Feeding The Trolls
Danah Boyd has a nice post up about what it was like to live on the block that the second bomb was placed this past weekend in NYC. But the post is really about something way more important. It is about the fact that we are increasingly letting the trolls drive us nuts. The trolls are the people who do these acts of terrorism intended to turn us into a scared and terrified society. And she is right, they are succeeding in that effort, aided by the media making a bigger deal out of these things than they should.
I heard about the bombing on saturday night at a party in Brooklyn. It was upsetting but it did not impact us much that evening. We continued to celebrate our friends birthday and anniversary. We took an Uber back to Manhattan. We went out for a late dinner and then went to bed. The next day was more of the same. We did not let this nutjob impact how we live and what we do. My friend Jerry asked me on Monday how I was doing. I said fine. He brought up the bombing. And I had already forgotten it. I said “nobody died Jerry, a few people got hurt. It sucks.”
I am more upset by the massive increase in homelessness on the streets of NYC, I am more upset by the fact that the Hudson river comes close to coming over its banks every time there is a big storm, I am more upset by the fact that young black men get killed by the police for no good reason.
I am with Danah. Fuck the trolls. The police and the other security apparatus can and will deal with them. I am going to go about living my life and not thinking about them.
Comments (Archived):
the mass media is the biggest troll of all, and it needs to be slayed, and in time it will be slayed. such a distorting influence on each of our minds about the world in which we live, both near and far. i stopped consuming mass media content before the Olympics and i haven’t started again. i knew nothing about the NYC bombs until i read Albert Wenger’s post about it, but he lives in NYC too and so it was almost inevitable that he would touch on it. fuck the bombers, fuck the mass media, but fuck Facebook too (the people who came up with the TCP/ IP protocol ‘rules’ have much to answer for).p.s. i think you posted at about 11:40 am (GMT+1). the blog was up.
Yesssssssssssss! There’s so much important stuff that demands our attention than random acts from attention seeking nutjobs.
but they seek it and then get it… from the mass media (excuse me, the ‘freedom of speech’ mass media).
Can’t change them (trolls, mass media). Can change our response.. :)—www.ALearningaDay.com <http: http://www.alearningaday.com=“”/> – *Never failure, only learning and never older, only better..*
You need to be a bit smart in order to not feed the trolls, or be lured by those that feed them. And you need to have your own perspective that life goes on, no matter what bad things are happening.People are resilient, and people recover and adjust. These incidents make you stronger, and we always need to think that we will win against the evil sides. There is no other way.
Funny I was waiting the past two days for someone to ask me if i really wanted to be going to NYC today and attending a class in Chelsea tonight – the answers are yes and yes – but nobody did. The media now feed the trolls and nobody else. It’s just noise…in one ear and out the other.
During a presidential campaign, good luck.
i have noticed in recent times the mass media’s concerted tactic of using the notion of the ‘troll’ to silence people who challenge the ‘orthodox’ views of their journalists, columnists, and commentators. troll hunting today, and witch hunting centuries ago. it’s about silencing dissent.
This is why people still go to the market in Baghdad, Aleppo, Ramadi, Sanaa, Homs.Fuck those car/barrel/smart/stupid bombs, too.
And before that, Beirut, Belfast, Mumbai, Sarajevo, Tel Aviv, Gaza, etc. and even more recently Paris, Nice, London. Life goes on. Fuck the terrorists. They will lose at the end.
Indeed in Paris 1793-4, which they called “La Terreur.”Ivan The Terrible…The terrorists ultimately get fucked. The real threat to “Western Civilization” is hypocrisy.
“Western Civilization” embedded sad (dim) mindset
“Fuck the terrorists. They will lose at the end” same old same old spoken in soooo many languages/dialects : (
Conflation?
they go to the markets or starve. “Fuck those car/barrel/smart/stupid bombs, too” : (
No – they go to the markets when not under sustained attack. It’s not about buying food, it’s about functioning as a society.When it’s too dangerous to be out in the open they use other means to acquire food.
Again they go to the markets to buy food not Walmart. You continue keeping touch with yourself though.
Compramacchine, non capisci niente. Finche’ non impari l’inglese, e’ meglio restare fuori delle discussioni tra adulti.
is this in italian?
Yep – getting sick of being trolled by this guy.
No trolls or media left in Allepo.
I’m scared of the people texting in those cars Danah spoke of. Of people in altered states in those cars. Not of the cars. Though a horse and a snowmobile in Breck would be a good option too. Then I’d only have to be scared of snowboarders destroying the powder early in the day – Mountain trolls. There is obviously no escape.
Fuck the trolls.New Yorkers live, that’s what we do.The media makes everything a storm because they need the viewership. Plain and simple
I could not agree more, Fred! Fuck the Trolls. I also agree that we have more pressing issues in this country like poverty, our shitty education system, and #BlackLivesMatter that need solving. Love this post.
The biggest troll in the world? Trump.
Trump: opposes bringing in more potential timebombs from Trollistan. Hillary: “the more the terrorier” (to borrow a phrase from here: http://takimag.com/article/… )Trump makes more sense on this.
Trump never makes sense on any
topic
Touché.
.If you can step out of your HRC pants suit for a second and take a rational look at things, it would be clear that only DJT is focused on solving this problem.Radical Islamic Terrorism.HRC had an integral role in creating it with the deconstruction of Libya, Syria, Iraq and the faux Russian reset which has resulted in the undoing of Kissinger’s work at the end of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.In addition to creating chaos on the ground in the Middle East, she is the architect of the resulting flow of refugees. As her former State Dept announced today (Adm Kirby), ISIS is clearly attempting to seed the flow of refugees with its henchpersons.Meanwhile, our failed President is simultaneously at the United Nations asking us to add more than 110,000 refugees to the 10,000+ we’ve already imported.Both Egypt and Syria were Russian client states and Kissinger pried the Egyptians out of the bear hug thereby giving Israel a secure western border for decades. Secure borders = peace. Peace is a good thing as it does not create refugees.Today, in that part of the world, Russia is the big swinging bear with the reins of Syria, Iraq, Iran in its hands.She did have more than a little assistance from Pres Obama, to be fair.So, Trump, comparatively, feels like a fresh breeze of reasonableness and adult thinking.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
If you can step out of your HRC pants suitI think there are a few things going on here.a) She really has no intuitive style sense. I have no real issue with that as it won’t impact the job that she won’t do. Note the emphasis.b) She is wearing body armor and needs to hide it.c) She has gained an incredible amount of weight and her clothing choices are limited.With respect to “c” she is under stress and anxiety. Emotionally eating no doubt. And probably not getting any exercise (not sure if she ever did actually). Also no question lack of enough sleep is causing her to eat more than she should. I rarely feel hunger pangs ever ever (I can go the longest time w/o eating) but when I do it’s typically because I didn’t get enough sleep.Trump has gained weight as well but he carries it much better.
.I don’t know why you question her fashion sense? Look at this pic. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…Now that is a Colonel Sanders fried chicken fashion statement if ever there was one.Trump has, reportedly, lost 15 pounds.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Everything that Hillary does is strategic and decided (rightly or wrongly) by her handlers. The opposite of Trump. The white I have figured out was because it contrasted the right way with the backdrop of Red white and blue. It was very clear on the LED display when watching her speech the way it was framed. May have been other reasons (people have noted) but that was the number one reason. Not a pattern, must be a solid color and so on. A design choice.
.Hmmm, someone told me that it was the most popular color of tent cloth. A guy named Omar the Tentmaker?This is very misogynist and I am ashamed of both of us.I am going to banish myself to my safeplace (Green Mesquite BBQ on Barton Springs Road) as punishment.Wednesday is the two meat platter special, always a good way to experience a little penance.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Your statement or my statement pails in comparison to how women themselves care about looks, fashion and what not.I think actually here fashion is so bad it’s possible that it’s on purpose.Long ago I realized that one of Oprah’s keys to popularity was that she didn’t seem threatening to women because of her looks. [1] My point is if Hillary looked like Ivanka I am not sure she would have the same support.[1] This goes along with my leading man is a guy that you could have a beer with (I don’t drink beer but anyway). Someone that just seems like a nice guy that you could hang with that would attract a nice group of girls and would leave you what he didn’t use.
I could give a crap about her fashion. In my opinion she has disqualified herself from being President and Trump isn’t qualified.
.Nobody has really ever been “qualified” for the job except maybe Dwight Eisenhower and GHW Bush — by virtue of their life experiences.Trump is a guy who can build 100-story buildings. That is a very complex undertaking. He will do just fine.Elections are binary. You only get one “0” and one “1”. That’s the way it is.I will be casting my “1” for DJ Trump and saying a prayer he fights his way up the learning curve as quickly as possible.That’s the reality of the situation.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
JLM, I have looked at Trump and HC closely and I like neither. But.. there really is no equivalence between the two.The way I see it, we run the real risk of becoming an authoritarian state with Trump at the helm, and turn away from the very values that define us a society: inclusive, open to immigrants, freedom of press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc.Hillary has her problems, but she understands the issues at depth and recognizes the nuances. She may not transform the country, but she will not destroy its values and core.I will be voting for Hillary Clinton this fall, and every American who cares for its foundational principles should as well.It is a binary choice.
.She will not “destroys its values and core” because she and Pres Obama already have.We live in a time in which one can call the President of the United States and a former Secretary of State abject, unabashed, bald-faced liars without any danger of being unable to prove that fact.Without any credible defense to the allegation.In that regard, this is already no longer the America of our Founders.I sincerely hope HRC comes in second. Not last, just second.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Would you care to provide some examples ?
.I am headed to read Alexander Hamilton but for you, my friend, I will provide a couple.Pres Obama –He lied about the inability of the US to “wire” funds to Iran saying that we delivered money in Euros and Swiss Francs in bills — cash — because we “cannot wire funds” to Iran when, in fact, we had made two wires to the Iranians in the last 12 months using a Swiss bank.He said a person can purchase a gun on the Internet without a background investigation when, in fact, one can only purchase a gun by having it delivered to a FFL (Federal Firearms Licensee or license holder) in your state of residence and undergoing the background investigation required by the state of your residence.As to Obamacare — The cost of your premiums will be reduced by $2500 and you will be able to retain your doctor and your insurance policy.As to HRC –She lied about being under sniper fire.She lied about the entire email fiasco — the nature of the server, the number of devices she used, the reason for setting it up in the first place, the presence of classified material.She lied about the Benghazi affair blaming it on a video and perpetuating that lie to the survivors of the victims when she was communicating the true tale to colleagues, her family, and Libyan officials.She was removed from the House Whitewater Committee for lying.She lied about the accuracy of allegations of marital infidelity between her husband and Monica Lewisky blaming it on a “vast right wing conspiracy” when, in fact, she knew it to be true in all respects.I have steered clear of the graft and corruption associated with the cesspool of financial transgressions related to the Clinton Foundation, the selling of access to her Foggy Bottom offices, and the workings of the Clinton Foundation.Hope this helps.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Thanks for the examples.Let us leave out marital infidelity. If we have not been in those shoes, we have no right to comment on how someone who is dealing with that situation ought to respond.Obama: None of the examples point to any deliberate attempt to mislead or personally profit. The $1.7 B settlement to Iran was very well known at the time the agreement was signed. It was a case pending before an international tribunal in Hague. Irrespective of how the money was sent to them, it is money that was owed to them and was a part of the settlement.The loopholes on the internet and the gun show are well known. For the example, you suggested, Politifact says ” Mostly True”. : http://www.politifact.com/t…As to Obamacare, policy is not a precise science. Premiums go up and down based on a large number of factors, including # of people covered, distribution of policyholders by age, etc. The policy has its problems, and there are many areas that need to be fixed, but there is zero evidence of wrongdoing.As to HRC, the WP has an interesting post on which candidate lies more and how. https://www.washingtonpost….There is simply no equivalence between HRC and Trump on lying. And please, let us not talk about Clinton foundation when there is zero evidence. Compare that with the self dealings of the Trump foundation and when OPM is used to pay off personal legal debts and to buy a self portrait.
.You are an abject apologist and not a very good one — which if you will reflect upon it, is a compliment of sorts.What goes unsaid is that all of the examples I have cited are, in fact, perfect examples of lies told.To suggest they were somehow “justified” is another discussion and devolves into rationalization rather than a simple test of truthfulness.Let me dissect two:1. As to Hillary’s lies about her husband’s infidelity and resultant lies, the only thing germane is whether she told the truth. To suggest that the test of truthfulness doesn’t apply because of some foggy notion of “right to comment” is silly.She invented the “right wing conspiracy” out of the whole cloth.It was the FBI and Linda Tripp (thanks to Monica Lewinsky and her inability to keep her mouth closed — ouch) which outed her husband, not some mythical conspiracy.She invented it to explain away her predicament. Monica told Linda who told the FBI.2. As to the President, why did he lie to us about the wire transfers?It has nothing to do with why we owed them the money. It had to do with how we delivered the money which was intended to blunt the criticism that we had paid a “ransom” for the release of five Americans.It wasn’t necessary to lie to us except that it cast some skepticism as to whether we had, in fact, ransomed them or not.Both of these persons are creatures who start from the desired result and lie backwards to create the initial impression that serves their own intent.They are both inveterate, congenital, unrepentant liars. Both pretty good and natural liars which betrays years of practice.I must leave. The sniper fire is building.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
I will take it as a compliment :-)I am not saying Hillary is a saint. But her errors simply pale in comparison to the candidate you are supporting.What say you about birther, Trump Foundation, his claims to have opposed the Iraq war before it started when the opposite is true, etc. ? There is simply no equivalence between the lies of HRC and Trump.He can put at least some of these questions to rest by simply releasing his tax returns.
