@Mathsorcerer and @semiticgod would be better at running the country than I would. I don't have the temperament for it. If it was a 4 person panel, I'd also add @BelleSorciere and @ThacoBell. I'd trust that country would come out ok.
You and I disagree just enough that I would insist that you be present for all the decision-making meetings--nothing keeps a person on their toes like someone else double-checking and questioning everything they are trying to do. This is Trump's biggest failure--he likes to surround himself only with sycophants or yes men. Me? I prefer having someone question everything I suggest just in case I am not looking at the situation correctly.
Trump and that porn actress...that isn't news. Do you know how many politicians have had such affairs and paid out hush money over the years? A lot. To use a golf analogy this is just par for the course.
Also, not that it matters, but if Donald Trump is 6'3 and 239 lbs, then I'm Louis the XIV.
Your majesty! What does the Sun King desire today?
I'd settle for what Stefon Diggs was able to do for me on Sunday, which was put me in such a state of shock for 5 or 6 hours that I couldn't think straight.
I'm still hoarse from all the shouting I did. The Vikes played the best first half I've ever seen and (almost) the worst second half.
I think you should definitely knight 'Sir Stefon Diggs'.
Beyond the play, I don't think it would have been quite the same without the helmet flip and his "are you not entertained" pose to the crowd in the end-zone. That was cinematic.
@Mathsorcerer and @semiticgod would be better at running the country than I would. I don't have the temperament for it. If it was a 4 person panel, I'd also add @BelleSorciere and @ThacoBell. I'd trust that country would come out ok.
You and I disagree just enough that I would insist that you be present for all the decision-making meetings--nothing keeps a person on their toes like someone else double-checking and questioning everything they are trying to do. This is Trump's biggest failure--he likes to surround himself only with sycophants or yes men. Me? I prefer having someone question everything I suggest just in case I am not looking at the situation correctly.
Trump and that porn actress...that isn't news. Do you know how many politicians have had such affairs and paid out hush money over the years? A lot. To use a golf analogy this is just par for the course.
Are you saying that @jjstraka34 would be your Tyrion Lannister? I agree with you wholeheartedly. I can't imagine anything more boring than being surrounded by a bunch of me's...
@Mathsorcerer and @semiticgod would be better at running the country than I would. I don't have the temperament for it. If it was a 4 person panel, I'd also add @BelleSorciere and @ThacoBell. I'd trust that country would come out ok.
You and I disagree just enough that I would insist that you be present for all the decision-making meetings--nothing keeps a person on their toes like someone else double-checking and questioning everything they are trying to do. This is Trump's biggest failure--he likes to surround himself only with sycophants or yes men. Me? I prefer having someone question everything I suggest just in case I am not looking at the situation correctly.
Trump and that porn actress...that isn't news. Do you know how many politicians have had such affairs and paid out hush money over the years? A lot. To use a golf analogy this is just par for the course.
Are you saying that @jjstraka34 would be your Tyrion Lannister? I agree with you wholeheartedly. I can't imagine anything more boring than being surrounded by a bunch of me's...
Tywin is the one who really knew how to wield power. The only thing that brought him down was that he couldn't get over his hatred of his own son.
Also, not that it matters, but if Donald Trump is 6'3 and 239 lbs, then I'm Louis the XIV.
Your majesty! What does the Sun King desire today?
I'd settle for what Stefon Diggs was able to do for me on Sunday, which was put me in such a state of shock for 5 or 6 hours that I couldn't think straight.
I'm still hoarse from all the shouting I did. The Vikes played the best first half I've ever seen and (almost) the worst second half.
I think you should definitely knight 'Sir Stefon Diggs'.
Beyond the play, I don't think it would have been quite the same without the helmet flip and his "are you not entertained" pose to the crowd in the end-zone. That was cinematic.
Not kicking the extra point cost me $95 though. At least run in the unopposed 2 pointer for God's sake!
Also, not that it matters, but if Donald Trump is 6'3 and 239 lbs, then I'm Louis the XIV.
Your majesty! What does the Sun King desire today?
I'd settle for what Stefon Diggs was able to do for me on Sunday, which was put me in such a state of shock for 5 or 6 hours that I couldn't think straight.
I'm still hoarse from all the shouting I did. The Vikes played the best first half I've ever seen and (almost) the worst second half.
I think you should definitely knight 'Sir Stefon Diggs'.
Beyond the play, I don't think it would have been quite the same without the helmet flip and his "are you not entertained" pose to the crowd in the end-zone. That was cinematic.
Not kicking the extra point cost me $95 though. At least run in the unopposed 2 pointer for God's sake!
This will be my last comment on it so we don't derail the thread (but the rest of you need to give Vikings fans a break on this one), but Joe Buck was correct when he said it was borderline ridiculous that that play even had to take place. That said, I'm surprised you picked the Vikings to cover a 5.5 point spread in a playoff game. Hopefully that was the exorcism, but I will be making no confident declarations going forward.
