Japan is a stagnant economy with a culture of educated people, which helps keep them stable. But there has been no growth there in decades.

Germany and other European nations are like States relative to the US. Not an apples to apples comparison. Most European countries are struggling economically. They have wierd demographic issues as well.

China, like all of them I will argue, are far more limited in social mobility opportunities. I have been there, China is like Chicago, you have to grease the palm of everyone to make something happen. It is not efficient.

In the end, Paul, this is why I love sports. There is a competition and winners and losers. In china and many places, the establishment/wealthy hold the cards, as you know. It is like watching a hockey game where you own both teams. You can't lose. Once the players know this, there is no pursuit of excellence, as it does not matter.

That culture is why most countries can not compete with US innovation wise. They remove incentive for individuals to pursue excellence.

Thank you all for the friendly exchange(your patience) of non hockey issues. It is my birthday today and have to run some errands.
- TrueGrit

Happy birthday. Hope it’s a good one.

Japan is a stagnant economy with a culture of educated people, which helps keep them stable. But there has been no growth there in decades.

Germany and other European nations are like States relative to the US. Not an apples to apples comparison. Most European countries are struggling economically. They have wierd demographic issues as well.

China, like all of them I will argue, are far more limited in social mobility opportunities. I have been there, China is like Chicago, you have to grease the palm of everyone to make something happen. It is not efficient.

In the end, Paul, this is why I love sports. There is a competition and winners and losers. In china and many places, the establishment/wealthy hold the cards, as you know. It is like watching a hockey game where you own both teams. You can't lose. Once the players know this, there is no pursuit of excellence, as it does not matter.

That culture is why most countries can not compete with US innovation wise. They remove incentive for individuals to pursue excellence.

Thank you all for the friendly exchange(your patience) of non hockey issues. It is my birthday today and have to run some errands.
- TrueGrit

You are including the U.S. in this grouping, I assume.

What is the prediction vs Arizona. My guess is 5-1 Hawks. Hawks have played well lately but not gotten the puck in the net much. I think tonight the usual suspects get some points on the board and we win this one as part of the last push before the team falls short of catching the Avs/Stars.

I saw "capitalist" and thought people were talking about the Capitals. My bad.
- AEL_Fox

Too many commies on the Capitals to get them confused with capitalists.

Fix Chicago? I practice real estate law there. Not sure it can be fixed....
- bhawks2241

So true. Look at the current mayoral race. All of the big money interests are lining up behind Lightfoot "the true reformer". From the Daley clan and their people to the old Emmanuel supporters as well as guys like Ken Griffin and the Wirtzs'. You can bet there have been promises made not to rock these people's economic boats in exchange for their support.

By contrast, the lowest folks on the economic ladder - primarily working class service employees and people in the poorest neighborhoods, are the backers of Preckwinkle.

The old guard money managers who earn their living via passive income, and by definition the least taxable form of income will once again prevail to milk the lower and middle classes of their opportunities for an advancing livelihood.

It's a bit dishonest though to chalk it all up to globalism and the mega wealthy wanting seats as world governors. That just feeds a false narrative. It is plain basic selfish Adam Smith capitalism at its finest - produce the goods and services required at the lowest possible cost to increase the bottom line by shipping the jobs overseas to take advantage of low wages, no regard for labor, environmental safety, or intellectual property rights. There is no political agenda behind this - its pure greed. This has only been exacerbated in recent times by the predominance of the rights of shareholders elevated above the rights of workers.

When 60% of American workers have no more than $400 liquidity in their bank accounts, there is a problem. When the proposed solution is to give even more tax relief to those who need it least.....makes no sense at all. America only grows when its working classes climb the economic ladder. Being able to buy two dozen socks made in China on Amazon for $10 means very little if the working classes don;t even earn enough to spend the $10.

Finding out today is Grit's B-day is terribly disturbing on a personal level.

Cam e over today to get away from the political non-sense, picked a bad day to read this page. Oh well.... at least its a civil discourse.

Cam e over today to get away from the political non-sense, picked a bad day to read this page. Oh well.... at least its a civil discourse.

Tonight's projected lineup posted on Second City Hockey. They didn't list DeBrincat but listed Sikura twice so I assume DeBrincat is 1st line and Sikura is 3rd. And they actually left off the Keith-Gustafsson pair. SCH apparently doesn't have an editor over there.

