unclevlad

Yeahhhh...I can see that. KaPOWWWww..... Just proves football players are insane. Hit like that makes my toenails ache.... And on the flip side, the defense has to deal with the nasty cut blocks. At least the NFL's ditched the high-low double team blocks...

I think there's no more than a wafer-thin chance that Trump's still in office come the 21st. That said, it's NOT zero chance, which is disturbing as heck. I do think he's going to continue the farce all the way to the end...well, ok, for the next 6 months, but as soon as Biden takes the oath of office, there will be no real recourse for Trump. That said, Trump can, and very likely will, continue to do damage, on multiple levels. Biden may well not achieve much of anything...partly because of overall gridlock (especially if the Republicans retain the Senate) but also because he'll have to work hard just to undo the damage Trump's done. And the social damage can't be undone quickly; I'm pessimistic saying I don't think it can be undone *at all* but at the very least, repairing the cultural chasm is going to take many years.

So our city mayor and council decided that, to help prevent the spread of Covid-19, they'll have 2 disposable masks sent to everyone who gets a utility bill. 2. This was posted on Nextdoor, the community news app. Some people said, well, good, some people have a hard time affording them. Most were going, at this point it's pointless. THEN an anti-masker kicked in that we're all being conned...citing a congressman who, it turns out, signed onto the amicus brief. Citing an epidemiologist whose credentials are partially fake. Citing censorship when said person's claims, denied by the agency he was asserting chairmanship of, were pulled from YT and FB. Citing "statistics" that 70% of those who became infected wore masks 100% of the time so they obviously don't work. Oh, and clinched it in the end with a rant about the disaster that will result after the Dems take over after the fraudulent election. The whole alt-right drivel. I think that little exchange of posts probably led to a very weird dream that woke me up way too early this morning. But worse, it just drove home again just how deep and how basic the divide is, and the massive damage that's occurred, and will almost certainly continue IMO. This path leads nowhere good.

Those passages are being taken out of context. The first 5 minutes of his rant before this...and the opening parts Pakman excerpted seem to be from the first 10 minutes...he lays out wild, WILD claims and assertions about multiple hundreds of thousands of votes that were lost, miscounted, multiply counted for Trump, etc. etc. etc. It is an easy argument to say, look, there's all these mistakes and all I need is 11,000 votes. And I'm completely against Trump, but Pakman's interpretation is questionable. My take is that Trump completely, utterly, unshakably believes he won the election...that it's impossible he lost. TAKE THAT AT FACE VALUE FOR TRUMP. The analysis of Trump's motive must start from that premise. It is an unquestionable Truth. He cannot be moved from it. For him it is Holy Writ. Does that make it true? Of course not. But it is, I think, sufficient to explain the entire 30 minutes I heard. Was he threatening the secretary of state, or trying to warn him because he Knows He Will Be Proven Right in the End. Mind, my interpretation suggests immediate removal from office on competency grounds, so it's not exactly an excuse or vindication. But, as utterly disturbing as it is, you have to start by digging into the Trump mindset. Pakman can't. That's not a criticism; arguably it's a compliment. It's allllll too easy to see Trump through blood-red glasses. I will buy that the "there are gonna be reprisals" could be construed as incitement. I think it's harder to call it a direct threat...or would be, if Trump had decent legal counsel. From what we've seen of his legal team, they'd manage to expose more facts and aggravating factors to turn a misdemeanor charge into a mid-level felony when all is said and done. I will also ABSOLUTELY accept that the call was dead wrong from the get-go, and prima facie intimidation.

I'm listening to the opening of the call, it's on CNN. He *totally* believes it now. More and more and more claims of hundreds of thousands of irregular votes, of wild claims that've been debunked. He's spouting insane BS that's ALL purely hearsay and/or unsupported. "We had 30,000 people at our rallies, we couldn't lose." WHAT? And it's so insane..."we have all these affidavits and all these certified results...we'll have them available in the next few days." It's been 2 MONTHS! I swear, I'm about 15 minutes in, and the tone from Trump makes me think he's foaming at the mouth. I can practically see the spittle coming off. "FBI and state police investigated all of these, nothing happened." Trump: "Then they're lying or incompetent!" Utterly scornful. Trump: "they don't need to share it but they should." Like his tax returns? "We'll find hundreds of thousands of fake signatures if you let us do it." Yeah, I'll buy that. I won't recommend you listen to the call, or at least, the half that CNN put up. It's terrifying. It's nauseating. I watched Beau's post that Tricksta linked a few posts ago...listening to it, really does make the transcript stuff pale. But it's not anything new. That said, I'm not sure there's anything in that first half hour that strikes me as criminal. It's a recitation of claims. Maybe there is something in the 2nd half, but I don't subscribe to WaPo. But I'm not a legal scholar, and the pressure tactics alone might be illegal. I also caught an MSNBC story. A point the main speaker made: we're going to have a dozen Senators contest the results...AFTER this tape came out. He was dumbfounded. After listening to the first half...well, but there's nothing new there. Claim after claim after claim without a shred of support. The gent did make the point that having this on record...are you for democracy or for the coup, and now it'll be on record...that might be good, but even then...the fact that *so many* Republicans buy into the "stolen election" BS says this is VERY likely to work more against those who vote to accept the election results. Hm. I have a chiropractor appointment tomorrow, and since I'm out anyway, I'll make a quick run for a few days of fresh stuff. The market I'll probably hit, since I'll be on that side of town, has some rather good beers. Perhaps something to celebrate 2 Democratic Senators from Georgia...or if not, to celebrate Biden's victory FINALLY being certified Wednesday...or maybe Thursday. OK, I'm trying to be an optimist.

