Guy Chamberlin

I miss the days when every band was given too much money and told to make a video.

Played that three times and can't for the life of me figure out those word choices. Is there a working editor or communications director over there?

The racist claim is pretty well supported simply by the Nixon conversation. It would be bad if it was a drunken rant to your wife, but it's a sober confession to the leader of your political party. Also, a bunch of other stuff: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/08/04/why-donald-trump-is-just-following-ronald-reagans-footsteps-race/

Yep. For all the talk about Trump leading the party astray, the GOP has generally been thrilled with what they've managed to get away with under Trump. We can talk about a bygone era of gentility and respect, but the policies have always been cruel.

It would have been pretty funny if after this long, thoughtful wrestle with his conscience, Jeff Flake had said he'd be supporting Donald Trump anyway. Because that's essentially how he voted as a Senator.

This is your idea of an absolute fact?

I don't have the power to reduce anyone's choice, so I'm not suppressing anyone's freedom. Just having a discussion about the logic of a third party vote in what is expected to be a close election. Every year there are operating third parties, and every presidential election the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, The Socialist Party, The Veterans Party, The Reform Party, the Peace and Freedom Party, and the Constitution Party have candidates on the ballot (Constitution candidate Darrell Castle actually got 200,000 votes in 2016.). They have loyal party members and vote their conscience every four years, in numbers generally too small to affect the outcome. Everyone is free to bolster their numbers if you believe in the candidate and platform. On the other hand, if you oppose Trump, planned to vote Democrat, changed your mind when the choice was Biden, and vote for a third party candidate, that vote helps elect Trump. While I can appreciate voting your conscience, I'd be more impressed if you can hold forth in some detail about the candidate you're voting for. If Trump gets reelected, there will be plenty of reasons to choose from. Impotent protest votes will just be one of them. If Republicans who decide not to vote at all outnumber them, it could flip the election the other way. Democracy is weird.

And we generally salute kids who follow orders without question.

Dude, it's not illogical that someone wouldn't want to choose Biden. It's not illogical that someone would vote their conscience. Obviously there are more than two choices. That's why I wrote that whole part about supporting third party candidates all year, every year, not just when that someone gets in a presidential election snit. But it is illogical that voting third party will send a message this election, or achieve any political goal you hold dear BESIDES the right to vote for whomever you want. I don't really care if Democracy agrees with me or not, but it is whispering in my ear, telling me that it's very afraid of Donald Trump and wants this whole episode to be over as soon as possible.

Yes, creating a deadly and highly communicable virus and spreading it around the globe certainly would mess up the world. But hasn't that always been in the playbook, Dr. Evil? Not sure it matters, but did you read the article?

It was a fascinating contest between the least-liked candidates each party could have nominated.

I have friends like that, too. I respect their right, but don't really respect the logic. Voting is about exercising your power. In an election this crucial, a third party vote simply gives your power away. That needs to weigh on your conscience, too. The time to start a third party is now, building a platform and candidates up and down the halls of government, so that when you come to a Presidential election, your choice is real and not symbolic. I may love the concepts of peace and freedom, but the Peace & Freedom candidate (Gloria LaRiva again, fwiw) would be horrified to actually have the job, doesn't really have a workable plan, and would quickly get eaten alive by the process. That's the problem with most protest votes: you really don't want the person you're voting for to become President. Or you can try to push one of the two major parties to your wing. You can be disappointed when the center holds, but you can't be shocked. You may be voting -- or not voting -- your conscience, but you won't be teaching anyone a lesson. The few progressives I know threatening not to vote for Biden have apparently found higher ground than Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Noam Chomsky, Shaun King, and others they've supported, followed, and enthusiastically re-tweeted. I take comfort that there can't be that many of them, but I certainly hope they maintain their energy and integrity to build a legitimate third party in the off-season.

