C19 Open Discussion Week 19

From Forbes:

COVID-19 Job Losses Have Been The Steepest In High-Tax States

The state jobs report for June was issued Friday morning with all states and the District of Columbia showing nonfarm payroll increases as the nation continues to recover from the steps taken to slow the spread of COVID-19. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the national unemployment rate declined by 2.2% to 11.1%, 7.4% higher than in June 2019. 

But the economic effects of state and local government measures to “flatten the curve” to prevent the medical system from being overwhelmed varies widely from state-to-state. There are two main variables at work here—when the virus hit a state and how hard, and policymakers’ response to the pandemic. 

As it turns out, a state’s general fiscal orientation is a strong indicator as to the extent of jobs losses since the virus hit. States with heavy tax burdens generally feature government policies that favor government intervention. States with lighter tax burdens lean towards smaller government with a relatively larger role for individuals, charities, and business. 

Looking at 2016 individual federal income tax returns from households that itemize deductions, there are 27 states where the average State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction was under $10,000—the cap under the tax cut signed into law by President Trump in December 2017. These states collectively lost 7.7% of their nonfarm private sector employment from February 2020 to June. In the 23 states with average SALT deductions greater than $10,000, the rate of job losses was 57% greater, 12%. 

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268 Responses to C19 Open Discussion Week 19

  1. Sunday DoubleExpresso says:

    Sorry Grim,

    That is an article by the “Capitalist Pigs” to rationalize and bs their way for their callousness.

    No one wants to see the 900lb gorilla in the room. Which is a group of hospital merged together and calling themselves a “Health System” is not really a “Public Health System”. The end of this will be a lot of bankrupt hospitals in the exurbs, leading to lack of hospitals, and eventually Medicare For All, whether they like it or not.

    Is simple. A lot of old people will die. Do they deserve it? If degenerate boomers, well probably. But Texas is reporting an outbreak of 90+ in under 1 yr old babies.

  2. Sunday DoubleExpresso says:

    And please note, that all figures that are not coming from CDC are probably lies.

    Is well know that TX and FL specifically and riding the brakes hard on virus data.

    The real numbers won’t be known until 5+ yrs from now when independent researchers match figures. We are really in a Soviet Union – Chernobyl scenario of obfuscations and manipulations.

  3. Phoenix says:

    So for those WFH, can you write off part of your house as an office now?

  4. Chicago says:

    Yes. But be goddamned careful about it. Know the rules and follow them.

    It is a writeoff, but nowhere as good as you may think.

    Bottom line, your space should be dedicated for work

    If it is personal and you use it for work sometimes, you really lose a lot of benefit.

    You can fudge, but if they catch you, you will be smoked like a cheap cigar

  5. Juice Box says:

    $5 a sq ft max 300 sq ft, must be dedicated space. Big whoopps..

  6. Libturd says:

    Chi is right. Be careful with this one. It’s one thing if you are self-employed. If you are simply WFH, I doubt the write offs will make enough of a difference to get you away from the SD.

    And for those who pay estimated. You better have made your second payment by now. It’s very confusing year for due dates.

  7. Juice Box says:

    It’s freaking hot out….

  8. Libturd says:

    I am seriously thinking about going ductless AC.

    Any of you locals got either a brand you would recommend as well as a reasonable, but reliable installer?

    And Juice,

    Brought the CX-9 to my local mechanic who yelled at me for using U-Haul, but admitted that dropping the exhaust is not unusual for installing a hitch. He didn’t charge me to fix the one hanger that causing the loud noise. So thanks (I guess).

    Now if only the dumb freedom lovers in North Carolina would don masks so we can leave our rental without getting the virus. Florida is rapidly becoming a real problem. The death rate there is about to spike and the hospitals are filling up. The number of infected are doubling every week in Miame/Dade and Palm Beach County where the average age is 58. Not a good scenario.

  9. Juice Box says:

    Lib – is noise a factor? I cannot heat my central A/C inside it’s really quiet, the compressor outside is pretty quiet too. I may put up a sound deading fence around it if I can get my ass to home depot to buy the materials. Only the top of the line ductless models are wisper quiet. Top-of-the line ductless options reaching nearly 30 SEER, pretty efficient.

    As far as U-Haul I was in and out in about an hour, different mechanic, no ghetto as there aren’t too many around here and no rust either. I only use it for a bike rack, might take it down for a ride in Sandy Hook one cooler evening as the paved trails are nice, and we could stop at Proving Ground for a riverside dinner, it’s really nice on the Navesink River and the bay watching the boats go by and there is outdoor music there in the summer. That is if I can get my kids off the iPads and Playstation.

    https://www.theprovingground.com/

  10. Libturd says:

    I’ve stayed in many places that are ductless (it’s all they use in Costa Rica). You can barely hear them. Most of the brands I noticed were Japanese and all looked very similar. I am just starting my research now.

    The proving ground looks pretty reasonable. Will check out. I’ll be down in the Highland’s next Friday as we are renewing our poker game. Outdoors with masks. My friends don’t f around.

  11. 3b says:

    Has anyone been to the shore on a weekday yet? I have heard it’s not crowded during the week. Need to get some ocean breezes!!

  12. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    I’ve been to the shore only on weekdays. It’s essentially dead. Especially if you go to a quiet beach like Sea Girt. Literally empty. I’ve done Ocean Grove, Asbury, and Point Pleasant. Even point during the day has nobody. The crowd comes weeknights though there. Monday – Thurs only for me.

  13. Juice Box says:

    Even before Covid shore was never really packed during the week, unless it’s a holiday.

    We are headed to Lavallette next month for a few days my Sis has a place rented for the week a nice bayside house that has a built in pool. My Bro is going to LBI for a week too might crash for a night and hit AC for a few hours. Summer will be over before you know it.

  14. Juice Box says:

    Lib I just checked reservations you better book now if you plan on going next weekend. I was able to get one at 5 PM on Sunday.

  15. grim says:

    Mitsubishi, LG, Fujitsu. Mitsubishi is widely regarded as the best mini split manufacturer.

  16. Phoenix says:

    What are these? Seem to see them on cars with tinted windows which I thought was illegal in NJ. Usually on left front of windows of car.
    https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/authentic-police-car-window-shield-1920434762

  17. Phoenix says:

    *windsheild*

  18. PhoenixNot AboveTheLaw says:

    Phoenix,

    That is the local cops friend and family saying their above the law. Is Jerzy style corruption. Very common, that and the FOP badge. All reasons to have multiple dash cams in your car. Your word means nothing when dealing with these above the law d-bags as they know the law does not apply to them.

    Outside of the tri-state area they are not recognized or given that much courtesy. VA is notorious for not liking them.

    https://www.thenewspaper.com/news/06/681.asp

  19. PhoenixNot AbovetheLaw says:

    Phoenix, Fast Facts above NJ.

    There are 21 counties in New Jersey. These counties together contain 565 municipalities, or administrative entities composed of clearly defined territory; 250 boroughs, 52 cities, 15 towns, 244 townships, and 4 villages.

    Most of them have local cops and courts. Prosecutors, public defenders, judges, along with a large chunk of local building, health and assorted inspectors and I’m not touching on local education, are all generally part time gigs on contracts. Local fiefdoms are a very common thing, very Italian and German like – before statesmen like Otto Von Bismarck and Garipaldi united their respective principalities into country. And what do you know, a most of the “white” people in NJ are from Germany or Italy. As Zero Mostel would say – “Tradition, tradition.

    So if you are a judge and want to be renewed, then revenue is the word. The traffic courts in NJ are designed so you plea bargain. If you plead guilty, monies goes to State with only small court cost to town. However, if you plea bargain, they keep everything. So as you can imagine, driving in NJ means an extra tax, coppice. This above the law badges allow you to get away with it. Because unless you have video, everyone will lie and make you pay for the $100,000+ salaries and bennies.

  20. ExEssex says:

    Avila Beach (near Pismo) lots and lots of people.
    Not a lot of masks. Gorgeous place, you’d never ever
    Imagine that we’re in the middle of a pandemic.
    Couldn’t even find parking Sunday.

  21. joyce says:

    Throw-away User Names,

    It was a rhetorical question from Phoenix.

  22. Hold my beer says:

    Corpus Christi is turning into the NYC of Texas

    85 babies have covid. Estimated 1 in 8 residents have an active case.

    https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/watch-live-city-of-corpus-christi-nueces-county-officials-join-tamucc-to-provide-covid-19-updates-in-the-coastal-bend/503-55e9ab3a-9bef-496f-8bb4-8c9ec20ee3a3

    I spent a long weekend there a few years ago. It’s a giant barrier island that is flat as a pancake. the beaches we saw had oil refineries right behind them. Self guided tour of the Lexington was impressive.. There was an ancient man on the bridge telling everyone about his days flying missions from it dogfighting zeroes and bombing mount suribachi. He was in his 90’s and looked like weathered leather.

  23. grim says:

    California has 7000+ cases under 5 years old.

  24. Walking says:

    Hold give it a couple of weeks and this will settle down. We are interviewing for a few open positions, the younger applicants 19 to 22 state they have tested positive with no long term issues.
    On the bright side with the $600 benefit set to expire we had over 200 applicants for a near min wage position that ran for 5 days.

  25. Walking says:

    Was down in diamond beach nj (wildwood) over the 4th weekend. Police were definitely told to Stand down and not engage with people on the beach after hours. All the years going to the wildwoods the one rule they had is no one goes on the beach after dark and they patrolled it regularly. This year the beach was very active at night with large crowds shooting off fireworks through the night. People were throwing fireworks off the balconies . I have never seen it like this up and down the beach

  26. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    Two weeks ago, I reported that everyone I talked to was looking forward to returning to work. After the politicization of the issue, now I have dozens of people from my former school posting about all the kids dying. Half of them are guidance counselors. But needless to say, there is now a large contingent of 30 somethings that don’t want to return to work.

  27. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    TMZ shows Nashville bar scene. There’s a reason cases are exploding everywhere. People in states like California, Texas, and Florida never actually modified their behavior much. You can see this clearly in their rate of transmission values and how they were above 1 before they even began the “reopening”.

    If you go over the border to Buck’s County, they now have indoor dining. People there are not on edge at all. It’s kinda nice in a way but it’s also the reason why they likely have a higher rate of transmission than we do.

    It’s kinda silly to blame the federal government. When they released their guidelines, they were clearly set out based on benchmarks to meet. They weren’t followed. And as much as many people don’t want to admit it, the mass protests had to have some degree of transmission increase. We’ll never know how much they did. We, in the northeast were very fortunate in that we got our baseline cases so low right before that. All these other states still had much more active cases than we did.

  28. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Yup, the political puppeteers saw a divisive issue they could act and attacked.

    Blue Ribbon Teacher says:
    July 19, 2020 at 9:28 pm
    Two weeks ago, I reported that everyone I talked to was looking forward to returning to work. After the politicization of the issue, now I have dozens of people from my former school posting about all the kids dying. Half of them are guidance counselors. But needless to say, there is now a large contingent of 30 somethings that don’t want to return to work.

  29. Libturd says:

    I recall a few months ago how all of the right wingers here said everything should be opened up and cheered the opening of the beaches in Florida. All still feel the same way?

    Grim, thanks for the tip on the ductless. Before I sell and head for Costa Rica, there are quite a few things we need to do to get my $423,000 house to sell for closer to a million. Once we win our court battle, the work will begin. It’s quite a laundry list. Will be fun to use it for a few years. before we skedaddle.

  30. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    Beaches are not the issue. It’s so friggin hot and UV light is pounding down that the risk on the sand or in the water is nearly nonexistant. Nightclubs and restaurants clearly are. They are indoors and air conditioned. It’s pretty clear that no one in Florida cared to take any precautions. If you look at the video I posted of Nashville, you can see why it’s still spreading. I advocated for opening up in smart fashion, not cutting the red tape and telling everyone life is normal again. That being said, New Jersey is behind the curve. There is no reason you couldn’t have had barbers cutting hair outdoors in May. There’s no reason we couldn’t have had outdoor dining much earlier either.

  31. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    Over the over 15000 fatalities caused by coronavirus in New Jersey, not one of them has been in a person between the ages of 5 and 17 according to New Jersey Department of Health.

  32. Fabius Maximus says:

    Lib,

    I hate HVAC, after I had to replace my last system I swore I would take the F$^%in test and do the install myself. That is still on the cards for my current unit.

    These mini-split are a very easy DIY job. The units come pre-charged. You get the install it right, crack the king valve and away you go. You can search Craigs list for the installers They will install a single zone Mits or Fuji unit for about $1600. Hey if they mess it up, its a recharge on the $1200 unit you now own and either DIY or pull someone in.

    Also you can buy a 5 zone (5 heads, one compressor) for about $5-6K. More install hassle, but worth it.
    https://hvacdirect.com/fujitsu-45-000-btu-19-7-seer-five-zone-heat-pump-system-9-9-9-9-18-wall-mounted-id22774.html

  33. Fabius Maximus says:

    My relationship with my last HVAC unit.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv0onXhyLlE

  34. ExEssex says:

    bRt tEaChEs sCiEnCe….

    “The whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute, that’s pretty powerful,” Trump said during a White House press briefing. He raised the possibility of hitting a human body “with a tremendous — whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light.”
    Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, said she had not seen research to support the theory that heat could kill viruses.

    “I mean, certainly, fever is a good thing when you have a fever because it helps your body respond. But I have not seen heat for viruses,” she said during the briefing.

