Politics

[ActionBob]

Trump is a lot of things, perhaps even the lesser of two evils to be the next President, but an ethical businessman he is not.

It would not surprise me whatsoever if he did a pump-and-dump on his own sheep shareholders, nor would it surprise me if he set up a series of shell corps to illegally short his own stock if it was going to tank.

I truly feel sympathy for the Trump zealots that bought his shares, use his tech platforms, and bought his buddy's pillows. It's one thing to vote your conscience and select him as a candidate, its another thing to blindly invest money into the absolute trash as-seen-on-TV junk he peddles for profit.

First off, what the hell is wrong with buying pillows? The drug induced discovery of shredding foam rubber through an old hammer mill has been very productive and a lot of people really love those pillows!

I'm not familiar with all of his business dealings but being successful does not mean he or anyone else is unethical. That farce of a trial on New York, if anything points out the depth of corruption within the Democrats.

And peddling junk on TV is not corrupt, nor is making profit. That is free enterprise. I really think the buyers of any of that stuff Trump may be peddling are perfectly aware of what they are buying and why.

I'm sure the rest of the story on Truth Social is yet to be told. I really think you and the Democrats are guilty of the same conviction before any evidence is brought forward much less the trial is concluded. Unfortunately most conservatives and good businessmen are assumed guilty before proven innocent. Perhaps think about if it was you being convicted without proof.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Pretty good opinion piece by Liz Peek (very bright woman) about the irrepressible imbecile otherwise known as Marjorie Taylor Green. The republican party seems determined to prove that it not only can't govern, but is committed to its own self-destruction.

Marjorie Taylor Greene is an idiot. She is trying to wreck the GOP

Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene is all about drama queen energy and antics. But here is so much at stake in 2024. Defeating Biden is the real goal, not burning down the House.

www.foxnews.com

Mike Johnson opposed the FISA renewal in the past; asked why he changed his mind, he said that having received a classified briefing on the issue, he had changed his mind. I believe him. (Liz Peek)

Millions of illegal, undocumented people have entered the US during the Biden administration. Some are most likely terrorist or generally bad guys. It only took a small handful of terrorists to bring the twin towers in NYC down. I for one am glad FISA was renewed.

 

[USN]

Mike Johnson opposed the FISA renewal in the past; asked why he changed his mind, he said that having received a classified briefing on the issue, he had changed his mind. I believe him. (Liz Peek)

Millions of illegal, undocumented people have entered the US during the Biden administration. Some are most likely terrorist or generally bad guys. It only took a small handful of terrorists to bring the twin towers in NYC down. I for one am glad FISA was renewed.

I believe it was Ben Franklin who said someone who gives up freedom for safety deserves neither and I concur. However I defend your right to your opinion.

 

[mdwest]

I think it depends on the level you are at in your career when you start.

I did my MBA when I was lower middle management. I knew a lot about supply chain and product development, but not a whole lot on anything else.

Theres probably a lot of truth in that.. I was on the higher end of "middle management" when I started down the MBA path.. I only went back because I needed it to be able to reasonably compete for a senior management role (everyone else brought several years more experience and either MBAs or a masters from one of the War Colleges, etc)... I had already worked extensively in project and program management, had P&L responsibility for a portfolio that was close to $300M, etc.. and had been around the block a few times already..

I then chased the MS in Strategic Management because to be honest, the MBA already covered several of the courses required, so it was just 24 months going part time to get it completed, and it helped open doors into senior executive management (started the MS as a VP, finished it as a COO) that otherwise might have been a little more difficult to open..

I dont in any way NEED a terminal degree (DBA) at this point... I cant exactly get promoted anymore (currently the CEO of my organization, and dont have intentions of changing companies at any time in the near future.. and this late in my career, my career performance is going to be far more heavily weighed and considered than my education if I were to leave my current position and try to find work elsewhere.. I simply want to check that box on the bucket list and be able to say I did it (I also have zero interest in ever working in academia in any capacity.. so I dont need it for that either)...

unlike the MBA and the MS, the DBA has surprisingly been beneficial for me from a work perspective though... I tend to be a 70% solution guy.. once I have a target and most of the data needed to make a decision, I start running toward the objective and solve the remaining 30% along the way (I find most executive leaders coming from an operations or a project/program background tend to be similar).. Often I rely on other senior and executive leaders to bring the information required to solve the remainder of the problem... getting down into the weeds and really analyzing data has never been my strong suit.. I have just trusted subordinate leaders to know how to do their jobs, do them well, and bring the best possible courses of action forward for consideration...

I still very much rely on, and trust my subordinate leadership team (I am blessed to have an exceptional team of both executive and director level employees to work with).. but building the correct habits for assimilation, analysis, and presentation of data to solve complex problems has certainly been a good thing for me..

 

[LivingTheDream]

I want to get my doctorate just so I can tell my mother-in-law her daughter did in fact marry a doctor.

I think your bucket list accomplishment is a good one and good luck with completing it.

 

[Tanks]

...

College is only too expensive when it does not deliver any real value. Spending a quarter million to get a degree that leads to a career in corporate law, or in medicine, or in investment banking is a bargain. Spending a quarter million to do a degree thay gets you a minimum wage bar tending job is not.

...

Most Fortune 500 CEOs and of course attorneys have liberal arts degrees. By themselves those degrees will qualify one to sell shoes at Nordstrum's. It is what one does with the degree afterwards that matters.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I believe it was Ben Franklin who said someone who gives up freedom for safety deserves neither and I concur. However I defend your right to your opinion.

When you purchase a firearm and submit to the background check, are you giving freedom for safety?

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

What are the chances that the senate will convict Mayorkas?

