patrick.net

John Bailo says

hat more than anything says it all. Republicans are a collection of individuals who cannot bind themselves together approaching anything like the size and rigidity of the Centralized State of the Democrats, hence, we're everyone who can't fit in the slots. At the same time, we would never try to sqeeze into something like that.

Which means that in a democracy -- even one as frail as ours - your ideas will be marginalized and discarded.

Homeboy says

Since the DOW is currently above 16,000, a huge runup represents a smaller percentage of that total number, yet it is still a huge runup.

No it's really not. Percentage terms are a much better gauge than absolute numbers for obvious reasons.

tatupu70 says

No it's really not. Percentage terms are a much better gauge than absolute numbers for obvious reasons.

Is that what investors were thinking in October of 2007 too?

The DJIA had *only* climbed from 11100 from 2/17/2006 to 14016 on 10/11/2007

That's*only* a 27% gain of its value over the same time period as the period before the 1929 crash.

New Renter says

Is that what investors were thinking in October of 2007 too?

The DJIA had *only* climbed from 11100 from 2/17/2006 to 14016 on 10/11/2007

That's*only* a 27% gain of its value over the same time period as the period before the 1929 crash.

I'm not even sure what you are implying here? Investors (should) buy and sell based on future projections of profits/cash flows. Not based on the point gain in an index over some arbitrary time period.

tatupu70 says

mell says

When the debt ceiling is restricted you cannot spend because you know you cannot pay back

All evidence to the contrary. What the hell have we been doing over the last 10 years then???

Extending the debt ceiling usually more than once a year.

APOCALYPSEFUCKisShostikovitch says

Robber Baron Elite Scum says

ApocalyspeFuck can lick my hairy old butthole. I will never be in handcuffs.

FUCK YOU, SATANIC OLD FUCK!

You're going to the superman in Florence, CO in a wedding dress to be presented to cannibal neomazi serial killers as their new bride.

In your dreams nancy-boy.

I own the private prison CORPORATIONS.

I decide who get's thrown inside those cages full of savages.

Guess what?

Your on the list, peasant.

We will first give you a full sex change operation. Estrogen shots, full body and face laser hair removal, facial feminization surgery, Adam's apple removal, Vaginal construction...

And than we will give you a wedding dress and a 100 different husbands to test drive your new tight wet pink transsexual pussy.

All the medical expenses will be financed by me.

Enjoy the orgasms from your new pussy.

PS. If you catch any nasty STDS like clap, herpes and maybe perhaps HIV... The medical expenses will be on me for their treatment. I want to keep you alive as long as possible.

John Bailo says

Also, show me one really funny joke that SNL has done about Democrat politics in the last 5 years.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/09/29/snl_mocks_obamacare_rollout.html

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/08/saturday-night-live-lampoons-al-sharptons-politics-nation/

https://screen.yahoo.com/weekend-eliot-spitzer-000000704.html

Ceffer says

It seems a lot of parents, after raising them, spend the rest of their lives bribing them to stick around, or following them from place to place.

Isn't this phenomena known as the Boomerbang kids? Young adults, who never seem to blossom into true adults, as a result of knowing that there's always a place to go back to, than to deal with the reality of sharing 3 bedrooms with ex-classmates, dealing with annoying entry level jobs, the commute, and so forth?

Already on my long list of reasons not to have kids.

They don't call it Florence for nothing.

You forgot extracting teeth, to get that extra special suction that 300 lb. tattooed inmate bubbas crave so much. Even the warden jumps in.

tatupu70 says

Percentage terms are a much better gauge than absolute numbers for obvious reasons.

But that's my point entirely. It doesn't seem "obvious" to me at all. What are these "obvious" reasons you speak of?

What seems obvious to me is that the indices move up over time as a general rule. So obviously, as the values get higher and higher, the movement up and down is going to always be ABOVE a certain threshold. I would consider it a virtual impossibility that the DOW would crash all the way down to 41, as it did in the 1930s. So why would we want to consider a movement up or down as a percentage of the ENTIRE value, when the range of movement is only above a certain level? As I said, that would imply that the movement could potentially be in the entire range of that value - that it could potentially move down close to zero - which isn't a practical possibility.

tatupu70 says

Investors (should) buy and sell based on future projections of profits/cash flows. Not based on the point gain in an index over some arbitrary time period.

