caulfield12

https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-set-move-...-071739318.html Russia moves closer to decriminalizing domestic violence. Party like it's 1953....err, 2017. Simply can't wait for Obama's sanctions to be lifted and our first trade and military cooperation agreements to be signed with them!!! Great day, beautiful day for all thugs and bullies who have Bobby Knight-like attitudes toward women...Putin, Duterte, Assad, Trump, Ergoyan. We should start to call it The Alliance of Excellence.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/201...ight-now-214678 America, You Look (Exactly) Like An Arab Country Right Now The moment at which we felt real solidarity with the American people, though, was when we started hearing BBC reporters talking to your citizens with the patronizing tone they normally reserve for the Middle East. Correspondents were sent to far-flung corners of the United States to talk to farmers and factory workers to try to understand how they feel and to ask condescending questions. I’m from the British Broadcasting Corporation, are you familiar with the BBC? Where do you get your news from? Do you feel angry? Does religion play a role in how you are voting?. (The only thing missing were pictures of people with blue ink on their thumbs; please consider introducing that practice in the future.) There was talk, too, of rural strongholds and urban bastions. Deep social and geographic divisions whose origins go back in time. They’re not quite tribal divisions, but there was more than enough religious and political sectarianism to ignite our interest. Who are the liberals and the conservatives and how did their disagreement begin? What’s the difference between alt-right and the Tea Party? What’s the origin of the schism between the neo-conservatives and paleoconservatives? Watching foreign correspondents trying to explain the differences was mesmerizing. And then there’s the unrest. In the lead up to the inauguration, we started to hear about youth protests against the new regime. Come on! This is bordering on plagiarism now. Please write your own plots and stop borrowing ours. Although, we usually wait for leaders to take power before we start protesting; we like your preemptive revolution approach.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jan 22, 2017 -> 03:42 PM) Trump is a thin-skinned egomaniac, no doubt about that. For many decades now, he's never faced any opposition in the business world from anybody. Everybody's kissed his butt, so to speak for decades. America knew this and still elected him president. So big deal. If he can do the job, great. If he can't, well, the next election cycle will probably begin in 2.5 years. It will go by fast. So we shall see. But nobody should be surprised by his ego surfacing again and again. I just want results. Improve the economy, baby. Build up the military. improve health care. I'm willing to bet one of your houses that you will change your tune within a year. While I would love to be wrong....Greg, we currently have 19 aircraft carriers, China has one (built on a Russian shell) and is now building their first close to original one. #2 in the world has four. Don't you believe that instead of building ships the Navy isn't even asking for that it would be better to allocate tax revenues to Social Security and Medicare...programs designed to provide a safety net for American middle class families? And do you really want to go to war with China or, more likely, in the Middle East yet again?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix...m=.e1b88b944259 When lies become "fake news" and now we get Conway's "alternate facts" and unfortunately 1/4th or 1/3rd of the country is willing to believe them or look the other way. https://mobile.twitter.com/rascouet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw And of course the Twitter source for that insightful Trump media strategy outline is getting battered by right wing social media for not oublicly identifying the source or simply making things up to fit a narrative. "But I'm worried about tweeting now because I've been able to not be harassed much thus far and this might change now." You know things are bad when Nazi Germany/Maoist China/Russia/Mussolini come to mind on a daily basis as perfectly appropriate comparisons. Freedom of speech and the press are always the first to go. Educational indoctrination/destroying intellectual curiosity comes second.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jan 22, 2017 -> 12:39 PM) Unfortunately I dont see any way to break the cycle. Approximately 500 newspapers endorsed Clinton, approximately 27 endorsed Trump. A good portion of America just no longer accepts "facts". Yesterday on this board there was an argument about whether or not Clinton "won" the popular vote. Historically speaking this has happened before. After the fall of Rome, European society entered the "Dark Ages." Its starting to appear that we may be heading down that road. Otherwise why attack Science, etc? Even if you disagree with global warming, our society should still be investing money to determine the facts. We shouldnt just say "The Pope said the Earth is the center of the Universe, so it must be true." The idea of "alternate facts" is pretty scary. Not to mention the biggest driver of American greatness and innovation/ingenuity is Silicon Valley the last two decades. The inaugural address could just as easily been aimed at those entrepreneurs as it was at the Washington establishment. Fwiw, Trump's immigration and trade policies are supported by exactly one person out there, Peter Thiel. That's why all the talk about California leaving the US isn't completely as far-fetched as it sounds. Highly unlikely, but...well, the electoral college doesn't do much for them, does it?

