Gyroscopic Investing

No, this is NOT an Onion piece. It's real.

https://pjmedia.com/trending/list-libs- ... wednesday/

MangoMan wrote:I remember similar events for conservatives when Obama won in 2008.

Then your memory is better than mine, because I don't.

Definitely the best use of their time.

Kriegsspiel wrote:Definitely the best use of their time.

Libertarian666 wrote:

MangoMan wrote:I remember similar events for conservatives when Obama won in 2008.

Then your memory is better than mine, because I don't.

I don't remember ever seeing such silliness as nowadays.

Libertarian666 wrote:

Michellebell wrote:

Libertarian666 wrote:
Then your memory is better than mine, because I don't.

I don't remember ever seeing such silliness as nowadays.

Agreed. On the positive side, the epidemic of Trump Derangement Syndrome has exposed a lot of insane people whose mental illness wasn't obvious before, so we can avoid dealing with them whenever possible.

You got that right. I was at a party one day after the election and when Trump came on the television a friend I've known for years nearly went berserk, yelling and screaming at the TV until his wife finally got him to leave and calm down. Never seen anything like it.

Then there's the recent attack by a neighbor on Rand Paul while he was cutting the grass. His lawyer is saying it wasn't politically motivated but he was known to be a rabid Trump hater just like my friend.

Weird times we live in.

If we're going with personal anecdotes, I've seen modestly more ridiculous reactions to Obama than Trump. I could go into detail, but most of them involve the n-word, accusations of being a Muslim, or just wild predictions of economic collapse that are his fault because he's a communist or close-to (or some combination of the above).

But that's just my personal experience. I haven't seen some of the folks on the left whose mental health seems to rival that of our current President anywhere but in "the media" coverage.

moda0306 wrote:If we're going with personal anecdotes, I've seen modestly more ridiculous reactions to Obama than Trump. I could go into detail, but most of them involve the n-word, accusations of being a Muslim, or just wild predictions of economic collapse that are his fault because he's a communist or close-to (or some combination of the above).

But that's just my personal experience. I haven't seen some of the folks on the left whose mental health seems to rival that of our current President anywhere but in "the media" coverage.

Well, maybe it's just the kind of people I hang out with but when Obama was elected I don't remember any of my conservative-minded friends or co-workers doing anything but saying "life's a bitch" and getting ready to complain for the next 4 years. On the other hand, in the first congressional election when Obama lost control of congress a co-worker went so berserk he started throwing things and ultimately lost his job.

Screaming complete nonsense, as far as I can tell, has always been a bi-partisan sport. "Trope Derangement Syndrom?"

farjean2 wrote:

moda0306 wrote:If we're going with personal anecdotes, I've seen modestly more ridiculous reactions to Obama than Trump. I could go into detail, but most of them involve the n-word, accusations of being a Muslim, or just wild predictions of economic collapse that are his fault because he's a communist or close-to (or some combination of the above).

But that's just my personal experience. I haven't seen some of the folks on the left whose mental health seems to rival that of our current President anywhere but in "the media" coverage.

Well, maybe it's just the kind of people I hang out with but when Obama was elected I don't remember any of my conservative-minded friends or co-workers doing anything but saying "life's a bitch" and getting ready to complain for the next 4 years. On the other hand, in the first congressional election when Obama lost control of congress a co-worker went so berserk he started throwing things and ultimately lost his job.

I think other parts of the country must have a breed of liberal that is limited supply in MN... or I just hang out in more conservative circles. I've never seen anything close to that... from either side really.

moda0306 wrote:

farjean2 wrote:

moda0306 wrote:If we're going with personal anecdotes, I've seen modestly more ridiculous reactions to Obama than Trump. I could go into detail, but most of them involve the n-word, accusations of being a Muslim, or just wild predictions of economic collapse that are his fault because he's a communist or close-to (or some combination of the above).

But that's just my personal experience. I haven't seen some of the folks on the left whose mental health seems to rival that of our current President anywhere but in "the media" coverage.

Well, maybe it's just the kind of people I hang out with but when Obama was elected I don't remember any of my conservative-minded friends or co-workers doing anything but saying "life's a bitch" and getting ready to complain for the next 4 years. On the other hand, in the first congressional election when Obama lost control of congress a co-worker went so berserk he started throwing things and ultimately lost his job.

I think other parts of the country must have a breed of liberal that is limited supply in MN... or I just hang out in more conservative circles. I've never seen anything close to that... from either side really.