So you don't think there is ANY value in analyzing markets as a whole, no matter how bloated they become? Does common sense never enter the picture, even when you are paying a million dollars for a tulip bulb? How well would this strategy have worked in 2008?

You don't recognize ANY pattern in this inflation-adjusted graph? Are there any times in history where the upward slope is this steep, that didn't result in a correction?

Homeboy says

But that's my point entirely. It doesn't seem "obvious" to me at all. What are these "obvious" reasons you speak of?

It's pretty simple. If your investment consists of $10K of the DJIA:

Case 1-- Bought index at 1000, then lose 200 points
Case 2-- Bought index at 10,000 then lose 200 points

In Case 1 the value of your investment is $8K
In Case 2 the value of your portfolio is $9.8K

Do you see why percentages are better now?

Homeboy says

You don't recognize ANY pattern in this graph? Are there any times in history where the upward slope is this steep, that didn't result in a correction?

Put the correct scaling on the Y-axis and get back to me.

Call it Crazy says

Here we go with percentages again....

OK, which sounds better??:

Company A reports 100% growth in sales from last month

Company B reports 1% growth in sales from last month

By "percentages", who has had better growth??

If you made investment decisions based on "percentages" only, like in the this example, which company would you put your money in??

Now, lets look at absolute numbers:

Company A sold 1 widget last month and sold 2 widgets this month

Company B sold 100 widgets last month and sold 101 widgets this month

Still think percentages are a better obvious gauge??

Not withstanding that this is a poor example, the answer is probably yes. The price of a company that sold 1 unit is probably pennies. So, if it increases sales, the price will rise much faster than the company that went from 100 to 101.

But, in any event, we're not talking about company sales--we're talking about the DJIA index.

Call it Crazy says

No, YOU were talking about percentages being a much better gauge than absolute numbers (which it isn't). Doesn't matter if it's sales or the DJIA, the math doesn't lie...

lol--I really can't believe you can't get this. I'm not sure I can explain it any more plainly. If you can't see the difference in a 100 point fall when the index is at 10,000 versus when the index is at 1,000--I don't think I can help you.

Call it Crazy says

the math doesn't lie...

By the way--you are correct about that. I just don't think you understand how the math works.

mell says

Extending the debt ceiling usually more than once a year.

depends on how often they want to pull our chain.

mell says

When the debt ceiling is restricted you cannot spend because you know you cannot pay back

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=s9e

the "debt limit" is just BS.

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=s7P

blue is GDP, red is debt less Fed and SSTF.

"It's pretty simple. If your investment consists of $10K of the DJIA:
Case 1-- Bought index at 1000, then lose 200 points
Case 2-- Bought index at 10,000 then lose 200 points
In Case 1 the value of your investment is $8K
In Case 2 the value of your portfolio is $9.8K
Do you see why percentages are better now?"

No, I only see that using unadjusted dollars is wrong. That doesn't prove using percentages is right.

" Put the correct scaling on the Y-axis and get back to me"

Huh? What do you think is wrong with the scale? It's an inflation adjusted chart. That may be why it looks strange to you.

I am sick of both. Both parties spend excessively, both parties favor NSA, both parties are in favor of massive free trade agreements and shipping even more jobs offshore.

The United States will borrow money to pay its bills till it collapses from debt. Until then there is no other way of convincing a fiscally and morally degenerate electorate to stop borrowing money. 17 Trillion plus is the tip of the iceberg that would sink any ship. 100 Trillion plus in unfunded liabilities is a tsunami. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Give me Liberty says

morally degenerate

Returning to the OP, here we see the other side of the Republican civil war, and the reason why Republicans have lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections. If you insist on insulting other people's "morality" (a term that people define very differently) and especially if you insist on attacking their families, don't expect them to vote for you. Misguided "morality" crusades are red meat for Republicans, even more rotten than the rotten fish that Democrats impose on everyone. The difference between midterm and general elections is around 40 million voters; within the Republican party, a plurality of primary voters can lick the blood off their rotten red meat and nominate candidates who might win a midterm, but can't win a general election.