One, actually quite significant, way to become and/or prove are at least partly qualified to be POTUS is to win a tough election.Trump beat like “rented mules” 16 of the best the Republicans could field.Now somehow Trump is having to run against the Hillary/Dem machine, e.g., the source of the hundreds of millions of dollars Hillary is spending on staff and ads, the several wildly biased media sources, and the Never Trump Republicans who maybe hope Trump will lose and they can run (again) in 2020.Apparently basically Trump is having to run against a quiet, implicit coalition of some cross-party elites in business, media, and politics. If he wins, that will say a lot about his ability to lead and get things done.He’s under bright, as critical as possible and way beyond to distortion, made up nonsense, and total lies, e.g., the recent CNN “racial profiling” where CNN just inserted “racial” that Trump didn’t mean and never said, spotlights 24 x 7, and so far no one has found ANYTHING about his qualifications for POTUS significantly wrong on anything significant.Trump is a proven manager good at selecting subordinates and delegating to them. And he is super tough — went through several campaign managers before getting amazing Kellyanne Conway.I can believe that Trump will get super good work out of his advisers about foreign policy, foreign trade, trade negotiations, rebuilding the military, defeating ISIS, building the wall, fixing the problems in our immigration system, getting good nominees for the SCOTUS and other courts, rolling back bad regulations, getting new jobs in the poor areas, rolling out the new tax ideas coordinated with the budget and economic growth ideas, etc.Trump has had a lot of really good management experience. I bet in his hotels the food is still good, the staff courteous, the sheets and rooms clean, etc.What such experience did LBJ have? Nixon? Ford? Carter (right, ran a peanut farm; was a staff officer in the submarine navy)? Reagan? W (ran a baseball team)? Obama (“community organizer”)? Hillary?Uh, last time I looked, Superman, Batman, Captain America, and several John Wayne characters were not running.Trump “not qualified” sounds like Hillary campaign propaganda with no real support.
.Well put, well played.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
LE:There are many who support HRC and realize she is who she is. Nothing will change either Candidate. You know she will be consistently good or bad depending on your party affiliation.She is expected to be consistent! Not erratic, not possessing a childish temperament, not changing her views ten times within a hour span. She is the devil people will know.Everyone can agree HRC is not a fashion maven.HRC wishes she had Mary Tyler Moore’s style.But has to settle being a human with flaws————-Love is all around (Theme Song) by Paul WilliamsWho can turn the world on with her smile?Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make itall seem worthwhile?Well it’s you girl, and you should know itWith each glance and every little movement youshow itLove is all around, no need to waste itYou can have a town, why don’t you take itYou’re gonna make it after all————————–https://youtu.be/Z1GC6yXZ4e4We enjoyed the Mary Tyler Moore show……A great generation to be from.
Also because white was the suffragette color!
https://www.theguardian.com…”…..The suffragettes’ colour scheme, devised in 1908 by Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, co-editor of Votes for Women, was an early triumph for fashion branding. Suffragettes wore purple for loyalty and dignity, white for purity, and green for hope…”
Are you trolling us, LE, and I’m just not getting the joke? If so, you got me.
LE:and the gallery was expecting some policy points from Trump’s supporters. More of the how Trump is going to do it verses what Trump continues to say he will do. Not going to happen. Unless Kellyanne Conway writes it. Trump will read it and say I agree with that.Now that is funny. He can’t even act like he wrote it.This is were those on the Democratic surrogate side fail at matching Trump and supporters bellowing (Polls used by media as the least educated in America) By polling one thousand people. Really reflective of the electoral numbers.Democrats need to just call out the Neanderthals and stop apologizing. The policy of being afraid to lose the election verses going out and winning it. The Republicans will obstruct another four years verses govern if HRC wins.Trump has defied all conventional political etiquette. Beating him and the Neanderthal thought requires 1800 era tactics. They are using it. Highlighting a person appearance verses qualifications.
LE, you are smarter and better than this !
Every religious group has radical terrorists. Islam is not the important factor – that people poorly interpret scriptures are
JLM:the historical revisions and resets are fodder for the Tea Part base butif the false narrative of WMD and invading two countries didn’t contributethe wasp nest of RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM (We said it now it might just go away)Similar to the people who cite RADICAL CHRISTIAN OR JEWISH TERRORISM (Reread, don’t attach the citing to us)1. Wisconsin Sikh Temple Massacre Aug 5, 20122. The Murder of Dr. George Tiller May 31, 20093. Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Shooting July 27, 20084. The Murder of Dr. John Britton July 29, 19945. The Centennial Olympic Park Bombing July 27, 1996We could go on but denial is the first line of defense. It isn’t our fight anyway.Just find it strange when history as it happened is recast or the computer term that would be appropriate is reinterpret_cast (C++) for the base to eat.
I’m for Trump. I’ve tried to pay attention. I don’t want to be wrong. Even if Trump is just the least bad, I want to know it.If you have anything about Trump and his qualifications for POTUS where he is significantly wrong on anything significant, then please let us all know, hopefully with some solid references to some primary, original sources. For me, I haven’t found any such.If I’m wrong, I want to know it.
For me, his role in the birther movement is a deal killer. Anyone who can knowingly pedal a lie for so long, and malign a sitting black president, just to make headway in his political career has disqualified himself. The only reason he did it was to build a fringe following from where he could expand his base. I do not doubt his stamina or work ethic. But I absolutely doubt his values. He consistently puts his ego at the center of what he does. That is not an acceptable quality for a position with the power of the President of the USA.
You may have a point.> malign a sitting black presidentIMHO that statement would be stronger if it omitted “black”.The main point appeared to be was Obama “native born” as required in the US Constitution. There is a huge mountain of evidence that Trump is not racist. So, he was not pursuing the issue because Obama was black and instead was Obama “native born”.Since the US Constitution requires “native born”, pursuing that issue is not automatically bad. Indeed, as long as there is doubt, not pursuing the issue would be irresponsible.IIRC, since Trump announced for POTUS, he has never mentioned the issue until a few days ago when in a very few words Trump stated that Obama was born in the US. “Period”.Apparently some many months before Trump announced for POTUS, he pursued the issue birth certificate issue. His claim of a few days ago appears to be that he helped get released a copy of Obama’s “long form” birth certificate. Then as of a few days ago, he claimed that the long form copy settled the issue and that he played a significant role in getting that document released.In the US, being clear on “native born” is something we should do: There were doubts about Kenya, Hawaii, Indonesia, his father, etc. In that case the US should have a solid birth certificate.Okay, IIRC, once the “long form” was obtained, Trump dropped the issue.Except for the few words a few days ago, AFAIK, Trump never mentioned the issue during his campaign. So, all his mention was just as a private citizen before the campaign. For that effort, I didn’t follow it carefully. Maybe during that period, Trump was loud, crude, nasty, determined, etc. Okay.But from the Cleveland Black church event today and more, I get the impression that Trump really cares about the US and has going way back before 2000. E.g., he considered running for POTUS in 2012. Net, Trump has been interested in the US for a long time.If Trump did something seriously wrong getting the long form copy, I haven’t read about it. But, again, I was not following the issue carefully then. And what I did follow had little to do with Trump. All I knew about Trump was that he put up a building with gold as the main color theme!Until I know more, I’m reluctant to damn Trump too much for pushing to get the long form copy.If you have a reference to some of what he did back there that was quite bad, then, sure, I’d like to read it.But “black” has nothing to do with it — Trump flatly is not a racist.But, maybe Trump also didn’t like Obama, maybe Trump thought that Obama would not make a good POTUS. I can understand that thought and can’t hold that against Trump at all. I have a lot of files on Obama — a lot that I have convinces me that no way should Obama have been elected POTUS.Race is not the point. “Native born” is a point. Would Obama be a good POTUS, of course, was important.
Trump may not be a racist. But he surely is an opportunist who was willing to lie about something to get media attention and subsequently gain followers within the Tea Party. I said “black president” because “black” has everything to do with this. Close to 100% of the people who participated in the birther movement were white men belonging to the Tea Party and the far right. They had a hidden agenda that was racist and Trump wanted the attention of the group for he saw an opportunity to build a political base.What you do as a private citizen is just as important especially if it reveals your values, your nature and how you treat people. Do you seriously believe Trump was genuinely doubtful about whether the President was native born? Please… There were contemporaneous publishing of his birth in Hawaii newspapers in 1961 and there was overwhelming evidence that he was native born. Also even if that had not been the case, his Mom was a US citizen and he was a natural born US citizen by that definition. Whether Obama is a good POTUS or not is irrelevant to this. If Trump believed he was not, he could have run for President in 2012.Are you sure you are really seeking to see evidence that is contrary to your thinking ? There are ways to justify every awful thing someone does and you are on a very slippery slope here.
> Deal killerSo, you want Hillary instead? Hillary’s record on race is clearly bad. E.g., there was the remark that Obama should be carrying their luggage!Given that the alternative is solidly proven nasty, lying, crooked, foreign policy disaster, national security disaster Hillary, judgment disaster, a person with 30 years in public service with no significant, good accomplishments on anything significant, now sick and weak, a person who quite literally belongs in jail for long time, voting for Trump, a good shot at one of the best in history, is a total no-brainer.> Trump may not be a racist.Well, I believe that because I’ve got some evidence:(A) There is a claim that Trump did a lot to open up the high end clubs in Palm Beach. So, in the end, for his club, he let in people of all races, creeds, colors, etc. To do this, he worked through a significant law suit. A lot of details are inhttp://spectator.org/64643_…(B) Athttps://www.youtube.com/wat…is a video of Trump, Pence, General Flynn, etc. this week at a Black church in Cleveland. In that video is a lot of history of Trump’s connection with the people of that church.> But he surely is an opportunist who was willing to lie about something to get media attention and subsequently some following within the Tea Party.I don’t see where there is a Trump “lie” here: For a lie, when the coffins came back from Libya, at the airport on the ramp Hillary told the families of the dead that the cause was “that awful video” when at the time she knew that the cause was terrorism. Sorry, I am omitting a specific reference, but I suspect we both have seen plenty of details on this point. So, that’s an example of a lie and evidence of a lie. It’s a cold hearted witch that would say such a lie to the mother of a dead soldier.Suspicion: Hillary engineered the attack on Benghazi to have Ambassador Stevens killed to cover up some of her unsuccessful efforts at gun running into Syria, gun running, by Stevens, under Hillary’s direction, that resulted mostly in guns for ISIS. That’s just a wild suspicion.But for Trump’s “lie”, I haven’t seen any evidence. I can understand that Trump was asking for proof of “native born”, but for a “lie”, I didn’t see that. Again, back then I wasn’t paying much attention to the issue of “native born” and much less attention to Trump. Maybe back then Trump was screaming that Obama was born in Kenya — but I have no evidence for or against Trump doing that.For Trump being an “opportunist”, maybe in business he long has been, e.g., got into gambling in NJ when it was hot and got out when it went cold.But for the issue of Obama being “native born”, I have no evidence that Trump was doing anything opportunistic that was unethical. Again, since “native born” is in the US Constitution, we would be irresponsible not to be sure about the truth, whatever the truth was.Your claim of “opportunist” has to do with motivation, and usually that is difficult to prove.E.g,, for motivation, I will say that by now, from all the evidence I have seen, Trump is highly motivated to correct some things he believes are serious and wrong with the US. That’s just a judgment call by me; some of the good evidence is that Trump doesn’t need the power, fame, fortune (see the remark on this in the Cleveland video) since he already has those. At his age, he doesn’t need the botheration, the really hard work, the time away from his family, spending $60+ million of his money, the dirt thrown at him and his family (e.g., the dirt that said that Melania was an ‘escort’), or physical risk.It would be MUCH easier for Trump to be with Melania, his children and grand children, play golf, exercise more (when young he was a good athlete), lose some weight, continue to guide his children to take over the family business, and maybe dabble in some more real estate deals. MUCH easier.So, here is a case of starting to draw conclusions about motivation. In contrast, for Trump’s motivations for pursuing the issue of “native born”, I just don’t have anything.> I said “black president” because “black” has everything to do with this.I haven’t seen why. A solid explanation the just the issue of “native born”.> Close to 100% of the people who participated in the birther movement were white men belonging to the Tea Party and the far right.Maybe they were racist. Okay. Maybe they were playing right wing politics. But that doesn’t mean that Trump was.The evidence is overwhelming: Trump is not a racist. Quite the opposite.And for the right wing, IMHO Trump’s view is that as long as his opponent is to his left, the right wing has no one to vote for but Trump. The far right can run around screaming “Never Trump”, but if they don’t like Trump then they will like even less someone to Trump’s left.Pence and Hannity can keep talking about conservative, true conservative, conservative principles, true conservative principles, and the legacy of Reagan, but Trump doesn’t say much along these lines. Fine with me.> They had a hidden agenda that was racist and Trump wanted the attention of the group for he saw an opportunity to build a political base.Well, maybe. But to me “native born” was a good reason to pursue the birth certificate. And doubts about Obama’s qualifications, background, and beliefs were also.There were lots of doubts about Obama: (A) Was he a closet Muslim out to bring lots of Muslims into the US and use US power to aid Islam both in the US and around the world? Since some of the Muslims were really enemies of the US, such aid could be giving “aid and comfort” to an enemy which in the US Constitution would be treason. (B) Was Obama a Communist? With some of his associations and reading, Bill Ayers, Saul Alinsky, his mother, maybe so. (C) Did Obama actually hate the US? Apparently his long time preacher Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. and his sermon with “God Damn America” as athttps://www.youtube.com/wat…hated America. (D) With Obama’s background via his father, a childhood mentor, his schooling in Indonesia, and more, did Obama really believe in US culture and values? (E) With Obama’s background as a “community organizer” and his meager time and accomplishments in public office, was he really qualified as POTUS?There were concerns. Maybe Trump had such concerns; I don’t know if he did, but I did. And nowhere did I mention race.Look, for a Black, the race card can’t be a get out of jail free card. The laws also need to apply to Blacks, even Black politicians. Enforcing a law against a Black is not racist. Enforcing a law against a woman is no sexist or gender discrimination. Enforcing laws against illegal immigrants is not xenophobic or Islamophobic.For a White to refuse to hire or appoint Blacks or women is racist or sexist. For a woman to refuse to hire men is sexist.Then for a Black to appoint too many Blacks instead of Whites is also racist. Then, the big racist in US politics today is, and may I have the envelope, please, and the winner is, drum roll, please, Obama.In short, why “native born”? IIRC because it was supposed to be a filter that would help ensure loyally to the US, and with Obama’s background that was a question.