BSR

Yeah, the "being attacked for who I love" line made me puke. STFU.

Even crazier is a New Yorker can make almost $200K yet still qualify for "affordable" housing.

We have hit record highs of credit card debt, school loans, home equity loans, commercial loans, and federal govt debt. But according to some, the economy is just fine and recession will not happen. Even worse, these same starry-eyed optimists accuse those of us worried about unprecedented debt levels of pushing a political agenda or a preferred narrative. Yeah, uh huh, just keep insisting it's just a flesh wound ...

Pope Benedict was in very poor health the last ~2 years of his life. For example, he issued a written statement in Dec 2020 that he had lost the ability to speak. As much as the Church leadership strives to project peace and unity, political conflict has always raged behind the scenes. I agree that Francis waited until well after Benedict's death to make his gay-friendly announcement, but it wasn't to avoid a duel with the Pope Emeritus, because Benedict was in no condition to mount a challenge. Instead, it was a politically motivated decision to pacify the conservatives. To make such an announcement while Benedict was still alive or even shortly after his death would have been viewed (imo) as very disrespectful.

I am on topic. If/when a recession hits, something will have caused it. I think that cause will be unprecedented and unsustainable levels of debt. Before the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, similar conversations were taking place between those predicting bad times ahead and those insisting the economy would keep chugging along. Hard to believe now, but plenty of people in the aughts insisted that the good times would keep rolling. In fact, those people then sounded a lot like some of the posts in this thread.

The editorial written by the former Enron advisor is cut off. It looks like the last page is missing. I'd love to read more from the man who predicted that the economic impact of the Internet would be minimal, comparable to that of the fax machine.

Median net worth also rose significantly prior to the 2008 crash because real estate values were skyrocketing. Look how that turned out. What has far outpaced inflation is debt levels. Not just federal govt debt, every form of debt has hit record highs: credit cards, home equity loans, school loans, commercial loans, you name it. Eventually and inevitably when our economy hits a point where we just can't borrow any more, a gigaton of sh*t will hit the fan.

The official line is that the priesthood is a ministry conformed to the life and work of Jesus Christ. The Church didn't always require celibacy -- priests could marry in early Christianity. Since the Church imposed celibacy for the holy orders in medieval times and the canon of papal infallibility started only in 1870, the celibacy requirement could technically be revoked. But realistically, yes, the likelihood is virtually zero.

But do pedophiles have any interest in adult relationships? My theory is that pedophiles used to seek out the priesthood because back in the day a priest had both access to children and unquestioned moral authority. The Church hierarchy made a horrible problem a thousand times worse by plunging into denial ("but they're men of God!"). The Church finally pulled its head out of the sand and confronted the issue: much more stringent screening of seminary candidates and immediate & thorough investigations into any report of sexual misconduct. To survive this tragedy, the Church must maintain the strictest vigilance.

I've been wanting to attend the LA nude party for quite some time, but all these reports of super-dim conditions worry me. Do you think Matt would be OK with this, or a bit much?

Ugly? No, that watch is f*ckin' hideous. As popular as the Nautilus is, I always found it ugly. The Tiffany blue dial takes ugly to a whole other level.

A red letter day indeed. There has long been a conflict between conservatives and liberals in the Church hierarchy. It's all behind closed doors, of course, but one does hear things. This latest move by Pope Francis is big victory for the liberals whereas it must have thrown the conservatives in a tizzy, LOL. While Pope Francis appears quite healthy and vigorous, he turned 87 yesterday. As a practical matter, he simply won't be around much longer. The LGBT friendliness of the RCC all depends on the political leanings of the next pope. This shift by Francis reflects the attitude of North American and Western European Catholics. While the Church does teach that homosexuality is a sin, I've found that the vast majority of practicing Catholics to be very gay-friendly. It's similar to the divide on the Church's teaching on abortion. Despite the Church's staunch opposition to abortion, so many Catholic women are quietly pro-choice.

US Debt Clock What does statistical analysis say about $33.9 Trillion of federal government debt? What is the propaganda trying to mislead us into thinking about that staggering amount of debt? At the end of September 2019, the federal government debt was "only" $22.7 trillion. The federal debt has increased by more than $11.2 trillion in just over 4 years. The federal debt to GDP ratio was 33.73% in 1980. Now the debt is actually greater than the annual GDP, with a ratio of 122.16%. Anyone who thinks that much debt is healthy or OK is whistling past the graveyard.

