No matter what side you’re on...

[sami]

Lokar didn’t desecrate the flag, he refused to wear it. As noted clearly above, no sports team other than the US National team should be wearing it on uniforms anyway. I don’t agree with any divisive groups. I think black lives matter as much as blue ones, as do all lives... but I don’t agree with BLM, or Antifa, or Proud Boys, or others. I don’t agree that my iPhone should capitalize Black Lives Matter as an autocorrect.

I’m not going to continue this debate with you because you’re trying to turn it into a pissing match. You think I’m selfish because I don’t want it in my back yard? How about I want to turn the page and see division narrow, maybe less of the Pelosi hate vs. McConnel irk. You fall right into the trap, maybe a little dim witted. Shit, politicians don’t hate each other. They foster the belief so stupid people argue with each other instead of seeing that the political class is homogenous and getting rich off the taxpayers teat. We talk about changing the system, but how will the system ever change when the people who can change it are the ones profiting from status quo?

I just can’t believe you cannot fathom that someone doesn’t have to take a side. That they can be against both side’s extremist notions.

 

[SHUSA]

I sure hope Biden does well with the economy.

markets are bullish rn no? usually telling

 

[Hallsome]

Lokar didn’t desecrate the flag, he refused to wear it. As noted clearly above, no sports team other than the US National team should be wearing it on uniforms anyway. I don’t agree with any divisive groups. I think black lives matter as much as blue ones, as do all lives... but I don’t agree with BLM, or Antifa, or Proud Boys, or others. I don’t agree that my iPhone should capitalize Black Lives Matter as an autocorrect.

I’m not going to continue this debate with you because you’re trying to turn it into a pissing match. You think I’m selfish because I don’t want it in my back yard? How about I want to turn the page and see division narrow, maybe less of the Pelosi hate vs. McConnel irk. You fall right into the trap, maybe a little dim witted. Shit, politicians don’t hate each other. They foster the belief so stupid people argue with each other instead of seeing that the political class is homogenous and getting rich off the taxpayers teat. We talk about changing the system, but how will the system ever change when the people who can change it are the ones profiting from status quo?

I just can’t believe you cannot fathom that someone doesn’t have to take a side. That they can be against both side’s extremist notions.

I wasnt trying to start a debate. Just asking a question. Lighten up Francis

 

[HALL85]

Lokar didn’t desecrate the flag, he refused to wear it. As noted clearly above, no sports team other than the US National team should be wearing it on uniforms anyway. I don’t agree with any divisive groups. I think black lives matter as much as blue ones, as do all lives... but I don’t agree with BLM, or Antifa, or Proud Boys, or others. I don’t agree that my iPhone should capitalize Black Lives Matter as an autocorrect.

I’m not going to continue this debate with you because you’re trying to turn it into a pissing match. You think I’m selfish because I don’t want it in my back yard? How about I want to turn the page and see division narrow, maybe less of the Pelosi hate vs. McConnel irk. You fall right into the trap, maybe a little dim witted. Shit, politicians don’t hate each other. They foster the belief so stupid people argue with each other instead of seeing that the political class is homogenous and getting rich off the taxpayers teat. We talk about changing the system, but how will the system ever change when the people who can change it are the ones profiting from status quo?

I just can’t believe you cannot fathom that someone doesn’t have to take a side. That they can be against both side’s extremist notions.

That last paragraph is basically it, but we have the MSM and social media platforms built to divide. People need to wake up.

 

[SPK145]

markets are bullish rn no? usually telling

They’ve been bullish since 2009, incredible recovery since last March.

 

[Hallsome]

Lokar didn’t desecrate the flag, he refused to wear it. As noted clearly above, no sports team other than the US National team should be wearing it on uniforms anyway. I don’t agree with any divisive groups. I think black lives matter as much as blue ones, as do all lives... but I don’t agree with BLM, or Antifa, or Proud Boys, or others. I don’t agree that my iPhone should capitalize Black Lives Matter as an autocorrect.

I’m not going to continue this debate with you because you’re trying to turn it into a pissing match. You think I’m selfish because I don’t want it in my back yard? How about I want to turn the page and see division narrow, maybe less of the Pelosi hate vs. McConnel irk. You fall right into the trap, maybe a little dim witted. Shit, politicians don’t hate each other. They foster the belief so stupid people argue with each other instead of seeing that the political class is homogenous and getting rich off the taxpayers teat. We talk about changing the system, but how will the system ever change when the people who can change it are the ones profiting from status quo?

I just can’t believe you cannot fathom that someone doesn’t have to take a side. That they can be against both side’s extremist notions.

also if your last para was supposed to describe what I personally can or cannot understand I would say you don’t know me and you suggest that by my question I am describing you a certain way (I wasn’t). You started the chain about what happened in your backyard. I get it-you want to make clear you don’t take a R or L side; I presumed you just see right or wrong. I only asked you which lines you draw so if I interpret your long response correctly I apologize for ruffeling your feathers or suggesting that you personally can’t take a side that’s against both sides extremist notions.

