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  • January 5, 2020 at 6:53 pm in reply to: Must-read book: The Uninhabitable Earth, by David Wallace-Wells #110130
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    I really appreciate the effort Cal. We all have to do something.

    January 5, 2020 at 5:57 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110128
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    Adam Caplan@caplannfl
    Josh McCown remains in at QB.

    McCown played with Emmitt Smith.

    Emmitt Smith has been in the Hall of Fame for a decade.

    ==

    January 5, 2020 at 5:38 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110127
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    January 5, 2020 at 5:29 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110126
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    January 5, 2020 at 5:28 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110125
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    ==

    January 5, 2020 at 5:28 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110124
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    Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
    Saints are now the first team in NFL history to have six straight playoff eliminations by one score and the second team since the Packers from 2013-15 to be eliminated in three straight postseasons on the final play of the game.

    January 5, 2020 at 4:35 pm in reply to: tweets & such … 1/5 thru 1/7 #110121
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    January 5, 2020 at 3:18 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110118
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    Geoff Schwartz@geoffschwartz
    Saints up 10-6. Then Brees foolishly throws that INT into double coverage. Since then it’s been all Vikings.

    Steve Wyche@wyche89
    Vikings needed that TD drive. Now a two-possession game at 20-10. It is so quiet in the Superdome right now I can actually have a conversation with the folks next to me.

    ==

    January 5, 2020 at 3:08 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110117
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    #76 is Saffold

    ==

    January 5, 2020 at 2:54 pm in reply to: Agree with Hedges on this (Iran) #110115
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    Trump’s advisers have maintained that they were operating on credible intelligence showing that Soleimani was involved in imminent plans to attack U.S. interests in a handful of countries. They have not detailed that intelligence, and Democratic lawmakers, among others, have raised questions about its veracity.

    Even if it were true, why would killing Soleimani prevent or mitigate these alleged attacks?

    …

    January 5, 2020 at 2:50 pm in reply to: Agree with Hedges on this (Iran) #110114
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    White House Notifies Congress of Soleimani Strike Under War Powers Act

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/white-house-notifies-congress-soleimani-164147914.html

    The White House sent Congress on Saturday a formal notification under the War Powers Act of the drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump that killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani on Friday, two congressional officials said Saturday.

    The notification, required by law within 48 hours of introducing American forces into armed conflict or a situation that could lead to war, has to be signed and then sent to Congress, according to the officials with knowledge of the plan.

    Lawmakers expected the document to publicly lay out the White House’s legal justification for the strike on Soleimani, Iran’s top security commander, who officials have said has been behind hundreds of American deaths over the years. But the notification first sent to Congress late Saturday afternoon contained only classified information, according to a senior congressional aide, likely detailing the intelligence that led to the action. It is unclear whether the White House will send a separate, unclassified document.

    Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Saturday evening that the notification “raises more questions than it answers,” including “serious and urgent questions about the timing, manner and justification of the administration’s decision to engage in hostilities against Iran.”

    “The highly unusual decision to classify this document in its entirety compounds our many concerns, and suggests that the Congress and the American people are being left in the dark about our national security,” Pelosi said.

    The document itself was brief, a senior Democratic aide said. But its contents are all but certain to animate a fierce debate among lawmakers about the reach of presidential war powers and Congress’ role in matters of military conflict. Many Democrats have called the strike against Soleimani, which threatens to escalate tensions between the U.S. and Iran and reverberate throughout a violent and volatile region, illegal and unauthorized. They are already searching for ways to curb Trump’s ability to strike Iran in the future.

    Trump’s advisers have maintained that they were operating on credible intelligence showing that Soleimani was involved in imminent plans to attack U.S. interests in a handful of countries. They have not detailed that intelligence, and Democratic lawmakers, among others, have raised questions about its veracity.

    Briefing reporters Friday, Robert C. O’Brien, the White House national security adviser, pointed to Trump’s “constitutional authorities as commander in chief to defend our nation” as justification for the strike. He also cited the measure Congress approved in 2002 granting President George W. Bush the legal authority to wage war on Saddam Hussein and the government of Iraq.