> What you do as a private citizen is just as important especially if it reveals your values, your nature and how you treat people.Yes, but in some cases “just as important” is too strong.But I’m short on where what Trump did on establishing “native born” said something bad about “values, your nature and how you treat people”. Maybe that claim is true, but I’m lacking data. So, to me that claim sounds like just a suspicion. We need suspicions, but before we take them seriously we also need some good data or evidence.> Do you seriously believe Trump was genuinely doubtful about whether the President was native born? Please…I was. Maybe Trump was.> There were contemporaneous publishing of his birth in Hawaii newspapers in 1961 and there was overwhelming evidence that he was native born.I don’t know the details at all well. I paid a little attention at the time, but there seemed to be a lot of heat and not much light. There were some claims that somehow his mother just announced that she had a child that, in fact, she had just brought from Kenya; but, again, I was and am very short on solid information. So, I don’t believe one way or the other. I just don’t know.My current position is that at this point the truth is a bit moot and no longer rises to anything actionable so that at least in the case of Obama it is just expedient to f’get about the issue and in particular to eliminate it as an issue in this campaign.Maybe in 2017 President Trump will put together a committee to have the US be much more clear on what constitutes “native born” — I hope so. That would be prudent, e.g., in some tricky cases could have us avoid some riots in the streets.> Also even if that had not been the case, his Mom was a US citizen and he was a natural born US citizen by that definition.I don’t think that point is solid. AFAIK, what really constitutes “native born” as in the Constitution at this point is very much up in the air. Ted Cruz was an example.> Whether Obama is a good POTUS or not is irrelevant to this.Well, some possible relevance is that (A) maybe someone thought that Obama looked like a good bet to be a bad POTUS and (B) now believes that they were correct and, thus, justified in pursuing “native born”.In particular, IIRC, the role of “native born” was as a filter to help obtain loyally to the US. Well, indeed, one suspicion about Obama is that he is not loyal to the US and, instead, hates the US. So, especially for Obama, we want to be sure about “native born”.Points (A) and (B) just above applied to me: I believe that Obama actually bitterly hates the US. I have lots of URLs of evidence, but some of the shortest and more convincing is the video cliphttp://www.youtube.com/v/hU…of Obama, Bill Richardson, Clinton’s Secretary of Energy, and Hillary at a campaign stop where the US National Anthem was playing, Richardson and Hillary had their right hands over their hearts, and Obama had his hands together below his waist.To me another example that Obama hates the US and wants to weaken it is Obama’s statement that he understands that his carbon cap and trade proposal would make electricity rates “skyrocket” as athttp://www.youtube.com/watc…To me his war on carbon and CO2 is an attempt to shoot the US economy in the gut. Why? IMHO the whole claim that CO2 from human activities will have a significant affect on the temperature of the earth is a flim-flam, fraud scam pursued by various people for various reasons and believed by others taken in as just suckers.In fact, just look at the claim and the record: The claim is that in reality on the real earth in the last million years or so changes in CO2 concentrations cause changes in temperature and, really, are the main cause of changes in temperature.Well, there is essentially no evidence of that claim in the record of temperature and CO2 going back about 1 million years. That is, temperature has gone up and down, and so have CO2 concentrations. But there is no case or at most only one case where CO2 went up and then temperature went up or when CO2 went down and temperature went down. Actually from about 1940 to 1970, temperature went down a little while CO2 concentrations (e.g., from WWII and post-war economic growth) were the same or (likely) increasing a little.Really the record is that temperature went up and down for other reasons, and then (as in the ice core data from hundreds of thousands of years ago, the data gathered at Vostok station in Antarctica) sometimes much later (800 years in the Vostok data) CO2 concentration changed as a result of the change in the level of biological activity caused by the change in temperature. We can be rock solidly sure that increases in CO2 concentration did NOT cause increases in temperature 800 years EARLIER!The only possible case of CO2 going up and temperature going up is in the last 100 years or so. But then we have been pulling out of the Little Ice Age, NOT caused by lower CO2 concentrations. And, moreover, from the very careful US NAS studySurface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years,athttp://www.nap.edu/catalog/…the temperature now is essentially exactly the same as in the year 1000, and the increase of the past 100 years is much like the increase from year 900 to the year 1000 when CO2 didn’t change.Yet, a year or so ago in Paris, Obama tried to claim that global warming and/or climate change caused by human sources of CO2 was the biggest problem facing civilization or some such. Gee, if that non-problem is our biggest problem, then all our other problems are small and, thus, we are in very good shape with no serious problems from radical Islamic terrorism, loose nukes, toxic chemicals in rivers, anti-biotic resistant bacteria, new problems with communicable diseases, economic instability, very low birth rates, wack-o dictators, etc.Yup, to me, from the above and much more, Obama is a disaster and by a very wide margin the worst POTUS in history. And the reason is simple: Obama is the first POTUS who actually hated the US and TRIED to hurt the US.So, having questions about Obama 8 years ago seems justified to me. I had such questions.Maybe Obama believes that the US has been a menace to the world and is happy to see the US and its world role weakened. I can agree that LBJ, Nixon, W, Cheney, and Wolfowitz were bad news for the US and much of the world, but, still, I don’t want to see the US weakened and certainly don’t want a POTUS that would seek to improve the US or the world weakening the US.To me, the thing for Obama to do is to work on his jump shot and golf game and, for speeches, give those on street corners or at the UN but NOT from the White House.> If Trump believed he was not, he could have run for President in 2012.From the video clip from Cleveland, etc., Trump did consider running in 2012. Just why he didn’t, I don’t know. I can guess: He saw that the media and many people would be as nasty to him as they could and, as a result, he might lose. He saw that people were not yet sufficiently pissed off at Obama. For 2016, he believed that people were really pissed off at both Obama and Hillary so that he had a good chance.> Are you sure you are really seeking to see evidence that is contrary to your thinking ? There are ways to justify every awful thing someone does and you are on a very slippery slope.Yup, that is a danger.My main protection is to try to stick with relatively solid evidence. Then for suspicions, we still need those, e.g., have to be eager to “follow the money” and “look for the hidden agenda”, but we shouldn’t take the suspicions seriously without some solid evidence.Net, I’ve tried to be relatively well informed on Trump, but so far I don’t have any solid evidence that he has done anything significantly wrong on anything significant and really relevant to his being POTUS. Instead, to me Trump looks fully sincere, with good ideas, good judgment, good character, good motivations, highly concerned, strong, energetic, determined, and with a track record of being able to do well directing projects that get good things done, my view is that going back to JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, W, and Obama, Trump is relatively highly qualified.To me, Trump has a good shot at being one of the best US Presidents ever. Let’s see: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR, Ike, and then, maybe someday, Trump?Again, given that the alternative is solidly proven nasty, lying, crooked, foreign policy disaster, national security disaster Hillary, judgment disaster, a person with 30 years in public service with no significant, good accomplishments on anything significant, now sick and weak, a person who quite literally belongs in jail for long time, voting for Trump, a good shot at one of the best in history, is a total no-brainer.
You know what, I am not going to even bother to reply to this. Your response surely does not deserve it.
Ok. I have a somewhat unique perspective on this because 1) I think the media companies are the trolls, not the bomber 2) I run a media company. We are creating a new model that we hope will change things. We are anti-troll and pro-change. and 3) I was injured in a bombing attack (Boston Marathon), and it took almost 2 years to recover completely from my (relatively minor) injures. If you had gone to the survivor’s dinner with me, and seen the 14 amputees and double amputees show up on stretchers, wheelchairs, crutches or carried in—you would realize that the difference between a life or death, between having legs or not, was a matter of inches from where they stood from the bomb. I think calling a bomber “just a troll who should be ignored” minimizes the catastrophic effect a bomb can have an a great many people’s lives. That said, I agree with much else of what you say. But it is why I would prefer to focus on changing the media and the way it reacts to these events.The change in media we are creating ties into this sentence of yours, Fred: “I am more upset by the massive increase in homelessness on the streets of NYC, I am more upset by the fact that the Hudson river comes close to coming over its banks every time there is a big storm, I am more upset by the fact that young black men get killed by the police for no good reason.”The problem is—there are a lot of people also upset by those problems (along with countless others) — but who have no idea what to actually do about it. “Being upset” only changes things if you can see a path towards change.And so, as a media company, we want to create actions people can take to create real change. We are creating ways for people to *actively participate* in both the media and the change they want to see in the world. We are doing this through a whole series of group conference calls where people can get together and talk about the issues and then can create strategic plans based on what we actually know gets results based on studying the media and social change success stories. And they can connect with other individuals, small groups and large groups who care about the issues they care about.And the groups we are rolling out for starters are 1) racism followed specifically by police shootings of young black men 2) environmental change 3) mental health awareness (which we hope can lead to solutions for problems like homelessness).So yeah, we’re working on it.
I agree the media are the trolls. I have yet to hear anyone here in NYC discuss or even mention the bombing other than in regards to street closures, but on TV it was 24/7 for a couple days. I had folks calling from away and I had to explain that the Mets, Yankees, Jets, Tebow, and Citibike have been hotter topics of discussion. The only think less talked about than the bombing is Bradjalina, whatever that is. I think NYers moved on almost immediately (this is not to take away from those who were injured).The media is also shaping the narrative of our near policy- and substance-free election of course and the poll numbers seems as much as function of coverage choices as they are the deliberations of the electorate (which of course are not mutually exclusive).
The media oversimplifies the problem and makes fear seem like the only solution. The problems that lead someone to plant a bomb are large, multi-faceted and complex—but that doesn’t mean they can’t be solved. Ask any entrepreneur who has tried to change people’s behaviors at scale and solve large, multi-faceted and complex problems. I am all for people moving on from the discussion—-but I would prefer looking at the problems strategically and taking actions that will create change. Screw fear.
The reason nobody in NYC is really talking about the bomber, because he was an incompetent dumbass. He was incapable of building bombs that could do real damage, practically gave himself away by not taking even basic measures to avoid being captured on surveillance videos and fell asleep in front of a front door of a business where he was guaranteed to be noticed. I could probably go on and on if I had the energy to look into it more.He’s only eclipsed by his incompetency as a terrorist by the shoe bomber.Had he actually had help from an organized terror cell, proper training and some level of basic intelligence we would be having another mass casualty event in our hands.The media is playing into the hands of DHS, FBI, NYPD, Donald Trump and all the other authoritarian organizations / people by glorifying this bumbling idiot.
This is great and I fiercely applaud the effort.The difficult is there being someone who has true power who can affect the needed change. The only way this can happen is having a very clear, well-thought out and nuanced plan – that has the level of execution and strategy of a startup (for each area of importance) – and where as many pieces are interlinked to leverage the marketing and synergy (higher efficiency, lower costs).The President of the U.S. isn’t this person, albeit they can be an anchor, a bridge, and grounding for people who are seemingly divided.Likewise, there are many foundational pieces such as Basic Income Guarantee that must be implemented before everything can first necessarily grow rampantly (flowers and weeds), and then that we will learn and discover what must further be pruned (weeded) by implementing different additional systems or attention to specific areas.I haven’t seen, nor do I trust, someone else or another group to create this framework and platform – so I keep it on my roadmap to evolve. I hope I get far.Edit: The other issue with media is that the majority of it, including the immense repeated exposure of terrorist events, is a distraction from what’s actually important.
So, @Mattameyers, your comment gives me a thought. I REALLY agree with this: “The only way this can happen is having a very clear, well-thought out and nuanced plan – that has the level of execution and strategy of a startup (for each area of importance) – and where as many pieces are interlinked to leverage the marketing and synergy (higher efficiency, lower costs).”It’s the interlinking that people can’t see yet, and since in the past we’ve always tried to solve our social problems discreetly. Changing that would be a big, game-changing something or other that no once can see yet.And…it makes me think. I’m going to over-simplify here to make a point, but you know how, a couple of decades a go a bunch of colleges and universities decided to get together and share information and out of that came the internet?Well what if the best entrepreneurial companies came together and do what they do best—create that well-thought out and nuanced plan. They don’t try to solve ONE problem, they try to solve all of them. Simultaneously. And where they started was by really studying the way the current problems interlink.And they used that plan and the solutions to those problems to create whatever the next phase of the internet might look like.
