never needed it. Healthcare lobbies?

  125. BoomerRemover says:

    You guys remember that one guy who worked at Adobe in NYC and purchased in Clark, NJ. He hated his commute so much he started an Instagram account about it and got picked up by news outlets. He used to get home after 7:30PM on the regular. Wife said they needed to buy now because they were expecting and needed the space. But of course, the space!

    I rent 3 miles from the office and cycle in when the weather is nice. I must confess, the missus and I are growing weary of our somewhat rental fabulous abode.

  126. BoomerRemover says:

    AG the next thing we’re going to find out about you is that you’re a chiropractor.

    I remember being slumped over a recliner at Lenox Hill comparing vaccination tables like it was yesterday.

  127. grim says:

    On the local Facebook group for Montclair, a relatively recent Montclair High School graduate has just dropped some mad truth on the community. I couldn’t agree more with his line of thinking. Though controversial, it is spot on.

    Montclair is the most segregated community in NJ. Said this on FB the other day, got all sorts of nastygrams. Kid is 100% right.

  128. grim says:

    First off, you can’t compare vaccine schedules from around the world, there are regional differences that need to be considered, for example, the prevalence of Hepatitis in the US. In addition, there are socioeconomic costs to be balanced around the world, where they simply can’t afford the cost. US schedule is looked at as the global gold standard. Many European countries are shifting to match the US schedule, as are the other highly developed countries around the world. You could argue the lack of a required HPV vaccine is evidence of sexism in medicine around the world. Sorry that preventing cervical cancer isn’t a priority everywhere else. Would imagine there are wide swaths of Africa where they would simply prefer women with HPV to die.

  129. Libturd the generous says:

    I am in full support of paying for the establishment and operation of Moron Island (we could probably use Staten Island for this, since many of the residents already fit the profile). If you want to make believe vaccines are dangerous, then you can move in alongside like-minded individuals on Moron Island. You may leave whenever you like as long as you are vaccinated. I would highly recommend you choose to leave early though, as you will undoubtedly die from multiple diseases if you choose to remain. It’s your choice, of course. We wouldn’t want to take your freedom to kill yourself away.

  130. leftwing says:

    Lib, yeah, threaded that TSLA trade yesterday….I have a watchlist 23 names deep of stocks I’ve traded over time that I know well and provide good signals….TSLA is longer term bull but was flashing short term red yesterday around noon or so…good thing I was in front of my screen…

    Markets are bullish but on edge….my day started yesterday with shorting futures at 9:56-9:59….look at the one minute bar at 10:00…well there’s a gut punch lol. Piece of meaningless data moved it seven handles before reverting….expect a lot of chop in larger trends….Notable VIX is stubbornly hanging around 30 despite runup……I miss ExPat, he had great views into VIX. VXX, etc

  131. leftwing says:

    Re: C19 vaccine…..I’ll throw some bullet points out later but as I said as early as March….not going to be anywhere first in line for that shot. Anyone wants to take my place, it’s yours…..

  132. JCer says:

    Not sure I understand the bazooka reference. The vaccines are safe, the cost is low and the cost of treatment is way higher than the vaccines. I’m no fan of forced vaccinations but those who don’t get the vaccines for these serious diseases are crazy. I think the flu vaccine is crap so I don’t get it, it usually makes me feel unwell for a day or 2 and it has a low probability of actually working in a given year.

  133. grim says:

    Anyone wants to take my place, it’s yours…..

    I’ve signed up for two trials.

  134. Libturd says:

    Little known fact about ExPat. Dude didn’t sleep much. He would listen to his financial TA podcasts/reports from about 7pm to midnight and then would wake up at around 5am to catch the morning reports. He was stubbornly conservative, as he was managing his dear Aunt’s multi-million portfolio, but this is what made him so good at it. He was an investing robot. Though, at the end of the day, we both had to agree that both of our methods (his TA and my FA) worked due to one trait. Both of us were extremely disciplined and kept our risks low. If we were baseball coaches, every game would have ended 1-0. I do miss the dude immensely and feel terribly for his daughters. His widow was extremely sharp though, so they’ll do alright.

    In local news, hearing of more families struggling by the week. As usual, too many supposedly wealthier without an emergency fund. I can only imagine how much better life would be for all if debt wasn’t available.

  135. Juice Box says:

    Today is my kids second day at camp. The local Police were there to observer their procedures at the drop off. Taking temps etc, all camp counselors were wearing masks outside, some had gloves.

    I will find out tonight when I speak to the owner but I would wager some busy body probably called the police because they saw bunch of kids having fun or perhaps their kids did not get in because enrollment is limited. We paid the year up in full in January for the discount so we were first in line.

    This was their last ditch effort of the owners to stay in business. They were lucky as they were able to move camp at the last minute to the next town over. That town’s mayor and township committee agreed to closed down the summer program and the pool club do to lack of guidance from the governor and lack of interest in local residents paying the seasonal membership as town need to collect sufficient revenue to run the self-sustaining pool club.

    I have a feeling that the locals are going to put the screws to the town over this, since the camp is private and paying rent for the season. I have no idea if their contract is monthly or whatever with any out clause for the town we shall see.

  136. JCer says:

    Agreed leftwing, I wouldn’t want to be the guinea pig for this vaccine, adverse reactions can happen.

