StrangeSox

QUOTE (Tex @ Aug 7, 2017 -> 12:08 PM) Don't forget there are pressures from within the community that profit by new stuff getting built. They contribute to campaigns and know how to influence getting stuff they want. An Olympics is a great excuse to spread a little public money into the hands of key supporters under the Olympic rings. IIRC part of the plan is to use the brand new stadium they're building for the Rams

Who would even get excited about Tebow anyway? He hasn't played in the NFL in 5 years and his popularity peaked 7 or 8 years ago.

Twenty-five million reasons the U.S. hasn’t struck North Korea

That's giving him far too much credit. He holds a press conference to discuss the opioid crisis, and his answer is "just tell the youths it's bad!" He doesn't understand a single thing about the world around him.

What if the Sox held some sort of gimmick night where people could bring in CD's and they'd blow them up, right there on the field?!

Trump gets a folder full of positive news about himself twice a day It’s known as the “propaganda document" s*** like this is why I'm much more concerned about Trump actually having unilateral control over thousands of nuclear warheads than NK potentially having a nuclear weapon at some point in the future.

Wait, what? Those of us who don't want military action because it'll result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands if not millions of Koreans on both sides of the border don't care about non-whites? Do you at least acknowledge that your preferred course of action, which would appear to be some sort of military action, will result in many, many people on the Korean peninsula dying? And, given the infrastructure and terrain in NK, that the military action would likely need to be invasion and occupation?

If you're worried about nuclear proliferation, and you should be, you should be terrified by what's happening to non-proliferation efforts at both State and DoE out of what appears to be complete and total incompetence and stupidity https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/07/dep...s-michael-lewis

QUOTE (JenksIsMyHero @ Aug 8, 2017 -> 12:12 PM) The concern is the sale of that weapon/tech to a group like ISIS (or the next group to take over from ISIS), not a strike from NK directly. I think there's more concern about that happening via former Soviet republics but I could be wrong on that. They certainly wouldn't be selling ICBM's to non-state groups who couldn't really do anything with them anyway.

I'm also honestly more worried about the insane man with total, unilateral control of the largest military force and nuclear arsenal on the face of the earth than I am worried about NK.

There is very real danger there. There's also very real danger in taking military action against NK, which you never want to acknowledge. It's not a non sequitor to point out that you're willing to risk millions of peoples' lives for your preferred NK solution, but you're not willing to risk your own. That's not about political points, either. There's nothing Republican or Democratic there. It's about "attacking NK is going to lead to at least hundreds of thousands of deaths, possibly millions."

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 8, 2017 -> 12:11 PM) This is what appeasement is. I have been told for decades that there is nothing we can do about it, they aren't a threat, if we give them what they want they will back off etc. Instead we have a disaster waiting to happen. And we are going to keep waiting until it happens, and then everyone will take joy in pointing fingers and pretending like they tried to stop it from getting this far like they did with 9/11. When are you signing your family up for military service, possibly moving them to Seoul to be first in line when the missiles rain down in response to military action against NK? There's not any easy answers with NK, but I don't think I've ever seen you acknowledge the enormous costs in terms of both spending and, more importantly, human lives. Invading to stop WMD's doesn't exactly have a great track record itself.

Still need 1) reliable ICBM launch and 2) reentry, which is a big technical challenge, but yeah, it's one step closer. The unanimous UN sanctions announced yesterday probably won't do anything. They're dead set on getting a deliverable bomb. Short of a military invasion that will cost hundreds of thousands of lives along with trillions of dollars, I'm not really sure what anyone can do. I also don't really think NK would ever use a nuclear weapon in a first strike because they know it would be the end of them. I also hope that they have a decent command and control structure so that a single insane megalomaniac ruler doesn't have the sole, unchallengable power to launch nuclear weapons.

US analysts believe they've miniaturized their warhead and can mount it on an ICBM now https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/894954486762008576

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 8, 2017 -> 09:16 AM) WTF is "vegan leather"? Leather is by definition, a hide. It can't be vegan. I do a ton of research ahead of time to try to avoid most of the nonsense, and I ask for best prices via email or phone. But even then, there's the various BS they try to get you with in the deal making process. By the way, we still have our 2012 Pilot, and our other finalists back then were also the Explorer and the Highlander. Actually like the Explorer best at the time, but it turned out it was too long for our oddly shaped garage. Ended up loving the Pilot though, which is now our second/backup/need-a-monster car, so no regrets. Cork or plant-based material made to look and feel like leather. Buying cars is such an awful process and I'm dreading having to do it in the next month or two.

QUOTE (Quin @ Aug 8, 2017 -> 09:18 AM) Yeah, but then one small thing can throw it out of wack. I can't exactly work having a seizure into my monthly expenses, but when it happens there's a couple thousand dollars that I suddenly owe a hospital for an ambulance/ER trip I didn't order. Some degree of financial independence such that you're not dependent on wage labor over long periods of time seems pretty crucial to the definition. Living paycheck-to-paycheck +$1 sure as heck isn't "rich" because like you said, the smallest unexpected expense can throw you deep in the hole.

Trump admin gearing up to purge voter rolls nationwide. https://twitter.com/AriBerman/status/894731...src=twsrc%5Etfw Voter suppression is going to kick into high gear going into next year sides and abetted by the "maintain" GOP every step of the way because they're just as enthusiastic about it.

he's stuck inside because it's too rainy to golf today

I'm not sure why Gendry would be all that relevant at this point. Nobody is going to care about or support any claim he has of being Robert's legitimate heir. That ship sailed when Ned was killed.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 1, 2017 -> 09:38 AM) 1. Term limits have done the exact opposite of what people suggest they're supposed to do when they're tried. California remains the example case - you get rid of anyone who has experience doing things like "writing a budget" or "making a deal" and you wind up unable to have things like budgets written. It also turns power over to the unelected people who do stay around, namely the career senior staffers and lobbyists.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jul 31, 2017 -> 07:25 PM) Trump personally dictated Don Jrs misleading Russia collusion statements. https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/8...src=twsrc%5Etfw

New lawsuit alleges WH helped orchestrate Seth Rich conspiracy lunacy http://www.npr.org/2017/08/01/540783715/la...fake-news-story

Trump's lawyer had previously said Trump wasn't involved drafting the response https://mobile.twitter.com/alexwardvox/stat...191060948111360