DeBrincat - Toews - Kane
Perlini - Strome - Kahun
Saad - Anisimov - Sikura
Kunitz - Kampf - Kruger

Keith - Gustafsson
Forsling - Seabrook
Koekkoek - Murphy

Crawford

First game in Arizona for Strome and Perlini since the trade. It's also Strome's 100th NHL game and Murphy's birthday today.
- AEL_Fox

WOW - hockey talk. Refreshing.

Too many commies on the Capitals to get them confused with capitalists.
- bhawks2241

Strange how all of the Russians and Eastern Europeans on the Caps went to visit Trump yesterday.

If Mueller had known about this earlier, his conclusions may have been different.

Cam e over today to get away from the political non-sense, picked a bad day to read this page. Oh well.... at least its a civil discourse.
- riozzo

Looks like you picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue....

Looks like you picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue....
- StLBravesFan

That's a relative question.

80's and 90s enjoyed periods of expansion, with a blip in the middle. More recently, the last few years have been better than the prior 8. (Which I know you were setting the bait for). If we had zero interest rates for the last 2 years, as the prior 8, GDP would be 6% +.

While unions did many good things, they eventually overplayed their hand and contributed to their own demise. By the way, I am South Side born and raised and had family live and die in union growth and in the Steel Mills on Southeast side. I am not a North Sider.

Today we live in a world of crony capitalism, which has grown worse over the last 20 years. Capitalism, often blamed for our problems, does not really exist anymore. As companies are not allowed to fail. More irony.

The average person in America has been destroyed by globalism. Their own Government (D's and Rs) selling them out for a seat at the table of world government.

What is ironic, is that most of the populations of the dying rust belt can not connect those dots. No conservative or nationalist person has been elected to actually represent the interest of the locals in over 100 years. And still they are blamed. Instead, they point to the evil capitalist bogeyman (strawman), and then the established party maintains is power and does absolutely nothing for their people. They plunder and sell off public assets. Meanwhile, in droves people flee the insanity.

People of all walks of life want opportunity, not hand outs or promises.

Regulations are sold to the population as some sort of protection against their harm, when in reality, they only protect and fix the establishments stranglehold.

While I am editorializing, I truly am confounded by the lack of curiosity by many as to what is really happening. What Trump and the Brexit move, the Yellow Vests and many of other movements around the globe are protesting, is the establishment of a global order.

Ironically, the only threat to the push back against globalism, are the thousands of people fleeing the Communist states of the midwest and the north east, who move south and continue voting for the same stupidity that destroyed the state from where they moved.
- TrueGrit

You confused, it's not capitalism and its not communism

Wait it must be Socialism then

WOW - hockey talk. Refreshing.
- EbonyRaptor

Yes, hockey. Let's stick to that.

Interested to see how Colliton rolls out the lines tonight. As mentioned in the blog, I would like to see DeBrincat split up from Toews and Kane. I know they are trying to load up and get all of those guys going but I personally didn't think it was working well last game.

Meanwhile, the Hawks playoff hopes are alive... barely:

Playoff odds as of Tuesdayhttps://t.co/Xm8baqGqGI pic.twitter.com/fOVymrLZyJ

— MoneyPuck.com (@MoneyPuckdotcom) March 26, 2019

Fix Chicago? I practice real estate law there. Not sure it can be fixed....
- bhawks2241

disregard the below sorry. it hit a sore spot.

the only way Chicago and Illinois is fixed Is to declare bankruptcy and break pensions. they should actually do it sooner then later. be a quicker fix and it sucks that people who have worked 20 some years might get nothing or very little so people that retired at 50 for 15 years ago can collect 35 years of there whole salary after working 25 years. I have uncles that are retired police officers. and roughly they get 75% of the AVg of his last 2 years salary but in the last 2 years they threw him all the OT so its basically his full salary for life.

The 1% of the 1% and the craziest thing is they make more money on their money in day then I will make in my lifetime.

It is hard to even comprehend that concept.

Same with not for profit colleges. I went to Marquette for undergrad. Since I graduated in '09, 5 new buildings have gone up (surprise so has tuition). I am all for the private college system but something has to change. People at the top making millions while the school amasses tons of assets. Not sure how that really benefits the average student.
- bhawks2241

Not just the private colleges, public institutions also, the rise in the California public universities tuition has made it that students are so saddled with debt when they graduate (or worse have to quit cause they can't afford to continue). The university system has NO accountablility or competition. When the gov't subsidies for student debt were eliminated from the banks,the government became the lender of choice for student loans. The goal was that college should be affordable for everyone, but in actuality has worked in reverse. The more money the federal government pumps into financial aid, the more money the colleges charge for tuition. Student debt has exploded to $1 trillion dollars. It only costs about $8,000 per student for their education, so guess who gets the rest of the money.

