Walker88

You are dealing with people who drink box wine out of a beer mug while celebrating their Call of Duty score with a bucket of extra crispy KFC. Try to be more understanding. They all lost the Birth Lottery. And remember, until AI robotics really kick in, we still need truck drivers and janitors. Who but MAGAs ? Since you're here, the 1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is now drinking very well, almost to the level of the 1990 vintage.

Seems the dementia is setting in fast. You should have either taken better care of yourself, or chosen a better gene pool. It wasn't too long ago the State of NY found 34 instances of cheating. For fun, try Googling "34 felony convictions", and guess what name might pop up. Oh, and in the past he was convicted of a cheating scam regarding an eponymous "university". Then there's his fake "charity", where he was convicted and fined for fraud. Absent court verdicts against him, you will find more than a hundred instances where subcontractors accused him of cheating on payments, but they did not have a rich daddy to fund their legal fees. On a personal level, you will find lots of folks who discuss his golf game, and his lack of adherence to the rules, which is revealing of his lack of character. You might also ask his wives about his serial philandering, though he wasn't "convicted", of course. When Stormy spoke of 'mushrooms', you can be damn sure his current (former softcore porn model) wife knew he cheated.

So if you're wife is raped by a gang of MAGA Incels, you "make peace" by giving her to them on weekends? That is what you expect Ukraine to do in the face of wanton aggression. I guess all you cucks are MAGAs. Real men fight for what is right. Cowards capitulate to aggressors.

Wrong. The "conservatives" have the fat. Most couldn't climb a flight of stairs without gasping. Plenty of us "lefties" have weapons and have used them on behalf of the country being destroyed by the clown in the White House. I have absolutely no problem culling traitors.

Been sniffing the diesel fumes again, eh? Come on...where's your "Commie", "Marxist", "Stalinist" drivel?

I looked at the data by sector. The biggest impact in having inflation come in at 2.8% vs a higher expectation was a drop in energy prices. The reason energy dropped is because the market is pricing in a Recession, and thus less demand for energy. I did note Rent was up at 4%, egg prices at an all time high, and the effect of a 30% jump in steel prices and a 20% jump in limber prices since the end of January did not yet impact the February CPI, as it takes a while for wholesale prices to filter down to the consumer level, which is the CPI. The MAGA spin on this just makes them look as intellectual empty and ignorant as they are. Kind of like their love muffin, who barked about whomever it was who signed the energy buying deal with Canada. Turns out it was 45. It seems senility in the old coot is rising faster than the price of eggs.

If 47 attacks Greenland, I'm siding with the Vikings. I think that's the most righteous and noble use of the skills the govt taught me, and which I unfortunately found reason to use in the past. Culling me some MAGAs sounds like it will make this world a better place. Since attacking a NATO ally would be an illegal order, good men and women in the US military are not required to follow that order.

Yet more hyperbole from our resident truck driver. I guess I didn't see all those "lefties" melting down. I did note that some people think it's a bad idea to fire air traffic controllers, when there are thousands upon thousands of commercial flights per day, plus thousands of private pilots in the air. As for misinformation, is that anything like claiming the 2020 election was rigged? I did see terrorist MAGAs meltdown when they refused to accept their love muffin got his butt kicked by Biden, so they beat cops, stormed the Capitol, shat on the floor, and tried to hang the sitting Vice President. Now THAT sounds like a meltdown. Then MAGAs melted down for 4 years as the Biden economy boomed, unemployment tumbled, the stock market soared, infrastructure got rebuilt, and millions of jobs went unfilled.

Wait! What's that? Did I hear that since 2020, the US under Biden grew at 3 times the average of the G7? And inflation came down faster? And UE ran <4% for 41 months, the longest streak in 64 years? And Biden presided over the highest level of job creation ever? And both consumer spending AND consumer saving increased? Whoa! That is some serious carnage. I'm sure the new POTUS can turn all that around and bring us back into the Recession he left for Biden, and likely going after Herbert Hoover and leaving a Depression in his wake.

I'm one of those lefties, and no, the CPI number did not piss me off. I looked at the data and saw the major factor leading to the "below expected" figure was falling energy costs. Was that due to POTUS? Maybe, because the market is anticipating a Recession (due to his silly trade war) and that is reflected in falling demand for energy. I noticed egg prices are at an all time high, rent was up 4%, and even bacon isn't looking good. But please take one data point and plot a graph into perpetuity. I believe the CPI looked pretty good in early 1930, too. Sadly, it wasn't a cause for optimism. I know what's coming, and it ain't pretty. Of course I will enjoy schadenfreude, as MAGAs suffer worst of all. Sometimes the only way to beat sense into someone's head is to beat them in the head. It's a good feeling to be wealthy and diversified, as immune as anyone can be from the insanity that is this POTUS. Have a nice day. Hope you loaded up on equities yesterday during the Dead Cat Bounce.

