Re: Hey Sebby!
 

I have no idea what you're talking about re $100 bills, and I don't really care. If he wants to get rid of them, I don't understand why you care, either, but whatever.

On the issues that actually matter more to a lot of people, like how the economy should be managed, Summers has been much more right than the people to whom the Republicans in Congress have listened, with consequent harm to the economy and particularly to the people who are now turning to Trump. But you call him fat and worry about your God-given right to carry Franklins. I guess that's exactly the kind of substance that has given us Trump.

I don't deify Sanders, unless by that word you mean "point out the fat-shaming of". I do like talking about economics, partly because it matters.

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

I'm not concerned about a CTR. I'm concerned about any move to increase oversight.

We are moving in that direction already. But those of us who aren't, for good reason, should be protected. The underground economy is an integral part of the broader economy.

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

What are you even saying here? Get your shit together.

Summers' only recent position has been we shouldn't raise rates. Raising rates had little impact. You cite no policy. You offer Trumpian rhetoric with an enhanced vocabulary.

You say it all when you say you like "talking economics." Thankfully, your mental masturbation doesn't exit this forum. Larry's is on the business page.

Did you just use "shaming" earnestly? Sir, indeed -- get your shit together.

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

You've fixated on a collateral thing. Summers is not the same variant of bloated jackass as Trump. A reptile probably applies more rigor to his conclusions than does The Donald of Orange. I only lump them together because both have such an utterly undeserved self-aggrandizement complex. One clown inherited a fortune and parlayed it into a garish "empire" of shlock. The other collected degrees, gold-plated wonk positions, and got Bezos to give a blog at WaPo. Neither is worth listening to in much detail, and both are highly irritating in anything beyond minimal doses. Yet neither seems capable of shutting the fuck up in any instance.

But you are correct - Summers has a wealth more collected academic intellect, and though it pains me to concede, I'd have to select him over Trump if compelled to pick one to be stranded with on a desert island. Part of this is because I imagine Larry'd be more whiny than dictatorial. The other part of it is, if it came to survival of the fittest, I'd want the guy I could most easily outrun.

It'd also be more fun "shaming" Larry for lack of survival skill. There is no "shaming" Trump.

Re: Foreman says these jobs are going boys, and they ain't coming back.
 

This is the question. The Comb-over and the Damage Done?

Trump's down 10 points against Hillary. But the impact of him driving so much right wing extremism, coupled with Bernie driving so much left wing utopian hope isn't going away. These strands of supporters connect on certain points and are mortal enemies on others. The only diagnosis is more polarity generally and more fragmentation. And whoever wins being seen as illegitimate by nearly half the county. In other words, four more years of the last sixteen. Only with more war! Be it DJT ot HRC, we're going into the Middle East in a serious way.*


________________
* Obama's only blunder has been Libya. We should've left Gaddafi, the garbage pail lid, on that place. Otherwise, he's been conservative non-interventionist. He deserves more credit for this.

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

What is wrong with a cashless system? Now you're just trying to get me riled up.

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

As it happens, this morning I was at one of the Federal Reserve Banks, speaking to the people there about how they handle cash (in and out). They send a lot of those $1 coins to banks in countries like El Salvador and Ecuador that use the USD as their currency, because the paper dollars there don't last as long.

Re: Foreman says these jobs are going boys, and they ain't coming back.
 

I think I said before, but I will say it again. Trump is great, because he is going to destroy the Republican Party as we now know it. If he gets the nomination, lots of Republicans won't vote for him. If he doesn't, his supporters will be pissed that it was stolen from him and will walk. He has exposed fundamental rifts that the party had successfully papered over. And he won't win. He cannot possibly turn out enough whites to make up for the blacks and Hispanics who will turn out to vote against him, and he is going to damage the GOP with many voters for a long, long time.

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

In twenty seconds on Google -- no, less than that, I can find a page with the columns Summers has written on the FT recently. Don't be an idiot. Whoops! Too late. (See? You got me riled.)

Re: This is immensely entertaining
 

This is why Lindsey Graham is my favorite Republican.

Re: Foreman says these jobs are going boys, and they ain't coming back.
 

Jim Webb.

Re: Foreman says these jobs are going boys, and they ain't coming back.
 

You can still get Bernie at 7-1. Nate thinks he will win the next 8 Dem contests He is the best candidate to lower your taxes.

Re: Foreman says these jobs are going boys, and they ain't coming back.
 

