ewen21

I am getting married on the 1st and then traveling (not to San Diego). Would love to meet everyone, though.

You couldn't be further from the truth if you think I believe that.

You surely have called me out. What was it all about again?

What THEY are you referring to?

Tell me what you want it to be called and I will call it that. In fact, you and Carole should both come to a consensus on it and get back to me.

I didn't initiate anything with you, Carole. I was speaking to SABR and you took the ball and ran with it. Please don't paint me as being "sensitive" because I have no problem with an open debate. Not need to trade insults or get ugly if you want to talk about this. You haven't even bothered to find out if I am for against or thinking about it. As far as your findings go, I got the term from the NY Times (about as famously liberal as a publication can be). If you want me to stop calling it "gay reparations" then DONE. Tell me what you think it outght to be called and that is what I will call it. Finally, (to both you and Mr. Brooks) tax refunds are not "reparations" but reparations come from SOMEWHERE and in this case they are being disbursed/deployed via a tax refund. Pretty basic stuff and the kind of thing Mr. Brooks tends miss when he gets laconic.

Dude, relax. This came from an article I read in the NY Times last week. I have, quite frankly, been rather busy in my personal life and haven't had a ton of time to bring this up. Since Warren was being discussed I put it out there. If you don't want to call it reparations FINE. We don't have to call it that. This guy did: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/opinion/gay-reparation-stonewall.html He made case for what he called "gay reparations" If you guys are going to jump down my throat for that I guess that's life. It really doesn't bother me all that much, but it is kind of shocking how intolerant certain people are when it comes to language. When I read an OP ed article in the NY Times entitled "A Case for Gay Reparations" I didn't think for one second that the term would be viewed as offensive. Then again, I should have known better. I should have known it would spark this kind of reaction. And by the way, it IS reparations via a tax refund. We can debate that until the cows come home, but I would rather not.

Right. That is the title of the OP ed that was in the NY Times last week. I see the words "Gay Reparations" used in succession. I think your issue is with who wrote that op ed.

Carole, what's the problem? Are the words "gay" and "reparations" some verboten toxic blend? The New York Times used that term: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/opinion/gay-reparation-stonewall.html We had this enormous hurdle in the immigration discussion when I referred to "illegals" even though they were, in fact, illegally crossing the border. Now we have this. What exactly are you trying to insinuate? That I am uniformed? You honestly have no idea if you think that. I actually have a transgender nephew whom I love and would protect like he is my own.'' Fly off the handle if you have to, but these reactions to words really stunts the discussion. REPARATIONS FOR GAYS? Is that better? What should we call it. You tell me. Sheesh

I don't know. I came across a great number of articles just researching Warren. Do a Google search. "Elizabeth Warren gay reparations" I didn't write the articles so don't get mad at me.

Elizabeth Warren is now considering reparations for gay couples.

She alleges he raped her in the dressing room at Bergdorf-Goodman. This is her account: “The moment the dressing-room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall, hitting my head quite badly, and puts his mouth against my lips,” Carroll alleges. “I am so shocked I shove him back and start laughing again. He seizes both my arms and pushes me up against the wall a second time, and, as I become aware of how large he is, he holds me against the wall with his shoulder and jams his hand under my coat dress and pulls down my tights.” Carroll continues, “I am astonished by what I’m about to write: I keep laughing. The next moment, still wearing correct business attire, shirt, tie, suit jacket, overcoat, he opens the overcoat, unzips his pants, and, forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me.” Not sweeping anything under the carpet.

Imagine that? Who would have ever imagined?

Ben brought up McConnell's comments about reparations. McConnell commented on reparations because there were congressional hearings on it. Democratic candidates have reparations as part of their platform and it has been injected into the national conversation. Exuse me for not wanting to break down how racist Mitch McConnell is. I wanted to talk about solutions beyond reparations and I actually TRIED to discuss that. No one seems to want to pursue the conversation beyond a little blurb. I was hoping we'd get deeper, but no......we have to talk about "racism" Go ahead and get it all out. I'll be over here ready to discuss solutions beyond reparations. Whenever you're ready. I don't think anyone here even supports reparations or think conversations about it are productive. No one even thinks it's realistic to draw up and yet the democrats have injected it into the conversation. Have at it. Tell me how racist McConnell is.

The underlined part. Really? I don't have administrative clearance, Carole. You and John are the ones control how these discussions go. I certainly don't

OK so what have we uncovered here? Mitch McConnell is a racist I believe the discussion was about reparations. That would be the takeaway from yesterday for me. Not can we find a "racist comment" somewhere to attack. I think what he said was ignorant because he said it in front of cameras. No way in the world is it 100% racist when you zero in on everything he said. I know some have designated themselves "race cops" (Kyle Korver comes to mind), but the issue is far more important than off the cuff words from a tool Mitch McConnell.

