Everything Is Great and Amazing

Greg
Tenured
Posts: 3285
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 1:12 pm
Location: Greg
Contact:

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Greg »

Here is something much more newsworthy than this Jussie Smollett business.

U.S. arrests Coast Guard officer who planned mass attack: prosecutors:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKCN1Q933O
Sabin
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10747
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:52 am
Contact:

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Sabin »

OscarGuy wrote
Don't forget that Sanders' permissively sexist campaign back in 2016 was as anti-woman as any could be. Even Trump's campaign wasn't that sexist and he's, you know, Trump. There's also Sanders' utter inability to identify with and support LGBTQ equality in a meaningful way. He's as Old White Guard as they come.
1. It's not okay but I tend to believe his excuse that he didn't know it was going on. But historically political campaigns are boy's clubs. I think the reason why Bernie's campaign has been singled out is because his is the only one that's gone under any real examination -- although to be fair, I remember reading about some sexual harassment on Hillary's campaign as well.

2. How has he not supported LGBT equality? He may not have publicly supported same sex marriage until 2009 (still years before Obama and Hillary), but he has vocally supported LGBT rights for years, voting against Don't Ask Don't Tell at the time.
"How's the despair?"
User avatar
OscarGuy
Site Admin
Posts: 13668
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 12:22 am
Location: Springfield, MO
Contact:

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by OscarGuy »

Don't forget that Sanders' permissively sexist campaign back in 2016 was as anti-woman as any could be. Even Trump's campaign wasn't that sexist and he's, you know, Trump. There's also Sanders' utter inability to identify with and support LGBTQ equality in a meaningful way. He's as Old White Guard as they come.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
Sabin
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10747
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:52 am
Contact:

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Sabin »

I remain very torn about Bernie Sanders. It's hard to overstate his influence on today's Democratic Party. He's helped to push progressive ideas into the mainstream. Medicare For All, for example, has something like a 70% approval rating among Americans today. And while both the progressive and the moderate sides claimed victory during the midterms, it's undeniably the progressives who have the energy and who have produced the future leaders -- all of whom can claim Bernie Sanders as their champion. Over the past year, he's made a livable minimum wage, Medicare For All, and ending the war in Yemen his priorities. For years, all I've wanted is a Democrat who will fight for their convictions. If this isn't who I've been waiting for, who is?

But there is a problem. Not the fact that he isn't a Democrat. Nobody should really care about that. Not his age. So, what if he dies accomplishing everything he set out to do? Especially considering that at this point it's hard to imagine a scenario where Dems don't take the Senate along with the House in 2020.

No, my problem with Bernie Sanders is something he does that points to a larger problems. He talks about race quite poorly. The day of his announcement he said in his first interview "We have got to look at candidates, you know, not by the color of their skin, not by their sexual orientation or their gender and not by their age.” To which I would say, "No shit, Bernie. Why are you saying this in your first minute as a candidate?" Obviously, because of the press about how a straight white male can run for President in 2020 -- but that isn't the way to do it. Especially when he already has a problem with people of color for literally this reason. Putting the question of whether or not he is racist aside (I don't think he is), he's stuck his foot in this before and he keeps doing it. Which means he either doesn't know he's sticking his foot in it or he does and he doesn't care.

And that's why I'm torn about Bernie Sanders. Both of those qualities imply a lack of awareness and flexibility. I want my President to be a fighter but I also want my President to be able to read the room, and say "Why are people on Twitter calling me a racist? What did I -- Ohhh. Oh, I didn't mean it like that. Shit. Well, I'd better not say that again." I don't even care about an apology. I just want him to stop talking like that.

SIDENOTE: I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday who was complaining about the 2020 candidate and how none of them are perfect, how they all have problems, how he wishes he was more excited about them. I asked him if he remembered who ran for President in 2004, which is the most similar election of my lifetime to this one. He remembered John Kerry, Howard Dean, and John Edwards. I reminded him of Dennis Kucinich, Al Sharpton, Richard Gephardt, Joe Lieberman, Wesley Clark, and Carol Mosely-Braun. After going through that list, he said "Never mind. These guys are great." I want someone perfect but when the Dems get on stage this June to debate, there will be more "Presidential-looking" candidates than of any election of my lifetime.
"How's the despair?"
Greg
Tenured
Posts: 3285
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 1:12 pm
Location: Greg
Contact:

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Greg »

Bernie Sanders announces second Presidential run:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7DRwz0cAt0
HarryGoldfarb
Adjunct
Posts: 1071
Joined: Fri Jan 10, 2003 4:50 pm
Location: Colombia
Contact:

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by HarryGoldfarb »

Greg wrote:This is deeply, deeply disturbing:

Elliott Abrams, prominent D.C. neocon, named special envoy for Venezuela

"Elliott Abrams, a controversial neoconservative figure who was entangled in the Iran-Contra affair, has been named as a Trump administration special envoy overseeing policy toward Venezuela, which has been rocked by a leadership crisis."