    While Republicans praised the action against Soleimani as a definitive blow against a longtime enemy, Democrats voiced concern that the president was risking a new war in the Middle East, and argued that the White House exceeded its legal authority by conducting the strike without explicit authorization from Congress.

    A small group of lawmakers Friday were already preparing efforts to cut off any further military confrontation with Iran without Congress’ express approval, setting up an array of legislative vehicles Democrats may use to try to rein in the president’s war powers.

    A number of bipartisan resolutions similar to those measures had already been considered last year, but lawmakers declined to take them up or ensure their survival in pieces of must-pass legislation.

    Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced a resolution Friday invoking the War Powers Act that would a force a debate and vote in Congress to prevent further escalation of hostilities with Iran.

    Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in a statement that they would resurrect legislation to prohibit any funding for offensive military force in or against Iran without prior congressional authorization.

    That measure was passed in the House last year along bipartisan lines, with nearly two dozen Republicans voting in support of it, but was later stripped from the must-pass annual defense bill. The political dynamics of taking such a vote after the strike, however, may change the calculus for Republicans and a number of Democratic lawmakers in conservative districts who initially backed the measure.

    January 5, 2020 at 7:28 am in reply to: Agree with Hedges on this (Iran) #110110
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    Trump’s Biggest Fox News Boosters Suddenly Stop Railing Against ‘Deep State’ Intelligence

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-biggest-fox-news-boosters-234154938.html

    Suddenly, it appears the U.S. intelligence community is back in good standing over at Fox News.

    Since Trump’s election, an inescapably common refrain of the president and his biggest boosters in conservative media has been to rail against the “deep state.” The Russian election interference probe, they’ve repeatedly said, was nothing more than a coup or disinformation campaign perpetrated by the anti-Trump intelligence community.

    Over the past 24 hours, however, incessant Fox griping over “deep state” suddenly went quiet, replaced by sober pleas that—when it comes to the info allegedly justifying Trump’s ordered airstrike killing Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani—the U.S. intelligence community’s findings should be heeded and taken seriously as unimpeachably correct information.

    Immediately after the Pentagon confirmed U.S. responsibility for the strike, claiming it “was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans,” Fox News host Sean Hannity—perhaps the most well-known “deep state” critic in media—heaped praise upon the intelligence community.

    “The ability of the military, our intelligence community, the State Department, and the president making the call, very quickly, you know, understood that the Iranian forces on the ground bore a direct threat to the American people,” said Hannity, calling into his own show on Thursday night. “Once the intelligence was confirmed, once the understanding that they were there to sow the discord and discontent, the president acted as quickly as possible, taking out this top general.”

    “But I will say the big headline is, this is a huge victory for American intelligence, a huge victory for our military, a huge victory for the State Department, and a huge victory and total leadership by the president,” the primetime host, who has spent more than two years and countless on-air segments railing against shadowy “deep state” intelligence, concluded.

    By Friday morning, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went even further than the Pentagon, saying that it was necessary to take out Soleimani as it disrupted an “imminent attack,” adding that “the risk doing nothing was enormous” and the “intelligence community made that assessment and President Trump acted decisively last night.”

    Following Pompeo’s assertions, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade—who last month chastised a Daily Beast writer for not asking Lisa Page about a deep-state conspiracy theory—openly defended and applauded the intelligence community.

    After Fox News star Geraldo Rivera sarcastically noted the “U.S. intelligence has been excellent since 2003 when we invaded Iraq, disrupted the entire region, for no real reason,” he told Kilmeade not to “start cheering this on” while claiming his colleague “never met a war you didn’t like.”

    “I will cheer it on. I am elated,” Kilmeade exclaimed, adding that it’s “not true” that he loves war.

    During a later appearance on Fox News’ The Daily Briefing, host Dana Perino—a former Bush White House press secretary—repeatedly claimed an attack was “imminent,” asking Kilmeade what the consequences would have been if Trump didn’t act.

