Mishtalk.Com is Back
I am still associated with the Maven but my own URL, MishTalk.Com is back.
I apologize for the approximate 2-3 outage today and any resultant frustration.
This came about over politics. TheStreet is a financial channel only, and some subscribers did not welcome my political posts. I can understand that viewpoint.
Indeed, I have commented myself that political discussions have in general cost me traffic. Ironically, I have been accused of talking politics just to get clicks.
My position has always been that if have something to say I am willing to say it. I criticize the Left and the Right.
On my own site I had that freedom, and the solution is for me to return to my own URL.
I can still write about politics but I removed the post that set things off.
Redirects were broken for a couple of hours today and the login process when commenting has changed. There are a couple of kinks regarding logins that are still being worked on.
Before commenting, make sure the tag in the upper right says “following” not “follow” before attempting to comment.
Later this month there will be a big change in the commenting system as we are moving to Disqus. With that move we also expect the random logout issue to vanish.
Again, apologies for any frustration today.
Mish
No problem. I got a bit tired of the politics because there is so much more meat in economics.
Does this mean we will again be able to edit our own posts for accuracy and spelling? Because the inability to edit my own posts is the reason I stopped following you Mish. I like my friends here and would like to return. I check in every few months to see if I can again edit but so far nope.
Our politics are so different it’s ridiculous, Mish. I agree won some things and disagree on others, which is how it should be. Despite my age, my education, and my obstinance, I keep learning from you. Following you for years, I find your insight on many topics completely invaluable. Those I don’t agree with, I read and move on. I really am thankful you created this blog and that you continue to post.
I would add, if I always agreed with Mish, there would be no point reading him. Like you, I agree sometimes, disagree other times, learn sometimes, and am challenged to defend my beliefs other times.
Long time reader but rarely comment. I appreciate the political posts since politics and financial issues are connected in many instances. I do not always agree with your views but unlike some I actually enjoy reading posts from others with a different viewpoint.
I doubt that an appreciable number of readers abandoned you because they didn’t like your political views or the fact that you shared them.
Rather, you went on an irritating multi-month bender where you were over-posting about Trump and right-wing hypocrisy, churning out repetitive commentary that contained no new insights and that had an unnecessary insulting or condescending tone to many of your readers.
I rarely comment, long time follower. I highly value your political posts, possibly more than economic ones. You do a great job breaking down many topics and cutting right to the most important aspects. You’ve been right on a number of political predictions, which is nearly impossible
I’ve been reading you since Minyanville. You spark great discussions and while I may not agree with you on some things I respect your positions, thoughtfulness and insight.
Thanks. Happy I can still comment. M y world is richer because I try to follow a range of people that typical disagree with me. You teach me, you challenge, you force me to read what I might not.
Great to see you back to the real world 😉 Yes, long live freedom of speech !
With each day that passes without a verdict, anger will build among those who view George Floyd as a murdered innocent…….but the odds also increase that the jury might not reach a verdict at all.
A mistrial is as bad as an acquittal in terms of the expectation of violent demonstrations….and indeed, it isn’t clear to me that even a murder two conviction would keep the masses of angry people from burning some more things down, maybe causing the deaths of others, innocent or not.
I don’t think an acquittal is possible…..very, very low probability of that anyway. But a manslaughter conviction will be perceived by many as a whitewash.
I think a murder three conviction is the most likely outcome….I think a mistrial is the second most likely now, with a manslaughter conviction being third most likely.
Acquittal and murder 2 are both far less likely imho.
Anything less that murder 3 is going to lead to a lot of violence, I think. And there will be no shortage of Al Sharpton types who will make it worse instead of better.
It’s quite possible that even a severe sentence like murder two (completely unwarranted in my view, based on the evidence) won’t be enough to keep a lot of fires from being set and a lot of windows broken. America is a racial powder keg righ now.
You didn’t mention the possibility that I expect, which it that he will be found guilty, but it will be overturned on appeal due to the comments from Waters interfering with his right to a fair trial, and then we will have a new trial.
I don’t think what Waters said, or what Biden said, or what Pelosi said, will be sufficient grounds to overturn the case on appeal. I am surprised he was convicted on all counts.
Demanding a jury trial on a case that had so much negative publicity was the defense’s big mistake, I suppose. But he has his day in court, and he got convicted. So be it.
