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Billy_TParticipantThanks, again, for doing the tweets. I’ve noticed a recent change in Twitter policy, for people like me who don’t have an account. They don’t let us browse more than a few seconds now. It used to be I could scroll through most of what I wanted to read, click on the X to opt out of the sign-in screen, and keep going with the scrolling. Now, however, there is no X to click on to remove that sign-in prompt. It basically just blocks further reading for non-Twitter folks.
(Appears to be the same on desktops and phones)
It’s the same progression we’ve seen on most newspaper sites. From unlimited viewing, to a couple posts before you needed an account, to no posts without the account. Some exceptions, of course. But that’s pretty much where everything is heading. And the old workarounds — like clearing your cookies/data/etc. — no longer help.
Oh, well. We did okay before it existed. We’ll survive now too.
July 5, 2022 at 11:39 am in reply to: Environmental News (Supreme Court just signed our death warrant) #139545Billy_TParticipantWhat else is there to know, to say… Gonna read some nature stuff. Some sci-fi, some fantasy, some literature, whatever seems fun, from week to week. I finished a book on Punk music the other day. Enjoyed it. Couldnt find a single solitary decent person in the whole book 🙂 w v
;>)
Sounds like a good plan.
I mostly do that too. Recently finished a good short read, Three Rings, by Daniel Mendelsohn. It’s a pretty cool mashup of different styles, memoir, essay, literary criticism, a dash of history, etc. Focusing primarily on Homer’s Odyssey, Francois Fenelon’s 17th century novelistic update, Proust’s writings, and W.G. Sebald’s. A wandering, meandering book about meandering wanderers. Digressions about digressions. Structured with rings and loops and some autobiography, pointing to earlier narratives using rings and loops, etc.
I think I’ll start a literature thread later this week. Hope you’ll add to it.
July 5, 2022 at 10:57 am in reply to: Environmental News (Supreme Court just signed our death warrant) #139543Billy_TParticipantWas wondering when this would post. Tried a coupla days ago and it went into moderation.
Maybe all the smog choked up the software.
____
WV, I think capitalism in any form is going to necessarily lead to ecocide. Its internal mechanics of Grow or Die, its laws of competitive motion, basically guarantee that. It has to continuously expand, geographically, geologically, and into the future, or it collapses.
Not saying anything new here, obviously, but there is just no money to be made in conserving resources this or that industry requires. Fossil fuel companies, for instance, can’t make money by leaving gas and oil in the ground, and if they don’t leave roughly 80% of known reserves alone . . . . we’re screwed — along with most living things on this planet. Some estimates point to an even higher percentage.
Jason Hickel’s books, The Divide, and Less is More, are great at spelling all of this out. You’ve quoted him in the past, if memory serves. He’s excellent at presenting the facts in a logical, coherent manner that makes it easy for the reader to connect the dots. He doesn’t need to editorialize, etc.
Billy_TParticipantInteresting that Jesus never, ever mentions abortion, contraception, or gay people. Not once. So these right-wing evangelicals who say they’re just following their lord’s words . . . aren’t. They’re getting it from somewhere else. They’re also not getting “life begins at conception” from the Bible, cuz the Jews of that time believed life begins with first breath. That’s still the orthodox view.
Etc. etc.
In general, I think some people are drawing the wrong lesson from Trump’s rise, and the effectiveness of propaganda overall. And, to me, this has always been incredibly obvious, but it’s forever missed:
If a Trump can sell a shit sandwich, and make people love it, that means a skillful salesperson can also sell really great stuff, like the Green New Deal, guaranteed jobs at a living wage, free public schools, cradle to grave, and M4A, for starters. It’s always frustrated the hell out of me that far too many Americans think the horrific success of the right means the Dems need to go further to the right to win.
No. They just need to find their own charismatic leaders, movers, shakers, etc. etc. . . . and at least match the right’s all too effective messaging, sales, and marketing. If they do that, America can have really nice things. If they continue with the Republican Lite, it can’t, and people will just vote for the real thing, not the knock-off anyway.
Billy_TParticipantI think Robinson gives the Rams nearly everything OBJ can bring, except for the elite deep speed and overall quicks. He’s bigger (6’2.5″, 220), and actually better going up for the 50/50 contested stuff. OBJ is really good with those, of course, proving himself among the best hands-catchers ever. But if I’m Stafford, I’m looking for Robinson in the End Zone first. His relative lack of deep speed no longer matters at that point, etc. etc.
