caulfield12

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/politics/don...nomy/index.html CNN fake news?, more and more people pleased with general direction of economy...augurs well for Trump despite stumbles https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/201...ment?yptr=yahoo US Department of Justice is literally prosecuting a woman for laughing during Jeff Sessions' confirmation hearings. She was just convicted on TWO counts by a jury. According to Ryan Reilly at HuffPost, Code Pink activist Desiree Fairooz was arrested in January after she laughed at a claim from Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) that Sessions’s history of “treating all Americans equally under the law is clear and well-documented.” But federal prosecutors have pushed forward with the case against Fairooz. As Reilly reported, prosecutors argue that “the laugh amounted to willful ‘disorderly and disruptive conduct’ intended to ‘impede, disrupt, and disturb the orderly conduct’ of congressional proceedings.” In court, they have tried to emphasize that the laugh was extraordinarily disruptive, with a US Capitol Police officer claiming that Fairooz laughed “very loudly” and people in the hearings turned around when they heard it. Fairooz’s defense, meanwhile, has argued that her laughter was a reflex and not meant to disrupt the hearings. Fairooz was also in the back of the room, and her laughter had no noticeable impact, based on video of the hearings, on Shelby’s introductory speech for Sessions. The trial will continue at the Superior Court in DC this week. If convicted, Fairooz faces a fine of up to $500 and up to six months’ imprisonment for the laugh-related charge. She is also charged with another misdemeanor for “allegedly parading, demonstrating or picketing within a Capitol, evidently for her actions after she was being escorted from the room,” Reilly reported.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/03/t...ansition-237850 Trump doing the exact opposite of draining the swamp....numerous Trump transition team members now lobbying the government for private interests

This is something Greg has talked a lot about, the feeling of being persecuted for his Christian beliefs...so you have the Dems, who largely embrace diversity (mixing of cultures/values), and the Republicans, who largely embrace a WASP religious belief. Republicans, on the other hand, are much less likely than Democrats to believe any minority group faces a lot of discrimination, and they believe Christians and whites face roughly as much discrimination as immigrants, Muslims and gay and transgender people. Moreover, only 27 percent of Republicans say blacks experience a lot of discrimination, while 43 percent say whites do and 48 percent say the same of Christians. Taken as a whole, these partisan portraits highlight contrasting responses to the country’s changing demographics and culture, especially over the past decade as the country has ceased to be a majority white Christian nation — from 54 percent in 2008 to 43 percent today. Democrats — only 29 percent of whom are white and Christian — are embracing these changes as central to their vision of an evolving American identity that is strengthened and renewed by diversity. By contrast, Republicans — nearly three-quarters of whom identify as white and Christian — see these changes eroding a core white Christian American identity and perceive themselves to be under siege as the country changes around them. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/02/opinion/...ol-right-region This is also part of the reason for that seismic shift of Obama voters in 2008 and 2012 moving to Trump in 2016.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ May 2, 2017 -> 08:06 PM) Yep. Lefties have a .193/.257/.280 line off him in the majors. Righties .234/.308/.389. Was worth 2.7 WAR in 2011 splitting time starting and in the pen. Two Tommy Johns since then. Was lights out for Pittsburgh at AAA last year, control problems in 8 MLB innings but has never really struggled with that before. The number of pitchers to get at least 100 innings in the majors (after a 2nd Tommy John) is pretty limited. I want to say Chris Capuano. The Royals tried with Medlen, to little success. Jose Rijo, historically. Daniel Hudson. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your...m=.102265a35b65

Booker has some strikes going against him. Too close to the pharmaceutical industry. Industrial NE "home territory" doesn't help the Dems expand back into the Heartland, Rust Belt and Near West. The fact that he will inevitably be compared to Obama due to race. Some will feel that it's instead "time" for a woman, Hispanic-American, Asian-American/Indian-American, etc., to have an opportunity.

The most compelling thing about Schultz is that he wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The Dems need to pick more entrepreneurial candidates that understand how to grow an economy. Oprah, another huge name...just don't see her running at this point in her life.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/02/politics/202...rump/index.html CNN handicaps 2020 Democratic field's 22 potential candidates

https://www.yahoo.com/news/spicer-white-hou...--politics.html Let's change the libel laws so Trump can sue the media... At a Texas campaign rally, Trump said he wanted to "open up" U.S. libel laws "so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money." "Believe me: If I become president, oh, do they have problems. They're going to have such problems," he said then. 35m Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%. Our country needs a good "shutdown" in September to fix mess! 3,077 11,020 41m Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there! We.... 2,017 7,786 12h Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump President Andrew Jackson, who died 16 years before the Civil War started, saw it coming and was angry. Would never have let it happen!