OK, let's start by clarifying "world" vs "1st world." I read a bit about the various definitions of 1st world countries, and the most neutral seemed to be countries with the biggest GDP. The top three are USA, China, and Japan.

Prior to Obamacare, the USA already had EMTALA, which "gives" emergency care to everyone, but then even "charity" hospitals attempt to collect ridiculous prices from anyone who can pay. Where they can't get blood from a stone, EMTALA hospitals are paid via Medicare, i.e. hospitals that choose to accept Medicare must comply with EMTALA. They can make so much $$$ off Medicare that they almost all opt into it. Now, with Obamacare, we are seeing the construction of new hospitals with no emergency departments so they can profit off Obamacare elective procedures without having to sully their hands providing emergency care to the 30 million Americans who will remain uninsured (without even counting the 10 million undocumented aliens).

#2 is China. They are in the process of reforming healthcare, but they do have emergency medical insurance paid partly via government, with copayments by individual citizens both for the insurance itself and to the providers.

#3 is Japan. They don't have single payer. The government regulates provider prices, and prohibits insurance companies from taking a profit on basic medical insurance. Everyone can buy insurance via either their employer or municipality. In theory, everyone is required to buy insurance, but there is no penalty for the 10% of individual persons who choose not to buy it.

Many books and articles have been written about the diversity of medical care around the world, and the diversity of payment mechanisms. The subject does not lend itself to blanket statements. Someone with Dan's perseverance could probably work through more of the 1st world countries, but an Internet forum comment doesn't usually merit the time; anyone actually interested can read elsewhere. By veering into medical insurance, you are veering off topic in your own thread; Republicans are not having a civil war over the merits of Obamacare or other systems around the world, but rather about what to do with tea party fanatics threatening to shut down the entire federal government here at home.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/6roDPt1WYYY

a seemingly respectable man questioning the hook

bgamall4 says

William that interview should put New World Order Zionist Bigsby to shame, but he has no conscience.

Says our resident adulterous evangelical/conspiracy nut. And I'm not going to waste my time watching another crackpot conspiracy video, but I'm impressed by how you managed to watch a 45min video in less than 20 minutes.

bgamall4 says

Bigsby says

And I'm not going to waste my time watching another crack pot conspiracy video

Oh, a cop who knows what he is talking about is crackpot? You are a total ass.

How would you know that seeing as you haven't even watched the video? And is this your typical appeal to authority? Why should we believe him any more than an ex local government worker like yourself?
You are both loons who don't believe anyone was killed.

Ha. You posted exactly 20 minutes after the original poster. You watched the first couple of minutes and then posted up, didn't you?

And to save me the bother of watching yet another wingnut spew out conspiracy nonsense, why don't you post up the key points that make his testimony so compelling to you?

And if nobody died, you should feel confident visiting Newtown and grilling the parents. Get packing and send us your report.

Oh, and do you mean this police report? Looks very classified.

http://cspsandyhookreport.ct.gov/

zzyzzx says

Already on my long list of reasons not to have kids.

Call it Crazy says

once the kid leaves, you change the locks on the house....

Along with the above, what I'd begun to notice is how unmotivated kids are these days.

When I was 10-13 years old, I was thinking about writing screenplays, recalling the George Lucas 'Star War' originals or even mystery novels, like Sherlock Holmes, etc, and then, also dreaming about science experiments and so forth.

Today, all I see from my friends' children is playing video games, collecting a room full of worthless disposable toys, and watching cable all of the time. How pathetic and lame!

My parents never encouraged me to do creative stuff, so I'd channeled my energies, instead, into schoolwork, sports, science projects, with the idea of getting a scholarship to some science/engineering school later.

So if having kids in 21st century America means raising a bunch of useless slackers, then you can count me out.

Call it Crazy says

Rin says

So if having kids in 21st century America means raising a bunch of useless slackers, then you can count me out.

