Politics

[Big_Easy]

I struggle to think about how any organization can reduce the problem of fatherlessness in a practical way, but I would be intrigued to hear any ideas you have.

Don't disproportionately put minorities in prison for minor drug offenses. And then deny them access to housing when they are released, would be a good start.

And I am with you that aspects of the welfare state are part of the problem.

Specifically which aspects of welfare are the problem?

I think black people should be allowed to vote and support their right to eat at the same restaurants and use the same washrooms as the rest of us.

Unfortunately thats a big ask for many folks in America still.

 

[Wheels]

I do think the Alberta oil should be paid for at a reasonable price by the USA. We are.practically giving it away.

The best thing Alberta can do is vertically integrate and create finished product in Alberta. Then it is marketable to the world, not just the closest refinery with the capability of handling an inferior product that is hard to refine.

The real questions are:

1. How easy is it to get government approval to build new refining capacity.

2. What are the economics of adding new refining capacity.

If the economics are there and governmental regulations are neutral then it should happen. If it doesn’t happen then there is a problem with at least one of the two points above. Possibly both.

 

[Wheels]

Just a single brick being laid. Hopefully there will be more accountability coming.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/18/anthony-fauci-david-morens-covid-ecohealth-01040979

 

[Big_Easy]

The second strange data point is all-race divorce rate changes. In Kentucky over a two year period, they've seen a precipitous decline in divorces that do not correlate to the other States. What changed? Well, there is a legal presumption of 50/50 joint custody of children if the parents divorce. No incentives exist to leave a partner and be a single partner as no child support is forthcoming.

25% versus 18%, I wouldn't call that a precipitous decline. I'm not sure if a 7% difference is statistically significant. KY had a declining divorce rate prior to the law. Also, KY has some really f@cked up child custody laws, so I don't think they're a particularly good example.

Kentucky's Custody Law Did Not Reduce Divorce

I think it's a good law, and I really really wish it reduced divorce, but the evidence isn't there to support it, even as activists on both sides wish it was.

lymanstone.substack.com

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

What about the brawl in Wrigley last night

Cub fans vs White Sox fans

 

[Big_Easy]

What about the brawl in Wrigley last night

You mean the middle aged white mob? Like @rookhawk said, now we can't even go to sports games because of how dangerous they are!

 

[Wheels]

Cub fans vs White Sox fans

With the Pope being a White Sox fan a couple of humorous thoughts crossed my mind. With this being the Political thread instead of the Religious thread I will refrain.

 

[rookhawk]

With the Pope being a White Sox fan a couple of humorous thoughts crossed my mind. With this being the Political thread instead of the Religious thread I will refrain.

I can’t speak for the inner workings of Chicago as precisely today as in the past, but judge this five year old advice:

Going to Comiskey Park (or whatever stupid name bought it this year) the WORST case scenario is that you’re stabbed to death on the way to the parking garage.

Going to Wrigley Field, the WORST case scenario is that a CPA pukes all over your shoes.

 

[Brent in Az]

They are all just a bunch of punk fans that don't know how to behave. There's always some dumbass with a big mouth that starts it.
You want to see some Neanderthal fans? Go to a Philadelphia Eagles game in Philly. Some of the worst fans in the league

 

[WAB]

I do think the Alberta oil should be paid for at a reasonable price by the USA. We are.practically giving it away.

That is absolutely false. Alberta crude is priced on the world market adjusted for quality and transportation costs to market. You don’t think that the oil companies would charge more for it if people would pay more for it???

Cold Lake competes for room in coking refineries with crudes like Arab Heavy, Mayan, Venezuelan heavies, etc.. look at the price of those crudes when you are complaining about the price of Canadian heavy, not Brent or WTI.

 

[Big_Easy]

Read up on it. Take the time and see what is out there

Please cite high quality sources for your statements good sir.

 

[Big_Easy]

but gang does not equate to poverty.

Gangs and poverty go hand in hand. How many wealthy, upper class street gangs can you name?

