Any Trump supporters here???? (lawyer, lobbyists, how much, Hispanic)

[Harlem resident]

Originally Posted by leoliu

You could have told on such misconception/misgeneralization using some critical thinking.

First of all, you got to understand that world's top colleges are located here in the US, therefore the majority of top US and international students would strive to attend US colleges if they could. That also explains why foreign students in the US as a group outperform American students because they are often more self driven to success and have to pass some competitive selections to come here in the first place.

With those top students pretty much retained at home, you should now understand that many of the american students studying abroad do not represent the full intellectual potential of the general population. Also, we all know the fact that among American students, there is a large disparity in school/intellectual performances among different races, usually with east asians/european whites perform above the standard as a group whereas latinos/blacks perform below the average. Depending on the racial background of the american student body abroad, misconceptions of American students in general can arise among your english or french colleagues who have little understanding of how things are here in the US.

When you hear their above comments in future, please feed them some background information so they no longer take pride in misbelieving that they are smarter than you.

Oh, they do not think they are smarter than me. All understand that those people who had the privilege of elite universities are more like them than anyone else.

I had the privilege of avoiding the "make me a stupid consumer" process that defines American education, including too many so-called universities. It is indeed a privilege and one for which I remain very grateful. I would like everyone to have the opportunity to experience this but that's a different thread.

By the way, colleges and universities fundamentally differ - very much so.

SOME of the world's best universities are located here. And some are located elsewhere.
It also depends on your field of study. Few universities are top at everything. Perhaps Oxford, in some ways Columbia.

Americans are not taught second or third languages as a matter of course. Think about that.

Finally, most of my French and UK colleagues (for instance) understand quite a bit about how things are in the US.

[Bon-Sama]

Originally Posted by leoliu

You could have told on such misconception/misgeneralization using some critical thinking.

First of all, you got to understand that world's top colleges are located here in the US, therefore the majority of top US and international students would strive to attend US colleges if they could. That also explains why foreign students in the US as a group outperform American students because they are often more self driven to success and have to pass some competitive selections to come here in the first place.

With those top students pretty much retained at home, you should now understand that many of the american students studying abroad do not represent the full intellectual potential of the general population. Also, we all know the fact that among American students, there is a large disparity in school/intellectual performances among different races, usually with east asians/european whites perform above the standard as a group whereas latinos/blacks perform below the average. Depending on the racial background of the american student body abroad, misconceptions of American students in general can arise among your english or french colleagues who have little understanding of how things are here in the US.

When you hear their above comments in future, please feed them some background information so they no longer take pride in misbelieving that they are smarter than you.

Maybe. Maybe not.

Looking through the methodology used for university rankings, it appears to be a popularity contest IMO; but, I'm no expert. Also, countries operate differently and I don't see this being heavily taken into account as I alluded to in my first sentence. For example, in germany and the nordic countries, you have a higher focus on trades and trade education than here in the states. This doesn't appear to be accounted for. And, in my experience, is crucial. Even here in the US where skilled trades are more or less seen as inane, in my experience, a trade apprentice can actually get ACE accreditation for fairly advanced college classes; though, the system involved is convoluted and greed-driven imo.

A better indicator would be how countries compares on indices. And, in this respect, the US does pretty poor on most indices (quality of life, democracy, transparency, corruption, etc). More specifically, the human development index puts the US at 4th and between rank 3-7 there's no real significant difference. The inequality adjusted human development index puts the US at 28th which is a terrible score.

We also fall short on the programme for international student assesment in math and only do modestly well in science and reading. And race/inequality is taken into account considering that it's a random sample of the selected student population which should account for all stratum. The problem, as alluded to in parentheses above, that disproportionately affects blacks (not including recent immigrants) and latinos, especially blacks, is that they overrepresent the negative outcomes of extreme inequality in the country for various socioeconomic reasons.

It's not hard to get why some countries think that we're a bit behind and I tend to agree as a more progressive/hyper-liberal American. IMO, Trump represents the privileged/business class and is a foolishly xenophobic fear monger.