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/06...imbaugh/203898

No one listens to Rush, not even enough to win a R primary. Stern supports Hillary. So no.

Re: Foreman says these jobs are going boys, and they ain't coming back.
 

Some of my best friends are Irish now.

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

Little is not none. And it's had enough that expectations have shifted against the additional rate hikes that were planned for this year.

I know we've had this conversation before, but I'll say it again: you should not read the business page. There is nothing of value there.

Re: Foreman says these jobs are going boys, and they ain't coming back.
 

I'm really not sure why people think Hillary's foreign policy will deviate that much from Obama's. She had a major influence on his, after all, and Bill's was not all that different.

Maybe she's marginally more likely to bomb someplace than Barack, but she's not going to bring us another Iraq war.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

I swear this whole Republican campaign is just downright goldmine for comedians.

http://www.conservativeoutfitters.co...zs-sex-scandal

I find it difficult to believe that six women have wanted to have sex with Ted Cruz, but I suppose everyone has a fetish.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

The whole thing is fascinating. Like, I actually thought Cruz might a Federalist Society evangelical robot who would pride himself in being above such carnal temptations (seriously, he seems like every waking moment of his life has been a plot to gain power).

And then as you say, there's more than one women who would sleep with him?

Which probably means that he's as shocked as we are about that and couldn't bring himself to pass up the opportunities.

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

This exchange is bizarre. I'm going to drop it.

TM

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

I don't like that Apple, Samsung, banks, take a piece of every single transaction. But other than that, I'm all for it.

TM

Re: Foreman says these jobs are going boys, and they ain't coming back.
 

Look, I'm with you. But anything can happen before the election. If there is a large terrorist attack the week before the election, there would be a real danger of us suffering through 4 years of President Trump. Jesus. My stomach just churned at the thought.

TM

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

Without any doubt this is the greatest sentence that I will read all day. I might as well go home and play Halo for the next 14 hours.

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

Seriously? Are you fucking nuts?

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

why do you see choice? I don't want to vote for Hilary but it's starting to look like I might have to.

Re: Foreman says these jobs are going boys, and they ain't coming back.
 

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

I meant Summers' most recent influential policy suggestion. But thank you for making my point: This man never never stops inflicting his views on the world. Which is, of course, his right. Hopefully, as typically happens with saturation, policymakers will grow fatigued and he'll fade into the pantheon of endless chattering annoyances, with Newt, Norquist, Kristol, Krugman, Lindsey Graham, Tom Friedman, etc.

These people make some decent points, but the best of those points are all known already, and are made better by fresher voices. These people need to shut the fuck up and go away. They should take a page from Volcker. Fade into the woodwork and only speak when asked, or when a dire situation in need of a true expert viewpoint is needed.

And speaking of these stale voices... Dear Mitt Romney -- go away forever. You are correct, Trump is loathed. However, you are loathed more. This seems impossible, I know. But somehow, it's true. The nation would rather elect a dishonest career politician or a buffoonish real estate developer than you. You probably don't understand this, most likely because you're a freak with not even the slightest tether to normal America, but you are "charisma anti-matter." The term "stuffed shirt" barely describes your indefatigable vacancy. You wouldn't have a drink with anyone because you can't, but even if you could, no one alive would choose to have one with you. You suck, Mitt. And if you go to the GOP convention and run your mouth off, unlike all the others, you will deserve the tooth-scattering beating you're likely to get from the Trumpkins in the hotel lobby. ...One can only hope it will prevent you from ever appearing publicly again, but this is probably unrealistic. You can't help thinking you deserved to win in 2012. And you couldn't be more wrong. Outside a small cabal of yes men in your campaign, the entirety of the nation understood from before the first vote was cast, Obama was going to beat you like a pinata.

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

FWIW, that was one of the funniest things I read all day yesterday.:D

Re: Foreman says these jobs are going boys, and they ain't coming back.
 

Exactly. I'd prefer it if he destroyed the GOP be Not Getting the nomination at a contested conversation. Or even a Not Contested convention. The risk is just too great.

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

Oh, sure, amigo, to the typical minivan driving, cautiously reliable Ernest out there, plastic is soooo convenient and quick. Well, fine. Heck, when I need to put some petrol in the Deutschmobile, I'll let Hayden's jackboots know that I paid Big Ed's Fina station $47.50 for some high octane, a Cherry Coke Slushy, and a Slim Jim.