    Bill Bryan, the acting undersecretary of Science and Technology at DHS, at the evening briefing described the research on how sunlight, heat, and humidity affects the virus on various surfaces and said they were the coronavirus’s weak spots. But he said the study hadn’t looked at sunlight as a treatment, that the work hadn’t been peer-reviewed and that the findings shouldn’t take away from other guidance released by the White House and CDC, including social distancing and mitigation.

    “It would be irresponsible for us to say that we feel the summer will totally kill the virus,” Bryan said. “This is just another tool in our tool belt. Another weapon in the fight that we can add to it and in the summer, we know that summer-like conditions are going to create an environment where the transmission can be decreased and that’s an opportunity for us to get ahead.”

  35. homeboken says:

    Prediction – I suspect Joe Biden is going to announce that he has contracted Covid-19 around October 10-13. He will self-quarantine for 2 weeks + a few days, which will allow him to side-step debates 2 and 3.

    The DNC will juice him up for Debate #1, and pray he makes it through without too many gaffes. That will also provide just over a month of recovery time for the debate to get in the rear-view and for news cycles to forget about the performance.

    I will also say that Trump needs Biden on the debate stage to win. Trump’s interview with Chris Wallace, that aired yesterday, was very bad for Trump. Wallace to his credit, really kept his foot on the gas and wouldn’t let Trump wriggle out of claims. Good job overall by Fox there.

    Now, I wonder if Joe will offer the same 1 hour long-form interview to Wallace??

  36. homeboken says:

    I will also say – I am going to lose my bet with Libturd on Biden being the final nominee.

    I miscalculated the strategy of the DNC. Biden is actually the perfect candidate for the campaign they want to run against Trump. He isn’t going anywhere. On Nov 4th, I fully expect to be paying up on that bet.

    More on this topic another time.

  37. D-FENS says:

    Kamala Harris will be the nominee. Just wait.

  38. Juice Box says:

    DNC convention one month from now has been scaled down from 50,000 to just perhaps 300 attendees. You cannot zoom with 50,000 people, so guaranteed snooze fest and you cannot get people to the polls if they are not enthusiastic about the candidate.

    Who here thinks Joe Biden could even fill a Convention Hall even if there was no Covid?

  39. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    bRt tEaChEs sCiEnCe….

    Yes I do.

    UV-light kills all RNA viruses because organic molecules contain networks of alternating single and double chemical bonds. What this does is it stabilizes the bond and has an overall lower bond energy. The photons of UV light that penetrates the Earth match the energy gaps from lower to excited state of these bonds. Upon absorption, those bonds can be broken and the virus is dismantled. This happens to all RNA viruses, and it’s been verified scientifically and published with this virus as well.

    Ambient temperature can have a similar effect because the elevated temperatures supply enough energy via heat transfer cause rotational and vibrational modes of the chemical bonds to be excited which can lead to bond dissociation as well. There were studies done proving both things very quickly.

  40. D-FENS says:

    https://www.newsweek.com/judge-esther-salas-shooting-deutsche-bank-epstein-1518974?fbclid=IwAR3Y08Wc6PlCT_rHKFz62Xt_6p9qoLZAshuUXW5g6fmA8nPKKmf_MFUuPC0

    Dude showed up at a federal judge’s house in New Brunswick dressed as a FedEx worker…got them to open the door then opened fire killing the judges son and seriously wounding her husband.

    Guess what case she was assigned to? Epstein banking case…

  41. Juice Box says:

    What’s another Trillion between friends and countrymen?

    How about a little liability protection too?

    Here is another payroll tax cut too!

    https://www.axios.com/mcconnell-senate-republicans-coronavirus-relief-bcbc7bfd-b4e8-4ff4-8497-111f9f358200.html

  42. Juice Box says:

    Reading between the lines McConnell wants to cut the extra $600 a week government cheese down to $200 a week, that means get off the beach and off the protest lines and back to work.

  43. homeboken says:

    BRT – I understood almost none of that but I trust that you know what you are talking about.

    The initial claim that you know nothing by whoever that was is classic example of Dunning-Kreuger effect in action.

    Dude bit off more than he could chew on this one.

  44. Fast Eddie says:

    I read the Wallace/Trump interview. Aside from the annoying Trump-isms which we all agree is irritating, the dude is relentless and shows why nothing affects him. Throw everything at him and he still keeps coming. That’s what you want and need in a leader.

    Even with the Covid thing and the left he11 bent on pushing the cancel culture, the dude is still charging forward and always believes in the strength and resolve of what made our country great.

    The progressive left is a truly pathetic entity, so void and lost in ideology that it’s amazing a belief on this level can be possible. Biden’s best campaign strategy is this Covid thing, keeping him off the campaign trail like a prisoner in an undisclosed holding cell. Who could vote for an old, mentally challenged soul when whole thoughts and sentences allude him? And even if coherent, who can believe that he endorses 2% of the population comprising a radical movement that if successful, will represent an America we once knew, in name only.

  45. And what will happen if the second wave comes in the fall, as predicted …

  46. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    That was kinda the point of my post. Basically, every RNA virus will always be susceptible to UV light and heat by nature. We don’t need to prove this as it will always be true. That’s why UV light and pasteurization processes are universally accepted as sterilization procedures.

    It’s nice to know how long it takes though because there is variation in that, and that’s the real value in the studies.

    Basically, every single pandemic completely disappeared in the summer because of this fact. Unfortunately, we have widespread air conditioning, so that’s no longer the case. The beach is the least of Florida’s worries. The bars, totally different story.

  47. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    In an exclusive interview, Marie Blistan, the president of the New Jersey Education Association, said the state’s nearly 3,000 public schools don’t have enough time to pull together the complicated web of health, academic, transportation and scheduling protocols to guarantee the safety of more than 1.5 million students, teachers, and staff from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

    I already spoke on this. That’s total BS. She’s acting like the schools only have a month. They’ve had since March. The problem is, superintendents like the one in the district my kids go to are sitting there with their thumbs up the a**. My district I work at has been planning this for months and we will be ready to go. It’s not going to be perfect, but virtual learning is a disaster on so many levels.

  48. Walking says:

    BRT, I remember an old timer telling me in the 80’s that’s why grandma would always hang dry bed sheets outside. Bring out the down pillows to sit in the sun. Even back then they knew the advantage of sun.

  49. Juice Box says:

    School snot safe to open yet all those day care facilities are operating just fine?

  50. TruthIsTheEnemy says:

    That story about the judge is crazy. If they don’t catch someone soon you would have to assume a very sophisticated hit. That is not a disgruntled ex con.

  51. Libturd says:

    Schools would probably be okay up here, especially if kids are suspended for not wearing a mask. But teachers don’t understand the risks so they will all chicken out (and I don’t really blame them). In the ugly states, they need to get control of the virus before reopening.

    No politics. Just the truth. People simply suck at math and the only math our politicians know is how to generate more tax revenue to maintain spending.

    It’s really that simple.

  52. Libturd says:

    On the judge story, it could just as well be a gang hit. The Epstein hit isn’t the only one she is trying.

    Heck, it’s not that far away then your run of the mill jury tampering.

  53. Libturd says:

    An excellent read on our handling of Covid-19.

    https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-america-blew-it-b3d84ea3-78b3-4fe0-8dce-1c4ed0ec0a4c.html

    Thanks for the ductless advice.

    Yes Flab Max, We will probably do the 5 or 6 zone. Just need to resolve our court case with the Glen Ridge schools first.

  54. TruthIsTheEnemy says:

    So blatantly biased. No mention of the early politicizing of the travel ban and Democrats acting nonchalant in order to make their point. There’s no question that de Blasio got a lot of people killed by telling people to keep going about their business after it had begun to spread.

    And the democratic governors who sent the sick into nursing homes? No mention of it. That was tens of thousands of deaths. That was the single biggest mistake to date.

  55. Fast Eddie says:

    Truth,

    You beat me to the punch. How about Pelosi arrogantly stating how she was going to strut around San Fran for a bite and a few meet and greets??

  56. TruthIsTheEnemy says:

    Since the early going I’ve agreed that the testing is a mess. The federal response is a joke. It should be much wider so we can track the spread.

    Everything else is political. If trump did A, they would say he should have done B.

    Even the reopening pace is debatable. The collateral damage of the lockdowns is catastrophic.

  57. Juice Box says:

    Speaking of covid-19 just refilled my Yerba Santa. (eriodictyon californicum)

    vitaminsbecuase.biz has them – 3 bottles of 90 capsules $13.99 + shipping.

  58. Bystander says:

    Ed,

    A relentless, shallow liar that is. If one cares not for the truth or examination thereof, it is easy to put on the actor face and fool those looking for (false) sense of strength. Touch your nose, Ed.

  59. JCer says:

    30 year you don’t like it because it hits your business, and you’ll be competing with regular buyers. Why should the government not prioritize owner occupied over investors? What is actually wrong with the legislation as proposed? Not trying to argue just interested in what you see as the issue with the legislation?

  60. Libturd says:

    Think this pandemic will be over by NEXT Easter?

    The right is grasping at straws here.

    The President is clearly on record calling Covid-19 a hoax and his continued lack of action to protect the country from its spread continues to this day.

    Essentially, Trump has a clearly defined modus operandi. All that matters is the economy and especially for the rich. Environment be damned. Immigration be damned. Pandemic, it’s a hoax. Greatest economy ever, let’s cut taxes on the wealthy. He IS the worst president ever. This will prove out in November when he is beat by a senile man who never even campaigned and who will take out more Republicans than anyone would have ever thought was even possible. This is what happens when you allow an incompetent businessperson with a track record of nothing but failure to hijack your party on a platform of hate. Let’s hope the same mistake is never made again regardless of party.

    And as the SS Trump continues to take on water, he refuses to turn on the pumps. He is SOOOOOO BADDDDDDDDDD that FoxNews has now even turned on him. That requires uber crappy skills.

  61. homeboken says:

    JCER – From a lenders perspective, 3.5% down is the problem.

    Equity carries the first lost position and the highest interest. When you make the entire capital stack, low-rate, non-recourse debt…well, remember 2008?

  62. 30 year realtor says:

    The first thing that would need to be done is to restrict the bill to vacant homes. A buyer attempting to complete a purchase with a 3.5% downpayment will need a mortgage and that will require access for an appraisal. Since title does not pass until full payment has been made to the sheriff and title does not guarantee possession, this is a major trouble spot. In addition sheriff sales have risks related to quality of title and most of the properties need repair. Many low downpayment loans, FHA for example are likely to require physical defects be repaired prior to closing title. This presents another major hurdle to this legislation being practicle.

  63. Walking says:

    Lib, check out art cool ductless mini split. Basically the blower head/evaporator is hidden behind a picture frame. It’s not flush mounted and sticks out from the wall like a plasma TV from years ago, but something to think about

  64. 30 year realtor says:

    Buying a property at sheriff sale requires sophistication and knowledge that most home buyers don’t possess. Even with a 20% downpayment most owner occupant buyers cannot assume the risks associated with sheriff sale purchases related to financing, title and buying without interior access.

  65. ExEssex says:

    “…,the dude is relentless and shows why nothing affects him. ”

    Not an attribute. He’s more like a retarded 5th graders who has eaten
    too many paint chips.

  66. ExEssex says:

    Downtown Pebble Beach is amazing.
    Started my day with a lil’ sweet sweet goodness
    And some eggs Benedict. It’s like Cape May with a view.
    Old Victorian architecture. Adorable little homes.
    Character galore….and a few nice golf courses.

  67. chicagofinance says:

    boken: It’s friggin basic high school chemistry…… WTF is confusing…. makes total sense.

    homeboken says:
    July 20, 2020 at 9:55 am
    BRT – I understood almost none of that but I trust that you know what you are talking about.

  68. Fabius Maximus says:

    While its good news from the UK, the comments is where the real fun is.

    UK’s #COVID19 vaccine is safe and induces an immune reaction, according to preliminary results
    https://twitter.com/TheLancet/status/1285207186591887360

  69. chicagofinance says:

    punani or the choom?

    ExEssex says:
    July 20, 2020 at 12:19 pm
    Downtown Pebble Beach is amazing.
    Started my day with a lil’ sweet sweet goodness

  70. chicagofinance says:

    This one is on target….. that said, I blame governors more than Trump. Huge swaths of this country are never going to be cowed into anything. On the left and right.

    HOWEVER, we should be mobilizing basic infrastructure to test and support PPE production. Further, once there are vaccines, we need a focused manufacturing complex.

    WTF is happening?

    It must be hard for him, because he would have crushed Biden without COVID, but he still had a chance to normalize himself and galvanize support. Frankly, he is fundamentally unprepared to deal with 2020. He just can’t wrap his head around it. The failure is complete, and it is so bad that YOU CAN look away. I just don’t care. He has rendered himself irrelevant, which is as bad as it gets.

    Libturd says:
    July 20, 2020 at 12:05 pm
    Think this pandemic will be over by NEXT Easter?

    The right is grasping at straws here.

    The President is clearly on record calling Covid-19 a hoax and his continued lack of action to protect the country from its spread continues to this day.

    Essentially, Trump has a clearly defined modus operandi. All that matters is the economy and especially for the rich. Environment be damned. Immigration be damned. Pandemic, it’s a hoax. Greatest economy ever, let’s cut taxes on the wealthy. He IS the worst president ever. This will prove out in November when he is beat by a senile man who never even campaigned and who will take out more Republicans than anyone would have ever thought was even possible. This is what happens when you allow an incompetent businessperson with a track record of nothing but failure to hijack your party on a platform of hate. Let’s hope the same mistake is never made again regardless of party.

    And as the SS Trump continues to take on water, he refuses to turn on the pumps. He is SOOOOOO BADDDDDDDDDD that FoxNews has now even turned on him. That requires uber crappy skills.