Not a student of history, I suspect. There are such things as generational tops, like US 1929 and Japan 1989. You can even go back in time---thanks to the internet---and see what those "experts" called economists said about both markets, not only before the collapse happened, but in their initial stages. Economists are all named Rosey Scenario, with their worst case being "a collapse is a buying opportunity". (For people so 'awake' you believe nothing said by the MSM, you don't suspect an economist at a bank might have an incentive to be positive?) Often that is true, not not always. It's usually after the fact absurdities become visible. Joseph Kennedy remarked about some of the market absurdities in 1929, and an economist spoke of "a permanently high plateau" (dead wrong). In Japan, my favorite absurdity was that a woman in Osaka, who owned a small, 6-table sushi restaurant, borrowed over $1 billion from Industrial Bank of Japan to "buy stocks the gods told me to buy" (her words on her loan application). She bought her last deity-recommended stocks at Nikkei 38,915.87. Yes, she defaulted. Many banks in Japan were taken down by similar absurdities. The US has its absurdities hidden behind the curtain still. Federal debt is massive, but until the current POTUS decided to alienate the marginal buyers of that debt PLUS have folks lose confidence in the markets and rule of law, the debt was manageable. Nobody ever expects sovereign debt to be repaid, but so long as it is serviced, even higher levels are sustainable. Japan Nat Debt to GDP dwarfs the US, but the yen is suddenly a safe haven currency (or maybe we're just seeing the unwinding of the carry trade). POTUS once remarked that if needed, he would default on foreign-owned US Treasuries, He said it live on CNBC. That is now being remembered, as he utters absurdities about "50% tariffs on Canada, unless they agree to become the 51st State". The various asset classes have done well over the last decade----from equities to RE to bonds to crypto---because Central Banks have been printing 24/7. Also, everybody levered up, whether corporates or derivative traders or crypto "investors". Market falls are exacerbated by leverage being unwound. Oh, and then there's that little thing called AI, which is going to obviate both unskilled and even much skilled labor. In the 19th Century, when farm labor was obviated, displaced workers had the Industrial Revolution ready to absorb them. Physical labor was taken over by factories. AI is going to obviate intellectual labor. Now add up all the corporate and consumer debt, look at the funding of LT assets with shorter term money by US banks, the $960 trillion nominal value of derivatives, $280 trillion in visible worldwide debt in a $60 trillion world economy, and a POTUS doing his best impression of Misters Smoot and Hawley, and the odds of a generational top in equities rise. It almost makes one reach for that cliche "Perfect Storm". If you're 18, wealthy, and don't need the money, go ahead and keep buying dips. Maybe when you're 50 you'll break even. What's the past tense of break? Oh yea, broke. If you're already 50, you may pass that way. Yes, there are always Cassandras, but if you know the tale, you know Cassandra turned out right.

As Abe Lincoln said, you can fool some of the people all of the time. Abe must have known MAGAs were coming in the future.

MAGAs seem to overlook the fact that the clown doesn't even understand tariffs. Just over the weekend, on his way back from golfing, he told reporters of how Americans would get "billions and billions of dollars from countries paying our tariffs...so much money you won't even know where to spend it." Now if I am kind (I am not), I would say he's just lying to his base and trying to fool them again. Less kind, the guy is an abject idiot. I'm beginning to think that we've seen a generational high in the equity market, similar to 1929 in the US and 1989 in Japan. Bad policies and poor leadership exacerbate the tumbles. The market is not trading like a temporary blowoff (such as 1987 or when Covid hit in 2020), which tends to lead to recovery. It's kind of slow bleeding, followed by a dead cat bounce or two, then more bleeding. That is not a good sign. Neither is it a good sign when all the pundits, even the amateurs, speak of it being a "buying opportunity". The first people to leave are not panicking; they're just smart. Losers average losers, and other losers wait (hope) to at least have the market move back to their buying price. We may not see December's market highs for 20 years. After 1929 it took until 1954 to see new highs. In Japan it took from 1989 until 2024. If one is age 50 or above, better to get liquid than hope and pray, unless you want your golden years to be in penury. Also, if you're heavily in US$, be careful. POTUS could well destroy it as the reserve currency, as he scares off international capital and investment, forces the Fed's hand into money printing, runs up massive new deficits with his proposed tax cuts, etc. If there's a right way and a wrong way for each issue, rest assured POTUS will do it the wrong way. He's uncannily consistent in that way.