My primary problem here is not with the way the justice system dealt with Chauvin, but rather how the Floyd case has been and will be used to support the narrative that police are brutal oppressors of persons of color…the foot soldiers of systemic racism, rather than the guys whose job it is to deal with sick junkies who fight the cops.
Pelosi is quoted in the news today as having said something of Floyd, like “Thank you for sacrificing your life for justice.” What utter bullshit.
This is a guy who was riding around with his dealer, getting fucked up and trying to pass a little fake cash in a convenience store. If he’d just got into the cop car and ridden to jail, he’d probably still be alive.
Guys like Chauvin exist precisely because guys like George Floyd are out there. There seems to be a disconnect with reality here. Who is going to deal with large persons of color living in an altered state of their own making, who get into confrontations with police? What is going to be our method of handling such people? Because they are out there.
But the Chauvin conviction is perceived as a “pivotal moment in history” and a great victory for civil rights. To hear some tell it.
What it is…is a very politically convenient outcome, for the Bidens and the Pelosis, who are eager to claim the moral high ground and stand up for their “oppressed” constituents. One that ignores the thornier aspects of a deeper problem that isn’t even being looked at, imho.
My position is somewhat different. I recognize that many people are imperfect. I also recognize that the police are imperfect as well. Psychological research showed long ago that people who were bullies growing up were more likely than others to take positions of authority such as police, prison guards, and the military. There is nothing wrong with that, but it does mean that you need a system to keep them in check. Those jobs are positions of authority that command respect, but which can also be abused, and the must be a system in place to hold them accountable when they abuse their authority.
My problem is that the police have almost never been held accountable for their abuses and mistakes. Their job is difficult, and in the course of doing it, confrontations will sometimes lead to bad results. That’s a given. Nevertheless, there has to be a line, and if they step over it, they are held accountable.
I personally think that the BLM movement would have had more widespread support, had they picked their cases more carefully. In many of the cases, the bad outcomes were cases where a narrative was told which later turned out to not be true. In others, the outcomes were unfortunate, but the result of the fact that they police have to make split second decisions, and those will not always be right. When BLM chose poor cases to highlight, and the police were acquitted, it was no surprise. I have wondered if they deliberately picked a long series of cases where losses were inevitable in order to create a feeling that the entire justice system was against them?
The unfortunate truth is that there are cases out there, such as this one, where the events were inexcusable. I have no problem with Chauvin taking Floyd down, and restraining him. Keeping his knee on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes while Floyd was complaining that he couldn’t breath, and no longer resisting was inexcusable. This was no split second life-death decision; he had plenty of time to realize that his force was excessive and to change course, but he didn’t. It is no surprise to me that Chauvin was found guilty. I only wish that the BLM had more carefully picked it’s cases, and focused on ones, such as this one, where they would win in court. Had they done so, the respect of the country for the justice system would be much higher, and respect for the police would be higher as well.
You assume BLM is something more than an emotionally driven social movement that gains support from viral videos that portray police at their worst. This is NOT the civil rights movement of MLK and Thurgood Marshall. I sure don’t think so, anyway.
I am in complete favor of police respecting the rights of ALL people. We are a diverse society, and there is no place for racism in policing. I’m with you on that much.
But I see policing (as it actually exists,not some ivory tower version) ) as high risk work with occasional bad outcomes pretty much guaranteed…..and given that upwards of 10 million arrests happen in this country, year in and year out, some small number of mistakes are going to be made that result in somebody getting shot or otherwise killed.
I’m still convinced that most of those unfortunate tragedies are not acts of racism or deliberate cruelty….a few are, sure….but that does not make the BLM narrative accurate.
10 million arrests, and many more confrontations assumably that don’t get to that level, but police are called to the scene of some disturbance…..and less than a thousand people a year get killed by cops.
All races.
Blacks are, based on population numbers, more likely to end up dead by cop than whites….but more whites in total actually do get killed by cop. Also consider that crime really is concentrated in poor black neighborhoods and that black people are much more likely to call the police than whites..these things are real considerations.
When you consider the thousand police killings a year include situations like armed robberies…..situations where bad guys shoot at cops, it just doesn’t sound like a huge number to me. It’s .01%.
The stats show blacks are charged with resisting arrest about twice as often as whites….so what does that mean? Does it mean racist cops just say that to cover their asses? Or do black people fight the cops more than whites?
Probably some of both….and some cops are just bad guys….Chauvin appears to have been one of those, for sure.
But I suspect blacks, for cultural reasons, are at least slightly more inclined to go
off on cops. And inebriated people of all races….especially drunks on alcohol, which is an equal-opportunity eliminator of inhibition.