  71. TruthIsTheEnemy says:

    That’s a TDS screed if I’ve ever seen one. Bravo.

    Up to covid, the economy was working for everyone across the board wage growth etc was very strong.

    But hey, in the fake news age what difference does any of that make.

  72. chicagofinance says:

    Where is the link to Mengele’s post-doctorial thesis?
    Fabius Maximus says:
    July 20, 2020 at 12:39 pm
    While its good news from the UK, the comments is where the real fun is.

    UK’s #COVID19 vaccine is safe and induces an immune reaction, according to preliminary results
    https://twitter.com/TheLancet/status/1285207186591887360

  73. Libturd says:

    No, in the REAL NEWS, Obama was not 1/100th of a failure as Obama was. The economy did incredibly well without constructing walls and providing tax breaks. And this is with paying for the much needed ACA. The truth about Trump’s economy is that we will pay for it in the future. All that really happened is that he borrowed a trillion dollars while cutting the highest tax rates and corporations used the money to buy back their own shares. I do still expect this market to collapse, and to do so horrifically. Stocks are so overvalued even without the Covid induced recession. All of the job creation was at the bottom rung. Sometimes I question if Trump was so hell bent on building the wall to make sure that all of the jobs he created wouldn’t have been filled by illegals. I certainly wouldn’t put it past him.

  74. Fabius Maximus says:

    Gary,

    That interview was a train wreck.

    “Wallace stated: “I took the test too when I heard that you passed it … It’s not – well it’s not the hardest test. They have a picture of an elephant and it says ‘what’s that’ and it’s an elephant.”

    Whats worse is that he’s bragging hes “aceing” these dementia tests. Why is he getting multiple tests in the first place. And why are the doctors surprised he’s doing so well at them.

    Guess it is Ronnie 2.0.

  75. Libturd says:

    In other news Amazon is back up another 6% to a P/E of 150. Tesla still doesn’t make any money and has more than doubled since February when Musk thought the stock was fully valued. This is not a healthy market. A lot of people are going to get killed in this market. I’d take the safe valued Obama market in a minute over this one.

  76. Fast Eddie says:

    Fabisu,

    Guess it is Ronnie 2.0.

    We should be so lucky. The left is nauseatingly sick. What a bunch of mentally challenged, witless muppets. It’s beyond me why some of you want to enable warped rationale using your money to do so. Apologize to your kids and grand kids for destroying their ability to reason logically and twisting their thinking process into total deformity.

  77. Fast Eddie says:

    I’d take the safe valued Obama market in a minute over this one.

    Oblama was unremarkable, a follower, unassuming, uninspiring, ordinary, bland, featureless, barren, tame, weak, limp and disappointing. Economically, he was given a blank slate, the DOW at rock bottom and had only one direction to go in and despite it, had anemic growth… failure to generate momentum while enjoying any ride he can attach himself to… just like his “mentors” taught. Internationally, he fixed his knee pads and obliged many despots of the un-free world. What a visionary!

  78. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Want a real response to this….you come up with who is “at risk.” You keep them isolated and let everyone else go back to work.

    What’s the death rate? How many “healthy” people die from this, we should look at that rate too. Too bad the entire process is politicized, just like global warming. Can’t get any read data now…

    One thing you can say with certainty, the Democrats are embracing this. They don’t want to open up the economy or stop rioters from destroying personal property. They prob can’t wait to get into office and give away welfare and housing to all the dependent people they helped create. Now they have their power base.

  79. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Can’t get any REAL data now

  80. Libturd says:

    “Economically, he was given a blank slate, the DOW at rock bottom and had only one direction to go in and despite it, had anemic growth”

    Actually, market growth was quite remarkable under his leadership. To say that it started at the bottom was the fault of the president before him (another Republican failure). I am hardly in this overvalued market. Too much risk. It was much easier to sleep at night. For the truth instead of the fake narrative, see the article below.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2020/02/29/four-charts-comparing-trumps-vs-obamas-stock-market-returns/#7e733c563552

  81. Libturd says:

    I think it’s time to just rename the Nasdaq the Amazon index.

  82. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Remember, blue ribbon called me out and wanted a stock call. This was way back when Apple was getting killed. I said to buy all the Apple and amazon stock you could buy. So, kind of saw this coming. Understood that no one could touch them. They dominate.

    Those are some more epic calls to add to my list for this blog. Still get no respect.

    Libturd says:
    July 20, 2020 at 2:05 pm
    I think it’s time to just rename the Nasdaq the Amazon index.

  83. chicagofinance says:

    clot:

    Wine Club:
    With our imminent move to new digs, we will be launching our quarterly wine club. As the first rule of Wine Club is nobody talks about Wine Club, all we can say is that it will be quarterly, it won’t be expensive and it will be co-curated by yours truly, Tyler Durden, and none other than Ben Riccardi of Osmote Wines! More info to come…

  84. Fast Eddie says:

    Actually, market growth was quite remarkable under his leadership.

    The market rose because it was at 6K and change at the bottom. We could have had a squirrel as president and it would have rose. There was no GPD growth, totally anemic and interest rates were at zero. So, where was the growth? And why were there no shovel ready jobs as the empty suit even admitted? Zero percent means the only place I could make money is putting it in equities. Under Trump, I had laddered CDs and made money ON TOP OF the dividends AND share price increases. Please, he was the appeasement king, the transformation president. What we see today with the destruction of the country at the hands of the resistance mob is Oblama’s biggest accomplishment.

  85. Libturd says:

    You are on crack.

  86. Juice Box says:

    No school for you.

    Florida’s largest teachers union files lawsuit over school reopening order.

    ORLANDO, Fla. —
    The Florida Education Association has filed a lawsuit aimed at preventing Gov. Ron DeSantis and state education officials from forcing all school districts to reopen campuses this fall.

    The lawsuit from the state’s largest teachers union was announced on Monday as districts across the state prepare plans to reopen schools next month.

    Advertisement
    The suit was filed in state circuit court in Miami against DeSantis, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, the Florida Department of Education and Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

    FEA President Fedrick Ingram said during a news conference announcing the lawsuit that reopening decisions would be best made at the local level.

    DeSantis said during a news conference in Orlando on Monday that he believes schools should be open, but said students and teachers who don’t feel safe returning to campus should have alternative options.

  87. Libturd says:

    YTD the difference between the Nasdaq and the DJIA is over 23%. Nothing to see here.

  88. Juice Box says:

    Don’t tell the governor but I don’t see anyone wearing masks outside in Point Pleasant.

    Pretty decent crowd on the beach and boards for a Monday, web cam link below.

    https://jenkinsons.com/beach-cam/

  89. Libturd says:

    It’s no tech bubble, but I expect to see a similar result. Tech bubble popped around a 40% differential.

  90. leftwing says:

    Guys, c’mon, you’re smarter than this…..

    Anyone who evaluates market returns by Presidential administration, especially as measured January through January+4, is a grossly misinformed rookie.

  91. Fast Eddie says:

    Oh, how the progressive left is aching for no breakthrough in a potential vaccine. This is the only time you’ll see them pray. A perfect candidate in O’Biden and the continuation of the Covid quagmire is a wet dream to these f.ucks. I think the statue destruction may wane because the lesser classes can’t stay focused long enough for the media to pump it up adequately. The attention span is only so long before the next “crisis” emerges.

  92. leftwing says:

    “It’s no tech bubble, but I expect to see a similar result. Tech bubble popped around a 40% differential.”

    With the reminder that I am more bearish generally than most on the forum so this is certainly not an endorsement of current market levels there is one important difference from that period.

    The stocks leading the performance differential, currently FAANG+, have market caps relative to the SPX/NDX in near direct proportion to the cash flows they represent of those indices. Meaning, the money flowing into these stocks which is driving the market expansion is fairly rationale as it is following the cash flows and fundamentals, unlike the internet bubble where the money was chasing purely momentum with no fundamentals.

    Having said that, full disclosure, I am each day usually net short but certainly not in those names or indices.

  93. The Great Pumpkin says:

    By 2015, I realized we were heading towards new territory. That’s why I made that Apple and Amazon call when I did, saw the writing on the wall. Switched 401k to 85% (pretty much all in on big tech) VWUAX.

    “The stocks leading the performance differential, currently FAANG+, have market caps relative to the SPX/NDX in near direct proportion to the cash flows they represent of those indices. Meaning, the money flowing into these stocks which is driving the market expansion is fairly rationale as it is following the cash flows and fundamentals, unlike the internet bubble where the money was chasing purely momentum with no fundamentals.”

  94. The Great Pumpkin says:

    If I would have put it in S&P 500 like most, would have barely made anything. Instead, doubled 401k in 5 years. That’s huge. Take future compounding into account, and really made a lot of money off this play.

  95. Libturd says:

    True Left. But Amazon 152 times it’s current size? Come on now.

    And in my market argument with crazy Gary, I really wasn’t arguing performance. I was arguing consistent slow growth versus higher volatility growth.

    I sold off a bit more of my Adobe and Amazon growth. I’m about 1/3rd stock 2/3rds cash in the taxable account and feel pretty good about it. In my retirement, I’m 45% growth versus 55% more stable stuff. I’m currently up around 14% on the year overall. I can live with that number.

    Tesla WTF.

    Read an article today breaking down Biden’s climate plan. Lot’s of money going to nuclear, fracking and even clean coal. Lots of union talk too. We know who butters the DNC’s toast.

  96. homeboken says:

    Listening to a handful of friends and family, that are (2) elementary and (2) HS teachers. All 4 of them seem to have received the same script:

    It’s not safe, we shouldn’t have to risk our lives. Kids are going to get sick and die.
    The union knows the science of all these dangers and they are gonna keep us and the kids safe.
    Trump is going to risk my life so the stock market can go up.

    Meanwhile, 2 of these were mid-20’s age teachers. They came by my house after a day drinking session at some bar in Queens.

  97. Fast Eddie says:

    There was some f.ucking jerk0ff radio host on WABC yesterday afternoon. I was in the car and had to listen because he was making me laugh. He claimed that the crime rise in NYC was Trump’s fault because he didn’t handle Covid and thus, destroyed the economy which is leading to higher crime. Oh yeah, this was golden to listen to!!

    This genius went on to say that cops are now retiring because they want to secure their pension. He was trying to explain that the pension will somehow be there if they retire now. It was convoluted spooge, as most leftist, Utopian explanations are. Callers were calling in saying the reason crime is up is because cops have become the enemy and so, most that were either on the fringe of retirement or don’t want to risk their lives or are afraid to defend themselves against criminals out of fear of retribution are getting out.

    I didn’t look this guy’s name up but he admitted he was a progressive and whenever a caller would try to make their case, he simply hung up on them.

    In further news, did I read that Mickey Rourke wants to kick the sh1t out of Robert Di Nero? LOL! I think a pay per view is in order.

  98. homeboken says:

    If DeNiro is as slow and hobbled as he looked in The Irishman, that would be a murder.

    That movie had such potential, the book “I Heard You Paint Houses” was awesome. But that movie, yeesh.

  99. No One says:

    The market is following the cash flows?
    I think I can add up about 1 trillion in market cap worldwide to companies that don’t generate meaningful profits or free cash flow.
    But in a world where even more trillions of government bonds trade at negative yields to maturity, that’s when these sorts of things are bound to happen.
    Meanwhile, people seem to be fleeing anything tainted by association with the”value” style, even if a company has track records of profitability, strong balance sheets as investors seem to assume the worst will happen there.
    Growth and momentum have been the strongest factors lately, as big a move there as I’ve seen since 1999 and 2007.

  100. D-FENS says:

    Look like my district is going to open in the fall with three options that parents can choose:

    100% home school
    50% home school/50% at school
    100% at school

    The 100% at school option seems to be for families with two working parents. 50% of the time they sit in a computer lab and do the stuff the homeschool kids were doing so why bother…

  101. Bystander says:

    Karma is a b*tch, Ed. Trump had his whole presidency set-up for success and he failed. Obama presidency / Fed printing drove down unemployment to 4.3 and Dow up at 20K. Obama and his family are beloved by millions (maybe billions worldwide). His legacy will only grow and stature will further cement as smart, articulate, decent, family man who led country through economic upheavals, natural distastes, wars abroad and racism at home. He passed significant legislation and united his party. Your Orange clod will hopefully scurry away to a into prison as a lying failure and divisive psycopath who accomplished nothing but hot air farts which red hat dolts sniffed up. He will be forever laughed at as failed one termed, not welcomed to his home turf again…bad ratings after office too..hah

  102. SmallGovConservative says:

    Bystander says:
    July 20, 2020 at 5:35 pm

    He will be forever laughed at as failed one termed, not welcomed…

    Say what you want about Trump, I don’t believe that any self-confident, able-bodied man would ever want to be governed by the likes of Pelosi, Schumer, Schiff, Harris, Warren, Booker, Sanders, Nadler, AOC — the radical leftists and/or enablers that are likely to drive a “Biden” presidency. Not one of those people is smart or decent or even remotely reasonable at this point. Yet there are men like Bystander who yearn to be governed by that crew — embarrassing.

  103. No One says:

    I think they both suck.
    Obama was a second-rate “intellectual” with bad premises (collectivist/altruist/egalitarian) with technocratic, elitist, and wrong advisors.
    Many of his own policies he managed to pass or order were bad for the economy.
    Trump is an anti-intellectual, unprincipled, populist self-promoter with 3rd rate yes-men as advisors. Some of his policies are bad for the economy, but he temporarily reigned in the regulatory bureaucracy. He’s too incoherent to explain why he’s doing what he’s doing or gain necessary international allies.