The maximum tax-free gift for each child per year is apparently $14,000....so $28,000 for two, $42,000 for three. They might have started doing that a long time ago when the estate tax was much lower and $10,000 was the maximum allowable gift per year, per child.

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/wilbur-ross-sa...-210329379.html You know it's a problem when missile attacks where people are killed and millions of dollars of weaponry are expended are the entertainment news at Variety. Wilbur Ross Says Syria Missile Strike Was ‘After-Dinner Entertainment’ at Mar-a-Lago “Just as dessert was being served, the president explained to Mr. Xi he had something he wanted to tell him, which was the launching of 59 missiles into Syria,” Ross said. “It was in lieu of after-dinner entertainment.” As the crowd laughed, Ross added: “The thing was, it didn’t cost the president anything to have that entertainment.” Of course, none of the Ross or Trump families have been active duty military for generations. Tone deaf.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ May 1, 2017 -> 08:23 PM) Let me tell you about Da President, I was watching tv the other day and saw a graphic that he is the most successful President in the history of the United States. Now this isnt me saying, but its what I saw was that if Trump was President there wouldnt have been a Civil War. I heard that he could have easily negotiated something that would work for both sides, slaves would be given a choice, they could be deported for being illegal immigrants or they could remain slaves. They said that they had no idea why the North was upset, they couldnt understand why a bunch of white guys were pushing for better rights for foreigners. Again its just what I saw, but I saw that slaves were taking the good industry jobs of the white people and that Trump could have easily gotten those jobs back. Now another thing, is that Kim Il Jong is a smart cookie. Really really smart guy, and Trump knows smart guys. He has basically said every person in the United States government is dumb, but Kim Il Jung, that guy is one of the smartest guys Trump has ever met. Because Im not sure if your aware, and I just saw this on tv so its not my opinion, but Trump has had way harder jobs than President. So the problem is Trump is just bored because the job is so easy and hes so successful, that is why he goes to Mara-a-Lago every weekend, because hes just really bored and has basically solved every problem. But unfortunately we have the lying press and the Democrats. If they were just honest they would tell the truth, they both hate America, hate Americans and hate Donald Trump because he is the most successful President ever. Well maybe besides for Andrew Jackson. Now again, I saw this on tv, but I heard he was the second best President besides Trump. They told me about this thing called the "Indian Removal Act" where they got rid of all the illegal immigrants. Anyway, why would Trump show up to somewhere that people may challenge his views? He is obviously right, he has done more for this country than any person that has ever lived. Without Trump America would be a lawless wasteland filled with illegal immigrants and criminals. The only reason we even have the internet or our homes right now is because Donald Trump personally saved us from all the horrible horrible deals that other President's agreed to. Donald Trump is divine, he is the mouthpiece of god. And anyone who dares to question any single word he says deserves to be killed for heresy because that is the will of god. But again this isnt what Im saying, its what I saw on tv. He's so brilliant, he's figuring out how to generate more profits (and jobs) from the Internet!!! What are privacy rights to Americans, when they can easily be monetized and added to boost bottom-line GDP growth? “Apparently [House Republicans] see no problem with cable and phone companies snooping on your private medical and financial information, your religious activities or your sex life,” Craig Aaron, president and CEO of net-neutrality group Free Press Action Fund, said in a press release. “They voted to take away the privacy rights of hundreds of millions of Americans just so a few giant companies could pad their already considerable profits.” Democrats also say that the rollback of regulations gives service providers free rein to sell data to advertisers. “Your broadband provider knows deeply personal information about you and your family – where you are, what you want to know, every site you visit, and more,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said before Tuesday’s vote. “They can even track you when you’re surfing in a private browsing mode. You deserve to be able to insist that those intimate details be kept private and secure.” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/30...vacy-rules.html

The funny thing is we're ONLY going to be 1/2 game out of first place even if we lose tonight. At least the first month has been entertaining, and the trade deadline talk will make the middle of the season worth paying attention to, then there's the minor leaguers progressing and eventually impacting the big league team. Things could be a lot worse.

