Trump's Final 100 days

By your own admission, you are not a customer. You left two years ago and I assume neither of you miss each other.

Quote: AZDuffman

It is called BEING THE CUSTOMER!

Exactly
Any conservative boycott threat rings hollow
How many fans walk out of a game due to a knee, few to none
This is why conservatives are a snowflake on this issue
They cant take the horror of a knee. (by the way, its really not so horrible, unless you are truly a snowflake)
yet
They also cant walk out of a game
ROTFL

There are some people who will be dismayed with the actions of the players and the owner's decisions to back them. They also will not enjoy the NFL because of the unsportsmanlike penalties for hitting too hard and will watch something else.

Given that your playing years in the NFL are highly likely to lead to some sort of brain damage, the game needed to soften up to avoid those kinds of injuries.

If the fans don't understand that, then the NFL will indeed become weaker. That's okay. It's a reflection of stupid fans not understanding how players long-term health are affected by the game and lamenting the days when people didn't know any better.

Other sports have added safety rules to decrease injuries including NASCAR, MLB and NHL.

Having owned an unsuccessful USFL franchise in the '80s, Trump has hated the NFL for a very long time. His remarks on Friday are intended for people to get away from the real news: North Korea, the remarkable devastation of three hurricanes to Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, lack of health care reform, lack of tax reform, lack of immigration reform.

The only thing Trump has managed to do successfully is keep foreigners out from a few countries and to bring racism issues to the forefront again. The economy keeps churning along because it is subject to worldwide forces well beyond Trump's control, that started, like Kaepernick's protest, during the Obama administration.

Quote: AZDuffman

As to the anthem, I remember at least in the 1990s that players must stand respectfully was in the master contract. Supposedly the NFL never felt the need.

Prior to 2009 teams stayed in the locker room during the anthem. Coincidentally, they started coming out to the field around the time that the Defense Department started paying the NFL millions for displays of patriotism.

http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/nfl-teams-being-field-anthem-relatively-new-practice

Quote: AZDuffman

Don't look at me, demanding an employee be fired for doing something you do not like is liberalism 101.

I'm looking at #45

Quote: terapined

Exactly
Any conservative boycott threat rings hollow

????

You have not seen the attendance and ratings both being down? Ratings now down year on year. How many more excuses can the NFL come up with?

See how it plays over the rest of the season. NFL really stepped in it this time.

So then, the argument is that the white audience, disenchanted with the kneeling protests of the black players, will tune out and not watch the NFL games.

Is there an increase in audience share for white sports, such as golf?

My theory: with the ever increasing popularity of video games, social media and other online activities, people just aren't as interested in NFL, NASCAR, and other mainstream sports.

Hello, increasing entertainment choices.

Quote: MrV

So then, the argument is that the white audience, disenchanted with the kneeling protests of the black players, will tune out and not watch the NFL games.

Is there an increase in audience share for white sports, such as golf?

My theory: with the ever increasing popularity of video games, social media and other online activities, people just aren't as interested in NFL, NASCAR, and other mainstream sports.

It is a mix. People watch the NFL because they have watched the NFL since the 1970s. They might have been losing interest the past 10 years, but they mostly stayed. Now the NFL is pushing them away so other entertainment pulls them in. Could be NASCAR. Could be social media. Could be working in the yard.

Thank you Paradigm and Babs for the direct replies. There's something I wanted to address before i get to that, if I may...

I'm here to "sort of" apologize. Not for my content, but perhaps my delivery. I'm losing the ability to articulate, to find the core of my emotion and expose it. My diplomacy's weakened as a result, and I'm finding it more difficult in resisting reverting to type, my type of course being an overly aggressive, violent a$$@#$%. My thoughts require attention, and without the ability to create a witty response or clever turn of phrase to gain that attention, kicking the bleeding door in is all I got left. It's that, the perhaps too "in your face" portion, that I want to apologize for. I'm monumentally pissed off, I want each and every person to know exactly how pissed off I am, but in no way am I trying to piss anyone else off. And since my life is filled with family who served, it is not my intention to pass judgement or emotionally harm those who have likewise. I do not intend to s#$% on "your" flag, or your interpretation of it, or your definition of what it means to be an American. If my ravings have led you to believe exactly that, then I do absolutely and sincerely apologize.