    But what’s past is past. Trump is likely to lose bad because 2020 sucks worse than just about any year since 2008 or 1979. Presidents get the blame, deserved or not.
    Biden’s mental faculties currently seem to be slightly behind where Reagan’s were when he was packing up to leave the White House. And Biden was never sharp even at his peak. He’s going to be a barely functional puppet, but who are his puppet-masters these days? Do Democrat insiders know? I assume he’s broadened his base beyond Credit Card Companies and Amtrak. Did lefties get control of his strings in return for consolidating votes behind him in the primaries? Who gets to write Biden’s speeches and policies in the future?

  104. SG oped says:

    Scott Gottlieb opinion in yesterday’s WSJ re: COVID testing etc. If you could not get behind paywall, AEI posted it. I suspect this fall it gets pretty difficult.

    https://www.aei.org/op-eds/behind-the-hhs-cdc-disagreement/

  105. Bystander says:

    Smalldick,

    Embarrassing is any ass&hole who bought the words of a charlatan who sold failed casino experiences, rubbery steaks and scam RE classes to slobbering knobs. Men who are so weak in stature and sexuality that they lick his big tanned arse based on psychotic late night racist tweets. You secretly want Dumpy to dominate you in his Waffen SS gear.

  106. Bystander says:

    Smalld*ck,

    Embarrassing is any ass&hole who bought the words of a charlatan who sold failed casino experiences, rubbery steaks and scam RE classes to slobbering knobs. Men who are so weak in stature and se*uality that they lick his big tanned a$$ based on psychotic late night racist rants. You secretly want Dumpy to dominate you in his Waffen gear.

  107. Bystander says:

    Smalld%ck,

    Embarrassing is any as$hole who bought the words of a charlatan who sold failed casino experiences, rubbery steaks and scam RE classes to slobbering nobs. Men who are so weak in stature and se*uality that they lick his big tanned a$$ based on psychotic late night tweets. You secretly want Dumpy to dominate you in his Waffen get-up.

  108. Bystander says:

    Smaldik says what? What is embarrassing are the weak men so confused about their own inner strength (and possibly se$uality) that they look up to crazed psychotic as image of real man..pathetic. Your hero is a charlatan who sold birther nonsense, failed casinos, rubbery steaks and scam RE classes. I don’t look up to anyone on left. It just has to be better than the Insane Orange clown posse protected by Moscow Mitch and closet queen Graham

  109. Bystander says:

    Grim,

    mod, please..

  110. chicagofinance says:

    Bystander …… I don’t have an ax to grind, but what are you talking about?

    Obama did nothing….. the ACA was entire created by Congress. It’s a misnomer that it is called Obamacare because he probably had even less knowledge of what was in it than Pelosi. Regardless, the fact he dumped the ACA on the country was an incredibly cynical and calculated move. We needed fiscal and economic leadership, and he instead puked worthless garbage on us.

    In his defense, the American public cashiered him in 2010 as a response, and he really did subsequently deal with a parade of obstructionists, but he made NO EFFORT to govern, compromise or show any statesmanship. He never made his way up to Capitol Hill to do anything. All he did was make speeches and write executive orders, which allowed Trump to come in and reverse them.

    The longer he remained in office, the more he reflected a disdain for the Unites States and businesses that drive the economy. He never understood the risk taking that is implicit in building successful companies. The infamous “you didn’t build that” really sticks to him, because it wasn’t taken out of context. He truly reflects his opinion.

    His eloquence cut both ways. He was smart, but he was also cold and aloof. He could be a nasty put down artist too, it’s just he is mature, smooth and as a POC, he could get away with almost anything.

    Finally, Trump relies on no one to form his opinions, but Obama had his close group of trusted advisers and was equally willing to shut out the experts (do you recall this fact?). Obama was also more than willing to let the U.S. get tramped in the international realm because he was a combination of inexperienced, unwilling to trust the experts (on his inner circle) and fundamentally disdainful of the U.S.

    More than anything else, his hubris gave rise to Trump, so he has that on his resume.

    Bystander says:
    July 20, 2020 at 5:35 pm
    He passed significant legislation and united his party.

  111. chicagofinance says:

    Forgot also….. Obama created a vacuum in the Democratic Party…. he didn’t groom anyone and sucked up all of the accolades. The result is completely apparent in the run-up to the 2020 election…… and we end up with Biden.

    Obama will be remembered appropriately in history. However, his supporters strongly overrate his performance, and also how many people really don’t give high marks to his presidency. Even many centrists.

    To be clear, it disappoints me to write this stuff.

  112. ExEssex says:

    We need to find a new way:

    https://youtu.be/p0NJ71TMoII

  113. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    Forgot also….. Obama created a vacuum in the Democratic Party…. he didn’t groom anyone and sucked up all of the accolades.

    Was that really his fault? I think they basically set it up so that Hillary could walk right into the nomination. Nobody even expressed interest in running other than Bernie.

  114. NJGator says:

    And Sleepy Joe might also have ran in 2016 had his son not died the year before.

  115. Juice Box says:

    My kids Taekwondo school just went belly up. Really great teacher, small business in our town for a few decades. Probably the best instructor, teacher, mentor to kids I have ever met. He tried to reopen two weeks ago, but really how can a small business survive in this environment?

    Anecdotal lots of empty storefronts now on the main roads down here. A friend who opened a store in town near by me will probably lose everything , plan was leave corporate and go local. Foot traffic these days is nothing still.

  116. Libturd says:

    “fundamentally disdainful of the U.S.”

    A lot I agree with. But this particularly line I think you are wrong about. But I am not surprised. Like a black conservative who “disdains having received any help,” I know you worked your ass off to get where you are today and owe few anything for it. For some reason, everyone thinks Obama didn’t work hard to get to where he got because he is a black liberal. I give you that he never worked a real job in the private sector. But he was extremely bright and articulate which does not happen on it’s own. As for ranking him among presidents, he was pretty average. But I truly think Trump was the worst president of my lifetime. There is no comparison between the two. To this day, Trump still believes Covid-19 is only bad here because we are testing more people. It’s really mind blowing anyone could put him in the white house. How bad do you have to be to lose to a candidate who really is nothing more than a DNC puppet.

    As for the narrative that he is a tool of the AOC left? Come on now. He is DNC through and through. He will serve no one but who will pay him the most. You can see it with his help for Hunter and his track record reeks of pay to play. That is not how the radical left works. As a matter of fact, the radical left wants to end PACs. But that doesn’t fit the narrative. I think we can all expect 4 years of nothing but thanks for supporting the DNC with your huge contributions.

  117. grim says:

    So hearing that Murphy’s announcement today about parents being given the choice for kids to be fully virtual was not discussed with school districts in advance. Heard from a colleague that this was basically a surprise.

  118. Libturd says:

    I am not surprised. Murphy is truly a shoot from the hip moron who truly thinks he knows better than everyone. And when the truth reveals he is a moron, he buys the silence if his detractors.

    He is truly the worst governor NJ has had in my lifetime. Though it is amazing what money can buy.

  119. Juice box says:

    Why are you folks arguing about the past? Learn the damm lesson and move on already this isn’t the debate club. Trump > Hillary. Mkay already..We would be knee deep in three more wars with that crazy one running the show, at least he will go out like Jimmy Carter by not trying to send our young men To die for nothing.

  120. Juice Box says:

    Re: “ fully virtual“

    Yea as if it was more than a few minutes of a zoom call with the rest being homework. The IEP lawsuits alone will bankrupt the school districts.

    I have a cousin living in New Zealand maybe I should just relocate there.

  121. grim says:

    NY looking to tax stock trading?

    Snicker, everyone knows that actually happens in data centers in NJ.

  122. chicagofinance says:

    OPINION
    COMMENTARY

    ‘Hamilton’ Loses Its Snob Appeal

    Political correctness is a barrier to keep the working class from becoming upwardly mobile.
    By Rob Henderson

    When I was a new student at Yale in 2015, everyone on campus was talking about the Broadway sensation “Hamilton.” “It’s amazing,” a classmate told me. I had never been to a musical. Neither, as far as I knew, had anyone from my hometown. I searched the internet for tickets: $400—way beyond my budget as a veteran enlisted man attending college on the GI Bill.

    So I was pleased this month when “Hamilton” became available to watch on the streaming service Disney+. But now the show is being criticized for its portrayal of the American Founding by many of the same people who once gushed about it. Is it a coincidence that affluent people loved “Hamilton” when tickets were prohibitively expensive, but they disparage it now that ordinary people can see it?

    In 2015, seeing “Hamilton” was a major status symbol. In 2020, it doesn’t mean much. The affluent are now distancing themselves from something that has become too popular. A New York Times art critic recently urged that the Mona Lisa be taken down from the Louvre. Too many proles had seen it, undermining its ability to confer status on the well-to-do.

    A friend of mine recently told me that he didn’t enjoy “Hamilton” but never told anyone because everybody at Yale loved it. Once something becomes fashionable among the upper class, aspiring elites know they must go along to have any hope of joining the higher ranks. But once it becomes fashionable among the hoi polloi, the elites update their tastes.

    The upper classes are driven to distinguish themselves from the little people even beyond art. This explains the ever-evolving standards of wokeness. To become acculturated into the elite requires knowing the habits, customs and manners of the upper class. Ideological purity tests now exist to indicate social class and block upward social mobility. Your opinion about social issues is the new powdered wig. In universities and in professional jobs, political correctness is a weapon used by white-collar professionals to weed out those who didn’t marinate in elite mores.

    These are luxury beliefs—or ideas and opinions that confer status on the upper class while taking a toll on lower class. They are evolving so rapidly, it’s hard to keep up. To stay on top of it, you need to have lots of free time or the kind of job that allows you to spend hours on Twitter. Working-class people don’t have time to accrue such cultural capital.

    To understand the neologisms and practices of social justice, you need a bachelor’s degree from an expensive college. A common refrain to those who are not fully up to date on the latest fashions is “Educate yourself.” This is a way of keeping down people who work multiple jobs, have children to care for, and don’t have the time or means to read the latest woke bestseller.

    The winds will have shifted by the time the proletariat catches up, and that’s the point. Affluent people keep their positions secure by allowing only those who go to the right colleges, listen to the right podcasts, and read the right books to join their inner circle. But just as today’s fashionable art will soon be out-of-date, so will today’s fashionable moral opinions.

    Mr. Henderson is a U.S. Air Force veteran and a doctoral candidate at the University of Cambridge.

  123. Phoenix says:

    “He is truly the worst governor NJ has had in my lifetime. ”

    I’m still voting for Christie Whitman. One woman wrecking ball.
    After she messed up NJ, then she did her destruction at the WTC.

    If just NJ, then yeah, guess he made to #1.

  124. joyce says:

    Pretty sure NY would prevail since the NYSE and most (all?) major brokerage firms are in NYC.

    grim says:
    July 20, 2020 at 9:11 pm
    NY looking to tax stock trading?

    Snicker, everyone knows that actually happens in data centers in NJ.

  125. chicagofinance says:

    Take a step outside the country
    And turn around
    Take a look at what you are
    It is amazing
    Take a good look
    You’re no big deal
    You’re so petty
    It’s a laugh
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=629MUSrZVVs

  126. Libturd says:

    Whitman was pretty bad, but I giver her a slight pass because she was politically ignorant. I was impressed when she quit on Bush as DEP head because she refused to be censored. You guys remember her photo op with the Camden police? She was pretty stupid too. We really know how to pick them in NJ.

    Here’s a photo that Trump would have approved. You know, the guy who she frisked was shot dead a few years after. Must have been the BLM protests. Booyah!

  127. ExEssex says:

    If you ever want a reality check re: wealth
    Visit Carmel CA sometime. It’s …. over…the top.

  128. Fabius Maximus says:

    Gary,

    Ronnie 2.0 Dementia in the WHouse.

    https://twitter.com/TheDailyShow/status/1242836333871202305

  129. Fabius Maximus says:

    Lib,

    At least she didn’t try to go undercover. This always makes me laugh.

    https://tinyurl.com/y4b2kyqg

  130. Grim fan (not the first nor last) says:

    Late reply to Lib’s ductless split brand question, but I ran a Sanyo single head unit (now rebranded as Panasonic), and while it didn’t have the efficiency ratings of the Mitsu’s they were quite a bit less expensive and performed well with no problems in the two years before I sold the home. Installed it myself and had an a/c guy adjust the charge for $100 just to ensure there would be no warranty issues. Pretty much ran non-stop during that time, only shut off during spring-summer and fall-winter transitions when I could open the windows.

  131. Fabius Maximus says:

    “We would be knee deep in three more wars”

    Whats the odds Iran kicks off in October. Anyone giving odds?

  132. Fabius Maximus says:

    Gary,

    How the CD laddering going at 0.6%?

    Its going to be a long winter for you out on MAGA Island. Kasich bailed and now we have George Will pulling the leaver for Biden? Moderate GOP and more right is going Biden in droves. https://www.rawstory.com/2020/07/george-will-reveals-he-is-voting-for-joe-biden-the-first-time-hes-ever-cast-a-vote-for-a-democrat-report/

    I am still at 60% we get a fair election. Bidens note today was a big boost. If you want to mess around and I win, bad things will happen. Nice Message.

  133. Fabius Maximus says:

    So Portland and DHS

    Any of the board constitutionalists want to chime in on the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th implications?

    Or are you all just ok with it?

  134. No One says:

    I thought the governor who gave a plum security job to his butt buddy and ran off with him was the worst governor. He literally sucked on the job. Then tried to become an Episcopalian minister after resigning in disgrace. Mcgreevey.

    Then there was that guy who blew up his bank.
    And that fat guy.
    Only the worst people could become governor of this state.

