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4 minutes ago, BuffaloHokie13 said:

So we're in agreement that the statement I highlighted is based on nothing? Fair enough.


Nah - you asked if there was an official quota number announced and I was just highlighting what the stable genius QUATED and well, we are sadly well beyond that. 

 

And upon further review - he did redefine what success looks like: Trump Says 80,000-100,000 Americans Will Die, Calls That a ‘Success’


Ive never heard a President use success and 80,000-100,00 American deaths in the same sentence but sure - he deserves a second term.

 

Rest assured, it will just go away.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, BillStime said:


Nah - you asked if there was an official quota number announced and I was just highlighting what the stable genius QUATED and well, we are sadly well beyond that. 

 

And upon further review - he did redefine what success looks like: Trump Says 80,000-100,000 Americans Will Die, Calls That a ‘Success’


Ive never heard a President use success and 80,000-100,00 American deaths in the same sentence but sure - he deserves a second term.

 

Rest assured, it will just go away.

Oh okay. So you really didn't follow the incredibly short conversation. Got it.

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On 7/2/2020 at 7:22 AM, Reality Check said:

Thank you for the response.

 

"They Live" is a classic, and I will have to watch that again this weekend.

 

No, I have no problem being associated with the resident green new deal chica, simply because I understand the motivation behind it. I have my passions about environmental issues too, and although we may have different models on how to get there, the goals aren't too dis-similar. Where people generally focus on global warming and CO2, I am focused on the genetic and chemical pollution of absolutely everything in our world, GMO, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, especially trash and garbage. I am also deeply alarmed at the lack of respect to the microbial world that makes living soil what it is supposed to be and its relationship to the microbiomes that we cultivate in our digestive systems. We have a ways to go, and we need to talk a little more about solutions that can start small as more affordable environmental solutions so that they can be scaled up. Saving the environment doesn't require trillions, and I think that we will get there together.

 

I agree that partisanship is a big problem, but it remains part of a logical trend. Power is devolving back to the counties away from federal dominance, and this is due largely to the collapse of global influence on America's internal and external supply chains. Local people are going to have to be more involved than ever before if they are to weather the incoming storm. I have faith that we will. The TV paints more contrast between people than actually exists in the real world.

 

We have come this far, and we can go so much farther. Learning from the past and applying it is all we can do. It won't be pretty, but that makes the goal that much sweeter if we can attain it. Sometimes, the only things that we appreciate are the things that require the greatest sacrifice.

 

Were you ever a Deep Space 9 fan?

 

Sounds like you’re more of a “Jeffersonian environmentalist” while I’m more of a “Hamiltonian environmentalist.” These are terms I’ve coined just now, so I don’t think anyone else talks like this… What I mean is that I’m more likely to look at environmental problems from a top-down centralized authoritarian perspective, while you may look at solving them from a voluntary point of view at the individual or local community level first. Am I describing your point of view correctly? I’ll just continue on like I am… So I think that grassroots problem-solving is effective for many areas of civic society, especially when it comes to political parties. However, many (most?) environmental problems are time-sensitive and involve highly complex interrelationships between localities. From a historical case perspective (I’m thinking of the 1970’s and onward), I think these sets of problems just respond much better and faster to federally enforced solutions. I’d also argue that many of my environmental solutions revolve around the reallocation of financial resources and don’t necessarily lead to increases in costs for the individual. Sounds like verbal environmentalist subterfuge??? Oh dear…I’ll try to explain myself better in the global warming thread…

 

On the subject of GMO’s: I’m cautiously supportive of them. Of course we need to be mindful of the myriad ways GMO foods could adversely affect the human body, the human digestive tract, the surrounding flora and fauna, and the general environment at large. And despite being the extremely pro-first amendment person that I am, I do demand full compulsory commercial disclosure of all GMO foods on their packaging. But looking at it also from a practical perspective, GMO foods have dramatically increased yields to feed much more of the world population while reducing pesticide use. When you think about it, the entirety of the collective human food supply (flora AND fauna) has been dramatically modified through selective breeding anyway since the beginning of the agricultural age about 10,000 years ago. All of the ancient versions of our foods look so much different than the modern ones, with this natural evolutionary process occurring even without the specific influence of people in white lab coats.

