LAAMike

2 hours ago, UndertheHalo said:

What makes you think that any large number of democrats support social security for illegal immigrants ? I doubt there’s a strong plurality that support reparations.  I am aware that Buttieg (I may have botched his name) is a reparations guy.  

I can only speak for myself, I’m quite progressive.  But I do not support either of those things.  I think that in a perfect world there’s a moral argument to be made for reparations being just - hypothetically.  But we don’t live a perfect world.  There’s no way to quantify the damages owed.  How do you identify who’s owed something ? There are other groups that have also been terribly abused in our countries history.  So what about them ?   I don’t view it as realistic.  I think it would be source of severe social discord.  I just don’t think it’s something that would be positive.  I think the greater good is to focus on programs that help everyone.    

I do support the idea that permanent residents or other legal aliens who pay taxes, including into social security should have a right to claim benefits (and I believe they do)  if they’ll be living here in their retirement years.  That only seems fair to me. 

Neither permanent residents nor legal aliens are illegal immigrants.  I do agree that if you paid into social security you should be able to receive the benefits you have earned.  

2 hours ago, yvangelfan said:

Yep, this is the right thread, and your comment is appreciated.

And now Biden is supposedly naming his running mate as Abrams from Georgia and he hasn't even yet formally entered the race.  More craziness!

I do not know if this is the right thread to comment on many Democrats seemingly supporting Social Security for illegal immigrants.  This is even crazier than Reparations.  

Great pitching match ups for season opening Mets vs Nats Series:  Game 1 deGrom vs Scherzer- Game 2 Syndergaard vs Strasburg- Game 3 Zack Wheeler vs Patrick Corbin.  

19 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Reduction in stolen bases are the product of risk adverse management. That was one of the goals the Angels we're supposed to be moving towards this season. 

I thought that "risk adverse management" was the mantra when it came to spending money or years in player acquisition not in game management.  Are the Angels trying to avoid the injuries that stealing seems to encounter? We seem to have a lot of speed that is not being utilized.  

I know that it is a small sample size but it is certainly great to see the Angels leading MLB after 9 games in R,  RBI, BB, Hits, 3B, 2B, Avg, OBP and OPS, but we are way behind with only 4 steals.  Is this due to our new manager?

After looking at Yang's website, I can at least understand a few more features of the UBI.  In all cases, you get the $1000.00 but you must give up any government wage supports.  So the UBI is not added on to get you to $1000.00 but rather it is either/or.  I like the simplicity of this approach but there obviously need to be safeguard/controls to keep people from double dipping.  

Yang has some real intellect but has not done enough to explain how UBI or The Freedom Dividend ($1000.00/month) would really work.  After watching the rather lengthy video I am still not sure what government wage supports other than food stamps (SNAP) are subtracted from the $1000.00 monthly benefit. Also unclear is what you have to do to be eligible - all US citizens 18 years or older?  I like the idea of taxing robot trucks per mile driven, Facebook ad dollars, online retail transactions etc., but how much are these taxes (as this will ultimately end up being passed on to the consumers).  The rather scary prospect of 83% of all jobs paying $20.00/hour being eliminated by 2030 by AI will lead to a lot more Trump voters.  I like his honesty denying the quick answer of government assisted retraining not being much of an answer.  3.5 million 50 year old truck drivers  and the attendant truck stop employees and waitresses do not appear to be good candidates for jobs in the new economy as most of these folks only graduated from High School.  Yang's message needs to be simplified and fleshed out as the effects of AI and automation are already in the third inning and we need to change something to avoid a very large underemployed and unhappy bunch of citizens.  

Eaterfan - thanks for the link to an informative article.  The RDA (Roster Depreciation Allowance) is actually an amortization as the assets in question are "intangible".  The results are the same - an interest free loan (as the amortization reduces the basis which will be recaptured when the team is sold) which will allow the team to spend more on payroll or a pass through (if the ownership is a Subchapter S) to Arte to reduce his personal taxes.  

A rather large issue ignored is the after tax profit of the business.  Depreciating players contracts is very helpful in avoiding taxation which is where a great deal of the value of the franchise comes from.  

I can certainly see how blackface that emphasizes stereotypical black features like large lips has no place in our society today as this just mocks a race, but dressing up like an Native American Indian or a black entertainer/ musician or a woman for a Halloween or other party seems acceptable to me as long as there is no mocking involved.  The Joy Behar picture is a good example of the latter.  

This is part of the confusion about the Trump tax cuts - unless you made a change in your withholdings you have not seen the effect of the tax cuts.  You need to ask this question in April or October (for those of us that file an extension).  Since many on this board are located in California, the restrictions on the deductibility of SALT will certainly be an adverse effect on many.   

I find it discouraging that the hearings where Title 10 USC 284 were discussed received no/little coverage.  This is the section of the law where the US Military is allowed to build a wall to assist with controlling drug flows into the US without any further approval by Congress.  Seems like the approval is already in place without the need for declaring a national emergency.    

I would rather see if Nick Wittgren could play right field than experiment with Walsh as a pitcher.  But's lets try anything.  

The wildcard is how early the California primary is.  California will net a huge number of delegates but is very expensive to campaign in due to the need to rely on TV advertising.  Kamala Harris will be a big factor in the California primary with her large name recognition.  Being black and a woman and not as old as dirt will check a lot of boxes with voters and campaign funders.  This huge field will be down to four frontrunners after California.  

3.2 M for one year.  Pretty cheap

Shoemaker will always be a favorite of mine due to the thread discussing whether his beard was a result of the maternal or the paternal side of his family, which was finally resolved when his father weighed in.  Good luck Matt.

Toronto and 1 year/3.5 million plus incentives that could add another 1 million.  Sounds very close to what he would have gotten in arbitration with the Angels.

MLB is making noise about the all Asian pitching matchup on Sunday.   Tanaka has barely gotten by with some tremendous support from the Yankee bats.   The real matchup is Ohtani vs the aforementioned Yankee bats.  The Yankees are deep and seem to be firing on all cylinders right now.   A much greater challenge for Ohtani than the Oakland and Tampa Bay lineups he has faced.  

I ask this for I think he might be a big part of our bullpen solution.   I apologize if this has been discussed in another thread.  

The Twins pitching has the potential to be quite good.  Galverson will be called up soon.   The Astros with Cole, Morton, Verlander,  Keuchel  and McCullers are simply too good for us to win the Division.  The second wildcard is ours at this point. We have to get our bullpen settled out and hope that our starting pitching continues as well as it has.  We need to be more dominant at home.   

23 minutes ago, Lou said:

E got hit with a pitch. 

It's a bruise, not an impingement.

An "impingement" is a very big word for this board.

The current streak is fun to watch but we must remember that playing against Oakland and Texas is not really much of a test.  Good series win at home against Cleveland.

A HR, three hit batters and two walks.  A starting pitching performance that even Ohtani will not be able to match.  And Happ is on my fantasy team - always good to be in first place once in a season. 

Ben Revere, Nolasco, Napoli, Aybar, Bourjos, and Colon are released.  I see that the Braves picked up Bourjos for 1 million.