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Let's just assume that many conservatives would be comfortable calling the victorious postwar America under Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower a period of "Greatness." It was an era of far, far higher taxes on America's wealthy. Big Government was not a dirty word, probably because Big Government worked together with Capitalist America on infrastructure and technology projects that profited both. The Marshall Plan, the GI Bill and various incentive programs was Big Government social engineering of the highest order, and created the successful middle class and working class of consumers that typically anchor the American Dream. Capitalist America never complained about this because it was good for business. The average CEO made 67 times more than his average worker. To make America that Great Again, CEOs could no longer demand compensation 1,000 times more than the average worker. We championed science and scientists and academia. America was proud of its brains. That included journalists, too. We offered moral leadership to the world. It was often flawed and hypocritical, but better than a long history of superpowers. We were proud of Social Security and Medicare. We took care of our people. Again, not so great if you were black, female, gay or handicapped, but if that makes MAGA folks uncomfortable we can take it off the table and simply agree that the Trump agenda is charting a course far away from what we used to call Greatness.

It's a potent c$%ktail of cognitive dissonance and acute mental illness, not unlike most of the OP's threads. EDIT: LOL, c$%ktail got censored.

No kidding.

I've seen a lot of the same talking points pop up today, so I've been doing some fact checking. This was the most comprehensive and includes links: Michelle Martin, PhD Cal State Fullerton: There is so much misinformation out there about the Trump administration's new "zero tolerance" policy that requires criminal prosecution, which then warrants the separating of parents and children at the border. Before responding to a post defending this policy, please do your research...As a professor at a local Cal State, I research and write about these issues, so here, I'll make it easier for you: Myth: This is not a new policy and was practiced under Obama and Clinton - FALSE. The policy to separate parents and children is new and was instituted on 4/6/2018. It was the brainchild of John Kelly and Stephen Miller to serve as a deterrent for undocumented immigration, approved by Trump, and adopted by Sessions. Prior administrations detained migrant families, but didn’t have a practice of forcibly separating parents from their children unless the adults were deemed unfit. https://www.justice.gov/…/press-rele…/file/1049751/download… Myth: This is the only way to deter undocumented immigration - FALSE. Annual trends show that arrests for undocumented entry are at a 46 year low, and undocumented crossings dropped in 2007, with a net loss (more people leaving than arriving). Deportations have increased steadily though (spiking in 1996 and more recently), because several laws that were passed since 1996 have made it legally more difficult to gain legal status for people already here, and thus increased their deportations (I address this later under the myth that it's the Democrats' fault). What we mostly have now are people crossing the border illegally because they've already been hired by a US company, or because they are seeking political asylum. Economic migrants come to this country because our country has kept the demand going. But again, many of these people impacted by Trump's "zero tolerance" policy appear to be political asylum-seekers. https://www.npr.org/…/arrests-for-illegal-border-crossings-… Myth: Most of the people coming across the border are just trying to take advantage of our country by taking our jobs - FALSE. Most of the parents who have been impacted by Trump's "zero tolerance" policy have presented themselves as political asylum-seekers at a U.S. port-of-entry, from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Rather than processing their claims, they have been taken into custody on the spot and had their children ripped from their arms. The ACLU alleges that this practice violates the Asylum Act, and the UN asserts that it violates the UN Treaty on the State of Refugees, one of the few treaties the US has ratified. This is an illegal act on the part of the United States government, not to mention morally and ethically reprehensible. https://www.nytimes.com/…/meatpackers-profits-hinge-on-pool… Myth: We're a country that respects the Rule of Law, and if people break the law, this is what they get - FALSE. We are a country that has an above-ground system of immigration and an underground system. Our government (under both parties) has always been aware that US companies recruit workers in the poorest parts of Mexico for cheap labor, and ICE (and its predecessor INS) has looked the other way because this underground economy benefits our country to the tune of billions of dollars annually. Thus, even though the majority of people crossing the border now are asylum-seekers, those who are economic migrants (migrant workers) likely have been recruited here to do jobs Americans will not do. https://www.upi.com/…/Donald-Trumps-wall-ign…/2621477498203/ Myth: The children have to be separated from their parents because there parents must be arrested and it would be cruel to put children in jail with their parents - FALSE. First, in the case of economic migrants crossing the border illegally, criminal prosecution has not been the legal norm, and families have been kept together at all cost. Also, crossing the border without documentation is a typically a misdemeanor not requiring arrest, but rather a civil proceeding. Additionally, parents who have been detained have historically been detained with their children in ICE "family residential centers," again, for civil processing. The Trump administration's shift in policy is for political purposes only, not legal ones. See p. 18: https://www.aclu.org/…/ms-l-v-ice-plaintiffs-opposition-def… Myth: We have rampant fraud in our asylum process the proof of which is the significant increase we have in the number of people applying for asylum. FALSE. The increase in asylum seekers is a direct result of the increase in civil conflict and violence across the globe. While some people may believe that we shouldn't allow any refugees into our country because "it's not our problem," neither our current asylum law, nor our ideological foundation as a country support such an isolationist approach. There is very little evidence to support Sessions' claim that abuse of our asylum-seeking policies is rampant. Also, what Sessions failed to mention is that the majority of asylum seekers are from China, not South of the border. Here is a very fair and balanced assessment of his statements: http://www.politifact.com/…/jeff-sessions-claim-about-asyl…/ Myth: The Democrats caused this, "it's their law." FALSE. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats caused this, the Trump administration did (although the Republicans could fix this today, and have refused). I believe what this myth refers to is the passage of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which were both passed under Clinton in 1996. These laws essentially made unauthorized entry into the US a crime (typically a misdemeanor for first-time offenders), but under both Republicans and Democrats, these cases were handled through civil deportation proceedings, not a criminal proceeding, which did not require separation. And again, even in cases where detainment was required, families were always kept together in family residential centers, unless the parents were deemed unfit (as mentioned above). Thus, Trump's assertion that he hates this policy but has no choice but to separate the parents from their children, because the Democrats "gave us this law" is false and nothing more than propaganda designed to compel negotiation on bad policy. https://www.independent.co.uk/…/trump-democrats-us-border-m… Myth: The parents and children will be reunited shortly, once the parents' court cases are finalized. FALSE. Criminal court is a vastly different beast than civil court proceedings. Also, the children are being processed as unaccompanied minors ("unaccompanied alien children"), which typically means they are sent into the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS). Under normal circumstances when a child enters the country without his or her parent, ORR attempts to locate a family member within a few weeks, and the child is then released to a family member, or if a family member cannot be located, the child is placed in a residential center (anywhere in the country), or in some cases, foster care. Prior to Trump's new policy, ORR was operating at 95% capacity, and they simply cannot effectively manage the influx of 2000+ children, some as young as 4 months. Also, keep in mind, these are not unaccompanied minor children, they have parents. There is great legal ambiguity on how and even whether the parents will get their children back because we are in uncharted territory right now. According to the ACLU lawsuit (see below), there is currently no easy vehicle for reuniting parents with their children. Additionally, according to a May 2018 report, numerous cases of verbal, physical and sexual abuse were found to have occurred in these residential centers. https://www.aclu.org/…/aclu-obtains-documents-showing-wides… Myth: This policy is legal. LIKELY FALSE. The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on 5/6/18, and a recent court ruling denied the government's motion to dismiss the suit. The judge deciding the case stated that the Trump Administration policy is "brutal, offensive, and fails to comport with traditional notions of fair play and decency." The case is moving forward because it was deemed to have legal merit.https://www.bloomberg.com/…/aclu-suit-over-child-separation…