    “What everyone is missing, it’s not our choice,” the Fox & Friends host replied. “These things are happening. It’s how we react to what is happening.”

    Kilmeade—no longer skeptical of intelligence officials—also insisted that the president didn’t need to brief Congress before killing the Iranian leader because he needed to act quickly due to the information obtained.

    “But if you want him to get congressional approval over a strike that is time sensitive when an attack is imminent and he landed at the airport? Are you kidding me?” Kilmeade huffed.

    During Friday’s broadcast of Fox Business Network’s Varney and Co., anchor Stuart Varney also seemed a bit amnesiac over his previous missives against the intelligence community. Despite claiming in the past that the “deep state” was trying to undermine Trump’s presidency, the pro-Trump host credulously touted Pompeo’s “imminent attack” claim throughout his show.

    “That’s what Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, told Fox News earlier this morning, that there was an imminent attack and the president ordered the killing to stop that imminent attack,” Varney proclaimed at one point. “Good cause to do it.”

    In a later segment, Fox & Friends Weekend host and unofficial Trump adviser Pete Hegseth—who once noted that the “American people didn’t vote for the Deep State”—also found newfound praise for the intel community, adding that Trump likely waited until the “intelligence lined up.”

    A Fox News guest, however, seemed to reveal one of the biggest self-contradictions.

    Former Trump adviser Christian Whiton lamented Friday on Fox News’ Outnumbered Overtime that it is “really sad” that Democrats “aren’t willing to give our president and our military the benefit of the doubt in a crisis.”

    A few weeks ago, though, Whiton gave no such benefit of the doubt to a member of both the military and intelligence community. During an interview with Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, Whiton called former National Security Council member and impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman a “deep state crybaby” who “poured himself into an Army outfit to go and frankly speak contemptuous things against the commander-in-chief.”

    January 5, 2020 at 6:33 am in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110109
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    January 5, 2020 at 6:31 am in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110108
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    January 5, 2020 at 12:21 am in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110107
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    NFL Wild Card PFF ReFocused: Houston Texans 22, Buffalo Bills 19

    https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-wild-card-pff-refocused-houston-texans-22-buffalo-bills-19

    The battle between two of the hottest young quarterbacks in the NFL did not disappoint. Both showed uncoachable ability en route to an exciting Wild Card bout. In the end, Deshaun Watson’s freakish combination of athleticism and accuracy was too much for even the vaunted Buffalo Bills defense. While he took a few more sacks than you’d like, he also threw a catchable pass on 84% of his targets and made the game-winning scramble completion. He went downfield when needed, going 8-of-10 on throws 10-plus yards in the second half and overtime to lead the Houston Texans to a 22-19 win and advance to the Divisional Round.

    Watson’s tendency to welcome pressure and take sacks played a significant role in the Texans’ 16-0 deficit to start the game. Due in large part to Buffalo’s strong play in coverage, Watson’s time to throw average was a whopping 3.65 seconds — the longest single-game average for him this season. He also took seven sacks in the contest, good for another season-high for the Houston signal-caller.

    Of course, Watson ultimately rallied in the second half and turned in a heroic effort on his way to the comeback win. Bills quarterback Josh Allen, on the other hand, cost his team late with a handful of key mistakes.

    You can sugarcoat this loss any way you want, but if you score 19 points in a game in 2019 – especially in overtime, you do not deserve to win. The brunt of the issue falls squarely on the shoulders of Allen, who failed to deliver wholeheartedly in the second half. He simply could not push the ball down the field with any consistency. He went 3-of-10 with zero big-time throws and two turnover-worthy plays in the second half and overtime on throws 10-plus yards downfield. Whether it was play calling or hesitancy from QB1, it cost them the win.

    DeAndre Hopkins also showed up late for Houston, catching all four of his targets for 70 yards when against Bills’ phenom Tre’Davious White in the second half. Hopkins’ best play was his 41-yard snag over the top of White that set up the Texans’ game-tying score in the fourth quarter.

