Pretty much anything is almost always possible...and this is a well known rhetorical technique used on people who aren’t super great on critical thinking skills. Personally my facts and evidence standard requires a decent amount of both. To be clear, we are talking probabilities, admitted. I just h...

Again, contradictions. Hundreds of doctors have treated hundreds of patients, right? That’s how we know it’s so successful, right?One in a popular video claims over 400 by her a lone in Houston with what 10 doctors behind her? One can only assume they were legit doctors who agreed in front of the Su...

This is my favorite COVID conspiracy line... the cheap stuff works but we are going to pay billions for the new expensive cure. Who is going to pay that billions (and has paid hundreds of millions) and who is in charge? I am guessing the Hope is Insurance Companies/AKA You.. or the Government/ AKA ...

I’m using Siri here. Everything that I read on the heart issue was it totally depends on size of the dosage. For standard dosages, not an issue. Apparently one has to give extremely large dosages for heart issues. But I am completely going to defer to WiseOne on this stuff. Again back to logic, we d...

This is my favorite COVID conspiracy line...the cheap stuff works but we are going to pay billions for the new expensive cure. Who is going to pay that billions (and has paid hundreds of millions) and who is in charge? There is a small really conceited part of me that wonders can people really not f...

Kbg, What are the reason(s) you believe Trump failed the COVID leadership test? Not asking because I'm agreeing or disagreeing with you, just interested in your opinion. Thx It’s pretty clear that COVID is a bit wack a moleish. But the data is there for anyone who will objectively look at it. Prett...

As for why I will vote for them -- mostly about hope for the future. Pretty sure we are opposite sides of the political spectrum, but generally the party that can convince voters about the above will win and I am in complete agreement. R's used to be the party of optimism and in the 80s (I feel) pu...

Since you are going to vote D I have to ask is it because you actually support the things they are campaigning on (green new deal, free healthcare for illegals, etc) or is it because you think that it's mostly all talk and they aren't going to get very far doing these things if they are even seriou...

Tough crowd this morning. I'm an ex-R who loves to call current Rs RINOs cuz the most popular/national level one are not conservatives at all. Actual conservatism is let others do their own thing, law and order, responsible government, no/small deficits. So let's run the checklist on most current na...

Just finished up a great history book...Hirohito's War. It has been out for 5 years or so but it was pretty good if one is up for a very large book on the Pacific War in WW2. I liked it because it dealt with the entire "thing" vs. the American Navy/Marine narrative that is the standard nar...

Tn is correct, my error.

Can you point me to robust discussion of the integrity of gold and silver ETFs? I think this topic was touched on some time ago on this forum. However, my preference is for commentators who have done deep research, or the like, on these financial instruments. I think this is very timely in light of...

Tyler, Great chart, puts that question to bed. Based on previous SCV discussions, hopefully you know I'm definitely a proponent of trying one's best to make an estimate of what's different. So I'm definitely on board with the "gold history probably doesn't really apply for today's PP until post...

Compared to other options, it is quite low. The critiques on the 1930s out are valid in terms of the SWR being low. The reality is gold data is missing from the 30s to the 70s for the US, but unless I missed something I think he is using the London price of gold throughout the study...so I don't thi...

My guess is you don't quite understand how TIPS work. I would recommend you spend some time learning about them and you will then understand that in most respects they behave like other bonds...there is one difference but I will leave you to discover it.

Yeah the SWR of the popular ports around here was was shockingly low.

I ran across this blog a couple of weeks ago. It's really good. Maybe this is old news, new news for me so I'm posting it.

https://earlyretirementnow.com/2020/01/ ... s-part-34/

Warning...this will not go down well for some.

But does the PP machine need the extreme volatility of LTTs at near 0 rates, and is it worth the extreme risk? I noticed that some have suggested using 50% ITT instead of 25/25 Cash+LTT. I wouldn't do that or even propose it as I think it breaks the workings of the PP machine. For different Interes...

The great thing about bonds is that they are incredibly predictable and by this I mean throw a scenario at them and you know what is going to happen because the math is all there to tell you what will happen. Without a doubt the best prediction for a bond is it's interest rate . It's not even a pred...

The main thing that should be understood is that if you add TIPS you are adding more bonds...full stop. The duration of TIPS is 7.83 while the duration of IEF is 7.64 which is a comparative duration fund consisting of treasury bonds. So if interest rates go up 1% (often due to inflation) your TIPS E...

North of 30% now, cash/STT's dropped below 50% in several accounts so re topped to my allocation of 55%

People value security. Pretty sure new mayors will be defeating incumbents if things get out of control...it will be self-correcting.

Are you guys talking about ending the secret ballot? I think we are talking the system is very antiquated and could use a modernization effort of some kind. In my view, one that is both secure and highly convenient would be nice. In 2016 we were all freaked out about electronic in person voting bei...

Cortopassi wrote: ↑Tue Aug 04, 2020 12:20 pm I find it hard to believe there is a conspiracy to downplay HCQ just because Trump promotes it. But I see how people can go for that stance.

Yeah, me too. The politicization of COVID by all sides really ticks me off when I think about it. It just shouldn't be this way.

@Kbg, I just skimmed the links you provided. The gist seems to be that the number of detected cases of mail-in ballot fraud is relatively small, and you seem to be asserting that we can therefore conclude that it's not much of a problem. However, do we know what fraction of actual cases of mail-in ...