Whataboutism is a propaganda technique used by the Soviet Union to deflect blame for human rights abuses and garner sympathy by complaining about something the United States did that they claimed was just as bad. The problem was the Soviets never accepted responsibility for their own actions. Unfortunately, it's exactly what you're doing by blame shifting onto Obama or Bush or politicians or whomever else. This decision to separate kids from their parents as a deterrent hangs on one person & one person only: Trump. He's doing it not because he's "enforcing the laws" or Congress has failed at immigration reform, he's doing it because he's the only one borderline sociopathic enough to use children and families as bargaining chips. Just like he did with the DACA kids. He & his cronies aren't doing it because muh law & order, they're doing it because they've determined it's good politics to try to hold them hostage for concessions. You see, these people (kids) aren't really Americans, so you see they aren't really citizens, so you see they don't really have rights, so you see they aren't really people, so you see it doesn't really matter how we treat them. Because in the Republican Utopia it's actually considered good politics to get heavy-handed with funny-talking brown people. Here's the deal. I can list a long and rather blatant history of racist actions by Trump, both the person & the president. I'm not going to, because i have a feeling you'd minimize all of it or claim all politicians are guilty of it in one way or another or make other mealy-mouthed excuses. If you want to know why Donald Trump is racist, do one iota of research about the man before you pop off about the rest of us being uninformed. I believe the appropriate phrase is something to do with a horse & some water.