Re: Entrepreneurial companies coming together – This is happening in some places, to some degree. The issue there really comes down to funding and drive – with everyone being aligned – passion for the entrepeneur, support via its funders. I think I’ve cracked open the path leading to it, however having other entrepreneurs being passionate enough to then participate is another challenge – which I may or may not have the ideas for. These are things I will initiate if and when I have time, when it makes sense.
I would love to hear more about what you are doing, as it develops.
“The other issue with media is that the majority of it, including the immense repeated exposure of terrorist events, is a distraction from what’s actually important.”Well said. The vast majority of the media is bombarding me with information that’s irrelevant to my day to day life, and certainly in-actionable. The push towards “real time” is a colossal waste of attention. There are so few things we actually need to know “right now”, yet CNN, Twitter, etc all are trying to get people to care about “what happening all the time”…I hope they don’t succeed in that endeavor.
why do you think media companies are trolls
First—in this particular example—-I simply don’t believe someone who plants a bomb can be labeled a troll. He was trying to kill multiple people. The fact that he didn’t was sheer dumb luck, IMO. However, what I saw Fred’s larger point as that the *story* of someone planting a bomb took on a life of its own and created more fear and attention than necessary. And to me, that is troll-like activity. But it is less about a person’s actions and more about how it played out in the media.Second, for the record, I certainly don’t believe ALL media companies are trolls; and I also believe that there are a lot of good media companies with the best of intentions who behave in some of the ways I will describe simply because the of a harsh publishing environment and changing economics, usually not in their favor.But here is what I see is troll-like behavior, and media companies sometimes/often fall into these traps:— Create or add to a culture of fear. (As Fred said in his original post)— Clamor noisily for attention—“look at me, look at me!” — and not necessarily because things are worthy of attention but because they are proven to be attention-getters. (Fred also alluded to this). — Repeat themselves over and over, become formulaic in what they say or how they say it. — Repeat what others are saying because they see a particular story or POV getting attention.— Have an agenda and try to persuade others of that point of view, rather than trying to truly connect in new, relevant and insightful ways — Give up on trying to re-imagine the future, but focus on the problems. (often problems that either 1) create fear or 2) can be solved with products/services advertised)There are some great examples of media companies not doing any of those things. But I’d like to see more creative ways of engaging people, telling stories, creating change, educating, enlightening and entertaining. I’d like to see more differentiation from media companies so when they *do* tell a story, it comes with a unique perspective. And I’d like to see how media can create a culture—not of fear, but of collaborative, positive action.
Unique perspectives may or may not get clickthroughs – therein is a problem if you are supported by ad revenue – Unique doesn’t equal a good fit with those who read it
lisa hickey:the bipartisan up vote speaks for itself. Another check on the chessboard.
Why are there so many homeless lately? It’s very saddening because it’s clear such a high % of these people have severe mental disorders. I don’t remember it being this pervasive since I was a child and getting our car approached by people with squeegees at the stoplight as soon as we got off the bridge.
things are great stop peddling fiction.
So you’re saying all the homeless are my imagination? Maybe I’m the one with schizophrenia.
we defunded community supports and closed insane asylums*. You can’t keep people in mental wards past them stabilizing (illegal imprisonment), and without community support to go to, what do you expect?*This was not a bad thing per say, a lot were like jails if not worse, but you also can’t defund community support when you also close the insane asylumns
I like posts complaining about people talking about the terrorist event while talking about the terrorist event. And for crying out loud it happens lots of other places so just get over it. Especially the people that have PTSD from these minor nuisances. It sucks but the hudson might breach.How is that for trolling. One last point to equate trolling with terrorism is pretty sick.
When we change our behavior in response to a terrorist event, the bad guys win. So they only win if we let them. Add me to the list: fuck the trolls.
Cosign.
Terror wins when we change our lifestyles because of Evil. But Good will always overcome Evil.
.Good only overcomes evil when good takes action. Action which is focused on killing the evil.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
do you think good will take action
.Of course, we are a good and great people. At times, we don’t give ourselves enough credit for our goodness. This too shall pass but it won’t be because we turned the other cheek or we ignored it.JFK inspired us to go to the ………………………. moon. The moon!We can do this but it won’t be like T ball.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
We’ll get to mars shortly!
Maggie Thatcher saidDeny them the oxygen of publicity.
see Trump for current ref
Written like a true Israeli. Life goes on. As entrepreneurs (or investors) we are hard-wired to ‘go for it,’ understand and balance risk, and move forward without fear. This is a nice reminder of the importance of doing that in our personal lives too when episodes like these surface around us.
I get the sentiment, but this attitude reflects a fundamental unseriousness and unwillingness to confront a genuine threat.First of all, a terrorist is not a “troll”. He’s someone who is trying to kill you. Trolls might rustle your jimmies online but they are ultimately harmless, unlike someone planting explosive devices around a major city with the intent to kill people.Second of all, this threat is not going away by saying “fuck them!” or by displaying an attitude of nonchalance or disregard. They’ll just do it more often, and on a larger scale. Why wouldn’t they? We’ve shown no intention to resist, fight back, or really do anything except to deal with the consequences every time it happens, subject ourselves to the same wailing and gnashing of teeth, and pretend the problem will go away.Third, moralizing about “good” versus “evil”, while appropriate, is also pointless. There’s a moral dimension to this conflict, but in their eyes we are the evil ones. It doesn’t matter. What matters is dealing with a serious threat in a serious fashion.
We could stop welcoming immigrants from places like Afghanistan and Somalia, whose children are a risk to radicalize, but:1) That’s not who we are.2) It would violate the spirit of Emma Lazarus’s poem.3) It might deprive us of the next Steve Jobs.An occasional bombing/shooting/stabbing attack is a small price to pay for pluralism.
No, that is not “who we are”. It is “who Liberals want us to be”. We are a country with laws and borders – which made us WHO WE ARE. The US stopped immigration for many decades. The idea that the next “Steve Jobs” is going to come from a bunch of uneducated, hateful young male Muslims is pure fantasy. Islamic countries do not produce economic growth. Fact. That is why so many are poor and prone to be radicalized.If one of your own family members were killed – how would you feel about pluralism?
Yeah that “that’s not who we are” annoys the piss out of me. Imagine the fantasy of thinking that everyone in this country cares about the same things or even that that would be the way we even want it to be.Phrases like that are totally meaningless. They are easy to say as long as they don’t impact someone personally.
Yep. It comes right from Commander in Chief and is parroted by Liberals everywhere – virtually unchallenged.
Yes, it is who we are. Pluralism is better long term.I have the privilege of speaking as someone who can talk about family members and terrorists – overall, most people in the US still prefer pluralism, even when they face terrorism. I’m a small, individual example of this:1) I am 85% sure I have family who are kachists. Last I checked the CIA does define them as terorrists – though interestingly, their passports havent been revoked (yet). I deplore that they actually are kachists, as it basically keeps them poorer than they should be.2) One of my first cousins actually was kidnapped by a terrorist cell in the West Bank when he was 18 because he took a taxi that was stolen. He got lucky – they didn’t switch the licence plates and the police flagged the car and chased the taxi.3) I personally missed a bus bombing because of a temporary route change 2 months before I took a certain bus in jerusalem. Up until my wallet was stolen, I used to carry around bus tickets from israel from the end of the second intafada to prove that I was, and am still not, scared.
100% agree. If I had a vote, we’d rebrand “terrorism” which is a term that only rewards the perpetrators. Let’s call it “assholism” and an act of “assholery” to make it about them versus the impact the assholes want to have on us.
Obama has already done this. By refusing to use the term Radical Islam and terrorism in the same sentence, and by creating unrealistic rules of engagement – he has made us vulnerable. Just because you rename a “bullet’ a “nugget” doesn’t make it kill you less.
there is a general apathy towards foreign policy and dismissing these acts as “senseless violence” — while true in the sense that virtually all violence is senseless — fails to note that the cause of radical islamic terrorism is primarily US foreign policy. going to war in the middle east — another act of senseless violence — does more to create events like this than virtually anything else.
I’m inclined to agree with you on the basis you mean a proximate cause.
.On the most elemental, fundamental level, one cannot go about swatting hornets’ nests and expect not to get stung.Regardless of what one thinks about American foreign policy in the Middle East (I think it is a monumental cockup going back 50 years and including every administration in that time period), we have created refugees, we have swatted the hornets’ nests, we have invited what has happened.Oil. Gunboat oil politics. Oil = blood.That is not a political statement. It is a statement of simple cause v effect and we will live with those results until we decide not to.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Add a little bit of military industrial complex and you fuel (pun intended) war and violence and unrest around the world.
.Right you may be, but remember the MIC loves a “big” war because they want to sell big stuff.The resurgence of Russia and the emergence of China astride 50% of the world’s shipping lanes in Asia, will provide just what the MIC is looking for — a big military confrontation.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Can’t move much metal without one.
I think it can be avoided this time around – the main difference being the internet and connectedness of the world. Places like Syria, Iraq, etc. being bombed won’t / hasn’t had the same kind of psychological impact of if superpowers start warring. There should be revolution.
Are you coming to see me on Chicago next Monday?https://www.eventbrite.com/…
i’m in indianapolis now — if you come to indy i’ll be there! if you don’t come to indy, i don’t blame you. 🙂
Ah, you’re there now!
Living there?
Yep! Moved here in early july. I think this might be the final stop…..but of course who knows? 🙂
William Mougayar:your BLOCKCHAIN discussion will coincide with the first Presidential Debate.It appears the event will be crowded. A lot of DVR’s programmed.
Not quite, but close. My talk is 4-6pm Chicago time, which is 5-7pm EST.The presidential debates are 9-10:30pm EST.
try finding a bar afterwards to watch the debate, and find a good drinking game to go with it.
A shot every time Trump says something completely true.
William Mougayar:We realize you are already in the talk phrase of your event. A belated but much earned Good fortune with the event, booksigning and selling.
thanks. it went very well. sold out crowd of 250 people.
I agree with you 100% here Fred, but here is the thing: whether we want to admit it or not, we are all the trolls. Every time we share a news clip or video, express “outrage” with an angry emoji, tweet a cryptic, meaningless tweet with a hashtag to show we belong to a movement, type a snarky comment about a political candidate that we would not actually speak, or change a Facebook profile pic with a flag overlay, we contribute to this growing dynamic. So the media, looking for clicks and ad revenue, feeds us what we want. It’s a co-dependent relationship.You’re worried about shark attacks around Shark Week? Boom, here’s 20 stories about shark attacks. If you think Hillary Clinton has a body double — here are pics to prove it is true. Clowns scare you? Well, do we have a something that will shock you and get you lots of likes on Facebook.I’m not diminishing the shock or severity of the latest events in NYC. I guess what I am saying is yes, “fuck the trolls,” but also “don’t be a troll yourself.” If people are upset by homelessness, global warming or racial injustice, don’t show “outrage” by playing into the media frenzy machine — get involved by talking to others, asking questions, and doing something to affect change.
This is all about fitting in and getting a rise out of the crowd and peers actually. I observed it as a kid with my sister and her friends. It’s all about having something interesting to say that will keep others engaged and get their attention and adulation and positive feedback.I’ve told the story about an older cousin’s wife whose name is Kathy. I coined a phrase “Kathy stories” to describe tales she would tell with glee even if they involved her own kid, family and misfortune. It was all about having others pay attention to you and getting positive feedback.I got this as well to some extent in my own family. My dad didn’t really care much about what I had to say most of the time but if I told him some juicy gossip about his brother he was all ears.
You’re worried about shark attacks around Shark Week? Boom, here’s 20 stories about shark attacks.Something I figured out a long long time ago and actually the way I got front page mention on the WSJ but releasing a minor IRS related news item a few weeks before April 15th without any help from a PR firm.
We combatted nazism & won. We combatted communism & it didn’t permeate us,- it stayed isolated. Now we are combatting extremism as terrorism & we will win.
.My dear friend Wm (future leader of the combined USA, Canada, Mexico) –In the instances you note, we won because we had effective leadership and we took effective action. We went to war and we won a war. We marshaled our resources and committed to victory — a well defined and reasoned victory.We forced the FEBA (forward edge of the battle area) into the places where these threats existed or emanated from.Today, we have ineffective leadership and we have allowed the threat to push the FEBA onto our shores.We are not winning, currently, and the current plan is not a winning plan. In fact, we have no coherent plan. We have incredible data and intel resources and we are squandering them, daily.We will soon become like Tel Aviv in which we will co-exist with violence in our public places. We will learn to live with it in exactly the same way that Fred has evidenced in his writings.We, actually, can win this war — rather easily — but it will take some cojones and action which, currently, are in short supply.As George Orwell said:”We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.”We have the right men. We have the right means. We do NOT have the right leadership. We do NOT have the right plan. We have a public which is willing to accept this kind of shit.I am not.I am in favor of taking the fight to our enemies. Piling up their skulls into a pyramid. I am in favor of safeguarding our citizenry against all threats and forcing the FEBA back to from whence it came.It will get very ugly before it gets better and it will require a bit more than acceptance. It will, eventually, disturb one’s cocktail parties.It is outrageous that we would ever accept this situation. Outrageous.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
I agree with you, as much as you agree with yourself.When I say “We”, I didn’t just think of the US, but of any nations or people that do not believe in those extremist situations and who have the will and power to stop them more aggressively. You can’t fight thugs and monsters by reasoning with them. They don’t understand that language.The one thing that bothers me, and it’s a regular reminder of the effects of the last 15 years- is walking through airport security. That sucks, and they have won on that narrow front, sadly.