 

Surprisingly, I had never heard of Deep Space 9 until now. I’m adding it to my growing list of PPP personal recommendations on my desk which, oddly enough, I see includes a related written memo: “alien propulsion technology: Deranged Rhino: GW hoax thread.” If you like John Carpenter movies, I also recommend “The Thing” (1982). Normally I’m not big into horror films, but this one is easily the best I’ve ever seen.

 

And speaking of Antarctic ice…I need to check up on the global warming thread today. BUT…I haven’t forgotten my main purpose here: the good people demand a trenchant attack on neoliberalism and on the continuing decay of the American Dream under Trump’s economy. In due time, I shall happily oblige!

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1 hour ago, RealKayAdams said:

 

Sounds like you’re more of a “Jeffersonian environmentalist” while I’m more of a “Hamiltonian environmentalist.” These are terms I’ve coined just now, so I don’t think anyone else talks like this… What I mean is that I’m more likely to look at environmental problems from a top-down centralized authoritarian perspective, while you may look at solving them from a voluntary point of view at the individual or local community level first. Am I describing your point of view correctly? I’ll just continue on like I am… So I think that grassroots problem-solving is effective for many areas of civic society, especially when it comes to political parties. However, many (most?) environmental problems are time-sensitive and involve highly complex interrelationships between localities. From a historical case perspective (I’m thinking of the 1970’s and onward), I think these sets of problems just respond much better and faster to federally enforced solutions. I’d also argue that many of my environmental solutions revolve around the reallocation of financial resources and don’t necessarily lead to increases in costs for the individual. Sounds like verbal environmentalist subterfuge??? Oh dear…I’ll try to explain myself better in the global warming thread…

 

On the subject of GMO’s: I’m cautiously supportive of them. Of course we need to be mindful of the myriad ways GMO foods could adversely affect the human body, the human digestive tract, the surrounding flora and fauna, and the general environment at large. And despite being the extremely pro-first amendment person that I am, I do demand full compulsory commercial disclosure of all GMO foods on their packaging. But looking at it also from a practical perspective, GMO foods have dramatically increased yields to feed much more of the world population while reducing pesticide use. When you think about it, the entirety of the collective human food supply (flora AND fauna) has been dramatically modified through selective breeding anyway since the beginning of the agricultural age about 10,000 years ago. All of the ancient versions of our foods look so much different than the modern ones, with this natural evolutionary process occurring even without the specific influence of people in white lab coats.

 

Surprisingly, I had never heard of Deep Space 9 until now. I’m adding it to my growing list of PPP personal recommendations on my desk which, oddly enough, I see includes a related written memo: “alien propulsion technology: Deranged Rhino: GW hoax thread.” If you like John Carpenter movies, I also recommend “The Thing” (1982). Normally I’m not big into horror films, but this one is easily the best I’ve ever seen.

 

And speaking of Antarctic ice…I need to check up on the global warming thread today. BUT…I haven’t forgotten my main purpose here: the good people demand a trenchant attack on neoliberalism and on the continuing decay of the American Dream under Trump’s economy. In due time, I shall happily oblige!

 

 

Good morning RealKayAdams. 

 

I like that Jeffersonian environmentalist label very much. It's incomplete though. I believe in practical grass roots moves for a lot of things because when a practical solution comes from it, it tends to have organic sense to it and it tends to be a solution that respects the budget of the user. There are plenty of useful solutions at the grassroots level that I would like to see scaled out at a centralized level. The problem is that most solutions rolled out from the top down are originating from a business model steeped in corruption and manipulation. I prefer a proof of concept that is at least somewhat related to pragmatism and a budget that can be scaled out. The problem with purely top down approaches is that I am a hostage in that situation as now the whims of voting in an election is the only way to sway the trends of spending. In that situation, all business devolves into politics. As a taxpayer, if I refuse to pay, the government will apply their monopoly of force to take my assets and put me in prison. My preference is more of a hybrid approach that does not crush people locally when many centrally commanded programs are sometimes ridiculous wastes of money and resources.

