Weave

I got 99 problems and the NHL ain't one?

I understand the "let's see how the courts play out". But Sabel79 is absolutely correct. There was nothing sincere about the effort. Between the unproven claims in 2016 and the scorned-in-court claims in 2020 AND the simple fact that many of the states that went for Trump used the same machines, same early and mail in voting rules, and same late voting changes in response to a pandemic and not ONE individual that challenged the votes in MI, PA, GA, AZ, etc was interested in challenging the same machines, rules, and changes in the states that went for Trump. How sincere could the quest for justice really be when you are only seeking it on one side of the aisle? If you couldn't see the insincerity you weren't opening your eyes. And if you could see it and gave Trump the benefit of the doubt you were complicit. The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

Yup, the Capital police were definitely taking sides. From Twitter: And this one too. Cops letting the rioters in:

Doomed? No. In a spiral? Yes. Can we pull out of it? It's gonna take some very skilled pilots. For months I've been saying this won't end well. I'm sorry to not be wrong. It's seemed obvious to me that the end result, hell, the endgame, was escalation up to this point. Trump's been egging on the egg heads for about 5 years now. Lock her up turned to stop the steal turned to march on the Capitol. So we had armed invaders with restraints wearing thin blue line punisher badges. That explains why virtually no shots were fired. Law Enforcement picked sides. And we wonder why the BLM movement was so intense.

Catchy, campy, upbeat, obnoxious ear worm, nobodies favorite. I think this one fills the bill.

I’m with ubkev on this. Individual goal songs.

Or he had to showcase him for the trade. That would explain the snapped answer.

And I am off work today. Awesome sauce.

I am amazed at the loyalists thanking Trump for standing up for "freedom" instead of recognizing it for what it really was, an attempt to strong arm an election he didn't win. I don't understand it at all. He said in plain speech that he wants GA to "find" enough votes to change the results, not find the fraud. Find the votes. This is surreal. Where the hell are Republicans in Congress speaking out regarding this? Either come out of the shadows and show your support for it or denounce it for what it is. Spineless.

Yes, not enough scoring depth was definitely a primary issue, but Jack said himself (and so did Ralph) at the end of last season that the team needed veteran leadership and grit. He said they needed to be older and tougher next season. As much as the moves made in the offseason addressed goals, it also addressed a lack of experience handling the big moments and issues that arise during the course of a season that can waylay an inexperienced team. Don't discount that there is likely equal benefit from bringing in a few gristled vets who can show a young team how to get out of a funk as there is in bringing in a second set of goal scorers.

Agreed on automatic voter registration. I think its been made perfectly clear over the last 2 election cycles that there is a disincentive on the GOP side to maximize voter turn out. Consequently, any changes that increase voter participation will be met with extreme resistance.

I ask again, by what mechanism can voters demand better candidates?

My #1 point was a direct reply to your first paragraph, which was expressed by you as a conservative perspective. Yes, both sides don't like the application of the voting laws. Only one side thinks there are too many votes. Regarding your second point. Bull *****. You show me an avenue to better choices and I'm walking the first steps down that path yesterday. We cannot demand what we cannot control. How do you demand better choices? How do you force a private entity (GOP and Dem parties) to change their operating rules? How is this even possible when you don't have the influence (money) to change their ways? And if the election process is set up to specifically work for GOP and Dems, how do you vote for an alternative? You get filtered choices already vetted for ability to raise money in primary, and you get even more filtered choices in the election. The filter is the problem, not the people doing the voting. By the time it gets to them free choice is a sham.

One other point regarding "election tampering". This isn't my point. I stumbled across it and am repeating it in my own words. The coalition that is challenging the swing states election results aren't claiming fraud, they are claiming allegations of fraud. Let's see. It started with allegations of fraud by Trump's team, preemptively (how convenient). Then they spread the propaganda of fraud. Then they staged rallies and publicity stunts to give these allegations an air of credibility. And now they are citing their own disinformation as a call to action. All this with no evidence and no legal backing. And zero independent support. It's a grand circle jerk. Literally. And members of Congress are using this circle jerk as the foundation for a protest. Like I said, all this is setting precedent for Congress to take over the right for states to conduct their own elections. And the end result is going to be violence I am afraid.