  135. Chicago says:

    Lol!

    No One says:
    July 20, 2020 at 11:19 pm
    I thought the governor who gave a plum security job to his butt buddy and ran off with him was the worst governor. He literally sucked on the job

  136. Juice Box says:

    Fab – Ask the Portland cops, they are on the front line as cannon fodder for the larping black block anarchists. Violent protest should not be conflated with legal assembly and legal protests, the black block hate what DHS is doing because they have no defense against snatch and arrest, which is what DHS is doing and the Portland police are not allowed to do.

    The Portland Police union president sharply criticizes Oregon and Portland elected officials for allowing looting and violent riots to take place day-after-day in the city.

    https://amp.thepostmillennial.com/portland-police-union-boss-says-elected-officials-are-condoning-destruction-and-chaos/?__twitter_impression=true

  137. Juice Box says:

    Also Fab – The anarchists know they can’t win a fight On the streets or In courts so they focus efforts on PR war, like Hamas. That’s why they use human shields, including kids and moms now and suck in well suckers like you who might even donate to their cause.

    And mayor wheeler allows it, just ask the Portland police as he won’t let them stop the so called protestors from burning down And destroying a federal courthouse.

    “ Portland Police were not present during any of the activity described. Portland Police did not engage with any crowds and did not deploy any CS gas.”

    https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/news/read.cfm?id=251010

  138. grim says:

    Biden’s choice of VP is really the only wildcard left at this point.

    Going with someone like Warren, that’s just going to motivate the right to come out, simply out of hate for Warren. If he picks a nice milquetoast candidate that nobody really cares about, it’s his.

    I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the polls at this point, we know America votes on party lines. Trumps idiocy is irrelevant, please don’t give Americans this much credit, they’ll just prove you wrong.

  139. Fast Eddie says:

    Fabisu,

    How the CD laddering going at 0.6%?

    3% for 18 months and then a few laddered at a lesser rate.

  140. ExEssex says:

    7:12 I doubt it matters to conservatives who Biden picks.
    Warren will appeal to many suburban women and some
    Swing voters. She’ll scare the shit out of Wall St.
    I’ll bet she’ll repatriate tax funds lost to shell corporations
    Overseas. I say “good” if she angers the triggered little
    F@ggots on the GOP. Blue wave. Vote.

  141. 3b says:

    I read, forget where, that Biden is not going to pick someone for VP that is going to overshadow him. He wants this to be his Presidency, and does not want to be viewed as a caretaker President until 2024.

  142. ExEssex says:

    Face it a coffee mug could overshadow Biden. But at this point he’s all we got.

  143. D-FENS says:

    Down the rabbit hole…

    http://unlimitedhangout.com/2020/07/reports/alleged-salas-family-assailant-previously-worked-for-us-israeli-intelligence-linked-firm/

    The alleged gunmen who killed the son of Esther Salas, the judge recently assigned to the Epstein-Deutsche Bank case, worked for a company of corporate spies and mercenaries with ties to intelligence and also to Deutsche Bank.

  144. D-FENS says:

    They’re framing the judge shooting as a crazy lone gunman with mental problems. Word is Murphy is going to use it as a jumping off point for more gun control legislation in NJ in September too.

  145. homeboken says:

    Re Portland, Minneaopolis, etc.

    It really seems obvious to me that the local leadership is trying to force Trump to send in federal LEO’s and hope that they end up killing some “peaceful protester”

    I can’t understand any other logic in neutering your police force while rioters burn down police precincts, attack court houses and destroy public and private property.

    Maybe someone with more experience in big cities can explain – Why are local leaders allowing the destruction? I’ve seen the YouTube videos, this isn’t a joke.

  146. ExEssex says:

    8:32 no one would accuse LA or Chicago of being well-run.
    This is about appeasement and cow-towing to a national
    movement de jour. none of these leaders has a long-term
    vision or plan other than what they perceive as poll numbers.

    That brunch said, cops need policing and the current system
    needs disruption. Money is the only thing these organizations
    understand.

  147. homeboken says:

    Ex – I agree that there are lots of changes possible within the police force. Both in their use of force in certain situations, corruption within the ranks, the Blue shield for when they themselves break the law, all should be changed.

    But are you saying that the violence is a good way to enact that change?

    Fighting a strong union group like police or teachers and force them to change their bad behaviors is a REALLY tough ask. I just don’t see how burning down the police building makes sense. Imagine a group of parents angry that their kids education stinks, like say, EastSide HS in Newark. The answer isn’t – Burn the school down, that will show them,

  148. SmallGovConservative says:

    grim says:
    July 21, 2020 at 7:12 am

    Trumps idiocy is irrelevant…

    I get that people don’t like Trump’s demeanor and that he doesn’t ‘behave’ in a presidential manner. But the fact is that Trump’s instincts, and the policy decisions that follow from them, have been spot-on far more than not. Here’s a quick list of accomplishments; they dwarf those of any past president – in terms of both number and impact – since Reagan won the cold war.
    – identifying China as a strategic competitor/enemy rather than a potential partner and engaging as such (remember all the worry about Trump not supporting the TPP in 2016; he was right and now everyone agrees with him)
    – identifying Iran as a major enemy rather than a potential partner, withdrawing from the preposterous nuclear deal and putting maximum pressure on the Iranian government without going to war (he’s right, although in this case it wouldn’t surprise me if a Dem administration let them off the hook and re-engaged on the terrible nuclear deal)
    – identifying NAFTA as a terrible deal for the US, and renegotiating it (he was right and now everyone agrees with him)
    – improving security at our southern border (he’s absolutely right that the Dems want an open border)
    – implementing a massive military funding increase and restoring readiness and capabilities that were deliberately diminished by the Obama/Biden crew
    – reducing taxes
    – reducing regulation, or at least the pace of new regulation (Obama was well on his way to strangling the economy)
    – appointing outstanding judges (lots of them) to all levels of the federal judiciary
    – even some of his ideas that appear to be outlandish on their face, such as the proposal to buy Greenland, actually may be very important in the long-term. If anyone thinks that we’re not already in a global ‘competition’ with China and Russia – not just commercially, but militarily and over territory as well – they’ve got their head in the sand. While the week-kneed Dems either don’t know this or won’t admit it, Trump knows that we are, is already engaging as such. Don’t be surprised if, within our lifetimes, we bump heads with these two over the South China Sea, the Panama Canal, or the Arctic — the 50k Greenlanders may eventually have no choice but to pick a side.

  149. leftwing says:

    “I think they both suck. Obama was a second-rate “intellectual” with bad premises (collectivist/altruist/egalitarian) with technocratic, elitist, and wrong advisors.
    Many of his own policies he managed to pass or order were bad for the economy.
    Trump is an anti-intellectual, unprincipled, populist self-promoter with 3rd rate yes-men as advisors. Some of his policies are bad for the economy, but he temporarily reigned in the regulatory bureaucracy. He’s too incoherent to explain why he’s doing what he’s doing or gain necessary international allies.”

    Best political screed on here in months.

  150. AP says:

    Interesting OpEd today discussing why Trump is mounting a “Law and Order” campaign at a time when c19 is a much bigger issue. Could it be simply an attempt at PR deflection?

    https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/508173-a-law-and-order-campaign-does-not-meet-the-moment

    “In this past weekend’s Fox News poll, 29 percent said that the coronavirus is the nation’s most important issue. This has been the trend for months now. As for crime? It comes in at just 1 percent.”

  151. Phoenix says:

    The taxpayers should be allowed to vote whether police and teachers get to have a union as they are paying the bill and the money is being extorted out of property tax.
    Simple as that.

  152. homeboken says:

    Just saw a letter to DHS that was signed by the Mayors of several of our biggest cities. It says that the presence of federal officers on their streets is a violation of the constitution and needs to stop.

    I have to admit, I really love that the (mostly) uber-progressive leftists are now reading us the 10th amendment and fighting to protect states rights.

    Clown world.

  153. Phoenix says:

    “But are you saying that the violence is a good way to enact that change?”

    For me, nope, but if it’s all you have in your toolbox and things don’t change it’s what you are going to use, either good or bad.

    You work with what you got.

  154. Phoenix says:

    Revealed lawyer from yesterday was dying of terminal cancer.

    Beware of someone who has nothing to lose….

  155. homeboken says:

    Phoenix – It’s funamentally not acceptable to society to engage in that violence.

    If the idea were really the will of the people, then there is a way to vote that change into existence.

    Violence is a tool of a desperate minority (number, not race). When they know they do not have the ability to civilly convince voters and create a majority, they attempt to use force.

    That is cave-man thinking. Strong man takes weak mans food and woman. If that is a society that you are willing in to live in, good luck with that. I want no part of it.

  156. leftwing says:

    “The market is following the cash flows? I think I can add up about 1 trillion in market cap worldwide to companies that don’t generate meaningful profits or free cash flow.”

    No One, trying to find the exceptions to disprove the rule is not where I was going. I’ll help you in that point if you want, just take TSLA and you’re a third of the way to your trillion which recall is in total only 3% or so of the entire index market cap.

    My point was in response to Lib’s comment and all these presumed ‘experts’ on TV scratching their heads on why these two indices and a handful of stocks are outpacing everything. Their views (or lack thereof) have cost some otherwise very sharp people I know some serious money.

    Bottom line, I track cash flow and market cap each as a percent of the SPX for these companies. Haven’t updated it in a couple weeks since my trading focus moved but I can assure you that as of then the measures were on top of eachother, ie. these companies combined market caps relative to the total market cap of the index was the same as the proportion of cash flow they contributed to the total cash flow of the index.

    They were not overvalued relative to the index.

    I take your point on rapidly declining yields driving PE ratios and the index value which is different topic though. The ‘experts’ are also wrong here regarding individual companies’ PEs, which are basically irrelevant until we are through the COVID dislocation. Again, too many alarm mongers with a mic who have kept people out of this rebound because of their own ignorance. More on how the experts are dead wrong on PE relevance if anyone wants.

    “Growth and momentum have been the strongest factors lately, as big a move there as I’ve seen since 1999 and 2007.”

    Growth and momentum are always large market drivers. My point was the differentiation between 99 and now. The former was all momentum and no growth, currently growth is commensurate and supporting momentum. One can presage a crash, one usually not.

    Full disclosure as always, these statements are rear view mirror comments on what has occurred over the last three months and not indicative of where I am now. I am not long any index, any of the previously mentioned names, and am short select names.

    Good luck all.

  157. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Why do you hate teachers so much?

    Because I’m in a union…I’m extorting the tax payer?

    I really need to get out of this job, it’s not a good place when everyone and their mother thinks they are your boss because they pay taxes. Every single individual advocating to save money on your back. It’s worst than a bunch of socia!ists trying to get their hand in your pocket.

    Phoenix says:
    July 21, 2020 at 9:20 am
    The taxpayers should be allowed to vote whether police and teachers get to have a union as they are paying the bill and the money is being extorted out of property tax.
    Simple as that.

  158. Fast Eddie says:

    SmallGovConservative,

    The left hates Trump’s accomplishments to the point of being violent and resisting at any cost. The left truly hates America and wants a system that acknowledges their weaknesses.

  159. Phoenix says:

    “Phoenix – It’s fundamentally not acceptable to society to engage in that violence.”

    Actually, the legal system disagrees with you, as it has protected these individuals in the past by letting them off when they should have been convicted. This is not in dispute.

    Since America has chosen and endorsed the type of legal system where someone like Epstein could not be monitored in a NYC jail yet a kid with pot would be monitored we know the type of justice system that exists in America.

    This system chose not to self adjust, so outside forces took over that role.
    I don’t prefer it either, but that is not my decision to make.

  160. Juice Box says:

    homeboken – “performative authoritarianism” is the left’s latest label for the Federal police actions, along with storm troopers and even paramilitaries.

    History Rhymes it’s election season so it’s all politics from here on it. Nixon won the 68 election on “law and order” the polling at the time showed a vast majority of voters did not want their cities burned down.

  161. Phoenix says:

    Pumpkin,
    I don’t hate teachers.
    But I have butted heads with the administration in that arena who have used their legal forces to try to protect certain members of their community against my legal rights- I have no use for their shenanigans either.

  162. AP says:

    Competing narratives played for profits on national networks and online. Mass opinion formed by spin doctors and lobbyist groups.

    It’s a gold rush of conspiracy nuttery, always or almost always with a dollar sign just outside of view.

    Take care of yourselves, your families and communities, and stay well.

  163. Taking Fabius's Bet says:

    War odds – 100% with China over Taiwan, Russia will make a move in NATO turf, and Iran will make a move in the Middle East.

    There is one qualifier. It will happen after election date 11/3/20 and before swearing in day 1/20/21.

    Trump is going to lose, but will not want to leave. After using the Armed Forces in DC and getting rebuffed by the generals. Trump is using Homeland Security’s people in Portland, and threatening other democratic runned cities to see how much he can get away with. Trump knowns if he put his DHS Gestapo goons in Chicago and NYC there will be a local reaction and someone will shoot at them , allowing him to increase his reaction.

    That period of 11/3/20-1/20/21 will be very dangerous, because there will be no handoff between professionals. In fact everyone will be acting like 5 yrs olds. Plus there will be no public support to respond to act out internationally, when the question of is there still a US of A hangs in the air.

    Fabius Maximus says:
    July 20, 2020 at 10:50 pm
    “We would be knee deep in three more wars”

    Whats the odds Iran kicks off in October. Anyone giving odds?

  164. Juice Box says:

    re: “Whats the odds Iran kicks off in October? ”

    Kick off as in bombing campaign? Or some shots fired in the Straights of Hormuz?

