Merv's Politically Incorrect Audio Blog

Winnie The Pooh is British.

 

I know, but as Americans we will claim him.

 

The word claim has, very very recently, been completely devalued: it now has no meaning.

Tigger may have called Pooh for America, but Tigger is notoriously unreliable. Owl is yet to speak.

All characters will be counted!

 

So what the hell is "Off Balance Sheet Items" and why is there $30 million of it?

 

If someone lends you money, it's a liability, so the money you lend must be an asset. Unless 2D book-keeping gains more dimensions...

Banking and finance world probably have that in hand already? Dr-&-Cr is so 1900s!

 

In response to all the claims that all Presidents/politicians are the same and they all lie, here’s 2 videos from Bernie and Obama that I can’t believe don’t showcase a stark contrast from Donald Trump.

I have a hard time believing anyone could disagree with what Bernie says in this short interview. People are just scared of the word socialism but agree with the actual ideas he has. With the possible exception of universal healthcare. I prefer a non corrupt public option.



and here’s Obama answering a question unscripted, no teleprompter, no script, just thoughtfully answering the question impromptu with surprising insight. I’m not a fan of Obama’s presidency I don’t think he knew how to get things done and create the change he campaigned on. But as a person this is such a stark contrast to trump.




Sorry to distract from @purr1n ’s posts here.

I hope this kind of post doesn’t create discord among us. For the record my opinion of all of you doesn’t change regardless of what your political views are. Most SBAFers seem to be good people and that remains my opinion. I still think highly of @YMO and @ultrabike and @crenca for example despite disagreeing starkly about politics.

 

Rythmdevils, I only made it about a minute into the Sanders video. Trump is not a "threat to democracy" (not that we have a democracy - its representative republic), on the contrary he is democracy in action. People voted for him for a reason, not the least of which is they don't want Sanders brand of progressive hate...and no, at least 50% of the country do not "agree with his ideas". I did listen to professor Obama more. Gerrymandering, money, media vs. 'journalism', and like are not new and "democracy" is in no way about to collapse because of these things. The whole "the system is collapsing!" and "disenfranchisement is everywhere!" is just chicken little used by both sides to deflect from their immediate electoral failures.

I do agree that the legislative branch has been mostly non-functioning since Clinton's impeachment. I think @YMO is on to something with his theory that it is C-SPAN's fault - that camera's transformed the normative business of legislative give and take into a never ending re-election campaign and political theatre. I think it was a GOP senator who recently suggested that they have closed door sessions on basic business (like budgets)...

 

Haha. Well I tried to find common ground. Oh well. Go headphones! There we go. Common ground.

 

I don't claim the theory, I thank my idol Barry Goldwater for pointing this out on his book in the later chapters. Keep in mind the book was written after he retired from the Senate in the 80s, when cameras were started to roll into Congress. However, so many things he hit on (including why he didn't want C-SPAN in Congress in the first place and refuse to vote yes on this stuff) is why he will always have this with me: "In Your Heart, You Know He Is Right."

For those who are left or right, his book is great. Still pretty reverent even today, including him seeing male Senators getting make-up on before they go on in front of the C-SPAN cameras.

 

There is no comparison.

There are politicians who necessarily engage in spin, economy with the truth, even untruth sometimes... and there are pathological liars.

Used to work with a compulsive liar. Different, because it wasn't all to make himself look good... but he couldn't resist regularly putting a whopper on the table. Even when it was not advantage to him. Weird.

I would say that Trump was in a class of his own. As a world leader, perhaps he was. But there are lots of people who do their sales, their marketing, and earn their promotions using the same "skills."

Anyway. Good result. I'm not looking forward to miracles: Obama didn't deliver them, nor will Biden. I'm just looking forward to a world that smells just that little bit better.

(And now... For the Trump side show.)

 

The first populist president is a plump NYC real estate developer with outsized ego, making a lot of noise that people did not like, a lot of bark not very much bite. 4 years was wasted by Democrats, they have nothing to offer to the 48%+ of Trump voters. If the Silicon Valley /Wall Street/green economy does not work for those people, or if the culture wars get out of hand, there will be another populist president.
And that what I am afraid of. Because he or she may be a soft spoken person, never on Twitter, who would use the populist movement to really go after the political opposition. There was a lot of stupid talk about Putin, I do not have any patience for that. But the guys like Putin exist, they are dangerous, and the US is not immune.
And a lot depends on how convincing will be the vote count in Pennsylvania. After 5 years, and increase in the Trump share of popular vote, Americans probably understand that nothing gets resolved by CNN and MSNBC screaming "there is nothing to see here", and Twitter removing content.

 

PUTIN for president 2024!!! He can run the USSA and RuSSia simultaneously!!!

 

Throw in Britain too. Putin would be a huge improvement there!

 

So, leave everything as it is?

 

LOL. When I was a kid in the 1950s we used to blame the Russians for everything, even the weather. Is Boris Putin's fault?

He or she just needs to be a bit more clever than Trump. Plenty waiting in the wings, I'm sure. Nastier and clever.

Like the British tories of today. As a friend said to me a few weeks back: imagine how awful it would be if they were actually competent.

ex-KGB Putin might be one of the most brilliant world leaders of today. But did he slip up loosing Trump? Whom he could manipulate even half awake.