1. How do you define tampering? In all of the cases that the Trump election team went after, the states had their election laws in place well before the election. In most of those cases it was with the blessing of state GOP. Are states not allowed to set and manage their own elections? If not, when did that become a conservative thing? What happened to state's rights? This whole thing is awfully convenient in its timing. Noone lifted a finger to challenge these rules until Trump lost. And now with a coalition looking to challenge specific states, state's rights are even further in jeopardy than they already were. Ted Cruz and crew are setting up a precedent whereby Congress gets to ultimately appoint the President by approving/disapproving an individual state's duly performed election. If you really want tampering, there it is in a nutshell. 2. We keep voting for the same people because that is all the two parties will put before us to vote upon. You can't blame the voters when they have no say in who is up for election, and no transparency about the candidates. See my thoughts re: Citizen's United. It was bad before that Supreme Court case. It is much, much worse now. Once you leave county politics and enter state level politics ability to raise money determines whether you'll get any party support at all, and let's face it, without party support you're done. You don't get invited to debates, you don't get a team to do the leg work and PR work, and you don't get any money.

We've seen that a Justice Dept. beholden to a President is dangerous in that it will protect that President. Appointment of the US Attorney General needs to somehow become a bipartisan process. Trump also showed you can eliminate Congressional oversight of Cabinet positions merely by appointing interim Cabinet heads. Eliminate that. There needs to be tighter control over enforcement of the Emoluments Clause. There needs to be tighter controls regarding the hiring and firing of the various Inspectors General as well. We've seen that Trump bullied his way by firing the controls that were supposed to reign him in. And the system appeared unwilling or unable to stop it. Really, most of what Trump has been accused of doing would be contained with a powerful Justice Dept. The President and Congress used to fear the FBI. I'm comfortable with that. Make a strong Justice Dept, not beholden to any one group or party, and we are much, much less likely to see justice obstruction, brazen profiteering, soliciting of foreign governments for political assistance, violation of campaign finance laws, and many of the other things Trump has been involved in. And from my view the situation has very rapidly degraded since the Supreme Court's Citizens Untied decision. Dark money and unlimited spending has resulted in an election system heavily skewed towards ultrawealthy individuals and corporations. I've mentioned before in this thread that the curtain is now thrown back and the Wizard is there for all to see. They don't need to hide it, and they don't need to put up a front. Now we get things like Mitch McConnell saying that he won't allow a single Biden win. He doesn't have to fake things. He can just put up a wall and let things burn because he'll back the ultrawealthy donors and they'll make sure he stays in office. Democracy is unsustainable when one side has a logarithmic edge in influence.

I would love to see the issues related to actual democracy that have been shown to be deeply flawed, fixed. But right at this moment one side benefits from those flaws. There won't be enough traction to get them actually fixed. And McConnell has come right out and literally said that he will not allow one win for Biden in the next 4 years. So, at best we'll see stagnation.

Ooof. Unneeded drama there.

2hr debate limit for each vote challenge. It certainly delays things a bit. In theory if one member of the house and one member of the senate agrees with the protest, the protest gets debated and voted upon. The vote needs to be a smiple majority in both houses for the electoral college votes for that state to be thrown out. But with a Dem majority in the house is is really, really unlikely that there would be a majority vote in both houses. I don't think we're done yet. I'm expecting Republican leadership to continue the assault well into Biden's term.

Mitts down a few pounds. Hopefully that's indicative of improved fitness.

Maybe intensity is the wrong word. I think Jack plays with more abandon than Sam does. Yes, Sam goes into dirty areas, but when Jack is going into areas he's doing it with more speed. Sam's trip is more stealthy.

I'll take the 8-10 games lost and keep the intensity level.

Hall- Eichel - Olofsson could be fun as hell to watch. It's been a long time since we saw the fun that LaFontaine - Mogilny provided.

Cozens, Lazar, and Okposo would be an interesting line to start Cozens career. Two hard working vets, one with a stellar reputation and great hands, both with size and grit. I think Cozens could learn alot in a short period of time playing with those two.

And that may force our hand. I hope not. I hope he naturally progresses into center ice, but boy his work along the boards and down low is a thing of beauty. He could be one hell of a wing.