Taking Stock of Trumpism: Where It Came From, What It Has Accomplished, and Where It Is Going

This video is very entertaining and informative.

https://youtu.be/pzXJi9-1SUs?t=3m44s

Re: Millennials embrace socialism

Duke Clampett Two things:

1 Economic progress alone is a poor indication social development. We have a system that is very dynamic economically but the profits are distributed extremely unevenly. In the past the poor and marginal were able to pull themselves up by their industry, but that is becoming less and less possible. Our system favors 1% of the population and leaves the other 99% behind. We have an economically robust system that is broken.

2 It makes sense that the younger generation who looks around and sees a broken system would look for alternatives. Socialism, which at least on paper promises greater egalitarianism, would look attractive. Whether that analysis is correct or not doesn't matter, it is easy to see how they got there and why. It is an understandable conclusion.

Personally, I can't fault the younger generation for wanting a system different from the one we're leaving them. We've not left them much to admire.

Manage

Like

 · Reply · 3h

John Coffey Greg,

Free enterprise has been by far the best system to bring people out of poverty. I take this as self evident, but you only have to compare relatively free nations to Venezuela and Cuba, which are amoral systems. The typical poor person in this country has a mobile phone, a microwave oven, a color TV, a car, and sometimes cable TV.

I also take it as self evident that as government spending increases, economic growth goes down. People have done studies, but just comparing nations shows this. This is also common sense because governments misallocate resources. Many people have said that we should be more like Europe, but the average GDP per capita in Europe is half that of the United States. (Before you bring up Nordic countries, they have achieved some measure of success by embracing free markets, and in some cases they had to cut taxes to boost their sluggish economies.)

I don't think that it is true that 99% are left behind. A great many people prosper under a free enterprise system. 

If you are concerned about disparity of wealth, then you have some sympathy from me. I do not want the country to turn into a banana republic where the wealthy control the political system. If you look at the causes of disparity, in recent decades corporations have come to rely on government for some sort support, either financially or in keeping out competition through regulation. I don't think that the solution to the problem is more government, but less.

In theory, I believe in the Libertarian non-aggression principle that says that each person is entitled to do what he wants just so as he does not interfere with the same right of others. Free enterprise is a system of voluntary exchanges, for example I might exchange my labor for money. Government achieves its aims by force, for example if it were to subsidize something then the exchange is no longer voluntary because the government takes the money by force.

In theory, if someone else is entitled to my money then I become a slave to that person. (Please read:https://townhall.com/.../19/evil-concealed-by-money-n1025884). Libertarians believe that we own ourselves. Therefore anything we produce with our body we also own. If someone else is entitled to the fruits of our labor then we become a slave to that person.

As a practical matter, I differ from pure libertarianism. I don't think that the social safety net is going away anytime soon, nor should it. The political system in the United States will not allow it, and more importantly, we as a society have become too dependent on public charity. I know too many older people who could not survive without it. Some countries, such as Hong Kong, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein have done quite well without public charity, which means that it is theoretically possible, but I don't see it happening here. If you look at the voting record of Republicans, despite what the Democrats may say about them, they are all welfare-statists.

Going forward, my only real concern about the free enterprise system is how artificial intelligence and automation is going to affect the labor market. Although we are hearing predictions now, we won't really know until this plays itself out.

Best wishes,

John Coffey

On Thu, Jun 14, 2018 at 3:56 PM, John Coffey <john2001plus@gmail.com> wrote:

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: utahtrout

Capitalism has been the most dynamic force for economic progress in history. Over the past century, it has delivered billions of people out of miserable poverty, raised living standards to once-unimaginable heights and enabled an unprecedented flourishing of productive creativity. But among young Americans, it finds itself on trial.

The University of Chicago's GenForward Survey of Americans age 18 to 34 finds that 62 percent think "we need a strong government to handle today's complex economic problems," with just 35 percent saying "the free market can handle these problems without government being involved."

Overall, 49 percent in this group hold a favorable opinion of capitalism — and 45 percent have a positive view of socialism. Socialism gets higher marks than capitalism, though, from Hispanics, Asian-Americans and African-Americans. Sixty-one percent of Democrats take a positive view of socialism — and so do 25 percent of Republicans.

