13 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

 

I think The Atlantic is a pretty mainstream periodical. I know partisans like to point fingers at the other party for all the ills in society but the truth is the past financial crisis had many mothers.  Personally, as bad as government policy was to encourage mortgages by substandard loan applicants, it was just as complicit in its setting of reserve requirements for those who would provide those loans. Ultimately IMO theblame rests on the borrowers themselves for not being cautious with their own finances. That you can not legisate or write policy for.

Banks hired people who aggressively marketed No Income, Jobs or Assets (NINJA) loans to people as a get rich scheme.  Many of these were short-term loans, but banks would use the rapidly rising real estate market (rising most rapidly where the most NINJA loans were used) to justify refinancing the loans.  At every step the banks took their cut, packaged the loans with other good and bad home loans, got the compliant credit rating agencies to label these packages as safe, then sold them as Mortgage Backed Securities.    All this created a real estate bubble, and bubbles eventually burst, in this case in a very damaging manner.

 

At the bottom of this scheme were gullible people who fell for the sales pitches from the bank loan people.  However I think the people and institutions making loans that they knew, or should have known, could not be paid are the ones who were not being cautious with their own finances.  I think a partial solution to this problem is to require banks to keep a substantial portion of the loans they make on their books instead of packaging, over-rating them and selling them.  Banks don't like this solution, and I'm sure that there is no way that Trump and his Wall Street banker administration will require banks to do anything they don't like.

8 minutes ago, KMartinHandyman said:

Yes I look forward to 1077 more days and possibly 4 more years. At the same time I can continue to enjoy this thread on a daily basis.

Are you Russian?  Putin, is that you?

10 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Our very weird president. He never improves. He just gets more and more what he is.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2018/02/06/daily-202-why-trump-flippantly-accusing-democrats-of-treason-is-not-a-laughing-matter

 

 

Speaking of weird, our aspiring dictator wants a grand military parade.  Idi Amin would be proud....

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump’s-‘marching-orders’-to-the-pentagon-plan-a-grand-military-parade/ar-BBIN1Kq?ocid=wispr

 

Big Rocket Man's answer to Little Rocket Man? 

In the above link, Sara Sanders said:

 

“President Trump is incredibly supportive of America’s great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe,” Sanders said. “He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.”

 

So if Trump continues ti throw his temper tantrum and shuts down the government on 8 Feb  because they won't give him his "wall" and it doesn't reopen by the 15th guess who won't get paid!  Most of the military live from pay check to pay check and a government shut down certainly won't please them.  And the circus continues!

Regarding the current results of this poll, keep in mind that as some members have said here, some people both oppose "trump" and want him to finish his first term, because his replacement Pence wouldn't be an improvement. 

 

So a majority YES vote is not the same thing as a majority actually supporting "trump."

 

The only way to measure that in a poll would be a question like:

 

Do you support or oppose "trump?"

7 minutes ago, wayned said:

In the above link, Sara Sanders said:

 

“President Trump is incredibly supportive of America’s great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe,” Sanders said. “He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.”

 

So if Trump continues ti throw his temper tantrum and shuts down the government on 8 Feb  because they won't give him his "wall" and it doesn't reopen by the 15th guess who won't get paid!  Most of the military live from pay check to pay check and a government shut down certainly won't please them.  And the circus continues!

If it looks like a fascist, walks like a fascist, and tweets like a fascist, then it's a fascist.

 

6 hours ago, F4UCorsair said:

 

 

So wikipedia is NOT approved?   I don't think it should be, incidentally, and anybody quoting from it, without substantial confirmation from other sources, is just lazy.

Wikipedia entries that are supported by functioning links to credible online sources are supported by facts.  I have yet to see a Wikipedia entry that is not supported by links to credible sources, and I have never seen the facts of a Wikipedia entry successfully contested.  Many people do not like the tone or facts of Wikipedia entries, but the facts are credible and defensible.

 

I'm sure that Wikipedia has made mistakes, but has corrected them when identified.  Much like the mainstream news sources, which will acknowledge and correct mistakes.

