Political Posts

[Lazarus]

6 hours ago, Parsad said:

 

All the white people must have left!    Cheers!

 

Are you suggesting that there are no more victims to kill? 

[cwericb]

7 hours ago, cubsfan said:

 

A 40% drop in violent crime in 1 year?

 

You must be nuts....

 

Or just unwilling to acknowledge the very successful coalition between a Democratic mayor and Trump would lead to such a spectacular result.

 

Okay,Total Toronto Homicides: Dropped to 42, down from 84 in 2024, representing a ~47% to 54% decrease in 2025. So 40% in Memphis is good but not unusual and may have little to do with politics. 

[Parsad]

18 minutes ago, Lazarus said:

 

Are you suggesting that there are no more victims to kill? 

 

No...all the criminals have left.  Cheers!

[John Hjorth]

12 hours ago, cubsfan said:

Ok John.  I read your NYT article. Seems ok, I don't see any big surprises.  What point are you trying get across to us ??

 

Mike [ @cubsfan ],

 

Thank you very much here for being forthcoming in our discussion here.

 

You have educated me within the last couple of days about the US constitution, and about the powers of the incumbent POTUS, in relation to US foreign policy.

 

Iran having nukes is an unplesant thought, no matter what real facts are in this case.

 

POTUS made a bet on this agrressive action towards Iran. No need by now to be 'smart' about anything, from a European perspective here, thereby by me, venting all kind of opinions, which I can't really substanciate here. 

 

But it is a bet.

 

I'm in no way ditching the approach applied by  POTUS as such here, It's all a matter of perspective, and when to incur 'the pain' of this friggin' mess.

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

-In a way, I'm just glad none of this was up to me!

 

- - -

 

This evening, I just vented the idea that I really needed a new dog!

 

She : 'What dog are you thinking about?'

 

Me : 'A Belgian Malinois'

 

She : 'Wut? - How will you even train it, walk it?

 

Me : 'No problem - We just need some more rock'n roll!'

 

Edited April 24 by John Hjorth

[John Hjorth]

41 minutes ago, Gregmal said:

I do not waste my time reading the NYT John; if you choose to, because it continuously feeds the “undermine Trump” itch, that’s for your entertainment, not mine. 
 

Or I guess, to put it another, simpler way, when I see someone post anything from the NYT, I think the same thing I think when I see someone post a YouTube video or a Fox News article.

 

That is naturally totally OK, Greg [ @Gregmal ],

 

But here, if you start reading it, you get a clear sense of serious journalistic work as base for the article.

[cubsfan]

19 minutes ago, John Hjorth said:

 

Mike [ @cubsfan ],

 

Thank you very much here for being forthcoming in our discussion here.

 

You have educated me within the last couple of days about the US constitution, and about the powers of the incumbent POTUS, in relation to US foreign policy.

 

Iran having nukes is an umplesant thought, no matter what real facts are in this case.

 

POTUS made a bet on this agrressive action towards Iran. No need by now to be 'smart' about anything, from a European perspective here, thereby by me, venting all kind of opinions, which I can't really substanciate here. 

 

But it is a bet.

 

I'm in no way ditching the approach applied by  POTUS as such here, It's all a matter of perspective, and when to incur 'the pain' of this friggin' mess.

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

-In a way, I'm just glad none of this was up to me!

 

- - -

 

This evening, I just vented the idea that I really needed a new dog!

 

She : 'What dog are you thinking about?'

 

Me : 'A Belgian Malinois'

 

She : 'Wut? - How will you even train it, walk it?

 

Me : 'No problem - We just need some more rock'n roll!'

 

 

Good enough John. Maybe we can agree that it's a good thing that Iran not have nuclear weapons. Let's hope it stays that way and this all ends fairly soon.

 

It's not helpful for his mid-terms coming up, but it's a good thing for the world, including Europe.

 

Careful with that Malinois, it will be like having Trump on a lease!

 

[cubsfan]

1 hour ago, Blake Hampton said:

 

Cubs,

 

When I was a newborn, my dad went to prison while I lived with my mom, who has borderline personality disorder, in a Kentucky trailer park. When I was 5 or so, my parents got divorced and I moved in with my grandparents in an Oklahoma town where the median household income is a little over 60% of the national level. Basically all of the friends I had growing up were poor.
 

Can someone please explain what an "elitist" actually is?