 

When it comes to GMO, I am a bit of an extremist as I am in the "never gonna eat that crap" camp. I just can't do it. I know far too much about organic living soil science to buy into the corporate abominations being created and sold. They are creating long term problems that will not be fully realized until years down the line sadly. That is of course usually how it goes. To each their own on that subject. 

 

I saw the 1982 version of "The Thing". It was OK. I liked the original a lot more. You will enjoy DS9 I think. The first few seasons start off a little slow, but it hits one hell of a crescendo in the final season. Very interesting psychodynamics are explored in the series. It's deep. Plus, the Emissary is just bad a$$.

 

We agree on a lot. You are against Neo-liberalism, and I am against Neo-conservatism. They are two sides of the same coin. They want capitalism financed at 0% for them, while for everyone else, they demand division and regression while their own activities are hidden. Together, their Hegelian Dialectic yields a Neo-feudalism at the local level.

 

Have a great week, and never stop building the future you envision.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Reality Check said:

I saw the 1982 version of "The Thing". It was OK. I liked the original a lot more. You will enjoy DS9 I think. The first few seasons start off a little slow, but it hits one hell of a crescendo in the final season. Very interesting psychodynamics are explored in the series. It's deep. Plus, the Emissary is just bad a$$.

 

The baseball game episode still has one of my all-time favorite TV lines...

 

 

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No link to where this number came from (or who said it). I was hoping for information  in the comments, but twitter is boosting all the bots with 10-200 followers dunking on Trump, so no information there.
 

 

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5 minutes ago, wAcKy ZeBrA said:

 


October 1st as  they are not allowed to lay-off before that due to the sweet government money they accepted.  So, unless states (and countries) start welcoming tourists and work-travel back before October 1, this is, unfortunately, going to happen. 


 

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Jobless claims at better-than-expected 1.3 million, total getting benefits falls to 18 million
 

Weekly jobless claims were lower than expected last week as workers slowly returned to their jobs in the wake of rising coronavirus cases.
 

Claims for the week ended July 4 totaled 1.314 million, compared with the 1.39 million expected from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The total marked a decrease of 99,000 from a week earlier, according to the Labor Department.
 

</snip>
 

Continuing claims fell sharply, dropping 698,000 from a week earlier to 18.06 million. The previous week’s total itself was revised down by 530,000. Wall Street had been expecting 18.9 million continuing claims, according to FactSet.
 

</snip>

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21 minutes ago, keepthefaith said:

 

Not defending UAL but how much of the $8.6B in stock buys was still held in Feb of this year?

 

Not sure. In general I don't have a huge issue with buybacks because it increases the value of the company thus increasing shareholder prices for 401Ks, etc. The $5 billion bailout irks me way more.

 

$5 billion / 36,000 jobs is $138,888 / person UAL got from the government. I am sure there are a few hundred small businesses who were unable to get PPP loans that would have used that money to keep employees on the payroll. 

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9 hours ago, wAcKy ZeBrA said:

 

Not sure. In general I don't have a huge issue with buybacks because it increases the value of the company thus increasing shareholder prices for 401Ks, etc. The $5 billion bailout irks me way more.

 

$5 billion / 36,000 jobs is $138,888 / person UAL got from the government. I am sure there are a few hundred small businesses who were unable to get PPP loans that would have used that money to keep employees on the payroll. 

That's why they need to go back to the stockholders first to get the cash.  No reason that shouldn't be a condition of Federal aid.  If you bought back X amount of stock in the last 24 months, Federal aid comes only after the company raises more equity.  

 

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2 minutes ago, Chef Jim said:

 

Define "The Market"?

 

It's just a convenient and ignorant way for the left to say "the stock market crashed" and it's all Trump's fault! Ignoring the fact it is the biggest crash and turn around within a 6 month period in the history of the stock market. Not sure about y'all but my 401K is back where it was before Covid19 now and that's after an almost 20% drop

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8 minutes ago, Cinga said:

 

It's just a convenient and ignorant way for the left to say "the stock market crashed" and it's all Trump's fault! Ignoring the fact it is the biggest crash and turn around within a 6 month period in the history of the stock market. Not sure about y'all but my 401K is back where it was before Covid19 now and that's after an almost 20% drop

 

If you were dollar cost averaging in this whole time (which most people were in their 401k's) you're likely higher than you were pre-Covid.  

