Dave Gettleman, with not one, not two, but FOUR outstanding defensive prospects, the consensus best offensive lineman in the draft AND Dwayne Haskins, QB from Ohio State, on the board chooses, with the #6 pick in the 2019 NFL draft...ta-da...wait for it...here it comes...
Daniel Jones, QB from Duke
This has the earmarks of being the worst draft pick ever made by the New York Giants. If they give him #17, the number he wore at Duke, he can replace Dave Brown who also wore that number and who, arguably, currently holds the honor of being the worst draft pick ever made by the Giants.
If John Mara and Steve Tisch haven't already fired Gettleman's sorry rear end, they should and let him take Head Clown Pat Shurmur with him because Shurmur didn't hog tie Gettleman to prevent this disaster.
What were they thinking?
If nothing else the level of competition that Jones has faced disqualifies him as a top 10 pick. At pick #17 I wouldn't have been so upset. I would have still been upset but at #6?
What a bonehead move.
I've been going to Giants games since 1958 and this is the most disappointing move I've seen the team make since they cut WR Buddy Dial and kept WR Joe Biscaha instead.
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
To Impeach or Not to Impeach
There are two ways to look at this.
One way is theoretical. Are there grounds for impeachment? Mueller and company apparently felt there was something there that only the congress could take action on.
But it's unclear exactly what is the crime, beyond self centered narcissism and incompetence, that we're dealing with here. The most you can say is he misused the power of his office in an attempt to obstruct justice.
To be honest I see a better case for impeaching Barr since he clearly lied his ass off in his "summary" of the Mueller Report.
The other way is practical. Is there any realistic chance of getting a conviction in the Senate?
I figure, given the current Senate, the chances of getting the two-thirds majority for conviction is zero without enough additional evidence of wrong doing to cause an upheaval of popular demand for removal from office.
I figure the chances of finding that additional evidence are about zero as well. So the only thing going down the road of impeachment would accomplish is making Trump look like a martyr.
I don't think it would be a good idea.
One way is theoretical. Are there grounds for impeachment? Mueller and company apparently felt there was something there that only the congress could take action on.
But it's unclear exactly what is the crime, beyond self centered narcissism and incompetence, that we're dealing with here. The most you can say is he misused the power of his office in an attempt to obstruct justice.
To be honest I see a better case for impeaching Barr since he clearly lied his ass off in his "summary" of the Mueller Report.
The other way is practical. Is there any realistic chance of getting a conviction in the Senate?
I figure, given the current Senate, the chances of getting the two-thirds majority for conviction is zero without enough additional evidence of wrong doing to cause an upheaval of popular demand for removal from office.
I figure the chances of finding that additional evidence are about zero as well. So the only thing going down the road of impeachment would accomplish is making Trump look like a martyr.
I don't think it would be a good idea.
The Mueller Report
After reading the report I'm left with this feeling that what we have is a president saved from committing several felonies by his own incompetence.
Clearly there was cooperation (I'll avoid the other C word) between the Trump campaign and the Russians but the Trump organization was in such a state of chaos that the left hand didn't know what the left finger was doing.
That leaves us with the question of obstruction of justice. Trump, given his narcissistic personality, was clearly furious that he, the royal he, was being investigated and struck out on numerous occasions.
Luckily, for him, subordinates simply ignored him and, again, the administration was in such chaos that often they got away with it. I love the final sentence of Mueller's own summary.
"Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
Which, as far as I can tell means absolutely nothing. The inability to prove a negative does mean a whole hell of a lot.
Clearly there was cooperation (I'll avoid the other C word) between the Trump campaign and the Russians but the Trump organization was in such a state of chaos that the left hand didn't know what the left finger was doing.
That leaves us with the question of obstruction of justice. Trump, given his narcissistic personality, was clearly furious that he, the royal he, was being investigated and struck out on numerous occasions.
Luckily, for him, subordinates simply ignored him and, again, the administration was in such chaos that often they got away with it. I love the final sentence of Mueller's own summary.
"Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
Which, as far as I can tell means absolutely nothing. The inability to prove a negative does mean a whole hell of a lot.
Monday, April 15, 2019
More on "Some People did Something."
Trump and the Post certainly went off the rails over this and while Ilhan Omar's words may not be sinister, they're not all that admirable either.
Let's simply look at an extended quote which, despite claims to the contrary, is not woefully out of context. In fact it's in keeping with the entire gist of the speech.
"Here’s the truth: far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen. And frankly I’m tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it. CAIR was founded after 9/11, because they recognized that some people did something and then all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties."
