Why did they sell shoes with these laces in the 1st place?

Cheaper laces?

it's gone so far that we are hard-pressed to find anything made in usa anymore

I think that the US is responsible for China becoming an economic monster / giant. And now that economic Frankenstein's monster wants to eat its maker. It would NOT be easy, but we need to reverse the process. At the beginning of the pandemic, the US did not even have enough MASKS for Americans because we were OVERLY dependent on China. That is just a small example. Today it is electronic chips that are holding back the US manufacturing of vehicles.
.......US security would be improved by every factory that LEFT China and RETURNED here. The US middle class could be strengthened instead of the Chinese middle class. There are plenty of men and women in the US that do not have a College Degree and would like to work in a factory. That might even be the answer to lowering crime. Give people a purpose. And the US needs a road building and mass transit building program to accommodate all the new population. Our current road and bridge system would probably be about right for 250 million people.
.........US people fighting each other over "culture wars" issues and hating on shoe brands that advertise toward young people that routinely have little bias is just playing into China and other dictators' hands.

this thread

Check this for some interesting info - Press Center
| TrendForce - Market research, price trend of DRAM, NAND Flash, LEDs, TFT-LCD and green energy, PV. Taiwan and S Korea 80+ % market share of semiconductor manufacturing, China 5-6%.
What we should be doing (IMHO) is taking care of our friends and allies and making sure the "bad guys" know there are consequences for stepping over the line - they are not our friends, but they can be (and are now in most cases) valuable business partners.
These factories are NEVER coming back to the USA with more than a token presence. People need to get over that pipe dream and push back on any BSing politician who says they can do it.

Clearly you don't follow the bouncing ball very well

I'm with you

The US is on a dangerous path, and almost daily now I ask "who benefits by America being at war with itself". All the hate and anger. Things don't just happen. There are at least two countries that come to mind.

Omg, I totally agree. It’s a disgrace. I Turn it off when it comes on. Commercials and shows on TV are getting worse by the day. CRT getting shoved down ALL of out throats👎👎😡😡🤮🤮

Tennis not good example, same as swimming, weight lifting……….shot putt, running……

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AptRn1YFks

Now darts, bowling, and billiards then yes. Golf not good example why have different tee offs boxes. Now putt putt you bet.

This discussion is entering the Twilight Zone

Moving over to CRT…………..

Three computer monitors ago, I had a CRT. I use an LCD now.

Nothing to do with recent events. It's a long standing statistic...

And by your logic, Alaska would be at the top of US States in percentage of antidepressant usage. Fact is, they're at the bottom...

• Antidepressant use by state U.S. 2019 | Statista.

No, really? I had no idea!

It's not like I would know anything about footwear or anything... :ohdear::ohdear::ohdear:

Back then, women weren't making comparable $$$ that the men were making...

Not to mention those who can afford to pay for coaches, trainers, etc, etc, etc...

And since my expertise in competitive chess is limited to watching "The Queen's Gambit", I was under the impression that there were no sex separate chess tournaments...

C'mon, you gotta show Fonzie!

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/DishonestI...restricted.gif

Interesting video...

And actually, tennis and golf are very good examples.

I have a very good friend who has a home in the same Country Club Community as the Willams Sisters.

His sons were both excellent High School players and good college players, but never were good enough to pursue a professional career.

When the boys are in FL they often practice with both Willams sisters. They easily keep up with them and are capable of beating them on a regular basis...

To your point about golf, both Michelle Wei and Annika Sorenstam tired playing on the men's PGA Tour.

Sorenstam played once and missed the cut. Wei played multiple times and missed the cut 2/3 of the times. Her best finish was tied for 35th place.

forgot about the Fonz.

That's where the term "Jumping the Shark" originated! :shocked:

Jumping the shark - Wikipedia

Far as I know there isn't, which was part of my satire.

And Queens Gambit was an EXCELLENT show. I never made it past Master in the ratings, grand masters were like gods to me.

Welcome to my world!
Rank amateurs and "googlers" arguing with the experts.

It's all Chinese crap who cares?

Women get equal prize money at Wimbledon, yet only play three set matches, whereas men play five.
Personally if women only played one set I would be happy.
Their shrieking drives me nuts.
Even my wife, an avid tennis player and watcher, has the sound off when the Banshees Play!:icon_wink:

Please explain.

They are just repeating dog whistles and sadly can't explain.

You really wanna' go there?

And they are banning math books claiming CRT or are they trying to prove 74.2 million is greater than 81.2 million.

Kind of late, but I'd say this is a political discussion. Guess the moderators don't mind.

Since you're new here, I can only guess you don't know the rules about blatant political posts...

It's only political to those trying to make it political...

Sure, are you implying I post dog whistles, as driveway posts?

“ We burn them to ashes and then burn the ashes."

I stated that it would be DIFFICULT to disengage from China. Difficult does NOT mean impossible. And there are already examples of US factories being more cost-effective than their Chinese equivalent. It just takes a large investment in ROBOTICS. There are other advantages to "ONSHORING" simply because your customer base may mostly be in the US. A company does not have to constantly send employees to China to make sure that their product is built with enough quality control standards. Then there is the language problem leading to misinterpretations. Also the cost of transportation of finished products across the Pacific Ocean ( and the hold-ups that we see currently at US ports). Doing business with China always entails the US losing technology and patent protection. There also must be many unintended costs of doing business with China.
.........What about the future as China becomes more MILITANT and aggressive? This is something that Japan and South Korea are worried about today. We could add Australia to that list. We may be witnessing the beginning of a WORLDWIDE clash between Democracies and Totalitarian countries?
..........America might be wise to BEGIN separating itself from China. As the free world is now beginning to separate from Russia.

I agree completely!

Amazing that someone remembers the late-great Cathode Ray Tube.
(which may still have some limited application because of low-noise qualities in super high fidelity sound equipment)

There are levels of everything, especially in sports. It doesn't take away from the ENJOYMENT at any level. Any level takes time, fitness, and mental concentration. Being at the level of Chessmaster seems impressive to me. Kudos