birdog1960

and your comments were so cogent! might be a good idea to study some statistics. but i'd never pegged you for a nyt reader.

most liked comment on nyt report on the murders: America is becoming Afghanistan. People are armed to the teeth with high power military style weapons. Anyone can buy guns just about anywhere. No restrictions on ammunition purchases. Armor piercing ammo is readily available. Many states now have both open carry and conceal carry and many of those do not require a permit or any training. Law enforcement is terrified of the pubic. The public is terrified of law enforcement. The government through police brutality openly oppresses certain minorities. Politicians have lost respect for law enforcement when they don't get a politically desired conviction. We have state sanctioned dungeons called prisons that are busting at the seams from overcrowding. We do nothing to counter massive inequality and hopelessness which breeds contempt and lack of respect for government. We are on the verge of electing a demagogue for president who knows nothing but talks tough and rails against everything. His opponent ignores legal requirements of office for convenience. Congress is completely dysfunctional, accomplishes nothing and thinks its job is to gum up the works so no problems can be addressed. This is done in opposition to the duly elected leader whom whey have no respect for. Mass shootings have become commonplace. About the only hurdle left are roadside IEDs and suicide car bombs. All because of politics, fanatic ideology, corruption in the form of campaign financing and lobbyists, and a misinterpreted 2nd amendment.

stymied at nearly every turn on social issue with one big exception.

I think this is way off topic. it's more about the pervasiveness of racism, classism and informal caste structures throughout society. the underclass has become much too large. too many people see no hope. but I agree that order is dependent on mutual respect, belief in fundamental fairness and hope. those things are in short supply in much of America right now. I don't believe it's about the police per se. they are just the misidentified symbols of unfairness in the country and the most accessible authority figures. As I've said before the unrest will hit the gated communities last even though those that hold significant blame often reside in them.

you're probably correct. and therefore our solutions would be aimed at different problems. therefore, no point in discussing it. kinda like what's happening in Washington....

it's a start. presumably you are agreeing that there are fundamental problems with the fabric of American culture, through and through. agreed? without that premise established, there's no point discussing solutions.

the reactions in the shoutbox and this forum well illustrate the problems in American society. we've got posters denying any big problems after the equivalent of a war on a large us city street. we've got posters merrily describing going to whitest show in town tonight and bragging about it. then we've got people with conscience actually mourning the losses and the shape of American culture. we should all be mourning and searching for root causes, short term and long term answers. instead, some make jokes (some racist), others throw partisan bombs. it's disheartening.

your family must be so proud. especially if they value disingenuity.

"It only took some simpleton at PBS to recognize the problem 7 years later and publish a piece," oh, now i see. you believe branham wrote the article seven years ago and the editor sat on it til brexit! sure. not bloody likely. he wrote this in the last week. brexit dates it. you're shameless but it's hardly surprising given the track record of so many of your non academic colleagues. "Who here has ever argued that central banks don't manipulate the markets? Oh that's right you and the gator idiot." "If anything that's been a huge issue for many people here who understand what they're talking about. And now you finally recognize that government intervention has negative effects, and you !@#$ing have the nerve to call me out on it." perhaps you should work on your writing communication skills cuz anyone but the sycophants here would likely conclude from this quote that you were conflating govt and central banks. "Elizabeth Warren also went to Harvard and she's a moron when it comes to finance. Central banks don't print money, idiot. That's why using proper terms is important". ibid. see above. "And for the last time, stop misapplying Picketty's analysis of 19th century Europe to modern economies." so in your weasel style you haven't actually stated that pikkety withdrew his recommendations on wealth inequality. and then you demand that i prove a negative. weasel. prove that an editor wrote those words? once again, it's impossible to prove a negative. you made the far fetched assertion, you prove it. insufferable... and finally, does an adjunct professor equal an associate professor? google it ,you might learn something, he has more than impressive degrees. he has the esteem of colleagues at some of the most prestigious centers of learning in the world since they hired him as a peer.

not elitist at all. publicly calling a respected colleague a simpleton is stupid no matter your position at that particular moment in life. it's especially stupid if you can't articulate your reason for doing so.

what helps is justifying outrageous statements with reason. lacking that the classics won't help but are always worth reading.

are you respected enough to call a fellow farmer a simpleton? one with better stock, better equipment and better and more land? would you then still be respected?

since you insist on being disingenuous, let's review some of your documented points from the last few pages.: 1. you labelled branham a simpleton. based on what and with what authority? it would take someone with great authority in the field of economics to make that claim of a colleague with impressive credentials. where's the evidence. what is your authority? of course, this is what prompted an exploration of the boards definition of an expert. from what i can gather, it's anyone with an opinion. Is that your opinion? 2.pikkety. you insisted that i'm an idiot for proposing the same solution to address income inequality as picket: taxation. you then stated that he's rescinded this recommendation. i can't find him making any public comment to that effect. link one. otherwise, you are calling picket an idiot. and by extension believe you have the authority and evidence to state that. what is your authority and evidence? 3.you insisted that gov't was responsible for qe and then insisted that central banks were equivalent to govt. you later said they weren't. which is it and if the latter ,why did you deliberately misstate this and argue it? 4.Insisted that branham did not use the term "print money" in his article, blaming it on his editor. what evidence do you have for this contention? 5. belittled branham's accomplishments by stating he was an adjunct professor. linkedin list his jobs at harvard and michigan as visiting assistant professor. do you contend that these are equivalent positions? so there you have it. argue these points. any and all. because these leaps of logic aren't the stuff of an accomplished expert in a field. you'd be chewed up a spit out at a panel discussion with these two authors while making these statements and having to defend them publicly with other peers of these distinguished men. i'd pay to see it.

nope. the opposite is the case. why are you calling the guy with a red bandana a dunce when the rest of the world recognizes the red bandana as a validated sign of intelligence until proven otherwise.? why assume the opposite? people with the red bandana have been shown to be generally more intelligent by multiple objective measures. aw hell, just trade the 1st 2 draft picks and pick that shiny ornament! i like it. it's shiny! and no. i'm not against police profiling as long as innocent til proven guilt.ty is universally applied. but nice try. i like it. my dogs are currently sporting red bandanas.

yup. medicine is under the looking glass more than most professions. there are all kinds of metrics. some validated, some not. but enough that if you're lacking, it's gonna be a problem for you. pita but probably a good thing for everyone. and you?