Man is inherently flawed which is precisely why democracy will never get you to the promised land. Democracy without guard rails is fun isn't it :-) Grant a monopoly on coercion and violence to a group, Government, and you now have more evil in the world. They're all evil; we're just arguing over who's the worst. Jeffrey Dahmer versus Ted Bundy :-) Ask yourself this question. If Putin is Hitler reincarnated then how come he didn't do Kiev the way we did Baghdad (Shock & Awe). Never mind there were no weapons of mass destruction :-) Only simpletons fall for the White Hat Black Hat nonsense. Unfortunately, for those who haven't lost their deductive reasoning abilities the world is chock full of complete ignoramuses. Bill, I applaud you for sharing this insight with the world. You're triggering the Tards which is a beautiful public service :-)
Craig, I wish I could agree with you that it's only simpletons that fall for all the good v bad crap, but I am constantly amazed at the opinions of people I thought were reasonably bright. For some reason I actually felt quite depressed reading Bill's missive today, it may have been his reminding me that a person as out of touch with reality (as I understand it) as Janet Yellen is, can stand on the world stage and spout absolute drivel and get away with it. We are never going to get back up off our collective arses and do anything about it though and they know it, so guess they'll just keep taking the piss
Bill, Although I hear this record weekly, I must agree in your central message. In my evenings I often find quite amazing historic dramas on television. Two this week stand out. One was a dramatization of the trial and execution of a woman who was accused of being an accomplice in the assignation of Abraham Lincoln. Her defense lawyer was a decorated Union Captain who fought heroically against the rebellion and defended her under political pressure against the military tribunal. Throughout, his defense relied on reference to the constitution. To "save the nation" the military commission used multiple unconstitutional strategies to see that she was convicted and hanged.
The second one was the story of the Pentagon Papers. Here a Marine Lieutenant (Daniel Ellsberg), stole a detailed classified history of the actions of four Presidents that became the Vietnam debacle. Commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, he chose to bury his investigation into the persistent lies that led to the worse military defeat of the United States.
The drama centers around the publication of these secret papers by the Washington Post. The message of the film was again centered around a constitutional protection, in this case the freedom of the press.
I will never forget a presentation at the Marines Memorial Club that Daniel Ellsberg gave about his story some years ago. The panel discussion following his talk included a Marine Corps Admiral, the news reporter who braved government legal threats, and two other principals in the affair. Most of the panel were retired Marines in an auditorium full of Navy and Marine retirees. Pointing out the heroism of the men who fought and died in Vietnam, the Admiral turned to Ellsberg and said "You are the greatest hero of the Vietnam War". Deception is one of the fundamental principles of war, yet Vietnam did a generation's worth of damage to our country.
The Fed can raise rates all they want - in their minds, until enough people get fired. Then wind up asking for unemployment and waiting for another round of "stimulus" handouts.
Never does anyone in Govt speak to the structural change in the workforce - over 2 million people retired due to the Covid mishandling. If you could retire, you did, if you were sidelined at home with kids, you stayed home forever, If you are petrified in fear due to the fearmongering of the govt you stayed out of the workforce and your kids stayed in home school.
These changes are structural - over 65% of the country is non participatory in the workforce. How sustainable is that? How can the supply/demand balance ever be squared? Raise interest rates to 20%?
President Biden is expected to propose a 5.2 percent raise for federal employees in his budget set to be released Thursday — the largest increase the White House has put forward since Jimmy Carter was president. The raise would be the largest pay increase for the workforce of 2.1 million executive branch employees since a 9.1 percent increase in 1980. But it would still fall short of the 8.7 percent raise called for in legislation introduced in the House and Senate and backed by several Democrats and federal employee unions.
Add that to the budget busting bills passed in the last 2 years and tell me how the Fed can raise their way out of this.
Bill's justification to debunk the Good Guys vs Bad Guys argument will be interesting. I submit it will be unpersuasive. We are hardwired to help others in distress.
This innate proclivity is what activates lifeguards, firemen, soldiers, average Joe citizen, etc. to put their lives at risk to help strangers.