This ^^^ is pure garbage. Trump is an utterly despicable, vile, corrupt, shell of a human being. Let's start with just two of his recent actions: 1) Meeting with Kim Jong Un and 2) His administration's policy of separating illegal immigrants from their children. Trump is alienating our allies: Canada, France, Germany, and other NATO countries, and cozying up to despotic dictators like Putin and Un. You know that no matter what Un "agrees" to he'll never follow through. Once again, moron Trump got played for a fool on the world stage. Second, tearing kids away from their parents is one of the most awful policies I have EVER seen ANY administration enact. The sheer inherent racism behind this is off the charts. Trump and most of his sheep followers are inherently racist, xenophobic, homophobic, and they hate anyone not "christian." Their daily words and actions demonstrate this clearly. The propaganda MAGA is nothing more than bull**** white racism gone mainstream. Hate Crimes Increase Since 2016 More But Wait, There's More!!! I mean, I could SERIOUSLY go on and on with examples. When are you going to open your eyes?

Trump is Racist, January 12 I should add to this list for the other racist things he's done since January, but frankly, I don't have that much time.

I want odds that one of the Keyshawns ends up on that San Antonio team....

I initially put this into the Republican Utopia thread, but feel it works better in this thread... Oh and memo to any/all "pro-family" Republicans reading this... You cannot call yourself "pro-family" and support the Trump administration's policy of taking children away from their parents. The fact that they are illegal immigrants does NOT make it okay. And if you are one of the 55% of Republicans who do support this policy, then you are a heartless monster and you should take a long, reflective look into the mirror, search for your soul, and ask the god you pretend to believe in for forgiveness.

We've all got some common ground

Reading this with the giant smiley emoji next to it is priceless.

He violated the Fair Housing Act not renting apartments to black people, settled with The Department of Justice, and then violated the agreement of that settlement by once again refusing to rent to black tenants. That's racist. It couldn't possibly fit the definition of racism any more clearly. Now, When was America not great? What caused America to stop being great again? What had to happen to make America great again? At what point did America again become great? What must we do to prevent America from falling from greatness in the future?

It's a little late for an "April Fools" joke. This cannot possibly be true, can it???? I am here thinking, what moron would hire Mike Riley to be a head coach again? And then I read it is former Dallas Cowboy fullback Daryl Johnston. He must have had multiple concussions from his playing days because only someone with brain damage would hire Mike Riley to be a head coach again. The guy has been an abysmal failure for practically his entire career. How do utterly incompetent failures like Riley keep getting hired?

E-x-p-e-c-t-a-t-i-o-n-s Just like you spell it in other states how has no one made this joke yet

I love humor, but I prefer it when it's funny. Related topic: who are your favorite conservative comics and right wing political satirists?

lol. you are beyond lost.

Nah, I'll pass on the Bookie option..

I get where you're coming from, and Knapp's position is one I have a hard time embracing up to this point. At this stage in the game though, and knowing what we know, failure to condemn is necessarily the act to condone.

This is a very good post. I was going to post something similar, but you saved me some work. I think the point is that there are many different buckets of Trump supporters, just like any other president. I personally feel like the outright racists & alt-right/Nazi crowd is just a vocal minority. At the same time, the GOP itself has been coddling actual racists & bigots with dogwhistles and implicit messaging for a LONG time before Trump ever came along. It's also possible to be disturbed by how comfortable the Republican base has become with racism in their midst. Wink wink, nod nod, "I would never be racist myself (but if they help us beat the Democrats...)" type of stuff. Likewise, it's a bit disturbing how the non-racist Trump supporter factions tolerate it anyway from the racist factions. Again, it boils down to an implicit understanding that they're needed to win. There's no way Trump supporters don't realize there are some proud racists amongst them; Trump has traded in the dogwhistle for a full-blown foghorn he's been blaring loudly since day 1. So one is either A) a racist B) OK with racists because their votes count too C) a very quiet minority that supports Trump & despises the racists or D) the least self-aware person every to be completely oblivious to all of this. It's just weird to watch people tolerate something I find so absolutely vile as racism for the sake of political success for their team. The day we choose to look the other way & abide moral failings to win elections is the day we lose a bit of our humanity.

He has spoken out against Trump.

Dear God.

Touchdown is to winning as avocado is to _________? If Iowa loses five games, but beats Iowa State, how many years get added to Kirk Ferentz's contract? Which if the following sentences is most likely to be true? A) Jim Harbaugh won't #$&# after a loss on Twitter. B) Maryland will finally have a season where all of its quarterbacks stay healthy. C) Northwestern will sell out every home game. D) Rutgers will win four games True or false Michigan claims fake national titles. Essay Why did Missouri ever think it was going to be asked to join the Big 10?