It would be an embarrassment of riches to have Kupp, Robinson, and OBJ flying around at the same time, with Higbee in the mix as well. That’s almost unfair to opposing defenses. Henderson, when healthy, is another really good option out of the backfield.
Looks to me like the Rams are trying to thread the needle here, contract-wise, hoping they can sign him when they need him, not before. But that might be too clever by half, cuz some other team, likely with a lot more cap space, may roll the dice months before he’s ready to play. I hope the Rams work this out.
Billy_TParticipantWaterfield,
Looks like there’s been some pushback to the pushback. Hutchinson relayed, under oath, what she had been told by Tony Ornato, a Trump loyalist with a rather sketchy background. He’s the person who now says the incident didn’t happen as described. Apparently, Trump broke with all protocol by hiring Ornato away from the Secret Service as a political appointee, while he somehow remained with the Secret Service. A couple of people who worked with Ornato have recently come out saying he lied about what they said too.
From Olivia Troye’s twitter page. She quotes another Trump admin person who says Ornato lied about her.
I think Hutchinson told the truth. All of it.
Billy_TParticipantThat’s Orlando Pace, all 6’7 325 lbs of never giving up on the play to chase down 22 year old Champ Bailey, preventing a TD. This is what football is about! @OrlandoPace_HOF had wheels for a big man! Check the tape! pic.twitter.com/0pdOkMLHgg — RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) June 28, 2022</p>
That’s nutz. I had forgotten that play. Bailey was a track guy too. From his Wiki page:
Track and field
Bailey was also a standout track and field athlete at Georgia; he ran the 55 meters and 60 meters, recording personal bests of 6.35 seconds and 6.85 seconds, respectively. He also competed in long jump and triple jump.
Bailey set a school indoor long jump record in 1998 of 7.89 meters (25 ft 11 in) to finish third at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Billy_TParticipantI think the security guys will testify differently than reported by Hutchinson.
Only on minor details, Waterfield. Hutchinson relayed what she had been told about Trump in the car, lunging at the driver’s throat, after being told they would not take him to the Capitol to lead his rioters. The spokesman for the Secret Service did not dispute that Trump was irate when told he couldn’t go. They just dispute the allegation that Trump lunged for the driver, etc. That he was irate isn’t in question.
But, again, that’s a minor detail. What matters is the siting of heavily armed men near the Capitol, some in the trees, with “Don’t Tread on Me” flags above them. What matters is many of the “protesters” had to give up their weaponry at checkpoints with the magnetometers, but not everyone went through them. Trump’s anger at the existence of those checkpoints with “mags” is key too. He was pissed that his mob was disarmed to an extent, and that the Secret Service would not take him to the Capitol to lead that mob.
Billy_TParticipantThat’s Orlando Pace, all 6’7 325 lbs of never giving up on the play to chase down 22 year old Champ Bailey, preventing a TD. This is what football is about! @OrlandoPace_HOF had wheels for a big man! Check the tape! pic.twitter.com/0pdOkMLHgg — RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) June 28, 2022
That’s crazy. I had forgotten that. Bailey was a track guy too. From his Wiki page:
Track and field
Bailey was also a standout track and field athlete at Georgia; he ran the 55 meters and 60 meters, recording personal bests of 6.35 seconds and 6.85 seconds, respectively. He also competed in long jump and triple jump.[6]
Bailey set a school indoor long jump record in 1998 of 7.89 meters (25 ft 11 in) to finish third at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships.[7]
Billy_TParticipantI could have linked to all kinds of different sources, but found one that wasn’t behind a pay-wall. As you guys know, fewer and fewer newspapers are open-access these days.
Billy_TParticipantWV,
I didn’t watch the entire video below, but this gives you a pretty good idea (early on) about the shot and Hardin’s innovation:
I was taught you get two steps. That’s it. Not four. It’s traveling even if you take 2 and a half steps.
Oh, well. Young people today!
Billy_TParticipantWV,
Have you seen current players shoot the “step back three”? James Hardin made it famous, but it pisses me off no matter who does it. Curry sometimes will.
It’s obviously traveling, IMO, and refs never should have allowed it, but it’s now a part of the game. To me, it’s basically taking four steps and then shooting.
The above may sound like “get off my lawn” stuff. But I can’t help it. Cuz, well, back in my day, players didn’t even have feet, so they couldn’t shoot threes, much less step-back threes.
;>)
Billy_TParticipantZooey,
I’m a long-time Lakers fan too. Goes back to 1967 for me. Chose them when I was a kid, mostly cuz of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, and then Wilt Chamberlain came on board the next year, if memory serves.