 

[sami]

also if your last para was supposed to describe what I personally can or cannot understand I would say you don’t know me and you suggest that by my question I am describing you a certain way (I wasn’t). You started the chain about what happened in your backyard. I get it-you want to make clear you don’t take a R or L side; I presumed you just see right or wrong. I only asked you which lines you draw so if I interpret your long response correctly I apologize for ruffeling your feathers or suggesting that you personally can’t take a side that’s against both sides extremist notions.

Problem with drawing lines is at some point there are many shades of gray. Gets ugly.

I only wish the “not my President” crowd, both in 2017 and 2021, weren’t the vocal ones. Most of this country, as someone said below, just wants to live a successful, happy life. Some just seem to only be happy if “their side” has an upper hand.

This divide has just worsened every year since 2008, and we know what sparked that. Sprinkle a Muslim President from Kenya on top of a financial crisis and one side went off the rails. Wasn’t long before the other side went bat shit crazy.

If I was to sum up the Trump presidency from an economic standpoint, we did a terrible job of taking advantage of a strong environment. Maybe the economy was artificially too strong because we cut tax revenue to make corporations/wealthy happy, maybe that supported a trillion dollar deficit during an economic boon when we could have been running a surplus, and maybe that deficit was supported from supplying aid to every hand that was out within these boarders but worse, outside. If we were going to run a deficit in an age of cheap money, that excess spend should have been the infrastructure bill that could have happened in 2017, 2018, 2019...

So someone above equates a strong stock market to a strong economy. Doesn’t work like that. Is it a bull market or a bubble? If you look at the 16.6% growth in the S&P 500 in 2020, do you know that more than half that came from FAANG? What rational thought makes Bitcoin worth 20,000 one day, 40,000 weeks later and then down to ~30,000... intrinsic value or someone making a call for BTC 400,000?

Markets will be solid this year. Economy will recover, people will act irrationally to year over year growth. Things were good before Covid, it will return. But big checks were written. There has to be some change to bring that back. We show little signs of spending cuts, so welcome to the taxes. I think Biden will be smart and start to unwind some of what Trump did without reverting, e.g. corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% instead of back to 35%. My guess is markets do well in 2021 but keep an eye on 2022 and 2023 when things could get a bit ugly. End of a 13-14 year bull cycle, unwinding breaks from stimulus, tax hikes.

Biden and the Dems will take the blame, but any responsible administration would have to address the same things. There was missed opportunity by the Trump administration because all he wanted was record low unemployment and record high markets thinking that was the sign of success. Maybe record surplus and infrastructure spend would have been better signs.

 

[Hallsome]

Problem with drawing lines is at some point there are many shades of gray. Gets ugly.

I only wish the “not my President” crowd, both in 2017 and 2021, weren’t the vocal ones. Most of this country, as someone said below, just wants to live a successful, happy life. Some just seem to only be happy if “their side” has an upper hand.

This divide has just worsened every year since 2008, and we know what sparked that. Sprinkle a Muslim President from Kenya on top of a financial crisis and one side went off the rails. Wasn’t long before the other side went bat shit crazy.

If I was to sum up the Trump presidency from an economic standpoint, we did a terrible job of taking advantage of a strong environment. Maybe the economy was artificially too strong because we cut tax revenue to make corporations/wealthy happy, maybe that supported a trillion dollar deficit during an economic boon when we could have been running a surplus, and maybe that deficit was supported from supplying aid to every hand that was out within these boarders but worse, outside. If we were going to run a deficit in an age of cheap money, that excess spend should have been the infrastructure bill that could have happened in 2017, 2018, 2019...

So someone above equates a strong stock market to a strong economy. Doesn’t work like that. Is it a bull market or a bubble? If you look at the 16.6% growth in the S&P 500 in 2020, do you know that more than half that came from FAANG? What rational thought makes Bitcoin worth 20,000 one day, 40,000 weeks later and then down to ~30,000... intrinsic value or someone making a call for BTC 400,000?

Markets will be solid this year. Economy will recover, people will act irrationally to year over year growth. Things were good before Covid, it will return. But big checks were written. There has to be some change to bring that back. We show little signs of spending cuts, so welcome to the taxes. I think Biden will be smart and start to unwind some of what Trump did without reverting, e.g. corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% instead of back to 35%. My guess is markets do well in 2021 but keep an eye on 2022 and 2023 when things could get a bit ugly. End of a 13-14 year bull cycle, unwinding breaks from stimulus, tax hikes.