    As predicted weeks ago the BLM movement has heaped suffering and misery on minority communities By advocating for the elimination of the police and causing the police to stand down. Does anyone want to concede that I had a point. Look at the excess violent crime vs last year, still want to defund the police? Once deBlasio gets done we will be hoping to get Dinkins back.

  137. JCer says:

    Grim the average lefty from Montclair is so awkward around people of color it makes me uncomfortable, I can’t imagine how the actual black persons feels being strong these people. They are unable to relate in any kind of a normal way.

    Lib, the issue isn’t debt, it’s how people think about money, debt should be reserved for limited things and not used as a way of life. You should keep critical assets safe. I didn’t know about expat, sorry to hear that, he was one of the more interesting posters. Do any of us sleep much, 5-6 hours of sleep is about as much as I get, need to talk to India in the mornings and my boss is on the west coast so the day is obscenely long.

  138. Libturd says:

    JCer,

    Increase in crime might not be due to any change in policing. There is no causation. It’s been a hot dry Summer. It’s just as likely the lack of rain or even intentional false reporting or more likely, negative economic conditions are causing the crime increase as they always do. As for the actual defunding? Very, very few are saying completely stop funding them. That is another right wing narrative of fear. Defund the police, if you stop to read a liberal viewpoint, means things like, funding mental health and other soc1al workers where police and their paramilitary training simply don’t work, for one example.

    Do I trust the vaccine producer? Enough where I think the risks outweigh the continued deterioration of our economy. And I know that these pharma companies have a knack for covering up nasty side effects in the name of the almighty dollar. I know, as my ach1lles tendon rupture was most likely the result of having been prescribed C1pro for a particularly nasty sinus infection that just would not react to weaker anti-biotics. Though, if I had the choice between suffering with my sinus infection vs. the PITA that the rupture, surgery and year of daily physical therapy was. I certainly would have endured the headaches and low grade fever.

    In the particular case of C19. I would like to think that there will be a LOT of fast-tracked testing since this vaccine represents a sort of saving of the world. I’m not sure it will be THAT profitable. There are certainly economic issues that should control this tendency. As for long term side effects? After billions of vaccinations, it’s hard to find any real examples. Billions!

    As for the flu vaccine. It is proven that one, it does reduce the likelihood you will get the flu and two, shortens the duration of the flu in most cases by half. I never took the vaccine until the early 90s when I got a particularly nasty case of it in a particularly nasty year for the flu. I think I had it once in college too, but didn’t prove it at the doc as I was broke. Since then, I’ve gotten the flu shot ever year, and have now gone 27 years without it. Sadly, the use of the vaccine has dropped from 60% to 40% in the United States increasing the likelihood more people will get it. Also, whenever someone I know gets the flu, they almost always have not had the shot, though people LIKE TO LIE and claim they have since they feel stupid for not having gotten the shot and then getting the flu. I know it’s anecdotal, but I’d be willing to bet that lots and lots of people claim they had the shot but didn’t, making the data look worse for supports of the flu shot. To each their own of course, though without any proven long-term side effects, I say, “why not?”

  139. Libturd says:

    JCER,

    Besides getting up to pee a few times each night. I too am in the 6 hour sleep club for the most part.

  140. Libturd, Booyah says:

    The continued disconnect between the heavily FAANG weighted Nasdaq and the DOW/S&P indices is getting worrisome. I may lighten my Amazon and FB positions shortly.

  141. JCer says:

    Lib in nyc they reduced police funding and there has been a dramatic rise in gun violence. It’s wishful thinking that there is no connection. Furthermore defund the police rhetoric is being explained away, conceptually the idea is fewer beat cops. Just the choice of phase indicates the thought process, it’s not reform or reorganize, its defund, words matter. This woke bs is a problem and as soon as someone like Terry Crews says something about it all of the sudden he’s an Uncle Tom. It’s a divisive movement bent on reforms that will cause more pain and suffering than anything else. Just like the anti vaxxers these people are idiots, a cop kills someone so the answer is to get rid of cops or stop arresting people. Then politicians take this and try to brand it as reform not what the original intent was.

  142. Fast Eddie says:

    Lib,

    Increase in crime might not be due to any change in policing. There is no causation. It’s been a hot dry Summer. It’s just as likely the lack of rain or even intentional false reporting or more likely, negative economic conditions are causing the crime increase as they always do.

    If you’re a cop and worried about getting killed or arrested for doing your job every time you clock in, aren’t you going to avoid policing at all costs? The wonderful liberal media is defending the “protesters” and painting ALL police as rac1st murders. Come on Lib, stop thinking with your bias.

  143. leftwing says:

    “I’ve signed up for two trials.”

    LOL, assume you haven’t been accepted into both….if so, right there is a major problem….

  144. Fast Eddie says:

    Montclair and diversity: The white liberals make it well-known that they live in Upper Montclair and love the fact that taxes and high prices will keep the lesser masses from infiltrating. And I have to chuckle when I bike ride through the towns around me and see BLM signs on a few lawns or when I see a few teenage little Karen wannabes holding signs up. It’s like something to do because it’s the latest fad and they want to be included in social circles and feel popular. The media has truly destroyed this country.

  145. Phoenix says:

    “Just like the anti vaxxers these people are idiots, a cop kills someone so the answer is to get rid of cops or stop arresting people.”

    The answer is and always was for the justice system to do its job. But it continues to fail. Amy Cooper is charged with a misdemeanor. Big deal. Look what it took for them to do it. Taking bets she gets little to no jail time. So much for a deterrent.

