[Mezla PigDog]

This brings me a little closer to panic buying tinned goods.

[Macros]

Move into Nico's shelter

[worry]

He's right about the what, just not the how or why.

[Malankazooie]

Trump has been calling President Obama a lot.

[worry]

I don't think we've covered Pizzagate in here at all, and it's getting dangerous. If you're unfamiliar, it's the conspiracy theory that there's a D.C. child sex ring run by the Clintons and Jon Podesta among others, and it's run out of a pizza shop frequented by D.C. insiders (among of course everyone else in the neighborhood who likes pizza). As we know, aside from the racism, sexism, xenophobia, etc. stuff Trump has energized, there's also the conspiracy nut faction. They're as scared as the rest, and at least as primed to see guns as the solution.
https://www.washingt...ong-restaurant/

[worry]

Worth noting that the son of DT's National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, propagates this conspiracy: https://twitter.com/...615355888603140

[Mezla PigDog]

Wow I hadn't heard any of the pizza stuff. There's nothing sensible to say in response to it. Did the Clinton campaign even acknowledge it?

[Darkwatch]

I'd heard of it because of Twitter but CBC doesn't seem to have spoken of it.
The BBC had an article when I went looking for it, but only one.

I wonder if 2017 will be the year that Members of Congress begin citing Infowars regularly (I specify regularly as I'm sure it's happened a bit already).

[HoosierDaddy]

 Mezla PigDog, on 06 December 2016 - 12:56 PM, said:

Wow I hadn't heard any of the pizza stuff. There's nothing sensible to say in response to it. Did the Clinton campaign even acknowledge it?

It's been since the election that it started, IIRC. These people propagating it have a need to always find the next worst thing. They are the people begging Trump to put Hillary Clinton in jail because conspiracies of any and every cause that is ridiculous. Imagine Nico times 1 billion.

The Purge is going to be a documentary soon.

[Hairshirt]

Oh god, is this going to be 2017's Jade Helm? My creepy cousin is going to be talking about this at Christmas I'm sure, he's an Info Wars Guy.

[MTS]

 Hairshirt, on 07 December 2016 - 04:04 AM, said:

Oh god, is this going to be 2017's Jade Helm?

If Hillary would just release her emails, then we'd know for sure.

[worry]

Linda McMahon of the WWE to head Small Business Administration: cartoon-level cronyism.

The Ohio 6-week abortion bill: the official death knell of Roe v Wade.

Scott Pruitt to head the EPA: http://www.nytimes.c...-epa-trump.html
That's the nail in the coffin for everyone. If you're a Millennial or younger don't even bother making out a will. It's over. We're done.

[Macros]

Wow wow wow.

WWE as in hit him with a chair WWE? Is that for real??

ETA - googled it. Oh my, idiocracy suddenly seems more like a documentary than a comedy.

Spoiler

 Screenshot_2016-12-08-09-30-38.png (769.97K)
Number of downloads: 0

This post has been edited by Macros: 08 December 2016 - 09:34 AM

[Aptorian]

Is there actually anything specifically bad about Linda McMahon being chosen for this small business administration? She's a business woman and from what I understand she has plenty of knowledge about both businesses and politics. Unlike Trump she has actually been involved in politics for a while. Even before she ran for the Senate.

If she'd been chosen for something crazy like healthcare or children's education, etc. I could understand the outrage, but having somebody who actually knows the in's and out's of business in an administration about business makes sense. Or is it the fact that WWE/WWF hasn't been a "Small Business" for about 25 years?

This post has been edited by Apt: 08 December 2016 - 09:51 AM

[Tapper]

 Apt, on 08 December 2016 - 09:49 AM, said:

Is there actually anything specifically bad about Linda McMahon being chosen for this small business administration? She's a business woman and from what I understand she has plenty of knowledge about both businesses and politics. Unlike Trump she has actually been involved in politics for a while. Even before she ran for the Senate.

If she'd been chosen for something crazy like healthcare or children's education, etc. I could understand the outrage, but having somebody who actually knows the in's and out's of business in an administration about business makes sense. Or is it the fact that WWE/WWF hasn't been a "Small Business" for about 25 years?

Like Carson being appointed for housing?

I think the main argument against her appointment is that this is yet another former (business) associate of Trump popping up into the administration, bypassing some more likely or more suitable candidates. Also, Trump has in the past been more than happy to appear on wrestling shows, in which McMahon has had interests. Never mind that she had been involved in politics for longer than he is, or that she has been critical of some of his remarks and policies: Trump the person, Trump the business owner and Trump the President get further and further entangled.

[Macros]

I think it's the cartoon aspect of WWE,sorry Apt I know you love the square circle, coupled with Trump's association with the McMahons and her sizable donations to his campaign. It's the cronyism all over that he's vowed to drain from the DC swamp.
That the what, 5th? Billionaire appointed now?

ETA cross post with Tapper.