Also, not that it matters, but if Donald Trump is 6'3 and 239 lbs, then I'm Louis the XIV.
Your majesty! What does the Sun King desire today?
I'd settle for what Stefon Diggs was able to do for me on Sunday, which was put me in such a state of shock for 5 or 6 hours that I couldn't think straight.
I'm still hoarse from all the shouting I did. The Vikes played the best first half I've ever seen and (almost) the worst second half.
I think you should definitely knight 'Sir Stefon Diggs'.
Beyond the play, I don't think it would have been quite the same without the helmet flip and his "are you not entertained" pose to the crowd in the end-zone. That was cinematic.
Not kicking the extra point cost me $95 though. At least run in the unopposed 2 pointer for God's sake!
This will be my last comment on it so we don't derail the thread (but the rest of you need to give Vikings fans a break on this one), but Joe Buck was correct when he said it was borderline ridiculous that that play even had to take place. That said, I'm surprised you picked the Vikings to cover a 5.5 point spread in a playoff game. Hopefully that was the exorcism, but I will be making no confident declarations going forward.
My last comment also. It was a bet with a friend and only 5 points. I was looking at how they handled the Saints earlier in the season.
Are you saying that @jjstraka34 would be your Tyrion Lannister?
erm...I don't know--I never read or watched Game of Thrones. *shrug*
You should give it a watch. I realize I don't really know you but from what I've garnered from your posts I think you'd enjoy it. You have to overlook a little soft porn (especially the early seasons) but If that doesn't offend you it's quite entertaining.
I’m not positive Trump is a racist. I am 100% certain he is classist. He doesn’t like poor people with their shithole countries and their lack-of-money problems.
I also wanted to mention that Condoleezza Rice is afraid that the #MeToo movement might make men not hire women. I honestly think men should worry more about women leaving them behind. Considering how far women have come in last century, the patriarchy should watch out. Or just die.
I'd prefer working with Tywin to Tyrion. Tyrion would be a lot more fun, but Tywin would be far more effective in office, and also be less likely to cause a scandal.
I’m not positive Trump is a racist. I am 100% certain he is classist. He doesn’t like poor people with their shithole countries and their lack-of-money problems.
I also wanted to mention that Condoleezza Rice is afraid that the #MeToo movement might make men not hire women. I honestly think men should worry more about women leaving them behind. Considering how far women have come in last century, the patriarchy should watch out. Or just die.
Well, I guess we can still be soldiers. Women don't seem to get along with each other very well. There's also that pickle jar thing...
In what can only be described as a move that is totally and utterly Orwellian, the Trump Administration, in an attempt to frame immigration as the cause for terrorism has actually released a report that counts people who committed terrorist acts overseas and were then EXTRADITED to the United States for trial as immigrants:
I’m not positive Trump is a racist. I am 100% certain he is classist. He doesn’t like poor people with their shithole countries and their lack-of-money problems.
I also wanted to mention that Condoleezza Rice is afraid that the #MeToo movement might make men not hire women. I honestly think men should worry more about women leaving them behind. Considering how far women have come in last century, the patriarchy should watch out. Or just die.
Well, I guess we can still be soldiers. Women don't seem to get along with each other very well. There's also that pickle jar thing...
We’ll have no need for soldiers. Wars will be decided by hair pulling or maybe pillow fights.
No more jars. Resealable ziploc-type containers or Tupperware only. ;-)
I wasn't aware of this, as it was totally off the radar. But there was a special election tonight in Wisconsin for a state Senate seat, a district that has gone Republican for 20 straight years and that Trump won by 17%. The Democrat won by 9 points.
Also, 9 of the 12 members of the National Park Service Advisory Board have resigned since Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke (remember, he is from Whitefish, MT, where that suspicious energy company is from) has not met with them *at all* since he assumed office about a year ago.
Also, 9 of the 12 members of the National Park Service Advisory Board have resigned since Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke (remember, he is from Whitefish, MT, where that suspicious energy company is from) has not met with them *at all* since he assumed office about a year ago.
That's fine, I'm sure in addition to being able to restore power to Puerto Rico and being the suggested base of operations for an illegal domestic spying program, Whitefish probably has some company that can outsource the entire interior department. There is nothing the citizens of Whitefish, MT aren't qualified to handle.
@Mathsorcerer and @semiticgod would be better at running the country than I would. I don't have the temperament for it. If it was a 4 person panel, I'd also add @BelleSorciere and @ThacoBell. I'd trust that country would come out ok.
@Mathsorcerer and @semiticgod would be better at running the country than I would. I don't have the temperament for it. If it was a 4 person panel, I'd also add @BelleSorciere and @ThacoBell. I'd trust that country would come out ok.