    If the Texans are going to make it through the AFC playoffs, they’re going to need Bradley Roby to continue to play the way we saw against the Bills. He was targeted twice and didn’t allow a single catch while breaking up one of his targets. The secondary has been much maligned all season long, including Roby at times, but he’s flashed CB1 type ability throughout his career. If the Kansas City Chiefs are their next opponent, Roby’s A game is a mus

    January 5, 2020 at 12:19 am in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110106
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    NFL Wild Card PFF ReFocused: Tennessee Titans 20, New England Patriots 13

    https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-wild-card-pff-refocused-tennessee-titans-20-new-england-patriots-13

    In what may have been quarterback Tom Brady’s last hurrah with the New England Patriots, it was the Tennessee Titans playing old school football and an inept New England passing game that has the Titans moving on to play in the Divisional Round of the 2019 NFL playoffs. The Titans played the ball control game with running back Derrick Henry and his 182 yards (138 after contact) on 34 carries, but this came down to the Patriots’ inability to move the ball through the air against the Tennessee defense. The Titans made a crucial goal-line stop in the second quarter, highlighted by linebacker Rashaan Evans making two defensive stops, and that was the last of the New England scoring for the night. New England finished with a paltry -0.6 EPA/play on nine third-and-short plays.

    Patriots receivers caught just seven of 19 targets, including two dropped passes, in a microcosm of their offensive woes this season. While Henry certainly had a standout game, the Titans’ offense only put up 14 points in New England, and that should have been enough for the Patriots to survive the Wild Card Round. Instead, Brady and the passing attack were unable to string drives together despite his facing pressure on just 13.5% of dropbacks, a season-low.

    For Tennesee, quarterback Ryan Tannehill didn’t live up to his No. 1 PFF grade status coming into the game, as he had two turnover-worthy plays (errant interception and dropped fumble that took the Titans out of field goal range), but he came through with two key third-down conversions on a zone-read keeper and a deep out. Tannehill finished just 2-for-6 on throws of 10-plus yards, and rookie phenom A.J. Brown caught just one pass for four yards on his only target.

    Tennessee relied on Henry early and often. The 6-foot-3, 238-pounder gashed the Patriots’ front-seven in the first half behind strong run blocking from the offensive line, as it was an all-around effort to produce the Titans’ 201 yards on 40 carries. The Titans’ defensive backfield got standout performances from cornerbacks Tramaine Brock (2-for-9 when targeted, two pass breakups) and the returning Adoree Jackson (1-for-4, one pass breakup). For New England, the defense gave Henry much more attention in the second half and it kept the Patriots in the game, but they were unable to make the big stops down the stretch and the entire front-seven sans Dont’a Hightower got dominated in the trenches.

    The Titans look ahead to a trip to Baltimore against the No. 1 seeded Baltimore Ravens, where they’ll need more than just a rushing attack to earn the upset against the best team in the AFC. In New England, it’s the start of an offseason with the biggest question marks since head coach Bill Belichick’s arrival in 2000, as Brady, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and others may be out the door in the coming months.

    January 5, 2020 at 12:13 am in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110105
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    January 4, 2020 at 11:19 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110103
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    Tony Dungy@TonyDungy
    Tennessee goal line stand to hold New England to a FG at the end of the first half was the biggest sequence of the game. Hard to believe the Patriots would not score a point in the second half.

    trey wingo@wingoz
    Potentially Tom Brady’s last pass as Patriot.. is a pick six to end their season.