Aikman has been playing Captain Obvious quite a bit, yeah. And at times, his enunciation has seemed off. I agree Collinsworth's hyperbole is tiresome, but to be honest, that's a pandemic among sports talkers that's a lot older than covid. But flip it around: how many analysts are notably better than Collinsworth? On balance...probably not that many. There's a lot of very mediocre color guys in NFL booths. Hey, look at ESPN's problems finding a decent crew for MNF. (And I hated Gruden personally, so their issues go back a long ways IMO.) Of course, ESPN's issues with broadcasters are, IMO, largely of their own making....or Disney's making, if you prefer.

Little fact from Peter King's story that Pariah linked...Tony Romo re-signed with CBS for $17M a year. By comparison, only 17 NFL QBs made more... We're all in the wrong lines of work.....

And I found I didn't like playing with less experienced players, or perhaps, the things I'd tolerate before got to be...too much. A player running a thief who looks to be pickpocketing in the town...well, that's what a thief does, right? And that's what chaotic neutral does, right? ARRGH....

And the Chargers canned Anthony Lynn. Looks like they think the 12-4 was the fluke. Or he's not viewed as the Right Guy to bring along a potential star QB. Optimism because Marrone is out? You need a new owner first. Since 2011, the team has a total of 44 wins...and that includes Marrone's 10-win season. His 6 wins in 2019 are the second-best in that run. I'm not saying Marrone was the solution, but at most he was only a fraction of the problem. That's from nfl.com. So he wants final say....sorry, dude. You guys have no chance.

All right. I am now advocating for the firing of Doug Pederson. Don't kick a tying FG, late 3rd. I *wrote* metrics and analytics software; I'm well aware of the flaws. 4th and goal at the 4, I don't like the odds of scoring. Safety is very unlikely. Blocked punt is tough to see; punter's not likely to be jammed back against the end zone. But worse...Pederson yanks Hurts for Sudfeld, for 3 straight possessions. WHY? Not like Hurts was doing much, but what's the point of going with Sudfeld? As Cris Collinsworth pointed out, you have to see if Hurts has a future as your #1. WHO CARES about the backup when THAT question's floating around? No, it's not about who wins the East. I don't really care that much; I'd love the 6-10 but really, that's just my vicious streak, since the Cowboys are not in the equation. I'm actually hoping Alex Smith can make the playoffs after coming back; he deserves it. (The man has a brace on his leg to help support his ankle; it won't move properly without it (!!!!) YEAH, that's worth acknowledging. This is about decision making. And...there it goes. Eagles jump offside to HAND WFT a first down, and all but end the game. On 4th and very short, but Smith sneaking??? Dubious. Smith faking a snap, to try to draw them? HECK yeah. It was midfield so the 5 yards wouldn't mean much on the punt. Moronic play by the Philly line. That's been the norm for the Eagles. And THAT says bad coaching to me. Fire Pederson. Edit: if you missed the end of the game, Collinsworth said, "Al, I couldn't have done what Philadelphia did. The players didn't deserve it." He was talking about playing Sudfeld in a game that was absolutely up for grabs. LOLOLOL Al just said "if the Eagles win this game, I'm gonna dust a call off that I haven't used in 41 years." Unfortunately it ended in a whimper. Fire Pederson.

I have no problem with that cartoon being posted. Ignorance is NOT bliss; we need to know scumbags exist from time to time. NOT very often, but you already know that so I'm not worried. But we can't live in ignorance that vicious little sociopaths are out there. I'll also say that while, yes, I'm on FB...I limit myself to groups linked to particular authors I like. I was on Twitter for a VERY short time...but that was very limited, and didn't last. Never huge on YouTube...Beau from time to time, from this thread; music-related videos a lot. (Flash concerts are fun. So is Beat Saber stuff, in small doses anyway.) But these are also home to some really disgusting stuff. It's nothing new. I go back to the alt. newsgroups, and the groups where the flame wars rose to fighter-jet afterburner levels. So it isn't anything new per se; it is, tho, far more pervasive. Ask me if I think FB and Twitter are a net plus or a net minus...let me get back to you, I have to think about it. A lot. It's NOT clear, either way....