Don Jr has been nicknamed Fredo by White Housers..
Godfather 2 is better than the first movie, and probably the best sequel ever made. Yes, better than Empire. The shot of Vito walking along the rooftops stalking Fanucci is probably the most beautiful sequence I've ever seen in film.
A year ago, I promised to post a review of some economic numbers and other things on the one-year anniversary of Trump's inauguration on January 20th. I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to post the review two days early. Images are in spoiler tags.
Federal Deficit: The federal deficit has decreased over the past 5 years. The numbers for 2017 match the trend.
Taxes: The corporate tax rate has been cut from 35% to 21%. However, the bill occurred in late 2017 and the effects will probably not be felt until much later.
ISIS: The territory controlled by ISIS shrunk in 2017, much as it did in 2016 and 2015. They're not gone yet, but they're still losing.
GDP: We don't have the data for the final quarter of 2017 (just the first three quarters), but there are several projections for it depending on the source you use. We should find out the actual number fairly soon, but just based on the first three quarters for which we have data, it's about 2.5% for 2017, roughly on par with the past several years but better than 2016 specifically. This is GDP by year up to 2016.
Stock Market: The stock market has been steadily going up since 2010 with few disruptions.
Median Household Income: I don't see hard data for 2017. It's been increasing since 2012.
Environmental Regulations: The Trump administration has removed numerous regulations from the Obama administration. You can find more specific details here.
Pollution: I don't see data for 2017 here, either, but air pollution and emissions have been decreasing in recent years even as the miles traveled by vehicles increased, presumably due to higher fuel efficiency.
Special Prosecutor: Despite Trump's promise during the campaign to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton, Clinton has not been indicted for anything. I expressed uncertainty about this matter and it remains unresolved.
The Wall: There is currently no wall, nor has construction been funded yet. Several prototypes have been built.
Russian Collusion: The Mueller investigation has yet to announce any conclusions.
Infrastructure Bill: Currently, no infrastructure bill has been passed.
Obamacare/Affordable Care Act: The ACA, also known as Obamacare, has not been repealed. The Trump administration has withheld subsidies for insurance for low-income Americans, and the new tax bill has removed the individual mandate.
Unemployment: Unemployment has been decreasing steadily since 2010 and is currently at 4.1%. "Full employment" is usually defined as about 4%.
Immigration: I cannot find data for 2017; only 2016 and before. The immigrant population as a percent of the total population has been steadily rising since 1970 (the absolute number has been increasing more dramatically, but so has the total population).
Syria: The Syrian civil war is ongoing. Aside from an attack on a Syrian air base in response to a chemical weapons attack, the Trump administration has not intervened in Syria.
This is actually pretty close to what I'd predicted: that 2017 would mostly be a continuation of the trends of the Obama administration, at least in terms of hard data and economic indicators (many of the actual policies are different, but not enough has been done to really turn things around). The only things that surprise me are that Obamacare has not been repealed and that the tax bill took so long to pass. I think 2018 will follow the same trends (more GDP growth; the disintegration of ISIS; no wall, etc.), but with an increased deficit and an end to the Mueller investigation.
Whether as a result of incompetence or as a strategy, Trump now seems to be actively working against the tactics of his own party on the budget. McConnell has come out and said they have bascially no idea what the White House's position is on anything, making negotiations impossible. Republicans are on the verge of shutting down their OWN government, which has never taken place in modern history.
Whether as a result of incompetence or as a strategy, Trump now seems to be actively working against the tactics of his own party on the budget. McConnell has come out and said they have bascially no idea what the White House's position is on anything, making negotiations impossible. Republicans are on the verge of shutting down their OWN government, which has never taken place in modern history.
The fact that they are members of the same political party is irrelevant to Trump. To him, "negotiations" means "you will agree to what I want". Remember--this is the executive whose leadership style encourages those working for him to be at odds with each other instead of all being on the same team.
Trump uses the old command and control dictator style of leadership (many police still use this type of behavior as well, though there is a small push to change it). I think it is the fear that causes the infighting and he does like to threaten and try to instill fear.
Trump will protect health workers who refuse services on religious grounds. The department of health and human services is adding a "New Conscience and Religious Freedom Division".
Examples of what they want to allow include a nurse refusing post operative care for a woman who had an abortion, a pediatrician who refused to see a child with gay parents, and a fertility doctor who didn't want to provide services to a lesbian couple. Oh and also they want to be free to discriminate against transgender people of course. Who else do they want to discriminate against? I guess it depends on what their religion tells them, maybe they don't like catholics or Jewish or black people. It can be whatever. They want Freedom to be a bigot.
Anybody think this is a good idea? Or Constitutional?
So I'd like to see them defend a Satanist EMT who refuses to treat Christians when responding to emergency medical situations.