It's 100% in your hands how your kids turn out... You mold them into the adults they end up being....

I don't think so.

If you recall the 1980 Lake Placid Hockey team, the idea any group of upstarts, if motivated, could beat the world champion USSR team, a.k.a. *Miracle On Ice*, is no longer a part of our culture.

My parents weren't the best parents. And thus, we never sat around the fire, talking about some illusory tale of surviving the London blitz & so forth, but yet, I've turned out better than many of the kids of my cohorts today.

Back in the time, the world around me, was more inspiring and uplifting, than the garbage we have today with reality shows, constant hype about money making 'net denizens (like Mark Zuckerberg), or pop stars.

Today, we have an best, a faux culture and what that encourages are wannabes and copycats. And thus, even the best parents, have little chance of making their kids better than the society around them.

"oppositional defiant disorder"
How about keeping me out of this discussion? lol

The 'state of gestapo Connecticut.' What a complete and utter idiot you are.

And if I was one of the families concerned and someone like you actually did come up to me and asked me the sort of moronic things you say on here (which you are far too chicken shit to actually do face-to-face), then yes, I would consider it harassment. You, of course, are such an imbecile that you think they are legitimate questions. I'd love to see how legitimate you thought they were if your kid had been murdered.

And was that not an official report that I linked to? The one that you claimed was 'classified' by the FBI.

The other 86% live with their Ont. It pays more from social services as a foster parent.

“Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers.”
attributed to Socrates dialogue on education in Plato's book IV

I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint.
attributed to Hesiod (8th century B.C.)

Youth have been considered spoiled and indulgent for 3000 years by people misremembering their own youth. With today's economy, the huge cost of rent relative to wages, intense competition for jobs, and the obscene burden of student loans on the average college graduate I'm surprised only 14% live with their parents.

Today's generation is being crushed by the burdens placed on them the self indulgent baby boomers (ashamed to say my generation). Pretty amazing the baby boomers that went to college for free or a couple hundred dollars a semester, the ones that drove real estate and rents to astronomical levels to heloc their toys, the ones who drove tax burdens through the roof to pay for big balls macho military, the ones who sent all the decent jobs offshore to jack their stock portfolios are complaining about the work ethic of the people stuck with the bills.

When I got of of school minimum wage was 3.35 an hour and a decent apartment was $250 a month. Now it's 7.25 and the exact same apartment (I'm using the apartment complex my mother has owned since I was in high school for this comparison) is $1100. Sales tax 0-3% vs 7-9%. Only a few states had income tax and it was low. I bought a brand new VW rabbit (Golf) for $5100, same car today is 20k. My first house was 22k, the same size house in the same town is 120k right now. Taxes on said house were $400 now $3000. In the early 80's I was making 35k as a programmer and that was about average. Today median is 56k.. People I knew made $20 an hour on assembly lines with high school education At best salaries have doubled (and many blue collar jobs have either lower wages or have disappeared completely) in the last 30 years while the cost of living has tripled or quadrupled.

I'm sorry, but people in college and in their 20's have a lot less opportunities and are facing a much lower standard living than when I was that age. All the people bitching just don't want to admit it, they like to believe they were better people or harder workers.

bgamall4 says

bob2356 says

If it's impossible to confirm it's true then it's impossible to confirm it's not true so your supernovae theory is in the shitcan.

I just gave you a link above showing they are lucky to find 100 supernovae remains in a year. That small number makes no sense if the universe is 10 billion years old. There should be over 300 million supernovae and there simply are not that many.

Nice deletion feces for brains.

The man is an optimist.

Facebooksux says

I would LOVE some deflation.

Who doesn't want a new Porsche 911 for $20,000, or a mansion in New York or Beverly Hills for $100,000?

It won't much matter because you'll be unemployed and broke.

Homeboy says

No, I only see that using unadjusted dollars is wrong. That doesn't prove using percentages is right.

Look harder. The gain in the stock market isn't solely due to inflation.

Regardless, the point has nothing to do with inflation:

DJIA is at 16,154
S&P 500 is at 1,839

If both went down 100 points, would it affect investors the same?