 

On second thought, I do not at all, mean to diminish your life experiences or upbringing - which is a real credit to how far you have come considering your circumstances.  It's good to have you on this board.

And I'm confident you will not forget your roots.

 

That said - I still won't read that leftist rag The Economist!

[ourkid8]

11 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

 

Good enough John. Maybe we can agree that it's a good thing that Iran not have nuclear weapons. Let's hope it stays that way and this all ends fairly soon.

 

It's not helpful for his mid-terms coming up, but it's a good thing for the world, including Europe.

 

Careful with that Malinois, it will be like having Trump on a lease!

 

He is not only falling behind in the  mid-terms because of the Iranian war but also his lack of intelligence.  Listen to them do basic elementary school math - pathetic. 
 

https://x.com/atrupar/status/2047397140255633528/video/1?s=46

Edited April 23 by ourkid8

[cubsfan]

11 minutes ago, ourkid8 said:

He is not only falling behind in the  mid-terms because of the Iranian war but also his lack of intelligence.  Listen to them do basic elementary school math - pathetic. 
 

https://x.com/atrupar/status/2047397140255633528/video/1?s=46

 

Kid - he may have flunked math, but he's still a serious upgrade from the last guy who couldn't talk!

[SharperDingaan]

Newspapers are just tribal propaganda distributors. Owned by the tribe, to support the tribe, using whatever manipulation is expected to achieve the desired result. Echo chambers, pushing agenda's.

 

Same as politics, it's a great business !  The more propagandists, the more noise, and the more each tribe needs to pay to get its 'message' across. The more money flowing in, the more for 'sticky' fingers, and the less scrutiny! There is a reason why dictators quickly eliminate competing propagandists, and permanently.

 

Everything works wonderfully ..... so long as consumers always remain distracted, and seldom question. Not so much .... when the ringmaster looses control of the show ... and the random 'permanent accidents' start to happen. Apparently, much of it done by via proxy's, very good at what they do    

 

SD

Edited April 24 by SharperDingaan

[Spekulatius]

3 hours ago, ourkid8 said:

He is not only falling behind in the  mid-terms because of the Iranian war but also his lack of intelligence.  Listen to them do basic elementary school math - pathetic. 
 

https://x.com/atrupar/status/2047397140255633528/video/1?s=46

 

No wonder the tariffs are so high this sort of math. I would make him the following offer. Increase the tariffs by 500% and reduce them by 100%. That’s a net increase of 400%. I bet if you offered this to Trump and he is alone in the room, you got a deal.

[Parsad]

4 hours ago, cubsfan said:

 

On second thought, I do not at all, mean to diminish your life experiences or upbringing - which is a real credit to how far you have come considering your circumstances.  It's good to have you on this board.

And I'm confident you will not forget your roots.

 

That said - I still won't read that leftist rag The Economist!

 

Phhhhpppptttt!  It's not a leftist rag.  Can't people just read and absorb the information they need from any media source?  

 

I mean, I read everything...and sometimes I glean some insight from a story or article.  Doesn't matter if it is partisan...left...right...dead center...another culture...another language...religious...atheist...capitalist...socialist...you can always learn something!

 

In terms of psychology, understanding, advantage when investing...I read and listen to everything.  I may not necessarily agree or like it...but I try and absorb.  

 

By people saying, I won't listen to them, or read that, etc...you are just exacerbating your own ignorance!  It's why many democrats will repeat the same mistake as last time...it's why many republicans will do the same.  It's why Trump will TACO over and over.  Yes, stand for something, otherwise you stand for nothing...but it doesn't mean you cannot observe, reflect, absorb and ruminate!

 

Cheers!

[73 Reds]

9 hours ago, Parsad said:

 

Phhhhpppptttt!  It's not a leftist rag.  Can't people just read and absorb the information they need from any media source?  

 

I mean, I read everything...and sometimes I glean some insight from a story or article.  Doesn't matter if it is partisan...left...right...dead center...another culture...another language...religious...atheist...capitalist...socialist...you can always learn something!

 

In terms of psychology, understanding, advantage when investing...I read and listen to everything.  I may not necessarily agree or like it...but I try and absorb.  

 

By people saying, I won't listen to them, or read that, etc...you are just exacerbating your own ignorance!  It's why many democrats will repeat the same mistake as last time...it's why many republicans will do the same.  It's why Trump will TACO over and over.  Yes, stand for something, otherwise you stand for nothing...but it doesn't mean you cannot observe, reflect, absorb and ruminate!