I saw a paper presented at a conference last year that suggested the US could lose one plane load of passengers per week to terrorism and it would still be cheaper than the current security theatre arrangements.Of course the authors weren’t suggesting this was a good trade, only that security theatre is a terrible use of resources and actual security can be implemented at a mere fraction of the cost.
You can’t fight thugs and monsters by reasoning with them. They don’t understand that language.Back in the 70’s my uncle used to say “the only way to deal with an Arab is to hit him over the head”. I don’t remember the context but I remember the statement.Look the fact is you can’t reason with anyone typically that:a) is holding on to old baggage or recent baggage or grudges.b) Is emotionally attached to a particular issue.c) has been brainwashed by their upbringing.At least not as a group. As individuals one at a time sure you can change and unbrainwash people.
Thus you cannot reason with Trump and his brainwashed supporters.
The primary goal of the leadership is reelection. Reelection is largely a function of the news cycle. Body bags are bad news.
.The current state of American leadership — both parties — is at such an all time low as to require the dictionary to redefine the word.It is disheartening to read the private emails of guys like Colin Powell and realize they are just as vain, venal, grasping as the entire DC circus.I have never been more discouraged at the state of American political leadership. I feel duped.Where are the men, like George Catlett Marshall, who simply served and acted, solely, on behalf of their country?JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
No such man could seek office in a post-truth political system. For a start, they’ve typically lead lives that are far too interesting. Instead we’re blessed with the kind of shithead lawyers who didn’t inhale.
Exactly why we need Trump. He is an outsider – and last great hope before the entire corrupt system sinks us all. All you need to do is recognize the problem (corrupt big government) and you can see the solution.
It’s the quiet ones that are wearing cowboy boots during sex.
.Don’t knock it if you haven’t done it. Luccheses. Only Luccheses.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Knowing nothing at all about cowboy boots you have just dropped info into my head that will never leave and be placed at the top of the heap. [1] I walked into a store in New Hope PA once and saw a whole bunch of really nice looking cowboy boots that seemed to be super expensive. I thought “wow I can see how people get appreciation these are like works of art”.[1] The less you know the more easily impressed you are.
.I have a pair of Lucchese heeled boots (for riding) and some matching Lucchese goat ropers (low heels for roping goats and walking).They are older than most of the people on this blog.They were handmade in El Paso and they are black. They are as soft as a baby’s butt. They will, undoubtedly, out live me.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Yeah Texas is definitely not a “Oh” state for sure. [1] You guys have that covered good thing you are not located next to NY State or California.[1] What does that mean? Famous saying by former President of First Pennsylvania Bank in the 60’s. He went to Temple University located in the shitty part of town. A place that was considered an extension of high school to many. He would call it “Temple Oh”. Reason is when he told people that they would say “Oh”. Like what are they going to say? We are not talking MIT or anything we are not even talking Penn State (which to some people of course is an “oh”.) And it’s one saving grace Bill Cosby suffered a similar fate as Joe Paterno did with Penn State.
They.last.for.ever! 🙂
.They used to offer a lifetime guarantee. I don’t know if they still do. I had some work done on my riding boots and they comped it for me.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
My challenge is in using them frequent enough. I keep using my ropers for my day to day and they keep getting more comfortable making them easier to wear…. making me wear them every day .. making them easier to wear ……
.Saddle soap them while they’re on your feet and stuff them when they are not.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
> Colin PowellI mostly remember his big US speech about Saddam’s nukes.Was that when he used Condi’s stuff about the “aluminum tubes”? The US Department of Energy told Condi that those tubes had nothing to do with uranium enrichment, but she didn’t want to believe. Actually, the tubes were used for the bodies of Iraqi DIY rockets.Maybe Powell was duped. Maybe something else. Whatever, I have low respect for Powell.
We marshaled our resources and committed to victoryExactly! During the London bombings people and their families slept in the subway stations. Even on the railroad tracks. [1] I was just watching a story on the Queen Mary on Smithsonian and saw that kids in high school were drafted into the service in the US. 16 years old! Can you imagine that happening today with the way kids are raised to be pussies sleeping on phony egyptian cotton. [2][1] https://mic.com/articles/84…[2] http://www.wsj.com/articles……https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
There’s a good movie on the Battle of Britain. The British beat the snot out of the Luftwaffe. The ME 109 didn’t have range enough; the Spitfire was a darned good fighter; and the British had some really nice progress in radar. And the British got organized. Smart. At times the English look so stuffy, formal, and reserved as to be hopeless, but in fact usually on the big stuff they do darned well. When they didn’t do so well? When they encountered General George Washington!
Washington was a poor military leader. If you think for a second that the British were wholeheartedly committed to defeating the revolution militarily, there are some very good books I can recommend.They had a superpower on their doorstep as the time.As for the BoB, when the Luftwaffe bombed London by mistake, and the British retaliated by bombing German cities, that allowed RAF Fighter Command to get off the mat. The Luftwaffe was winning a war of attrition up until the point they stopped bombing the airfields.
But, but, but, it’s all a small, insignificant, tiny, fully reasonable price to pay for the grand, glorious objective of International Globalized Social Justice!!!!!!!! Also, there need to be retributions for past transgressions! That is, the dream of community organizing for the whole world!!!!Feel better now?Ah, I don’t either.
Fred: As a homeless, black, Vietnam Veteran, I salute you for one of *the best* posts among the many posts of yours I’ve read over the years! THANK YOU!Though my homelessness is a super-hard thing for an optimistic workaholic to publicly admit, I now openly admit it so that I can more strongly join you in saying “Fuck the trolls” …(FYI: In being online for 20 years, that’s the first time I’ve ever publicly used the word “fuck”. But, at this particular time, I mean it 100% as fully as can be expressed…(And this is not an indication that I’ll publicly use profanity more casually in the future because I don’t believe in casually using all the pent up energy embedded in profanity…But, I do wish to use it once more in this comment: FUCK the useless and wholly effete “programs” and “structures” which blindly corner and force so many of us to become homeless and to resort to becoming a homelesspreneur merely to try to keep ourselves going… just one more day.Housing AND *CLEANLINESS* are extremely, extremely, extremely serious matters … deserving of MUCH better attention and much better processes than the utter MESS to which we now subject the homeless … the processes are so pathetically bad and so ill-designed it’s almost as if we intentionally want to SUSTAIN homelessness rather than TRULY ENDING IT!Certainly America’s best thinking, design, and engineering is not being applied towards ENDING homelessness.))Back to the trolls: Years ago, I wrote an acronymic piece called “T.H.O.S.E. (“To Heal On September Eleventh”).Relevant to your attitude about trolls, I concluded that piece with the following:”To The Loved Ones Of THOSENow that that part is finished, the terrorists are impotent against THOSEThe terrorists’ terror is now finished against THOSEThe terrorists have no more weapons against THOSEAnd now we, those who love THOSE who perished can defiantly SMILE for THOSETo Heal On September Eleventh”Finally, back in 2003, I wrote an informal op-ed piece for The Hartford Courant entitled Cultural Literacy And Inclusion Management (CLAIM) Views on New Race Relations, (Vincent Wright, Hartford Courant, Op-Ed, 2003 )In that little piece, I suggest that things may have become much better since I was at my Grandmother’s funeral in August 1966 but, unless we intentionally become more culturally literate, we may have groups of people other than blacks and whites reliving the unwanted history we’ve already lived through.I’ve reposted it on my site at: http://brandergy.com/forum/…#KeepSTRONG and #FUCKTheTrolls, Fred! +Vincent Wright9.21.2016
how can we help you get out of homelessness? (this is a bit disconcerting to hear)
If it bleeds, it leads.http://www.poynter.org/2012…If we really want to fuck the trolls, we need to be mindful with extreme prejudice about what media we consume, what links we click, what social media we share. “Vote with your wallet” has become “vote with your attention” in the Attention Economy. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Not going to happen. The headlines, pictures and so on are like triggers for an alcoholic.
Attention Economy. +100
More true today than anytime before, the US Presidential campaign and Brexit are examples of this in my opinion.Low quality and easy digestible content for the masses, slogans, catch phrases, fear mongering. Cheap.
Sort of, but I see the cause/effect relationship very differently. Both the outcome of the Brexit vote and Trump gaining the nomination were events that were unexpected by the mass media. The plebs are pissed off. In days past they would be on the move with torches and pitchforks. This has more to do with Facebook and Twitter than with the mass media.The mass media turning to fear mongering and constant images of panic is their attempt to try and capture our waning attention.
.It is hard to poll people who are running with torches and pitchforks but the 2014 election results were a great lesson that the MSM has overlooked and not wanted to believe.It was the greatest reversal for a century and Pres Obama famously said his policies were on the ballot. Now, he says his “legacy” is on the ballot.His real legacy is going to be on display in Charlotte, NC tonight. Watch for the “peaceful” demonstration to go ape shit (technical term).JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
I agree, traditional mass media changed abruptly and forever with the influence of FB, Twitter, messaging. I wonder if historians will agree on a starting date near the so called Arab spring and occupy, 2011? Governments were caught off guard and everything changed since then. Then came Snowden. Much of the people’s anger is due to (re)discovering they have been cheated by political leaders and incumbents in my opinion.The visibility and transparency the internet and mobile brings are healthy in spite of the brittle realities that are exposed. What I miss is accountability and journalism. I would love to see the Brexit red bus installed in a park somewhere for people to remember.You wouldn’t believe the similarities of Brexit and Trump processes with classic south american politics.Nice avatar BTW, connected to earth.
Two things I would recommend as required viewing/reading: “Manufacturing Consent” Noam Chomsky (doc film) and “Culture of Fear” Barry Glassner
+100
why?
Never ever feed the trolls. There is only one outcome and that is the more attention they get, the more troll will gather.We should be collectively discouraging this behavior as best we can.
Too late, the trolls have already won. Instead of being alarmed by bombs going off in your own neighborhood, you just write it off as “life as usual.” (That is what life has been like in Israel and Palestine and many cities in the middle East.) Have we come to the point where we have to minimize terrorizing our citizens to justify a political position? To make it acceptable because nobody was killed? (The explosives were more powerful than the ones used in Boston.) Would it have been more disturbing if someone had gotten killed, or just the same? How sad.How can someone look at a rising river and clearly extrapolate a worldwide future of global warming, and yet the same person witnesses multiple terror attacks (indicators) and conclude there is not a pattern of rising global terror? It baffles some of us. Certainly we don’t need to pick and choose which laws of nature we want to use based on our political position?Liberalism wants us to believe that this new chaos is the norm. Black against white. Rich versus poor. Christians versus Muslims. Gay versus straight. But it is a false narrative created to fuel hatred. This is what you get after 8 years of a divisive leader. God help us if we get more.
.Count me amongst those who ARE more upset about terrorism on our shores than the behavior of the Hudson River in times of high flow.I applaud the work done by the FBI and the NYPD in finding this shithead and shooting him. That was some nice work. Hats off to the FBI/NYPD![Small blessing that the terrorist was also a stupid, incompetent, POS. As a former Army trained combat engineer demo guy, I shudder to think what might have happened if the guy knew anything about explosives. Yikes!]Let’s be clear here — this is a failure of our ability to use big data and intel to identify credible threats to our safety. This guy went to hot beds of terror training, bought pressure cookers (hey, why can’t we just crack down on guys with beards, swarthy Arabic looking guys, who buy multiple pressure cookers — Wms Sonoma, I’m talking to you), was reported as a terrorist by his own father, and we, somehow, missed him.So, no, I don’t accept this. I care more about injured people than I do the encroachment of the Hudson Fucking River.As to the other alternative causes — standing upon my soapbox at your indulgence, thank you very much — I would like us to take better care of our veterans. I will be interested in allowing refugees to come to our shores only after we have taken care of every single vet awaiting care at the fucking, shitty VA. It is a disgrace.We ask men to die for their country and then when they get home wounded we give them the worst imaginable care while welcoming refugees with better programs? Really?Let’s just treat our veterans as refugees, no?Veterans before refugees.A word about immigration? This is a perfect example of what a shitty job we are doing on immigration. A country which has a million SF of Cray computers in Utah cannot keep track of who is coming into our country?JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
If you are more concerned with terrorism than flooding then you might need a refresher on statistics. The encroachment of the Hundson River can have real consequences. Just ask families of the 13 dead in Louisiana last week.Mother Nature is the ultimate terrorist and we are doing a great job at poking that bear.
.Past. Present. Future.I am a little more focused on the present than the distant future.As to Hudson River encroachment, the terrorists are still ahead by a few thousand given 9-11 and the World Trade Towers, no?I am concerned about all loss of life including if it comes from flooding. Today, I am not so concerned about the Hudson River. That’s in the future.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
8,695 weather related fatalities since 9/11. Mother nature continues her jihad.The problem with terrorist fatalities is that if you take out 9/11, its a not issue. Of course you can’t just take out 9/11. Outliers.. they really make a mess of things.