This is the only correct answer here. We are biological machines, nothing more. Levels of neurochemicals, and their cycles, are what constitute "happiness" or lack thereof. There is some nonsense here about "rich people are the unhappiest". And those who believe that know that how? One aspect of unhappiness is stress and the hormones it makes a body release. Less stress increases the likelihood of decreased cortisol and other hormones the body experiences as "unhappy". Rich people have less stress on average, as there are no worries about paying bills. Some, but not all, rich people strive for more and get envious about guys like Bob and his Rolex and harem. No one size fits all, rich or poor. The only thing that counts is the mix of hormones and neurochemicals. Too much of any neurochemical leads to satiation, and even the "feel good" hormones lose their effect. Dopamine is the anticipatory hormone. It affects mood when one is about to engage in something known to be pleasurable. It manufactures excitement, which is a form of happy. Get that pleasure, and out come the endorphins or oxytocin, which are felt as "happiness" in a slightly different way than dopamine. Too much of any neurochemical, and the body becomes enured to it. So there is such a thing as happiness, but it's biochemistry, not philosophy. Many factors can affect production of these neurochemicals, some of which are environmental, others can be controlled to a limited extent via the mind-body connection. Some people are generally "happier" than others, some more "unhappy", depending on what neurochemicals are predominant in their body.

After the election, we were told we would enter a time of both great growth and "lib tears". It didn't happen. MAGAs are the ones crying, while libs are chortling. Of course the current carnage we are experiencing was totally expected, at least by those higher up on the evolutionary scale than turnips. The whole (sane) world is laughing at him. I suspect the next few days will see POTUS doing a number of silly things. He will waffle on tariffs, apparently unaware that other countries are no longer listening. He will most certainly blame Biden, and might even add Obama and Clinton. He will attack late night talk show hosts who make fun of him, claiming "nobody watches their failing show anymore" and that they are "without talent". That will lead to a ratings boost for already popular Colbert, Kimmel and Meyers. He has already ordered his Commerce Secretary to change the manner in which GDP is calculated, in the hope he can fudge a plus number out of what will surely be a minus. He might even close the stock market, or else claim the decline is a result of something like "illegal short selling by George Soros". POTUS' playbook is dog-eared and stained with ketchup, as he dredges up the same tired rant each and every time anyone suggests he's not the guy he expects people to believe he is. He's a loser, and he's bringing that uncanny talent for failure to the entire country. Expect lots of 2am EST rage tweets. Should produce lots more laughs in the liberal community.

Not being a fan of any deity myself, I do note that POTUS has committed all Seven Deadly Sins and broken at least 9 of 10 Commandments, and possibly all ten. Given his whackadoodle policies, I can't say those are anti-Christ, but they are anti-American. If I know anything at all about the world's various superstitions, it's that to a one, POTUS is the kind of person every faith warns against becoming.

I thought I knew what the meaning of “great” is, but apparently, I need a remedial course in semantics at POTUS’ eponymous university, as right now I’m quite confused. I never would have thought a slowing economy on the verge of Recession or worse, a collapsing stock market, and alienation from former allies and friends equates to great. Neither would I have thought the world needs fewer air traffic controllers, or that treating veterans like vermin constitutes great, unless they really are just “suckers and losers”. Seeing a brain-addled, likely ketamine-addicted clown lose half his net worth in 2 months is kind of entertaining, but that’s not great. Quite funny, yes, but the better angels in me do worry about inheritance for his ever-growing herd of weirdly named spawn. Maybe POTUS gave us some hint when he answered a few questions aboard AF1 yesterday, or his White House issued a press release, but that also makes me wonder if I know any mathematics at all. “Great” must be hiding there somewhere. When asked about the possibility of a Recession, POTUS ‘reminded’ us that “you’re going to get so many billions and billions of dollars from countries paying tariffs…you’re going to be so rich, you won’t even know where to spend all the money” (I bet the answer, if there is one, is at an online MAGA store schlepping Chinese-made goods that avoid the tariffs.) That comment had me reaching for my copies of David Ricardo and Adam Smith works, because I am obviously confused about the nature of tariffs. Maybe if I sniff glue, OD on ketamine, or pop lots of Adderall I will see the light, as MAGAs do. The press release that puzzled me had to do with the southern border, and a claim that illegal crossings are down “more than 100%”. Silly me, I thought percentages were limited on the downside. Must be the Even Newer Math. Perhaps it has something to do with fluctuating currency exchange and that Mexico finally ponied up for the wall that was never built. Or maybe he sent his trans-looking 3rd wife back to Slovenia or Slothvenia or the Sloth Republic or wherever it is she was lab manufactured. I’m not woke, but when I see her, I realize the species is due for some new pronouns. I can suggest a few, such as Ice Queen or Black Widow Wannabe or Whodatb!tch. Anyway, so far this “great” thing is a bit too subtle for me to appreciate. I can see it’s making many of the MAGAs orgasmic, but most anything will do that to Incels. The bar is set low for guys so far below the mean they have to look up to see down. As I write this, market futures are down again, Tesla has dropped another 3% from its Monday close, Consumer Sentiment is at a 4 year going low back to the Covid Era, Unemployment is rising, countries who are tariff targets of POTUS’ ever-changing policy are decisively imposing their own tariffs now, steel prices are up 30% since the end of January, lumber futures are up 20%, eggs are being sold online for $7 apiece, and in a time of bird flu, the new Agriculture Secretary advises Americans to buy their own chicken and keep it at home. I guess that’s the new way to stem pandemics: spread it around. If all that’s “great”, then somebody please give me a little George Thorogood and Bad to the Bone.