 

Alt-Right "news" sources and hate group websites aren't so scrupulous about providing credible sources.  I'm also not aware of Infowars and similar fake news sites ever admitting and correcting mistakes.

I would choose Pence over Trump. Pence is an articulate speaker. Pence tops Trumps IQ by 50 points, no doubt. Pence would not embarrass the nation every time he opens his mouth. Pence may have some bizarre views, but he is a dignified man. Dignity is a quality Trump only dreams about. He does not have a nanogram of dignity in his entire being. I also believe Pence is less likely to alienate every nation the US has spent decades cultivating relationships with, and less likely to start a war over an ignorant statement. Trump embodies ignorance. He is a circus huckster clarlatan. 

 

Donald Trump. The art of I cannot make a deal to save my life!

I also think it's rational to prefer Pence over "trump" but only because that's the only choice. In some ways he's even worse than "trump" but overall I feel he respects core American institutions, democracy, and checks and balances much more than "trump." Which you could say about almost any other politician that has ever served.  Also I think "trump" is a very bad example for the children. The longer he stays in power, the more young people are going to think a bizarre troll like trump is a normal president. 

Here comes "trump's" biglyest troll move yet.

Oy!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/02/06/trumps-military-parade-will-be-one-massive-troll-complete-with-tanks/

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

More Winning! Getting tired of it yet? What happened to the plan to reduce the trade deficit?

 

Trade 'disaster' worsens under Trump

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/06/trump-trade-disaster-325749

 

Quote

The U.S. trade deficit increased more than 12 percent in 2017, to $566 billion — its highest level since 2008...

 

43 minutes ago, Silurian said:

More Winning! Getting tired of it yet? What happened to the plan to reduce the trade deficit?

 

Trade 'disaster' worsens under Trump

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/06/trump-trade-disaster-325749

 

 

2008?  Which party held the White House then?

9 hours ago, heybruce said:

Banks hired people who aggressively marketed No Income, Jobs or Assets (NINJA) loans to people as a get rich scheme.  Many of these were short-term loans, but banks would use the rapidly rising real estate market (rising most rapidly where the most NINJA loans were used) to justify refinancing the loans.  At every step the banks took their cut, packaged the loans with other good and bad home loans, got the compliant credit rating agencies to label these packages as safe, then sold them as Mortgage Backed Securities.    All this created a real estate bubble, and bubbles eventually burst, in this case in a very damaging manner.

 

At the bottom of this scheme were gullible people who fell for the sales pitches from the bank loan people.  However I think the people and institutions making loans that they knew, or should have known, could not be paid are the ones who were not being cautious with their own finances.  I think a partial solution to this problem is to require banks to keep a substantial portion of the loans they make on their books instead of packaging, over-rating them and selling them.  Banks don't like this solution, and I'm sure that there is no way that Trump and his Wall Street banker administration will require banks to do anything they don't like.

 

Yes, I agree it is much better if banks carry their own paper.  They make a lot smarter choices when they do. It slows lending and realeastate activity in general but what's wrong with that?  I'd like to see a return of moreowner carry RE contracts and loan assumptions personally, but that's bad for the banking industry so probably not coming anytime soon. Many a person has funded their retirement with RE contracts.

 

 I think the mixing of subprime loans and NINJA loans into the wrong tranches of mortgage secured debt and the subsequent misrating of those tranches was a problem, yes. Where banks committed fraud they should have been prosecuted. I'm not sure why they weren't but I can guess.

1 hour ago, Silurian said:

More Winning! Getting tired of it yet? What happened to the plan to reduce the trade deficit?

 

Trade 'disaster' worsens under Trump

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/06/trump-trade-disaster-325749

 

 

  In the same article, 

“When you look in detail at the trade deficit, not only are imports going up, exports are going up. It’s just the fact that the United States is growing at a slightly faster pace than Europe and Japan at this point, or its primary trade partners in Canada and Mexico,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, a financial advisory firm aimed at mid-sized companies. “This is a win-win for everyone.”