.Apples v orangutans — we cannot exert any control over weather but we can determine our own fate as it relates to terrorism, no?I am very confident we have averted several 9-11s that are unknown to the public. Certain of it.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Can we? I’m not so sure. The US has been at war 22 of the 239 years of our existence. We generate enemies with the same regularity that the gulf of Mexico generates hurricanes and we seem to be just as effective at combatting them.Between HAARP and the Paris Agreement, surely we have more control over the weather than our perpetual state of war.
I take it you don’t believe in man-made climate change.
.Odd comment — why?JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
“we cannot exert any control over weather” -JLM
.That equates to a belief/disbelief in man-made climate change?Don’t really see the connection. Bit of mind reading, no?If you must know, I do, in fact, believe that man has a great impact on the environment — some of it painfully local. As a pilot, I am often amazed at how little of the country is actually occupied and developed.I am not a believer in the degree that would put a smile on Al Gore’s face but I am a huge advocate of air and water quality improvements. There is no reason not to fight pollution wherever it occurs.OTOH, I think coal exhaust CAN be cleaned sufficiently to be used safely.My favorite concern is the floating island of plastic in the Pacific though that is not really climate change.Thank you for asking.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Yep – we already know climate change is affecting the weather, hence Fred’s citing of the Hudson as more of a concern.Are you not alarmed by the rate of change?Off topic: I remember a comment you wrote that Trump would not get the Republican nomination. Did you write a post on the nomination?
.Isn’t the climate dynamic — always changing?Certainly that is implication of history, no? In my lifetime, I have walked across the ice from Sandy Hook to Manhattan when the conventional wisdom was we were on the verge of an ice age.The weather is, therefore, equally dynamic.I just don’t see the alarm associated with a perceived increase of 1.5F over more than a century. I further don’t think temperatures could be measured with that degree of accuracy a hundred years ago.As to Fred’s personal relationship with the Hudson, having been a Corps of Engineers guy and a civil with a bit of emphasis in hydrology, I see the issue being pretty complex — water flow (rain in the watershed and the retention time in the watershed as it becomes progressively more impervious thereby lowering retention times within the watershed), tides (keep your eye on the Kind Tides), storm surge, and the moon’s perigee.We are talking about a 1′ rise in the last century and a 1′ rise in the next century.I am also a bit slow to alarm.As to l’affaire DJT, I wrote some time ago:http://themusingsofthebigre…and thishttp://themusingsofthebigre…No, I did not think DJT would get the nomination until I did (and he did).JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Pipe bombs are not nearly all they have in mind. While the guy in NY and NJ last weekend was a stupid POS, some of the best of ISIS are former Saddam officers and not stupid. ISIS will deploy a WMD, maybe nuke, on a major US city as soon as they can.The world needs to defeat ISIS, like real soon, now, y’hear? The US needs to put together a coalition and get it done, get a real good, solid job. E.g., send them back to tents, flocks, and camels in the desert, wall them off, monitor them, occupy their oil wells, and take the oil. So, truncate their influence outside of their walled off area in the desert.
Because this has worked so well in the past. /sISIS is entirely a creation of our actions in Iraq.
> “Because this has worked so well in the past. /s ISIS is entirely a creation of our actions in Iraq.”We can do well, but to do so we will have to set aside domestic political correctness.Can we win militarily? Yes, trivially easily.US blood and treasure? Very small.US alone? Nope. Can do a lot with coalitions. E.g., the ISIS areas are Sunni, and so are the Saudis. So, the Saudis would like to see a good government in the ISIS-Sunni part of Iraq.Can we build a good democracy in the ISIS area? Likely not.Who will run the place? There are some moderate Sunnis there that we can help take power.Will the Shiites in Baghdad beat up on those Sunnis? We will tell the Baghdad Shiites not to beat up on the Sunnis.Civilian casualties? There will likely be some, and the US liberal press will scream; that’s part of the PC dangers. The sooner ISIS gives up, the fewer civilian casualties.Quagmire? If we are stupid, then we will get into another quagmire. If we are smart, we will go, win, and leave all quickly. For what is left, ISIS will have been destroyed. Otherwise what is left will likely not be a shining city on a hill and might have some differences with Baghdad and Syria.But our goal is to defeat ISIS. That we can do quite reasonably.
it isn’t distant for me. maybe it is distant for you. i have both happening in my neighborhood. do you?
.No, Fred.I live above Shoal Creek but no flooding. It used to flood but it got “fixed” by building an enormous storm relief tunnel (thirty feet in diameter, a hundred feet beneath the creek level, stretching for 2+ miles) from the upper end of the watershed to Town Lake and diverting the water at the head of the watershed thereby making the downstream flooding disappear.I’m distant from the Hudson River.The Hudson River water level (and attendant flooding) is a problem caused by the simultaneous impact of high water flows within the watershed (rain), rising sea levels, tides, and storm surge.It has risen a foot in the last century and is predicted to rise another foot in the next century.Still, absent simultaneous high tides and storm surge, it is not a problem though it is only a matter of probabilities as to whether they will coincide again like in Hurricane Sandy.Certain high tides (the infamous King Tides) can be 1-2′ higher than a normal high tide when a high tide coincides with the “perigee” effect when the moon is the closest to the Earth.I belabor the subject to make the point it doesn’t rise to the level of terrorism or bombing. It is just life and hydrology. Not a crisis.No terrorists in my neighborhood but it’s a little neighborhood and we have our own little security force which patrols nightly. We have had a few in Dallas. What we do have is an incredible amount of illegal immigrants, all of whom require educating.Two high schools, two middle schools, two grammar schools worth over the last ten years.This is the result of really bad policy, a porous to non-existent border, and the administration’s wholesale disregard for immigration laws.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Have you thought about moving to higher ground?
I’m more concerned about the Hudson – Sandy was extremely bad for the neighborhood I grew up in, and the only reason it wasn’t worse is because of areas basically washed away if it weren’t for the army core of engineers bringing sand back to those areas
Veterans before refugees.A word about immigration? This is a perfect example of what a shitty job we are doing on immigration. A country which has a million SF of Cray computers in Utah cannot keep track of who is coming into our country?It’s not zero some at all. We can do better for veterans and refugees. There are even 65k immigrants currently serving in the US Military.Also, maybe these Cray computers need to be pointed at us and not refugees.New York bomber, US citizen.Pulse nightclub shooter, US citizen.Boston bomber, US citizen.Maybe the problem isn’t that we are letting the wrong people in, but we are radicalizing them ourselves.
.The numbers pertaining to “immigrants” serving in the US military are pure hogwash.First, a “citizen” is no longer an “immigrant” when they become naturalized. The vast majority of the “immigrants” who are reported as serving in the military are, actually, naturalized citizens.The military has, for decades, had programs whereby an illegal immigrant can obtain legal status and be advanced on the road to citizenship by service. This can happen as quickly as the completion of Basic Training which is 10 weeks long.Here is a link: https://www.uscis.gov/news/…The second a man is declared a naturalized citizen, he ceases to be an illegal immigrant and is no longer carried on the rolls with any differentiator. He is simply a citizen-soldier.In fact, this provision of enlisting to obtain citizenship is the BIG LOOPHOLE nobody ever talks about. In the days of the draft, when bodies were needed, anybody who could make it to a recruiting station could become a citizen.There is no doubt that our Cray computers should be focused on EVERYONE in the world. Internally. Domestically. Foreign. Externally. Why not?The issue of radicalization has an easy first step — we need to infiltrate every mosque in the US, we need to develop an open ear to hear better, and we need to take action.This counter-intel capability belongs to the FBI and they are damn good at it if they get the funds and direction from the top.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
.Zero Sum v zero some?JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
> we are radicalizing them ourselves.Totally unjustified, wrong headed, self-destructive self-guilt, maybe from some brilliant sabotage of US society.
I believe that these problems are global. A global truce would relieve some pressure, but it seems no one is really interested in that. If we keep bombing one another it will never end.For me, bombing any city is a form of barbarism, whether it is done using a rudimentary device built with a pressure cooker, or with a high tech device like a drone or a Mig.Multicoloured mushed up skittles is what you get in every case.
.I could write for a week on this subject but I will not.A truce is a temporary period of peace between combatants. Not going to be for very long. The truce in Syria really isn’t working.What we need is peace and, unfortunately, it will not break out until we remove the impediments to its longevity. The threats to it.That requires some desperate measures. And, those desperate measures are barbaric.Nobody hates war (or, alternatively, loves peace) like soldiers who have seen it up close. It is the ultimate testament to failure and evidence of mankind’s worst instincts.Freedom is not free and neither is peace. But, we can’t stop trying.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
.Read this book — it gives one a great appreciation of the difficulties of translating political objectives into sound military tactics.Mad Dog Matthis — 44 years in the Crotch (USMC).http://taskandpurpose.com/a…JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Too often it has been tough enough to beat the tyrants, who want to kill all of us, as we use bombs from the sky. Typically, if lay waste to their country, the tyrants will begin to get the message. If not, lay waste some more, kill them, and then we don’t need for them to get the message.TLC, setting up a constitutional, parliamentary, secular democracy with separation of church and state, freedom of religion, good humanism, fundamental rights, etc. is usually too subtle for the tyrants and, really, their countries.E.g., the psych-o, sick-o, wack-o in North Korea is eager enough to try to lay waste to all of South Korea and as much of Japan and the US as he can. For this, he is fully ready to have the US, South Korea, and Japan lay waste to all of North Korea.At this point, about all that wacko-o has to do is kick over an oil lamp, and the resulting blaze will light off our systems and turn North Korea into a flat, glass lined, glowing in the dark parking lot with a beautiful, perfectly round, lake with a perfectly hemispherical, glass lined bottom that also glows in the dark where their capital used to be. Quick solution: Have such a wack-o take some appropriate meds.Have to remember: It has been the tyrants who wanted to kill us first. In those cases, we just defended ourselves. While we hate war, we need not feel guilty about self-defense.Also remember: Too often our weakness and fumbling around leads to more ambitious tyrants.Now, if we do our math and science well, we can defend ourselves with little risk even to a single blade of US grass.But, the US should have a sit down with South Korea, Japan, and Russia and have all of us have a few, serious words with the Chinese about having NK behave.
I totally agree. We have an individual:1. Family reported him to the FBI as a terrorist2. Multiple trips to countries harboring terrorist training camps3. Girlfriend reports to police that he is making threats against America and has become radicalized3. Bought bomb making supplies on eBayAt what point does the data indicate to the FBI that they should have another conversation with this guy? Apparently only after the bombs were found.
.Agreeing with you more than you agree with yourself.We have Big Data — let’s get that SOB in uniform and saddled up.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Rudy recently mentioned the numbers: Many times more local police than FBI agents. So, the FBI needed to TELL the NYPD and the police in NJ. Then THEY could follow the dirt bag.
Boy do I ever agree with you on this one.My personal annoyance (among many) was having Cuomo rushing in to get his daily 15 minutes and appear to be in charge and on top of the situation. I am sure Dibalsio (sic) must have liked that. I am surprised that Schneiderman didn’t find a way to get out there as well. New police commissioner not as impressive looking and sounding as Bratton.[1] Intentional on my part.
While one can debate the frequency and depth of reporting by the media in this (and other) instances of terror, the exposure does make people more aware and vigilant. In this case, it was overblown only to the extent, in retrospect, it wasn’t tied to a larger cell and threat, like Paris. This guy was an idiot and we certainly can’t bank on the next guy being so incompetent, so the awareness created and perpetuated by the media, even if it is sensationalized and creates an element of fear, isn’t such a harmful thing. The threats are real and they likely will escalate. This reporting has actual value, unlike the divorce of celebrities, which oddly was covered yesterday ad nausea by all.
This guy was an idiot and we certainly can’t bank on the next guy being so incompetentI was thinking about this last night and I am not sure he was incompetent.Another explanation is that he was calculating enough to do something that didn’t kill people or hurt them so bad on purpose. That way he could make his statement and serve a smaller amount of time in prison when convicted. After all they finally even let Hinckley out of prison. If I was a defense attorney this would be an angle that I would consider, a leg to stand on at least.This reporting has actual value, unlike the divorce of celebrities, which oddly was covered yesterday ad nausea by all.Knowing my wife would be interested in that I texted her the following:… https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
My friend Jerry asked me on Monday how I was doing. I said fine. He brought up the bombing. And I had already forgotten it. I said “nobody died Jerry, a few people got hurt. It sucks.”I actually don’t think it makes a difference if people died or not actually. People die and suffer every single day when life is unfair to them in much much larger amounts. It’s actually a bit of an insult (and hate to say it that way) to those people and their families when so much attention is lavished on acts like this. Or even your example of what happens to a vanishingly small amount of people impacted by police actions. Because it is and has had an impact on the people that don’t act that way, police and otherwise and detracts from fixing other things. [1] This does not mean that nothing has to be done but that everyone has to put what is happening in perspective.I am more upset by the massive increase in homelessness on the streets of NYC, I am more upset by the fact that the Hudson river comes close to coming over its banks every time there is a big stormExactly. But those are the “phar shlepta crenks”. [2] And we tend to focus (or I should say the media does via people) on things that are acute in nature. And then we spring into action and put all of our attention that way. Don’t forget the power grid and a host of other things that would impact just about everybody. Don’t forget there is a pipeline that could be taken out that would cut 40% of the oil on the East Coast.And not only homelessness but the shit that goes on in some of these poor neighborhoods every single day which are occupied by both super predators as well as ordinary everyday criminals.[1] What I will call the Susan Komen effect. Every dollar given to Komen is great but it’s probably a dollar that might have gone to a more needy charity perhaps a charity that isn’t even representing a cause that will ever get any serious government funding or isn’t already stuffed with money, contacts and medical research.[2] Long standing illness. Can be used to describe events, people and so on.