@Paradigm - I'm glad you liked it, but I personally have no idea what the show is. That clip is just something I happened upon in my non-stop search for inspiration, and that scene resonated heavily with me. I saw it years ago, and I usually rewatch it whenever I stumble upon it, because it's just... it's Truth. I feel exactly like McEvoy in that clip. Sitting there, watching everyone lose their heads over stuff I find to be peripheral at best, while the world crumbles around us. There is nothing else that communicates my inner feelings better than this very clip.

And that's really what all my BS rants and ravings boil down to. I was raised incredibly old fashioned. I wasn't plopped in a day care or handed off to a local teen, I stood at the feet of my grandpops every single day. I was given permissions unheard of today. I was taught to use a grinding wheel and how to edge a knife at the age of 4. Taught to use basic tools and built my first toy (a construction grader) at 5. I was allowed to run wild over acres and acres of forest by 7. In short, I was taught self sufficiency. I was taught that your word, your integrity, is all you ever really own. No one can take it from you and no one can give you more. It's up to you to create it, and up to you to protect it. I was taught that there is no greater contract than looking a man in the eye, giving your word, and shaking his hand. I was taught that you never, ever sacrifice what's in your heart, and to stand up for what's right. I was taught to never let another have control of your actions, and to sacrifice myself to protect that in those who could not protect it themselves. Time was never spent (wasted?) on learning rote BS for school, never about the intricacies of tax code or American politics, not about business or healthcare or nothing. Not how to crack a beer or get a girl to notice you. All that's ever been drilled into my head was, for lack of a better term, how to be a man..

A lot of my bitterness and anger comes from being built for a world that no longer exists. And I suppose spending Sept 11 burying the man that taught me all this sort of made it all come flooding back. Funerals have a way of bringing clarity and it felt like I relived my entire childhood in the span of a few hours. Every lesson came back, every bit of advice came back, every bit of how I was made and what I stand for came back, and viewing the world through those eyes... it just puts me in a bad place. It puts me exactly where McEvoy was in the Newsroom, where I just want to grab everyone, give em a good shake, and ask them wtf they're doing.

Honor. Integrity. Truth. This is what I stand for, and what I was taught America stands for. I dig that Babs remembered and reminded us all of what it says on our Real First Lady -

Quote: Statue of Liberty

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

That used to mean something. That used to signify that all are welcome, event hose most despised, because what you see as garbage, we see as family. WE will take them, WE will care for them, and, hopefully, they will bloom into their potential and be one of ours. I often imply that I am represented by the Gadsden flag. That's not a Second Amendment thing, and I ain't no Libertarian. I claim that flag because of what Franklin wrote about it when he saw it -

Quote: Benjamin Franklin

I recollected that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she has no eye-lids. She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance. She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage. As if anxious to prevent all pretensions of quarreling with her, the weapons with which nature has furnished her, she conceals in the roof of her mouth, so that, to those who are unacquainted with her, she appears to be a most defenseless animal; and even when those weapons are shown and extended for her defense, they appear weak and contemptible; but their wounds however small, are decisive and fatal: Conscious of this, she never wounds till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of stepping on her. Was I wrong, Sir, in thinking this a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America?