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 22, 2017 -> 11:47 AM) f***. Double f***. The common thread with most of those Cabinet members and Paul Ryan is adherence to the tenets of Ayn Rand's philosophy. And we wonder why the GOP gets labeled as selfish, or only motivated by individual greed or advancement rather than societal progress.

Who me? Biased? Insightful video series by the NY Times. Peanut butter, jelly and racism. Implicit bias vs. Racism, and how they're different. https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/1000000048...and-racism.html Carter was a brilliant man but terribly ineffective president. We can't retroactively give his presidency points because of his honesty, integrity, charitable work like Habitat for Humanity, or Sunday school sermons...or diplomatic efforts even. To me, his biggest accomplishment/credit lies in the area of Mideast Peace negotiations, but everything else was pretty much a disaster. His term led to 12 consecutive years of GOP leadership of the presidency, not easy to pull off after Watergate for the Dems. But perceived weakness or let's call it softness on crime/death penalty and the military is largely attributable to this era of leaders in the party, whether we want to admit it or not. It's why Clinton/Gore were able to rise to power a generation later as Southern DLC moderates.

Alcohol has always been a part of the culture of baseball, look no further than Guillen and LaRussa. I suppose they could put something in all their contracts, but wouldn't you have to do that for all players, not just the Latin American ones? There's a fine line between safety and taking away individual freedoms. It's not like MLB is going to pay a subsidy for additional police checkpoints in all those countries, or have private security contractors/designated drivers stay with their players 24/7. I guess I'll believe it when I see it, like dealing with steroids, or the gun and domestic violence culture in the NFL. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...e128092259.html

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 22, 2017 -> 09:16 AM) of course they aren't. you think greg can handle complexities? Greg has appeared on the same number of Time Magazine covers as everyone else at SoxTalk. Richard Nixon, by the way, is first with 55. Not Trump. FDR second. HRC 19 times.

