Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Dr. Strangelove]

The man Trump's nominated to be Ambassador to Israel is a supporter of the far right

The announcement appears to have caught Israeli analysts by surprise. The Haaretz columnist Chemi Shalev said Friedman made Israel’s rightwing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, “seem like a leftwing defeatist”.

“From where Friedman stands,” he said, “most Israelis, never mind most American Jews, are more or less traitors.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/15/trump-israel-ambassador-david-friedman

1) He's opposed to a two-state solution.
2) Wants Israel to expand and accelerate its settlement program, which inevitably means confiscating Palestinian land.
3) Says the US must crack down on any group trying to boycott Israel or Israeli products.
4) Wants to end the division of Jerusalem and put Israel in sole charge of the city.
5) Has previously labeled liberal Jews as being the modern equivalent of Jews that collaborated with the Nazis

He also managed the bankruptcy of several Trump hotels, so I guess that's where Trump gained respect for him.

[hack]

Yeah - it's monotheism 3.0. We are all Peoples of the Book.

[Mainevent]

Black Lung cases are surging in mid-Appalachia. As thick coal seams are depleted, companies are turning to thinner, smaller ones, which require cutting through a lot more rock to get to the coal. Which generates significantly more dust.

http://www.npr.org/2016/12/15/505577...-in-appalachia

Now, let's get rid of all those pesky regulations and dump healthcare. We're here to help the common man!

[Dr. Strangelove]

Haaretz's thoughts on Friedman. He would risk arrest in Israel for 'incitement' if an ordinary citizen.

http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.759443

[iam416]

A nice article on Wisconsin's diversity idiocy: http://www.popecenter.org/2016/12/ne...ampus-climate/

I find Wisconsin's definition of microagressions perfectly Progressive: “social exchange[s] in which a member of an advantaged group says or does something, often accidentally, that belittles and alienates a member of a marginalized group.”

And, of course, no matter your background, white maley folks are advantaged and 25 other classes are marginalized.

[iam416]

My favorite current progressive move is their plea with electors to ignore the will of their people and cast their respective ballots for anyone but Trump. Of course, they actually need them to vote for HRC because otherwise it goes to the House where, of course, Trump will win, but they're clear "I'm not asking to vote for Hillary Clinton." Finally, as the article points out, there's nothing more convincing to Middle America than Martin Sheen prattling on about what's best for them. That'll really carry the day. So, it's spectacularly stupid on at least three levels:

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/443114/celebrities-electoral-college-should-vote-against-trump-bad-move-democrats

[hack]

Long-shot though it may be, there is a different and serious effort to generate faithless electors, and to have them vote for Kasich so it's not seen as a left-wing power grab. And yet the NRO chooses to write about this instead.

[iam416]

They want the House to decided the President. Think about that endgame.

Well done on the part of the NRO to mock the absolute and sheer stupidity of the faithless elector movement.

[hack]

Like I said, it is a faithless elector movement. Not the only one. New to me -- most people are talking about a different faithless-elector movement, with different traits. Yours and the NROs choice to focus on this specific one is a curious choice.

[iam416]

It's the same message. Whether it's , Reich, Lessig or most other progressive commentators. It's more fun to mock the messengers when they're self-important elitist progressives. But, e.g., Beinart's position is no less laughable and stupid.

All in all, a perfectly progressive movement: fantastically short-sighted and substituting the will of the people of their states with the will of the people of California.

Delightful. And harmless, fortunately.

[iam416]

I find this a fairly interesting post-mortem roundtable from the good folks at the New Republic: https://newrepublic.com/article/1389...gacy-age-trump

[hack]

It's the same message. Whether it's , Reich, Lessig or most other progressive commentators. It's more fun to mock the messengers when they're self-important elitist progressives. But, e.g., Beinart's position is no less laughable and stupid.

All in all, a perfectly progressive movement: fantastically short-sighted and substituting the will of the people of their states with the will of the people of California.

Delightful. And harmless, fortunately.

Bill Greene's eighth rule is to recast everyone as the extremist version of themselves so you can be Correct as fast as possible.

I do agree though that it's fun to mock self-important people.

[froot loops]

I did appreciate the Fed's passive aggressive trolling of Trump. I'm not sure he understood or read it. Maybe he did, but he is much more worried about Vanity Fair. This presidency will do wonders for Vanity Fair.

The Fed's statement and future direction shows exactly why it will be hard to ever get the kind of growth people want to Make America Great Again. If you are raising rates even when you can't hit your modest inflation targets and you are using campaign rhetoric for a fiscal policy that probably won't happen to justify future rate hikes.

We're still feeling the effects of the 70's. They are so worried about inflation that the country will undercut any attempt at economic recovery. But look the dow nearing 20k, so Goldman Sachs is getting over.

[iam416]

Some views are easier than others to "paint" as extreme. But, Bill Greene's 8th rule is "an early commitment from a kid located in SEC country only means he might know what state your school is located. And it might not mean that. Celebrate the commitment, but be afraid. Be very afraid of losing him."

Duh.

[froot loops]

Good news GOP superstar and all around great guy Sheriff Joe Arpaio has come up with definitive proof that President Barack Obama birth certificate is fake.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/12/15/sheriff-joe-arpaio-probe-proves-obama-birth-certificate-fake/95500958/