I can't think of anything written, nor could I write myself, a better paragraph to explain what I stand for and what I always thought America stood for. Magnanimity. Courage. Vigilance. An America that don't never start no s#$%, but one that will finish what others start. One that doesn't go looking for trouble, but answers the call when trouble comes. The corny old hero trope, ya know? THAT'S why I fly Gadsden. Because the Gadsden represents most what I always thought America was. That was the America I was taught to love, and it's that spirit that I see in the Americans I do love. But today? In America 2017? Well, f#$%, man... just turn on the TV. Think of these words magnanimity, courage, honor, integrity, truth, and you tell me where you see it. I don't mean in AmericaNS, but AmericA. Show me a shot caller, any shot caller, that even begins to exemplify just one of these values and I'll stfu and spare everyone another 3 page rant.

That's the America I was taught to love, and the America I'd be proud to have. I guess I'm just getting tired of waiting for her to come back.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
You want to change the country, start by changing yourself. Shine a light. Shine it high. Evil thrives in darkness.

Quote: billryan

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do something.

Did you mean nothing?

Yes. Thank you. I will edit it.

Here is a spectacular commentery from a sportscaster in Texas.
https://youtu.be/BNJUsE7pEs4

An excerpt.
'Maybe we all need to read the Constitution again. There has never been a better use of pen to paper. Our forefathers made freedom of speech the First Amendment. They listed 10, and not one of them says you have to stand during the anthem.
And I think those men respected the country they fought for and founded — a great deal more than the self-proclaimed patriots who are simply hypocrites, because they want to deny the basic freedom of this great country."

Quote: AZDuffman

It is a mix. People watch the NFL because they have watched the NFL since the 1970s. They might have been losing interest the past 10 years, but they mostly stayed. Now the NFL is pushing them away so other entertainment pulls them in. Could be NASCAR. Could be social media. Could be working in the yard.

Non-sequitors trying to link kneeing to ratings. NASCAR ratings are way down too, not due to taking a knee. NHL ratings are down too. Ratings are down because the product is not good, and with more cord-cutters, live sports views are down.

NFL ratings were down for September and October last season. Before the protests started.

My guess is that football is usually watched by large groups and in turn is on less tv's.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Monday Night Football ruled. Of course, back then there were only three networks and most Americans had half a dozen channels to choose from, didn't have video devices to watch movies and the internet existed only in Al Gores mind.
Even on Sunday afternoons, two of the three networks showed football so it wasn't like people had much choice.
Watch football or talk with the wife. Tough choice.
Most homes only had one tv, as well. Not like today where there may be four or more tvs , each watching one of thousands of available programs. If I watch my NY Giants on the net rather than the local game on tv, the ratings will show a decline in people in Vegas watching the local game, but is my watching the Giants counted anywhere?
I'm not sure how rating work. I'm currently taping the Yankee game to watch later. How does that count in ratings? In fact, I'm recording three shows as we speak. Will that count as three shows watched or none?

Quote: billryan

In the 1970s and 1980s, Monday Night Football ruled. Of course, back then there were only three networks and most Americans had half a dozen channels to choose from, didn't have video devices to watch movies and the internet existed only in Al Gores mind.
Even on Sunday afternoons, two of the three networks showed football so it wasn't like people had much choice.
Watch football or talk with the wife. Tough choice.
Most homes only had one tv, as well. Not like today where there may be four or more tvs , each watching one of thousands of available programs. If I watch my NY Giants on the net rather than the local game on tv, the ratings will show a decline in people in Vegas watching the local game, but is my watching the Giants counted anywhere?
I'm not sure how rating work. I'm currently taping the Yankee game to watch later. How does that count in ratings? In fact, I'm recording three shows as we speak. Will that count as three shows watched or none?

Nielson tracks DVR views and on-demand views in its ratings. So for example if I watch ST:Discovery on my DVR tonight it counts in a set of ratings that covers those views.

The NFL is very popular in bars. How do they count things like that? In Vegas, you get hundreds of people gathered at casinos. This isn't something new so it isn't an excuse for ratings declines but is this considered when it comes to ratings?

duplicate

Sure would be nice if this comes to fruition. Nfl getting treated fairly.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/09/louisiana_lawmaker_saints_shou.html

#NoFreeLunch

Quote: MaxPen

Sure would be nice if this comes to fruition. Nfl getting treated fairly.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/09/louisiana_lawmaker_saints_shou.html

#NoFreeLunch

That should happen regardless. With all of the money these teams (I include all sports) make, they don't need a tax break or any form of public funding.