  146. Phoenix says:

    Eddie,
    You would never feel the same way around police if you experienced what I did. And I practically glow in the dark at night.
    They remind me of pit bulls. Seem friendly and safe-even potentially helpful.
    Until something triggers them- and it does not have to be you……

  147. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Like…no sh!t. If anyone thinks China is not looking for world domination, I have a bridge to nowhere for sale at a great price. If there is one thing to be grateful for with trump, he got the ball rolling on China before it is too late.

  148. Chicago says:

    It’s always right there just a stone’s throw away.

    FabMax knows this like the back of his hand.

    Don’t be fooled by all the altruistic rhetoric. There is a whole lot of other stuff too.
    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29422431/eagles-desean-jackson-says-hate-jewish-community-posting-anti-semitic-messages%3Fplatform%3Damp

  149. The Great Pumpkin says:

    And here we are destroying our own country and worrying about bs, when China is preparing to dominate us. The left is going to get a beautiful taste of socia!ism if they keep this up.

  150. Fast Eddie says:

    You would never feel the same way around police if you experienced what I did.

    I’m pretty pale myself. And, I have a few stories as well. I certainly didn’t grow up in some suburban utopia that resembled Pleasantville.

  151. Phoenix says:

    Then they come at you in a pack demanding things, telling you what you are going to do or else.
    Next you are dumped into the system, where if you are accused you are treated like feces.
    Then, if you can afford it, you hire someone who is more concerned with your assets before they even want to associate with you- as their goal is to exsanguinate you of all they can take from you and place into their pockets under the guise of helping you. And don’t you dare not show up with one of these parasites as the robed ones don’t like to talk with mere mortals without a degree from Rosetta Stone in Latin.

    When this group of pit bulls are done with you-they either drag you to jail if you are guilty, or simply walk away if you are not. Don’t even expect a sorry from them. All they will do is take a dump with whatever flesh they ingested of yours right next to your bleeding body.

  152. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Phoenix,

    None of this will matter if China wins. They have been and continue to come for your dinner plate. People need to wake the f up and worry about what really matters. Putting food on the table with a job. China keeps taking jobs, and the left keeps blaming rich people for their lack of opportunity with good jobs…open your eyes, it’s not the rich, it’s China.

  153. Phoenix says:

    Eddie,
    “I’m pretty pale myself. And, I have a few stories as well. I certainly didn’t grow up in some suburban utopia that resembled Pleasantville.”

    I believe you. No doubt you worked hard to get where you are. Bypassing taxes, imagine the majority of your wealth being stolen with the help of law enforcement and the system, all under the guise of “protecting you.” Not including having them take away and threaten that you will never see your loved ones again under the guise of “protecting them.” Then later, when they realize it’s all bull, it’s like, no harm, no foul. See ya and feel grateful that we figured this out cause you could have lost even more.

    Sorry, I’ll pass and take my chances.

  154. Hold my beer says:

    Sorry to hear about ex-pat. I thought he was just taking a break from here.

  155. Fast Eddie says:

    Phoenix,

    That s.ucks and I do get it. I’m not a big fan of “law enforcement”. I’m just trying to put myself in their position and imagining the mindset and what they now face due to the epic shift in perception. I grew up with a few guys that were cops, good guys. Not all are assh0les. Most of them are just trying to do their jobs and the media has created a mob mentality, unfairly to some.

  156. Phoenix says:

    Pumps,
    I don’t care about China. Ha-ha-ha— How the USA is going to block TikTok cause the Chinese are gathering data about Americans. So a Chinese guy knows my friends and what I watch on TV? But they don’t block Google, Apple, Amazon, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T from tracking me and everything I do, cause that is okay? All of those companies help do an end run around laws that protect your privacy-because you give them permission-and you need them.

    The worst enemy you will ever encounter is the one closest to you-don’t blame China, its American greed that allowed them to prosper.

  157. ExEssex says:

    Whew. The breathtaking impropriety of the tax payer funded bailout going to who?
    Come on guys this level of graft is unprecedented.

  158. Phoenix says:

    Eddie,
    The only ones I care about are the one’s I dealt with.
    The rest I don’t care if they defecate rainbow skittles. They were not there.
    It’s a done deal.

  159. joyce says:

    Eddie,
    If cops do not want to do the job, they should quit. Just like teachers and your idea of working longer days/more days per year.

  160. ExEssex says:

    I moved to a little coal town when I was “15”. Loved it. Had family there and was treated liked royalty. I was very different than the other kids, played guitar, liked literature, knew history…etc etc. There was a dad that simply forbid me to date his daughter. That was a bummer. everyone in that little town went to church. many assumed I was somehow part of their ‘end of days’ scheme others were pretty sure my ancestors killed Christ. It was tough. I learned to fight with my fists as a little kid and I used that skill repeatedly in that region. I went on to go to state schools, my folks weren’t wealthy. I got lots of help along the way. The help has never stopped. I’ve got an amazing life. I’m filled with contradictions like most people. My mind is changeable. My folks did the best they could, but I’m pure GenX and that means I really don’t care about bringing monuments down, I have always hated authority, I’m a bit of a heartless prick when I have to be (self-preservation). I love Taratino films, rockn roll, and tall gorgeous women. So sue me.

  161. The Great Pumpkin says:

    It’s become clear as day that China has dangerous ambitions. It’s clear as day that they are taking food off your plate. Yet, you worry about American corporations and blame them for taking food off your plate.