    100% chance not happening, bombing campaign. Nobody wants another war in the Middle East, and most of that oil does not come here anymore it goes to China.

  165. Bystander says:

    Chi,

    You did not like Obama but your statements are far more opinion. My intent was not to pump Obama but to downplay the delusional on the board who think Orange clown was exceptional. Obama did pass ACA and Dodd Frank, both via Congress not EO. You may not like them and that is fine. Trump had full control of both House and Senate and passed squat. He had no plan. He never has a plan bc he listens to no one. I don’t know how that is a green check for him. Obama did not give rise to Trump. Trump kicked off his entire campaign with racist birther movement and the bubbling subterranean creatures crawled out to support him. He wrapped this around lies about getting rid of illegals and boom in manufacturing, both which never occurred though trillions spent. He had low unemployment and booming stocks yet his arrogant pettiness focused on Obama EOs and ACA. Guess what? Trump ruled through EOs which will be reversed as well. He will forever be a laughing stock single term failure. That is absolutely deserved.

  166. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Well said!

    I assumed the internet would make society smarter. Nope, I underestimated money and human nature’s lust for power.

    AP says:
    July 21, 2020 at 10:37 am
    Competing narratives played for profits on national networks and online. Mass opinion formed by spin doctors and lobbyist groups.

    It’s a gold rush of conspiracy nuttery, always or almost always with a dollar sign just outside of view.

    Take care of yourselves, your families and communities, and stay well.

  167. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Precisely why you hit them…that is, if we see war as inevitable with China. Hope it’s not the case.

    “most of that oil does not come here anymore it goes to China.”

  168. Taking Fabius's Bet says:

    Fabius,

    Realize that Trump is following a very old playbook known to people in the world of intelligence. This is classic old Gestapo – Nacht und Nebel ” , old KGB, old Statzi, old CIA.

    Understand where we are heading. There is a small and growing possibility that by 2/1/21 either Trump will be jailed under treason or power will devolve to States and massive economic dislocation as there will be no functioning or existing US of A. This is russians, chineses, iranians, and big billionaires’ dream – they get to run the show.

    Luckily, we are under the Federal Reserve Bank of NY. That is where the money is.

  169. leftwing says:

    “Trumps idiocy is irrelevant…I get that people don’t like Trump’s demeanor and that he doesn’t ‘behave’ in a presidential manner. But the fact is that Trump’s instincts, and the policy decisions that follow from them, have been spot-on far more than not.”

    But for the counterfactual…..

    For decades the Repubs have been run by cowards. Bush? McCain? Romney? Dole?
    Warmed up leftovers. Not an original idea among them. And even if there were no courage to pursue it. Too entrenched. Definition of the Establishment.

    You know it’s bad when Rubio and Cruz were considered ‘change’ candidates…..

    So along comes an outsider with no political establishment guard rails unafraid to immolate bad international agreements, China, the regulatory infrastructure, immigration and other sacred cows a political insider even on the Right wouldn’t touch….

    And it comes in the package of the Orange Freak?

    If Trump were even only a halfway presentable human being the landslide mandate he could have would bury the Dems for decades. Think ‘Reagan Revolution’ on steroids.

    Instead, we finally get someone to challenge the dominant Right leaning party to uphold the principles they say they espouse, and he can’t even enunciate those principles and has no desire to even learn. And that is entirely aside from being an abominable cringe inducing human.

    His election was the Universe playing a cosmic joke of the highest order not just on Dems, but Repubs as well……

  170. Bystanderg says:

    The reddest of red states, probably missed in the news. Thanks Obama
    – signed ingrate Oklahomans.

    “Voters in Oklahoma narrowly approved a ballot measure Tuesday night to expand Medicaid to eligible adults who need health insurance. Oklahoma is now the 37th state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act”

    “In Oklahoma, Medicaid expansion will likely help drive down the state’s 14% uninsured rate, the second highest in the nation after Texas. It’s estimated that at least 200,000 Oklahomans will be newly eligible for Medicaid, with enrollment potentially climbing even higher as millions lose their jobs amid the pandemic.”

  171. leftwing says:

    “There is a small and growing possibility that by 2/1/21 either Trump will be jailed under treason or power will devolve to States and massive economic dislocation as there will be no functioning or existing US of A.”

    I’ll pay for whatever you’re taking. Must be some really good sh1t.

  172. The Great Pumpkin says:

    This is going to be the market I look to make my next move. Blood in the streets….check.

    “Distressed Properties In Commercial

    Finally, as part of my real estate investing due diligence, I also talked to EquityMultiple, one of the top real estate crowdfunding platforms and FS sponsor about their thoughts on investing in distressed assets.

    In their opinion, distress is just starting to show in the market. It will intensify over the next six to twelve months, creating a once-in-a-cycle buying opportunity for investors.

    EquityMultiple is actively working with a number of quality sponsors — who have had distressed asset investing success for decades — to bring their investors distressed asset opportunities.”

  173. Fabius Maximus says:

    Taking, I’m with you on most of that. I will say that it will be Israel that will kick it off with Iran, and then we will have to step in to support. Juice, invoking Hamas above, shows the propaganda is working.

    We are heading to a very bad place if we don’t do something here. Isn’t it ironic that a department that was created to protect us from foreign adversaries, is getting turned out against the people its supposed to protect.

    Interesting piece on where Barr thinks he gets the legality for this. https://www.justsecurity.org/71535/bill-barrs-playbook-his-false-claims-about-prior-military-force-on-u-s-soil/

    “I have to admit, I really love that the (mostly) uber-progressive leftists are now reading us the 10th amendment and fighting to protect states rights.” I don’t like the fact that all these supposed right wing Constitutionalists are not screaming that the States Rights are being suppressed. They need to be very careful as they will not like where that silence will take them.

  174. joyce says:

    implementing a massive military funding increase and restoring readiness and capabilities that were deliberately diminished by the Obama/Biden crew

    hahaha

  175. joyce says:

    homeboken,

    What are your thoughts on the Boston tea party?

  176. chicagofinance says:

    Here is an extension of my point yesterday….. Trump’s response maybe blunt, hamfisted and unbecoming a President, but think about the Obamunist….. how was his handoff any less graceless, overreaching and “unbecoming a President”.

    Obama is just as much a scumbag, but with an air of moral righteousness. Oh I forgot, he is a “good guy” “a family man”…….

    Taking Fabius’s Bet says:
    July 21, 2020 at 10:40 am
    That period of 11/3/20-1/20/21 will be very dangerous, because there will be no handoff between professionals. In fact everyone will be acting like 5 yrs olds.

  177. Bystander says:

    “But the fact is that Trump’s instincts, and the policy decisions that follow from them, have been spot-on far more than not.”

    hah, what a load of bullsh&t. Facts? Sure..

  178. Juice Box says:

    re: ” shows the propaganda” It’s all fun and games until people start dying.

    Who’s propaganda and how much money did you give pantifa anyway? You do know they have almost burned down that Federal Court Building in Portland twice in the last two weeks, including during the Moms protest over the weekend. Hey mom I want you to go out there and take a tear gas canister to the head while I try and burn down this building, because it triggers me! Can you also put little Jimmy in the stroller and push him out there too!

    Let me guess they are mostly peaceful protesters not rioters and anarchists using terrorist tactics. How about that burnt dead body they found yesterday in Minneapolis at the Pawn Shop they torched? Montez Terriel was just “protesting” and should be released right?

    https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/07/20/dead-body-found-in-burned-out-pawn-shop-near-mpd-3rd-precinct/

  179. Libturd says:

    Was laughing at that line too Joyce.

    Just another narrative. They are all lies. Trump knows that if you repeat things enough times, people will start to believe it. Trump has been doing this his entire career. And of course, dismissing everything that criticizes him as fake news and a hoax.

    https://bit.ly/32Hz54a

    If you consider his actions with China successful, you are kidding yourself.

  180. Bystander says:

    Chi,

    No response on birther movement, I see. Non-issue in your opinion? Show us the multiple affairs, divorces, or teen pageant sponsorships to prove he was not a “good family man”. Again the standards seem to move for Trump. It is fine to dislike Obama, just stop trying to make them “moral person” equivalents. If those things don’t matter then just state so but you just can’t point to any societal standard that Obama failed to meet.

  181. Fabius Maximus says:

    “Revealed lawyer from yesterday was dying of terminal cancer.”

    Everything about this stinks. We have a terminal diagnosis, ties to Russia, and after the event he drives 3hrs north to the Catskills to then find God and chew lead?

    I’ll call it a Botched Jeffery!

  182. leftwing says:

    “think about the Obamunist….. how was his handoff any less graceless, overreaching and “unbecoming a President”. Obama is just as much a scumbag, but with an air of moral righteousness. Oh I forgot, he is a “good guy” “a family man”…….”

    Never understand this liberal fascination with ‘approval’ and appearances, especially international…..all I can think is that it goes back to control….if one can make another’s opinion important to the masses the cabal just added another subjective lever in their toolbox to try to control the population….or they just have major daddy and beta issues……

  183. homeboken says:

    Joyce – The Boston Tea Party was a group of colonists, that were being regulated and taxed by a monarch, 3,000 miles of atlantic ocean away. That insurrection was intended to declare a new and autonomous nation state.

    The Boston Tea Party was not put in place to take down the Monarchy in its native land.

    The colonists did not care at all how England governed themselves. They did not want to be subjected to that set of rules while having no say in the legislative process. Taxation without representation.

    Are you saying that these rioters are seeking to break off and form an independent nation of their own? Because that is not what I see.

    To use your analogy – If today’s antifa were around in the Boston Tea Party days, they would be on a boat across the Atlantic and would need to invade England in order to take down the monarch style of government.

    In my view, it is incorrect to try and tie the 1776 revolution to today’s revolution.

  184. homeboken says:

    One more point – The argument that Portland is 3,000 miles away from DC so it’s all the same right?

    Travelling from NYC to England in the 18th century would be similar to the US travelling to Mars today.

  185. Fast Eddie says:

    Democrats know Trump knows that if you repeat things enough times, people will start to believe it.

    There, fixed it.

  186. Bystander says:

    left,

    Appearances? You mean like being the party of controlled spending, family values and good Christian beliefs while a non-Christian, thrice divorced, teen pageant obsessed, spend freak is running your “conservative” party? Glad we can throw that all away now. Dems can run Larry Flynt ans Rs can’t say a word. Of course, you will claim all these values again when D gets it office. Typical..

  187. Bystander says:

    Sorry, correction, thrice married but that divorce will happen too.

  188. Fast Eddie says:

    You too, folks, can have a dream home that few will never possess, all without creating a business or having a real job. All you need is a good line of bullsh1t and fake compassion for the lesser masses. Preach the word and the tax dollars of the poor will pay for your lifestyle. He learned from preachers and this is his reward:

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenhowley/2019/09/01/inside-the-obamas-new-marthas-vineyard-estate/#277bd34d2286

  189. ExEssex says:

    This:

    This is true for a number of reasons, but the most important is that in the long run, the math in the House, as opposed to the Senate, is not favorable to Republicans. Democrats might complain about the built-in advantage for the party of rural America in the upper chamber, but the corollary in the lower one is the reality that even in the reddest of red states, cities and suburbs are getting bluer with each election cycle. In 2018, the GOP won only a quarter of districts in which a higher than average percentage of residents had at least a bachelor’s degree. As Tom Davis, the former congressman and chairman of the Republican National Committee, put it recently, the suburbs were “the base of the Republican Party just a decade and a half ago. And there just aren’t enough rural voters to make up for those kind [sic] of losses. It means for the Republicans that instead of picking up seats in the House, that the bleeding could continue.”

  190. chicagofinance says:

    There is no intended moral equivalence…. Obama is the first President in my lifetime that I was fully cognizant who used the Presidency not as a pinnacle moment in their career, but rather a stepping stone to a lifetime of enrichment. He left office a young man at 54, and is looking to at minimum three decades of collecting genuflection and graft with no consequences…..

    Trump kisses Putin’s a%% because so many Russian Oligarchs spend money and invest wealth in real estate and the hospitality industry.

    Obama used the Presidency to argue for “net neutrality”…… why would that be? Is it a public good…… some kind of basic infrastructure……….. BULLSH!T … it was all about Netflix destroying the digital pipe into people’s home by overwhelming it. It was perfect. Netflix destroys the service and Comcast, Verizon et al. take the blame……. and here is the back door bribe from Reed Hastings to Obama…..
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Ground_Productions#:~:text=In%20May%202018%2C%20Barack%20and,voices%20in%20the%20entertainment%20industry.

    Oh I forgot he is a “family man” a “good guy”…… no he is a scumbag like all of them…. not beyond reproach…. no moral authority….. tremendous helpings of hubris….

    Bystander says:
    July 21, 2020 at 12:00 pm
    Chi, No response on birther movement, I see. Non-issue in your opinion? Show us the multiple affairs, divorces, or teen pageant sponsorships to prove he was not a “good family man”. Again the standards seem to move for Trump. It is fine to dislike Obama, just stop trying to make them “moral person” equivalents. If those things don’t matter then just state so but you just can’t point to any societal standard that Obama failed to meet.

  191. chicagofinance says:

    agreed….. they can live more than 30 seconds without their iPhone…… more important than oxygen

    homeboken says:
    July 21, 2020 at 12:13 pm
    Are you saying that these rioters are seeking to break off and form an independent nation of their own? Because that is not what I see.

