I would like to think that, after four years of a version of the last 10 days, any ticket with the name "trump" on it would lose ... bigly. On the other hand ...
And it would have, if the bountifully well resourced and powerful opposition party that was supposed to be our hope had used its billion dollars in sixty days windfall to field an electable candidate (really not that hard) and campaign as if they knew that they were up against an aspiring strongman and autocrat. But I get it; how could anyone have possibly seen this coming?
I was startled by Zorn's suggestion that The Orange Menace could be 'healthy' in 2028. He hasn't been 'healthy' in mind or body in at least a decade. The possibility that there is a path to wellness for him is beyond my imagination.
I’ve said in the past that college football (at least D1, and probably basketball too) should be converted into a minor league system, where the athletes are paid employees and not treated as some kind of farcical “student athlete”. If they want to also attend classes to better themselves, they could do so out of pocket with perhaps an employee discount.
All the other functions that surround those sports (such as sports medicine and team management) would still be used as OTJ training for students looking to specialize in those fields.
I smiled through the entire PS today. Loved visual “tweet” (pun intended) winner, size 14 shoes, and executive orders video. I also voted for 4 QOTW, an all time high! Willie Wilson kickers and 1700 words on “The Loophole”, priceless.
On NIL, I think the answer is a firm cap on NIL money. Make the students contractually bound to the school and have all funds come through the school, but cap it. How different is this from the historical roster caps that were instituted to keep the big time schools from stockpiling players at the expense of others. I have always agreed that student athletes needed to share in the crazy revenue the schools were earning on their backs, but we just need to dial it back for competitive reasons. So, if the cap is $20MM and Michigan wants to spend it on three players, some other kids might go to Northwestern and lift their ability to compete. If it gets spread around so everyone gets paid, that's more balanced and will promote team thinking. Right now, I think we are approaching the end of NU's participation in the Big 10 because they can't get the mid-level players that they used to get and that makes me sad, but paying $300 to see an NU football game and $100+ for a basketball game is just dumb.
If a coach is fired or leaves his job, then the players the coach recruited should be allowed to transfer elsewhere without penalty. As much as we want to believe every athlete at our alma mater is there because they love our school as much as we do it's not realistic. Nearly every college athlete attends a school because of the relationship they built with the coach who recruited them. When the coach goes, the athlete should be allowed to go, too.
Also, nobody on an athletic scholarship gets a four-year guarantee. Scholarships are awarded annually. Fortunately, there are schools that will honor commitments to student-athletes, particularly if they suffer career-ending injuries, but it's not mandated. In fact, it's common for in-coming coaches to choose not to honor all the scholarships of players who remain. They can be stuck at a school with no sport, no funding and no support from the NCAA.
There are a lot of problems with NIL, but changes should prioritize treating players fairly.
Regarding the people who like to propose changes to the Constitution when they like a guy who is not eligible to run for president: I remember when Arnold S was governor of California and some supporters wanted to allow him (not born here) to be eligible. Changing the constitution for single individual is never a good idea.
I hope all those people who said Biden should not run for a second term because he was too old, will not vote for for Trump if he manages a run for a third term. Oh, right, that's being logical and not hypocritical - qualities I don't see in Trump supporters.
Ideas on big-time college football? End it. Like major league baseball, the NFL should develop a minor league system for those who want to play for money. How's this for an unpopular idea?
PS: Minor leaguers should get decent wages, not the pittance that baseball players receive.
I think our trust in the Constitution as a safeguard is misplaced. It's "flexible" and ambiguous enough that all of its power resides with the humans in charge of interpreting and enforcing it. Last year's skirmish over Trump's ballot eligibility based on the 14'th Amendment's prohibition of insurrectionists holding office, followed by the absurd immunity ruling and other SCOTUS decisions should have made clear that voting is really the only guardrail of American democracy. Getting bogged down in the verbiage of legislative texts is a fool's errand. The real problem is dissuading American people from the vicious lies the majority of us have come to believe and returning our society to values of truth, empathy, and collaboration.
Very appropriate tune of the week, now sadly for a couple different reasons. Los Super Seven has an excellent version of this with Joe Ely on vocals, and Flaco Jimenez on accordion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGb5gn8-7r8
If you think a egomaniac like JD Vance would let himself get elected president & then voluntarily resign to let his VP, the fat orange fascist traitor to become president for a third term, you are crazier than Elmo Musk!
He wouldn't give up that dream for anyone & he also wouldn't be a puppet whose strings were controlled by the fat orange fascist traitor VP! A President Vance would relegate that VP to sitting bored shitless presiding over the Senate & going to funerals of two bit world leaders not important enough for the president to go to!
Of course it's all moot, since the fat orange fascist traitor will either be dead in four years or in that special neighborhood for the memory impaired they will build just for him in Mer-De-Lardo.