Lots of homeless on the streets of Chicago. Bums on every corner. I have seen some of the same ones for over 25 years. Lots of Obamavilles. In San Francisco, it’s so bad the city isn’t pleasant at all. My kids were dodging human feces on the street.Some of it is mental problems, drug problems, but a lot of it is shitty economic growth. That’s what over regulation and high taxation will get you
SF has been like that long before Obama. I lived there during the Bush years. Frankly, it’s the local politics that are to blame there. That’s one corrupt-ass city.
Amen. If this were a Medium post, I would have highlighted the part where you wrote, “I am more upset by the fact that young black men get killed by the police for no good reason.” That’s more likely to kill people like me than an act of terrorism anyway.
Funny, I have a draft sitting on my drafts folder right now asking you about this very same thing. I suspected you had not talked about this here on AVC for the same reasons listed above. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…Agree 100%https://www.facebook.com/am…
I love the way the media and the trolls jumped all over Donald Jr’s skittle example. A reasonably valid analogy in my book regardless of which side of the argument you are on. If you tell most people that there is a small group of people getting sick eating a particular food they will avoid that food entirely. Doesn’t mean it’s rational but it’s the way people think. Except when it involves skittles of course. I guess that is different. Of course the pussy company distances itself and makes hay out of the story. It’s actually good publicity they should be thanking him. I hadn’t thought about skittles in 6 months.http://www.nytimes.com/2016…Donald Trump Jr. — a close political adviser to his father, Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee for president — posted on Twitter on Monday night an image of a white bowl full of rainbow-colored Skittles. The image came with this text: “If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That’s our Syrian refugee problem.”Then there was this one by Donald Jr.:If Republicans had done what she had, he said, “they’d be warming up the gas chamber right now.” (He later claimed this was a reference to capital punishment.)As someone whose family actually died in the gas chambers this doesn’t bother me one fucking bit at all. And I am sure if my Dad were alive (as well as my uncle) they would think it’s ok to say as well (not that that matters). Stop with all of this walking on egg shells shit.
“more upset by the fact that the Hudson river comes close to coming over its banks every time there is a big storm”We need to build an effective water barrier around Manhattan. Floating concrete platforms that rise with the tide and can do double duty as extra bike and running paths along with landscaping and places for food carts when they’re not actually fighting the mega-storms. Be pretty easy to build remotely in 200 foot sections and float them here. It would also be a practical solution to bringing a thriving water-front similar to the west side to the East River north of 10th Street.
How long would a water barrier work for?
The blocks if engineered correctly and assuming the right materials exist for baffles should allow the ring or wall to work for some time until new measures or technology are introduced. The wall would rise with the tide. Some of the piers in NYC actually float on the water and in Seattle they just built a floating bridge so the concept should work. Of course this would be temporary and separate from the larger anthropocene issues around global warming and rising sea levels.
Other question: would this push water into the burbs/out boroughs?And maybe we should all invest in seaweed farms, just to save ourselves from anthropocene issues considering this solution is temporary. They eat carbon
Agreed on any and all other “natural” solutions like seaweed and cycling, instead of cars, etc… That’s why I emphasized temporary and “other” issues.To protect all of NY Harbor would require building 3 large flood control gates, such as those on the Thames or in Holland, and associated earthen embankments at the Verrazano Narrows, Throgs Neck and Arthur Kill. If we were Singapore they would already have been built.The point about a floating ring would be to double or triple the capacity of usable shoreline for recreation 99.9% of the time, whereas the flood gates would be used infrequently.During Sandy the storm surge reached many miles up the Hackensack and Hudson Rivers. All coastal areas in LI, NJ and CT were hit hard. Unfortunately, the latter have to figure out their own solutions.
But the post is really about something way more important. It is about the fact that we are increasingly letting the trolls drive us nuts. The trolls are the people who do these acts of terrorism intended to turn us into a scared and terrified society.More to the SituationThere is much more to the upsetting events and news last weekend than just the “trolls”. And the situation is much more serious and dangerous than just such “trolls”.The Media and FearSure, the media never want to pass up an opportunity to get eyeballs for their ad revenue, and fear is one of their most effective approaches. Sure, it’s upsetting. And, right, for now, for being at a party last weekend, f’get about the situation.Terrorist AttacksThe attacks last weekend, in NY, NJ, and MN, were by radical Islamist jihadist terrorists.Maybe in our modern times, as inhttp://www.history.com/topi…the rise of radical Islam dates from July, 1979 with the fall of the Shah of Iran and the rise of “radical cleric” Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.Around the world, since then, there have been a lot of terrorist attacks, and apparently nearly all the terrorist attacks have been from radical Islam pursuing jihad.IranIran wants more, much more: They want nukes and rockets to deliver them. They are dominating Iraq from roughly Baghdad east and south to the Iranian border. They are trying to have influence in Assad’s Syria and also Hezbollah.As athttp://www.state.gov/j/ct/l…there is a table of countries designated by the US State Department as state sponsors of terrorism. The table is:Country Designation DateIran January 19, 1984Sudan August 12, 1993Syria December 29, 1979 Well, Iran and Syria are essentially Shiite Islam.Much of Iraq north and west of Baghdad is Sunni Islam.Of course, Shiite and Sunni Islam have been trying to eradicate each other for 1000+ years. So, it is no surprise that there is fighting between the Shiites and Sunnis near the border of Syria and Iraq. And, Iran is on the Shiite side and looking for influence over more people, land, transportation routes, and oil.In spite of these tensions, the US and Coalition occupation of Iraq after Gulf War II, eventually the surge was able to get some effective policing of Iraq.But as inhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wi…when the US did not sign a status of forces agreement with Iraq and as inhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wi…left nearly 100% suddenly, on December 18, 2011, as inhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wi…by June 29th, 2014, the Sunni areas of Iraq NW of Baghdad to the borders of Syria and Turkey fell under the control of ISIS led by radical IslamistAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi.The result was ISIS.Apparently most of the radical Islamist jihadist terrorist attacks in the US, Europe, etc. of the last few years have been directed or inspired by ISIS.Major ThreatsIran commonly has rallies shouting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”. IIRC ISIS has declared war on the US and in particular wants the US to convert to the ISIS version of Islam and join ISIS or die.ISIS and Iran very much do not look like they are exaggerating or joking.WMDIt is clear enough the ISIS would deploy a WMD, including chemical-biological and/or nuclear on a major US city as soon as they can.The goal of ISIS terrorism in the US and Europe definitely is not limited to attacks with knives and home made pressure cooker and pipe bombs.ImmigrationClearly the US must be very careful not to let radical Islamist jihadist terrorists immigrate to the US. Such people are essentially soldiers of enemies of the US. To admit them to the US is giving “aid and comfort” to US enemies and high treason.Obama/ClintonThe Obama/Clinton approach to the threat of Iran is to treat Iran with TLC.The Obama/Clinton approach to ISIS is to regard them as the “junior varsity” and as athttp://www.washingtontimes….”on the run”. Meanwhile ISIS has significant influence in Libya and some role in over two dozen countries.The Obama/Clinton approach to US immigration is essentially one world, globalism with open borders, with vetting not at all or maybe just by the UN.This approach to immigration leaves the US wide open to ISIS sending their soldiers to attack the US.GlobalismAh, somehow various ism’s spring up like weeds in the spring.E.g., last spring I was busy and late mowing the back yard, and by the time I was mowing, there was a big, dark green, strange weed, about 4 feet high, with huge leaves, many of the leaves with area over 1 square foot. Strange thing. Never saw such a plant before or since. I have no idea what it was or where it came from.Well, ism’s seem to be much the same — really strange with no idea where they came from.Well, one of the new ism’s now seems to be globalism.Way back there was an ism for Atlantic Union. Then there was the European Union, with Brexit now falling apart. And now there is Globalism, apparently for an open border one-world.So, we have some one worlders who are likely Utopian.We got a big example in the NYT oped as athttp://www.nytimes.com/2016…in”Our Immigrants, Our Strength”, Bill de Blasio, Anne Hidalgo, and Sadiq Khan, September 20th, 2016ending withWe know policies that embrace diversity and promote inclusion are successful. We call on world leaders to adopt a similar welcoming and collaborative spirit on behalf of the refugees all over the world during the summit meeting this week. Our cities stand united in the call for inclusivity. It is part of who we are as citizens of diverse and thriving cities. To be more clear on just what that paragraph means, Sadiq Khan is the mayor of London, and athttp://www.breitbart.com/lo…we have”London’s Muslim Mayor Tells New York And London to Get Used to Terrorism”withOn a trip to New York City, London’s Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan has said terror attacks are “part and parcel” of urban life, just hours after an Islamic terrorist bombed the city. “It is a reality I’m afraid that London, New York, other major cities around the world have got to be prepared for these sorts of things,” he said, the Evening Standard reports. So, Khan is interested in‘Building Progressive, Inclusive Cities’ ‘Building Progressive, Inclusive Cities’ No thanks. Don’t want any Ali Abdul Fatwah al Jihad bin Boom Boom, a.k.a. Abdul Car Bomb, and his buddies in the US.Simple: Just don’t want them here. Although Khizr Khan can hold up a copy of the US Constitution suggesting that it claims that the US cannot consider religion when vetting immigrants, Khan is flatly wrong: The US is a sovereign country; it can decide whom to admit or not admit for any reasons or no reason; and nothing in the US Constitution says otherwise.For the new ism globalism, no thanks.Drivers of GlobalismThe stuff for open borders, massive immigration to the US, millions of immigrants to the US from areas of the world with strong influences of radical Islam, and globalism has to have some significant drivers and dynamics.So, likely do the usual — follow the money.And use another standard piece of advice — always look for the hidden agenda.Likely the first objective is a new version of slave labor, that is, an identifiable, exploited, laboring underclass.But as we have learned in the US, slave labor is too darned expensive: Sure, the slave drivers might make some money for some years, but society as a whole has to pay large bills for special schooling, a wide range of welfare services, and lots of extra police protection. Too expensive. Also is ugly and in violation of decent humanism. Also throws US workers out of work, ruins families and communities, and raises costs of welfare and police protection. Bummer.Then for some of the dynamics, the slave drivers pay off the politicians and also have pay the media not to report the situation or to go easy on the issue. The money trail and the hidden agenda are left out of the media.There are also importers of cheap products that result in failed US businesses and unemployed workers.Ah, Internet to the rescue! If the mainstream media won’t help our citizens be informed, there’s a lot on the Internet that will!CivilizationAs in even a fast read of history from ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, and the rest of European history since the Romans, there was a lot to the rise of Western Civilization including the Age of Reason, humanism, separation of church and state, freedom of religion, and more. For this progress, at times hundreds of years ago, some rivers of Europe ran red with blood. Europe was a massively grim and bloody place as recently as WWII. Since then, the Balkans generated more blood.Western Civilization very much wishes to be past such bloody things and to celebrate the best of Western Civilization which is astoundingly good.Of course, the US got nearly all its culture from such Western Civilization.Then there are the various civilizations of the rest of the world; they are all very different from Western Civilization. At times these other civilizations have gone through or are still going through some of the struggles, about as bloody, Europe encountered, e.g., separation of church and state, freedom of religion, humanism.I wish them well, soon. But in the meanwhile, if they are going to have ground soaked with blood, rivers flowing with blood, things going “BOOM BOOM”, and maybe WMDs, then I want that all far from the US. If such nonsense really threatens the US, then we will have to throttle the nonsense and defend ourselves.In particular, for immigration, it’s tough for a person raised in a culture 500+ years out of date to come to the US and jump forward to a very different culture 500+ years more advanced and be successful at it. For the US to hope that more than a very few people from cultures 500+ years out of date can make good contributions to the US is for the US absurd, expensive, and dangerous. We shouldn’t do it.IslamIf only via some wishful thinking, at times some US leaders have said that Islam is a “peaceful religion”. Too badAbu Bakr al-Baghdadiand many others didn’t agree. As athttp://www.breitbart.com/na…there are lots of quotes from the Quran showing that Islam wants a lot of murder.There are at least two huge problems with Islam:(1) Islam is not just a religion but is a whole culture, covering nearly everything in life, with a religion attached. The culture keeps out nearly everything new since 500+ years ago and, thus, is still heavily stuck in Medieval times.(2) Too many in Islam believe that everyone else is an infidel and, thus, should either be converted or killed.If some of Islam wants to be violent, etc. in their areas of desert, jungle, or whatever, sad but okay by me. If they threaten the US, then we will have to throttle them in self-defense.SummaryThe US should:(1) Defend the US, e.g., so that US citizens can enjoy their days, weekends, families, friends, etc., work effectively, and f’get about various cases of “BOOM BOOM” and much worse.(2) Stop the move to slavery, corruption of our country, and globalism motivated by slave drivers and importers.(3) Stop all illegal immigration ASAP.(4) Admit to the US only immigrants who will love our country, culture, norms, traditions and assimilate and can be successful and contribute significantly to the US.(5) Permit legal immigration only with clearly quite effective vetting.(6) Carefully enforce our visa rules — e.g., no immigrants routinely overstaying their visas.(7) Quickly deport illegal immigrants who have committed crimes in addition to illegal immigration.(8) Use e-Verify to ensure that illegal immigrants can’t hold jobs in the US. Many of them will then self-deport.(9) Work out a humane way to enforce our immigration laws against remaining illegal immigrants. Do not permit illegal immigrants to become legal ahead of the queue of people following the laws.(10) Defend the US against all serious threats. In particular, defend the US against radical Islamic terrorist jihadists, in the US and, when necessary, outside.BTW, global warming from human sources of CO2 is not a threat, certainly not a serious threat.(11) Carefully defend the US against WMD attacks from all potential sources.(12) In the case of ISIS, assemble a coalition to defeat them utterly.(13) For the refugees from the Mideast and North Africa, assemble a coalition to provide some safe zones, mostly in the Mideast and North Africa respectively.(14) For corrupt politicians, investigate them, prosecute them, convict them, and lock them up.(15) For the current election for POTUS, we need a serious President and Commander in Chief, someone with good vision, good ideas, good abilities to get good things done, good judgment, very much for the good of the US, with strength and energy, honest and not for sale and can’t be bought.Here are some pictures of what does not meet these criteria:https://pbs.twimg.com/media…Looks like on the way to play Wicked Witch of the East.http://media.breitbart.com/…Looks like she just won the Power Ball Lottery.https://pbs.twimg.com/media…She will get up those stairs one more time if she possibly can.https://pbs.twimg.com/media…Which Secret Service agent is responsible for carrying and placing the step?http://media.breitbart.com/…Looks like they are watching a tennis match on some land they just bought to use as a midnight toxic waste dump.http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/…Yes, our great, great grandmother out of Happy Acres for 10 minutes with her full time, Saudi constant companion.http://circa.com/politics/a…Looks like a Mafia hit woman.https://pbs.twimg.com/media…There she is with her full time needle carrier.http://media.breitbart.com/…She is holding a rally! Gee, they should have blocked off much more of the room.https://pbs.twimg.com/media…Maybe with some more weeks of rest she can get her eyes aimed right again for another hour or so.It’s our country, folks. As citizen voters, the future is up to us. I don’t see how anyone could vote for Hillary unless they were one or more of an idiot, bought off, or a hater of the US.This is serious stuff: Vote wisely, and we can have lots of happy weekends. Vote foolishly, and we can have stressful weekends and weeks for decades.