I also, at least cautiously, disagree that the top college students from the US don't travel abroad. I'd tend to think that they'd be just as representative as other foreign students, but I could be mistaken.

[leoliu]

Donald Trump thinks less of Wall Street than Obama


Donald Trump terrifies Wall Street

Blankfein: Trump's finger on the button 'blows my mind'





The Goldman chief's comments at a Wall Street Journal leadership event underline how terrified the financial industry is about the possibility of Trump winning the White House.
Once seen as a longshot candidate, Trump has been consistently leading the GOP field for weeks. The latest polls show him easily beating establishment candidates like Jeb Bush that Wall Street would clearly prefer.
Trump has hated on the financial industry in campaign speeches and represents a threat to the cozy relationship between big banks and politicians of both major parties.
The billionaire mogul called high CEO pay a "disgrace," and promised to close loopholes that allow hedge funds to pay lower income taxes to Uncle Sam.

[leoliu]

Wednesday night's debate airing on CNN

What's at stake for 2016ers on debate night

No one has more on the line in Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate than Jeb Bush.The former Florida governor with one of the most recognizable names in politics and $100 million in the bank is facing one of the most crucial moments of his political career at the CNN debate held at the Reagan Library.
In the unpredictable GOP race for president, Bush is struggling to regain his footing in the midst of Hurricane Trump. He first tried to ignore the bellicose billionaire before changing course and punching back hard. He has released detailed tax and immigration reform plans to show he is about substance, not style. He has kept a rigorous pace on the campaign trail, squeezing in Monday meetings with tech leaders in Seattle before heading off to Nevada and Michigan post-debate.
CNN Republican presidential debate
The payoff for all that hard work? A steady slide to the middle of the pack that is giving Bush donors the jitters and an opening to rivals like Ben Carson and Ohio Gov. John Kasich to overtake him in key early-voting states.
Here's a look at some of the hurdles Bush and other GOP presidential contenders face going into debate night.
Bush

The former Florida governor's initial assets -- money, connections and political experience -- have made his downward trajectory all the more striking as he wrestles to regain control of the campaign narrative.
"These debates are increasingly life-and-death moments for candidates who started out as the presumptive frontrunners but have fallen to low single digits," said Republican strategist Steve Schmidt, who listed Bush, Scott Walker and Marco Rubio in that category. "The first step to securing the nomination, is taking control of your destiny, completely within the process. At this point in 1999, George W. Bush had accomplished that. At this moment in time, Donald Trump has accomplished that," said Schmidt, a former aide to the elder Bush who advised John McCain in 2008.


21 photos: Jeb Bush's life



"None of these candidates have any ability to control their own destiny any longer—their capacity to rise from 3-, 4-, 5-, 6% is fundamentally about Donald Trump losing his grip," Schmidt said. "No other candidate, with the possible exception of Ben Carson, is within reach to beat Trump. Only Trump can beat Trump."
Bush is making a noticeable effort to retake control over his campaign narrative. He's dropped his hands-off approach to Trump in favor of direct confrontation. He's letting his personality show more often by, for instance, unbuttoning his shirt over the weekend to reveal a shirt with the 1984 campaign logo of Ronald Reagan and his father.
READ: Jeb Bush speaks Spanish in video celebrating Hispanics
And he released a campaign video on Monday in which he speaks Spanish -- defying Trump's calls that Bush only speak English on the campaign trail. The video also includes a rare appearance from Bush's wife, Columba, who is an immigrant from Mexico.
"I have lived over half my life here," she says in English in the video. "We all have the same interests, the same feelings."
Still, the moves aren't helping Bush much in the polls. A Monmouth University poll released on Monday found that in New Hampshire, Bush has slipped from second place into a tie for fifth with Carly Fiorina at 7%.
Trump

Given his defiance of the normal rules of political gravity, it's become difficult to predict the kind of error that would stunt Trump's momentum.
A stray remark that would offend women? He was quoted in his Rolling Stone cover story last week as saying, "Look at that face," when Fiorina appeared on television. He went head-to-head with Fox News host Megyn Kelly during and after the first debate hosted by Fox News.


