Investment Strategies / Mechanical Investing
No. of Recommendations: 4
No. of Recommendations: 2
What's taking so long? It was clear to me by the summer of 2016. I was commenting about it on TMF at the time.
This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. He is a fascist, and a wannabe authoritarian. That's been clear for at least 9 years.
No. of Recommendations: 8
What's taking so long? It was clear to me by the summer of 2016. I was commenting about it on TMF at the time.
So were many of us. Dope still hasn’t forgiven me for saying Trump was following Hitler’s playbook at the start of his first term. But back then, he had adults in the room who put on the brakes.
Not this time. This time it’s full fascism, all the time.
“Due process” is a casualty. “Habeas Corpus” is crumbling. The last guardrails are falling and Trump sees only clear road ahead.
That’s where we are. And those still comfortable with the status quo will simply identify what we say as “alarmist”. If history is a guide, most folks won’t wake up until it’s too late.
No. of Recommendations: 2
indeed. I wanted to leave the USA when I knew he would get elected for Trump 1.0. Instead I founded a local democratic group as the USA had been good to me. Even tho I always worried about missing the last train so to speak , out of germany.(figure of speech)..I stayed. then came covid, then came illness, now the housing market is moribund.. and I am living 2.0 that I never intended to. I still plan this time to leave.
but as an object lesson,in unintended consequences its a hard one...
No. of Recommendations: 2
That’s where we are. And those still comfortable with the status quo will simply identify what we say as “alarmist”. If history is a guide, most folks won’t wake up until it’s too late.
Yep. Those things written on the barn are starting to disappear. Coulda sworn it was there, but don't see it now. (That's what I remember of Animal Farm...been a long time.)
No. of Recommendations: 3
I still plan this time to leave.
If I could, I probably would. But my only option is the Philippines. Not horrible, but pretty chaotic at times. And infrastructure isn't as reliable as here. Since we are retired, most countries wouldn't want us. Those that would require a bond to cover our medical for several years (since we didn't pay into their system while we were working).
And health is an issue now. We have some good doctors here, but it took a while to find them. We'd have to start over in that regard, even just moving to another state. Much less another country.
No. of Recommendations: 0
sorry to hear that.
I wish you good luck.
No. of Recommendations: 9
This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. He is a fascist, and a wannabe authoritarian. That's been clear for at least 9 years.
What is a real worry is that I think many of the MAGA are just fine with that. Democracy is too hard for them. They want a demagogue who will feed them sweet lies while he ruins our country.
No. of Recommendations: 1
To be fair, it isn't just MAGA. History is replete with examples. Varying circumstances, of course. The earliest one I'm aware of is the execution of King Charles I, but after a few years the masses decided they wanted a king and tapped King Charles II. I guess one could go back to the Romans, but Caesar was not voted (just the senators), so that maybe doesn't count.
People seem to want kings. I don't understand it, but it doesn't appear to be an aberration. Democracy seems to be the aberration. Sadly.
No. of Recommendations: 1
People seem to want kings. I don't understand it, but it doesn't appear to be an aberration. Democracy seems to be the aberration. Sadly.
Some of you might remember a series on PBS in the late 80's called The Western Tradition.
In one episode the professor, Eugen Weber, said, paraphrasing here: 'Throughout history, whenever people claim to be fighting for their freedom, the first thing they do after attaining it is start looking for someone to tell them what to do.'
Or, from a less august but more familiar observer: "I've said it before and I'll say it again. Democracy simply doesn't work." Kent Brockman, Springfield News
No. of Recommendations: 0
I still plan this time to leave.Where would you go? Look into it and see if it works out for you.
If I could, I probably would. But my only option is the Philippines. Not horrible, but pretty chaotic at times. And infrastructure isn't as reliable as here. Since we are retired, most countries wouldn't want us. Those that would require a bond to cover our medical for several years (since we didn't pay into their system while we were working).
