zn wrote:

Billy_T wrote:

Link up wages and prices, democratically; utilize time-saving innovations to radically reduce our weekly hours; focus on what we do, and create jobs that people love for their own sake. We all should have a chance at that. But that will never, ever happen under a capitalist system. We must democratize the economy instead.

But then who would own the football teams?

See Mr. Pie in the Sky, utopia ain’t as easy as you think.

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I thought that was very clear from the context of my post. It’s also in Hagglund’s This Life, if you read a little between the lines:

Me. I’d own the football teams! And a glorious day it would be for all and sundry, as long as you’re a Rams fan.

I’ve long wondered why humans accept their conditions regarding labor, and resist even discussions about better alternatives.

For instance, if I raise the idea of matching wages and prices for goods and services, in a planned way, democratically, people online and in person react with incredulity, if not outright anger. Nostrums and platitudes abound, about “hard work” and “earning what you get,” even though the vast majority of humans get NO WHERE after working their asses off. There is simply no proof that “hard work” does what those old chestnuts say it does, except for the few. And by a few, I mean MOST humans are voted off the island, and just one or a coupla more end up with that good job, good pay, etc. etc.

Capitalism simply has never produced enough “good jobs” to supply more than roughly 10% of “hard workers” with decent rewards — at best. It’s set up to make sure the vast majority of jobs out there will always pay shht wages. Work your butt off all you want, that’s not going to change, and people are deluded if they think it will.

And, there’s this: Centrists, moderates and conservatives act as if we live in this endless stream of steady old world values, and if we just go back to them, all will be well again. Um, no. Capitalism changes things dynamically, destructively, chaotically over time, so those old world values will always be moving further and further away from us in the rear view mirror.

Back in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, the average CEO paid himself roughly 20 times the rank and file. Today she pays herself 400 times, and in Fortune 100 companies, more than a 1000 times more. Bankers once made middle class wages, and now make millions. Hedge fund managers making billions today didn’t even exist. Doctors made a fraction of what they make today, etc. etc.

The nostrums stay the same, but inequality and the madness of our wage/price system accelerates hourly.

We need to finally end the madness and lock down a sane ratio between wages and prices, democratically, rationally, that makes it certain that all humans who work X hours can afford necessities and enough “nice things” to make life good. No one left behind. Today, MOST people are, and much of that starts with the total absence of any rational link between them.

Why shouldn’t they be linked? I’ve never heard a logical reason for their arbitrary, irrational, ad hoc disconnect.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by Billy_T.

He doesn’t play afraid, despite his size, and he runs with a lot of efficiency. As in, no wasted moves or motion. Keeps his speed even as he looks back over his shoulder. And he just gears up and takes off like a shot. I like that. He’s got special speed, obviously.

Will likely be a great weapon for the Rams, on occassion. It’s just a shame they burned a 2nd on him. If the Rams didn’t already have Woods, Kupp, and Jefferson, I could almost see it. But I’d still want the pick to be a later round, cuz, well, O-line, ILB, edge, etc.

They really need to put some beef on him too. As with Harris. They can make sure they add good weight/size, without disrupting their crazy athleticism. In fact, if done right, it should make them even faster.

Would love the pick if it had been Round Five or Six. And, yes, you can find speedy guys late. Last year they found a receiver from JMU who ran a 4.25 — after the draft. I wish he had been good enough to make the team, cuz he destroyed teams in the FCS with that speed.

Oh, well. It is what it is. He is gonna be exciting to watch.

I carried 230 pounds at 5’10” for a good bit of my adult life. I wasn’t fat. I was in pretty good shape actually, for a non-athlete, for a long time. Good enough to be hired as a bouncer when I was much younger. Am much lighter now, closer to 200, but not in the best of shape these days. Working on it, though.

;>)

Anyway, I know that’s just anecdotal, but I would think Harris could easily add 20 pounds without detracting from his agility and overall athleticism. In fact, if he does it right, if he focuses on his diet too, he could actually get faster as he gets stronger and into better shape.

His age is a bit of a factor, but not something he can’t overcome.

I’d bet that someone 6’5″ can carry 235, 240, easily, and maintain serious athleticism. Again, he could even get faster. It looks like he’s never been all that serious about working out.

This is a very intriguing draft pick, and it’s exactly what the Rams needed for their wide receiver (or TE) room: A tall receiver with serious speed and hops, who creates mismatches and wins contested jump balls. IMO, they needed a Harris far more than a Tutu. That 2nd rounder would have been better spent on the O-line, ILB or the edge.

I grew up on the East Coast, but when it seemed time to choose my favorite sports teams (age 9), it turned out they were all West Coast teams. A fluke of sorts. One of them, the Giants, originated in NYC, of course, and my fandom started primarily because of a player who started there, not in San Fran:

Willie Mays. I can’t even imagine why anyone would root against him. :>)

It was Mays, Marichal, and McCovey, plus that cool uni that did it for me. Have been a loyal SF Giants fan for well over 50 years. Always saw the Dodgers as the bad guys in that rivalry, including its NYC days. I still do.