It would be nice to think that way. But you need to remember how many people have sneaked to DC under the guise of adoring Burger Boy. The vast majority of them, totally unqualified for their jobs, owe their 15 minutes to Trump. I believe Vance would meekly acquiesce to Burger Boy for the opportunity to be boss for a moment. Who ever heard of him before Burger Boy picked him for sidekick?
Except Vance was mildly famous from his book Hillbilly Elegy, which also became a movie. The book was a success, but the movie was a big financial flop, despite being directed by Ron Howard, starring Amy Adams & Glenn Close.
I have no doubt that Vance would throw his ass out the second he became president.
Hmmm….interesting. Considering the background and history of some of those that either attained the office or wanted to, some might think Trump is not so bad. Did you ever wonder if Burge Boy considered pulling an Aaron Burr after his loss to Biden due to his “fantastic physical agility and tremendous aim earned on the links?
“fantastic physical agility and tremendous aim earned on the links?"
You mean the ability to have a golf cart deposit him on the green & then walk three steps to the ball & hit it in? Then walk those three steps back to the cart & continue on to the tee?
I watched the DeChambeau “Can I Break 50” with Trump. I was shocked at how well he hit the ball for a 78 year old. They actually used a number of his shots. It was also the least abrasive I have ever seen him…
The resistance list from Robert Reich is generally good, but taking issue with #6 & #8. He could use more contrarian sources, and blindly supporting any "progressive leader" has led us to the current situation.
I have been saying for awhile that I would fully expect Trump to take advantage of the use of the word “elected” to come up with a workaround and continue to attempt to serve beyond current term. That is a real risk, but as Garry pointed out, that presumes Vance, or even Don Jr, would back off once in power. And, if they tried Melanie running, well, it seems like the extra 20% of “reluctant “ Trump voters might recoil at that, especially if Don Sr begins to exhibit the kind of decline that Biden showed.
Another fun thought is to wonder what Republicans would have said in 2016, if Obama decided to try to exploit that loophole. I am pretty sure there would have been unanimous opposition and outrage.
Or what they might have said if Obama had been caught on tape bragging about muff groping. Or if Obama had had an affair with a porn star and paid her to keep quiet about. Or if Obama began exchanging love letters with Kim Jong Un. Or if Obama had invited members of the Taliban over to the White House for tea on the anniversary of 9/11. Or if Obama instructed his followers to attack the Capitol to overturn an election that didn’t go his way. Or pardoned violent rioters who assaulted cops, and on and on….
So some will argue that the drafters of the 22nd Amendment surgically proscribed more than two *elected* terms with the intention of allowing more than two terms in office as long as the “extra” terms are won by other means. I can’t fathom a motivation for that.
Gerald Ford became president after Nixon resigned, and finished out that term. He was not elected either as president (or vice president) before taking office so he could have served for two more terms if elected. The word "elected" is the determining factor.
But the amendment effectively establishes a 10-year limit in any case. If Ford would have been eligible for election in ‘76 and ‘80, that’s only because he didn’t serve for more than two years of Nixon’s second term. The language seems to deny Trump a full third term at any rate.
We're also forgetting why the amendment was drafted in the first place. It's not covered well in basic history lessons. FDR spent most of his presidency battling Republicans against his "socialist ideals" and his desire to get involved in fighting Hitler. In the late 1930s, Congress actually came within a vote of practically dissolving the Army just to make sure FDR couldn't involve us. It would be interesting to conjecture how things might have gone if the Japanese had not performed Pearl Harbor. 4 terms was just too much for the GOP. That would be a good lesson for the voters. The 2 term idea, no matter how one interprets it, was obviously put in to prevent someone from being in office too long and it was obviously a GOP idea, although it had some bipartisan support. Someone here mentioned it's never a great idea to alter the Constitution based on the desires of one person. The GOP will think it a great idea- until the next FDR shows up.
What a depressing way to start the morning! His first term was a disaster! The first two weeks of his second term make me want to vomit and ignore the news! A third term? Please no!
I could not read most of today’s edition, especially the part dealing with trump serving another term, it literally made me sick to my stomach.
I would like to think that, after four years of a version of the last 10 days, any ticket with the name "trump" on it would lose ... bigly. On the other hand ...
And it would have, if the bountifully well resourced and powerful opposition party that was supposed to be our hope had used its billion dollars in sixty days windfall to field an electable candidate (really not that hard) and campaign as if they knew that they were up against an aspiring strongman and autocrat. But I get it; how could anyone have possibly seen this coming?
This comment was satire, right? I could see it coming. Kamala can't talk effectively!
The last line was sarcastic, the rest of it sincere.