It's very much like the John Kerry NOT-BUSH campaign. And a lot like the Hillary Clinton NOT TRUMP campaign. And yeah, anyone with the standard cliche playbook could have written those speeches in a couple hours, without doing a lick of homework. Venture a guess what the Republicans will hammer to death, conveniently ignore, and provide no coherent policy for next week? That's a no-brainer, too. Having reviewed Kanye West's platform, I don't think he's a legitimate alternative. All that aside, it's still a really clear choice.

The only meaningful parallel is the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, and the response looked a lot like it does today: some cancellations, some attempts to play, lots of confusion trying to adjust to a moving target: https://saturdayblitz.com/2020/03/22/college-football-navigated-1918-spanish-flu-pandemic/

Think of the kid who gets picked on by Playground Bully A. Then Playground Bully B promises to beat that bully up if the kid slips him his lunch money. The kid will be thrilled to see his tormentor getting beaten, and won't notice that he's still giving his lunch money to a bully. I think that's where we're at.

I had $20 on you using the word "thugs." Thanks for playing. Now remind me why this doesn't affect your appreciation of college football. https://247sports.com/Gallery/College-football-teams-that-have-had-the-most-players-arrested-43079607/PostAssets/?View=Main&Items=25

No. Players only learn to kill, steal, abuse domestic partners, consume drugs, and wave firearms at strip clubs when they move from God-fearing colleges to the kneel-enforcing NFL.

You'll be missing football played at the very highest level. If you like the game, you should like NFL football. Also, every one of those players came out of college football. Who exactly are the Felons in your National Felons League? Is there less criminal activity in college?

Every morning I read about the upcoming NFL season. Players who need to step up this season. Injuries and replacements. New players and new contracts. What teams are expected to compete in the division. Coaches talking about the tough roster cuts. Zero discussion about whether the season will be played, and no mention of the coronavirus except in passing. I get the difference between students and professionals, and University Presidents and Owners, but playing the sport is either a needless danger, or it's not.

Come on, man. It's 2020. Next stop is Thunderdome.

Okay. Maybe my optimism was a little premature. But can we revisit this in a month when we've all agreed to take this more seriously? https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/8-days-semester-notre-dame-halts-person-classes-146-students-n1237195?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma&fbclid=IwAR1PIYBoaqrFWuq78PqOJpVSC5jZ-g4DqTCiTyW0RocUBTGMahK-dDukfSc

The media? Seriously? The media has reported the scientists warnings and the politicians dilemmas, and they've been pretty accurate if not perfect. I think everyone wanted to get back to normal around Memorial Day, but large gatherings of all types created spikes, particularly in regions that avoided the first wave. Also, this is happening in pretty much every country on Earth, so if you have a specific political agenda, it may not fit the facts. MLB and the NBA are pulling it off, and the media seems to be rooting for it. The whole back-to-school mandate is a little scarier, as most predict and even bigger spike than the summer brought on.

Other countries with less money did this earlier and better.

If I may veer gently into politics, trillions have been spent to shore up the economy. All well and good. But if a fraction of that had immediately been invested in simplified testing with near immediate results, more businesses could have opened with less infections. The science and the advice hasn't really changed. Flatten the curve to avoid overwhelming the system. Take simple precautions when interacting in public. Hold off on the large gatherings. A complete shutdown while awaiting a vaccine that might never come doesn't make sense, either. We're being told we might have to learn to live with COVID for the foreseeable future, and this kind of testing and oversight sounds like a logical first step. I don't know if we're gambling with the lives of college students to secure football revenue, but someone is gambling with their lives at frat parties, spring break festivities, indoor bar and restaurant openings, and oh yeah....expected attendance at school itself. The remaining colleges simply need to perform as well and as safely as MLB and the NBA. If I had to bet, I'd say it works, and the conferences on the outside will feel a bit foolish. That's my .02 from behind a laptop, where I remain grateful I'm not a University president or attorney.

Rooting to switch conferences in order to get an easier football schedule is pretty candyass. I think we'd find ourselves fighting for the middle-tier in the ACC, too. Last year we lost to the #9 team in the Pac 12. Nebraska has to get a lot better regardless. Let's try winning the Big 10 and maintaining our pride.