Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Dr. Strangelove]

Well, everyone was laid off in March/April. I mean, everyone. It's not hard to imagine people starting to go back to work in May. It's a relative measure, right? Bodhi is better than Dalton, but they're both shit and can't compare to Johnny Utah. The decrease is nice but we're still at Bodhi-esque 15-20% or whatever instead of the Johnny Utah-esque 2%.

Alternatively, is it possible the markets are going to end up more right than wrong on this? Is it possible that the Rhodesian binary choice of catastrophes ends up being overstated? Is it possible that Alabam"Alum" will owe Hannibal a groveling apology?

The markets are just weird. The Nasdaq was briefly at an all-time high yesterday. Even before covid came around I was listening to CNBC a lot on my commutes and there were starting to be guests that were whispering the word "bubble" when the DOW went above 29,000. I partially still think there's some rationality going on because...where else are you going to invest your money? Bonds suck even more than they did a year ago, savings accounts suck, and gold has been tanking.

[Hannibal]

If you have a portfolio that is split 50/50 between the Dow and the NASDAQ then you are actually up for the year.

It's crazy. Even before Covid-19 the fundamentals didn't really seem to support the stock prices and now it's just more out of whack.

[Hannibal]

This really can't be ignored -- https://www.nationalreview.com/corne...ir-profession/ (commentary); https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jyf...3ys1b7K1A/view (Letter)

1288 healtchare professionals signed a letter that openly ENDORSED protests during the pandemic because systemic racism is a greater health risk than Covid-19. They also neatly say the previous week's protests should still be condemned as an unnecessary risk and as rooted in, what else -- white nationalism. But, one has to ask -- if systemic racism is a greater health risk than Covid-19 then couldn't one at least argue that rampant unemployment is also a greater health risk?

One could ask that, but one would certainly not get an honest answer from these fucking clowns.

Even our own resident healthcare professional -- "Dr." Strangelove -- surely finds this letter utterly fatuous.

Gee whiz I wonder why people don't take their recommendations seriously.

[iam416]

My mutual fund portfolio has regained all its losses. It's basically been a flat two months for me.

Even before covid came around I was listening to CNBC a lot on my commutes and there were starting to be guests that were whispering the word "bubble" when the DOW went above 29,000. I

Perhaps there's bubble. I dunno. But, pre Covid-19 unemployment was preposteorusly low. There were good indicators of a strong economy as much as people hate to admit it (not you).

[AlabamAlum]

What times we live in. Depressing.

[iam416]

Gee whiz I wonder why people don't take their recommendations seriously.

Yeah, it's been laid bare. If I were PDJT or a CPAC, I'd start running anti-media ads. I'd do contrasting ads re Covid/Protests and Tara Reade/Blasey Ford. Those are extremely easy to do because they're so damn factual, and they're extremely powerful. PDJT has almost no chance other than to convince the few swing voters that the alternatives are worse than him. Beating up on the brazenly partisan media scores some points, I think, for him.

That, and he needs to economy to be back. And he needs Covid under "control." And he needs Democractically-run cities to avoid egregiously killing another AA. And he then maybe he scores a miracle win.

IMO, though, the Ds win everything in 2020.

[iam416]

What times we live in. Depressing.

The Rise of Dabo has rocked us all. Fortunately, I believe Coach Ryan Day is emerging to as THE White Knight, much to Froot's disbelief.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I love the phrase "Democratically-run cities". In contrast to "Republican-run cities" like Fort Worth and...er...Springfield, Missouri? Paducah?

[iam416]

Well, there's an explicit argument that certain voices aren't heard. I think it's useful to remind people that in urban centers, by and large, urban voters have a voice, that voice overwhelmingly elects Ds and the police department is accountable to the elected officials. If you're running a "white supremacist" police department -- as is suggested -- then I like to remember WHO is responsible for that.

I understand why you hate that and why you hate, in general, accountability.

