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• Self made $million success stories 1/23/2020 3:51:26 AM
  
  The upward mobility engine seems to still be working fairly well: about 80% of millionaires had parents who were not millionaires, and I suspect this may rise in the next census. The trick seems to be working on something others are willing to pay for and not trying to win instantly (that first million is probably going to take a while). You also probably want to start you own business so someone else doesn't get the profits.

• Property Ownership Rights Thread 1/18/2019 10:56:51 AM
  
  Simple Simon wrote: On a related point, it's amazing how many billionaires not only inherited their fortunes from their parents, but their parents actually inherited it from their parents. Good luck to them. But they then present themselves as these amazing business entrepreneurs - and people believe them. (Sorry, probably for another thread.) Who? Maybe a Ford qualifies.

• Self made $million success stories 1/18/2019 10:10:09 AM
  
  Trump himself won't know what his net worth is: real estate consists of illiquid and hare-to-value assets. You never know what a property is worth until a sale closes. Forbes is guessing, throwing darts. Believing them without evidence is like believing Trump. And no, his tax returns won't reveal anything.

• America's move towards Marriage Equality 6/6/2018 12:16:06 AM
  
  aclayfan wrote: Wedding Cake decision appears to be a very narrow ruling. That's why 2 liberal justices joined with the majority. There is no need to jump off the nearest bridge, yet. It would have been better had the headlines read "Baker wins ruling against anti-religious state commission". The commission had let others get away with refusing to make cakes in similar situations. This is ruling reminds that even though 1st amendment rights are not absolute, they _are_ rights that must be considered and not overridden without compelling reason.

• The 2017 Elections Thread 12/15/2017 2:48:20 AM
  
  Hardware wrote: Alabama was very good news for the Republic, and bad news for Donald Trump, but I wouldn't attempt to take anything other than the obvious from it. I see this as a recognition that Moore would be an embarrassment on the national stage. You can't count on that to win every election. Ir's a lot like the 2016 election:it's now proven beyond a doubt that a bad candidate can in fact lose an election if sufficiently out-of-step with the voters, no matter what the opponent/situation looks like. Steve Bannon is probably the biggest loser here since he's the on who pushed Trump to support Moore. The Republican establishment opposed Moore - even Drudge was against him ("Judge Whore"). Hopefully Trump will see the light and dump Banno...

• Google employee fired for diversity-critical memo 8/24/2017 9:16:08 PM
  
  Sexy Sadie wrote: Being fired for writing a 10-page manifesto in breach of your corporate employer's Code of Conduct seems both inevitable and reasonable. And it's a pretty dumb thing to do. Even dumber to think he's got any legal recourse. Especially against Google. Are we sure he wasn't just fired for being stupid? Except that it's a serious violation of both federal and California labor laws to fire him. Google isn't friendly with Trump and can't assume they'll get a break on the federal side. The laws are specifically intended to prevent conservative company management from attacking employees who have liberal thoughts, but the laws also cover the opposite situation.

• Trump Watch 7/13/2017 8:40:51 PM
  
  FlacFan wrote: <link> - So there was collusion? Edited by - FlacFan on 7/12/2017 3:29:39 PM Collusion just means two or more people privately agreeing on something. It's not illegal and not even really a legal issue. Conspiracy is probably the word you want. That's two or more people agreeing in private to act.c Conspiracy can be illegal if *all* prerequisites are met. The tricky part here is that there has to be a criminal act *they both agreed to*. That means she has to have agreed to the same illegal act he agreed to. At a glance that doesn't seem to be the case which means it can't be conspiracy.

• Trump Watch 7/11/2017 8:35:34 PM
  
  FlacFan wrote: <link> As I said in their comments section, you agree to their terms of service when you join. Among them is proper use of their service which includes the ability to block people. HOWEVER, does blocking people constitute suppressing opposing views, something protected in the constitution? The second he finished the oath in January, Trumps role changed as did the rules he agreed to. Interesting case. To win they need to show that they cannot protest or comment on the forum they chose. They can't do this since they can still Tweet away at will, with whatever hashtags they want. An example is the State of the Union speech: the president need not offer the Oval Office or White House broadcast facilities for the rebuttal speech...