First of all she's speaking to CAIR, an organization of questionable antecedents that has been declared a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates and had an admitted association with the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) charged by the US government with funneling money to Hamas.
When the 1st trial of the HLF ended in a mistrial CAIR defended the organization claiming the charges were "built on fear not fact." All HLF defendants were convicted in the retrial and CAIR was identified as an "unindicted co-conspirator" which caused the FBI to stop working with CAIR.
Second, what civil liberties were Muslims losing? Perhaps they should compare the civil liberties they lost to those lost by the Japanese internees during WW II or blacks in the south that were kept from voting by the Jim Crow culture? More people disliking you, whether justified or not, is not a loss of civil liberties. Even Islamophobic assholes enjoy freedom of speech.
Third, let's cut the bullshit, "some people did something" is no way to refer to the events of 9/11. If we can just agree this was a bad choice of words them I'm all for calling out those distorting what she said. BUT WE CAN'T EVEN DO THAT APPARENTLY. Instead heels have to be dug into the ground and the indefensible must be defended.
Fourth, just as a minor nit, CAIR was founded in 1994 and not after 9/11. She couldn't even get the founding date of the organization she was speaking to right.
Then we can add the "allegiance to a foreign country" crack while criticizing AIPAC a while back into the mix.
But the thing that really stuck in my craw was her comparing her "some people did something" phrase to George W, Bush's "I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people -- and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon" phrase spoken on 9/14/2001, right in front of the rubble of the twin towers, claiming because he used the word "people" it amounted to the same thing she said or at least it was equally respectful or disrespectful.
No, not really, not even close.
Trump and the Post were being unethical but they were scoring lots of political points by going overboard. Trump understands the game. You have to know when to fold a losing hand and I have this bad feeling that this lady is a losing hand and always will be a losing hand.
Let's simply look at an extended quote which, despite claims to the contrary, is not woefully out of context. In fact it's in keeping with the entire gist of the speech.
"Here’s the truth: far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen. And frankly I’m tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it. CAIR was founded after 9/11, because they recognized that some people did something and then all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties."
First of all she's speaking to CAIR, an organization of questionable antecedents that has been declared a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates and had an admitted association with the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) charged by the US government with funneling money to Hamas.
When the 1st trial of the HLF ended in a mistrial CAIR defended the organization claiming the charges were "built on fear not fact." All HLF defendants were convicted in the retrial and CAIR was identified as an "unindicted co-conspirator" which caused the FBI to stop working with CAIR.
Second, what civil liberties were Muslims losing? Perhaps they should compare the civil liberties they lost to those lost by the Japanese internees during WW II or blacks in the south that were kept from voting by the Jim Crow culture? More people disliking you, whether justified or not, is not a loss of civil liberties. Even Islamophobic assholes enjoy freedom of speech.
Third, let's cut the bullshit, "some people did something" is no way to refer to the events of 9/11. If we can just agree this was a bad choice of words them I'm all for calling out those distorting what she said. BUT WE CAN'T EVEN DO THAT APPARENTLY. Instead heels have to be dug into the ground and the indefensible must be defended.
Fourth, just as a minor nit, CAIR was founded in 1994 and not after 9/11. She couldn't even get the founding date of the organization she was speaking to right.
Then we can add the "allegiance to a foreign country" crack while criticizing AIPAC a while back into the mix.
But the thing that really stuck in my craw was her comparing her "some people did something" phrase to George W, Bush's "I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people -- and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon" phrase spoken on 9/14/2001, right in front of the rubble of the twin towers, claiming because he used the word "people" it amounted to the same thing she said or at least it was equally respectful or disrespectful.
No, not really, not even close.
Trump and the Post were being unethical but they were scoring lots of political points by going overboard. Trump understands the game. You have to know when to fold a losing hand and I have this bad feeling that this lady is a losing hand and always will be a losing hand.
Thursday, April 11, 2019
The Anticipated Netanyahu Coalition
The details of the Likud coalition appear to be taking shape as follows.
Likud - 36 Seats
The Ultra-Orthodox Shas (8) and UTJ (7) - 15 Seats
Small Right Wing Parties Kulanu (4), Yisrael Beiteinu (5), and the Union of Right Wing Parties (5) - 14 Seats
That's a total of 65 seats out of the 120 seat Knesset. The extreme right wing are most likely to press for annexation of West Bank settlements.
In any event the negotiations aren't going to be easy and might take a while.