It was a rotten break for me that their arch rival soon became the Celtics, me being a proud Celt and a lover of all things Irish!
The terrible twists of fate!
Another ting. Do you share my frustrations with the Lakers’ fanbase and ownership? They seem to refuse all attempts at rebuilding the team, and will only accept yearly championships, which means constantly trading away the future, etc. etc. Their kinda in a trap right now cuz of all of that.
It may be blasphemous to suggest, but I wish the Lakers would trade LeBron and Davis for the most picks possible, and take the necessary years to build the franchise back from scratch. Home-grow it, etc.
Billy_TParticipantI think I would have seen Deacon, Merlin, Jack Youngblood, and Aaron Donald on the same line, getting 12 sacks in the game, and Roman Gabriel throwing touchdowns to Faulk, Kupp, Woods, Bruce, Holt, Dickerson, and Truax. Josephson, Ellison, Jackson, and Gurley would all have rushing touchdowns, and Fred Dryer would get three safeties. Stafford would get another TD subbing for Gabe. That one would go to Flipper. All of the above would happen at least three years in a row. Threepeat!!
Not sure what you describe is actually possible.
I’m guessing the ayahuasca would prove you wrong.
;>)
Billy_TParticipantAging exponentially.
== Things do fall apart, dont they. But we managed to see another Super Bowl win. Wasnt sure we’d ever see another one. I’ve seen two now. Two in one lifetime 🙂 w v
Are you saying you didn’t see several more after the ayahuasca? I think I would have seen Deacon, Merlin, Jack Youngblood, and Aaron Donald on the same line, getting 12 sacks in the game, and Roman Gabriel throwing touchdowns to Faulk, Kupp, Woods, Bruce, Holt, Dickerson, and Truax. Josephson, Ellison, Jackson, and Gurley would all have rushing touchdowns, and Fred Dryer would get three safeties. Stafford would get another TD subbing for Gabe. That one would go to Flipper.
All of the above would happen at least three years in a row. Threepeat!!
Billy_TParticipantWhat do you guys think should happen to Trump, regarding his (ongoing) coup attempt?
Billy_TParticipantBilly_TParticipantGood article by Woodward and Bernstein, comparing Nixon and Trump. It’s long, so I won’t post the entire thing. But you can view it by copying and pasting the link on https colon slash slash www dot printfriendly dot com.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/06/05/woodward-bernstein-nixon-trump/
Excerpt:
As reporters, we had studied Nixon and written about him for nearly half a century, during which we believed with great conviction that never again would America have a president who would trample the national interest and undermine democracy through the audacious pursuit of personal and political self-interest.
And then along came Trump.
The heart of Nixon’s criminality was his successful subversion of the electoral process — the most fundamental element of American democracy. He accomplished it through a massive campaign of political espionage, sabotage and disinformation that enabled him to literally determine who his opponent would be in the presidential election of 1972.
With a covert budget of just $250,000, a team of undercover Nixon operatives derailed the presidential campaign of Sen. Edmund Muskie of Maine, the Democrats’ most electable candidate.
AdvertisementNixon then ran against Sen. George McGovern, a South Dakota Democrat widely viewed as the much weaker candidate, and won in a historic landslide with 61 percent of the vote and carrying 49 states.
Over the next two years, Nixon’s illegal conduct was gradually exposed by the news media, the Senate Watergate Committee, special prosecutors, a House impeachment investigation and finally by the Supreme Court. In a unanimous decision, the court ordered Nixon to turn over his secret tape recordings, which doomed his presidency.
These instruments of American democracy finally stopped Nixon dead in his tracks, forcing the only resignation of a president in American history.
Donald Trump not only sought to destroy the electoral system through false claims of voter fraud and unprecedented public intimidation of state election officials, but he also then attempted to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to his duly elected successor, for the first time in American history.
Donald Trump and Richard Nixon shake hands at a gala in Houston in 1989. After the 2020 election Trump would embrace, with shattering consequences, one of Nixon’s adages: “A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.” (Richard Carson/Houston Chronicle/AP)Trump’s diabolical instincts exploited a weakness in the law. In a highly unusual and specific manner, the Electoral Count Act of 1887 says that at 1 p.m. on Jan. 6 following a presidential election, the House and Senate will meet in a joint session. The president of the Senate, in this case Vice President Mike Pence, will preside. The electoral votes from the 50 states and the District of Columbia will then be opened and counted.
This singular moment in American democracy is the only official declaration and certification of who won the presidential election.