Since we are in to anecdotes, my wife's friend who she has known for almost 50 years refused to go on a previously scheduled annual get together with my wife and a third friend (who is also at the 50 years of friendship mark with both of the others) right after Trump was elected because she was afraid the third friend might turn on Fox news and/or crow about Trump being elected (that would not be characteristic behavior of the third friend at all). Talk about Trump Derangement Syndrome ...... there it was in full display.

MangoMan wrote: Is this a symptom of the left, or has the last 8 years changed people so much that an entire generation of snowflakes is all that remains?

I think it's a Millennial thing that correlates to the left because of generational voting patterns but isn't necessarily caused by it.

Basically, acting like a child is trendy these days.

http://nypost.com/2015/07/15/adults-are ... s-to-stop/

In about 1919 "the left" bombed or tried to bomb about 40 politicians and businessmen.

In the 1860's "the left" tried to start a war in Kansas over slavery.

In the 1960's "the left" committed bombings and a whole host of other obnoxious displays of violence or perhaps just immature buffoonery.

In the 1790's, "the left" within France did a huge host of ridiculous things, many of which were horribly violent.

I won't even go into all the communist adventures of the 20th century.

"The left" has always, it seems, had a very violent, obnoxious wing. Sometimes they feel a bit more comfortable making asses of themselves than others.

Conservatives, the whole time, tended to hold institutional power. Conservative obnoxiousness & violence tends to be executed within the institutions they control. Look at things within the military, CIA, religious institutions, etc, for those types of "obnoxious behaviors." They just look less obnoxious because they're done with people who dress and speak professionally rather than protest in streets (ie, they don't wear v@gina costumes to marches).

But now what we think of as "conservatives" don't control as many institutions, so the real "conservatives" are establishment centrists, really (if we're defining conservatives as those who uphold and administer current institutions as being likely useful and important as they must not be terrible if we are still here).

One advantage of this brand of "leftism" has always been how obnoxious and willing to resort to "eating itself" they can get to being. The French Revolution was like this. When you don't value institutions, and don't know how to use them effectively, you essentially fizzle out pretty quick.

All this said, it'll probably always be this way, and constantly worrying about "the obnoxious left" has always been what conservatives have used as an excuse to excuse the pollution, exploitation, colonialism, mass-murder, slavery, corruptions, whathaveyou of their own group. Right now "the right," for lack of a better term, is in power.

I'll worry about some radical Jacobin who wants to change our calendar and abolish religion when they get within a whiff of the presidency.

Tyler wrote:

MangoMan wrote: Is this a symptom of the left, or has the last 8 years changed people so much that an entire generation of snowflakes is all that remains?

I think it's a Millennial thing that correlates to the left because of generational voting patterns but isn't necessarily caused by it.

Basically, acting like a child is trendy these days.

http://nypost.com/2015/07/15/adults-are ... s-to-stop/

I agree with all of this. I think that a lot of the things that the left stands far, such as social "progress" in terms of things like political correctness (something I think can go WAY too far), and government handouts, can become very difficult to reverse because people start to feel entitled. They feel entitled to be protected from hurt feelings, entitled to "free" stuff, etc. To me it looks like how a child throws a tantrum when the parent realizes he/she has been spoiling the child and starts to say no.

As far as anecdotes for me go, I've already shared some of the reactions people have had on Facebook to some of the things I've said, and I said that my mom said she'd be thrilled if Trump were assassinated. After the election, my mom's best friend and her had a rough time because my mom's best friend is very against Hillary, mainly because of her stance on late-term abortion. She's a very devout Christian and I think that was the deal-breaker for her. So she was pretty upset that my mom voted for Hillary, even though she wasn't a Trump supporter either. She just considered him the lesser or two evils.

But then my mom's cousin was FURIOUS at my mom even though she voted for Hillary! That was because he lives in California and we live in Ohio. Since Trump won in Ohio, my mom's cousin was mad at her for "not doing her part" to get more people here to vote for her.

Michellebell wrote:

Tyler wrote:

MangoMan wrote: Is this a symptom of the left, or has the last 8 years changed people so much that an entire generation of snowflakes is all that remains?

I think it's a Millennial thing that correlates to the left because of generational voting patterns but isn't necessarily caused by it.

Basically, acting like a child is trendy these days.

http://nypost.com/2015/07/15/adults-are ... s-to-stop/

I agree with all of this. I think that a lot of the things that the left stands far, such as social "progress" in terms of things like political correctness (something I think can go WAY too far), and government handouts, can become very difficult to reverse because people start to feel entitled. They feel entitled to be protected from hurt feelings, entitled to "free" stuff, etc. To me it looks like how a child throws a tantrum when the parent realizes he/she has been spoiling the child and starts to say no.