• Why we need to plan for a future without jobs 7/6/2017 12:55:29 AM
  
  Smiler Grogan wrote: Just had a glimmer of hope regarding driverless trucks... ...who's going to unload them? Driving a truck, even long-haul, is probably safe for a decade or more. The self-driving advocates are nowhere near handling a lot of "hard" problems, especially when you are directed by a cop or signage to do something normally highly illegal or dangerous. In the hurricane evacuation from New Orleans, the inbound lanes of I-10 were turned around so all lanes were outbound. A small town cop may direct traffic around an accident by directing traffic to use the "over" side of the road, perhaps crossing the road entirely and drive in or across the ditch. That cop may not have any special equipment or training for self-driving cars. An...

• Trump Watch 6/14/2017 11:26:16 PM
  
  Is the black lady in the background the one refusing toe renounce White Nationalism? FlacFan wrote: <link> I Linked that here because they are gathered around their <link> : <image> Edited by - FlacFan on 6/14/2017 3:24:06 PM

• The 2016-2017 NBA Thread 6/14/2017 11:20:25 PM
  
  Dread wrote: I really hate this narrative going to about LeBron's failures in the finals. There was only one year where he really SHOULD have won and didn't (11 against the Mavs). Magic went to nine finals and lost four but they don't give Magic crap for losing those 4. LBJ is on the same pace as MJ in championships.

• The 2016-2017 NBA Thread 6/3/2017 9:48:27 PM
  
  Mass Facialties wrote: Mercifully, the Western Conferene Finals is over, Warriors sweep. With the outlook of the conference, who's to say that the Warriors won't win this conference for another three years straight? If Kawhi Leonard didn't get hurt in Game 1 nobody takes this for granted. The Spurs were doing OK until then, in spite of not having Parker, and despite this being what passes for a rebuilding year in San Antonio.

• Game Over for the Climate 6/3/2017 9:19:53 PM
  
  Pieps wrote: Trump: “It is time to put Youngstown, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, along with many, many other locations within our great country, before Paris, France.” How did this guy ever get to be pres? By telling a lot of people in Youngstown, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania etc, that their jobs were more important to him than whatever happened in Paris, France. Lesson to the ruling class (both parties): voters like it when you talk about trying to keep them employed. Many have pointed out that lifting sanctions on Russia without getting anything from Russia is not normal. Um, Obama & Iran? Cuba? Edited by - jrv on 6/3/2017 9:21:03 PM

• Obama Illegally Spying On Americans For Years 5/29/2017 7:07:28 AM
  
  Hardware wrote: I'm a tad confused. Wasn't the NSA already scooping up all electronic communications under GW? There is a vast difference legally between domestic and foreign communications. It's new and illegal for the NSA to capture domestic communications without a warrant.

• Trump Watch 5/29/2017 6:47:08 AM
  
  FlacFan wrote: <link> Not since FDR's communications with Churchill while Churchill was still First Sea Lord. Why is it so strange to want a private channel while Obama still controls the NSA?

• Trump Watch 5/29/2017 6:37:02 AM
  
  FlacFan wrote: Why the fuck would we want to <link> our dependency on foreign oil by selling off our reserves? Dependency? The US is now a net exporter, and this is a major reason for the worldwide fall in oil prices. Selling the reserve would lower prices further and hurt Iran, Russia, Venezuela, ...

• Trump Watch 5/29/2017 6:27:44 AM
  
  FlacFan wrote: <link> Way to go Donnie. [/quote Merkel's comments were apparently made for domestic political reasons. Strange she would say that at this time - even Trump wasn't that inflammatory at the meetings. We'll see what clarification Spiegel has this week.

• The 2017 French Elections 5/7/2017 7:57:49 PM
  
  Smiler Grogan wrote: Of course, one big difference between Sunday's election and November's US election is that in France, The biggest difference I see is that French voters could vote against Le Pen without having to vote for the ruling class.

• Trump Watch 4/7/2017 6:47:37 PM
  
  El Jefe wrote: jrv wrote: Bill Clinton did the same thing, for the same reason,in the 1990s. Ah yes, the retaliation for the attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania....... No. Bill Clinton launched an airstrike is retaliation for a gas attack on the Kurds in northern Iraq.

• Trump Watch 4/7/2017 6:42:36 PM
  
  Hardware wrote: While I'll grant that you have cause to question Trump's bromance with Putin, avoiding any accident involving Russian forces is just common sense. Exactly. And it suggests the military staff had a lot of say since I doubt any of Trump's civilian realize how crucial this was., as well as making sure Putin knew no immediate military response was needed. It's also why North Korea is so hard to deal with. China is next door. And a nuclear deterrent on Iran is constrained since an ICBM launched from the US would overfly Moscow, and a sub launch from the Indian ocean near Africa would launch towards Moscow....