    You know why they helped China? They thought with a higher standard of living, they would become a more democratic govt and open up their market to the world. It didn’t work out like that, they played us from day 1. Hidden agenda while they grew in power at our expense. Now, they are no longer hiding it, they are in a position of power and acting on it. This is their world, and we are just living in it.

  162. Fast Eddie says:

    Joyce,

    No problem. Let ’em quit.

  163. leftwing says:

    Re: C19 vaccine…kind of stream of consciousness……

    For background…I am no anti-vaxxer. My kids have all been vaccinated for everything, I do flu shots annually. My career was spent in the executive suites of healthcare companies, including biotech. My very first transaction (but not last in the space) was a CRO running a postmarketing (“Phase IV”) study on a new statin.

    Why will I avoid any initial C19 vaccine?

    The cumulative effect of a number of unique factors moves the risk from minute to potentially meaningful.

    Which factors?

    Pressured Timeline. The process timeline is hyper-compressed, not just for research but even more meaningful for large scale manufacture. I don’t bring my car into the dealer for tuneup late on a Friday afternoon and insist it needs to be done in the next 30 minutes. Not going to do the equivalent with an Rx in my body.

    Novel Delivery/Mechanism of Action. Among the few leading candidates only one or two use traditional protein delivery mechanisms. The others are mechanisms that have not been used before, eg mRNA. The one candidate using proteins is derived from insect cell lines, to accommodate the manufacturing timeline, which hasn’t been done before.

    Novel Manufacturing Processes. Same arguments as above, with the added point that two of the most likely candidates – from Novavax and Moderna – come from companies who have not only never manufactured any Rx but have not had any of their products approved. Added kicker, the protein based Rx is from Novavax who has only had two PhIII clinicals, both for one candidate, and each failed. The second one miserably after a misread of the first study’s data.

    We Don’t Know Jack. In just today’s news (i) one of the most informed parties on C19 (Gottlieb) stating that antibodies may not be conferring immunity but it may in fact be T-Cells particularly in youth and (ii) there is open disagreement at the highest official medical levels about the primary method of transmission, surface contact or aerosol. Folks, we are six months into this virus with 11m+ cases and 500k deaths and we still don’t know why some cohorts are effectively immune and exactly how the virus is transmitted. Wow. Let me repeat for emphasis…we don’t know jack about this virus.

    CEO and Companies Don’t Know Jack. No hating here, just facts. They put their pants on in the morning just like we do. Think of something you do incredibly well over a long period of time. Then recall a number of times you screwed it up, missed something, discovered something new, or had results that were wildly different than your best planning indicated. Same for these Px CEOs, companies, and clinicians. Now overlay the pressures above on them – compressed timeline, novel systems, new manufacturing methods on large scale, and societal pressure. Ooof.

    Listen, if the situation were that Merck or Pfizer, two highly experienced players in developing and manufacturing vaccines with a century of history and dozens of successful novel drug discoveries and manufacture, developed a vaccine with manufacture and delivery on existing platforms and had a year to do so, yes, I’ll likely take it.

    The C19 vaccine situation is the polar opposite of that scenario.

    So, as I stated in the opening, I’ll pass because the cumulative effect of a number of unique factors moves the risk from minute to potentially meaningful.

    I thank anyone willing to be a guinea pig and the early adopters. But for me, no needle is coming near my arm until at least Nov 2021….

  164. ExEssex says:

    The thing is life as Eddie will tell you is a bitch. Its not easy. There are challenges at ever turn. I love my kid but have noticed that the younger generation sees competition differently than we did. They are also more sensitive and more vocal about their feelings. I also understand mental health is a topic of discussion.

    As the older Gen we never talked about mental health. We talked ‘experiences’ that may have contributed to some issues, but the whole ‘illness’ thing just wasn’t discussed. I sincerely believe that the kiddos all feel that they are afflicted somehow?

    Perhaps it is some pervasive PTSD following 9/11. I don’t know. All I know is that they are being born into a very different world than we were. They have to adjust to things that we didn’t. They are looking for us to validate and acknowledge their disposition.

    I’m just hoping we can right the ship, It is sinking.

  165. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Wray said Americans should keep three things in mind:

    China’s leaders believe they are in a “generational fight” to make China the “world’s only superpower by any means necessary.”

    Beijing uses a diverse set of methods to achieve its goals, including economic espionage, intelligence gathering, pushing for censorship at universities, and “malign foreign influence,” referring to covert and coercive attempts to make powerful people advocate for China’s interests in the U.S.

    China is taking advantage of America’s open system, while preserving its own closed system, such as by working through ostensibly private Chinese companies to achieve state goals.

  166. ExEssex says:

    And now this…. Johnny Depp today claimed he decided to divorce Amber Heard after she defecated in their marital bed ‘as a prank’ as he denied hitting her and said that she had abused him throughout their marriage.

  167. JCer says:

    No defense of law enforcement, again I’m not necessarily the biggest fan, the system is not aligned towards justice more towards revenue and protecting vested interests not people. The people on the streets are just that, they largely follow orders and procedure, they definitely think there are two sets of rules one for cops and one for everyone else. Most are not bad people, they operate with their interests in mind that means following orders and not rocking the boat.