Quote: MaxPen

Sure would be nice if this comes to fruition. Nfl getting treated fairly.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/09/louisiana_lawmaker_saints_shou.html

#NoFreeLunch

Louisiana alternatively could just have an all-white team, and then I'm sure there will be no instigators.

Quote: boymimbo

Non-sequitors trying to link kneeing to ratings. NASCAR ratings are way down too, not due to taking a knee. NHL ratings are down too. Ratings are down because the product is not good, and with more cord-cutters, live sports views are down.

If you listen to the fans, there is a link. You cannot insult and annoy your customer base to appease your employees. The NFL is doing just that. Under Tagliabue or Rozelle you probably would have seen the NFL take a different stand. Goddell is kind of saying, "hey, they're black, so I can't do anything because that would be racist!"

After his candidate lost in the Alabama Senate primary, Donald was busy last night deleting tweets...



He usually only deletes tweets when he gets caught spelling simple words wrong in them...

Quote: AZDuffman

If you listen to the fans, there is a link. You cannot insult and annoy your customer base to appease your employees. The NFL is doing just that. Under Tagliabue or Rozelle you probably would have seen the NFL take a different stand. Goddell is kind of saying, "hey, they're black, so I can't do anything because that would be racist!"

Silly boy, this has nothing to do with race. The Divider in chief already said so. Are you suggesting he wasn't being honest?

Quote: AZDuffman

If you listen to the fans, there is a link. You cannot insult and annoy your customer base to appease your employees. The NFL is doing just that. Under Tagliabue or Rozelle you probably would have seen the NFL take a different stand. Goddell is kind of saying, "hey, they're black, so I can't do anything because that would be racist!"

I think the worst that would have happened is a fine to the players, who probably couldn't care less. Given that all of the owners also stood behind the players when they didn't have to, to make a statement, I don't think the owners are worried about ratings or profit either. They are rich enough. If Trump ever gets around to that tax reform he never gets to because he's going to rallies and tweeting out his behind (and deleting tweets now) and worrying about Russia, they will all be so much richer.

Imagine that, taking a stand for ethics rather than worrying purely about profit. Good thing rich athletes and their owners can do crap like that. The lower class: "You're fired! Fired!"

Speaking of that I better get back to work.

So it turns out that donnies son in law is not only registered to vote in two states, but is listed as a female in one and unknown own in the other. At least he registered to vote, unlike some other children.
Jared seems to have a great deal of trouble filling out simple documents, yet this is the guy Donnie thinks can bring peace to the Middle East.

Quote: billryan

So it turns out that donnies son in law is not only registered to vote in two states, but is listed as a female in one

LOCK HER UP!!!

Quote: billryan

So it turns out that donnies son in law is not only registered to vote in two states, but is listed as a female in one and unknown own in the other. At least he registered to vote, unlike some other children.
Jared seems to have a great deal of trouble filling out simple documents, yet this is the guy Donnie thinks can bring peace to the Middle East.

Please post a link to proof that son in law is registered to vote as a female!

Quote: ams288

LOCK HER UP!!!

Probably instructive to remember his father was successfully convicted by Chris Christie and co. So he was raised by a white - collar criminal, and married another's daughter.

Trump's 4000+ lawsuits, many settled w/NDA attached, doesn't inspire confidence. Neither do hidden tax returns. Smoke and fire, doncha know. But conveniently overlooked or ignored for some reason by true believers.

Latest is this tax plan. Trump claims it will hurt him personally, but two features are elimination of AMT and Estate Tax, both huge factors, I mean Yuuuuge, to someone as rich as he claims to be. We'll see. Hard to compare impact with unknown "before" numbers.