Sure but it's the same thing as The Great Scot, with the same solution.

That is one very, very sick ****.

Even if it was possible, what would be the point?

A kilt would also tend to be an Epic Fail for a flyer.... Atomic Man. His body glows brightly when he uses his EB or flash. His costume is white with blue accents...but juuuust a tad on the thin side.....

Aaaaaannnnd the kicker doinks one off the uprights BUT THROUGH!!! to win the game, giving Tenn the title. So we have 2 divisional matchups next week; Cleveland at Pitt is a repeat...ugh. Not fond of those, myself. And Rams at Seattle. And we aren't hearing from Pariah because he's weeping and gnashing his teeth......

19 down, just inside 3 minutes... Bears still back in. Murray went out for the Cards after another leg problem, so the Cards' offense disappeared. Even with a backup QB, the Rams win fairly easily. Tennessee might be guilty of relaxing, knowing they were in when Miami lost, but they've got 1st and goal at the 1 to take the lead, inside 2 minutes... Ohhh...OK! I can go with that too, cuz that means a 6-9-1 team wins the division outright. I thought that might be the case back in October. And that would make the appropriate pregame music next week America's Horse with No Name......

.....and there was much rejoicing!!!!! Now I'm rooting for the Eagles, so the NFC Least gets a 6-10 champ. Barring a tie, the division will finish a combined 23-40-1. NOT the worst combined record for a division ever, it turns out. 2014 NFC South...7-8-1. 7-9, 6-10....and Tampa Bay, 2-14. And worst of the worst, 2008 NFC West, at 22-42. Seahawks went 4-12; Rams were 2-14. I think you can still say this is the worst division ever, in terms of overall power rating. Take that 2014 NFC South...figure you have 2 teams in the, say, high teens to very low 20's, a third at 25, and one at 30+. FiveThirtyEight has Washington at 19, the other 3 at 25-27.

I believe they could because they are not related to an action related to his authority *as* president. The request was not within the authority of the office. Contrast that with his pardons; those are within the authority of the office, and thus immune to any kind of charge. Essentially it's akin to a governor busted on corruption; see Rod Blagojevich. Yes, he was impeached but he was also later convicted in federal court. Here, the impeachment (we presume) will be moot because Trump will be out of office before it could happen. (And again, not that it ever would.) Executive immunity covers a lot, but there's a lot of things it doesn't cover. Perhaps a stronger example than the pardons: Trump can't be sued or charged for anything related to the wall.

What is so demoralizing to me is that so many people have let his lies slide, and always have. To Cygnia's post...this feels like prima facie election interference, and doesn't feel like something covered by presidential immunity. But convicting Trump? Would it be possible to find a 12 person jury? Find 12 people who could be impartial??? That would be a major, major difficulty.

NO SPOILERS PLEASE, as I have yet to watch any of season 2, but from The Boys: Homelander!!!! Problem is you'll be burned to a crisp. And he wouldn't even feel it. (Yes, I intend to watch season 2. Real Soon Now.) How about Randolph and Mortimer Duke? Altho they got their comeuppance big time.

Ego.

Watching A&M against UNC...UNC just smoked the A&M defense on a 70+ yard pass and run to a *wide open* receiver, after A&M tied the score. Still very early 4th, but...A&M was trying to assert they should've been in the CFP. Yes, well, UNC's down their top 2 running backs and top receiver. The receiver's replacement is the one that just smoked A&M. Even if A&M comes back to win, against a notably depleted UNC team...this isn't a performance that'd sell anyone that they should've been in the CFP. And that led to an idle thought...hey, with Unending Football Weekend, that's the only kind of thought available. (Today's better than yesterday, tho; the hangover's gone.) The UNC backs aren't out for Covid; they decided to opt out of the bowl game to prepare for the draft. Well, ok, but AFAIK they're still allowed to use team facilities, stay in the team dorm and probably keep their scholarships. Honestly, tho, I'm not sure. But if they are...I was thinking it'd have to feel really weird for everyone to have "quitters" still around the program.

Yeah, I've played a bit with Hero Machine, but it's Flash. They're working on a new version, but The End Is Near....

Fine print: this includes 176 deaths when Iran shot a Ukrainian plane down. That isn't something I'd call a crash; that's hostile action. But the story does say that pilot skills eroded due to lack of flight time to stay sharp. That's disturbing...because schedules will remain relatively sparse for most of the year, I expect.