They took that long running TV show Cops off the air, presumably because it often showed persons of color in a bad light during filmed police confrontations. The new narrative now being peddled by most of the liberal media doesn’t permit that. Our thoughts are being reshaped to fit the new narrative.
Biden, who is now the Man of the People, voted at one time for the very draconian laws that have needlessly incriminated so many young black men and got them sent to prison. They (the politicians of both parties) all did, back around 1990, when the consensus was that crime was horribly out of control and apt to get a lot worse.
Instead crime fell for 30 years…..although I expect it to start creeping back up, now that the Republicans have made it impossible for most poor women to terminate a pregnancy. Violence by police has also fallen significantly over the same time period.
The cops wouldn’t be nearly so involved in black neighborhoods if minor drug possession were decriminalized….or even if we had some workable system to deal with mentally ill people…which we once had, actually, before it was dismantled and the entire job of dealing with it fell on the cops….by default.
Ever been arrested? I have. It’s a tense and uncomfortable situation at best, but a wise man doesn’t try to make it worse than it has to be.
I have a fairly intense dislike for police, whom I’d prefer to avoid if possible. I have engaged in many illegal victimless crimes in my life, and I’d postulate that most people have broken some lawthat could result in a criminal prosecution….there are so goddam many of ‘em.
But when I was arrested, I did not resist. I was cuffed and I got in the car…went to jail and waited patiently for my bail hearing….I did not try to run away, drive away, reach inside my coat, or my glove compartment. I did not start an argument. But BLM would say that I lucked out due to my white privilege. Sorry, but I don’t think it’s quite that simple.
I think we’re in agreement more than in disagreement. I think police are in a dangerous job, and that there will occasionally be bad outcomes. I think that sometimes police do use excessive force, and should be prosecuted when they do. I agree that a person has a great deal of ability to affect the outcome, and the best thing is to not be confrontational. On the other hand, I’ve had black employees stopped for DWB (driving while black). One was stopped and questioned, simply standing outside my building next to his car. Another time he was stopped and questioned while pulling into his own driveway. Thus, I don’t think enforcement is always equal.
“If he’d just got into the cop car and ridden to jail, he’d probably still be alive.”
I’m not convinced that’s true, because I don’t think anybody knows the cause of death.
Fentanyl kills people every day. He had lots in him. He was more susceptible than the average Joe, given his heart issues and that he had COVID.
I accept the verdict, but in my opinion there was reasonable doubt on the COD. He may have died during the ride to the station even if he hadn’t resisted.
Otherwise I think your post is right on.
I wouldn’t argue with what you’re saying either. The medical examiner said flat out that Chauvin killed the guy….but the story about restricting his circulation is pretty speculative if you ask me. It might be true or it might not. It’s basically an educated guess. Not solid proof. But the jury obviously believed the doctor.
What Chauvin should have done was realize he was restraining a dying man and he should have shifted to providing life support, or allowed the firefighter who offered to help the opportunity to provide CPR……just some postural repositioning might have been enough to save Floyd’s life. We will never know, but it would have been the appropriate action.
Plenty to criticize about Chauvin…but no smoking gun as to the cause of death I can see from the testimony I read.
“The medical examiner said flat out that Chauvin killed the guy.”
The only doctor who examined Floyd’s body did not say that.
“What Chauvin should have done was realize he was restraining a dying man and he should have shifted to providing life support”
Absolutely. He didn’t care. And now he’s been convicted of murder for not caring.
Notes
I purposely dropped WWW from the URL name
Editing comments will be back with Disqus later this month
I could have been on Disqus long ago but I wanted to import existing comments so nothing is lost. That accounts for a long delay.
Over the last year when you were (deservedly) criticizing Trump, the blog picked up lots of partisan Democrats.
As somebody who has followed your blog since 2008, I’m hoping The Insufferables go away with this move.
If you’re willing to concede that people should be disgusted by the things Waters says, then you’re not nearly as partisan as the people I’m talking about.
Everybody has a slant and party preference. Nothing wrong with that. The issue is when you defer to a party to do your thinking.
Ironically, I identified as a Democrat until ~2017, when I started thinking the Party had gone… “INSANE.” It’s only gotten worse since.
I still don’t identify as GOP, but I can’t imagine voting for a Democrat in the next couple decades, given the Party’s trend.
It’s better this way. Site seems much faster too.