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/06/trump-trade-disaster-325749

29 minutes ago, riclag said:

  In the same article, 

“When you look in detail at the trade deficit, not only are imports going up, exports are going up. It’s just the fact that the United States is growing at a slightly faster pace than Europe and Japan at this point, or its primary trade partners in Canada and Mexico,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, a financial advisory firm aimed at mid-sized companies. “This is a win-win for everyone.”

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/06/trump-trade-disaster-325749

That was true during the Obama years as well.  For some reason it was bad then, according to Trump.

7 minutes ago, heybruce said:

That was true during the Obama years as well.  For some reason it was bad then, according to Trump.

Sources please  (For some reason it was bad then, according to Trump)

6 minutes ago, heybruce said:

That was true during the Obama years as well.  For some reason it was bad then, according to Trump.

 

The best case for America is an equal balance of trade. Very negative balance of trade such as today's is generally bad for the $USD. The $DXY is up pretty sharply today however, which means it is either being perceived as not bad or the information was already widely known. 

41 minutes ago, riclag said:

Sources please  (For some reason it was bad then, according to Trump)

Really?  You don't remember all his ranting about trade deficits, promises to declare China a currency manipulator, and threats to pull out of trade deals where the US is running a deficit?

 

How about a source from a news source that loves Trump as much as Trump loves Trump?    

 

" Trump noted that the new trade deficit numbers—the deficit was the biggest in six years at $51.4 billion in March, just announced this week—are another sign the United States is getting raked over the coals on an international level."   http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/05/08/exclusive-donald-trump-disaster-trade-deal-empowers-americas-enemies-another-sign-country-is-going-to-hell/

 

Here are a couple of others:

 

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/330590-trump-trade-deficits-hurt-the-economy-very-badly

 

https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/01/politics/donald-trump-china-rape/index.html

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/11/08/in-beijing-trump-lavishes-praise-on-chinese-leader-touts-great-chemistry-between-them/?utm_term=.69278b49c118

 

In the last one Trump backed off from the "rape" claims and accused past administrations for the trade deficit:

 

“We’ve gotten so far behind on trade with China and frankly many other countries,” Trump said ahead of a bilateral meeting with Xi, before adding he has “great respect” for Xi for “representing China.”

Trump blamed past U.S. administrations “for having allowed it to get so far out of kilter."

4 minutes ago, heybruce said:

Really?  You don't remember all his ranting about trade deficits, promises to declare China a currency manipulator, and threats to pull out of trade deals where the US is running a deficit?

 

How about a source from a news source that loves Trump as much as Trump loves Trump?    

 

" Trump noted that the new trade deficit numbers—the deficit was the biggest in six years at $51.4 billion in March, just announced this week—are another sign the United States is getting raked over the coals on an international level."   http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/05/08/exclusive-donald-trump-disaster-trade-deal-empowers-americas-enemies-another-sign-country-is-going-to-hell/

 

Here are a couple of others:

 

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/330590-trump-trade-deficits-hurt-the-economy-very-badly

 

https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/01/politics/donald-trump-china-rape/index.html

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/11/08/in-beijing-trump-lavishes-praise-on-chinese-leader-touts-great-chemistry-between-them/?utm_term=.69278b49c118

 

In the last one Trump backed off from the "rape" claims and accused past administrations for the trade deficit:

 

“We’ve gotten so far behind on trade with China and frankly many other countries,” Trump said ahead of a bilateral meeting with Xi, before adding he has “great respect” for Xi for “representing China.”

Trump blamed past U.S. administrations “for having allowed it to get so far out of kilter."

I don't read breitbart  I find them very offensive .You should't quote them as a source.Nice try to bait me 

Of course, it's better than watching Dallas when JR got shot.

 

He won fair and square, so why would he not finish?

1 hour ago, heybruce said:

Really?  You don't remember all his ranting about trade deficits, promises to declare China a currency manipulator, and threats to pull out of trade deals where the US is running a deficit?

 

How about a source from a news source that loves Trump as much as Trump loves Trump?    