QUOTE (L. Ron Paultard @ Jan 22, 2017 -> 12:36 AM) . . America's status: 'saved' Never in doubt from June 2015 on. the Boss overcame 18 months' worth of wall-to-wall Orwellian propaganda + massive Dem voter-fraud + lack of conventional groundgame, ads, money, etc "Darth Voldermort McHitler" will be an amazing President. yay! Best part? Some of the most effective "pandering, urgent" lines in the final stretch of the campaign that won over key demos in swing states ( "Save America.... "this is it, one last chance".. .won't touch SS & Medicare for our wonderful seniors... no WW3 with Russia" preserve freedom of religion...speech...free internet for my Millenials" mexican drug epidemic + 20 trillion dollar debt consigning our daughters & granddaughters to a dark, hopeless future" etc, etc, etc) -----> were in part courtesy of yours truly. Miller, Bannon, KA et al notwithstanding not my field at all; just couldn't stay on the sidelines. so when a couple of friends asked...had to help save America from the impending hellish nightmare Kenyan traitor & Grandma Nixon, Soros-Alinsky pedo-satanists, et al conspired to create. truest story, haha considering how razor tight the race was in MI, WI, PA, & FL (they love their SS & Medicare in FL, amirite?).. ....that existentially-urgent, laser-focused messaging might have made all the difference Feels fantastic #SaveAmerica #MAGA https://www.instagram.com/p/BPgWi9iBsOD/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iotk6ES3ToY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoKnfWhdqDw . . Lol...that same deficit that is projected to have another $7 trillion added by Trump? Interesting for the first time in eight years there's no longer talk about fiscal responsibility and balancing the budget coming from Republicans. Oh, but you get access to the health care market but only if you have enough money because all the rates will go up 25-50% with 32 million disappearing from the rolls...or you'll be left with a bare bones policy that only is helpful in a dire emergency but not very practical for a growing middle class family. And glad to know the Republicans under Herbert Hoover, oops McCain and Romney, would have made the Great Recession into Great Depression II by not doing anything, letting banks (unless they're run by your hunting buddies) and automakers go bankrupt and creating a spiral effect in terms of unemployment and economic carnage by refusing to use government stimulus spending, the same exact thing that China did. Obviously private industry with no regulations was fully capable of solving all the problems themselves.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 22, 2017 -> 08:54 AM) FWIW the DJIA and "the economy" are not the same thing Yes, you have to look at the unemployment rate, GDP growth, CPI/inflation indexes as well as interest rates, home purchases, PPI, import/export numbers, balance of payments and trade deficit, etc.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 22, 2017 -> 08:52 AM) for some reason you keep assuming that people who went to the largest protest in US history, which was organized by women and primarily focused on a rejection of Trump, either didn't vote or voted for Trump. The numbers you brought up multiple times in this thread aren't really relevant beyond trying to make a smuggo point that doesn't really work. Trump did lose the female vote big amongst minority voters — 94 percent of black women voted for Clinton, as did 68 percent of Latino women, according to exit poll data. But nearly twice as many white women without college degrees voted for Trump than for Hillary, and of college-educated white women Hillary won by only a narrow margin — 51 percent supported Hillary, compared to 45 percent who supported Trump. Overall, 53 percent of white women voted for Trump, alongside 58 percent of white men who did so as well. http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld...illary-clinton/ I'm going to guess 75-80% of that crowd on the Mall was college-educated...if for no other reason than those with college degrees typically have much higher incomes and the ability to finance such a trip to DC. It's a good starting point for the Democratic version of the Tea Party to have 1 million in Washington, NYC and Chicago alone.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 22, 2017 -> 08:52 AM) for some reason you keep assuming that people who went to the largest protest in US history, which was organized by women and primarily focused on a rejection of Trump, either didn't vote or voted for Trump. The numbers you brought up multiple times in this thread aren't really relevant beyond trying to make a smuggo point that doesn't really work. Trump did lose the female vote big amongst minority voters — 94 percent of black women voted for Clinton, as did 68 percent of Latino women, according to exit poll data. But nearly twice as many white women without college degrees voted for Trump than for Hillary, and of college-educated white women Hillary won by only a narrow margin — 51 percent supported Hillary, compared to 45 percent who supported Trump. Overall, 53 percent of white women voted for Trump, alongside 58 percent of white men who did so as well. http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld...illary-clinton/ I'm going to guess 75-80% of that crowd on the Mall was college-educated...if for no other reason than those with college degrees typically have much higher incomes and the ability to finance such a trip to DC. It's a good starting point for the Democratic version of the Tea Party to have 1 million in Washington, NYC and Chicago alone.

First, it describes a reality that some but not most Americans perceive. As everyone who’s written about the economy in this Second Gilded Age, including me, has noted, far too many people are displaced, left behind, shortchanged, and dead-ended by the effects of technology and finance. That’s the human and economic challenge of this economic era, and it’s especially true for older people, less educated people, and those in some majority-white Appalachian and Rust Belt-locales where businesses have been closing rather than opening. But for most Americans, the past few years have represented economic progress rather than decline. (Employment; recently median-wage levels; inflation; financials; energy-production; manufacturing; trend in deficits; emissions; etc.) I’ll save the full “some-vs-most” arguments for another day but will cite these two illustrations: the strong popular-vote majority for what was essentially a continuation of current economic policies; and the classic Politico headline from the GOP convention. It was “GOP Delegates Say Economy Is Terrible—Except Where They Live.” Again, there’s more to say about these figures. But as the dominant theme in the speech, it represents pure rallying the base rather than reaching beyond. James Fallows, The Atlantic