    Cops aren’t quitting, again see people looking out for their interests. What we have seen since BLM has come on the scene is a detachment, police have been avoiding areas of high crime. The data bares this out, there was another study recently out of Harvard by Roland Freyer which correlates the rise of BLM to an increase in criminal activity in predominantly black neighborhoods. Don’t engage, those cops in Atlanta probably wish they just let Rayshard sleep it off as this will ruin their life. Why bother doing your job, these are government employees, if the powers that be back off, the rank and file certainly don’t care and will be happy to load and get paid for it.

  168. Juice Box says:

    Ohhh you will get your vaccine and you will like it! People will line up for it because if you don’t get it you won’t be allowed to work, and your kids won’t be able to attend school.

    Back in 2009 the killer H1N1 Swine flu they were giving out LAIV for Live Attenuated Influenza Nasal injections at every corner pharmacy of FluMist aged 5 to 49 only allowed because it was so dangerous.

  169. Phoenix says:

    Pumps, go join the military and fight the Chinese.

  170. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Phoenix,

    I just see China for the threat that they are. No idea why most Americans think nothing of it.

  171. A Home Buyer says:

    Left,

    So what your saying is there is still hope for a zombie apocalypse, ala Krippin Virus “I am Legend” style, but maybe with a bug twist and they grow wings?

    I’m glad there is still something to look forward too in this world!

  172. China Rx II says:

    https://www.sbc.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/1/c/1c39a1bc-f22c-4178-951e-29b92dcb2182/3AD9C94FB267763A83913E2303A6A772.gibson-testimony.pdf

    Testimony of Rosemary Gibson
    Author, China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America’s Dependence on China for Medicine
    Before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship The Coronavirus and America’s Small Business Supply Chain March 12, 2020
    Thank you, Chairman Rubio, Senator Cardin, and Committee Members for the opportunity to testify today. I am Rosemary Gibson, Senior Advisor at the Hastings Center and author of China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America’s Dependence on China for Medicine. I am not paid by any industry or government entity for this work. It is conducted solely in the public interest.
    My remarks today emphasize that small businesses are ready to begin immediate production of essential generic medicines for people hospitalized with coronavirus that are in shortage or altogether unavailable.
    The $8.3 billion emergency supplemental package to respond to coronavirus does not address this critical vulnerability in the nation’s medicine supply.
    1. Small businesses want to help our nation respond to the coronavirus. Small businesses are prepared to start manufacturing within weeks in the United States critical medicines that are unavailable or are being rationed.
    The coronavirus outbreak has magnified vulnerability in the nation’s supply chain for medical supplies such as masks and other protective gear for health care workers. The $8.3 billion emergency supplemental package to respond to the coronavirus outbreak passed by Congress and signed by the President is a critical step forward to assure the nation’s health security.
    The supplemental aid package contains more than $3 billion for:
     research, development and testing of vaccines to prevent people from getting coronavirus; and
     research for drug treatments to cure coronavirus. The package does not include:
     funding to manufacture generic drugs that are being rationed or unavailable and needed to care for seriously-ill people hospitalized with coronavirus, as well as other seriously ill people without coronavirus, to enable them to receive effective treatments and return home healthy…

  173. Libturd says:

    JCer,

    You do know, crime increases dramatically in the Summer, every summer. Let’s see some year over year numbers. Not locked-down in the Spring versus we finally free numbers. It’s an easy narrative. Forget about my bias. I seen 5 innocent, straight-A Newark kids shot execution style up against a school wall by some gang-member hoodlum for kicks about a decade ago. This sh1t happens regardless of protest.

  174. Libturd says:

    “Uptick in Murders and Burglaries Driving Crime in NYC During COVID-19 Pandemic: NYPD
    Although, major crimes in New York City saw a whopping decrease for the month of April compared to 2019, the city has seen an uptick in murders and burglaries, according to the latest NYPD statistics
    Published May 4, 2020 • Updated on May 4, 2020 at 2:16 pm

    How can this be? This was before BLM. What convenient untruth can we blame the uptick in shootings on?

    Stop with the unproven narratives. Think for yourselves. Trust me. It’s very refreshing. And turn off FOX/CNN/MSNBC for a while. We almost never turn on those conjecture factories. Used to be able to watch CNN. Trump ruined it.

  175. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    I’m at point pleasant today. It’s dead. Talked t Talked to a woman who is working at the arcade. She says the place is crawling with it of staters specifically Floridians. None of them are obeying the fake quarantine in place. Why even bother if you don’t enforce it?

  176. Juice Box says:

    Lib – Pravda says it’s the worst June for shootings in NYC in 25 years. NYC is seeing a spike in shootings and the only question is will it get worse.

  177. SmallGovConservative says:

    Libturd says:
    July 7, 2020 at 3:05 pm

    You do know, crime increases dramatically in the Summer, every summer. Let’s see some year over year numbers. Not locked-down in the Spring versus we finally free numbers. It’s an easy narrative…

    You’re right, it is an easy narrative. But not the preposterous one that you’re trying to lay out. It’s this…

    https://nypost.com/2020/06/27/de-blasio-grows-worse-by-the-day-making-nyc-unlivable-goodwin/

  178. Bystander says:

    Another proud 2020 Trump voter…

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1280306814454763522

  179. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I remember when I was a young lefty for the first couple of years on this blog. That’s when I thought lib was a center right. My, have the times changed. Trump will do that to people.

    I don’t even pay attention to trump anymore. He is not getting re-elected. He served his purpose with the tax law and bringing China’s threat to light.