Chose the Lakers cuz of West and Baylor, then along came Wilt. Chose the Rams cuz of Deacon, Merlin and Gabe. Never wavered thru more than five decades, but have been damn pissed off at my teams now and then.

So, for me, I’m not loyal to LA per se. But two out of three favorite teams call that city their home now.

San Fran shouldn’t be doing as well as they are this year in baseball. They really don’t have the roster to compete against even the best teams in their own division, but they’re sitting on top.

Hope they can sustain it.

As a proud U of M alum, I love this pick.

Funk came to Maryland with very high expectations. If memory serves, with the “athlete” category, and no true position. ACL tears in consecutive years (2018, 2019) derailed a very promising career. He likely would have been a Christian McCaffrey type if he had not beeen banged up.

Worked damn hard to recover, and his Pro Day performance showed he’s mostly back. Has 4.4 speed, good vert at 38, and decent broad at 10.2.

I think he can help the Rams, at least on special teams, where he’s a willing “demon.” Xavier Jones should watch out. Funk may end up RB3.

And, given the name “Funk,” I thought this would be a good place for this recent discovery — late to the party as I may be. Easily one of the best post-Hendrix guitar solos in history, with Eddie Hazel starring, and all of 21 at the time:

Love his speed, but this is a dumb pick in the 2nd round, especially when the Rams have so few. You just don’t pick a player this high who won’t see the field outside gadget stuff. And at 155 pounds, with very small hands and short arms, he’s not going to get the 50/50 stuff, which they do need. I’m also worried he’s a fumble waiting to happen at his size.

I could almost see it if they didn’t already have Woods, Kupp, Jefferson and Jackson, but they do. The Rams don’t have a problem at wideout. They don’t even lack depth. With Jackson, they don’t lack speed . . . and if GPS is a true measure, Jefferson is speedy too.

They needed O-line or ILB at this spot, especially. Or, a freakish edge guy like Ossai from Texas.

I’ve gone from thinking McVay and the FO were geniuses, to thinking they’ve lost their freakin’ minds this offseason.

Gotta hope they find value as the draft progresses, but this is not an auspicious start.

I think I may understand now. The Rams strategy is obviously Spockian Eleveny dimensional chess. Vulcan Post-Doc required. It’s on another level from any other team, and no one but a true Queen’s Gambit quant will “get it.”

So . . . no real problem at QB or so we thought. They had Goff, a guy they traded a thousand draft picks so they could move up and grab, and then another thousand draft picks to dump, with no real “issue” other than lack of confidence, which the Rams decided could be fixed by bashing him before they traded him away, thus radically devaluing their own asset . . . and now they sign a punter, when they have a Top Three punter already, one who may be HOF level, and they don’t sign anyone to play Center or ILB, which they desperately need, or anyone who can scare defenses into playing waaaay deep, or a Left tackle to replace the Father Time dude they have there now . . .

As the Guinness commercial used to say, “Brilliant!”

I’m pounding the draft-table for Johnny Steamroll, Bulldog Pancaker, or Wolfgang Von Trapblock. Just hoping they don’t run sub-5.0 forties at their Pro Days, or the Rams may be out of luck.

Jelly ruined my peanut butter sandwiches as a kid, and I won’t ever, ever, not ever, forgive it for that.

The only place jelly should be seen or heard from is in a donut. That’s it. Blueberry is preferred; strawberry acceptable.

And I think this should be mandated at the Federal level, along with an end to shaky cams, and even the hint of a 17-game NFL season.

nittany ram wrote:

So, what you’re saying is the Rams are about to go from a Hav, to a Hav not.

Groan.

;>)

But Hemingway couldn’t hav said it any better.

And destroying the Republican party would have inevitably led to all kinds of things: Green New Deal (a real one, too), Wall St reform, Medicare for All, increased wages and benefits for workers, stronger unions, less imperialism abroad, reduced police state, all kinds of things that the financiers of the Democrat party do not want to see happen. The Democrats NEED the Republicans so that THEY can be the leftward edge of the economic and political spectrums.

This part of your post sums it up.

In a sane world, the Dems, at least as far as their leadership goes, would be the “conservative” party. The GOP wouldn’t be a party at all. It would be several far-flung strands of far-right lunacy, broken up enough to be relatively harmless.

We leftists would be the Opposition.

I won’t live to see it. But that’s how things should shape up. The DSA and other left-wing groups could form coalitions to go against the Dems, and hopefully persuade progressive Dems to jump ship.

I hope future generations get real political choices, and that capitalism itself is on the ballot. IMO, if it isn’t, and we don’t replace it with a sane, egalitarian, fully democratic economy, working within the limits of this planet’s ecology, we humans won’t make it very far into the 22nd century. Most other life forms will likely go extinct well before that. We’ve already lost half of that since 1970.

etc.