Biden and the Dems will take the blame, but any responsible administration would have to address the same things. There was missed opportunity by the Trump administration because all he wanted was record low unemployment and record high markets thinking that was the sign of success. Maybe record surplus and infrastructure spend would have been better signs.

I agree with much of this except I will say that the MSM created this divide during Bush 43 who was a purported war criminal.

 

[sami]

I agree with much of this except I will say that the MSM created this divide during Bush 43 who was a purported war criminal.

Yes. I think we acted appropriately but on terrible intelligence. We probably should not have acted as quickly, but the country was unified (how about that) and wanted revenge.

And I hate the term MSM. Term used by one side to say the media is biased, when there’s as much bias on the other side. News used to be news, mostly unbiased. Now you can’t find a source anywhere that is neutral. You say MSM created a divide, isn’t that already divided when you’re lumping a group of news sources that don’t tell you the narrative you want to hear?

Unbiased news created the divide, yes. That took players on both sides.

 

[Hallsome]

Yes. I think we acted appropriately but on terrible intelligence. We probably should not have acted as quickly, but the country was unified (how about that) and wanted revenge.

And I hate the term MSM. Term used by one side to say the media is biased, when there’s as much bias on the other side. News used to be news, mostly unbiased. Now you can’t find a source anywhere that is neutral. You say MSM created a divide, isn’t that already divided when you’re lumping a group of news sources that don’t tell you the narrative you want to hear?

Unbiased news created the divide, yes. That took players on both sides.

You mean biased news created a divide, right?

MSM is not inaccurate. It includes Fox.

I can’t help it that MSM is generally dominated by the left.

ABC, CNN, Fox, CBS, NBC etc all slant a certain way.

Take the late night hosts for instance ....

 

[sami]

You mean biased news created a divide, right?

MSM is not inaccurate. It includes Fox.

I can’t help it that MSM is generally dominated by the left.

ABC, CNN, Fox, CBS, NBC etc all slant a certain way.

Take the late night hosts for instance ....

Point taken

 

[knowknow456]

Biased media has been "a thing" for a long time

“Fake News!”: Newspapers and George Washington’s Second Presidential Administration

washingtonpapers.org

 

[HALL85]

You mean biased news created a divide, right?

MSM is not inaccurate. It includes Fox.

I can’t help it that MSM is generally dominated by the left.

ABC, CNN, Fox, CBS, NBC etc all slant a certain way.

Take the late night hosts for instance ....

Follow the money. MSM and social media are huge money makers. Division makes more money. Look at the valuations of them all today. News slots were not in prime time 30 years ago; no cable news making money. Social media has taken it to a new level that was never anticipated.

 

[NYShoreGuy]

Follow the money. MSM and social media are huge money makers. Division makes more money. Look at the valuations of them all today. News slots were not in prime time 30 years ago; no cable news making money. Social media has taken it to a new level that was never anticipated.

30 years ago fnc and msnbc were not yet born but cnn had a decade under the belt. 30 years ago was less sofisticated, less options, less technology. 30 years ago if there were 60 channels on basic tier cable that was an awful lot. Also fox as the 4th network was still relatively in its infancy and markets outside of la, nyc, chicago essentially had 3 free to air networks plus local public television.

 

[HALL85]

30 years ago fnc and msnbc were not yet born but cnn had a decade under the belt. 30 years ago was less sofisticated, less options, less technology. 30 years ago if there were 60 channels on basic tier cable that was an awful lot. Also fox as the 4th network was still relatively in its infancy and markets outside of la, nyc, chicago essentially had 3 free to air networks plus local public television.

So you’re saying I’m right.

 

[NYShoreGuy]

So you’re saying I’m right.

Downey, Donahue and Geraldo, do you feel any of their shows were divisive?

 

[SPK145]

This divide has just worsened every year since 2008, and we know what sparked that. Sprinkle a Muslim President from Kenya on top of a financial crisis and one side went off the rails. Wasn’t long before the other side went bat shit crazy.

This started WAY before 2008.

The dems treated Reagan like shit.

Bush I seemed to go fine.

The repubs treated Clinton like shit.

The dems treated Bush II like shit.

The repubs treated Obama like shit.

The dems treated Trump like shit.

Guess what's going to happen now?

 

[HALL85]

Downey, Donahue and Geraldo, do you feel any of their shows were divisive?

Were they news shows?

 

[donnie_baseball]

This started WAY before 2008.

The dems treated Reagan like shit.

Bush I seemed to go fine.

The repubs treated Clinton like shit.

The dems treated Bush II like shit.

The repubs treated Obama like shit.

The dems treated Trump like shit.

Guess what's going to happen now?

This is true. When I read Sami's post, I remembered Obama's "clutching their guns and Bibles" comment prior to taking office. Half the country thought that was OK or even true; the other half, not so much.