I actually have no problem with taxing retirement income.

What I have a problem with is changing the rules after you've entered the game. This would not affect me a lot. However, there are a lot of people who plan their retirement income based on tax liability in the state in which they plan to retire.

If Illinois (please, don't...) wants to tax retirement income, let them do it going forward. However, it should be in the context of understanding that many of its citizens have made plans, difficult to alter, based on promises made in the past.

That’s a big change from just a couple of days ago.

I guessi should have known as wolf blitzer was breathlessly saying tonight was the 21st day of protesting in NYC. Ya know if you don’t protest you are helping perpetuate the oppressor.

@Rainman said in Police vs. Prisons in the US and Europe:

With any luck, she's been in jail in some of these countries, and can give some firsthand input.

LOL Rainman. I guess you have not read my book - "My Five Years in Thai Prison" 😂 😂

There are so many cultural differences that make comparisons between countries almost impossible as @Klaus and @Doctor-Phibes talk about.

On one far side is Japan (and other asian countries) - the good of society is more important than the good of any one individual. "Throw a piece of garbage on the street?? No way, that reflects badly on not only you, but the neighborhood, city, etc.

Society says that guns are inherently dangerous, so we are going to make it very very difficult to own a gun. No problem, says the individual."

There is much more a "us" mind think versus a "me" mind think. I sometimes am frustrated when I see people think more of themselves rather than the impact on others. But, that is the US way, and I dont think it will change very soon.

In general, (north) Asian culture wants you to conform to the average. It is good in keeping alot of things in line, but individual behavior is why the US has the greatest number of patents and inventions, etc/

@jon-nyc said in Trump wants => $2 Trillion for the next COVID-19 relief package:

You’re missing the reference I think.

@Jolly The Republics are going to use for their convention the 2016 policy statement untouched. In that policy statement, it refers a lot to the"current administration". So, it is kind of funny.

FAT SHAMER!!!!

He doesn't talk about it much these days. I mean, it's not like he avoids it. But he doesn't focus shows on it much.

@Axtremus said in Federal Reserve to Buy Individual Corporate Bonds:

The Federal Reserve must be really worried.

You think? It always shocked me that when they talked about the second wave of Covid being worse than the first that they weren’t talking about the economy.

Holy moly those storage prices are high! Apple does flex it's pricing power on storage very aggressively.

iPhone is a fantastic example. The iPhone 11 pro is $999 for 64Gb base model, but $1150 for the next model up (256Gb).

They know that 128Gb is the sweet spot for most people - but unlike any other equipment maker can flex their power to completely nix that tier.

@Rainman said in Republicans are missing their chance:

Aqua, you are too young to have back problems.

Boy, did I misread that...

I was very tempted at shorting the S&P in mid-march during the free fall, glad I didn't. But I remember that feeling, I bet a lot of folks gave into it.

And yeah, the pound sign... funny/true observation.

@Mik said in CNN gets an expert to discuss SARS-CoV-2:

Swell. I can expect Jeff Goldblum in drag nightmares all week now. But she's a wonderful photog.

I got yer Goldblum nightmare right here:

Goldblum.jpg

I actually taped that to the door of a bathroom stall at work. Lasted about a day....

@Loki said in It could have been worse: He could have peppered them.:

Queuing in the peanut gallery in 3...2...1

Three peanuts walk into a gallery, and one was assaulted. Turns out, it was a shooting gallery.

@jon-nyc said in Ban it.:

We could just run an experiment in her district before rolling it out city wide.

698965de-a053-4cd2-8fbf-e2194f1e5c56-image.png

@89th that's why I enjoyed it. "Fortress" has always been one of my favorite Sting songs, and this video brought home some of the complexity in it.

We remember the stories of bikes being destroyed in the not too distant past, I’m sure.

Even very recently though...

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52832791

@George-K said in What’s up with Biden?:

@Jolly said in What’s up with Biden?:

Until after Labor Day...

Yeah.

Policy positions aside, it appears that Biden is the weaker candidate. He seems to be befuddled by what's going on, and doesn't appear to be able to put thoughts together that aren't on the teleprompter. I still wait for a reporter to ask him, as they did Romney, "What about your gaffes?"

Unless something drastic happens with regards to Trump's health, Biden will have his clock cleaned in a face-to-face debate. I don't think he can handle it.

Again, "policy positions aside."

Trump will appear to be the stronger leader. Whether he will be the better leader is a separate question - for politics is all about appearances, not policy or competence.

Biden can still have a good night. I didn’t watch a lot of the debates but the last Dem debate before SC he was really strong.

But I agree it’s early. For all practical purposes the campaign hasn’t r3ally started.

Yeah, I've heard it many times.
"The greatest music is the music I like."
Simple.

@Aqua-Letifer said in The Return of GWTW:

It's an especially serious state of affairs when you get that kind of commentary coming from the likes of me.

lol

And the Germans at Peenemünde were surprised to find that the US military had almost no interest in Mr. Goddard's work. They devoured every bit of it.