16 photos: Donald Trump's empire



Another turn of phrase that would offend Latinos? Trump has stood by comments that some Mexican immigrants are criminals and rapists, proposed ending universal birthright citizenship and advocated building a wall along the Mexican border. Despite all of that, his support has only grown, though he is viewed negatively by a majority of Hispanics.
READ: Miss Alabama: GOP should be 'absolutely terrified' of Trump
"I think debates tend to work in his favor because at their core, they're performances," said Republican strategist Kevin Madden, a former Romney adviser. "He's a celebrity who's been performing for the better part of 35 years now, so none of this is new to him."
Trump has shown serious vulnerabilities when it comes to factual matters.
He charged conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt with "gotcha" questions when Hewitt tested his knowledge about the leaders of terror groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Nusra and ISIS. He also has mischaracterized elements of the Iran deal and made difficult-to-substantiate claims that Syrian Christians have a harder time entering the U.S. than Syrian Muslims.
"One of the interesting things to watch will be whether or not the moderators or other campaigns seek to expose Trump as a bit of a fraud or a con when it comes to being able to promote a conservative Republican agenda," Madden said. "If he's exposed as totally unserious on that (foreign policy and national security) issue, it could help some of the other campaigns begin to really draw a favorable contrast on an issue that will be very important in 2016."
Walker

Walker's campaign has been in free-fall over the last several weeks, most notably in Iowa where he was the consistent leader in the polls for much of this spring.
READ: Scott Walker: I will stop 'big-government union bosses'


21 photos: Scott Walker's career



But there's been plenty of bad news for Walker lately in Iowa, which is vital to his campaign's prospects. Walker held the top spot in the pack in polls early this summer, but in a Quinnipiac University poll released last week, Walker had fallen from first place at 18% in July to 10th place in September at 3%.
In CNN/ORC's polling, Walker has fallen from 10% support nationally in July to 8% in August and 5% earlier this month. In Monday's ABC News/Washington Post poll, Walker was at 2% nationally, down from 13% in July.
"Walker needs a debate performance that reverses the trajectory of his campaign," Madden said. "He started out very fast, but didn't match the initial interest in his campaign with a lot of enthusiasm and momentum once voters started to tune in a little bit more."
Fiorina

The debate will offer the first chance for Fiorina to directly square off against Trump.
Another forceful performance could keep her momentum growing, but if she's overshadowed, it's hard to see her building more steam to keep overtaking competitors with much higher name recognition.


15 photos: Carly Fiorina's political career



Fiorina, the former head of Hewlett-Packard, made it to the main stage on the strength of her first debate performance, raising expectations for her on Wednesday night. Charting the opposite trajectory of Walker, Fiorina has climbed steadily in the polls since the first debate -- a rise that CNN recognized with an amendment to the debate criteria that secured her spot.
Still, Fiorina has hovered in the single digits, according to CNN/ORC's polling. In ABC News/Washington Post's most recent poll, she went from an asterisk in July to 2% this month.
She led the pack in the National Federation of Republican Women's straw poll conducted over the weekend -- notching nearly half of the vote when the first and second choice spots were combined. At that conference, she also garnered attention with an indirect attack on Trump during a well-received speech, where she also directed plenty of attacks against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Carson

The understated style of retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has served him well in recent months, helping build a loyal following among evangelical voters and a professional campaign organization that has turned out big crowds even in deep blue states like California.


