Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Dr. Strangelove]

Hey, some more PC gold...this time Pepsi and Kendall Jenner get lambasted: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/p...-anger-n742811

To be fair, this is, at least, not State-sponsored suppression of discourse. It's protest and market-based. It's the type of shit, however, that is worthy of mockery.

I'm pretty sure everybody, both right and left, has mocked that ad.

BTW, welcome back. Nothing gets you fired up like 'PC culture' and those sort of "Campus Loonacy" segments on Fox.

[Da Geezer]

I just saw the following the other day in a World Bank paper: trade accounted for about 30% of US GDP as of 2015, less than the average of 70% in other advanced economies. The US accounts for 24% of global GDP and 11% of global trade. This economy is already pretty protected.

Assuming the World Bank paper is correct, can't you see that the US has the world's largest internal market, and thus less need to export or import? "Advanced" economies like that of Belgium or Norway must trade internationally to maintain their standard of living.

It is just ignorant to say 30% of US GDP is from international trade, other advanced economies average 70% GDP from int. trade, therefore the US has more protectionism. Even other Marxists would see that as a foolish argument.

[Da Geezer]

We need to have politicians that don't buy stupid arguments for why the most pro-fat cat system in the developed world needs to be more pro-fat cat.

Karl Marx, 1776
V. Lenin, 1918
J. Stalin, circa 1947

[THE_WIZARD_]

True story. Coop lives in my area and has grandchildren that are in our school district. I took my son to watch a HS basketball game, there, sitting a row behind us, was ol' Coop. He looked in fine form. Most folks let him be with a few offering a quick, "How's it going coach." I managed to exercise all powers of self-control to refrain my screaming at him, "HOW THE FUCK DID YOU LOSE TO FUCKING MICHIGAN FUCKING STATE!!!!?!?!?"

Fortunately, I've mellowed a bit in my old age.

Heh...the classic "Chokin' in the Horseshoe" game...the death of NKOT...

Good times.

[iam416]

BTW, welcome back. Nothing gets you fired up like 'PC culture' and those sort of "Campus Loonacy" segments on Fox.

What can I say. BTW, how's your catnip going....RUSSIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Susan Rice still doing god's work or something?

[Dr. Strangelove]

What can I say. BTW, how's your catnip going....RUSSIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Susan Rice still doing god's work or something?

Susan Rice will be investigated and if she did anything wrong will be punished.

The FBI doesn't go blabbing about what it's found every 30 minutes, unlike the late Devin Nunes. So we'll find out what Russia has done and if there was any collusion in due course.

Is it your expert legal opinion that Susan Rice will be locked up along with most of the Obama administration?

[Dr. Strangelove]

Karl Marx, 1776
V. Lenin, 1918
J. Stalin, circa 1947

Is the first supposed to be Adam Smith or did you get your history education at a charter school? Heh

[iam416]

Susan Rice will be investigated and if she did anything wrong will be punished.

The FBI doesn't go blabbing about what it's found every 30 minutes, unlike the late Devin Nunes. So we'll find out what Russia has done and if there was any collusion in due course.

Is it your expert legal opinion that Susan Rice will be locked up along with most of the Obama administration?

I think Rice will be fine. I think she knew what she was doing and she knew where the edge was. That's fairly obvious as she's gone from "I know nothing" to "well, it was legal."

Of course, I also don't think DJT colluded with the Russians to fix the election. So, you know, my judgment is obviously a little suspect in this area.

[Wild Hoss]

Of course, I also don't think DJT colluded with the Russians to fix the election. So, you know, my judgment is obviously a little suspect in this area.

Agree...its suspect for a whole host of other reasons. Not the least of which being your allegiance to the state U of that sub-Appalachian drainage swale south of Michigan.

And, welcome back. ;)

[Da Geezer]

...Or who think that if we could just call black people anything we want we'd have a more competitive economy

Hack, please read the article about political correctness on campus. I never understood why disagreements in policy inevitably require the statists to bring race into the matter. I'm starting to understand though. You are looking out for "victim" groups, at least in your own mind.

From the article:

"Students like the op-ed author “are armed with a set of concepts and words that do not mean what you think they mean,” he says. “People older than 30 think that ‘violence’ generally involves some sort of physical threat or harm. But as students are using the word today, ‘violence’ is words that have a negative effect on members of the sacred victim groups. And so even silence can be violence.” It follows that if offensive speech is “violence,” then actual violence can be a form of self-defense."

"The left, meanwhile, has undergone an ideological transformation. A generation ago, social justice was understood as equality of treatment and opportunity: “If gay people don’t have to right to marry and you organize a protest to apply pressure to get them that right, that’s justice,” Mr. Haidt says. “If black people are getting discriminated against in hiring and you fight that, that’s justice.”

"Today justice means equal outcomes. “There are two ideas now in the academic left that weren’t there 10 years ago,” he says. “One is that everyone is racist because of unconscious bias, and the other is that everything is racist because of systemic racism.” That makes justice impossible to achieve: “When you cross that line into insisting if there’s not equal outcomes then some people and some institutions and some systems are racist, sexist, then you’re setting yourself up for eternal conflict and injustice.”

Hack, that is why you cannot tolerate a partly-free economy. Anything market related, by definition, involves winners and losers. But you are committed to equal outcomes, so you adopt a life-view where US foreign policy is mostly about capitalists getting rich (your fixation on Dick Cheney), and domestic policy revolves around "sacred victim groups".

https://www.wsj.com/articles/jonatha...age-1491000676

[Dr. Strangelove]

Virtually nothing has been unearthed in public yet and already the Russia investigation has caused Flynn to be fired and both Sessions and Nunes have been forced to recuse themselves. There are rumors that Bannon may have overstepped a bit and pushed Rice's name to get leaked, which partially led to his demotion. But that's just speculation as to the real reasons he got the boot from the NSC. McMaster can't stand him, I've also heard.

Significant consequences for an investigation that, per Trumpists, has no merit whatsoever.

Will collusion be uncovered? Can't guess at this point. As I said to geezer, even without collusion, there's plenty of smoke that Putin favored Trump.

[iam416]

Today justice means equal outcomes

This is the crux of the matter. To augment slightly, it means AT LEAST equal outcomes FOR MINORITIES. It's ok, e.g., if women have better outcomes than men. There is no need to redress that or complain about that.

For example, men are 10x more likely to suffer and workplace fatality and 3x more likely to suffer a workplace injury. In terms of pure outcome equality, that's unacceptable.

[iam416]

there's plenty of smoke that Putin favored Trump

Yeah, and that has all the illegality of buying tic tacs. So, I mean, if your standard is legality (Susan Rice) be concerned with that. If your standard is tangential appearances (anything to do with DJT) then don't give me dog and pony bullshit about 'was it legal' for Susan Rice.

[iam416]

Belated GFY to Hoss. I mean....

hello

[iam416]

And the Ds will fillibuster Gorsuch. LOL.