The name of that division sounds a bit Orwellian to me. I can't help but think that to people being refused treatment it would be more likely characterized as the lack of conscience and religious intolerance division.
I guess I just struggle with the concept that religious freedom involves telling other people how to live their lives ...
Comments
Trump and that porn actress...that isn't news. Do you know how many politicians have had such affairs and paid out hush money over the years? A lot. To use a golf analogy this is just par for the course.
I also wanted to mention that Condoleezza Rice is afraid that the #MeToo movement might make men not hire women. I honestly think men should worry more about women leaving them behind. Considering how far women have come in last century, the patriarchy should watch out. Or just die.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/misleading-trump-admin-report-links-immigration-terrorism
No more jars. Resealable ziploc-type containers or Tupperware only. ;-)
I'm down with ruling the world alongside luminaries from this forum.
I wish I had something more insightful to say, but the discussion today was definitely good.
We can also have a worse government than one ruled by random people on an obscure gaming forum.
Also, 9 of the 12 members of the National Park Service Advisory Board have resigned since Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke (remember, he is from Whitefish, MT, where that suspicious energy company is from) has not met with them *at all* since he assumed office about a year ago.
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/07/donald-trump-jr-fredo-godfather
Federal Deficit: The federal deficit has decreased over the past 5 years. The numbers for 2017 match the trend.
2012: $1.087 trillion
2013: $679 billion
2014: $485
2015: $438 billion
2016: $600 billion
2017: $666 billion
Taxes: The corporate tax rate has been cut from 35% to 21%. However, the bill occurred in late 2017 and the effects will probably not be felt until much later.
ISIS: The territory controlled by ISIS shrunk in 2017, much as it did in 2016 and 2015. They're not gone yet, but they're still losing.
GDP: We don't have the data for the final quarter of 2017 (just the first three quarters), but there are several projections for it depending on the source you use. We should find out the actual number fairly soon, but just based on the first three quarters for which we have data, it's about 2.5% for 2017, roughly on par with the past several years but better than 2016 specifically. This is GDP by year up to 2016.
You can view the quarterly growth rate here.
Stock Market: The stock market has been steadily going up since 2010 with few disruptions.
Median Household Income: I don't see hard data for 2017. It's been increasing since 2012.
Environmental Regulations: The Trump administration has removed numerous regulations from the Obama administration. You can find more specific details here.
Pollution: I don't see data for 2017 here, either, but air pollution and emissions have been decreasing in recent years even as the miles traveled by vehicles increased, presumably due to higher fuel efficiency.
Special Prosecutor: Despite Trump's promise during the campaign to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton, Clinton has not been indicted for anything. I expressed uncertainty about this matter and it remains unresolved.
The Wall: There is currently no wall, nor has construction been funded yet. Several prototypes have been built.
Russian Collusion: The Mueller investigation has yet to announce any conclusions.
Infrastructure Bill: Currently, no infrastructure bill has been passed.
Obamacare/Affordable Care Act: The ACA, also known as Obamacare, has not been repealed. The Trump administration has withheld subsidies for insurance for low-income Americans, and the new tax bill has removed the individual mandate.
Unemployment: Unemployment has been decreasing steadily since 2010 and is currently at 4.1%. "Full employment" is usually defined as about 4%.
Immigration: I cannot find data for 2017; only 2016 and before. The immigrant population as a percent of the total population has been steadily rising since 1970 (the absolute number has been increasing more dramatically, but so has the total population).
Syria: The Syrian civil war is ongoing. Aside from an attack on a Syrian air base in response to a chemical weapons attack, the Trump administration has not intervened in Syria.
This is actually pretty close to what I'd predicted: that 2017 would mostly be a continuation of the trends of the Obama administration, at least in terms of hard data and economic indicators (many of the actual policies are different, but not enough has been done to really turn things around). The only things that surprise me are that Obamacare has not been repealed and that the tax bill took so long to pass. I think 2018 will follow the same trends (more GDP growth; the disintegration of ISIS; no wall, etc.), but with an increased deficit and an end to the Mueller investigation.
Examples of what they want to allow include a nurse refusing post operative care for a woman who had an abortion, a pediatrician who refused to see a child with gay parents, and a fertility doctor who didn't want to provide services to a lesbian couple. Oh and also they want to be free to discriminate against transgender people of course. Who else do they want to discriminate against? I guess it depends on what their religion tells them, maybe they don't like catholics or Jewish or black people. It can be whatever. They want Freedom to be a bigot.
Anybody think this is a good idea? Or Constitutional?
So I'd like to see them defend a Satanist EMT who refuses to treat Christians when responding to emergency medical situations.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/01/18/578811426/trump-will-protect-health-workers-who-reject-patients-on-religious-grounds
I guess I just struggle with the concept that religious freedom involves telling other people how to live their lives ...