You're the kind of guy who---if your wife was being raped---would just tell her to give in and enjoy it. In your world, that's knocking some sense into her. Unlike you, Ukrainians are brave men and women, willing to fight for their freedom, rather than submit to a psychopath and live on their knees. Maybe a MAGA store has designer knee pads for sale. Get yourself a pair.

There is just no way to predict what the reaction will be when an Italian sees pineapple on a pizza.

Trying? The clown's a natural at failure. Blew his massive inheritance and didn't file a positive tax return until Mark Burnett made him a Game Show Host and created a fantasy silly enough to fool MAGAs. He took a growing economy with 4.8% UE and left Biden a Recession and 6.8% UE, all while running a debt total that not only was considerably higher than US GDP change, but equaled 41% of the debt raised by the first 44 Presidents. Broke an 80+ year streak by being the first POTUS since Hoover to leave office with fewer Americans employed than when he entered. To create that degree of carnage is a gift. He can do it again, too, albeit much worse, as he has no guardrails in this second iteration. He will tank the equity market, obliterate the US economy, make the UE rate soar, alienate foreign buyers of US debt instruments (foreigners currently fund 30% of the US budget deficit) so that rates rise despite any Fed action, and reintroduce Americans to two terms: Stagflation Depression. If abject failure and economic calamity are what you want, he's the man. As that Bond song goes, Nobody does it worser (sic)

That explains why you MAGAs are so obsessed with us "lefties".

UNFAIR! (Isn't that the MAGA wimping cry?) A guy who got into Harvard on merit, who was good enough to get hired by Goldman Sachs, vs a willfully ignorant, diarrhea mouth clown whose daddy got him into Wharton, where one professor---before the bozo was elected, but just a Game Show Host---said this POTUS was "the dumbest student I ever taught". Advantage: Canada. More likely America becomes the 11th Province than Canada becomes the 51st State. (But the FLOTUS will still pine for a real man in former PM Trudeau).

Do you have one of those special Sony infrared cameras that could see through objects like clothes? What insight gives you this special ability to see through "BS and MSM propaganda? Weren't you a nurse? I'm not sure how that career gives you such psychic powers and insider knowledge. I'm guessing you just suffer from goal-seeking cognitive bias and maybe some Dunning-Kreuger, that lets you believe your intellect is much higher than the reality. Is Putin Satan? I'm going to guess the people of Chechnya would say so. So would most Ukrainians. So would the family and friends of Alexei Navalny, Anna Politkovskaya, Boris Nemtsov, Alexander Litvinenko and probably even Yevgeny Prigozhin, among others. I might even add Sergey Naryshkin to that list, though Naryshkin will keep his mouth shut. Or maybe you're in favor of sending missiles into schools and hospitals, believing all those cute little children are really Nazis. Or maybe you're a Bible-thumping Evangelical, who thinks if your deity can send tsunamis that kill 400K, a guy responsible for killing more children than that must be "all-loving", too, or maybe just has a Master Plan or works in mysterious ways.

Honesty.

Are you a criminal? Maybe a pedo? Everyone from your country is a criminal, right? That's what I read in the history books, so it must still be true today, yes? Perhaps you're in the late stages of dementia, but WWII ended 80 years ago. The Vichy French are pushing daisies. I'm going to guess you've never worked with anyone in the French military or intel services. NOBODY who has actually worked with the French doubts their courage and ability. Drive around the small towns in the French countryside, and every little place has an obelisk near the Mairie's office, listing the names of those who gave their lives on the battlefield in WWI or the Resistance/Free French in WWII. Why don't you go to one of those towns and announce all French are cowards. Oh, and just buy a one way air ticket, because you won't be coming back (except after your momma sets up a GoFundMe to repatriate your remains.)