But to cats like me and Sebby, swinging free and easy in our Hickey Freeman suits while surrendering to the soft alcoholism that is our genetic lot in life (thanks, Great-Grandpa Seamus, you spud-digging evil bastard!) by swilling Woodford at the Brigham Young Atrium Downtown Omaha with a few divorcees after yet another meaningless corp rep deposition ... uh, where was I? Oh. Yes, Comrade Slothrop, to cats like us, cash is king sometimes.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

This day is awesome. http://gawker.com/a-trump-supporter-...lee-1767089421

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

I doubt this is true, but I hope somehow it is. If Cruz were knocked out, he'd give his delegates to Kasich. Rubio would then do the same. Kasich would get the nomination and we'd have a sane person sunning against a sane person. Imagine fucking that!

Of course, this all assumes Comey doesn't resign. Yep. That's a risk. Hillary will not be indicted, but there is talk Comey is fuming and may resign if she's not indicted. This sort of scandal, along with a still technically viable and resilient Sanders campaign could leave us with Bernie v. Kasich. Still, sane v. sane.

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

It's the simplest logic. Anyone wishing to erode your privacy or further monitor you, in even the smallest fashion, is taking something significant from you, which makes him an enemy (or at least adverse to your interests). The best advantage you have with any enemy or person acting adversely toward you is what he doesn't know about you. We all rarely use cash, but in what circumstance is there ever any benefit to conceding a possible advantage? You never know when you might need it, or benefit from it. Options = Strength. Giving them away is illogical.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

Kasich is only sane in relative terms in that party, but yeah. Delegates for Cruz+Rubio+Kasich would lead Trump 777-754. But I'm not sure the two drop outs can bind their delegates to Kasich (don't know) and not sure that Trump couldn't overcome that lead in the remaining primaries, where he would likely pummel Kasich.

Also: the email thing is a non-scandal. As usual.

But it did get me reading this, which is sort of fun. Let's look at some bits:

Oh really? Well, if Cucc, who is clearly an unbiased expert commentator says so...

Or, obtained materials that were not marked as such and only became deemed to be years later as they were reviewed for release amidst controversy.

It's pretty hard to "knowingly" remove classified materials that are not yet classified, which none of these were as of the time of any of those actions.

ETA: Okay, I moved through this too fast. So, Cucc, that first time, that can't be "knowing" because there aren't yet any materials, much less classified ones. I'm not expert in this area of law, but I'm pretty confident that "knowing" does not mean having perfect foresight of the future. The second and third, what I said before.

Re: Hey Sebby!
 

Despite my riff, I actually agree with you that getting rid of cash is a ridiculously bad idea. Although I admit to a little paranoia, my major reason is that it would just lead to the poor being screwed even more than they are now. I'm too lazy to google, but some scummy employers are already paying their workers with prepaid debit cards that - shocker! - charge the employees a fee that in part - shocker redux! - gets paid to the employer. And most banks have fees and costs that disproportionately hit the poor. (I'm looking at you, BoA, and the way you game your overdraft policies to bounce checks that don't need to be bounced in order to create a profit center.) The unbanked will be even further screwed in the Brave New Cashless World.

To the ramparts!

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

Relatively speaking.

TM

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

The shifting focus of this investigation of Hillary (8 or so different consecutively disproved theories as to why she permitted the death of Ambassador Stevens even though she could have stopped it; followed by State's refusal to provide emails; followed by "holy shit she had a private server!"; followed by ....) reminds me of the shifting theories of Robert Fiske and Ken Starr regarding Whitewater.

Consequently, I am convinced that it will come out (heh) that Hilary Clinton gave Anthony Weiner a blowjob and that Huma made him keep and save the navy blazer from Gap with the physical evidence.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

the original notbob would never write anything so fresh. that notbob posted assuming his wife will one day find and read his posts, so he kept safe.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

These are crazy times. The world is upside down. Not Bob is making blow job jokes, and Sebastian and I are wondering how we are going to buy big bags of green when fat people outlaw Benjamins. Time to slow down, close your eyes, and discover how the Meters can squeeze more funk out of the spaces between the notes than most groups can put into the notes themselves. It's all going to be o.k. The Daily Dose is Cardova:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83do2qf6JEs

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

Agreed. The character's personality really changed when Dick Sergeant took over from Dick York.

http://uploads.neatorama.com/images/...84316859-0.jpg

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

FWIW, while most Oregon dispensaries remain cash-only, a few have somehow figured out a way to accept credit cards. I've yet to see where the big bank lists my weed purchases in its annual by-category accounting.