Yeeeaaaah....? Not sure what your point here is. To be clear (and sticking with the analogy) I'm not saying that Trump isn't a duck. I'm saying that some of his supporters are not ducks, most assuredly not all of them are. Just as surely some of them are.

So I can't be interested in seeing what this kid brings because Jackson is about the same height and has disappointed?

I don't want to go all ad hominem here, but Dinesh D'Souza was a convicted felon that Trump pardoned for no other reason than D'Souza being popular in conservative circles. It definitely helped propagate the sense of unfair victimhood sensed by many who agree with D'Souza, since Trump explicitly stated D'Souza was treated "very unfairly by our government." Bo Pelini used to talk about leaders pointing the thumb. Conservatives like D'Souza should heed that advice instead of always having some convoluted explanation about how they're the victim of some liberal conspiracy. I'll try to read the piece later. Some of your points I agree with. To the bolded: I personally just feel like the needle has swung too far towards unchecked capitalism & corporations have undue influence in our lives but especially in our politics. The little guy is consistently getting shafted to better serve corporate America. I'm no raging socialist, I just think we should swing the needle back closer to the middle, which necessarily means shifting in leftward. I just want a form of capitalism that works better for more people.

Added the CollegeFootballNews preview.

....the same way you spell it everywhere else?

If he commits to Nebraska it is him. If he commits somewhere else then the competition was bad.

This times a thousand. I am shocked everyday that people claim certain values and can't see that Trump doesn't align with any of them.

Guys, we know how this goes...some will try to temper your expectations, some will try to tell you what to expect but come each Saturday in the fall we will start a thread about the game where we all "rationalize" how the Huskers will win that game.

Q. what kind of idiots believe this load of BS? A. trumpers!

That POS works currently for the VP of the US, and has a fellowship at Harvard as well as other posts. Aren't you proud of our united states?

Did you actually imply that it’s disrespecful to call people names??? And it is disrespectful to Trump???? The man who got elected by making up 3 rd grade names for everyone?

The unnecessary overblown and vicious criticisms of Riley in this thread are a real bummer.

What if like... the entire team dies in an airplane accident? Honestly this is kind of confusing to me, because the sentiment of your first paragraph seems to be one of taking the actual circumstances and evidence and making a proportionately reasonable assessment based off of them, but then the sentiment in your last paragraph seems to be, "Forget about all the context of the actual circumstances the expectation should be the same regardless." Reality is we've *won* our division and played in a conference championship game 6 times in the 21 years that there has been one for us to make it to. There might not be reason that we shouldn't be at the top of our division, but there's plenty of reason that we haven't. Until something changes and is measurable and observable, I think with achieving that goal, the proper semantics would be "hope".

He earned the title of racist because he's racist. He earned dislike in part because he's racist. He's also sexist and moronic, to name a couple other things. To the bolded, are there or aren't there different ways to prioritize and enforce laws? Sessions stated there would be a zero-tolerance policy, and then things changed. Trump and his administration can just as easily change it back to the way it was before.

Why are you more upset how people spend their time online than at the unnecessary cruelty of this Trump policy? Why do you care how much time anyone spends here? I have a fulfilling life outside this site, full of friends, family and loved ones. I have hobbies, I exercise, I donate my time to things, and I still find time to chat here. What a weird thing to be concerned about. But then, it's better to try to distract with this than to answer for supporting Trump. People don't like to defend the indefensible. It isn't easy.

That salary might be less than the $50k a year he was going to make at Oregon State.

When you are "nice" you can keep getting gigs even if you suck...

You're offended at me. Not at the things Trump says and does, but at me. Think about what you're spending time complaining about, man.

So ....when a disgusting human being is president....anyone who realizes it is supposed to not say anything?

Maybe its not so latent, this racism. This "movement" is fueled by psychological warfare used to dupe the narcissistic, gullible and stupid. You'll get all this lunacy debunked again and just slink off to recharge your outrage meter on whatever ultra right-wing propaganda outlet it is that fuels your delusion for a few months and return to spout the same nonsense over and over.

Boy it sure sucks when facts get in the way of a juicy narrative.

People...these are YOUR expectations... Don't let others change what you expect.

Nope. Just the racist things are racist. Trump is objectively racist. His policies are racist. His tweets - and lack thereof - are racist. His actions are racist. Racist is as racist does. Trump is not analogous to "all politicians." Pretending he is is an attempt to normalize who and what he is. It is not normal, it is not OK, and failing to call him what he is doesn't solve the problem. At this point, anyone supporting Trump is either actually factually in support of his racism, or too far gone into party politics to care, which then enables his racism. Either way, there's no excuse for it.

How does it feel living with so much disappointment on a yearly basis? Can't be good for you.

I would expect him to go to A&M then...