Gang Involvement as a Means to Satisfy Basic Needs

wp.nyu.edu

 

[Tanks]

I'm sure a tranny will be well received in a men's prison.....LOL.

He might be going to a woman's prison though.

 

[Big_Easy]

You keep saying poverty poverty poverty, but what is your solution?

Many solutions have been offered by a litany of folks throughout history. Unfortunately you'd start screaming commie socialist liberal the second he mentions any of them.

Pretty much anyone can get a job

No. There are plenty of areas with high unemployment not because people don't want to work, but due to a lack of employment possibilities. Numerous cities in the rust belt come to mind. Go read the book Detroit: An American Autopsy. When a city of 700,000 people has zero grocery stores, or ice cream shops, or movie theaters, etc., where does one go for gainful employment? Especially after Shareholder Value Theory and Republican free-trade deals have outsourced all of the manufacturing jobs.

section 8 housing covers 90% of the housing costs.

You have no idea how hard it is to actually get Section 8 housing do you?

 

[Flipper Dude]

He might be going to a woman's prison though.

They. They might be going to a women’s prison. Respect the pronouns. And you from California and all.

 

[Big_Easy]

A host of other issues are at play as well. I would argue deindustrialization of the US, particularly cities like Detroit, was a meaningful contributing factor as well.

So can we finally agree that an increase in poverty plus idle hands = more crime then?

Charles Murray is a racist boogie man to many on the left because of his book, "The Bell Curve. Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life" His conclusions were about cognitive stratification - not race.

The question isn't whether the studies he references showed a difference between white and black IQs, they did (by approx. 15 points). The question is twofold, 1) Is the reason for the difference only race itself, or some other underlying factors? 2) Were those studies accurate, and are they still representative of the races now, 40+ years later? A more recent comparative analysis published 10 years later (2003) showed a difference of 12 points. Others have shown a difference of 10. There are also many factors (other than race) that contribute to differences in IQ tests.

In the book Freakonomics; Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner hypothesized that the early 90s drop in crime correlated well with other factors, including the removal of lead from gasoline and paint. Lead concentrations are higher where car emissions where highest (surprise). Which where, and still are the inner cities. Black Americans are over represented in these dense urban areas, and thus, were more likely to be exposed to higher concentrations of lead (among other chemicals/metals). Even today Black Americans are more likely to live in housing contaminated by lead paint than other races.

So are we going to debate the underlying issues? Or are we going to call it a day?

 

[Red Leg]

So can we finally agree that an increase in poverty plus idle hands = more crime then?

The question isn't whether the studies he references showed a difference between white and black IQs, they did (by approx. 15 points). The question is twofold, 1) Is the reason for the difference only race itself, or some other underlying factors? 2) Were those studies accurate, and are they still representative of the races now, 40+ years later? A more recent comparative analysis published 10 years later (2003) showed a difference of 12 points. Others have shown a difference of 10. There are also many factors (other than race) that contribute to differences in IQ tests.

In the book Freakonomics; Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner hypothesized that the early 90s drop in crime correlated well with other factors, including the removal of lead from gasoline and paint. Lead concentrations are higher where car emissions where highest (surprise). Which where, and still are the inner cities. Black Americans are over represented in these dense urban areas, and thus, were more likely to be exposed to higher concentrations of lead (among other chemicals/metals). Even today Black Americans are more likely to live in housing contaminated by lead paint than other races.

So are we going to debate the underlying issues? Or are we going to call it a day?

Exactly my point. There are, I believe, a host of underlying reasons for the current state of Black Americans in this country and that effect on the rest of our society. I believe a major factor is the failure of the family unit in current Black culture. Assuming that is correct, and it is hardly a controversial thesis, we are left with either finding mechanisms to reverse that trend, or determining how protect broader society from the effects of it. Those are our two choices. To repeat, somewhere around 30% of all violent crime and 50% of all murders across this nation are being committed by just 14% of the population.