Ukraine is in extreme stress. It's citizens, homes, hospitals are being attacked by an invader intent on stealing their property, murdering, maiming, kidnapping in the process To date, 10,000 Ukrainian citizens have had their lives truncated by this invader
Alas, we have been the Bad Guy too many times. Instead of letting our Smart Guys find peaceful solutions in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Far East, we loosed the Dogs of War on people no threat to us. No one in Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan praises us in song for trying to bomb them into the 21st century
Mr. Louw, When I was a teen many, many years ago, I would ask my history teacher why the US was the world policeman. I got several answers; none persuasive.
The most plausible one was, as the leading power post WWII, the US was the de facto guarantor of world peace, a peace made possible by travel and trade
I've often wished instead of being the Peacemaker, that the US would emulate Switzerland, or any of the other countries that don't routinely wage war. As you and every other sentient being knows, wars are very expensive, destructive and kill the living galore.
When thinking about guns and butter, I thought I was the only one who was mostly butter; very little guns. Soon after reading former Congressman Ron Paul's essay justifying why the US should not have become a WWII combatant, I realized I wasn't the only one who felt our flag should follow trade; not the sword.
But when it comes to responding to appeals for help from innocent victims struggling to protect themselves, their families and their way of life from craven invaders, e. g., Ukrainians, our nature is to respond.
And we're not alone. Every Western country whose citizens had a business presence in Russia also responded first by pulling out of Russia and next by giving weapons and training to Ukrainians. I hope it is enough
Taiwan: Their citizens will respond in the same way the Ukrainians did. For them, the stakes are very high. Their freedom is at stake. They either preserve their liberty or succumb to a dictator who believes their island belongs to China; not to its inhabitants. Our role should be to support to the extent possible the Taiwanese defend themselves
Bill, your 'live and let live' philosophy was a great ideal .. sadly Hitler / Mao or any of the current tyrants would kill you even faster than the supposed clan of ignoramuses whom we/you elected in out lifetime .. the current crop are just as clueless .. so just let entropy take it's course and enjoy the Malbec!
Man is inherently flawed which is precisely why democracy will never get you to the promised land. Democracy without guard rails is fun isn't it :-) Grant a monopoly on coercion and violence to a group, Government, and you now have more evil in the world. They're all evil; we're just arguing over who's the worst. Jeffrey Dahmer versus Ted Bundy :-) Ask yourself this question. If Putin is Hitler reincarnated then how come he didn't do Kiev the way we did Baghdad (Shock & Awe). Never mind there were no weapons of mass destruction :-) Only simpletons fall for the White Hat Black Hat nonsense. Unfortunately, for those who haven't lost their deductive reasoning abilities the world is chock full of complete ignoramuses. Bill, I applaud you for sharing this insight with the world. You're triggering the Tards which is a beautiful public service :-)
Inflation is a mystery to Washington, DC where they raise rates while proposing 80 trillion of spending into 2024.
Craig, I wish I could agree with you that it's only simpletons that fall for all the good v bad crap, but I am constantly amazed at the opinions of people I thought were reasonably bright. For some reason I actually felt quite depressed reading Bill's missive today, it may have been his reminding me that a person as out of touch with reality (as I understand it) as Janet Yellen is, can stand on the world stage and spout absolute drivel and get away with it. We are never going to get back up off our collective arses and do anything about it though and they know it, so guess they'll just keep taking the piss
Bill, Although I hear this record weekly, I must agree in your central message. In my evenings I often find quite amazing historic dramas on television. Two this week stand out. One was a dramatization of the trial and execution of a woman who was accused of being an accomplice in the assignation of Abraham Lincoln. Her defense lawyer was a decorated Union Captain who fought heroically against the rebellion and defended her under political pressure against the military tribunal. Throughout, his defense relied on reference to the constitution. To "save the nation" the military commission used multiple unconstitutional strategies to see that she was convicted and hanged.
The second one was the story of the Pentagon Papers. Here a Marine Lieutenant (Daniel Ellsberg), stole a detailed classified history of the actions of four Presidents that became the Vietnam debacle. Commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, he chose to bury his investigation into the persistent lies that led to the worse military defeat of the United States.
The drama centers around the publication of these secret papers by the Washington Post. The message of the film was again centered around a constitutional protection, in this case the freedom of the press.
I will never forget a presentation at the Marines Memorial Club that Daniel Ellsberg gave about his story some years ago. The panel discussion following his talk included a Marine Corps Admiral, the news reporter who braved government legal threats, and two other principals in the affair. Most of the panel were retired Marines in an auditorium full of Navy and Marine retirees. Pointing out the heroism of the men who fought and died in Vietnam, the Admiral turned to Ellsberg and said "You are the greatest hero of the Vietnam War". Deception is one of the fundamental principles of war, yet Vietnam did a generation's worth of damage to our country.