 

" Trump noted that the new trade deficit numbers—the deficit was the biggest in six years at $51.4 billion in March, just announced this week—are another sign the United States is getting raked over the coals on an international level."   http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/05/08/exclusive-donald-trump-disaster-trade-deal-empowers-americas-enemies-another-sign-country-is-going-to-hell/

 

Here are a couple of others:

 

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/330590-trump-trade-deficits-hurt-the-economy-very-badly

 

https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/01/politics/donald-trump-china-rape/index.html

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/11/08/in-beijing-trump-lavishes-praise-on-chinese-leader-touts-great-chemistry-between-them/?utm_term=.69278b49c118

 

In the last one Trump backed off from the "rape" claims and accused past administrations for the trade deficit:

 

“We’ve gotten so far behind on trade with China and frankly many other countries,” Trump said ahead of a bilateral meeting with Xi, before adding he has “great respect” for Xi for “representing China.”

Trump blamed past U.S. administrations “for having allowed it to get so far out of kilter."

 

Who knew my first visit to Breitbart would come from a link you posted?  Anywho, last week you were pretty sanguine with respect to balance of trade deficits.Why the sudden change; especially considering the $DXY bounce that came with the news?

 

 

My opinion has not changed BTW, Balance of Trade deficits, partcularly of this magnitude are universally bad.

10 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

 

Who knew my first visit to Breitbart would come from a link you posted?  Anywho, last week you were pretty sanguine with respect to balance of trade deficits.Why the sudden change; especially considering the $DXY bounce that came with the news?

 

 

My opinion has not changed BTW, Balance of Trade deficits, partcularly of this magnitude are universally bad.

I'm still pretty sanguine about trade deficits.  I simply pointed out that Trump went from being rabidly opposed before he took office to now being pretty sanguine himself.

1 minute ago, heybruce said:

I'm still pretty sanguine about trade deficits.  I simply pointed out that Trump went from being rabidly opposed before he took office to now being pretty sanguine himself.

You mean he lied? Hold the presses!

34 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

You mean he lied? Hold the presses!

If nobody points out the hypocrisy, Trump supporters will pretend it isn't there.

Trump is now saying that he wants to be interviewed by Mueller even though his lawyers are saying he shouldn't.  I'm fairly sure that his lawyers are urging him to say that hoping that Mueller will agree to some ridiculous terms for the interview, which he won't.  If the interview doesn't happen because Trump won't agree to it it would make him look bad, but if he continues to say he wants it he can blame his lawyers if the interview doesn't happen. I really think that his lawyers want the interview under their terms because if Mueller subpoenas him the legal battle will draw out the investigation for additional 2-3 months and if they lose, which is very likely, Trump will have to go in front of the grand jury and answer any and all questions without counsel present.

2 hours ago, heybruce said:

I'm still pretty sanguine about trade deficits.  I simply pointed out that Trump went from being rabidly opposed before he took office to now being pretty sanguine himself.

In the meantime the trade deficit grows without a viable trade policy from the Trump Administration.  Trump personally lacks understanding of global trade. 

 

http://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/u-s-trade-deficit-shouldnt-annoy-trump-but-it-will

 

You are correct, for years Trump followed Breitbart, was influenced by them and in turn he complimented them.

Enough discussion of sources.  Brietbart is not an approved source.  

13 minutes ago, Scott said:

Enough discussion of sources.  Brietbart is not an approved source.  

Speaking of unreliable sources, here is proof of what we already know about Trump supporters and how they get their news....

 

[They discovered that Trump supporters on Twitter shared more unreliable news than all other groups combined. On Facebook, extreme conservatives share more junk news than all other audiences put together.]

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-supporters-share-more-fake-141800647.html

 

3 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

Speaking of unreliable sources, here is proof of what we already know about Trump supporters and how they get their news....

 

[They discovered that Trump supporters on Twitter shared more unreliable news than all other groups combined. On Facebook, extreme conservatives share more junk news than all other audiences put together.]

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-supporters-share-more-fake-141800647.html

 

From the article:

[These findings suggest that "a small chunk of the population isn’t able to talk politics or share ideas in a sensible way with the rest of the population,” lead researcher Philip Howard told McClatchy DC.]

 

This is why it's so painfully frustrating to discuss anything Trump with a Trump supporter.  I see it on TV and I see it when I talk to friends who are Trump supporters.  They tend to live in an alternate universe.