Thanks Mish, I never liked that web site.
“This came about over politics. TheStreet is a financial channel only, and some subscribers did not welcome my political posts. I can understand that viewpoint.”
Baloney. It wasn’t politics, it was the ‘wrong’ politics. Amazing the difference. When you were posting nonsense about the ‘insurrection’ at the Capitol or our about our duly elected President, politics was fine. But heaven forbid you say something about the stupidest woman in Congress. Then all hell breaks loose.
A suggestion? Only make ‘political’ posts when there is an intersection with the economic/market sphere. Not that you don’t have something to say, just that your point (whatever it might be) has probably already been said prominently elsewhere on more politics oriented sites.
I don’t read those rags much, I prefer Mish’s political opinions. Keep those political posts coming, Mish!
lol, it was all good as long as you were critizing Trump, go after the Left and they disown you.
Hopefully you are learning the lesson about how illiberal the Left really is.
Yea for Disqus
http://www.mishtalk.com has an error
without the www works for me
I purposely dropped WWW
It’s all worth it if the login issue disappears.
Now if we could only get an edit button…
Maxine Waters is a dinosaur. She will be gone in a year or two and some Hispanic up-and-comer will take here place. The demographics of her district are overwhelmingly hispanic now. She is a product and a beneficiary of the real civil rights movement, and like many others, she is completely snowed by BLM…and like most people, she is overly influenced by social media.
It’s social media and viral videos…..never mind the stats on police violence, which tell a different story altogether. Maxine….and a lot of others….aren’t so good at math, but they can watch a video and get their info from that.
Her comments on the George Floyd matter were certainly poorly considered, given the likelihood of violence as soon as s the verdict comes in, no matter what it is.
Your opinions are often different than mine….but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t say anything political. Our national discussion needs more people with brains…who can see through the BS, which is everywhere now.
I updated my bookmark, thanks.
You are to be commended for airing your views regardless of the consequences. I agree and disagree with a lot of what you say, and it challenges my views, helps me challenge and examine mine. Most people don’t even try to do that these days, and it hurts public and civic discourse. Thanks for keeping it up.
Another long time reader who will follow you as long and wherever you post. Always respect your topics and opinions. Thank you Mish
10+
I’m up for either a good political or economic post but your domain strength is clearly on the economic side. This is where you add the most value in my opinion
I’m also a long time reader – since before the last major crash. Will follow you wherever you go. Don’t always agree with every point, but always appreciate your perspective.
Long time reader since at least 2008. I’m quiet and rarely post. I enjoy your site and will follow you wherever you go. Thankful for your content; wishing you the best!
Mish, I began reading your blog when you were strictly a financial commentator. I even recall the brief foray into interviews on Yahoo TV with that attractive but no longer on the scene female talking head. Your insight and analysis of the lead up to the financial crisis was very informative. But count me in the group who no longer follow your blog much as it has become just another guy-at-the-end-of-the-bar poltical rant with bitching curmudgeons. Perhaps this fate is inevitable as even Wolfestreet, which sticks to financial posts, has a similar group of woe is everything commisserators. I guess that is why they are called followers.
When the truth is presented the messenger always gets punished in the news
business.
So you were a victim of cancel culture. Or more accurately you have freedom of speech but we’re not obligated to house it
I hope there will still be an RSS feed with the new site. It is the way I follow your blog (or however one calls it).
I do not believe that has changed – will ask
Trying to equate Maxine Waters statement to an insurrectionist was asinine. We know it wasnt true and hence the post was forced to be removed. Trying the fox news false equivalency trick doesnt work because as we all know literally everything is a lie on fox news these days.
She is every much guilty as Trump, just not as powerful.
There are actually some differences with the Trump situation:
Thus, it’s completely understandable why they would impeach Trump, but give Waters a pass.
In addition to absolving Waters of playing with fire and ignoring other instances when “his side” does so (ballfield shooting, Dallas sniper, the entire BLM movement) Casual should include the NYT/WaPo/others in his criticism of “literally everything is a lie”. Let’s read about the Capitol policeman who was “killed”: link to greenwald.substack.com
Greenwald has conveniently forgotten all criticism of those on the right since 2016. I’m sure he’s financially done quite well as a result.
What an amazing post, particularly this gem: “we all know literally everything is a lie on fox news”
With your command of logic and vocabulary, and your obvious precision in writing and research, I’m guessing you are a New York Times editor?
Thanks Mish, long love freedom of speech.