This post has been edited by Macros: 08 December 2016 - 10:51 AM

[amphibian]

 Apt, on 08 December 2016 - 09:49 AM, said:

Is there actually anything specifically bad about Linda McMahon being chosen for this small business administration? She's a business woman and from what I understand she has plenty of knowledge about both businesses and politics. Unlike Trump she has actually been involved in politics for a while. Even before she ran for the Senate.

If she'd been chosen for something crazy like healthcare or children's education, etc. I could understand the outrage, but having somebody who actually knows the in's and out's of business in an administration about business makes sense. Or is it the fact that WWE/WWF hasn't been a "Small Business" for about 25 years?

It's a strange day when I speak on pro wrestling, which I mostly don't like, but still know a decent chunk about due to its connections to MMA and carny fights of yore. But here is why Linda McMahon is a bad pick:

She and her husband Vince came up in the regional pro wrestling business. Thay is an extremely cut throat environment and the employees are not treated well. The competitors are driven out of business because regional pro wrestling mostly is a zero sum game in the USA. They didn't do well for many years. It was Vince "buying out" his father's successful promotion that led to their creation of what we now know as WWF/WWE. And they came super close to cratering the business at least half a dozen times over stupid moves. I think the WWE was going to fold if their initially shoddily done web services/ppv didn't succeed last year after waiting about five or six years too late to start it up. Latest in a long string of haphazard and stupid moves. Some worked, most didn't.

The McMahons were slow to embrace the digital age and they got out of the small business environment long before the modern business landscape was even a thing. They have no fucking clue what a small business owner deals with on a daily basis or what the actual laws and budgets are, but they're good at selling bullshit narratives to people who don't think through much.

Add in that the WWE employees are almost universally underpaid, encouraged to be on steroids in dangerous ways, expected to travel 300+ days a year, stay super in shape, never be injured, do stupid narratives because the McMahons let all their good writing talent go years ago, and more.

This super rich failed politician is who Trump wants creating noise at Small Business because he doesn't give a shit about it. Same with Carson and Housing. He went out and got top of the line money grubbers for the truly important positions. And DeVos, who is Erik Prince's sister, I think.

It's a move calculated to make easier the lighting on fire of the middle class and poor people to warm up the rich people.

That's why McMahon is a bad pick.

[Aptorian]

Quote

She and her husband Vince came up in the regional pro wrestling business. Thay is an extremely cut throat environment and the employees are not treated well. The competitors are driven out of business because regional pro wrestling mostly is a zero sum game in the USA. They didn't do well for many years. It was Vince "buying out" his father's successful promotion that led to their creation of what we now know as WWF/WWE.

Quote

Add in that the WWE employees are almost universally underpaid, encouraged to be on steroids in dangerous ways, expected to travel 300+ days a year, stay super in shape, never be injured, do stupid narratives because the McMahons let all their good writing talent go years ago, and more.

Like I mentioned above I don't know a lot about Linda McMahon but I have been doing a lot of studying on American Pro Wrestling the past year, and from what I've read and heard, I don't think this criticism is fair.

You could argue that the WWF bought out and ate up a lot of small business but this was an act of necessity that many have argued saved Wrestling in America. It took wrestling from being a small time business like travelling circuses that made most of its money on trying to find big venues and selling merchandise. It was a time when everybody was under paid and a lot of people got hustled.

The McMahons took Vince Seniors North Eastern territory and made it into a national territory. Anybody who speaks of Vince McMahons choices, despite the consequences, agree that his vision and his determination was unparalleled. In terms of business, this was a small business man who made his business big business. Vince McMahon is one of the most fascinating people I have ever heard about. He's a larger than life cartoon character of a business man. Alternatively I've seldom heard much about Linda McMahon's involvement but that also makes sense if she's mainly handling the upper operation of the business.

WWF and WCW made wrestling a legitimate big thing and money followed with it. Yeah, wrestler's weren't paid like NBA super stars but they were well paid. People wen't from being paid 10-20-50 dollars a night to 500 or more depending upon their ability to draw houses.

The WWE of today is a pampered existence to what it used to be. Yeah they travel a lot now, even globally, but they typically only wrestle 4 times a week, instead of once a day and twice on a sunday.

From what I hear, the Wellness policy they implemented is actually being enforced, with wrestlers being suspended and fined for testing positive on drugs or PEDs. Yeah, there's clearly still some talent that are allowed to stay on juice but most of the roster now look nothing like the bodybuilders of the 90s. Things like concussions and injuries are taken much more seriously and you hear about wrestlers being given time off for over a year to heal.

All that aside, I wonder what the qualifications for sitting on a board for Small business has to be? If you are a small business man do you have time to get into politics? Do you have the perspective and experience to help others? In Denmark I'd have recommended a Union leader to such a post but Unions don't seem terribly popular in America. I'd love to sit in on a cabinet meeting between some die hard union leaders and the Walmart family.

This post has been edited by Apt: 09 December 2016 - 10:51 AM

[Tsundoku]

How do you start a small business in America?

Give a big business to Donald Trump.

[Aptorian]

I believe the Republicans want a small government, so maybe this was the right choice after all.