Contrast the millennials' opinions with those of their parents. A survey last year found that only 26 percent of baby boomers would prefer to live in a socialist country. Among young people, the figure was 44 percent.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chapman/ct-perspec-chapman-young-socialism-capitalism-20180520-story.html

Victor Davis Hanson - The Mythologies of the 2016 Election

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7pQdqPzozc

John Lasseter is out at Disney by year's end

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKBTJ4tiuEc

Adam Carolla: Don't Make Things Worse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i6LA-7mi9M

Charles Krauthammer reveals he has weeks to live in heartbreaking letter

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/06/08/fox-news-star-charles-krauthammer-reveals-has-weeks-to-live-in-heartbreaking-letter.html

The UGLY TRUTH About Tipping & Why You Shouldn't!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joM-hQkM-W8

​Opinions on this?​

Who owns the world?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2hyLO7LtHE

In 5 Years Robots Will Take Your Job! What Then?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01ofjPtBlk4

Political Correctness is Destroying Star Wars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6-i2_08DeM

Fwd: The US and its court's have gone insane

Trump blocking Twitter users violates Constitution, judge rules

U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled that Twitter serves as a 'designated public forum' and is protected under the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/23/trump-block-twitter-users-ruling-604462

Interesting video

I thought that the comments in this video, although maybe controversial to some, were interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTwm4IIBGPI

In response I wrote this:

"Interesting comments and well said. I don't have a problem with gay characters, but I don't find them particularly interesting either. An example might be Jack Harkness in Torchwood. Making him overtly gay doesn't seem to me to add to the story and for me feels kind of forced and boring. Had they toned it down a little it might have added an air of mystery to the character. However, I am sure that some people thought that this was an important part of his character. I might have a problem with putting gay characters in a movie if it just feels forced to push an agenda, like for example in a kids film. I liked the character of Harvey Milk, since the movie is not only a biography, but homosexuality was an important part of the story. Having gay characters in The Walking Dead felt right to me, because it represents society in general. "

--

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

Re: Great Border quote

That kind of statement makes the president sound like someone who flies off at the handle.  I agree with him, but hearing that the president engaged in a "tirade" doesn't install confidence.  The fact that it went on for 30 minutes makes me wonder about his stability.

On Fri, May 11, 2018 at 12:04 PM, utahtrout  wrote:

Trump lashed out at his Cabinet, and Nielsen in particular, when told that the number of people arrested for illegally crossing the Mexico border topped 50,000 for the second consecutive month. The blowup lasted more than 30 minutes, according to a person with knowledge of what transpired, as Trump's face reddened and he raised his voice, saying Nielsen needed to "close down" the border. 

"Why don't you have solutions? How is this still happening?" he said, adding later, "We need to shut it down. We're closed."

Trump's tirade went on so long that many present began fidgeting in their seats and flashing grimaces, 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-unloads-on-homeland-security-secretary-in-lengthy-immigration-tirade/2018/05/10/f0ded152-54a0-11e8-9c91-7dab596e8252_story.html

"The president is committed to fixing our broken immigration system and our porous borders. We are a country of laws and the president and his administration will enforce them," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement on Thursday.

Nielsen, in a statement on Thursday, said she shared Trump's frustration that "existing loopholes and the lack of Congressional action have prevented this administration from fully securing the border and protecting the American people."

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/11/homeland-security-chief-kirstjen-nielsen-was-close-to-resigning-new-york-times.html

You  have both houses of Congress. The Whitehouse should write a bill that closes the loopholes and fibres the authority... now!

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Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

My descent into America’s neo-Nazi movement -- and how I got out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM6HZqQKhok

​The good news keeps coming for Trump.

​​

The good news keeps coming for Trump. The economy is booming. Not only should Trump win a Nobel Peace Prize for bringing South and North Korea together, he should be up for the Nobel prize for economics, too. Has any world leader in history earned both in the same year?

We found out on Friday that the U.S. unemployment rate fell below 4 percent — the lowest since 2000.

ADP also reported that, in April, U.S. private companies added more than 200,000 jobs for the fifth month in a row. Demand for labor remains solid across every industry.

Obama bragged nonstop about quantity — never mentioning that his job growth consisted mostly of crappy, low-wage, part-time jobs that required food stamps to survive. Trump's new jobs are great jobs. Manufacturing, mining and professional service jobs led the way in the April report. Over the past 12 months, manufacturing has added 245,000 high-wage jobs.

Incidentally, the black unemployment rate fell again — to the lowest in history. And the gap between white and black unemployment narrowed. It turns out Kanye West is a man of wisdom. Donald Trump is far better for the black community than Obama ever was.

The Democrats' response? Bring up Stormy the porn star. It's all liberals want to talk about. CNN and MSNBC have given Stormy wall-to-wall coverage for the past 60 days.

The result? Trump and the GOP are exploding in the polls. Blue wave in November? Not anymore. This obsession with Stormy is a disaster for Dems.

As of Friday, Trump was at a robust 51 percent approval at Rasmussen. That's far above where Trump was on the day he was elected. It's also far above Obama at the same point of his presidency.

Another poll shows Trump's evangelical Christian support at the highest point in history. So much for "the Stormy effect."

Still another poll shows black male support for Trump has doubled from 11 percent to 22 percent since West announced his support for Trump.