[iam416]

The Dispatch ran a story on Columbus PD. Let's assume all the implied worst is true. That happened on Mayor Coleman's watch and on the watch of his annointed successor. That did not happen on Kasich's watch or DeWine's. Or, even worse -- way worse -- look at Cleveland where the parochial bullshit is rampant. That's on the Ds. Period. Full Stop. If you want change then vote change. City politics is an area where Ds dominate AND AAs have a hugely important voice.

[Dr. Strangelove]

The Dems are to blame for the protective union bullshit. They can't (or won't) go after them because they fear it'd be the first step to collapsing all the other public sector unions. You can pin the blame for their legal cover on Dems. I think some of the toxic elements of "cop culture", on the other hand, have been largely fed & encouraged by Republicans but I don't care to go into those right now.

[Hannibal]

One thing being illustrated right now is how utterly terrified every major institution is of being labeled "racist". Now is a great time to be a "community organizer". Hoooo, boy, are those grift dollars going to be flowing like a river soon. Every single company that I have ever given my e-mail address to has bombarded my Inbox this week with pledges to fight "Racism", stand with Black Lives Matter, and, in most cases, donate large sums of money to causes that fight "racism". That includes Uber Eats and Door Dash. No mention in those e-mails of helping rebuild the burned down restaurants that they take orders from.

[*JD*]

More from the "How Fucked Up are Things Right Now?" files:
https://twitter.com/Satellit3Heart/s...63536299675648

[lineygoblue]

I've been getting the same thing, Hanni. Everyone says we need to have a 'conversation' about racism in America, but they also seem to say that it can only be a one sided conversation. White people have 'never' experienced racism, so they are not qualified to talk about it. So how do we have the conversation? And if a white person like Drew Brees dares to speak out about what he believes, and fails to dot every "I" and cross every "t" with exact political correctness, then he is lambasted as a bigot and a racist. How can white people be a part of this conversation when the very moment we may speak about the subject, we are blasted aside with bigotry and racism accusations? I don't claim to know everything about racism, and how its affected black folks, but I'd be willing to sit and listen. And, as part of that conversation, I'd like them to listen to my concerns without accusing me of having as KKK hood in my closet. But that's just not how it is. The left has decided that all white folks are guilty due to their skin color. We should all be self-hating and ashamed of ourselves for being white.

Jeff, you can delete this if its too inflammatory, but that's just my gut feeling right now.

[iam416]

The Dems are to blame for the protective union bullshit. They can't (or won't) go after them because they fear it'd be the first step to collapsing all the other public sector unions. You can pin the blame for their legal cover on Dems. I think some of the toxic elements of "cop culture", on the other hand, have been largely fed & encouraged by Republicans but I don't care to go into those right now.

DSL --w/o getting too inflammatory or snarky, this is what I'd say.

1. Policing and crime is a local politics issue. Fundmentally it's a contract between the community and police that are hired by the community. The community ought to decide how they want to be policed. Whether that's broken windows, defunding the police, keeping the presence the same w/ more training, status quo, etc. -- whatever is best for your community. That's how it ought to work.

2. Urban centers are fundamentally Democratic. The AA community has a large voice in the Democratic party, especially in urban settings. This is not 1960s Mississippi where AAs had no voice. It's about as opposite as you can get.

3. It's incumbent on the elected Ds to work with the AA community to figure out how to best police those communities. When something turns sour -- and it will because people are fallible -- then you have at least tried your damndest to represent the wishes of the community.

4. This is NOT a state or federal issue. There are "social justice" issues that can only be dealt with federally or on a state level. Crime and law enforcement is not one of them.

5. If the police are not policing your community the way your community desires then it is absolutley incumbent on your community to make your voice heard. As noted, the AA community most definitely has a voice in the areas where this is the gravest concern. Hell, if the police is rife with white nationalist sentiment, then it's incumbent on the city and community to address that.

6. The same points apply to how the community prosecutes or punishes police.

7. I realize urban political machines can be difficult to navigate. But, those are the people "you" elected -- the Democratic voters of that city. If you can't hold your own party accountable then I don't know what to tell you.

8. I hold the Rs to account in the same way on state issues in Ohio. IF there is an issue of grave concern to the statewide Rs then they have zero excuse for not addressing it.