Likud - 36 Seats
The Ultra-Orthodox Shas (8) and UTJ (7) - 15 Seats
Small Right Wing Parties Kulanu (4), Yisrael Beiteinu (5), and the Union of Right Wing Parties (5) - 14 Seats
That's a total of 65 seats out of the 120 seat Knesset. The extreme right wing are most likely to press for annexation of West Bank settlements.
In any event the negotiations aren't going to be easy and might take a while.
Some People Did Something!?
The full quote by Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar in a speech to CAIR was
"CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties."
The part of this that has everyone bent out of shape is the description of the terrorist act as "some people did something."
The New York Post went completely off the rails.
"CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties."
The part of this that has everyone bent out of shape is the description of the terrorist act as "some people did something."
The New York Post went completely off the rails.
Omar has a knack for putting her foot in her mouth. This is the same lady who in criticizing AIPAC implied they were pushing for "Allegiance to foreign country" with is an accusation often made against Jews in anti-Semitic attacks.
Then she implied a GOP representative was being anti-Semitic when he criticized Democratic policies by reading Hitler's quote from Mein Kampf on the "big lie" and accusing them of engaging in that tactic.
While Mein Kampf is one of the most anti-Semitic documents ever produced, there's nothing particularly anti-Semitic about Hitler's tangent explaining the concept of the "big lie."
I can't decide if Omar is just that stupid or whether she's purposely pushing the outside of the envelope to see what she can get away with.
Israeli Election Results
Despite some optimism that Benjamin Netanyahu would be displaced his Likud Party managed 36 seats to Blue and White's 35.
Israel's president will ask Netanyahu to try and form a government for the fourth consecutive time and the fifth time overall.
As usual the Likud Party leader will have to negotiate with the religious and other right wing parties in order to manage the 61 plus votes required.
The issue is what will Netanyahu have to offer those parties in order to get them to sign on? One concern is some may ask him to follow through on his promise in the waning days of the election to begin annexing West Bank territory around Jerusalem that is occupied by Israeli settlements.
It wouldn't be the first time Bibi didn't follow on a campaign promise so I suppose we'll have to wait and see.
I think annexing parts of the West Bank unilaterally without some sort of agreement with the Palestinians is a big mistake and is just going to make things a lot more tense.
Israel's president will ask Netanyahu to try and form a government for the fourth consecutive time and the fifth time overall.
As usual the Likud Party leader will have to negotiate with the religious and other right wing parties in order to manage the 61 plus votes required.
The issue is what will Netanyahu have to offer those parties in order to get them to sign on? One concern is some may ask him to follow through on his promise in the waning days of the election to begin annexing West Bank territory around Jerusalem that is occupied by Israeli settlements.
It wouldn't be the first time Bibi didn't follow on a campaign promise so I suppose we'll have to wait and see.
I think annexing parts of the West Bank unilaterally without some sort of agreement with the Palestinians is a big mistake and is just going to make things a lot more tense.
Sunday, April 07, 2019
The Final Four - Virginia vs Auburn
I don't usually watch basketball and I'm certainly not anything close to an expert but I did play and I do have a basic feel for the rules of the game.
I was bored last night and found a live stream of the Virginia-Auburn game and I figured I'd give it a look.
My immediate reaction was I didn't remember the game being so rough. I mean these guys were banging into each other and engaging in general mayhem while the referees smiled in benign neglect. I like that approach. Let the players play but just keep things from getting out of hand.
Now let's talk about the final couple of seconds.
With about 3 seconds left Virginia had squandered a 10 point lead and was trailing Auburn 62-60. Virginia's Ty Jerome was dribbling up court when the ball hit his heel and he lost control. Jerome then picked up the ball and started dribbling again.
The thought immediately popped into my head "isn't that a double-dribble?" I ignored my thought because I figured the refs knew better than I did.
Then Auburn fouled Jerome well beyond the key because they had a foul to give but, with under 2 seconds left, that seemed like giving Virginia a chance to catch their breath.
Then came the in-bounds pass to Kyle Guy and the 3-point shot. When it bounced off the rim, like just about everyone else, I figured the game was over and Auburn had won 62-60.
Well, not quite, because during the shot Auburn's Samir Doughty bumped into Guy and a three shot foul was called. I didn't see it in real time but the ref was right there and the foul was clear in the replay.
So, with the entire season on the line, and 0.6 seconds left, Kyle Guy goes to the free throw line for three shots.
Now, you would think he might be a tad nervous. Hell, if it were me my knees would be knocking together and my hands shaking. Not this kid. With no hesitation he put the ball up and got nothing but net, Auburn 62, Virginia 61.