  180. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I guess you can also say he did more for alternative energy than AOC could ever do. He flooded the fossil fuel market with supply and made America an energy leader. With so many energy companies hurt, they had to re-evaluate their long term goals and adjust. So you had big oil companies abandoning fossil fuels long term, and even countries like Saudi Arabia looking for an out from relying on oil. So he made a world with cheap energy and cleaner.

    He also made business environment more friendly. Got rid of a bunch of regulation holding business back. He also accelerated the progress of updating the military. All good things long term.

  181. Libturd says:

    Juice, not denying an increase in shooting. Attributing it to BLM is my issue. That’s the narrative. If you want to say the protest was caused by covid. Then can I say the shootings were caused by covid?

  182. Juice Box says:

    Lighten up Francis people cause shootings.

  183. grim says:

    Nice to see NJ blaming the rest of the country for our rise in transmission rate.

  184. JCer says:

    libturd, did deBlasio defund the police? As far as I’m concerned he did, this is the policy position of BLM put into action and people are paying with their lives…..

    During April NYC was in lockdown and there were not many police around. At the moment things have opened back up, Deblasio has ordered the police to stand down, has disbanded certain units and reduced the police budget. Any supporter of defund the police needs to own what is happening in NYC at the moment. The physical presence of the police prevents violent crime, their absence lets the criminal element know they can act with impunity. The BLM movement has vilified law enforcement, during the so called “peaceful” protests officers were shot not counting the idiots in NYC throwing Molotov cocktails at them. Do you really think in light of this the police are going anywhere near the worst neighborhood. Please look at the data, read Freyer’s paper from a few months ago.

    It’s not only white people, Trumpers, etc who are anti BLM you have a good number of black folks advancing the same argument that this anti-law enforcement sentiment will ultimately hurt predominately black and brown communities and people. You prove my point with your statement about innocent kids and the gangbanger, crime has a huge negative effect on urban communities and is by far one of the biggest issues impacting people’s lives, not corrupt policing. Even your facebook rant points out corrupt police, while they exist and are a problem weren’t the biggest issue for that kid, he points to a grocery store. Go to the hood, many retailers will not move in it isn’t worth the risk to operate there……

  185. JCer says:

    libturd, did deBlasio defund the police? As far as I’m concerned he did, this is the policy position of BLM put into action and people are paying with their lives…..

    During April NYC was in lockdown and there were not many police around. At the moment things have opened back up, Deblasio has ordered the police to stand down, has disbanded certain units and reduced the police budget. Any supporter of defund the police needs to own what is happening in NYC at the moment. The physical presence of the police prevents violent crime, their absence lets the criminal element know they can act with impunity. The BLM movement has vilified law enforcement, during the so called “peaceful” protests officers were shot not counting the idiots in NYC throwing Molotov cocktails at them. Do you really think in light of this the police are going anywhere near the worst neighborhood. Please look at the data, read Freyer’s paper from a few months ago.

  186. JCer says:

    libturd, did deBlasio defund the police? As far as I’m concerned he did, this is the policy position of BLM put into action and people are paying with their lives…..

    During April NYC was in lockdown and there were not many police around. At the moment things have opened back up, Deblasio has ordered the police to stand down, has disbanded certain units and reduced the police budget. Any supporter of defund the police needs to own what is happening in NYC at the moment. The physical presence of the police prevents violent crime, their absence lets the criminal element know they can act with impunity. The BLM movement has vilified law enforcement, during the so called “peaceful” protests officers were shot not counting the idiots in NYC throwing Mol*tov cocktails at them. Do you really think in light of this the police are going anywhere near the worst neighborhood. Please look at the data, read Freyer’s paper from a few months ago.

  187. JCer says:

    libturd, did deBlasio defund the police? As far as I’m concerned he did, this is the policy position of BLM put into action and people are paying with their lives…..

    During April NYC was in lockdown and there were not many police around. At the moment things have opened back up, Deblasio has ordered the police to stand down, has disbanded certain units and reduced the police budget. Any supporter of defund the police needs to own what is happening in NYC at the moment. The physical presence of the police prevents violent crime, their absence lets the criminal element know they can act with impunity.

  188. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    So they don’t have the data to tie them to protests but somehow know put of staters are responsible for the rise. Yeah ok. These rises are about 20 year olds no longer caring. Once the gigantic shoulder to shoulder protests happened and the media declined to even mention the virus for 3 weeks, people decided they no longer cared either.

  189. Juice Box says:

    Rate of transmission in NJ is now above 1.0 for first time in 10 weeks.

  190. AP says:

    Do folks here believe that unquestioning fealty, regardless of whatever excesses may provably be taking place, is the price of policing?

    These issues affect police officers themselves. Many police officers have tried speaking out about exactly the issues the protesters are raising and have suffered great career and personal jeopardy for doing so, I understand.

  191. JCer says:

    Here, this is what they mean by defund the police….

    https://nypost.com/2020/07/07/house-squad-members-unveil-bill-to-defund-police/

    look at it real hard, it will increase crime, no monitoring of known criminals, getting rid of gang databases, and reducing funding for policing. This is what they mean by “defund” the police, they mean lawlessness and increased crime. Thankfully most mainstream democrats are against this, but this is what the mob is demanding. Oh and it has reparations in it in a section memorializing slain criminal Michael Brown, fist on face don’t shoot…..

  192. Hold my beer says:

    Texas breaks 10,000 cases in a day for the first time.

    Dallas breaks 1,000 for the 5th day in a row.