Quote: SOOPOO

Please post a link to proof that son in law is registered to vote as a female!

https://www.yahoo.com/news/jared-kushner-woman-according-voter-145019284.html

Re: NFL protests. This.

From Steve Schmidt, McCain campaign chair 2008, Republican. Please ignore the headline and just listen to him, speaking from the heart, then make up your own mind.

Quote: billryan

https://www.yahoo.com/news/jared-kushner-woman-according-voter-145019284.html

This family has a strange fascination with transgenders.

Fun fact: there is no GOP senator in the hospital. Donald may be off his meds...

Quote: billryan

https://www.yahoo.com/news/jared-kushner-woman-according-voter-145019284.html

Thanks for the link. Why is someone's gender asked for voter registration? Who's business is it?

As far as being registered to vote in two states, how does one 'unregister' to vote if you move to another state? Is it the individual's responsibility, or does the new state somehow have to notify the old state? It seems once I registered I am forever registered, right? If I die, who unregisters me?

Quote: SOOPOO

As far as being registered to vote in two states, how does one 'unregister' to vote if you move to another state? Is it the individual's responsibility, or does the new state somehow have to notify the old state? It seems once I registered I am forever registered, right? If I die, who unregisters me?

I'm sure different states have different laws about this situation.

After I moved from Ohio to Michigan, I "unregistered" when Ohio tried to send me to jury duty. I just had to check a box on the jury duty letter and send it back and that was that.

A Republican Senator yesterday said that US Intelligence shows Russian troll farms instigated twitter attacks against the NFL protests, including # takeaknee and #boycottNFL..
Of course, the usual gang of idiots responded to their dog whistles.
http://www.foreigndesknews.com/news/politics/senator-says-russian-internet/

Quote: SOOPOO

Thanks for the link. Why is someone's gender asked for voter registration? Who's business is it?

As far as being registered to vote in two states, how does one 'unregister' to vote if you move to another state? Is it the individual's responsibility, or does the new state somehow have to notify the old state? It seems once I registered I am forever registered, right? If I die, who unregisters me?

I imagine sex is asked to help the poll taker identify the voter, but it's most likely just a left over question from long ago.
Trump has often sited people registered in two or more jurisdictions as proof of his whole voter fraud nonsense.
I think Congress should pass a Federal Law mandating that when you register to vote in a new jurisdiction, that jurisdiction is responsible for informing your old one to remove you, and that Funeral Directors should also notify the election boards of deaths.
There simply isn't a standard for removing voters. I have not lived in NYC for almost five years, and never registered to vote there as I always voted on Long Island, but still get postcards from both there and LI, even though I am registered to vote in Nevada. My Sister died three years ago, and hadn't lived in Mineola for a decade before that but still was getting postcards informing her of primary voting locations.

Quote: MaxPen

Sure would be nice if this comes to fruition. Nfl getting treated fairly.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/09/louisiana_lawmaker_saints_shou.html

#NoFreeLunch

Good article. And this in a state where sodomy is illegal, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/21/12-states-ban-sodomy-a-decade-after-court-ruling/7981025/.

Professional sports gives "real men" and excuse to not go out and play with their children, ooh-ra.

Quote: beachbumbabs

Re: NFL protests. This.

From Steve Schmidt, McCain campaign chair 2008, Republican. Please ignore the headline and just listen to him, speaking from the heart, then make up your own mind.

I tried babs. I made it a minute and a half, before hitting the escape button. The look of the guy put me off in the first place, and I couldn't help think it was like a million other talking heads.

Never was a fan of McCains.

FYI - Jared Kushner did register as a male. It was a clerical error that had him listed in the database as a female.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/jared-kushner-registered-vote-male-database-error-article-1.3528008

So I amend my statement from yesterday of "LOCK HER UP!!!" to "LOCK HIM UP!!!"

Quote: billryan

There simply isn't a standard for removing voters.