They gave him the ball back and, again, with no hesitation he put it up and, again, nothing but net. Auburn 62, Virginia 62.
At that point Auburn called its last time out to discuss its options if Guy made or missed the shot. I suppose they also wanted Guy to think about that final shot.
The resumed the gane and, what think about? Again, with no hesitation he put the ball up and got, you guessed it, nothing but net.
Final score, Virginia 63, Auburn 62. This was one for the ages.
I was bored last night and found a live stream of the Virginia-Auburn game and I figured I'd give it a look.
My immediate reaction was I didn't remember the game being so rough. I mean these guys were banging into each other and engaging in general mayhem while the referees smiled in benign neglect. I like that approach. Let the players play but just keep things from getting out of hand.
Now let's talk about the final couple of seconds.
With about 3 seconds left Virginia had squandered a 10 point lead and was trailing Auburn 62-60. Virginia's Ty Jerome was dribbling up court when the ball hit his heel and he lost control. Jerome then picked up the ball and started dribbling again.
The thought immediately popped into my head "isn't that a double-dribble?" I ignored my thought because I figured the refs knew better than I did.
Then Auburn fouled Jerome well beyond the key because they had a foul to give but, with under 2 seconds left, that seemed like giving Virginia a chance to catch their breath.
Then came the in-bounds pass to Kyle Guy and the 3-point shot. When it bounced off the rim, like just about everyone else, I figured the game was over and Auburn had won 62-60.
Well, not quite, because during the shot Auburn's Samir Doughty bumped into Guy and a three shot foul was called. I didn't see it in real time but the ref was right there and the foul was clear in the replay.
So, with the entire season on the line, and 0.6 seconds left, Kyle Guy goes to the free throw line for three shots.
Now, you would think he might be a tad nervous. Hell, if it were me my knees would be knocking together and my hands shaking. Not this kid. With no hesitation he put the ball up and got nothing but net, Auburn 62, Virginia 61.
They gave him the ball back and, again, with no hesitation he put it up and, again, nothing but net. Auburn 62, Virginia 62.
At that point Auburn called its last time out to discuss its options if Guy made or missed the shot. I suppose they also wanted Guy to think about that final shot.
The resumed the gane and, what think about? Again, with no hesitation he put the ball up and got, you guessed it, nothing but net.
Final score, Virginia 63, Auburn 62. This was one for the ages.
Saturday, April 06, 2019
The Israeli Elections
Israelis go to the polls on April 9.
According to the last poll Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party is expected to manage 26 seats in the 120 seat Knesset while Benny Gantz's Blue and White Party is expected to win 30 seats.
So no party, as usual, will be even close to a majority and the coalition negotiations will commence.
Israel's president, Reuven Rivlin, will decide which party leader has the best chance of putting together a majority coalition and that party will have a little over a month to form a government.
The same poll indicates that Netanyahu's right wing block would manage a razor thin majority of 63 seats. If that's the case, Rivlin will probably ask Netanyahu to form a government for the fifth time.
What makes this all so interesting is Netanyahu, apparently concerned by the recent polls, is promising to begin the process of annexing parts of the occupied West Bank.
It's hard to believe Israel would do that without first insuring support from the Trump administration.
Whether annexation talk is just political bull to insure right wing votes or something Netanyahu actually intends to follow though on is not clear.
I'm betting it's all hand waving for votes but you never know. Any such annexation would be clearly illegal according to international law but that hasn't stopped Israel from annexing East Jerusalem and parts of the Golan Heights.
According to the last poll Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party is expected to manage 26 seats in the 120 seat Knesset while Benny Gantz's Blue and White Party is expected to win 30 seats.
So no party, as usual, will be even close to a majority and the coalition negotiations will commence.
Israel's president, Reuven Rivlin, will decide which party leader has the best chance of putting together a majority coalition and that party will have a little over a month to form a government.
The same poll indicates that Netanyahu's right wing block would manage a razor thin majority of 63 seats. If that's the case, Rivlin will probably ask Netanyahu to form a government for the fifth time.
What makes this all so interesting is Netanyahu, apparently concerned by the recent polls, is promising to begin the process of annexing parts of the occupied West Bank.
It's hard to believe Israel would do that without first insuring support from the Trump administration.
Whether annexation talk is just political bull to insure right wing votes or something Netanyahu actually intends to follow though on is not clear.
I'm betting it's all hand waving for votes but you never know. Any such annexation would be clearly illegal according to international law but that hasn't stopped Israel from annexing East Jerusalem and parts of the Golan Heights.
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