The Frankish Reich

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/mike-williams-bucs-agree-to-six-year-4025-million-extension/ $15 million guaranteed ten years ago. Sad.

I disagree. The point was to prevent the other guys from scoring. And measuring success by points allowed, well, that worked. The opposite of the Rex Ryan style defense, which is based on causing confusion in the offense and capitalizing on it. In that defense you take the risk of giving up the big play in order to make one yourself.

Silly knee-jerk response. Of course my point is that when you want to create a program that hands out money, you've got to think about what could go wrong. And when you create a program without much in the way of internal controls because you want a quick political benefit, lots of things do go wrong. Sensible response. Congratulations for not doing the Big Blitz thing.

So let's say you're a governor who's all for education reform. You might also dream of being elected president. So you do something truly innovative. You're gonna expand school vouchers, and you're gonna let parents decide not to send their kids to woke indoctrination centers. They can even stay home with the kids and homeschool them and get state money to help assist with the education of their little ones! School supplies, all of that nice stuff, right? Why should the parents have to provide the learnin' stuff that those woke indoctrination centers typically provide? It's only fair, and what could possibly go wrong? https://popular.info/p/disney-tickets-ps5s-and-big-screen Oh. Florida parents are taking advantage of an expanded school voucher program championed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R), according to messages from private Facebook groups obtained by Popular Information. The private Facebook messages reveal how parents are using the new Personalized Education Program (PEP), which provides about $8,000 annually to thousands of homeschooled students to get taxpayer-funded theme park passes, big-screen TVs, and other items with an attenuated connection to education. PEP is limited to 20,000 students for the 2023-24 academic year but will expand dramatically in future years, increasing by 40,000 students annually. In one exchange posted in a private Facebook group last month, a parent inquires if anyone has had luck getting passes to Disney World approved through the program. Another parent responds that she was able to get passes for Disney World and Universal Studios paid for with taxpayer funds.

No. Not every natural disaster. Not, for example, any Florida or Texas hurricane. Those are God providing an opportunity for DeSantis and Abbott to Show Leadership. But any natural disaster impacting a liberal state or locality is unambiguously a sign on the Wrath of God. This is actually very easy to understand. Tornado in Oklahoma = Opportunity to Excel. Flooding in Reno? Likewise. Flooding from same storm just outside Reno? Divine Retribution.

Im relieved. After one of your Twitter monkeys said something equally stupid, apparently not in jest, I felt compelled to ask.

I think Ol' Tarheel lost a little off his fastball when he brought in Deranged Rhino as his personal pitching coach.

If he'd tugged on the white boots we'd still be talking about him. Rookie mistake.

I am assuming this is snark. But after Jack Posobiec attributed such things to the Wrath of God, I'm just not sure anymore.

It smells. That's why I want it to be investigated! I don't know what else to say. Investigate, investigate, try to get evidence on what/how Joe profited and whether Hunter's actions impacted White House decisions (remember, he was VP, not president, so it's not like he was dictating policy). But what does that have to do with Jared Kushner? Congress doesn't have the resources to look into both at the same time?

The "short stairs." That's it! Senile!!

I'm not aware of any relaxed ethics rules for newcomers.

Allow me to repeat: - Hunter Biden should be investigated. By congressional committee AND by the special counsel for violation of the criminal laws. The congressional investigation should be aimed at determining what role Joe Biden played in Hunter's activities and whether he profited from those activities while he was VP. - Jared Kushner should be investigated, perhaps by the Dem-controlled Senate (since the House won't do it) to determine whether there was/is any quid pro quo for his and his father-in-law's actions while in the White House. There doesn't appear to be any basis for a criminal investigation here, at least not yet. I know everyone else here seems to think it's an either/or. It isn't.

Guy is showing a backbone. Either that or he's spooked by how Trump-endorsed candidates did in recent GA elections.

Boo-SHELL As in the chorus of boos from Wrigley Field as he grounded out weakly to end the rally. Now THAT's before my time.

Steve Rattner explains why we should continue asking questions. Rattner kind of knows what he's talking about - in addition to being a business commenter, he runs the investment fund that manages Michael Bloomberg's wealth ...

True, I didn't see the INTs, the forced fumbles, the sacks. But that's a narrow view of what counts as "making mistakes." Not giving up the big play, making an offense sustain a 12 play drive without a holding penalty, a dropped catch, a false start causing a 1st and 15 ... all of those things are critical to a bend but don't break philosophy. And Edmunds was a very good fit for that. Yep. It's great to build a defense around a strong MLB when you happen to have Luke Kuechly. They may have hoped that Edmunds would be that guy, and of course he wasn't. So maybe some of this has to do with the realization that you aren't gonna find another Kuechly but you can still be a great defense.

And if the Dems still had the House, there'd be Kushner hearings. Trump Sr doesn't help matters by his almost romantic attachment to the Saudi regime.

Yeah, the moneyballer in me wants to say "bad situational luck" since their runs scored vs. runs against suggests that they should at least be in the wild card hunt. But my gut tells me "this just ain't working"

Well, no. Bigger is great if it doesn't bring along slower. In McD's defense, slower is a problem.

Oh, I agree with that. They simply couldn't pay everyone, so they made the tough decision to let Edmunds walk. But MLB will be an adventure without him this year since Kirksey, Klein (could he be cut when Kirksey is activated?) and the young guys simply provide no reason for us to believe they'll be able to fill his shoes.

This is where the Hunter and Jared cases ARE similar. They both depend on the answer to this question: was Burisma (the Saudis) promised something in exchange for payments (immediate or in the future) to a close relative of the President (Vice President)?

Who said it's "equivalent?" It is still very shady, and very worthy of investigation. Yes, some party activists and congressional reps are trying to distract from the Hunter investigation with a "but what about Kushner?" That doesn't mean Kushner's deals are pure as the driven snow. In fact, in terms of the amount of apparent favors distributed (all disclosed here) the MBS-Kushner deal dwarfs anything Hunter received.

And don't forget this from James Comer, Hunter Biden's Inspector Javert: “I think that what Kushner did crossed the line of ethics,” Rep. James Comer (R., Ky.) said earlier this month on CNN.

Since I know a lot of you don't read our more reputable sources and prefer to subscribe to an army of self-appointed expert tweeters, here's the key graf from the WSJ story (again): Kushner had raised the money from Saudi, Emirati and Qatari investors, after presenting himself as a unique business leader able to bridge the region’s economic and cultural divides. To that end, he had secured unique approval from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to invest the kingdom’s money in the Jewish nation for the first time. Kushner left Tel Aviv last spring without writing any checks. More than a year later, while collecting millions in management fees, Kushner says he is just now poised to invest in his first Israeli company. *** “Deployment has been slower than expected because we maintained high standards,” Kushner said. “In retrospect, I’m glad we didn’t follow the herd.” Kushner’s post-White House work has drawn scrutiny from some in Congress who question whether the business arrangement is a Saudi reward for all the work Kushner did in government to advance the kingdom’s interests in Washington.