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5 hours ago, Chef Jim said:

 

If you were dollar cost averaging in this whole time (which most people were in their 401k's) you're likely higher than you were pre-Covid.  

 

I stand corrected. I don't check it often but I just did when I saw this and while it's not a lot you're right, it is higher than pre-covid now. ?

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19 hours ago, Chef Jim said:

 

Define "The Market"?

 

Wilshire 5000. 

19 hours ago, Cinga said:

 

It's just a convenient and ignorant way for the left to say "the stock market crashed" and it's all Trump's fault! Ignoring the fact it is the biggest crash and turn around within a 6 month period in the history of the stock market. Not sure about y'all but my 401K is back where it was before Covid19 now and that's after an almost 20% drop

 

I’m killing it (not as much today as I was two days ago) because it’s a picker’s market and I’m overweight in individual techs (AMZN and GOOG, in front of a Fidelity tech index). The same tech companies that Trump is laying off of now because they’re about the only thing driving the market.  Aside from AMZN, AAPL, GOOG, FB, MSFT, NFLX, and TSLA, what’s performing well right now?  Not much. 

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4 hours ago, SectionC3 said:

I’m killing it (not as much today as I was two days ago) because it’s a picker’s market and I’m overweight in individual techs (AMZN and GOOG, in front of a Fidelity tech index). The same tech companies that Trump is laying off of now because they’re about the only thing driving the market.  Aside from AMZN, AAPL, GOOG, FB, MSFT, NFLX, and TSLA, what’s performing well right now?  Not much. 

 

I wish I was more knowledgeable about the market and investments. I have no idea why; however, financial matters make my eyes glaze over. I pulled all my money (My Thrift Account) out of the market when it first started to drop in Mid Feb. I have never touched it as I have always looked at the market as a long term thing. However, given the virus, the uncertainty about the election, etc., I thought I would just put it somewhere safe until I feel some stability.

 

Probably the wrong move.... :rolleyes:

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Just now, billsfan1959 said:

 

I wish I was more knowledgeable about the market and investments. I have no idea why; however, financial matters make my eyes glaze over. I pulled all my money (My Thrift Account) out of the market when it first started to drop in Mid Feb. I have never touched it as I have always looked at the market as a long term thing. However, given the virus, the uncertainty about the election, etc., I thought I would just put it somewhere safe until I feel some stability.

 

Probably the wrong move.... :rolleyes:

 

Maybe, maybe not.  You might have timed the departure well.  Who knows about jumping back in.  It depends on where you are in life, what your goals are, what your needs are, etc.  

 

The wealth transfer prompted by the pandemic is ridiculous, though.  I’ve made absurd money in the last four months (and given some back in the last couple of days, to be sure) while other people are scrounging for bucks to pay for groceries.  And others who plodded along in an S&P index or large cap index are probably up a bit, but probably not up enough to justify the risk they’ve taken over the past couple of months.  

 

In any event, it’s not right.  No matter what happens in November this disconnect between the true economy, the market, the haves, and the have-nots is something we have to address.   Everyone who reads this (unless you’re Terry Pegula or part of the Bills brass) is on the wrong end of what’s going on here.  We’re all working for peanuts, just in varying degrees, and the last four months have just made it worse. 

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On 7/14/2020 at 3:11 PM, SectionC3 said:

 

Maybe, maybe not.  You might have timed the departure well.  Who knows about jumping back in.  It depends on where you are in life, what your goals are, what your needs are, etc.  

 

The wealth transfer prompted by the pandemic is ridiculous, though.  I’ve made absurd money in the last four months (and given some back in the last couple of days, to be sure) while other people are scrounging for bucks to pay for groceries.  And others who plodded along in an S&P index or large cap index are probably up a bit, but probably not up enough to justify the risk they’ve taken over the past couple of months.  