True. Not sure how the Feds might weigh in, but historically this has been a state issue.

That said, (mostly county) election supervisors across the country recognize this as a problem. Less for illegal voters voting, as that seems relatively uncommon. But, more so concerning people who spend half the year up north and half the year down south. No easy way to determine whether such voters vote twice, once up north and once down south via absentee ballot as required.

A few months ago I spoke to my local county election supervisor about this issue. He said a number of states where in the process of establishing a shared database so they could eventually (after the fact) determine whether citizens such as these vote twice or not. Should be simple, but it apparently isn't.

As for myself, when I started a business in another state different from my home state, I filed a Declaration of Domicile with my local County Clerks office. The rich and famous (not me!) do this all the time. "I might be at my Malibu house, or I might be at my Aspen ski lodge, but I always vote in Beverly Hills." Not sure if this would provide a method to fix the problem, but the method is available now.

Quote: lildevilLucy

Yeah yeah ... � So is Kylie Jenner Pregnat or not ???

I certainly can't keep up with them or their names, but apparently one of her sisters is pregnant now as well.

Quote: AxelWolf

I certainly can't keep up with them or their names, but apparently one of her sisters is pregnant now as well.

Kim is again.

There are some excellent videos on YouTube of protesters getting smothered with diesel truck exhaust. Perhaps they like it. At least in this political climate, both sides can find humor in it all.

I'm watching Trumps economic advisor talking about taxes and he repeatedly states that we shouldn't worry that Trump would save 32 million under the plan. What we should appreciate is that a middle class family will save a thousand dollars and can use that money to buy a new car. I can't believe no reporter asked him what he thought a new car costs? That's the trouble with having million and billionaires trying to run things. They have no idea what things actually cost. I cant think of many people who think giving rich people millions of dollars in savings in order to get an extra $20 a week to put towards that new car is a fair exchange.

Just to clarify.
Puerto Rico is an island, and its an island that is surrounded by water. Big water.
Just in case anyone was confusing it with a landlocked island or one of the islands not surrounded by water. Big water.
Hopefully, a couple hundred thousand Puerto Ricans relocate to the Midwest where they can finally vote for President, like real Americans can.
No use letting a crisis go to waste.

Quote:

If you walk along the National Mall this November, you'll see the Smithsonian Museums, the Washington Monument, Capitol Hill, and, possibly, something else: a 45-foot tall nude sculpture of a woman.

The Amazonian figure would tower over the National Mall next to the Washington Monument, directly facing the White House until March 28 to promote women's equality.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/heres-why-a-45-foot-tall-nude-sculpture-may-be-coming-to-the-national-mall/ar-AAsDFwV?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

Any guesses on what Trump will say?

I'm going with, "She's only a 6."

Quote: billryan

I'm watching Trumps economic advisor talking about taxes and he repeatedly states that we shouldn't worry that Trump would save 32 million under the plan. What we should appreciate is that a middle class family will save a thousand dollars and can use that money to buy a new car. I can't believe no reporter asked him what he thought a new car costs? That's the trouble with having million and billionaires trying to run things. They have no idea what things actually cost. I cant think of many people who think giving rich people millions of dollars in savings in order to get an extra $20 a week to put towards that new car is a fair exchange.

Considering the Trump organization employs 20,000+ people that sounds about right.

I suppose I should have qualified that with "sane" people.

Quote: billryan

Just to clarify.
Puerto Rico is an island, and its an island that is surrounded by water. Big water.
Just in case anyone was confusing it with a landlocked island or one of the islands not surrounded by water. Big water.
Hopefully, a couple hundred thousand Puerto Ricans relocate to the Midwest where they can finally vote for President, like real Americans can.
No use letting a crisis go to waste.

Probably time to provide all the supplies they need for humanitarian efforts and then wash our hands of that Island. We are never going to see the money they owe so forget the debt and grant them independence. Will be cheaper in the long run. Who says America isn't a kind and gentle country.