  192. chicagofinance says:

    they can’t

  193. chicagofinance says:

    yes

    ExEssex says:
    July 21, 2020 at 12:24 pm
    This:

    This is true for a number of reasons, but the most important is that in the long run, the math in the House, as opposed to the Senate, is not favorable to Republicans. Democrats might complain about the built-in advantage for the party of rural America in the upper chamber, but the corollary in the lower one is the reality that even in the reddest of red states, cities and suburbs are getting bluer with each election cycle. In 2018, the GOP won only a quarter of districts in which a higher than average percentage of residents had at least a bachelor’s degree. As Tom Davis, the former congressman and chairman of the Republican National Committee, put it recently, the suburbs were “the base of the Republican Party just a decade and a half ago. And there just aren’t enough rural voters to make up for those kind [sic] of losses. It means for the Republicans that instead of picking up seats in the House, that the bleeding could continue.”

  194. chicagofinance says:

    bystander: you give me odds on an Obama divorce a la Al Gore….. as soon as the daughters graduate college?

    Oh I forgot “family man” “good guy”

  195. joyce says:

    homeboken,
    I understand and agree with your response. My point was not to equate their motives or goals. It was to disagree with your comment that it’s fundamentally unacceptable to engage in violence… also, significant changes (good and bad) are usually not the will of the people but brought about by a minority. There’s a minority opposed and a monitory in favor and a giant middle that is just trying to pay their mortgage and feed their family.

  196. Bystander says:

    chi,

    hah, I’ll give you 10 to 1 odds with parlay bet on Hillary dumping Bill at some point before end of her 75th

  197. leftwing says:

    “Appearances? You mean like being the party of controlled spending, family values and good Christian beliefs while a non-Christian, thrice divorced, teen pageant obsessed, spend freak is running your “conservative” party? Glad we can throw that all away now. Dems can run Larry Flynt ans Rs can’t say a word. Of course, you will claim all these values again when D gets it office. Typical..”

    You and Lib, two otherwise reasonable posters, have some serious projection issues regarding me and my opinions…..

    Nice to hear you know not just what I think, but what I will think in the future. Give me a shout when you get that prescience in the stock market please. that’s what I’d really be interested in.

    Run Larry Flynt. I really don’t care. From Kennedy to Clinton you’ve had your share of rabid wh0remongers. My issue regarding the Left is always with the hypocrisy…They would run LF and claim his history is not what it is, that he was misunderstood, and that a white male society made him and is therefore to blame for any of his ills none of which they are actually admitting of course….conversely, DJT is a pig, you know it, I know it, the populace knows it, and so does he.

    Secondly conservatives, of which I consider myself, never looked at Trump as the leader of anything let alone their belief system, of which he has none. Everything about Trump is the antithesis of conservatism – by which I mean the governing dogma, not the social agenda with the evangelists. As an aside, as a conservative we find it humorous that people are surprised that the likes of George Will decide to not support DJT. That, to a conservative, is as predictable as the sun rising in the East.

    And lastly as it relates to my personal view on DJT what in this line from my post was unclear?

    “Instead, we finally get someone to challenge the dominant Right leaning party to uphold the principles they say they espouse, and he can’t even enunciate those principles and has no desire to even learn. And that is entirely aside from being an abominable cringe inducing human.”

  198. Bystander says:

    Chi, Obama and Clinton came from poor, single parent backgrounds. They should celebrated as joyous successes of capitalism. Seems to be ok for every other ex politician or even, ex Fed chair.

  199. joyce says:

    N.J. city aims for new NYC ferry as project gets $5M boost from feds
    [South Amboy]

    https://www.nj.com/news/2020/07/nj-city-aims-for-nyc-ferry-as-project-gets-5m-boost-from-feds.html

  200. 3b says:

    Bystander: Obama did not grow up poor, Clinton most certainly did but not Obama.

  201. 3b says:

    Joyce don’t know why they would waste money on a ferry to NYC.

  202. joyce says:

    graft, probably

  203. Bystander says:

    3b,

    True. His grandparents stepped up but not rich. Grew up with neither parent really..tough. Lucky he made it…or I should I say unlucky for some here. ;>)

  204. Juice Box says:

    Bystander?

    Barack Obama was not raised by a single mother. He had a dads, Lolo primarily who met Ann Dunham before she was even divorced from Barack Sr. They married in Hawaii several months after her divorce from his Barack Sr. She divorced Lolo after Barry was in College. He had a father figure the entire time and did live in a wealthier neighborhood in Indonesia and Hawaii too, and he went to private schools in both places, he was middle class not poor.

    Clinton on the other hand never knew his biological dad who died before he was born. He was middle class Arkansas, not red neck poor as his dad had a Buick dealership which they sold and later owned a four hundred-acre farm, there were not piss poor either.

  205. 3b says:

    Juice I stand corrected on Clinton , I thought he was white trailer poor.

  206. Libturd says:

    I stayed in the apartment above Obama’s (after his college) when I was in Chicago. He was upper middle class. But as long as they are not filthy rich, I could care less. And if he made money after being president? More power to him.

    All of this character assassination is pretty stupid anyway. What they do in office is really all that should matter. If they do a good job, everyone forgives the past. If they suck, it’s blamed on the past.

    Let’s move on.

  207. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    Ex politicians getting rich post office would be fine depending on how its done. Getting book deals from companies you doled contracts out to. Getting paid $250k for speeches at banks your attorney general allowed to settle out of court with. These types of things should be outlawed.

  208. Fast Eddie says:

    If they suck, it’s blamed on the past.

    He s.ucked. Totally and unequivocally. Oblama did. His vision of hope and change fragmented this country beyond “hope” of ever recovering. Your fathers and grandfathers knew only one way and that way resulted in truly the greatest country in the world. They worked and loved this country. And then the violent cunts decided they didn’t like that plan and we’re seeing the results now. Tear everything up, blame other groups, whine like little c0cksuckers and level the field to THEIR liking. No… he s.ucked… really hard.

  209. Libturd says:

    It’s not THAT bad Gary. Turn off the TV. Sit on your deck and blast some tunes. At the end of the day, those who take things to far are few and in between. Portland? Meh. Goya? Meh. They’ll both be distant memories in another month.

  210. joyce says:

    Don’t forget the time he saluted with coffee in his hand

  211. joyce says:

    I know my grandfather rolled over in his grave

  212. AP says:

    Fast, when those fathers and grandfathers worked hard and made it into the middle class on that union job in the city, was it ok that Black men were blocked off from joining those same union?

    When that father or grandfather moved his family out of the city and bought into the suburbs, was it ok that Black families got redlined out?

    That is the reality that so many are desperately trying to deflect attention from. We all know that immigrants from Europe worked hard and paid their dues, but others were kept out of the post-War prosperity and locked out of their fair share.

    No, it wasn’t. It wasn’t fair. Yes, they those fathers and grandfathers worked hard, but other folks worked hard as well.

  213. homeboken says:

    Lib – I think Eddie is arguing that your disconnected attitude is precisely the part of the problem. There are people that live in Portland that don’t want to see their city burn to the ground. They don’t want 50+ consecutive nights of riots. Some people, reasonable people not conspiracy theorists, get nervous that if it can happen in Portland, what’s to stop that from happening in Newark or Patterson or Montclair.

    The Portland residents would probably love to sit on their deck and blast some tunes. They just have to dodge the frozen water bottles being hurled and the smell of burning buildings while they stare at their city covered in fresh graffiti.

  214. leftwing says:

    “And if he made money after being president?…Let’s move on.”

    Not yet…….The common point with WJC and O as opposed to recent Repub presidents is that WJC and O are incapable of attaining any high level of financial success absent their elevation to the highest office….both private sectors failures, hell Clinton was effectively a ward of the State before leaving office, I don’t think he had a home of his own other than the governor’s mansion and WH, and he needed a co-signer on his first home like some 26 year old with a new job and bad credit….

    It’s not that they made money after office, but that they would have had (relatively) no appreciable earning power without office….

    Clinton would return to being a BS attorney in a BS backward flyover state committing small time real estate graft on backwater land to try to pull in an extra 100k or so annually…..

    O? Probably some government attorney or low level judgeship in the $200k area, which would not even support his prior single standard of living with a family and two college age daughters…..

    Instead, they are now among the wealthiest families in America…

    Public service my arse. More like private lotto ticket.

  215. Libturd says:

    I so disagree Left. Why does it matter?
    Republicans come in rich, well, because they like to keep their money. Why would you begrudge someone for making it after being president. And it’s not like ultra rich Republican ex-presidents don’t do the speaking tour themselves afterwards.

    This is a very stupid topic which we are debating.

    Now when HRC took money as SOS, well that’s worth debating.

  216. leftwing says:

    “Why does it matter?”
    Because the Left’s Presidents are free market incompetent and only by virtue of the highest office do they distinguish themselves financially from some six figure Jersey commuter schmuck sweating out college for his kids.

    “Republicans come in rich, well, because they like to keep their money.”
    No because, warts and all, they demonstrate free market skills to actually make money in the first place.

    “Why would you begrudge someone for making it after being president. And it’s not like ultra rich Republican ex-presidents don’t do the speaking tour themselves afterwards.”

    I don’t begrudge either side for making it afterward through above board income like speaking (as opposed to, say, opaque foundations). I begrudge anyone for making it in life solely because they held the office. Being elected President should not be your most marketable skill.

    People here speak about O mailing it in while he was in office, his aloofness from the earliest days, and his total absence of any effort on tackling controversial issues where he may have had significant influence (race). Why?

    Here’s a theory…as any President but especially the first Black one he was made FOR LIFE so long as he didn’t blow it. Just show up and get marked ‘Present’ and you will be among the wealthiest people in the world. Rock the boat and you won’t, and you have zero private sector skills and wealth to fall back on.

    I’m surprised he didn’t lock the Oval office doors and take the phone off the hook lol.

  217. ExEssex says:

    3:30 what’ll you get that 80% of the “wealth” you speak of is inherited.

  218. ExEssex says:

    get = bet

    F’in useless Apple spellcheck

  219. Bystander says:

    JB,

    C’mon..he saw his real Dad once bw 1964 and 1982 when he died. Step dad left him in Hawaii with grandparents at 10. How is that a stable father figure in his life?

  220. leftwing says:

    You know what, inherited is even fine for me.

    We used to have citizen-legislators. People who operated in real life then took some time in a limited government to govern.

    Political office was not a “profession” especially when one had minimal real life experience.

    How in the world can you adequately govern a nation when you’ve never operated within the confines of being ruled?

    I guess classroom instruction and a degree from the Wilson – errrr, Princeton Public Policy – School qualifies one to govern the nation’s resources and output. Go figure.

  221. No One says:

    I will give Trump partial credit for accidentally sparking greater realization of how incompatible China’s governing principles are with that of the West’s.
    But unprincipled as he is, he would have also “cut a deal” with China if it would have helped him get re-elected, and done nothing whatsoever to alleviate what will eventually become a crisis.
    Had Trump been able to get permission to build more buildings in China in the past, he probably would have been as enthusiastic about China as the Bushes and the Bidens. Except Trump’s faulty mercantilist economic views leads him to hate any country the US net-imports from.
    The real reason to not trade with China isn’t because of trade deficits but because that government wants to eventually eradicate the political principle of individual rights worldwide, while undermining the US, which ultimately is a national security issue, not an economic issue. Anyway, this will be an ongoing issue and one that started to turn on Trump’s time, after decades of US presidents kissing Beijing’s a$$.

    It will be interesting to see how the young lefties will approach the PRC. One one hand, Mao’s Red Guard appear to be their inspiration. On the other hand, they claim to care about poor American workers. In general, they spend most of their time criticizing the US, or US allies, and are too busy to really criticize the world’s actual largest abuser of rights. Genderless bathrooms in the US are of more interest to them than concentration camps in China, and one Trump tweet is more offensive to their free speech ideals than the fact that all journalism in China is fully controlled by one party and that all journalists must be members of that one party. Will the left go back to “building bridges” with China and taking their cut when back in power?

  222. Fast Eddie says:

    3:30 what’ll you get that 80% of the “wealth” you speak of is inherited.

    You mean leaving your heirs the fruits of your labor because you had some ‘value added’ skills and sacrificed to achieve something? Are some of us privileged because of guidance and discipline? Maybe certain groups should take the cue and try it themselves?

  223. ExEssex says:

    I think money is fascinating but it’s also a huge societal wedge.

    I’ve dated a couple of really rich chicks and no thanks.

  224. leftwing says:

    “I’ve dated a couple of really rich chicks and no thanks.”

    Woke liberal chicks are the best. Totally opposite their public persona. Like rabid monkeys on acid in bed.

  225. ExEssex says:

    3:57 imagine their survival skills once they are your responsibility?

    No thanks .

  226. homeboken says:

    No One says – It will be interesting to see how the young lefties will approach the PRC.

    Take a look at the current NBA, NFL, Hollywood personalities. These are the leaders of the young lefties you are so curious about.

    Ask Lebron James how he feels about PRC.

    Ted Cruz and Marc Cuban got into a twitter storm recently. Cruz dared Cuban to tweet “#FreeHongKong, that’s it. Cuban wouldn’t do it. He replied with a half dozen multi-paragraph tweets, so he wasn’t dodging or too busy, he just will never bite the hand that feeds him. Even if he is already a billionaire. Turns out, having solid principals is just not some folks cup of tea.

  227. leftwing says:

    LOL, who said anything about responsibility, I am talking purely hit and run.

    I woke up one day to realize that somehow I had inadvertently taken responsibility for another adult by virtue of what i believed was a partnership. Won’t ever happen again. If I haven’t bred you, you’re on your own baby.

  228. SmallGovConservative says:

    Bystander says:
    July 21, 2020 at 11:51 am

    “hah, what a load of bullsh&t. Facts? Sure..”