And health is an issue now. We have some good doctors here, but it took a while to find them. We'd have to start over in that regard, even just moving to another state. Much less another country. I came back due to health in the Covid era - medicare doesn't work in the Philippines and many expats plan is to get on a plane home if the health problem is big. I had great foreboding coming home. There are some good plans in Cebu, VA covers war vets in Manila, and I liked the semi rural life I had up the mountain in Valencia. You don't need to learn the language, most people have a knowledge of English.
Oddly enough, the scratch in my throat in the Phils was cancer of the tonsil, I got diagnosed after antibiotics failed in SoCal.
This list will be changing soon. The Euro countries may have attitudes in the future. If the thug hit them with tariffs go there first and feel it out. Find some FB expat groups and sound them out. But most countries look past and see the individual. One friend of mine taught English in Thailand and he said the locals are always busting American chops in Thai, because few American speak it.
10. Thailand
9. Italy
8. Greece
7. Malaysia
6. Spain
5. France
4. Mexico
3. Costa Rica
2. Portugal
1. Panama
https://internationalliving.com/the-best-places-to...
No. of Recommendations: 13
People seem to want kings. I don't understand it, but it doesn't appear to be an aberration. Democracy seems to be the aberration. Sadly.
When you have a king, you know who's in charge. It's transparent, simple, and easy to understand. It's the same desire that drives conspiracy theories and religion. For a lot of people, it's far more comforting to believe that someone's actually in charge than for outcomes to be the result of a complex, opaque, and chaotic process.
To say nothing of the Great Man/Founder belief that history and/or successful companies are driven by exceptional individuals, rather than processes or institutions or collaborative efforts involving large numbers of people. A single person in charge can Get Things Done in a way that a committee or deliberative legislative body can't or won't.
Completely understandable position for people to take, if they're ignorant of history.
No. of Recommendations: 2
People seem to want kings. I don't understand it, but it doesn't appear to be an aberration. Democracy seems to be the aberration. Sadly.
How far democracy and proto0democracy go back was a revelation to me when I encountered it.
SNIP Modern representative democracies attempt to bridge the gap between Rousseau's depiction of the state of nature and Hobbes's depiction of society as inevitably authoritarian through 'social contracts' that enshrine the rights of the citizens, curtail the power of the state, and grant agency through the right to vote.[4]
Anthropologists have identified forms of proto-democracy that date back to small bands of hunter-gatherers that predate the establishment of agrarian, sedentary societies and still exist virtually unchanged[disputed – discuss] in isolated indigenous groups today. In these groups of generally 50–100 individuals, often tied closely by familial bonds, decisions are reached by consensus or majority and many times without the designation of any specific chief.[4]
These types of democracy are commonly identified as tribalism, or primitive democracy. In this sense, a primitive democracy usually takes shape in small communities or villages when there are face-to-face discussions in a village, council or with a leader who has the backing of village elders or other cooperative forms of government.[5][verification needed] This becomes more complex on a larger scale, such as when the village and city are examined more broadly as political communities. All other forms of rule – including monarchy, tyranny, aristocracy, and oligarchy – have flourished in more urban centers, often those with concentrated populations.[6][verification needed][disputed – discuss] David Graeber and David Wengrow, in The Dawn of Everything, argue in contrast that cities and early settlements were more varied and unpredictable in terms of how their political systems alternated and evolved from more to less democratic.[7]
The concepts (and name) of democracy and constitution as a form of government originated in ancient Athens in the sixth-century BC (circa 508 BC). In ancient Greece, where there were many city-states with different forms of government, democracy ("rule by the demos", i.e. citizen body) was contrasted with governance by elites (aristocracy, literally "rule by the best"), by one person (monarchy), by tyrants (tyranny), etc.
ME: The French were evidently watching and reading about the Iroquois Confederacy and seem to have taken some concepts from them.
No. of Recommendations: 1
Completely understandable position for people to take, if they're ignorant of history.
Exactly.
No. of Recommendations: 2
No. of Recommendations: 2
Completely understandable position for people to take, if they're ignorant of history.
Which is probably why the right (especially) want to limit/sabotage education, and are prone to historical revisionism. Orwell exemplified that with his "Ministry of Truth", where Winston toiled away rewriting the narrative.
I found Lambo's excerpt interesting, also.