Still another poll shows Democrats have lost 9 points with millennials since the election. Millennials believe the GOP is better for the economy. This is an electoral earthquake.

A new Morning Consult poll shows Republicans winning everything in the U.S. Senate. A nine-seat sweep is within reach. Five incumbent Democrat senators are losing by 5 points or more. Four other incumbent Democrat senators are statistically tied. "The Stormy effect" is bringing down the entire Democratic Party

https://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/opinion-columns/wayne-allyn-root/commentary-democrats-facing-storm-clouds-on-the-horizon-in-effort-to-bring-down-donald-trump/

The Inevitable Failure of Communism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CfbK9b4b5Q

Analysis of Fallacies in The Avengers: Infinity War

Spoilers ahead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DeddavaPXg

North Korea's nuclear ambitions met their match in President Donald Trump

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/north-korea-s-nuclear-ambitions-met-their-match-president-donald-ncna868831

AAA reports record high hit-and-run deaths, points to distracted driving

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-hit-and-run-deaths-rising-20180426-story.html

Our Single Point of Failure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqJnTPz8-Lc

​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_jkeWgtZ18​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dOwHRlwlHQ

We need more FAT superheroes!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s0u_EVICwc

In 2018, People Consider The Simpsons' Apu A Problem. That's The REAL PROBLEM. #TheProblemWithApu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwm_1NT-1k4

Webpage of Youtube shooter

For about a year there has been an issue over Youtube "demonetizing" content providers, which is taking away advertising revenue from anyone on youtube who may be in the slightest way controversial.  This demonetization has mostly hit conservative presenters, because apparently Youtube has been attacking "alt-right" content, or anyone who remotely resembles the "alt-right."  (BTW, the term "alt-right" only initially meant alternative media sources that are ultra conservative, like Breitbart which invented the term, but this term got co-opted by racist groups.  As a result, now the term is only used pejoratively to imply racism, with people on the left using the term to attack conservatives.)

Webpage of Youtube shooter:  http://www.nasimesabz.com/

​Commentary on shooter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBdUVD7gN_Y

Eric Liu: Why ordinary people need to understand power (or how to live in an authoritarian society.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd0JH1AreDw

"Nazi Pug" Guilty Verdict

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9sH-3AoF88

Fwd: Deplorables part 2

Steve Hilton: Hillary Clinton's 'Deplorables 2' moment and why it matters for America's future

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/03/17/steve-hilton-hillary-clinton-s-deplorables-2-moment-and-why-it-matters-for-america-s-future.html

The World Is Better Than Ever. Why Are We Miserable?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvskMHn0sqQ

https://medium.com/future-crunch/global-inequality-is-getting-better-fdbfde215b73

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/03/sullivan-things-are-better-than-ever-why-are-we-miserable.html

Beware of Phishing scams

In the last month I have been getting a large number of scam text messages telling me that there is a problem with my craigslist account, or my bank account, or that I have a text telling me that I have a message on Facebook, with a link that looks like Facebook, but isn't. The link looks like:

http://notification-facebook.someOtherDomainName.com

This scam is trying to get me me to give away my login name and password. The way you know it is a scam is to look at the domain name, which is the part before the ".com" or ".net" or ".info", which shows that the link is not from Facebook, or your bank, or whatever.

I can't think of a reason why anyone would need to click on a link in a text message. If your bank has a problem with your account, chances are they will send you an email. However, these kinds of phishing scams happen in emails too, and sometimes they are harder to spot in emails. What I do with an email is look at the who the sender is, which should be the same as the service, like "facebook.com". Even with these you have to be careful that it doesn't say something like "facebook.com.scammer.com".

I remember around 2004 I feel for a scam in an email, which was ransomware. I should have known better, but it is easy to slip up. It locked up my computer and then offered to sell me a "virus checker" to fix the problem. I took my computer to a repair shop instead.

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Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

Jerome Adams

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Adams

20% of people in federal prisons are illegal aliens

The Department of Justice's Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has an operational process for maintaining data regarding foreign-born inmates in its custody. On a quarterly basis, BOP supplies this information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE, in turn, analyzes that information to determine the immigration status of each inmate and provides that information back to BOP.

Out of the 185,507 inmates in BOP custody, 39,455 (21 percent) were reported by BOP as foreign-born. Further details regarding these 39,455 foreign-born inmates are as follows:

20,240 (51 percent) were unauthorized aliens who are subject to a final order of removal;

14,979 (38 percent) remain under ICE investigation;

 2,374 (6 percent) were unlawfully present and now in removal proceedings;
 
1,852 (less than 5 percent) were lawfully present aliens

​.​

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/departments-justice-and-homeland-security-release-data-incarcerated-aliens-94-percent-all