    Says the guy that spends his day on a message board complaining about how undervalued he is by current and potential employers. Not surprising that someone that whines about his lot in life would be a Democrat, or that he would refuse to acknowledge Trump’s achievements even when laid out in a very matter-of-fact manner. Speaking of the Dems, and on a somewhat tangential topic, how do you feel about the strain of antisemitism that’s taken root in the Dem party, and party leaderships (the same people that will largely drive a Biden presidency) willingness to tolerate it?

  229. Bystander says:

    Sure, Blumpy, I mean Smalldik. I complain that deck is stacked against US tech worker and funny that not many disagree with me. I gave Dumpy some kudos for finally restricting H1B but 3.5 years late on his campaign promise..similar to best and greatest healthcare reform, the most beautiful wall. You project Dumpy’s greatness like you project your dik on the wall…to make it looker bigger and greater than it is. One term failure..you won’t escape it…forever

  230. joyce says:

    If LW’s argument is No because, warts and all, they demonstrate free market skills to actually make money in the first place. than no they didn’t demonstrate skills other than hitting the birth lottery.

    Fast Eddie says:
    July 21, 2020 at 3:52 pm
    3:30 what’ll you get that 80% of the “wealth” you speak of is inherited.

    You mean leaving your heirs the fruits of your labor because you had some ‘value added’ skills and sacrificed to achieve something? Are some of us privileged because of guidance and discipline? Maybe certain groups should take the cue and try it themselves?

  231. AP says:

    …and that’s one of the many seams from which the entire Objectivist world-view starts to come apart and colapse.

    1+1=2 …and now we went from proto-anarcho-capitalist Supermen to defending highly coercive, semi-dynastic power structures.

  232. ExEssex says:

    4:35 we’re used to being despised and misunderstood.
    Standing by Israel is seen as a ‘conservative’ agenda.

  233. chicagofinance says:

    Two of the best posts in 2020, posted in the same thread 21 minutes apart.

    leftwing says:
    July 21, 2020 at 3:30 pm
    People here speak about O mailing it in while he was in office, his aloofness from the earliest days, and his total absence of any effort on tackling controversial issues where he may have had significant influence (race). Why?

    Here’s a theory…as any President but especially the first Black one he was made FOR LIFE so long as he didn’t blow it. Just show up and get marked ‘Present’ and you will be among the wealthiest people in the world. Rock the boat and you won’t, and you have zero private sector skills and wealth to fall back on.

    No One says:
    July 21, 2020 at 3:51 pm
    I will give Trump partial credit for accidentally sparking greater realization of how incompatible China’s governing principles are with that of the West’s.
    But unprincipled as he is, he would have also “cut a deal” with China if it would have helped him get re-elected, and done nothing whatsoever to alleviate what will eventually become a crisis.
    Had Trump been able to get permission to build more buildings in China in the past, he probably would have been as enthusiastic about China as the Bushes and the Bidens. Except Trump’s faulty mercantilist economic views leads him to hate any country the US net-imports from.
    The real reason to not trade with China isn’t because of trade deficits but because that government wants to eventually eradicate the political principle of individual rights worldwide, while undermining the US, which ultimately is a national security issue, not an economic issue. Anyway, this will be an ongoing issue and one that started to turn on Trump’s time, after decades of US presidents kissing Beijing’s a$$.

  234. leftwing says:

    Joyce, AP, what the hell? Has this entire forum taken Pumpkin Pills?

    Meaning you take something written, restate it in a manner inconsistent with the authors intent and statement, use your restatement to arrive at an entirely different conclusion, and then argue against that manufactured straw man?

    Jesus Christ, last week Lib in a single response to one of my posts accused me in a blast of being a Fox brainwashed zombie no fewer than four times ALL IN CAPS. I have literally had Fox News on about three times in my life. Mostly as background noise when nothing else is on cable. When I wanted to respond to someone’s comment a couple weeks ago I had to google who Tucker Carlson was lol.

    What have I said exactly today, in words?
    Trump is a pig and a cringe inducing human being.
    Dynasties on the Right (by name Bush, McCain, Romney) are garbage
    WJC and O are unemployable government teet sucking political hacks
    I prefer a dynamic political outsider with philosophically conservative ideals

    And somehow I’m Randian?

    Joyce, just for clarity, if that even matters anymore, if I have to force rank candidates for the office, here’s who I would take:
    Places 1-7: Any conservative young turk.
    8th Place: Cringe inducing populist pig
    9th Place: Country club Repub dynasty
    Last Place: Useless liberal political hacks

    So what’s next, you guys going to hurl the ultimate insult and call me a Progressive now, lol?

  235. JCer says:

    FYI it’s not Trump’s success, it is Peter Navarro. I’ve said it many times prior to Trump. The man is a genius and the academics basically shunned him, he has been a China hawk for years, his assessment has been spot on. He has been right about so many things and he will probably be right about COVID as well. The death figures from the CDC bear out that under age 45 without existing conditions your risk of complications is low and our death count was exacerbated by bad policy in NY, NJ, etc. The fact that no one lifted a finger against china has been a crime, I have tried to avoid Chinese made goods for the last decade, unfortunately it has gotten to the point where it is impossible. For all of the alarmism about Trump’s actions we have not seen any negative consequences yet, thus far if the media was truthful they would look very foolish.

    I get it we are anointing Biden already but I think in September/October we will see something released on Biden. How he silenced his Me Too moment, I don’t know but he has a long history in government and a lot to work against him, his record on criminal justice alone makes him a troubling candidate. I wouldn’t rule out the orange moron yet but truth be told I don’t think he wants to do the job, he wants to win but has no desire to govern, it’s too much work and that’s something he gave up years ago.

    I never thought I’d see the day when Trump’s policies were the sane option. The democrats are out of their minds, the policies espoused are not good for America, they have become the party of race and class warfare, the party of lawlessness, the party of rioters, the party of censorship, and the party of graft/corruption. Say what you will but the Dems went from the party of someone like Bill Clinton to this disaster in 20 years.

  236. JCer says:

    Left same here, I keep being accused of watching Fox News, not only do I not watch Fox News but I think they want Trump gone as well and would prefer Biden. Again I know Trump better than most on this board, and think he is ridiculous. Trump was my dad’s client for a Decade, we know well how ridiculous he is, and my mother hates him and has since the 80’s mostly because he is a horrible person, he really is no doubt. I’m not ideologically driven, if the democrats were running a good candidate whose ideas weren’t rehashed policies from the Carter administration I’d probably vote against Trump. Frankly in 2016 Gary Johnson was the best candidate, the Dems are starting to scare me as I feel they are moving towards big brother even more so than the republicans. I don’t want the government involved in most things, the government is like chemotherapy, you only want it if you really need it, when the need outweighs the negatives.

  237. AP says:

    Left, wasn’t pointed at you, my man. Just thought it was an interesting philosophical point.

    It’s easy to go from a starting libertarian position but end up defend the most egregious excesses of concentrated wealth and state power if we’re not careful.

  238. joyce says:

    What did I misstate?

    leftwing says:
    July 21, 2020 at 7:15 pm

  239. joyce says:

    How is inheriting wealth demonstrating free market skills to actually make money?

  240. joyce says:

    To be fair, I don’t know what you were talking about either.

    AP says:
    July 21, 2020 at 7:35 pm
    Left, wasn’t pointed at you, my man. Just thought it was an interesting philosophical point.

    It’s easy to go from a starting libertarian position but end up defend the most egregious excesses of concentrated wealth and state power if we’re not careful.

  241. 3b says:

    Real ugly in here today!

  242. AP says:

    In Objectivist philosophy inheritance is considered a natural extension of one’s sovereign right to use your resources, thus estate taxes of any kind are a huge non-no.

    My point was that it’s interesting that folks would defend inheritance as a “more legitimate” source of wealth. This would lead traditional Objectivists to defend institutions that are ironically very oppressive to individuals, like concentrated wealth, etc.

    As always, I’m just advocating against dogma of any kind.

    Rather than to select and hold a certain theory as True, and to then force people, events and society to conform to that view, understand that truth is elusive and that a fuller picture and understanding will always arise as we learn more.

    I get more pragmatic and less idealistic as I get older.

  243. joyce says:

    If you say so. I won’t speak for any Objectivists. The biggest and most effective tool that wealthy special interests have no matter how they obtained their wealth (current generation or inherited) is the government. Let’s stop giving it more power.

    I look forward to Fabius making an ignorant and erroneous comment in response later this evening.

    AP says:
    July 21, 2020 at 8:09 pm
    In Objectivist philosophy inheritance is considered a natural extension of one’s sovereign right to use your resources, thus estate taxes of any kind are a huge non-no.

    My point was that it’s interesting that folks would defend inheritance as a “more legitimate” source of wealth. This would lead traditional Objectivists to defend institutions that are ironically very oppressive to individuals, like concentrated wealth, etc.

    As always, I’m just advocating against dogma of any kind.

    Rather than to select and hold a certain theory as True, and to then force people, events and society to conform to that view, understand that truth is elusive and that a fuller picture and understanding will always arise as we learn more.

    I get more pragmatic and less idealistic as I get older.

  244. ExEssex says:

    The only person on this board that would pass a purity test for their party is Eddie.

  245. ExEssex says:

    As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, researchers have started to look for solutions in an unlikely place – the cannabis plant. Cannabis’ active compounds have a number of properties that make it appealing as a potential adjunct treatment for infections from the novel coronavirus, and recently scientists have begun looking at its potential for reducing susceptibility to the disease, and even discussed whether it could be used as an antiviral medication.

  246. JCer says:

    ExEssex, I’m a registered democrat, I get 100 emails a day from the doc requesting help to defeat Trump. Watching government in NJ has made me believe that the government is irredeemable, just the waste, graft, and lack of effectiveness leaves one with the sense that the government is corrupt and incompetent. The problem is it is very easy for the government to get that way, somehow the Germans and Austrians don’t have big issues unlike their southern and western neighbors.

    On Estate taxes. Anyone who knows, knows it is a scam. The rich pay very little, they have enough carve outs in the tax code that they can structure and with good planning transfer a whole lot of money has free. The big give away is the step-up on the exclusion amount, that is ridiculous 22m per couple that avoids capital gains tax. Anyone who owns a business or farm of any value had a big problem until they raised the exclusion amounts. Just the cost of preparing the estate and getting the valuations on assets that are not easy to value is onerous, we spent hundreds of thousands of dollars when my dad passed and everything passed to my mother so no estate tax consequences, just on legal fees and appraisals mostly to value illiquid assets. It is a tax on the unlucky if you can reasonably expect to live into your 80’s or 90’s and you have enough money to structure it you won’t pay it. If you get hit by a bus it could be a problem, most rich use life insurance to mitigate this risk. Estate taxes should not exist but then neither should basis step up, you should be taxed on gains not arbitrary unpredictable life events. Most of us do not have the resources to execute trusts, gifting plans, all the standard tricks to minimize value, intrafamily loans, etc. But if the Democrats got their way the estate tax exclusion will be reduced to maybe 2-3m. That will ensnare a lot of moderately successful people, doctors, lawyers. I don’t know about you but I want to leave my hard earned money to my kids not the government.

    There is some logic to taxing income, earnings, etc but less for capital gains and none for inheritance the creation of the wealth has already been taxed and the growth will be taxed upon the disposition of assets. Anything else is akin to government sanctioned theft, the government is taking someone’s family property because they don’t believe they deserve it. How much did that dead persons business give to the country in taxes, jobs created and economic activity?

  247. Fabius Maximus says:

    Are you Constitutionalists are still OK with this?

    https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1285713849405132800
    “Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wold says the actions of his department in Portland are “proactive” arrests of individuals and argues that his stormtroopers aren’t bound by the physical jurisdiction of federal property.”

    We have reached the Minority Report stage of Pre Crime.

  248. Fabius Maximus says:

    Is Inheritance not the antithesis of Objectivism? Lets leave aside the view that Objectivists should not have “Parasitic Spawn” that they have to provide for.
    Gifting their nut to the next generation means that the Next Gen cannot be Objectivists in their own right? Should it be that they should be busted back to Zero so these Jr Galts should have to make it on their own.
    The Gultch always fails as it has to resort to the exploitation of labor and resources to survive.

  249. Fabius Maximus says:

    JCer

    Myself and Eddie Ray argued this out in 2010. When Steinbrener was dying in 2010 it was year of the free Estate Taxes. In the end Hal and Hank dodged a 600Mil Tax bill on the transfer of the Yankees.
    I asked the question, “If we hit November and the doctors say that they can keep them alive to January, but you get hit with the Tax Bill, Whats your call?.

    If you sold to a third party should you pay taxes. With the 7 year rule, you can pass the assets on to your kin. If you are dealing with an estate that big, Sorry, you should be ready for it.

  250. Fabius Maximus says:

    Great thread here.
    https://twitter.com/AndrewMCrespo/status/1285738001004482561

    Again the silence from the Constitutionalists in here is deafening!

  251. Juice Box says:

    Fab- I get my legal chops from Law and Order TV, not Twitter. On TV they detain people all the time bring them down to the station and question them, some are charged and some are released like when on Cue their lawyer shows up, and tells them to charge or release their client.

    Is your argument Law and Order TV has been based on illegal activity for The 20 years, the show has been running?

  252. Juice Box says:

    Note to the Feds from the WSJ, let it burn!

    WSJ Editorial Board: “Progressives run Portland, Chicago, New York and other cities now experiencing a surge of violence. If they want to indulge the mayhem, then let them live with the consequences.”

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-mess-in-portland-11595286956?redirect=amp#click=https://t.co/Pdb3ZWuoOU

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