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/ ... la-1128562

The United States needs to stay the Hell out of Venezuela.
Greg, this is a complicated matter and a sensitive one... but Venezuelans have not been able by ourselves, despite many efforts in recent years, to generate a significant political change in our country (you can make your own judgment about us). And it is no secret to anyone that the current government of Nicolás Maduro has ended the quality of life in one of the countries with the greatest resources. It took the support of the US and its administration (which circumstantially is directed by Trump, this is already a matter of the American people) to be able to generate in recent weeks a turn of the wheel that allows us to see some hope. With the support not only of the US, but also of Canada, the European Union, most of the countries of South America, among others, the validated figure of an Interim President has been gestated thanks to a specific scenario based on a political and legal error on the part of Maduro. The Venezuelans (many, and without a doubt the majority now), alone, for years have faced the populist regime of Maduro (and before that of Chávez) but the regime has managed to confront and terminate every manifestation of the popular discontent. The country, as I said, rich in resources, is immersed in misery, hunger, mortality. There are no resources in hospitals to deal with diseases; there is no access to basic necessities, either because they are not in the supermarkets or because the money is not enough. People stopped eating 3 times a day (many just do not eat). Inflation is such that the minimum wage increases every 2 months, usually by multiplication factors of 2.5. With the most recent increase, the minimum wage went from $ 5.22 to $ 30; however, today it is again equivalent to 5 dollars. Inflation in Venezuela will reach 1,000,000% by the end of this year, as revealed by the latest projections of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published this Monday. And yes, you read that right: 1,000,000%. So serious is the situation of Venezuela that the IMF has compared it with what Germany experienced in 1923, during its period of hyperinflation after the First World War. Such is the despair that people leave the country walking to reach Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, even Chile and Argentina, in crossings of weeks, many finding death by the cold of the Andes. Nobody does that because they want but because they do not see a better option. My family is currently scattered around the world: Miami, Germany, Chile, Peru, Colombia are just some of our destinations... and this hurts, a lot. For all this (and many things more that are hard to express in a single post), leaving any trace of cheap nationalism aside, considering that this is about humanity, about not looking to the other side while a country's population is being decimated by hunger, considering that this is also not about right or left, and considering the prevailing despair In my country, I do not support you when you say that Trump must stay out of all this, away from this situation. Precisely, what most Venezuelans are asking for is support, we have been asking for everyone to help us overcome this after years of failed attempts on our own. The humanitarian aid that has just arrived through the efforts of this figure of the Acting President (after having formalized for many countries that Maduro is usurping the position of President) I assure you that will positively affect MANY lives. For that reason, not only I hope that the USA (and all possible countries) will pronounce and remain active in this issue, but also I, and many but many more Venezuelans, will thank you. We need it...
"If you place an object in a museum, does that make this object a piece of art?" - The Square (2017)
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19318
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Big Magilla »

She announced her exploratory campaign on Dec 30 or 31. She made the official announcement this morning.
User avatar
OscarGuy
Site Admin
Posts: 13668
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 12:22 am
Location: Springfield, MO
Contact:

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by OscarGuy »

She announced on Dec. 30 or Dec. 31.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
Greg
Tenured
Posts: 3285
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 1:12 pm
Location: Greg
Contact:

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Greg »

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Announces 2020 Bid For President | NBC News:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E-x0gt1p5A

In her announcement, she endorses a Green New Deal.
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19318
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Big Magilla »

OK.
Greg
Tenured
Posts: 3285
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 1:12 pm
Location: Greg
Contact:

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Greg »