I was startled by Zorn's suggestion that The Orange Menace could be 'healthy' in 2028. He hasn't been 'healthy' in mind or body in at least a decade. The possibility that there is a path to wellness for him is beyond my imagination.
You're right, but to his supporters he doesn't have to be healthy at all, just alive unfortunately.
I’ve said in the past that college football (at least D1, and probably basketball too) should be converted into a minor league system, where the athletes are paid employees and not treated as some kind of farcical “student athlete”. If they want to also attend classes to better themselves, they could do so out of pocket with perhaps an employee discount.
All the other functions that surround those sports (such as sports medicine and team management) would still be used as OTJ training for students looking to specialize in those fields.
This week’s batch of quips is pretty good, although a couple of them hit a little close to home (such as the one about dusting)…
I smiled through the entire PS today. Loved visual “tweet” (pun intended) winner, size 14 shoes, and executive orders video. I also voted for 4 QOTW, an all time high! Willie Wilson kickers and 1700 words on “The Loophole”, priceless.
On NIL, I think the answer is a firm cap on NIL money. Make the students contractually bound to the school and have all funds come through the school, but cap it. How different is this from the historical roster caps that were instituted to keep the big time schools from stockpiling players at the expense of others. I have always agreed that student athletes needed to share in the crazy revenue the schools were earning on their backs, but we just need to dial it back for competitive reasons. So, if the cap is $20MM and Michigan wants to spend it on three players, some other kids might go to Northwestern and lift their ability to compete. If it gets spread around so everyone gets paid, that's more balanced and will promote team thinking. Right now, I think we are approaching the end of NU's participation in the Big 10 because they can't get the mid-level players that they used to get and that makes me sad, but paying $300 to see an NU football game and $100+ for a basketball game is just dumb.
Based on the court rulings about forcing the schools to allow NIL, those restrictions won't fly.
You beat me to it.
If a coach is fired or leaves his job, then the players the coach recruited should be allowed to transfer elsewhere without penalty. As much as we want to believe every athlete at our alma mater is there because they love our school as much as we do it's not realistic. Nearly every college athlete attends a school because of the relationship they built with the coach who recruited them. When the coach goes, the athlete should be allowed to go, too.
Also, nobody on an athletic scholarship gets a four-year guarantee. Scholarships are awarded annually. Fortunately, there are schools that will honor commitments to student-athletes, particularly if they suffer career-ending injuries, but it's not mandated. In fact, it's common for in-coming coaches to choose not to honor all the scholarships of players who remain. They can be stuck at a school with no sport, no funding and no support from the NCAA.
There are a lot of problems with NIL, but changes should prioritize treating players fairly.
Regarding the people who like to propose changes to the Constitution when they like a guy who is not eligible to run for president: I remember when Arnold S was governor of California and some supporters wanted to allow him (not born here) to be eligible. Changing the constitution for single individual is never a good idea.
Dems made noises about doing the same for Granholm, stupidity runs both ways
I hope all those people who said Biden should not run for a second term because he was too old, will not vote for for Trump if he manages a run for a third term. Oh, right, that's being logical and not hypocritical - qualities I don't see in Trump supporters.
Ideas on big-time college football? End it. Like major league baseball, the NFL should develop a minor league system for those who want to play for money. How's this for an unpopular idea?
PS: Minor leaguers should get decent wages, not the pittance that baseball players receive.
I imagine Trump renaming the Washington Monument after himself, a giant middle finger to the rest of the country.
I think our trust in the Constitution as a safeguard is misplaced. It's "flexible" and ambiguous enough that all of its power resides with the humans in charge of interpreting and enforcing it. Last year's skirmish over Trump's ballot eligibility based on the 14'th Amendment's prohibition of insurrectionists holding office, followed by the absurd immunity ruling and other SCOTUS decisions should have made clear that voting is really the only guardrail of American democracy. Getting bogged down in the verbiage of legislative texts is a fool's errand. The real problem is dissuading American people from the vicious lies the majority of us have come to believe and returning our society to values of truth, empathy, and collaboration.
Very appropriate tune of the week, now sadly for a couple different reasons. Los Super Seven has an excellent version of this with Joe Ely on vocals, and Flaco Jimenez on accordion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGb5gn8-7r8
There is also a version I like by Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Dave Alvin
Jimmie Dale Gilmore also does the best version of “Mack the Knife” ever recorded.
If you think a egomaniac like JD Vance would let himself get elected president & then voluntarily resign to let his VP, the fat orange fascist traitor to become president for a third term, you are crazier than Elmo Musk!
He wouldn't give up that dream for anyone & he also wouldn't be a puppet whose strings were controlled by the fat orange fascist traitor VP! A President Vance would relegate that VP to sitting bored shitless presiding over the Senate & going to funerals of two bit world leaders not important enough for the president to go to!