FDR really sucked, too!!! http://www.businessinsider.com/great-depre...job-loss-2012-4 Under Obama: "Jobs growth resumed much faster than average of recent financial crises in advanced economies." Spain (1974), Norway (1986), Finland (1989), Sweden (1989), Japan (1991)

Greg, the biggest point with Trump is the fact that he has no intention of answering the question...but he loves, absolutely craves the attention and being in the public eye 24/7. If the reporter doesn't ask tough questions, he might as well just give up and join Fox News and lob softball Bill O'Reilly questions at him. That's if access is more important than integrity. As far as the WH Correspondents' Dinner goes, the first thing that would have been brought up was the back and forth about Obama and the Birther Movement, the last time Trump attended when Obama roasted him. His staff clearly wants to avoid that particular iceberg. Actually, the reporter Trump most craves validation from is Maggie Haberman of the NY Times, who has covered him for decades. They have a love/hate relationship, but he knows she will always hold him accountable, but that she's also fair to him...so he declares war on the NY Times and Washington Post, but they provide the coverage that he can't breathe without. There's a cost to this. Look at all the confusion over the last 24-48 hours about pre-existing conditions. Trump deeply wants to be "loved" by the people, so he always says things that will make him more popular but at the same time, are completely unrealistic from a governing standpoint. I don't think Trump really understands the policy implications of what he's saying, he just thinks "someone can fix it for him" and he just has to be the big picture guy who makes deals and gets wins, like he'd typically do with real estate transactions. Nobody has a clue right now how that type of strategy can possibly work out well if he wants to work with both sides of the GOP House, whose allegiance is first to themselves. And you can see that he's caught between both worlds, Mar-A-Lago/Manhattan and "with the people of the Rust Belt." He made a statement at the end of his speech Saturday that he'd bring a message back to the media next year at the WHCD (intimating he would attend) and got booed vociferously. He wants to schmooze with those celebrities and "elite" as much as anyone (who else becomes owner of the Miss USA/Miss Universe and starts a modeling agency if they don't?), but that's not in his best interest politically.

Dylan Covey set the all-time statcast record in speed differential (pitch velocity to exit off the bat) with a high 60's curveball that Aaron Judge absolutely punished at 110+ mph. Murderball. So there's that.

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ May 1, 2017 -> 03:09 PM) Late to the party on this, but it is a lot harder for the middle class and down to accumulate wealth when interest rates are so low. Savings accounts pay pennies in interest, so there's not a lot of financial benefit to saving. Most gains from the recovery have been in the market. People who can't afford to be in the market, or don't have the same ability to be in the market haven't been able to accumulate wealth through savings. Not to mention the 20% downpayment has made home ownership after 2008 increasingly difficult for the middle class members who are increasingly cash poor. Health care costs have to be another big redistributor of wealth to the top, as well as student loan repayments...not to mention quantitative easing Federal Reserve policies. Lastly, you can look at the evisceration of blue collar workers due to automation and globalization, tax policies highly favoring the 1%, inequality in educational outcomes in public education for the top 20% vs. the bottom 60%, deregulation in the financial industry and the growing divide between the start-up culture of Silicon Valley/NYC and the way of life on Main Street for everyone in-between the coasts. Heck, Amazon and Wal-Mart monopolies alone explain a lot about what happened to the middle of America and the shopping mall experience completely disappearing, replaced by high tech gadgets that are increasingly the domain of wealthy kids.

Finally, ticket prices that even Greg can't complain about! That only leaves parking and concession prices.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 1, 2017 -> 08:01 AM) Organized labor also fell steadily. So did manufacturing jobs. Productivity gains and wage increases became decoupled. The economy became increasingly financialized. The salaries between upper level executives and the rest of the workforce diverged quicker and quicker. And actually, the federal budget as a share of national GDP has been more or less steady with some up and down modulation for the past several decades: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYONGDA188S And exactly who has been trying to destroy organized labor since the 1980's? http://mashable.com/2017/04/25/iphone-fact...a/#jPkJYAa5Xmq2 NYU student goes undercover in Chinese iPhone factory...those jobs are never coming back, not to China, either.

More Jacksons, more Nathan Bedford Forrests, problem solved. John C. Calhoun was the man! I wish I could beat some of those Tuesday Club and House Freedom Caucus members with a stick like he did. Damn you, Henry Clay. Wait, isn't that the owner of the Lions? And if it wasn't for that darned meddling Frederick Douglass, I would have won the popular vote bigly. He registered five million "illegal" freed men to vote single-handedly in the Carolinas, along with Nat Turner. That's what Matt Drudge and that cute blonde on Fox and Friends say, at least.