As far as anecdotes for me go, I've already shared some of the reactions people have had on Facebook to some of the things I've said, and I said that my mom said she'd be thrilled if Trump were assassinated. After the election, my mom's best friend and her had a rough time because my mom's best friend is very against Hillary, mainly because of her stance on late-term abortion. She's a very devout Christian and I think that was the deal-breaker for her. So she was pretty upset that my mom voted for Hillary, even though she wasn't a Trump supporter either. She just considered him the lesser or two evils.

But then my mom's cousin was FURIOUS at my mom even though she voted for Hillary! That was because he lives in California and we live in Ohio. Since Trump won in Ohio, my mom's cousin was mad at her for "not doing her part" to get more people here to vote for her.

This is what Hillary stood for. Have your mom read this article (one of the saddest I've ever read) and see if she still feels the love for Hillary and her "social progress".

http://thefederalist.com/2017/11/09/cou ... -abortion/

Mountaineer wrote:

Michellebell wrote:

Tyler wrote:
I think it's a Millennial thing that correlates to the left because of generational voting patterns but isn't necessarily caused by it.

Basically, acting like a child is trendy these days.

http://nypost.com/2015/07/15/adults-are ... s-to-stop/

I agree with all of this. I think that a lot of the things that the left stands far, such as social "progress" in terms of things like political correctness (something I think can go WAY too far), and government handouts, can become very difficult to reverse because people start to feel entitled. They feel entitled to be protected from hurt feelings, entitled to "free" stuff, etc. To me it looks like how a child throws a tantrum when the parent realizes he/she has been spoiling the child and starts to say no.

As far as anecdotes for me go, I've already shared some of the reactions people have had on Facebook to some of the things I've said, and I said that my mom said she'd be thrilled if Trump were assassinated. After the election, my mom's best friend and her had a rough time because my mom's best friend is very against Hillary, mainly because of her stance on late-term abortion. She's a very devout Christian and I think that was the deal-breaker for her. So she was pretty upset that my mom voted for Hillary, even though she wasn't a Trump supporter either. She just considered him the lesser or two evils.

But then my mom's cousin was FURIOUS at my mom even though she voted for Hillary! That was because he lives in California and we live in Ohio. Since Trump won in Ohio, my mom's cousin was mad at her for "not doing her part" to get more people here to vote for her.

This is what Hillary stood for. Have your mom read this article (one of the saddest I've ever read) and see if she still feels the love for Hillary and her "social progress".

http://thefederalist.com/2017/11/09/cou ... -abortion/

I briefly skimmed the article. Really I was the one who brought it up but that's a whole different discussion that I don't feel like getting into. Mountaineer I'm every bit as horrified and saddened by this as you are. But I'm pretty certain my mom and others are aware of this kind of thing and still are pro-choice.

Libertarian666 wrote:
One more anecdote: I actually voted for Obama in 2008. I thought McCain was completely off his rocker and would have an excellent probability of starting WW III.

Which is also what I thought about Hillary.

So am I a partisan Democrat or a partisan Republican? You be the judge.

Also, last night I was watching some talk show on TV and one of the panelists was asked how he liked Trump at this point in his Presidency.

His answer: "All I asked of him was that he not be Hillary Clinton. He still isn't, so I'm happy."

My wife and I burst out laughing, because that is exactly our position as well, in almost exactly those words. We thought we were the only ones who would put it that way, but obviously we were wrong!

I think a lot of people have been thinking this too. They dislike Hillary THAT much. I saw an article somewhere from way before the election with a headline that said something like, "Nice Guys Finish Last. That's Why Trump is the Only One Who Can Beat Hillary." And I saw another article written about how we should be so grateful that Trump has accomplished something amazing, regardless of his flaws, for the mere fact that he was able to prevent us all from being under the leadership of Hillary.

I also agree, I don't like McCain. Actually when I think about it I don't think I've voted since I voted for Al Gore in 2000. I was so young and stupid too. I didn't even know why I was voting for him other than I thought he sounded more articulate and my friends and family all voted for him. That's so bad that I haven't been voting! I plan to start voting now that I've been paying more attention. I've never voted for a Republican before but I'm becoming more and more turned off to the Democrats so I'm moving in that direction.