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 22, 2017 -> 07:30 AM) I'm not sure it's entirely relevant. Women would look for equal rights under any president. It's sad that it's still an issue. http://ew.com/books/2017/01/17/ivanka-trum...e-may-2017/amp/ Don't worry. Ivanka is on the case. Her new book will provide simple yet exquisite (actor James Woods' apt description) solutions to all the working women of America. Best of all, the book advance and proceeds from sales are all going to charity!!! Act now, and you can get a machine-autographed copy, printed in the good 'ol USA.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 22, 2017 -> 06:57 AM) 1) Do you believe trickle down economics works? 2) Which of his policies do you feel will accomplish this? 3) In 2008, stock market was sub 10,000. Today it's near 20,000. That's doubling the strength of the economy over four years. You really think Trump will do better? The stock market returns averaged 17.4% per year under Clinton. http://www.forbes.com/2004/07/21/cx_da_0721presidents.html Greg will argue that the average middle class family wasn't able to invest in the market due to inadequate savings and that wage growth for the middle class has been flat for 30 years. Of course, that has very little to do with Obama...and those stock market gains Trump is getting credit for since the election aren't going to last if Trump's policies are enacted.

“I am so behind you,“ Trump said, adding, “You’re (the CIA) gonna get so much backing. Maybe you’re gonna say, please, don't give us so much backing, Mr. President, please, we don’t need that much backing.” Trump, who endorsed bringing back torture during the campaign, also said at the CIA that he would destroy the Islamic State. “We have not used the abilities that we have (referring apparently to enhanced interrogation/rendition),” he said. “We’ve been restrained.” Trump repeated another campaign line — about how the United States should have taken the oil when it invaded Iraq — and said, “maybe you’ll have another chance,“ without further explanation. Trump went on to boast about how many covers of Time magazine he has appeared on. And then he singled out a Time magazine reporter, by name, for making a reporting error about a bust of Martin Luther King, Jr., being removed from the Oval Office on Friday, for which the reporter has already publicly apologized. Trump also touted his intellect in a brief aside. “Is Donald Trump an intellectual? Trust me, I’m like a smart person,” he said. Trump’s unusual appearance earned the quick rebuke of Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. “He will need to do more than use the agency memorial as a backdrop if he wants to earn the respect of the men and women who provide the best intelligence in the world,” Schiff said. http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trum...-langley-233971 https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-hotel-star...-081621559.html The Trump Organization has directed that no communications of the organization, including social media accounts, will reference or otherwise be tied to President-elect Trump's role as president of the United States or the office of the presidency," a company attorney wrote in a briefing released earlier this month. Trump has voluntarily taken these measures, since few conflict laws apply to the president or vice president. That means people will have to trust that the president and his company are following through. "We are waiting for you Mr. President! Thank you!" Trump's Washington hotel wrote on its Twitter account shortly before the president was scheduled to roll past the Pennsylvania Avenue property as part of the inaugural parade. Indeed, Trump hopped out of his motorcade to walk and wave in front of the hotel. The tweet would appear to violate the company's no-reference-to-the-president policy. Trump Organization representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Patricia Tang, the Washington hotel's director of sales and marketing — who said she was responsible for social media — did not directly answer a question about the possible violation. But she said, "We have nothing to do with the administration. We have nothing to do with the presidency. We just want to be the best possible luxury hotel that we can be."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/white-house-webs...-221241308.html "Cult of personality" settling in as WH website hails and hails the Chief