In a deception that exceeded even Nixon’s imagination, Trump and a group of lawyers, loyalists and White House aides devised a strategy to bombard the country with false assertions that the 2020 election was rigged and that Trump had really won. They zeroed in on the Jan. 6 session as the opportunity to overturn the election’s result. Leading up to that crucial date, Trump’s lawyers circulated memos with manufactured claims of voter fraud that had counted the dead, underage citizens, prisoners and out-of-state residents.
We watched in utter dismay as Trump persistently claimed that he was really the winner. “We won,” he said in a speech on Jan. 6 at the Ellipse. “We won in a landslide. This was a landslide.” He publicly and relentlessly pressured Pence to make him the victor on Jan. 6.
On that day, driven by Trump’s rhetoric and his obvious approval, a mob descended on the Capitol and, in a stunning act of collective violence, broke through doors and windows and ransacked the House chamber, where the electoral votes were to be counted. The mob then went in search of Pence — all to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s victory. Trump did nothing to restrain them.
Billy_TParticipantThe real question I have is how do people fall into such hate and anger? Whatever the reason is why haven’t seen this behavior in past close elections ALA Bush v Gore? What has happened that so many of us believe in unfounded conspiracies. Maybe we just have too much internet.
We’ve always had quacks and tin-foil hat types, obviously. But, yeah, the Internet has helped them find each other, brainstorm, organize. But the real difference this time, IMO, is Trump.
No other politician has ever lied so often, so brazenly, or with so little concern for how those lies harm others. But more important than anything else: Trump is the first human being I can remember who just kept rising from the dead, with a ton of help, scandal after scandal. He’s the first who didn’t just quit when faced with the exposure of his lies and all the rest. So he’s set a deadly template for others who follow. Instead of bowing out when lies, corruption, scandals come to light, just claim it’s all “fake news,” or “the deep state did it.” Lie about the lies, endlessly. Never stop. Never back down.
Largely because of Trump’s psychotic behavior, America no longer seems to agree about a blue sky being blue now, and that’s the recipe for fascism on a silver platter.
Billy_TParticipantThe case that is the strongest against him is not the break in but the many efforts he made to invalidate the election results. This is the face of overwhelming evidence provided to him that there was “no there,there”.
The 7-point plan. Or, as Navarro bragged about on the TV, the Green Bay sweep. It was extensive, and included pulling the levers of power at Homeland Security, the DoJ, and the Military, with 11th hour personnel changes, strong-arming, legal-quackery, etc. Martial Law was on the table. Seizing voting machines. Declaring the election null and void, and so on. State, local, Federal officials involved. Fake electors and so on. America came very close to an actual fascist coup being successful here. We also came very close to dozens of reps and senators being assassinated.
What would the conversation be today if they hadn’t removed congress, the VP, and staff in time?
Billy_TParticipantAlso, Trump knew he lost. He was told by his inner circle, again and again, that he lost. But he still lied to his “base” and is still lying.
There is more than enough evidence to indict and convict Trump (and his helpers) of seditious conspiracy. Time for the DoJ to do its job.
Billy_TParticipantA sane society would have arrested Trump on January 7th for seditious conspiracy. It was beyond obvious even then that he attempted a coup, and was all too close to making it happen. We’ve learned a ton more since then that just confirms the existence of the plot and how extensive it was.
By not arresting him, this society is basically saying it’s okay for the incumbent president to use all the levers of power to remain in power, because that’s what he did. The only thing that prevented it from being successful were the few people in key places who said No. As in, he tried to get the military to seize the voting machines; he tried to get the DoJ to claim the election was rigged; he tried to strong-arm key states to find non-existent votes and/or replace legit electors with fake ones. And, he tried to get white supremacist militias to stop the electoral count.
I honestly don’t see how anyone, at this point, is still defending him. People like Greenwald, for instance, who has gone over to the Dark Side and is Tucker Carlson’s stooge now.
IMO, no one can say this is some kind of Democratic Party show. The vast majority of the evidence against Trump comes from Republicans, especially Republicans who worked for him. That was the case in the impeachment hearings too.
Billy_TParticipantWe talked about this before, but it is interesting how the Rams tend to go for older rooks. This year, even more so than usual. If memory serves, they drafted a coupla guys who will turn 25 in their first season, if the Rams get to the Big Dance. Same with some of the UDFA guys. Older players, not necessarily “athletic,” but they check boxes the Rams truly value. Smart, fast learners, team captains, that kind of thing. That’s who they want to complement their stars. Though I’d be shocked if they’d ever turn down the combo of great athlete and great intangibles . . . But that kind of player tends to be gone after the 1st Round. Maybe mid-2nd.