Sorry will stick to hockey, as mentioned previously, would love ADB back with Strome and try Perlini with Toews and Kane

disregard the below sorry. it hit a sore spot.

the only way Chicago and Illinois is fixed Is to declare bankruptcy and break pensions. they should actually do it sooner then later. be a quicker fix and it sucks that people who have worked 20 some years might get nothing or very little so people that retired at 50 for 15 years ago can collect 35 years of there whole salary after working 25 years. I have uncles that are retired police officers. and roughly they get 75% of the AVg of his last 2 years salary but in the last 2 years they threw him all the OT so its basically his full salary for life.
- kmw4631

This

WOW - hockey talk. Refreshing.
- EbonyRaptor

Agree with Tyler that DeBrincat should be off the Toews/Kane line. Reunite him with Strome. Maybe something like this:

Sikura- Toews - Kane
DeBrincat- Strome - Perlini
Saad - Anisimov - Kahun
Kunitz - Kampf - Kruger

I believe those were what the lines were before.

Tonight's projected lineup posted on Second City Hockey. They didn't list DeBrincat but listed Sikura twice so I assume DeBrincat is 1st line and Sikura is 3rd. And they actually left off the Keith-Gustafsson pair. SCH apparently doesn't have an editor over there.

DeBrincat - Toews - Kane
Perlini - Strome - Kahun
Saad - Anisimov - Sikura
Kunitz - Kampf - Kruger

Keith - Gustafsson
Forsling - Seabrook
Koekkoek - Murphy

Crawford

First game in Arizona for Strome and Perlini since the trade. It's also Strome's 100th NHL game and Murphy's birthday today.
- AEL_Fox

How is Kunitz still playing over Hayden?

I imagine Haydens gone over the summer

Strange how all of the Russians and Eastern Europeans on the Caps went to visit Trump yesterday.

If Mueller had known about this earlier, his conclusions may have been different.
- StLBravesFan

spare me....

disregard the below sorry. it hit a sore spot.

the only way Chicago and Illinois is fixed Is to declare bankruptcy and break pensions. they should actually do it sooner then later. be a quicker fix and it sucks that people who have worked 20 some years might get nothing or very little so people that retired at 50 for 15 years ago can collect 35 years of there whole salary after working 25 years. I have uncles that are retired police officers. and roughly they get 75% of the AVg of his last 2 years salary but in the last 2 years they threw him all the OT so its basically his full salary for life.
- kmw4631

so glad to be out of that state that is as corrupt and mismanaged as illinois...democrat dystopia...bankruptcy will probably occur during the next recession/downturn

Yes, hockey. Let's stick to that.

Interested to see how Colliton rolls out the lines tonight. As mentioned in the blog, I would like to see DeBrincat split up from Toews and Kane. I know they are trying to load up and get all of those guys going but I personally didn't think it was working well last game.

Meanwhile, the Hawks playoff hopes are alive... barely:

Playoff odds as of Tuesdayhttps://t.co/Xm8baqGqGI pic.twitter.com/fOVymrLZyJ

— MoneyPuck.com (@MoneyPuckdotcom) March 26, 2019

- Justin Lowe

they will probably keep a pulse and win tonight....they are due for a goal explosion

Discipline.

It's a necessary ingredient in the recipe for good defense. It would be tempting for players to try to do more than their responsibility called for but that usually leads to undisciplined team defense. Do what you're supposed to do. Follow the plan.

It's also a necessary ingredient in the recipe to keep a hockey blog focused on hockey related topics. It would be tempting to respond to a comment you disagree with but that would only perpetuate the problem. Do what you're supposed to do. Follow the plan.

Agree with Tyler that DeBrincat should be off the Toews/Kane line. Reunite him with Strome. Maybe something like this:

Sikura- Toews - Kane
DeBrincat- Strome - Perlini
Saad - Anisimov - Kahun
Kunitz - Kampf - Kruger

I believe those were what the lines were before.
- AEL_Fox

I know this is kind of a "been there, done that" lineup but I think it's the best one. As JL pointed out it puts Cat in a better situation because he kind of got swallowed up playing with T&K where he didn't have the puck on his stick enough. Sikura has played well enough in the o-zone and appreciably better in the d-zone than Cat has so he makes that line better defensively. Saad plays better on the 3rd line than he does playing with Toews for some strange reason. The only change I wouldn't mind would be to switch Sikura and Kahun but it probably doesn't matter much because they're very similar players.