Guy Chamberlin

I think if we all compared notes, we'd realize every part of the country, down to individual cities and even neighborhoods, handled the "mandates" differently, including ignoring them completely.

It's worth recalling that in March of 2020, our closest working example of a pandemic was the 1918-19 global Influenza outbreak that infected a third of the world's population, and killed more people than the World War that had just concluded. Also in March of 2020, I rolled my eyes at the oncoming hysteria, convinced it was merely the next Bird Flu. As I learned more, I learned I was wrong.

We've been laughing about the early days of Covid, when we watched YouTube videos about wiping down your groceries as soon as you brought them into the house. But I never felt betrayed by the information and warnings provided. It always was an evolving pandemic emergency, taking place on a global scale, with countries executing a full range of precautions having nothing to do with Anthony Fauci. I thought the scientists generally chose their words carefully, based on the best available information, and were not afraid to change course as better information became available. I don't think I've seen the full list of what they got wrong, but they weren't wrong to take emergency measures in the early days, along with most countries. In hindsight, perhaps schools should have opened earlier. Then again, Sweden was pretty smug about keeping everything open, including schools, until they had a delayed response that landed them among the worst COVID cases per capita in the world. Masks weren't perfect, and mandates weren't the answer, but they were always sold as the best prevention we could control, and that remains true --- as it is with every virus. There was no doubt an attempt to downplay the possibility of accidental or intentional Covid lab leak from China, but while evidence now suggests it's a distinct possibility, there's roughly the same evidence for the Wuhan Wet Market theory. Once the vaccine was available, 90%+ of COVID deaths were among the unvaccinated. Much was made about vaccinated deaths, but come on. They weren't wrong that Ivermectin and other rumored cures were not effective and should not be taken for COVID cure or prevention. For some reason the "experts" promoting dips#!t cures to show up the Fauci lovers were not held to the same standard of vetting and blaming.

Many people enjoy brown rice. Why are you always bringing race into it?

I think we have to get to the place where we accept that Joe Biden is in decline, but it can be successfully mitigated. Given the alternative and what's at stake, we accept the inside intel that Joe remains highly knowledgeable and capable on important subjects -- vastly better than Donald Trump -- and that Joe will remain prone to both physical and verbal missteps while under constant scrutiny. The party stops pretending he's not too old and that we didn't deserve someone younger and more inspiring, but instead it transparently limits his press conferences and extemporaneous opportunities, and begins delegating more public roles to his cabinet members and spokespeople. Biden is the President and will give some perfectly good speeches when needed, but it will be a team effort. And if you look at the team Biden assembles vs. the team Trump will assemble, it's not even close. It's grown ups vs. the worst teenagers you can imagine. It's Big Ten vs Community College.

There was a kerfuffle a dozen years or so ago, just as my kids were moving into the local Middle School. We have about a 50/50 split between White and Hispanic kids here, and this made a lot of white parents nervous about sending their kids to the public middle school, where they were scared of both non-existent gangs and Hispanics dragging down the academic ranking. The school created a series of Advanced Placement classes (can't recall if the district was involved) that certainly sounded merit based but were essentially designed as a safe space for the white kids, a fact everyone seemed to recognized by the complexion of the classrooms. The principal was replaced and the system was changed, and most folks were good with it, as smart kids of any ethnicity still had the chance to excel. In what was no doubt a well-intentioned move, they created a recognition program exclusively for ESL or second-generation Hispanic students with some aspirational name like Rising Achievers, but when you attended the awards ceremonies it looked like a two track system, with a patronizing nod to kids given lower expectations. But the same district has tried to maintain the college track AP for high schoolers, and no one wants to abandon some kind of merit based option.

The network would be sad to have a playoffs without LeBron James, Steph Curry and/or Kevin Durant, but sometimes youth needs to be served and the top tier is loaded with young talent. That being said, the Nuggets are deep, experienced, and tested, and I honestly don't know anyone who hates them. That's rare all by itself.

I thought the only way this works is that whatever team gets Bronny will get LeBron James at a huge discount so he can end his career playing with his son. I would not want to be the coach of that team.

It was actually a series of stupid and slanted questions. My issue was about the qualities I'd look for in a teacher, taking your larger posting history into account. I'm sticking with that answer. You cheerfully admit the many many subjects you know next to nothing about. So I'm honestly not being a d!(k about this.

It's mostly that you don't seem very curious, or interested in doing the simple things that would turn your opinions into informed opinions. Kinda the antithesis of teaching, really.

I'd be willing to do what's good for college sports.

I want to go back to the days when I didn't think you were a real teacher.