Of course it's all moot, since the fat orange fascist traitor will either be dead in four years or in that special neighborhood for the memory impaired they will build just for him in Mer-De-Lardo.
It would be nice to think that way. But you need to remember how many people have sneaked to DC under the guise of adoring Burger Boy. The vast majority of them, totally unqualified for their jobs, owe their 15 minutes to Trump. I believe Vance would meekly acquiesce to Burger Boy for the opportunity to be boss for a moment. Who ever heard of him before Burger Boy picked him for sidekick?
Except Vance was mildly famous from his book Hillbilly Elegy, which also became a movie. The book was a success, but the movie was a big financial flop, despite being directed by Ron Howard, starring Amy Adams & Glenn Close.
I have no doubt that Vance would throw his ass out the second he became president.
Hmmm….interesting. Considering the background and history of some of those that either attained the office or wanted to, some might think Trump is not so bad. Did you ever wonder if Burge Boy considered pulling an Aaron Burr after his loss to Biden due to his “fantastic physical agility and tremendous aim earned on the links?
“fantastic physical agility and tremendous aim earned on the links?"
You mean the ability to have a golf cart deposit him on the green & then walk three steps to the ball & hit it in? Then walk those three steps back to the cart & continue on to the tee?
Jabba the Hutt had more physical agility!
Come on, you ruined my story! Haven’t you ever heard him talk about himself?
I watched the DeChambeau “Can I Break 50” with Trump. I was shocked at how well he hit the ball for a 78 year old. They actually used a number of his shots. It was also the least abrasive I have ever seen him…
Are you sure it wasn't edited to make him look better?
Plus it doesn't take athletic ability to swing the club, the athletic ability is to walk the thousands of steps, something he definitely can't do.
The resistance list from Robert Reich is generally good, but taking issue with #6 & #8. He could use more contrarian sources, and blindly supporting any "progressive leader" has led us to the current situation.
“Trump's WILD new Executive Orders!" - Excellent! The silver lining in all of our present political strife may be the comedy windfall.
I have been saying for awhile that I would fully expect Trump to take advantage of the use of the word “elected” to come up with a workaround and continue to attempt to serve beyond current term. That is a real risk, but as Garry pointed out, that presumes Vance, or even Don Jr, would back off once in power. And, if they tried Melanie running, well, it seems like the extra 20% of “reluctant “ Trump voters might recoil at that, especially if Don Sr begins to exhibit the kind of decline that Biden showed.
Another fun thought is to wonder what Republicans would have said in 2016, if Obama decided to try to exploit that loophole. I am pretty sure there would have been unanimous opposition and outrage.
Well Melania is ineligible because not born here... Among other details.
Right, I forgot that
Or what they might have said if Obama had been caught on tape bragging about muff groping. Or if Obama had had an affair with a porn star and paid her to keep quiet about. Or if Obama began exchanging love letters with Kim Jong Un. Or if Obama had invited members of the Taliban over to the White House for tea on the anniversary of 9/11. Or if Obama instructed his followers to attack the Capitol to overturn an election that didn’t go his way. Or pardoned violent rioters who assaulted cops, and on and on….
So some will argue that the drafters of the 22nd Amendment surgically proscribed more than two *elected* terms with the intention of allowing more than two terms in office as long as the “extra” terms are won by other means. I can’t fathom a motivation for that.
Gerald Ford became president after Nixon resigned, and finished out that term. He was not elected either as president (or vice president) before taking office so he could have served for two more terms if elected. The word "elected" is the determining factor.
But the amendment effectively establishes a 10-year limit in any case. If Ford would have been eligible for election in ‘76 and ‘80, that’s only because he didn’t serve for more than two years of Nixon’s second term. The language seems to deny Trump a full third term at any rate.
Actually, Ford did serve more than two years of Nixon’s term. If he had won in ‘76, he would not have been eligible in 1980.
Correct, Tom; I was going to say the same!
We're also forgetting why the amendment was drafted in the first place. It's not covered well in basic history lessons. FDR spent most of his presidency battling Republicans against his "socialist ideals" and his desire to get involved in fighting Hitler. In the late 1930s, Congress actually came within a vote of practically dissolving the Army just to make sure FDR couldn't involve us. It would be interesting to conjecture how things might have gone if the Japanese had not performed Pearl Harbor. 4 terms was just too much for the GOP. That would be a good lesson for the voters. The 2 term idea, no matter how one interprets it, was obviously put in to prevent someone from being in office too long and it was obviously a GOP idea, although it had some bipartisan support. Someone here mentioned it's never a great idea to alter the Constitution based on the desires of one person. The GOP will think it a great idea- until the next FDR shows up.
What a depressing way to start the morning! His first term was a disaster! The first two weeks of his second term make me want to vomit and ignore the news! A third term? Please no!