 

[Tanks]

An easy major and getting a high GPA plays well for graduate/professional school.

Exactly, my son-in-law got his bachelor's in psychology. His reasoning was that it would help his law school application with a perfect GPA. So, today he has a JD from Harvard Law School (where he also met my daughter).

 

[rookhawk]

Exactly, my son-in-law got his bachelor's in psychology. His reasoning was that it would help his law school application with a perfect GPA. So, today he has a JD from Harvard Law School (where he also met my daughter).

The reason that law schools and attorneys crap on business and economics undergraduate degrees is self serving. (I don't blame them)

The ABA sets a requirement for three years of law school. The old adage is that in year 1, they scare you to death, in year 2 they work you to death, in year 3 they bore you to death. Virtually every attorney I know did the joint JD/MBA that costs not a penny more and requires not a single additional credit, but they get to walk out with something other than idle insanity as an L3.

That's the real reason lawyers crap on ungrad biz degrees, if you get one you have to take many of the same classes over to get the joint JD/MBA.

 

[Tanks]

What are the chances that the senate will convict Mayorkas?

None. He also should not have been impeached for being incompetent or following administrative policy. There were no "crimes or misdemeanors".

Impeachment has become a political posturing tool just like Trump's two impeachments.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

On the qualifications front my certificates on the wall are about as faded as my memory of what was taught to me. Then about six months ago I had to get my professional membership up to date so that I can sign off on things. That culminated in becoming a fellow of the IOM 3, London. Probably the most useful of the certificates because it affirms that you not only learnt something, but then did something with it.

 

[Brent in Az]

What are the chances that the senate will convict Mayorkas?

Zero chance.

It takes 2/3 vote to convict. Dems control the Senate.

 

[Brent in Az]

Biden imposes sanctions on Iran in response to Irans attack on Israel.

Sure...... that'll teach em a lesson. Just like the sanctions on Russia.

 

[Louis Toadvine]

In upper crust WASP east coast culture, its completely acceptable to go get a "worthless" undergraduate degree. The upper-upper class has always had the financial means to allow the leisure of "finishing school" to become a renaissance man of the liberal arts.

Those going to Vasser, Bryn Mawr, William & Mary, Bowdoin, Oberlin, Brown, or any of the other 7-sisters...it's all fine to have a worthless undergrad degree because that was never the final destination. Those folks were intending and did go to a top-20 post-graduate school for a degree in law, medicine, hard science, or other occupation thereafter.

Are the undergrad degrees mentioned above "worthless"? Probably. Was it rewarding to the individual? Probably. Could you have gone to a top-tier State school for Undergrad like UVA, Cornell (yes, its State and Ivy), Michigan, or Berkley for undergrad and landed into the same prestigious post-graduate field of study at the same schools? Yes, definitely. Would you have had more valuable, marketable skills by getting a non-liberal arts undergrad degree as well? Most definitely.

But most people aren't going to tier-1 obscure liberal arts schools with any sense of agency that they will necessarily need a masters in a valuable subject thereafter. Most liberal arts students are rudderless and middle class going through the motions to get a communications, english, history, other humanities degree with no real destination. <-That's who we're being asked to forgive their debts.


Just a point of order: there is only one Ivy that statistically has a positive ROI across all fields at full tuition costs, Harvard. Not Princeton, Yale, Penn, or Dartmouth (more impressive to me). What that means is people are buying into prestige but the rack-rates do not generate the extra income required to overcome the cost of attendance.

I actually group top-tier state schools like UVA and UMich together with top liberal arts schools, as acceptance to that tier of public school (especially as an out-of-state student) is equivalent to getting accepted to a top LAC like Williams or Brown. They have comparable acceptance rates and attract a similar pool of applicants (it's not 1-to-1 across the board, of course). There's no practical difference between studying sociology at UVA vs. Bowdoin. Attending either school (even if you study sociology) sends a (positive) signal to certain employers and professional schools.

Point taken on your ROI comment. From personal experience, I can tell you that a large percentage of students attending those schools are not paying full sticker price (or anything close to it). If you are from the actual middle class or below, you are receiving significant grant support to attend an Ivy or top LAC. And for those students, attending this kind of school can completely alter the course of your life and put you on a track that is otherwise unreachable. The ROI in this scenario is almost limitless.

I attended a school that is nearly $70K/year in tuition as of 2024 (and over $90K/year total cost). It wasn't quite that expensive when I attended, but it was still very steep. I was incredibly fortunate to receive a substantial amount of grants and scholarships. I had very little family support and left school with almost no loans (paid them off in less than five years). Attending this school was a singular experience; I wouldn't trade it for anything. But yes, had I paid full sticker and taken on >$150K of loans, my ROI calculation would be a bit less favorable.

 

[Vashper]

Well, now she has a real one to go with the ironic one.

Dear Red Leg, I sincerely apologize for the unintentional distortion of your nickname, I used a Google translator for speed, and blindly did not check the text on my smartphone.
People tend to make mistakes, and not only politicians, alas.

 

[Brent in Az]

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

View attachment 599953

I'm sure it's like living in paradise in Ukraine right now.

 

[Brent in Az]

I'm sure it's like living in paradise in Ukraine right now.

I'm sure he's keeping up on the Yacht payments.

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

Mike Johnson opposed the FISA renewal in the past; asked why he changed his mind, he said that having received a classified briefing on the issue, he had changed his mind. I believe him. (Liz Peek)

Millions of illegal, undocumented people have entered the US during the Biden administration. Some are most likely terrorist or generally bad guys. It only took a small handful of terrorists to bring the twin towers in NYC down. I for one am glad FISA was renewed.

So the government has created the conditions that justify maintaining a controversial and possibly unconstitutional surveillance law?

Convenient.