13 photos: Ben Carson's career in politics



But with the exception of a few memorable lines in the first debate, he is widely viewed as having been too quiet -- and Trump has attacked his energy level. Carson has also seemed skittish about taking on Trump -- at one point questioning the authenticity of his faith but then walking back that criticism and saying he didn't mean it.
He has said he doesn't want to get into a "gladiator fight" with Trump, but, at the same time, he must show Wednesday that he has the mettle to take him on.
The risk for Carson and all the candidates, of course, is being aggressive but not crossing a line where their attacks work to Trump's benefit.
Rubio



20 photos: Moments from Marco Rubio's career



Many Republican donors and strategists are still eyeing Rubio as one of the most formidable contenders for the Republican nomination, given his charisma and compelling narrative on the campaign trail. Like the other top-tier candidates, Rubio has faded into the shadow of Trump.
But he was viewed as having a strong debate performance in the first faceoff among the candidates. Given his youth, his challenge is to show that he has the gravitas to serve as the party's standard bearer.

[vision33r]

All these candidates are facing voter wrath because they've all shown they're easily swayed by donors and special interests.

Talk is cheap, I want to vote for someone that has made money for himself and that is Mr. Trump.

He will run the govt like his company and gut out all the dead weight.

As an immigrant, I fully support building a wall to block out illegal immigration. Countless jobs and lives are lost due to illegal immigrants.

Be glad that Syria and Iraq does not border here, if so we'll be getting all the refugees.

[high iron]

I have a feeling that Trump is about to romp all over ¡Jéb! and the rest of these try hards in the debate.

[UKWildcat1981]

Trump is popular in NYC I hear.

[Kefir King]

Trump is better than black, inexperienced, bible-thumper, Ben Carson who seems to be in second place. We have tried picking an inexperienced president based on his minority status and we see how well that worked out.

[leoliu]

It is such an embarrassing moment for Mr. Jindal in front of a big crowd, from the very first second of the debate...the moderator put him on the spot for throwing low class PAs at fellow republicans...

[Bon-Sama]

Originally Posted by vision33r

All these candidates are facing voter wrath because they've all shown they're easily swayed by donors and special interests.

Talk is cheap, I want to vote for someone that has made money for himself and that is Mr. Trump.

He will run the govt like his company and gut out all the dead weight.

As an immigrant, I fully support building a wall to block out illegal immigration. Countless jobs and lives are lost due to illegal immigrants.

Be glad that Syria and Iraq does not border here, if so we'll be getting all the refugees.

Donald Trump both inherited a significant amount of wealth from his very affluent father and has had multiple bankruptcies that really don't make him look good. Maybe it's just me, but I still can't see trump as anything else than a fear mongering, egotistical, xenophobic plutocrat and I question his actual involvement in trump enterprises as a whole anyway.

Illegal immigrat population tapered off a bit back around 2008-10 and has remained relatively stable since so there's not a huge influx.

A significant portion of immigrants come in not through Mexico's border. From my understanding, a lot of non-hispanic immigrants have stayed here on expired visas etc.

If you want to deal with hispanic, especially mexican, refugees then decriminalizing drugs and outright legalizing some will serve to destabilize cartels. Preliminary evidence on this effect has already shown cartels being impacted by legalization of marijuana. Also, to deal with stabilization, it's probably more economically feasible, as well as beneficial in the long term, to send a small force to mexico to help (help not occupy) with the destabilization if necessary.

Illegal immigrants actually taking jobs away seems to be a myth as far as I can tell. If anything, it appears that they help create jobs.

Originally Posted by Kefir King

Trump is better than black, inexperienced, bible-thumper, Ben Carson who seems to be in second place. We have tried picking an inexperienced president based on his minority status and we see how well that worked out.

As far as I see it, Obama has been a fairly decent president at least. You can blame our, imo, outdated party system on the lack of any huge progress. Would someone you consider more experienced really have been able to traverse the field of plutocracy any more easily than obama? And if so, who? Assuming a democrat, even with bernie possibly being more active if elected, he'll still have a heck of a time and this is despite a 2016+ populace that will most likely be more liberal/progressive than between 2008-16 if trends keep up. And, who was the bernie back then. IIRC, it was obama.