Also, I agree about the millennials. I don't know if I quite qualify as one. I was born in 1982 so if I'm considered a millennial I'm at the oldest end of it. My half-brothers and sisters though are between the ages of 18 and 22....I'd say three out of the four of them are typical millennials. I'm sorry to say this but they are very used to getting their way if they just cry or try to weasel their way out of responsibility. It has been very strange for me to see how much more slack my parents have given them than they gave me. I don't know if it's partly because of the increased technology or the dumbing down of schools or what.

Out of the three that are like typical millennials, I wonder if it's just their ages and they'll mature as time passes. I am hopeful for two of them. One of them, I'm pretty worried.

MangoMan wrote: Here's the difference: The conservatives who disliked Obama bitched and moaned for 8 years. Constantly. But they never went berserk and became violent, felt the need to take time off work or school to cope, or hold ridiculous vigils like the one in the OP. Is this a symptom of the left, or has the last 8 years changed people so much that an entire generation of snowflakes is all that remains?

To be fair, the accusations of Obama being a closet Muslim, not a US citizen etc were not exactly shining examples of responsible behavior. But yes, apart from the occasional private militia groups who tended not to make many public displays, there were not mass protests in the streets. I suspect that's largely a function of age and college attendance.

I do worry about the millennials though. In general and on many topics (e.g. diversity, gender identity) they've been thoroughly brainwashed. Even more concerning, they've been trained to the hilt to be good consumers and corporate citizens.

Examples: When I went to college, my standard of living was extremely basic as befitted a student with low income. Clothes were pretty much limited to jeans and T shirts, and we all ate a lot of ramen noodles. Everyone had summer jobs and most people worked part time during the academic year as well. Now, if you walk onto a college campus it's like watching an Urban Outfitter's ad. My nieces have bigger and more expensive wardrobes than I do. And no one has a job. Summers are now spent attending camps and traveling. Most students have no work experience whatsoever at graduation, which I imagine makes it difficult to get full time jobs and also means they never acquired a work ethic. I see this not only in my own family but also the recent college grads applying for research assistant positions. They list things like senior thesis projects on their CVs, under "work experience".

Anyway this is what I see. Perhaps the millennials on the board can correct me if I'm wrong. But this could certainly explain learned helplessness and dependence.

WiseOne wrote:

MangoMan wrote: Here's the difference: The conservatives who disliked Obama bitched and moaned for 8 years. Constantly. But they never went berserk and became violent, felt the need to take time off work or school to cope, or hold ridiculous vigils like the one in the OP. Is this a symptom of the left, or has the last 8 years changed people so much that an entire generation of snowflakes is all that remains?

To be fair, the accusations of Obama being a closet Muslim, not a US citizen etc were not exactly shining examples of responsible behavior. But yes, apart from the occasional private militia groups who tended not to make many public displays, there were not mass protests in the streets. I suspect that's largely a function of age and college attendance.

I do worry about the millennials though. In general and on many topics (e.g. diversity, gender identity) they've been thoroughly brainwashed. Even more concerning, they've been trained to the hilt to be good consumers and corporate citizens.

Examples: When I went to college, my standard of living was extremely basic as befitted a student with low income. Clothes were pretty much limited to jeans and T shirts, and we all ate a lot of ramen noodles. Everyone had summer jobs and most people worked part time during the academic year as well. Now, if you walk onto a college campus it's like watching an Urban Outfitter's ad. My nieces have bigger and more expensive wardrobes than I do. And no one has a job. Summers are now spent attending camps and traveling. Most students have no work experience whatsoever at graduation, which I imagine makes it difficult to get full time jobs and also means they never acquired a work ethic. I see this not only in my own family but also the recent college grads applying for research assistant positions. They list things like senior thesis projects on their CVs, under "work experience".

Anyway this is what I see. Perhaps the millennials on the board can correct me if I'm wrong. But this could certainly explain learned helplessness and dependence.

Actually I don't think that the talk about Obama's background means that conservatives are irresponsible themselves. I would say that those kinds of questions are comparable to the liberals' discussions about Trump and his son's possible Russian collusion. Overall I think that doubting the news and perhaps getting wrapped up in some conspiracy theories does not seem that irresponsible to me, no matter which side of the fence you are on. At least it shows that the person is being thoughtful and trying to piece information together.

The screaming at the sky stuff and the riots though? It's just so babyish, like these people think that their tantrums will actually make things better. I do think that a lot of the problem with millennials these days is their addictions. I'm guilty of this myself with the internet. That's why you may notice, or have probably already noticed, that I tend to take LONG breaks from the internet. I get so sucked into forums and Facebook and stuff that I find myself more concerned about the virtual world than the real world with human-to-human interaction. Sometimes I have to break away completely or I end up wasting too much time.