 

In any event, it’s not right.  No matter what happens in November this disconnect between the true economy, the market, the haves, and the have-nots is something we have to address.   Everyone who reads this (unless you’re Terry Pegula or part of the Bills brass) is on the wrong end of what’s going on here.  We’re all working for peanuts, just in varying degrees, and the last four months have just made it worse. 

This has been going on a lot longer than the last 4 years.

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On 7/13/2020 at 2:57 PM, SectionC3 said:

But for the Big Five tech stocks the market it stagnant since 2017.  Lots of dead money!  So much winning!

that's not even close to true. while we own all the ones you stated outside TSLS and FB..our portfolio of about 25 stocks has been doing just fine since 17, and through this pandemic.

 

Just to name a few winners driving our portfolio since then 

 

ADP, Adobe, Crown Castle, Okta, Coupa , Costco, Target...all massive winners the last 4 years 

 

Having said that, no doubt the lockdowns have widened the wealth gap...unintended consequences by those who only response to an issue is "Trump wants open? Thats all i needed to know we need to stay locked down"

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40 minutes ago, Chef Jim said:


How has the index performed over the past 3.5 years minus FAANG?  

Not terribly well, minus AMZN, AAPL, GOOG, and FB. 
 

https://wolfstreet.com/2020/07/11/wild-ride-to-nowhere-appl-msft-amzn-goog-and-fb-soar-to-new-high-rest-of-the-stock-market-is-a-dud-has-been-for-years/

 

 

1 hour ago, plenzmd1 said:

that's not even close to true. while we own all the ones you stated outside TSLS and FB..our portfolio of about 25 stocks has been doing just fine since 17, and through this pandemic.

 

Just to name a few winners driving our portfolio since then 

 

ADP, Adobe, Crown Castle, Okta, Coupa , Costco, Target...all massive winners the last 4 years 

 

Having said that, no doubt the lockdowns have widened the wealth gap...unintended consequences by those who only response to an issue is "Trump wants open? Thats all i needed to know we need to stay locked down"

Sure there’s hyperbole there.  There’s more winners then the basket that I mentioned. But what’s driving growth right now? Big  tech. Big time. Bottom line.

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On 7/14/2020 at 10:29 AM, SectionC3 said:

 

Wilshire 5000. 

 

I’m killing it (not as much today as I was two days ago) because it’s a picker’s market and I’m overweight in individual techs (AMZN and GOOG, in front of a Fidelity tech index). The same tech companies that Trump is laying off of now because they’re about the only thing driving the market.  Aside from AMZN, AAPL, GOOG, FB, MSFT, NFLX, and TSLA, what’s performing well right now?  Not much. 


ha. Nice try!

 

good work googling US Market Index and Best Performing Stocks though. Do you know what a stock is, btw?  

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16 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

Not terribly well, minus AMZN, AAPL, GOOG, and FB. 
 

https://wolfstreet.com/2020/07/11/wild-ride-to-nowhere-appl-msft-amzn-goog-and-fb-soar-to-new-high-rest-of-the-stock-market-is-a-dud-has-been-for-years/

 

 

Sure there’s hyperbole there.  There’s more winners then the basket that I mentioned. But what’s driving growth right now? Big  tech. Big time. Bottom line.

Big tech is driving it cause that where the growth is now. Certainly not rocket science, and not something  that is only pandemic driven. 
 

give ya hint, ala the Graduate. Solar , EV, Autonomous Driving. 5 years from now are the big tech of today. 

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3 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

Big tech is driving it cause that where the growth is now. Certainly not rocket science, and not something  that is only pandemic driven. 
 

give ya hint, ala the Graduate. Solar , EV, Autonomous Driving. 5 years from now are the big tech of today. 

Sure.   Of course tech isn’t purely pandemic-driven.  But that is a part of it.  Look at Amazon’s meteoric growth.  NFLX, same deal.  Google probably as well, although I don’t pay as much attention to it. 


And the rest of the market is in bad shape.  Take out big tech and it’s flat over an extended period. That’s beyond debate.  

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