Big Magilla wrote:We went off the gold standard in 1971. Since then, we do not have actual stockpiles of gold or anything else in the federal reserve to back our currency's worth. In simplistic terms, our paper money and coins are worth what is printed on them because the government says they are and we have faith in the government. For now, that works, but woe betide us if we lose faith in the government to the point where the U.S. dollar becomes as worthless as Monopoly money in paying for goods and services.
Ultimately, what backs up the U.S. Dollar is the goods and services produced in the United States, so long as the Dollar is the means used to purchase those goods and services. What is the most effective way to ensure this? Require that the Dollar is the means. A direct way for this is with legal tender laws, where at least it would be possible to require stores, restaurants, etc., to accept Dollars for payment. An indirect way is with taxes. The U.S. Government will only accept U.S. Dollars as payment for taxes. This means that not only do people in general need to pay taxes, but, they specifically need U.S. Dollars to pay their taxes, which creates a demand for Dollars.

Also, an insistence to remain on the Gold Standard, as well as keep the deficit as small as possible and keep the Government out of the economy as much as possible, during the world-wide Great Depression, in Germany, had a lot to do with Hitler coming to power.
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19318
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Big Magilla »

That's not what he is saying.

He is saying the U.S. will always pay its debts because the U.S. can print its own money unlike Greece which can't because its money is controlled by the E.U.

Paying one's debts does not mean a person or a country can't become insolvent which is the word we should be using instead of bankruptcy, which is a legal term for being resolved of debt.

We went off the gold standard in 1971. Since then, we do not have actual stockpiles of gold or anything else in the federal reserve to back our currency's worth. In simplistic terms, our paper money and coins are worth what is printed on them because the government says they are and we have faith in the government. For now, that works, but woe betide us if we lose faith in the government to the point where the U.S. dollar becomes as worthless as Monopoly money in paying for goods and services.

https://www.reference.com/business-fina ... ea677c41d5
Greg
Tenured
Posts: 3285
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 1:12 pm
Location: Greg
Contact:

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Greg »

Big Magilla wrote:I don't disagree with any of this information, but where does it say governments can't go bankrupt?
Here is Joseph Stiglitz, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, explaining why nations like the United States cannot be forced in bakruptcy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpW_KMHlAmo
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19318
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Big Magilla »

I don't disagree with any of this information, but where does it say governments can't go bankrupt?
Greg
Tenured
Posts: 3285
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 1:12 pm
Location: Greg
Contact:

Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Greg »

Okay, Magilla, I have now read all of both articles. The first article entirely sidesteps governments being able to run deficits without borrowing money; and, I believe all the examples given, except for Iceland, are of nations that do not have their own sovereign currency. They are all either members of the Euro Zone or tie their currencies to the currency of some other nation. Iceland, I believe, actually ended up doing substantially better than most of the rest of Europe after the crash.

There are two problems I have with the second article. First, it acts as if the economy is always at full capacity, and producers are not able to hire people who are unemployed and are unable to turn to automation. For example, the U.S. Census did a study a few years ago that found only a quarter of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) graduates were employed in STEM-related areas, even though the Census expanded the definition of STEM to include things such as air-conditioning repair. This means there are a lot of STEM graduates working at places like McDonald's and Walmart. McDonald's could become giant vending machines. Walmart, which has some self-checkout lines, could move to all self-checkout lines. That would free up those workers to do actual STEM-related work, for example, on Green-New-Deal projects.

Secondly, increasing Federal Government deficits by printing money would not necessarily increase the money supply as money printing also comes from bank loans. Loans are essentially money printing while loan paybacks are essentially unprinting money. So, if as I believe, there needs to be a great increase in financial regulation, especially for business loans, the increased regulation would lead to fewer loans being issued while the existing loans are still being paid back. That is, unprinting of money from banks would exceed printing of money from banks and the money supply from banks would decrease, enabling an increase of the money supply from Federal Government deficit spending.

I think any bank chartered with the Federal Reserve should be prohibited from lending money to any hedge fund, private-equity firm, venture-capital firm, or company that buys its own stocks. That is because, these loans often just go to blow speculative bubbles, while real investment takes place with the Federal Government. For example, Pfizer, which is supposedly a pharmaceutical company, spends more money buying its own stocks than it does on drug research, while 3/4 of all revolutionary drugs are developed by the Federal Government. See these links.

https://www.nasdaq.com/article/pfizer-h ... n-cm893866

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way ... treatments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r1IPsldbBg

The last link is a YouTube video, where the most relevant information comes in at the 6:00 mark.
Post Reply

Return to “Current Events”