    Hospitalizations in Texas went up by 588 patients in one day another record.

    On Sunday Dallas hospitalizations increased by over 100 for a 16% increase in hospital cases.

    Some counties along the border have already had their hospitals overwhelmed and are transferring patients to Dallas and San Antonio. Although by end of next week I think all major cities will be overrun and it will be like New York with boots and MAGA hats.

    https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/texas-reports-more-than-10-thousand-covid19-cases-one-day/287-bc00a4b5-c3d4-4fb1-8592-5a94f4ae490f

  193. Libturd says:

    JCer,

    Emptying the prisons might have something to do with it as well. You make it sound like there aren’t any police officers around whatsoever. They have like a 6 billion dollar budget. The Police have an agenda. It would not surprise me if they are purposely not responding to crime. I mean, it’s not like they don’t have a bone to pick here. So what caused the significant increase in shootings prior to the protests?

    Honestly, this argument doesn’t really mean a thing to me. I have no horse in this race. But as much as you hate fake news and feel the media is what killed the Right and not their actions. I believe the media is playing the same games with this shooting increase. You do agree, crime always increases as the economy sinks. This economy is sinking hard. It’s not like the amount of cuts to the NYPD all occurred at once. That billion cut will take place over a year’s time.

    You know I can’t stand DeBlazio. It’s not about defending his actions at all. I think he’s worse than even Dinkins was. It’s about making a definite relationship where there is no proof.

    If I was a betting man, I would say that they could have added a billion to the budget instead of taking one away and the shooting spree still would have happened. Do you agree? IMO, this is retribution for the FTP movement and little else.

    In the long run, I won’t argue that defunding certain programs will not cause an increase in crime over time. Just not overnight. And in Camden, the complete opposite happened. Hmmmm.

  194. Libturd says:

    That bill is for show only. It’s DOA (much like so many of the black men who never get to see a trial, that it is trying to defend).

  195. Libturd says:

    HMB, welcome to what we went through. Sadly, we are about to do it again. Can’t wait to see our budgets decimated even further. Anyone know of any furloughed public workers?

  196. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    It was about 2 months ago where they were touting how crime dropped off the side of a cliff.

  197. JCer says:

    Lib, the police absolutely are purposely avoiding high crime neighborhoods, I make no bones about it. I don’t think the media killed the right, I do think there is bias in their reporting for sure and of course they love to sensationalize. I don’t think anyone is going to defund the police, I am simply pointing out that as a policy objective it is foolhardy and misguided. Your point about the bill being DOA, is exactly my point it is a foolish virtue signal pandering to a morally bankrupt movement with no policy goals or solutions only divisiveness and hate.(Again see the interview of Terry Crews with Don Lemmon)

    Camden was not defunding the police it was outright replacing the police force, the city’s mismanagement of funds resulted in the police force losing half of it’s officers so the county took over and increased the number of police officers and eliminated a department that was corrupt and incompetent. When more funding is provided, you didn’t defund as much as someone else picked up the tab.

    I have no ability to prove it but I really believe if Bloomberg or Giuliani were the mayor right now we would not be seeing this surge of violence. The idea that funding the police is somehow tied to corruptness is opposite of truth, even pumpkin pointed that out, we need reform NOT DEFUNDING, and people should be advancing real policy ideas but BLM has nothing but anger.

    As for having no horse in the race, nor do I but it is moral indignation that drives my conviction. You purport to feel bad for black folks facing unfairness and discrimination, how is this any different? Public policy matters as does debate and discourse. Black folks and inner-city people in general are far more likely to be victims of crime, this has far reaching impacts. The impact of criminal behavior is a bigger problem for minority communities than racism in the 21st century, the data proves this out. People are squandering an opportunity to make real change, to have their voices heard, over the nonsense that is “defund the police” which will not happen as no one has a unified definition of what it is or how it is implemented or any data to show efficacy. The number of black men who never see a trial is statistically insignificant, the number of people railroaded by the criminal justice system are a totally different and much bigger problem.

    The road to h*ll is paved with good intentions……

  198. JCer says:

    oh for the record I’m a registered Democrat and I really dislike Trump as person, I know him personally, my dad worked for him for quite a while(he had some great stories), he is a blowhard, his policies largely have had a positive effect before his hamfisted handling of the COVID crisis.

    I’m not liberal or conservative, in general I prefer a libertarian thought but do understand there is plenty private industry will not or cannot do at which time the government must be brought in. In general the federal government is hopelessly incompetent so where possible it is best to not give it more and more responsibility.

  199. AP says:

    JCer, there have been many specific policy solutions proposed and discussed over the past months. You may not agree with them, but putting up a straw man won’t help anyone make the meaningful progress you seek.

    Draconian tough on crime policies, specially for non-violent offenses, 3 strike rules, etc, have done more harm than good.

    Stop and frisk is a moral abomination and Bloomberg was laughed out of the national stage for this reason.

  200. Grim says:

    Mortality rate in Texas is absurdly low compared to NJ.

    Seems like 10x fewer people dying in Texas and Florida.

  201. grim says:

    Texas and Florida both exceed NJ in total cases now, and the covid deaths are miniscule.

  202. grim says:

    Florida – 214k cases, 3.8k deaths
    Texas – 214k cases, 2.7k deaths
    New Jersey – 175k cases, 15.2k deaths
    New York – 403k cases, 32k deaths

    Possible options:

    New Jersey and New York actually have 5-10x as many cases as reported.
    Doctors and Hospitals are far better in Texas and Florida.
    We figured out how to effectively treat Covid.
    Texas and Florida did a better job protecting their at-risk populations.