“America will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes”
As long as it takes for what outcome and for whose benefit?
The Fed can raise rates all they want - in their minds, until enough people get fired. Then wind up asking for unemployment and waiting for another round of "stimulus" handouts.
Never does anyone in Govt speak to the structural change in the workforce - over 2 million people retired due to the Covid mishandling. If you could retire, you did, if you were sidelined at home with kids, you stayed home forever, If you are petrified in fear due to the fearmongering of the govt you stayed out of the workforce and your kids stayed in home school.
These changes are structural - over 65% of the country is non participatory in the workforce. How sustainable is that? How can the supply/demand balance ever be squared? Raise interest rates to 20%?
Perhaps we need another war. Or more balloons.
Sorry Bill, but your lyrics for the Country Joe song are wrong. Here are the correct lyrics:
And its 1, 2,3 what are we fighting for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
The next stop is Vietnam,
And its 5, 6,7 open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
WHOOPEE we're all gonna die
In case anyone wants to hear him sing it at Woodstock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRl6-bHlz-4
President Biden is expected to propose a 5.2 percent raise for federal employees in his budget set to be released Thursday — the largest increase the White House has put forward since Jimmy Carter was president. The raise would be the largest pay increase for the workforce of 2.1 million executive branch employees since a 9.1 percent increase in 1980. But it would still fall short of the 8.7 percent raise called for in legislation introduced in the House and Senate and backed by several Democrats and federal employee unions.
Add that to the budget busting bills passed in the last 2 years and tell me how the Fed can raise their way out of this.
So, Bill, are you the good or bad guy? Asking for a friend.
Bill's justification to debunk the Good Guys vs Bad Guys argument will be interesting. I submit it will be unpersuasive. We are hardwired to help others in distress.
This innate proclivity is what activates lifeguards, firemen, soldiers, average Joe citizen, etc. to put their lives at risk to help strangers.
Ukraine is in extreme stress. It's citizens, homes, hospitals are being attacked by an invader intent on stealing their property, murdering, maiming, kidnapping in the process To date, 10,000 Ukrainian citizens have had their lives truncated by this invader
Alas, we have been the Bad Guy too many times. Instead of letting our Smart Guys find peaceful solutions in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Far East, we loosed the Dogs of War on people no threat to us. No one in Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan praises us in song for trying to bomb them into the 21st century
Mr. Louw, When I was a teen many, many years ago, I would ask my history teacher why the US was the world policeman. I got several answers; none persuasive.
The most plausible one was, as the leading power post WWII, the US was the de facto guarantor of world peace, a peace made possible by travel and trade
I've often wished instead of being the Peacemaker, that the US would emulate Switzerland, or any of the other countries that don't routinely wage war. As you and every other sentient being knows, wars are very expensive, destructive and kill the living galore.
When thinking about guns and butter, I thought I was the only one who was mostly butter; very little guns. Soon after reading former Congressman Ron Paul's essay justifying why the US should not have become a WWII combatant, I realized I wasn't the only one who felt our flag should follow trade; not the sword.
But when it comes to responding to appeals for help from innocent victims struggling to protect themselves, their families and their way of life from craven invaders, e. g., Ukrainians, our nature is to respond.
And we're not alone. Every Western country whose citizens had a business presence in Russia also responded first by pulling out of Russia and next by giving weapons and training to Ukrainians. I hope it is enough
Taiwan: Their citizens will respond in the same way the Ukrainians did. For them, the stakes are very high. Their freedom is at stake. They either preserve their liberty or succumb to a dictator who believes their island belongs to China; not to its inhabitants. Our role should be to support to the extent possible the Taiwanese defend themselves
Haha - I obviously live in a bubble, never knew there was such a thing. Pee-litical here I come. No double entendre intended
Bill, your 'live and let live' philosophy was a great ideal .. sadly Hitler / Mao or any of the current tyrants would kill you even faster than the supposed clan of ignoramuses whom we/you elected in out lifetime .. the current crop are just as clueless .. so just let entropy take it's course and enjoy the Malbec!
Bill, it seems countries and empires get exactly what they deserve/need eventually, just like individuals ..