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jan 22, 2017 -> 12:33 AM) I mean he'll improve the economy enough I hope that I can make more money working and save money on price of things, etc. He's supposed to help business owners make more loot and maybe they'll pass it on to me. I liked your entire post, but especially that line. He's supposed to work his ass off to turn the economy around with Laffer's policies. http://economistsview.typepad.com/economis...ffer-curve.html Is the goal to increase the deficit? That's the only thing we know will happen historically.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jan 21, 2017 -> 09:52 PM) I told you I'm a Republican yet I voted for Obama last time. I did not vote for Trump or Hillary this time. I also told you I didn't vote for Romney as I didn't like him. I despise Hillary, of course I do. But if she had won I wouldn't have continued the rant until the next presidential race was underway. I am an American. I don't understand those who actively root against the President. If he does well it helps you and me! I would show Obama respect despite the fact I thought he was a lousy President. I thought I was gracious in my initial post on this thread. one.) That's sad. I am an American first and foremost. Yes I'd complain incessantly about her in 3 years during the next campaign if she had been lousy. two. He may not deserve a clean slate, but our President deserves a clean slate. Don't you want prosperity?? I do. I want some money. I dunno. I like Bill Clinton. I love Jimmy Carter. I didn't like Obama. I think I told you before, the military LOVES Trump. I know that for a fact. I can't believe we Americans can't get along. What policies has he proposed that will bring prosperity to the typical family of four earning $30-60,000 per year in Lawrence, KS?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 21, 2017 -> 08:52 PM) 40-50% of the people protesting today didn't vote? Source? I'm sure he was talking about the general...or extrapolating those averages onto today, but that's unlikely since most typical activists don't sit out elections. https://www.yahoo.com/news/bergdahl-case-pr...-153616764.html Bergdahl desertion case presents early test of tolerance for prejudicial Trump rhetoric

Silence A-/B+ But way too long, almost three hours. Andrew Garfield really has shined this year with Hacksaw Ridge and this one which underperformed at the box office. "A Monster Calls" B, surprisingly effective children's movie, Felicity Jones is everywhere. XXX. For a pure popcorn film, B+. Felt like another Fast and Furious enseble cast film, but entertaining for the most part except for forcing international stars (India, Australia, Thailand, China) into nearly every movie now.

Greg, since you always get bent out of shape when veterans are disrespected. Here's a whopper. That was one of the more disconcerting speeches I’ve seen,” said a senior U.S. intelligence official who was not present for the Trump speech but watched it by video. “He could have kept it very simple and said, ‘I’m here to build some bridges.’ But he spent 10 seconds on that and the rest was on the crowd size,” the official said, referring to Trump’s repeated complaints that the media had undercounted the turnout for his inauguration. Referring to Trump’s use of the CIA memorial wall as a backdrop, the official said, “People are going to think that was offensive." https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/tru...m=.807c1bd1f506

QUOTE (Con te Giolito @ Jan 21, 2017 -> 07:44 PM) Dont misconstrue what I'm saying. They didn't fake a rebuild just to get rid of Sale and Eaton, but they were definitely more motivated to be rid of them and in the case of Sale settled for less from Boston to have him gone. Ummm...in the end, it was the cumulative haul from those two trades, made possible by playing Boston and Washington against each other. But I guess there will always be Sox fans who will swear Hahn screwed up because he should have gotten Benintendi, Robles or Devers as well.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jan 21, 2017 -> 06:42 PM) Why? I thought it was a nice point to make. Cooper obviously did not want Trump yet was thoroughly professional in covering the 3 inauguration balls and commentary, etc. I always wish well for my country. I'm glad I am not full of bitterness. I despise Hillary but I can assure you if she won I wouldn't have ripped her every move. Now in 3.5 years when the next election season came around? If she stunk as Pres of course I'd have renewed venom toward her. Trump is president. Just as I wished Obama well I wish Trump well. I want my country to get powerful again. I want the economy to grow. He's in charge now. I think everybody should give a clean slate to Trump, but I realize that's impossible. Even a nice thread like this didn't last but 1-2 posts before turning to Trump disgust. Whatever. Peace to you all. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jobs_create...sidential_terms Greg, do you not see how many more jobs were created during the Obama and Clinton terms than the Bush (either one) years? https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-l...m=.4499e387e234 Reagan did pretty well, but FDR and Clinton will go down as the most successful with Obama not far behind. Do you really believe tariffs and isolationism will grow the economy and bring back jobs? Not to mention that trickle down economics (lowering taxes on rich and corporations) has never been proven to be beneficial to anyone but the elites you're always complaining about, as well as multinationals that don't even pay a fair share of taxes in the US to begin with because of offshore tax loopholes written by mostly Republican lobbyists. Do really think Goldman Sachs about anyone in Kansas, other than the Koch Brothers in Wichita?