  203. The Great Pumpkin says:

    NEW: The @ManhattanDA’s decision to charge Amy Cooper, a white woman with filing a false police report against Christian Cooper, a Black man in Central Park does not have the support of one key person: the victim himself, reflecting a much wider debate:

    https://twitter.com/jan_ransom/status/1280644733216468992?s=21

  204. Juice Box says:

    Grim Texas data says 6857 cases in Nursing homes with 1003 Deaths, recoveries are 3034 for same. That means better Care perhaps.

    https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/COVID-19OutbreaksinLong-termCareFacilities.aspx

  205. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Effective people are proactive and take personal responsibility for the events in their lives. They form a vision of how they want their life to be, and work toward achieving that vision. They identify problems in their lives, and work toward solutions to those problems.

    https://twitter.com/yogacid/status/1280638385456103425?s=21

  206. Hold my beer says:

    I think NY and NJ cases were severely
    The hospitals haven’t gotten overrun yet in the population centers of Texas but they will soon
    Over 2/3rds of the deaths are in the 65+ group but nursing homes are better protected than my/no were
    About half of the positive tests have happened in the last two weeks
    Deaths are about to increase rapidly in Texas. Usually takes 2-4 weeks from hospitalization till death. And hospitalizations are rapidly increasing

  207. Hold my beer says:

    Ny and NJ Severely underreported

  208. A Home Buyer says:

    Option 5?

    People in other states are physically and psychologically healthier along with more respectful of personal space and have better personal hygiene?

    Just sayin…

  209. AP says:

    Breaking: today folks ranging from David Brooks all the way to Noam Chomsky, and many other writers, join up and sign an open letter calling for open debate, essentially arguing again at what’s commonly referred to as “cancel culture”.

    So interesting: this is history in the making.

    “[…] resistance must not be allowed to harden into its own brand of dogma or coercion—which right-wing demagogues are already exploiting. The democratic inclusion we want can be achieved only if we speak out against the intolerant climate that has set in on all sides.”

    https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/

  210. njtownhomer says:

    option 6, (also heard from a MD friend who had the disease)

    The virus mutated, I mean, the weaker strains spread to newer areas who had better outdoor exposure, UV exposure different settings.

    I wonder the CFR @ NY/NJ under May conditions. The CFR rate here also went down 5-6X I believe.

  211. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Yes, but the right is not allowed a voice at this table…

    “So interesting: this is history in the making.

    “[…] resistance must not be allowed to harden into its own brand of dogma or coercion—which right-wing demagogues are already exploiting. The democratic inclusion we want can be achieved only if we speak out against the intolerant climate that has set in on all sides.””

    https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/

  212. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Here’s the problem.

    You see the bias….the social!sts accuse the haves of ripping off the poor. Robbing workers. Their biased answer? Redistribute from the rich, they have too much. Redistribute is a nice word for stealing. Social!sts advocate to steal from the rich and to give to themselves.

    So they are mad at the same rich for stealing, and then their answer is to steal?

    Just admit that you want easy money. You want to take it from someone else’s pocket.
    Why not think of how to make money instead of how to get the govt to rob the rich and give to you.

  213. The Great Pumpkin says:

    AP,

    Serious question. Do you feel like there is really freedom of speech? Freedom of opinion?

    Imo, the left have taken it away, and that’s why I can’t respect them at this time.

    Why in the world should someone be punished for what they said in America… freedom of speech, correct? Yet, it’s happening right before our eyes.

  214. juice box says:

    Pumps – Are you sure you teach history? The second best selling book behind The Bible is The Communist Manifesto. Class warfare is on the rise again, it’s not the first time and won’t be the last.

  215. The Great Pumpkin says:

    (Reuters) – Rapper Kanye West signaled he no longer supports U.S. President Donald Trump and said he had entered the presidential race to win it, in an interview published on Wednesday.

    West, previously a vocal supporter of Trump, announced on Saturday that he would run for president in 2020.

    “I am taking the red hat off, with this interview,” West told Forbes, referring to Trump’s trademark red “Make America Great Again” baseball cap. “Like anything I’ve ever done in my life, I’m doing (this) to win,” he added.

  216. Juice Box says:

    Higher Ed Bubble will burst. Harvard announces all course instruction will be taught online for the 2020-21 academic year, yes the are brining in freshman to stay on campus but all classes will be taught online.

    Undergraduate tuition of $49,653 remains the same, room and board is optional.

  217. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Yes, that’s all this is really about…money. Money and power grabs masked through social warfare.

    juice box says:
    July 8, 2020 at 6:35 am
    Pumps – Are you sure you teach history? The second best selling book behind The Bible is The Communist Manifesto. Class warfare is on the rise again, it’s not the first time and won’t be the last.

  218. Juice Box says:

    kind of Pumps – What it’s all about we shall find out when reality catches up with the the type of democracy we now have where an illusion exists that there is this self-generating mirage of money begetting more And more endless money, when that time comes we shall find out. However It may never come in our lifetimes, just take a look at the 2008 Crash for example, the Marxist in Chief with a supermajority in Congress at the time chose not to punish anyone, and this time it may not be any different, the lower classes got laid off and given government cheese while the real money was distributed with no consequences.

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