On the flip side, I do enjoy discussing things online and can learn a lot of things so I go back and forth. But with many people in my own family, I've noticed that some of them are downright addicted to technology, or actual drugs. I've noticed that a lot of parents in my family and also friends of my parents have been surprisingly, and I think a bit outrageously, lenient with this. I've gone to Christmas parties and vacations where we see relatives only once a year and the teenagers have been glued to their phones or tablets instead of actually talking to anyone there. When I saw that I said we'd have a rule about that when our kids visit with family.

When I was visiting my dad for a once-a-year 4-day summer trip in West Virginia, one of my half-sisters didn't want to go bike riding with all of us because she didn't want to have to peel herself away from the internet. My dad basically told her to suck it up and come socialize with all of us, but about 1 mile into it, she literally threw her bike down and started sobbing. She was 17! And my stepmother was then mad at my dad and made him go back and get the car to pick her up and take her back to the hotel. We ended up all having to wait for him to make the trip so that she could get picked up and we could finally resume our bike ride. My husband and I were like, woah.

But really as far as stories go that is really mild compared to a lot of things I've seen lately with young adults from upper middle-class families and their addictions and how their parents don't know what to do.

I think parenting is so extremely hard so I shouldn't be judgmental. My own kids are super young and wear me out. But still, this is what I'm seeing.

WiseOne wrote: I do worry about the millennials though. In general and on many topics (e.g. diversity, gender identity) they've been thoroughly brainwashed. Even more concerning, they've been trained to the hilt to be good consumers and corporate citizens.

Well, it is in the nature of young people to rebel against the status quo. It just seems grossly unfair to me that the previous generation's rebellion led to a bunch of wanton fucking and drug use, and "ours" is so lame.

omg

I thought this article would be appropriate for this thread.
https://www.hermancain.com/liberals-pla ... p-hotel-in

The lunacy of these people is starting to show no limit.

And in actual news...

https://theintercept.com/2017/11/13/daz ... ing-spree/

Trump’s failure to criticize the widespread executions in the Philippines was not a surprise, given that a leaked transcript of a phone call between the two men in April showed that the American president said that he was calling his counterpart “to congratulate you, because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem.”

moda0306 wrote:And in actual news...

https://theintercept.com/2017/11/13/daz ... ing-spree/

Trump’s failure to criticize the widespread executions in the Philippines was not a surprise, given that a leaked transcript of a phone call between the two men in April showed that the American president said that he was calling his counterpart “to congratulate you, because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem.”

See ... this is just another example of the media dog-piling onto Trump. Who really gives a rip how the Philippines deals with their criminals? That's their problem. Is it really our job to tell them how to do it? But the media would have us believe that Trump is a monster, because he hasn't unfriended Duterte from his Facebook account. To me, it's pretty simple. If you don't want to get executed in the Philippines, then don't get involved in drug dealing.

stuper1 wrote:

moda0306 wrote:And in actual news...

https://theintercept.com/2017/11/13/daz ... ing-spree/

Trump’s failure to criticize the widespread executions in the Philippines was not a surprise, given that a leaked transcript of a phone call between the two men in April showed that the American president said that he was calling his counterpart “to congratulate you, because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem.”

See... this is just another example of the media dog-piling onto Trump. Who really gives a rip how the Philippines deals with their criminals? That's their problem. Is it really our job to tell them how to do it? But the media would have us believe that Trump is a monster, because he hasn't unfriended Duterte from his Facebook account. To me, it's pretty simple. If you don't want to get executed in the Philippines, then don't get involved in drug dealing.

At the very least, apparently Trump "gives a rip." He called the guy to congratulate him on his extra-judicial killings. I didn't see anything about not unfriending him on Facebook. But what else would we expect from someone who bragged about the war-crimes he would commit while in office.

I think who our government chooses to ally itself with is of utmost importance. I also think it's important to identify when Trump is idolizing certain types of foreign leaders.

I don't expect everyone else to have that priority. However, I don't think it's unreasonable for a journalist to highlight these things for those that do. And I would certainly want Hillary's dirty ties (Kissinger, Mubarak, etc) if she were President. This is exactly the type of stuff "the media" should be highlighting, IMO. Many who aren't would be alive today if the American people paid more attention to the despots we've allied ourselves with and why. If anything, there's a dearth of this type of reporting that goes on. This is why Bush II can come on TV and talk about the horrible crimes Saddam committed and have 2/3 of the country support going to war not realizing it was under his dad's watch and support that they were committed.