    Bill Barnwell@billbarnwell
    I think it’s time to say it: the Patriots need to put Drew Bledsoe back in at quarterback

    ==

    January 4, 2020 at 11:16 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110102
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    January 4, 2020 at 9:48 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110101
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    January 4, 2020 at 9:45 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110100
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    January 4, 2020 at 9:43 pm in reply to: the one-shot tweets thread (diff'rent stuff, funny angry interesting) #110099
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    January 4, 2020 at 9:38 pm in reply to: what’s goin’ on with Goff #110096
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    InvaderRam wrote:

    i suspect. and i have no way of actually proving this. but if the rams can fix the oline and if they can get more balance, i think goff could be even better than he was in 2018.

    i think that this year will be helpful to him in making quicker decisions. make him better at recognizing what defenses are doing to him. he’s a tough kid. and his track record has been that adversity will make him a better player.

    I think all that too. And, well put.

    …

    January 4, 2020 at 9:34 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110095
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    Tony Dungy@TonyDungy
    Watson didn’t see the blitz. He should have thrown hot. But making two guys miss, scrambling and then finding a receiver for a 1st Down is why the Texans will be playing next week.

    Chris Long@JOEL9ONE
    Now all the titans have to do is out adjust NE at the half. Yikes.

    January 4, 2020 at 9:09 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110093
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    Ryan Clark@Realrclark25
    Josh Allen played his butt off today. Not gonna go at the kid. He has to learn from the last two plays going forward. DeShaun Watson had to learn his lessons. It showed today when his team needed him to come up big. Josh can take lessons from today and do the same.

    January 4, 2020 at 8:58 pm in reply to: tweets etc. … 1/1 thru 1/4 #110091
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    January 4, 2020 at 5:00 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110089
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    January 4, 2020 at 5:00 pm in reply to: What do you expect from these Wild Card playoff games? #110088
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    January 4, 2020 at 4:47 pm in reply to: tweets etc. … 1/1 thru 1/4 #110085
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    LoboRam

    Deandre Hopkins Interview with Irvin….Hopkins is one of the premier WR in the league and when Irvin asked him who were the toughest DBs in the league that he’s gone up against…. #1 was Jalen Ramsey…yes. One on one, on an island he said Ramsey was one of the best… High praise from one of the best in the league! some of the others were S. Gilmore and PP… Did’nt give any respect to DBs in a zone scheme.

    January 4, 2020 at 2:24 pm in reply to: Agree with Hedges on this (Iran) #110084
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    Analyst: ‘Everything the Trump administration has done has escalated Iran situation’

    https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/476659-analyst-everything-the-trump-administration-has-done-has-escalated-iran-situation?fbclid=IwAR0iifoUFoX_RKq_QMXSU4enQwxA0ScXku0azR8AfVSwl3AzqzSwMXTyzBM

    Iran analyst Trita Parsi reacted to the U.S. airstrike that resulted in the death of one of Iran’s most powerful generals during an interview with Hill.TV on Friday.

    Parisi argued that “everything the Trump administration has done has escalated the situation,” tracing it back to President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.

    Under the Obama-era deal, Iran had agreed to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

    “The moment when it all started is when Trump pulled out of this, so if we’re actually looking for deterrence we know how that would work,” Parisi said. “It would mean proper diplomacy, trying to figure out how you can find some sort of a way of coexisting with elements that you may not like in any way, shape or form.”

    Parsi is executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a think tank with a focus on shifting U.S. foreign policy away “from endless war and toward vigorous diplomacy in the pursuit of international peace.”

    His comments come as lawmakers on Capitol Hill still reel from the news surrounding a targeted U.S. strike in Iraq that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani among others. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said a day after the attack that the action was not authorized and Congress was not consulted on the decision.

    The Pentagon, meanwhile, has described the U.S. drone attack at Baghdad International Airport as a “defensive action,” but Parsi pushed back against this notion in his interview with Hill.TV.

    “The mere fact that the State Department immediately issued a statement saying all Americans should leave Iraq immediately is Exhibit A that this made America less not more safe,” he said.

    Trump’s actions in Iran have sparked international condemnation.

    The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” after the U.S. strike, according to a spokesman for Guterres.

    “The world cannot afford another war in the Gulf,” the secretary-general’s deputy spokesman said in a statement.

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Viewing 30 posts - 22,681 through 22,710 (of 47,671 total)
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