ck4829

ck4829's Journal

February 28, 2020

Maybe, I dunno, we should stop using the Dow as a measure of the economy

Say you have a thermometer, you have it outside, and it...
* Shows a temperature that is 70-80 degrees (Fahrenheit for future reference) and there is snow outside and frost on the ground
* Varies wildly, you look at it and it changes a whole 15 degrees every time you look at it
* Shows this pleasant temperature of the mid-70s, but you are freezing cold or about to have a heat stroke
* Is somehow manipulated to show a pleasant temperature

Then there is something wrong with the thermometer or there is something wrong with your ability to read the thermometer or make an informal/unofficial/perception-based gauge of the temperature outside and compare it to the thermometer.

You would say this. You would call it out.

So why then, do we allow this for the Dow as a barometer of the economy?

Compare and contrast:
* The Dow is doing X despite Y and compare that with other records
* "Oh, the market is just being volatile"
* "The markets can be manipulated"

And you know, my problem isn't with the markets or the DJIA, it's with us... Why are we not able to say "Get your act together or we will no longer use you as a barometer of the economy"?

February 17, 2020

If Michael Flynn wants to withdraw his guilty plea, which he made in part to guarantee his spawn

AKA Michael Flynn Jr AKA the Republican Anwar al-Awlaki protection from prosecution...

Then shouldn't that part of the deal now be off the table as well?

The records also include FBI reports showing that Flynn’s son Michael Jr. delivered information and data from the consulting firm to the firm’s lawyers on several occasions as they were preparing foreign-agent filings that prosecutors say were untruthful. It is unclear from the documents whether Michael Flynn Jr. was familiar with the contents of the materials or was simply acting as a courier.

The younger Flynn was never charged, but Powell has argued that the decision by the retired general and Defense Intelligence Agency chief to plead guilty in 2017 was driven in part by concerns about his son being targeted by prosecutors.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/07/doj-michael-flynn-jail-six-months-095584

February 17, 2020

Needs to be said how conservatives are all for "law and order" until they are on the wrong end of it

Dinesh D'Souza
Michael Flynn
Roger Stone
Donald Trump
And more

They all love to preach about how we need "law and order", how they run on it... until they are on the business end of it.

Then law and order suddenly made a mistake or it was part of a conspiracy against them.

Honestly, this phrase, unless it's criticizing it or discussing this fact, it *should* be a dead horse trope.

Why isn't it?

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Member since: Sat Mar 20, 2004, 11:37 AM
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