Michael Burry, founder of Scion Capital, started sounding the alarms about subprime lending way back in 2003, five long years before the September 2008 Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. He bet big on an impending collapse, risking plenty of his own money and much more of his investors'. After (I'm guessing) many sleepless nights and an investor near-revolt, he did end up being right, making himself a $100 million profit and $700 million for his investors. Yes, the economy will always go through booms & busts, but the signs of an impending recession are very much real, not just a bunch of tea leaves. Hindsight being 20/20, it's pretty damn obvious now that you couldn't lend $trillions to unqualified buyers without some dire consequences. Some troubling signs loom today. The one that worries me most is the total amount of debt: personal (credit cards, school loans, home mortgages, etc.), commercial, and of course government (just checked the National Debt Clock, $33.9 Trillion!). If you add up all the debt and set it relative to GDP, the multiple is at a record-shattering high and is accelerating like it's racing for pinks. But hey, I could be wrong. If a recession doesn't hit between now and this time next year, feel free to serve up a towering plate of crow for my consumption.

Yeah, me too ...

34yo Martin Klizan, who retired a couple of years ago, is making a comeback. Yup, he's starting in the Futures and everything. I always found him sexy AF.

Of course stats matter, but so do perceptions. Shoplifting is so bad in San Francisco that drug stores have resorted to putting frozen food under lock & key. Such a measure doesn't mean that I am much more likely to get murdered or mugged in the city, but who wants to live in a place where toothpaste & Hot Pockets have to be bolted down? Please note that the property crime statistics in San Francisco fail to tell the real story because stores don't even bother to report thefts less than $950.

I wonder if Vulcans were offended when Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto put on prosthetic ears.

I did the Red Lobster AYCE shrimp recently. It was $27, you have your choice of 6 preparations, 3 at first, more if you ask. The best by far was the crispy dragon shrimp, deep fried shrimp with Thai sweet chili sauce. The regular fried shrimp was good too. The other choices -- skewer, scampi, alfredo, coconut -- were meh. It was worth doing, once at least. Although the location I went to had a lobster tank (with just 3 lonely lobsters in it), pretty sure it's just for show because Red Lobster serves only previously cooked, then frozen & reheated lobster tails. But like @pubic_assistance said, the shrimp is just fine.

Perhaps not your intention, but like so many of your posts, that's how it reads ... just a little constructive criticism.

Are you aware you can write posts without so much nasty sarcasm? 🤡

Thanks for the news about Matthew Perry's cause of death. Since I don't keep up much with pop culture news, I probably would have missed it otherwise. I started watching Friends only because my best friend at work was into it. I usually stay away from comedies because something about most sitcoms doesn't click with me. But I'm glad I succumbed to "peer pressure" and got into the series because it gave me a lotta belly laughs. While we don't know the details of his will, those close to Perry say that he left a good amount to his foundation to help those with addictions. I hope that is indeed the case since he was genuinely so devoted to the cause during his life.

You missed the point of my post. I had no intention of starting a political discussion on immigration. I was making a broader statement about how residents of failing cities treat their fellow Americans like shit. When you defecate all over someone, like calling someone a racist simply because they disagree with you, don't expect hearts and flowers in return.

I'd like to know the consequences of this disaster. Even if no one was seriously hurt (no small miracle), I hope the city slaps the building owner with a substantial fine. I wonder where the tenants will go. It wasn't exactly a posh building. Finding a new place within their budgets will likely be a challenge.

I would phrase it differently. I think it's more that many Americans want big cities to deal with the consequences of their bad policies, for example, the millions of New Yorkers who (indirectly at least) voted in favor of open borders but are now angry that the city budget (especially in critical areas like police and education) is being slashed and native New Yorkers are being forced to make painful sacrifices because the city has had to divert so much $$ to care for migrants. When Texas and other border states said they were suffering from all the illegal immigration, sanctuary cities like NYC and Chicago didn't give a rat's ass. Pardon the schadenfreude now that NYCers & Chicagoans are suffering due to the policies they voted for. And as I mentioned before, residents of "enlightened" cities branded anyone who disagreed with their policies as racist. Now that these so-called enlightened policies have turned these cities into shitholes, don't expect any sympathy from those you wrongly smeared.