97and03

I think we are mostly on the same page here. I think a Supreme Court Justice is one of the most important positions that protect our rights and American democracy. Much more important than a congressman - and we can get rid of a bad one of those. I hate that the appointment process for judges has become such a partisan shit show.

It happens, man! Done that myself, just wanted to make sure it was the tweet you meant.

Great show. My daughter is now addicted after I introduced her to it.

I have thoughts on how it will play out in November but I try not to comment too much on specific purely political happenings. I agree that things are way too divided. Normally crisis brings us together but this time it either widened the divides or at least makes them more evident.

Wilson also had some nice early classes. SL has shit early classes and won anyway. I want us at or near the top every year but Traylor will still have to get some Ws.

Actually when I think about what you said, I would be ok with the staffers not having hard core political leanings and just offering neutral advice and letting the political types choose from the best options.

Not sure about that really. Also there is a difference between office staffers and committee staffers. Office staffers are beholden to individual congressmen and committee staffers support the committee in general and especially committee leadership. They are usually a mix of some from the parties and some more permanent staff. At least that is what I think it is, but I admit that is not my area of expertise.

I kind of doubt he does either. His VP pick should be above reproach.

To be honest, professional staffers are not the bad guy necessarily. In my work I have interacted with many and the overwhelming majority are dedicated and smart professionals. They are subject matter experts and usually bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their offices or committees. The congressmen that I have met...not so much...

I agree that Kavanaugh didn’t get due process but in a different way than you seem to mean it. There were a few days of testimony and a rushed approval and now the man has a lifetime appointment. Law enforcement, the media, and most importantly voters have months to scrutinize Biden’s past and current actions. Then millions of people get a say, not just 50 +1 like in the Senate confirmation process. Maybe you feel the media or liberals were too tough on Kavanaugh, but I think he made out pretty well. Almost untouchable for life. For those who dislike Biden, 8 years (likely 4) and he is powerless.

Isn’t that tweet from over six months ago?

You might want to check the recruiting rankings for 2021...

I am much more concerned about the lack of investigation and institutional controls inside our government structures than I am about media bias. I have posted independent media evaluations in other threads. Media bias exists on both sides and it is very easy to find out who supports who. The most troubling aspect to me on the sexual assault issue is how political advantage has replaced morality in how society views sexual assault. Trump was elected despite media coverage of his indiscretions and sexual misconduct. That doesn’t seem to be as troubling to some people has how the media covers their party. Kavanaugh (spelling?) was troubling to me because of the rush to approve him. I think it would have been better for Congress to wait until a full investigation was completed or replace the candidate. In the case of Biden, of course there needs to be an investigation. So far the victim has some inconsistencies in the story and there are real reasons to question motives, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be investigated. “Believe the women” was never about “all accused men are guilty,” in my opinion. It was about making sure that accusers had the opportunity to tell their story, be heard, and seek justice. All too often sexual assault victims have been shamed (“well maybe you should not dress so sexy” or “what did you do to encourage him?”) instead of being treated like any other victim of a crime. No one says to the victim of a robbery, “Well didn’t you know that taking money from an ATM is just an invitation to be robbed?”

No faster way to undermine democracy than political corruption.

Term limits are a tough one. They look great in theory but do have drawbacks. I think the argument that permanent staffers will have all the power is somewhat correct but really they already do in many cases. Professional staffers in the congressional committees have a great deal of influence. Really committees are where a lot of the power is at (if not most of it). Seniority plays a large role in committee assignments for congressmen so teen limits would affect that as well. Not arguing for or against on that one. Whether term limits are even enacted or not, they need to continue to strengthen restrictions on congressmen going straight into lobbying. I think term limits would make that worse without stronger ethics rules. I tend to favor voting as the best term limit but would be open to it if done thoughtfully. I wonder if it would drive down voter turnout in any way. We already struggle with turnout in midterm elections and maybe people would just shrug and think “well s/he only has two years either way so I guess it doesn’t matter.”

I have never seen a coach or GM return his salary after a failed season. Nor have I ever seen an owner or GM give money back to players or season ticket holders when they dismantle teams to save money. Usually they just ask taxpayers to fund a new stadium.

Football is the problem. It takes up so many more resources than any other sport. What I see from a lot of you seems to be a direct or indirect way of saying “Of course women deserve an opportunity to play sport just not at the expense of men’s sports.” Not to speak for you, but it certainly comes across that way. One thing that could fix the problem would be to reduce football scholarships by about 30. NFL rosters are only about 53(?) players yet for some reason college teams need 85 scholarships and another 20 walk on players? Cutting football scholarships would mean the end of the scholarship 4th string CB but it would allow poorer schools like us to have more men’s teams. Then you could all get the men’s tennis and soccer that has been such a void in your lives. They could also allow some partial scholarships to be awarded to still be able to bring in quality players if coaches still wanted larger rosters of scholarship players. Quality walk on programs would also be essential. Just food for thought.

Gray and black t-shirts are the norm as far as t-shirts go. In addition to white of course. So we are lucky in that sense. If our school colors were green and gold, I would not expect all clothing to be only in those two colors. I would rather see an alum in a grey T-shirt that says NT on it than no NT gear at all. Not sure why the older guard wants to die on this particular hill when there are so many other battles to fight to improve our situation.

The plan one person hypothetically discusses of testing on Thursday and then simply not playing anyone who tests positive isn’t a very effective approach. If one has it and is working out and practicing with the team, it is very likely others will catch the virus but return a negative test. In turn they will spread it to teammates and opposing players. Honestly there probably isn’t a solution that works. I am not sure how they will manage it. I do like that they are thinking about mandatory testing at least. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/if-youve-been-exposed-to-the-coronavirus If you get the nasal/throat swab or saliva test, you will get a false negative test result: 100% of the time on the day you are exposed to the virus. (There are so few viral particles in your nose or saliva so soon after infection that the test cannot detect them.) About 40% of the time if you are tested four days after exposure to the virus. About 20% of the time if you develop symptoms and are tested three days after those symptoms started. This possibility of a false negative test result is why anyone who has symptoms that could be due to COVID-19, or has been exposed to someone known to be infected, must isolate even if they test negative for coronavirus.

Only 4? I think 0-12 UTEP probably managed that.

Exactly. Hard to charge all those fees for on campus resources and sports if you can’t access them. I know the Rec Center fee used to be around $75 a semester.

The eagle head was way too close to the Philadelphia logo. I remember back when they were rebranding, RV told me that people used to walk up to coaches/staff at airports asking them if they were with Philly.

So much for that Cinderella story: Included in the vacation of wins are conference championships in men's basketball in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2017-18, as well as the program's First Round win in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The banners recognizing those achievements will be removed from William R. Johnson Coliseum.

Good to Rivals putting in the hard work...

Thanks, will amend.