 

Cheers!

Nah, the problem is you are smarter than most and can glean fact from fiction.  Most readers can't, which is what these rags are counting on.  Their intent is to influence people, not report the news.  The result is what we we've got now - a society of click-bait people whose patience to read anything is measured in seconds.    

[Gregmal]

1 hour ago, 73 Reds said:

Nah, the problem is you are smarter than most and can glean fact from fiction.  Most readers can't, which is what these rags are counting on.  Their intent is to influence people, not report the news.  The result is what we we've got now - a society of click-bait people whose patience to read anything is measured in seconds.    

Exactly. I have enough at my disposal that I know theres a war...but also 1) I dont feel the need to "know whats going on in Trumps head or behind the scenes" outside of that midterms being important, because frankly that, right off the bat sounds like something ripe for abuse as reported by third parties, and 2) know immediately that anything posted by certain propaganda platforms will seek to create whatever specific narrative that they are known for.....so yea. 

[SharperDingaan]

1 hour ago, 73 Reds said:

Nah, the problem is you are smarter than most and can glean fact from fiction.  Most readers can't, which is what these rags are counting on.  Their intent is to influence people, not report the news.  The result is what we we've got now - a society of click-bait people whose patience to read anything is measured in seconds.    

 

Sadly, one has to be cautious as to how one makes use of it.

Predatory trading is not a good look 

 

SD

[Parsad]

3 hours ago, SharperDingaan said:

 

Sadly, one has to be cautious as to how one makes use of it.

Predatory trading is not a good look 

 

SD

 

I think it's only predatory if you are circling and hounding. 

 

I compare it more to a cigar butt as Buffett put it...someone left it on the ground and unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I have no qualms about picking it up for that last puff!  

 

Cheers!

[Maverick47]

23 hours ago, Spekulatius said:

 

No wonder the tariffs are so high this sort of math. I would make him the following offer. Increase the tariffs by 500% and reduce them by 100%. That’s a net increase of 400%. I bet if you offered this to Trump and he is alone in the room, you got a deal.

 Exactly right!  

I also love RFK Jr’s lame attempt to explain this.  He says “if a drug was $100 and increased to $600, that’s a 600% rise”.

 

Wrong.  It increased by $500, meaning it was a 500% increase on the original $100 cost,  not 600%.  A 600% increase in a $100 drug would get you a new price of $700.
 

Maybe if these folks had gone to public school like I did they could figure out basic grade school math and at least attempt to lie about math in an intellectually consistent fashion.

 

But these are simply alternative facts in the MAGA world.  So glad we have a very stable genius in the White House these days.  So glad they’re in charge of the finances of the country.

[Gregmal]

6 minutes ago, Maverick47 said:

 Exactly right!  

I also love RFK Jr’s lame attempt to explain this.  He says “if a drug was $100 and increased to $600, that’s a 600% rise”.

 

Wrong.  It increased by $500, meaning it was a 500% increase on the original $100 cost,  not 600%.  A 600% increase in a $100 drug would get you a new price of $700.
 

Maybe if these folks had gone to public school like I did they could figure out basic grade school math and at least attempt to lie about math in an intellectually consistent fashion.

 

But these are simply alternative facts in the MAGA world.  So glad we have a very stable genius in the White House these days.  So glad they’re in charge of the finances of the country.

Or, I think, most common/normal folks, if something goes from $100 to $500 or $600 to $300, are more concerned with the actual dollars than the exact percentages. 

[Maverick47]

1 hour ago, Gregmal said:

Or, I think, most common/normal folks, if something goes from $100 to $500 or $600 to $300, are more concerned with the actual dollars than the exact percentages. 

Good point, particularly for Americans who tend to lack numeracy.  I recall in the late 90’s that State Farm had introduced 2% hurricane deductibles for their Home insurance customers in coastal Mississippi.  That was explained as 2% of the insured value of the home.  
 

This was different from the standard dollar deductibles that had applied to home insurance policies previously (and those dollar deductibles still applied to all insured losses other than from hurricanes).

Fast forward to some actual hurricanes hitting Mississippi a few years later, and the Mississippi state insurance commissioner at the time told State Farm that their claims adjusters would not be allowed to apply the 2% hurricane deductibles to customers with hurricane losses.  I think the reasoning must have been something along the lines of “how can you expect an average Mississippian customer of yours , with, for example, a home insured for $237,000, to possibly be aware of what 2% of $237,000 would be when converted to a dollar amount.”