Again, my own preference is to go for the great athletes whenever possible, and try to coach up the other stuff. Obviously, that’s not the way the Rams see it, and their way is working.
Wagner is an interesting case in point. He came out of college with elite explosion numbers and sub-4.5 speed. His lack of height may have been why he “fell,” along with going to Utah State, and being just a two-star recruit out of high school. But at 242 pounds, he wasn’t too small. Haven’t exactly followed his career, so I don’t have a clue how much he’s lost of that special athleticism. But however much, I’m guessing he more than makes up for it in high IQ play. Sounds like he could coach someday. A very important signing for the Rams, one that makes the defense smarter, tougher, and should end their issues with getting gashed up the middle, etc.
Billy_TParticipantAmazing catch and run by Kupp. Woods, of course, should get major credit for two key blocks, and almost a third. He fought for Kupp all the way to the End Zone. That’s rare tenacity, and high IQ stuff. He will be missed.
Billy_TParticipantIt boggles the mind how a minority of Americans holds us hostage. Just 30% own guns, and a sizable percentage of that minority favors strict gun safety measures. It’s just a minority within a minority that sets the gun agenda, and Americans keep dying as a result.
It’s the guns, stupid. And it’s insane to try to suggest that guns aren’t THE main cause of gun violence. That it’s everything and anything but guns. That’s like saying the plane you flew on from New York to London last year was irrelevant. People fly, not planes.
This is not a sane society.
Billy_TParticipantAnd they got Faulk for peanuts. A 2nd and a 4th, right? He was a 4.3 guy, with ankle-breaking moves, and arguably the best pass-catching back in the history of the NFL. Great blocker too. Yeah, he was key.
Billy_TParticipantThat’s three legit #1 guys — Kupp, Robinson, OBJ — and Van Jefferson who’s a solid #3 type, with potential for more. Throw in Harris, perhaps, and even Tutu, and it rivals the GSOT days, and one could argue, with more depth.
and don’t forget higbee. very underrated.
Agreed. Have always thought that about Higbee. Very good TE. Deceptively good athlete too, with excellent size and catch radius. That was one of the weak points, arguably, for the GSOT. Perhaps their only?
Overall, I’d say the GSOT had a better O-line. But the Rams right now have the better TE. In this era, with the cap issues, the escalating salaries, etc. etc. . . . it’s probably just impossible to stack your team across the board with good to great players.
The next best thing? Find ways to create mismatches with guys who may be the proverbial one trick pony, but they make that count. Surround your core “elite” players with those, and the “try hard” folks. Think outside the box and so on.
I think the current Rams staff does that about as well as anyone.
Billy_TParticipantThanks, ZN. Didn’t watch all the videos yet. But liked the “Bigger than we thought” breakdown. Like the way he put it. Something like #3 route with a #1 receiver.
And, yeah, I agree with him. If the Rams sign OBJ and he’s healthy, and the other guys are too? No way for the D to cover them all. That’s three legit #1 guys — Kupp, Robinson, OBJ — and Van Jefferson who’s a solid #3 type, with potential for more. Throw in Harris, perhaps, and even Tutu, and it rivals the GSOT days, and one could argue, with more depth. I doubt Tutu is ever going to come close to Hakim, but who knows? Stranger things have happened. But they really don’t even need him beyond a gadget play here and there to shake up the D. And Harris’s elite athleticism plus his size? May surprise us all.
It’s gonna be fun to watch this unfold.
I love the signing of Robinson.
Billy_TParticipantAmerica is a very sick place.
Paul Gosar, an Arizona Republican, tweeted that the shooter was a “transsexual leftist illegal alien.”
Billy_TParticipantSick to death of hearing this mantra: Guns don’t kill. People do. That’s like saying planes don’t fly, pilots do.
It’s the gun, stupid. Take away those AR-15s, and a lot of kids would still be alive today, and after each school, church, synagogue slaughter, etc. It’s the gun of choice for mass shooters, and no one needs them. No way to argue morally, ethically, or accurately, that anyone‘s supposed “right” to unlimited consumer choice outweighs the rights of those kids to live.
Do what Australia did. Ban them. Massive national buyback. Add licensing and registration for all weapons purchases, plus universal background checks. Limit “legal” guns to internal chambers only, six bullets max. If a gun has removable containers for bullets of any kind, it’s shouldn’t be legal. Hand-loading only. Ban all those external containers too.
Remove the ban on CDC studying gun violence too. Staff it, fund it, make sure it is never under the sway of corporate America.
I think the above would save tens of thousands of lives a year.
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