Massive contract renegotiating when the time comes, with broadcasting entities giving the Big 10 and SEC no choice but to play along. Go ahead and let them keep their name and brand, but they go back to geographic roots that aren't even a generation old. Even with more equitable distribution, it's certainly possible these conferences could get more money from the new college sports landscape than they have now.

It doesn't get talked about much, but conference realignment has been 100% driven by football, and most schools have another 20+ athletic programs forced to follow along. The Pac 10 and ACC/Big10 mergers in particular will add a large burden to sports that can't afford it, especially the travel schedules that aren't conducive to athletes, students, and tight budgets. I'm wondering if the growth of women's volleyball and men's and women's basketball might allow other people in on the decision. A return to geographic alignment could make a lot of sense for both monetary and rivalry reasons.

I can tell you from direct experience that much of the DEI spending goes to hiring a consultant for a one day seminar, having someone write up a boilerplate DEI statement for their digital media, cleaning up the optics wherever possible, and legitimately encouraging human resources to bring in and/or promote people of color. All told, it's not much money. The bigger companies may hire a full-time DEI officer. It will be interesting to check back on this in a few years. In other words, there's plenty of box checking and posturing and even some silliness, but at the end of the day it moves the needle a bit, and the diversity will likely have a positive return for the business.

Don't worry about offending me. I mean, not any more than you already do. : ) I'm going to take a wild guess that the "story after story" about transgenderism run amok appear in the conservative media you consume, specifically culled for your outrage and conveniently ignoring more baseline evidence. Hollywood weirdos? Someone with 3 non-binary children? Why does that negate the scientific numbers we agreed on? If we're going on a case by case basis, all kinds of parents -- well intentioned and not -- can f#&% up their kids. To put it another way: if we were to collect all the stories of devout Christians raising their kids with visions of cultish fundamentalism, scientific denial, and physical punishment for their sins, would the trans community perhaps want to distance itself from Easter?

Workers control the means of production. Wealth inequality is something to be corrected. The value of a commodity is measured by the worker's skill, yada yada yada. I'm sure this isn't what you or Carol had in mind, or Karl for that matter, but it's not that big of a leap from that post. Also, it's laughable to think DEI investment is taking anything away from corporate bottom lines. Carol is so keen to badmouth DEI and ESG, she unwittingly crawls in bed with Karl Marx. Best of all, she's right. Shared ownership is a smart corporate move that's been available to them forever and avoided for the selfish reasons that create class conflict.

Don't want to alarm anyone, but this is the core of Marxism.

Thanks Archy. Seriously. Truth is, this is what I envisioned you wanting to post, but avoided because it's pretty loaded with stuff other posters would jump on. It's still perfectly within the realm of healthy P&R discussion. Since you believe transgenderism shouldn't be celebrated at all, the Easter part is pretty moot. Assumption remains that supporting transgender people flies in the face of Christianity. As the father of a child who has identified as trans since roughly 20, I maintain plenty of questions and concerns myself. I do think there's a social movement attached, and that the whole issue is going through a phase that may look different in a few years, just as the nomenclature has changed too fast for poor dad to keep up. I've also been forced to learn a lot from a multitude of sources, both anecdotal and scientific. If I could disabuse you of only one thing today, it's that this is being driven by parents and doctors and agenda mongers. It's simply not. It's being driven by young people at a fairly great risk to themselves, and as they're emerging, parents and doctors and society at large is being asked to adjust and accept. The science isn't perfect, but it's increasingly clear that a small number (under 1%) of humans are born with some kind of trans-gender identity, and likely have been across cultures and throughout history, as God made them. It's an anomaly, not a mental illness. Plenty of tough issues remain, including medical intervention on minors, but the vast majority of trans people -- hell any people -- report life-changing benefits when allowed to be yourself.

True. These aren't unusual numbers for many international real estate developers. What is unusual is the number of banks who refuse to do business with Donald Trump, going on 25 years now. Much of the Trump brand is in licensing and property management agreements with other entities, often foreign, who actually own the properties.

I'm already bored. If you still want off the hook I'll give you a pass and assume you had a palatable response. If it really was dark, pointed, and juicy enough to warrant a TOS, I'd be happy to read it in a DM.

True. It's the normal people who always get blown up.

If you're smart and bring a keen understanding of both politics and media, why would you want the job?

I'm a huge believer in logic and reason and the ultimate power of truth, but I honestly believe half of this country is under a spell right now. And it didn't used to be that way.

I'd like to point out that opposition to Israel's prosecution of Gaza has quickly moved from the Wacky Left to the mainstream position, with a lot of people brushing up on their Mideast history.