No one is being "racist" either

The thing I find outright bizarre is that after reading this forum very carefully for almost five months now is that there is a greater criticism of Israel than there is for Iran. You went out of your way to talk about the "good people of Iran" and after criticizing Israel for being "too right wing" for your liking. Let me tell you something.... I work in a NYS public school. The Israeli Scouts dropped by a couple of weeks ago and they were a fine bunch of young people. As a matter of fact, a school employee went into cardiac arrest and the leader of the Israeli Scouts (on this trip) sprung into action and performed CPR and saved a life. About a half hour later they were onstage performing. I am not Jewish, but I have a great deal of respect for Jewish people and Israel. You like to scream RACISM but you seem somewhat anti-Semitic to me. The bottom line is this for me. Israel's government and people have had a relationship with ours. They never fired missiles at our ships, taken hostages or threatened us with annihilation. Iran has been this way since before you were even born. For all the wonderful people who live there (according to you) they seem to not like us very much.

This is precisely what we need to stop talking about. I contributed a whole lot of stuff in an attempt to answer Brock (during a very busy time) and you want to focus on this? Why?

You are 100% correct. This is not a one and done thing on any level. I believe very strongly in young black men learning trades. Heck, not only young black men, but young men PERIOD. Our education system preaches far too much about college being THE path to take and it simply isn't for everyone. I live near Poughkeepsie and there is a small poor section that consists of century old Victorians that are mostly in disrepair. These are homes built by European immigrants and they are old. I think that it is important to institute policies attract more private sector capital to places like this. I would like to see black construction firms come to prominence. I think this would be wonderful for not only impoverished areas, but ANYWHERE. So many opportunities are in this field and we now have a great deal of immigrants doing these jobs. Blue collar work is something that shouldn't be marginalized and I think getting into the trades is a terrific way for young black men to earn a living. I think with that comes pride in your neighborhood. Think about it...….. If we can do something about inadequate housing and get rid of as much as we can in urban areas and replace it with housing built by African American owned firms it is a win/win. This would not only provide jobs and income, but also a neighborhood pride that doesn't exist. This isn't something I have seen ever before and I think Trump is trying to actualize this kind of thing through his executive order on opportunity zones. He has a background in real estate and knows a thing or two about it. Not only should we encourage/incentivize young black men to get into the trades, but we should also encourage them to sell real estate, do mortgage banking, etc.... I think this would do a great deal to change things. With regards to the old crime bill and criminalizing marijuana, forget it. Make it legal and don't let us make the same mistakes we did. The Crime Bill instituted during the Clinton era was absolutely horrendous for African Americans and poor people. Incentivize (big time) small business ownership in African American communities. This is something happening now with Trump's opportunity zones. Just how successful it is so far isn't yet evident to me, but people with big money are TRYING to invest in opportunity zones and there isn't an immediate payoff beyond a tax break. They have to be in it more long term than in the past and this I believe is a positive thing. I don't see where reparations is a feasible option. How in the world does it even work? No one can even explain it and yet many democratic candidates have this on their platform. They are also saying all the right things, but talk is cheap and I find it very patronizing for candidates to talk this talk about reparations when they haven't a clue how to make it get off the ground. What McConnell said was not racist, in my opinion. I respect the fact that people feel he was out of line and are calling him out, but I fail to see where this kind of thing is constructive. We have gotten way WAY out of hand when it comes to making the accusation or "RACISM" It's become a silly word to me where white people drop it like a bomb on rational discussions. We could have a rational discussion about other solutions beyond reparations to help African Americans, but spare me this bit on racism please. Also, a great part of the responsibility is on them. We can blame slavery and racism until the cows come home, but violent crime, out of wedlock child birth, promiscuity and this unfortunate disdain for 'acting white' in school in black communities is something we are not going to fix. Those not problems white people gave them. I am sorry.

Thank you Brock. I'm extraordinarily busy at work but I will try to give you a thoughtful response

What is a "right-wing policy on Israel"??? I would support shelling Iran morning, noon and night until nothing moved there if they started targeting Americans on American soil.

I would be interested to hear what anyone thinks reparations should look like. Personally, I am against it. My family was in eastern Europe living in virtual poverty all the way up until the early 20th century. This is the story with a whole lot of other European-Americans. Maybe some people have families that have been here since times of slavery and there is a certain amount of guilt associated with it. Go ahead and beat that drum if it makes you feel better. I'll be over here ignoring the noise

Are you more of a Khamenei guy? I love Trump's Israel policy. They love him in Israel....Iran, not so much.

He is and yet he isn't at the same time. I said that Trump was possibly ahead of the curve on immigration and that would include being ahead of the curve with many republicans. Witness this example: https://www.vox.com/2019/5/17/18304940/trump-immigration-congress-fail I am no cheerleader for the republican party. I am not affiliated with them. The bill won't work because the republicans aren't in lock step on this issue. The democrats will oppose it simply because Trump wrote it The democrats sicken me. People Maxine Waters, Ilhan Omar, Ocasio-Cotrez, Beto, etc....The conversations some of these people have about immigration are stunning. Beto possibly being the most ignorant. It is as though they think the crisis at the border is some sort of propaganda and this attitude is born out of ignorance.