 

Fair point, and since then all US home insurance customers anywhere, who have percentage deductibles, will now see on their yearly bills, both the percentage and the calculated dollar amount of that percentage.

 

Edited April 25 by Maverick47

[Gregmal]

16 minutes ago, Maverick47 said:

Good point, particularly for Americans who tend to lack numeracy.  I recall in the late 90’s that State Farm had introduced 2% hurricane deductibles for their Home insurance customers in coastal Mississippi.  That was explained as 2% of the insured value of the home.  
 

This was different from the standard dollar deductibles that had applied to home insurance policies previously (and those dollar deductibles still applied to all insured losses other than from hurricanes).

Fast forward to some actual hurricanes hitting Mississippi a few years later, and the Mississippi state insurance commissioner at the time told State Farm that their claims adjusters would not be allowed to apply the 2% hurricane deductibles to customers with hurricane losses.  I think the reasoning must have been something along the lines of “how can you expect an average Mississippian customer of yours , with, for example, a home insured for $237,000, to possibly be aware of what 2% of $237,000 would be when converted to a dollar amount.”

 

Fair point, and since then all US home insurance customers anywhere, who have percentage deductibles, will now see on their yearly bills, both the percentage and the calculated dollar amount of that percentage.

 

Yup. Same reason when one walks into a car dealership the only question they ask is “what do you want your monthly payment to be?”. Americans are idiots and only think super short term. 

[Parsad]

2 hours ago, Gregmal said:

Or, I think, most common/normal folks, if something goes from $100 to $500 or $600 to $300, are more concerned with the actual dollars than the exact percentages. 

 

But they didn't state the actual dollar amounts for common/normal people...both Trump and RFK Jr. discussed percentages.  If they had stated dollar amounts and the incorrect percentage...no problem...just a mistake.  But only percentages make them look just plain stupid!  Cheers!

[Maverick47]

1 hour ago, Parsad said:

But they didn't state the actual dollar amounts for common/normal people...both Trump and RFK Jr. discussed percentages.  If they had stated dollar amounts and the incorrect percentage...no problem...just a mistake.  But only percentages make them look just plain stupid!  Cheers!

Add Howard Lutnick to RFK Jr. as a yet more egregious example of a sycophant who has tried to normalize bad percentage math in the prescription drug price reduction discussion.  It’s potentially okay for RFK and Trump to (as you charitably put it) look stupid…one might argue that with their worm-eaten or aging brains, perhaps they simply are both mathematically stupid these days, (along with having a narcissistic inability to admit to a simple mathematical mistake.).

 

 But as a finance/investment person, Lutnick should know better, so his willingness to spread numerical falsehoods about how percentages work and what they mean is, in my opinion, much worse.

[LC]

11 hours ago, Gregmal said:

Americans are idiots and only think super short term

 

Reminds me of this:  

 

[John Hjorth]

9 hours ago, Maverick47 said:

Add Howard Lutnick to RFK Jr. .... okay for RFK and Trump  .... with their worm-eaten or aging brains ...

 

HaHa! - Worms got lost, and confused brains with cabbage?! 

[Maverick47]

2 hours ago, John Hjorth said:

 

HaHa! - Worms got lost, and confused brains with cabbage?! 

You just can’t make this stuff up, John!
 

From a Google search:

 

In a 2012 deposition, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed that doctors found a dead parasite in his brain, which he believed caused memory loss and brain fog. He stated the worm entered his brain, "ate a portion of it and then died". Kennedy later reported fully recovering and stated he has no lasting cognitive effects. 

The New York Times +2

Key Details Regarding the Incident

Associated Conditions: Around the same time, Kennedy was also diagnosed with mercury poisoning. 

The New York Times +5

Discovery: The issue was disclosed during a 2012 divorce deposition, where Kennedy described experiencing severe "brain fog" and cognitive issues, including memory loss, around 2010.

The Parasite: While he did not specify the type in the deposition, reports suggest it was likely a larva from a pork tapeworm, known as neurocysticercosis.

Cause: Kennedy suspected he contracted the parasite while traveling in South America, Africa, or Asia.

Health Status:

 In 2024, his campaign confirmed the incident but stated the issue was resolved over a decade ago and that he currently has robust mental and physical health.

The report regarding the worm raised questions about Kennedy's cognitive health during his 2024 independent presidential campaign.