I tend to agree and I smiled when someone called into ny1 with “I heard the explosion and went to the deli.” But I think citizen conversation played such an important role here. I know this is not the first time twitter/technology is front and center in a situation like this but the FBI and NYPD tweets, alert citizens and their reports & conversation really helped steer the investigation. Maybe it’s because this is my home, but it felt like we were all working together. I happened to be in SF and it was the first time I watched CNN in a while – they were reading tweets from alert New Yorkers. Without those tweets I’m not sure they’d have much to report. Anyway, we can’t live in fear – agree with that
We have a serious attention and learning problem in the US.If times are good, then our citizens pay less attention to our government and are less vigilant about monitoring the politicians.Then too soon we end up with some really bad politicians.Then from those bad politicians, we suffer damage but slowly learn, pay more attention, and get some better politicians.It looks like the system is fundamentally unstable, oscillates like some feedback systems. The big threat is that during intervals of bad politicians, we could permanently seriously damage our country.Attributed to Jefferson isA little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Also attributed to JeffersonEternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Jefferson, smart cookie.
the great carl hiassen, in “tourist season” severely ridiculed the mission and skills of bombers who were attempting to terrorize miami, with scenes of wanna-be disruptors of everyday life failing in their mission — their letter bombs routinely blew up in mailboxes, instead of in the hands of their intended targets, and they were dubbed, to their rage, “postal pranksters.”we can win by being our best selves; we can win by refusing to concede anything to fear. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Whether it manifests as crime, terrorism or asymmetrical warfare we live in an extremely dangerous age when tiny groups or even individuals can kill thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people. We must vigilantly defend ourselves against them.In your post it is as if you are sagely advising castle-dwellers to “sit tight” while canonballs are raining down on the supposedly impregnable walls of their castle thereby reducing them to mere rubble.If you are interested I will sell you the Brooklyn bridge to sell you. Shall I have the lawyers draw up a contract? When Jewish women don’t push their sons and husbands to study Torah, entire families typically end up engaged in idolatry (self-worship).In the 1930’s your ilk were singing the praises of Stalinist paradises which never quite lived up to the hype, in the 1960’s advocating building housing projects for disadvantaged pagans who promptly turned them into hellholes, and today you have hit on the brilliant idea of universal income. Ever heard of Tsedaka (righteousness often mistranslated as charity)? If you have the courage to challenge your convictions why don’t you find a wise Talmudic scholar to teach you how to organize a just country and community.If one of your family members had been, G-d forbid, maimed or killed by that explosion you foolishly dismissed you wouldn’t likely be chirping such a merry defiant tune.Your business acumen and instinct are high, but you must stop preaching about politics and social issues because you are misleading many people with dangerous claptrap. History is replete with well-intentioned clever Jews who left Torah, embraced falsehood, and preached a doctrine which, surprise, surprise, led to Jewish persecutions.It’s easy to preach your ideas to non-Jews who dream about acquiring as much money as you. But it’s another matter entirely to sit face-to-face with a Talmudic scholar and offer up your foolish ideas.I have read this blog daily for several years. I do not intend to read it again. Your latest missive reminds me of something Sarah Palin or Donald Trump might read from a teleprompter.
.By depriving us of your thoughts, you are, in essence, doing the same thing you accuse Freddie of. Bit unfair, in my view.Dare to share.It is only when ideas wrestle that better and stronger ideas emerge.It, apparently, does not take a village. It takes a wise Talmudic scholar.Put me down as a strong “maybe” but I do love reading your thoughts. Don’t leave us.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Fuck that, he also insulted me AND my mother
You do know one of the moderators here is a koferet b’ikkar* whose mother did do that, right? And Fred isn’t jewish?A better question: Are you specifically try to insult me, since I am a chozeret b’sheila?This is US and international politics, not an inyan of gemara (and midrashic material at that) that you’re misinterpreting. Stop confusing the two. Your conception of God doesn’t do very much for the discussion. Table it.And as a Jewish history reminder – in the 1930s Bundists and Jewish socialists existed, and you probably have relations who were bundist or Jewish socialists. Furhtermore, many of that first generation went to places like the Volozhin, which is why a secular Jewish man (Bialik) wrote the definite complilation of midrash from the gemara (and not a religious one). ( https://www.amazon.com/Book… )I suggest you ponder this during slichot, because if you are out there to insult people about thier political differences with you in God’s name, you have life problems to talk to God about. This comment was totally uncalled for*I’ll totally admit that I am in a debate with an orthodox rabbi/scholar/friend who is an expert on the halachot of who is and isn’t a kofer about my koferet status. Ironically, being female may make this more complicated. BWHAHAHA.If you are interested I will sell you the Brooklyn bridge to sell you. Shall I have the lawyers draw up a contract? When Jewish women don’t push their sons and husbands to study Torah, entire families typically end up engaged in idolatry (self-worship).
I should be more forgiving about this, there was no way for you to know I wanted to specialize in fixing certain issues involving international aspects of the halachic prenup at age 19, or that my brother refused to step up into higher level gemara classes and study for a year after high school in yeshiva, and that both of us being atheists now broke her heart, especially because two of my first cousins are orthodox rabbis.But seriously, you insulted me and my mother. NU
I’m lost: Too much data on the POTUS race does not fit.Some evidence is that Trump is ahead nationally and essentially tied or significantly ahead in the battleground states. Supposedly one or two more battleground states, and Trump will win in the Electoral College. The LA Times tracking poll has Trump leading nationally by several points.Yet in the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll today nationally in a four-way race Hillary is ahead of Trump by 6 points.=== TrumpTrump rallies are massive, pack rooms with 8,000 people and leave that many more outside in a line where they didn’t arrive at dawn to get in.The continuing attacks in the US and elsewhere by radical Islamic terrorists say that Trump’s concerns about immigration were correct.Trump’s responses to the attacks last weekend looked much stronger than Hillary’s.The head of Egypt was just really big on Trump and really hard on Hillary.Trump has a lot of significant good accomplishments.Trump went to NOLA.Trump looks strong and healthy.=== HillaryHillary’s claim that 50% of Trump supporters are “deplorables” and “irredeemables” should have made Trump’s support more solid and hurt her with anyone having doubts.Hillary has trouble getting more than 200 people to show up for a rally.Hillary shows lots of symptoms of some really serious health problems.Hillary has shown overwhelming evidence of being nasty, a liar, a crook, a foreign policy disaster, and a national security disaster.Hillary has essentially no significant good accomplishments on anything good.=== NetSo, how come with these situations and events, Hillary is ahead nationally?Did Hillary suddenly run a lot of TV ads (I don’t watch TV except via YouTube)?Is the NBC/WP poll a joke?
.HRC owned this race much as she did in 2008 with Obama. She is not a good campaigner and let an unknown knock her off her horse on the way to the coronation.Trump has run the field against a bunch of experienced, well-organized, well-funded pols. He did it on the cheap — lean, nimble, agile.He has shown, conclusively, that earned media is equal to or better than paid media. That truth continues.Trump will receive votes in some greater proportion than how he polls. This hidden impact is there. It is real.The pollsters completely missed the 2014 impact. A couple of days before Pryor v Cotton in Arkansas, they had the race close. Cotton won by 57% v 39%. Pryor was a two time incumbent and his father held that Senate seat for 3 terms.I use this race because both HRC and WJC campaigned for Pryor showing their limited strength in their own home state. Cotton smoked them. All of the pollsters got it wrong.It is also important to remember that the ENTIRE Arkansas Congressional delegation — except for its two Republican Senators — is Democrat. This is a huge consideration and why this was such a bellwether race.The 2014 election drivers have not dissipated. Remember this was the biggest victory for a party in a century. Barbed. Wire. Enema.This was the first manifestation of how angry the electorate was and still is. They are still angry and when the President said his legacy was on the ballot (as he said his policies were on the ballot in 2014), he energized not just those who prefer Trump but those who detest him.The country is mad at Pres Obama, HRC, and the GOPe. Trump is the alternative to all three. He is incredibly well positioned. Personal opinion — the only person who can defeat Trump is Trump. [Kellyanne, that means you, baby.]Monday night, HRC will be under close scrutiny for 90 minutes under hot lights. If she is sick, it is over. For the last 4 days, she has cancelled a big fundraiser in Chapel Hill, NC and is MIA until the debates. Something is going on here.A candidate cannot take 3 days off 50 days from the election.Still, Trump has to ensure he doesn’t step on his hands during the debates.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Really Fred, you’re going with ‘Turn the other cheek’ on this one?No alarm calls for a national pressure cooker database?No BS statistic saying 99% of Americans want common sense restrictions on appliances?I agree that we are the home of the brave…but, had the weapon been a firearm, your response would be very different.
I second what you say2 more thoughts1) I’m actually far more concerned that people are going to use this to yell and discriminate against muslims. This is a situation where it doesn’t even deserve it – his FATHER tried to report him for potential terrorist activity. The vast majority of Muslims in the NYmetro area (and in the US) are like the people who go to the mosque across the street from me – kind, normal, everyday people, who I am currently more concerned about in light of the bombing.2) Except for the part where the FBI ignored his dad – this is the outcome the US wanted. His family is overall integrating into the US as immigrants. His father was an entrepneur for a time. His father tried to report his son as a terrorist because the father was worried. One random dude not joining in with his family’s immigration experience is an exception that proves the rule: Most Muslims from refugee areas integrate into the US.So the trolls should shut up, because they are actually GETTING WHAT THEY WANT.any more is just ridiculous to ask for
NYC is an international city. Cosmopolitanism’s strength is not letting the terrorists terrorize you. great post. Steve
Kochi airport in Kerala -http://www.bbc.com/news/wor…
.I like to love solar myself.In the short term, if we simply drilled what has already been discovered on the continental US, redistributed what is already flowing (Keystone XL Pipelini (sic)), and stopped making war against coal, fracking, directional drilling — Hell, we’d be energy independent inside of 2 years.If we were energy independent, we could flick off the Middle East and let them all go to Hell.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Here’s the thing about “collaborative action”. Years ago, before The Good Men Project even existed, I used to talk about the “Evolution of the Media”. How, for centuries, media was made to be “read”. That could even define you, you were labeled “well-read” if indeed you read what was popular at the time. Then came the age of media “sharing”. Empires were built on this. Conversation ensued. Online public squares. But what is the NEXT evolution of media? To me, it is action-oriented. Let’s get things done. Forget waiting for a political candidate creating a “New Deal”, let’s get together and create it ourselves. Action oriented media needs a mind-shift—it’s so much easier to rant. But I can see it. Media that creates and fosters collaborative action for long-term change. It’s a beautiful thing.
technically, I think we are net exporting now