QUOTE (gosoxgo2005 @ May 1, 2017 -> 06:22 AM) How do you figure this? Lucas Harrell returned Travis Demeritte last year who's on a lot of top 100 lists. This is just a few months after Harrell was pitching in Korea. James Shields returned Fernando Tatis Jr, also on top 100 lists. There are other examples too, I'm sure I know it's not apples to apples but saying Gonzales and Holland will get you NOBODY is incorrect. Of course, Tatis wouldn't have been included had the White Sox asked for less money back from the Padres.

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/331181-...s-trade-threats GOP growing frustrated with Trump's trade "policies"

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-just-m...-185102206.html How Trump claimed to have stopped Chinese currency manipulation...despite the fact that they have been spending massive amount of capital reserves to actually prop up the RMB since late in the summer of 2015. Trump said: "Pre-existing conditions are in the bill. And I just watched another network than yours, and they were saying, 'Pre-existing is not covered.' Pre-existing conditions are in the bill. And I mandate it. I said, 'Has to be.'" Trump said during the interview that if he's unable to renegotiate a long-standing free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, then he'll terminate the pact. He also spoke about tensions with North Korea. Asked about the failure of several North Korean missile tests recently, Trump said he'd "rather not discuss it. But perhaps they're just not very good missiles. But eventually, he'll have good missiles." Trump also said he is willing to use the trade issue as leverage to get China's help with North Korea. "Trade is very important. But massive warfare with millions, potentially millions of people being killed? That, as we would say, trumps trade." And he acknowledged the presidency is "a tough job. But I've had a lot of tough jobs. I've had things that were tougher, although I'll let you know that better at the end of eight years. Perhaps eight years. Hopefully, eight years." Also this week, the president will welcome Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the White House. And he'll head to New York City on Thursday where he'll visit the USS Intrepid to mark the 75th anniversary of a World War II naval battle. On Sunday morning, Trump headed to Trump National Golf Club in Virginia. The White House did not immediately clarify whether he was holding meetings or golfing. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/100-days-tru...-064021825.html http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/201...politico-215087 All the outreach has hardly convinced Europeans that Trump has their back, and the overall feeling of gloom hanging over the relationship is palpable. A recent Pew Research Center survey of European thought leaders found 77 percent preparing for worsening diplomatic relations with the United States in the Trump era and 62 percent looking at troubled times ahead on security and economic issues. Eighty-five percent in the survey said Trump was “dangerous”—and another 87 percent said they had little to no confidence that Trump would do the right thing in world affairs, a far worse rating than even for Russian President Vladimir Putin. ... Early one February weekend, President Trump let loose a cryptic complaint, followed by a barrage of Fox News-inspired tweets, about Sweden of all places. He made the Nordic country, home of gleaming lakes, cheap modernist furniture and one of the world’s highest standards of living, seem like a dystopian hellhole overrun with rampaging refugees. Sweden was not amused. “They thought the man had gone bananas,” says Carl Bildt, Sweden’s former prime minister, foreign minister and defense minister, in a new interview for The Global POLITICO, our weekly podcast on world affairs. “It was a somewhat unsettling thing to see the president of the United States without any factual basis whatsoever lunge out against a small country in the way that he did.”

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 30, 2017 -> 08:44 PM) I'd love to hear the speeches of first term presidents at the correspondents dinner after 100 days in office. I said Nixon might have been the last president to have been hated like this. He wasn't too thin skinned to attend, he was smart. He is in a WAR with the press. The press is at war with him. He copied my mama's saying: "If you have nothing good to say about somebody say nothing at all." I still think I am a good American. Sure I am wishing Trump well and hope he succeeds. Why wouldn't I? I want what is best for our country and myself both. Why would I want four years of suck? I didn't vote for him, but I support him. Like I said if and when he commits an impeachable offense, get rid of him. But until then hope for the best. And this Korea thing could get pretty ugly pretty fast. I predict in fact it will get very ugly. Nixon was smart enough not to attend the WHCD.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/30/us/winston-s...tion/index.html Folks Don't Feel Safe, the story of Winston-Salem's attempts to become a "welcoming City" for immigrants

Last time a president missed was Reagan, who had been shot by John Hinckley in 1981. And Richard Nixon, for obvious reasons.