oldmanfan

The NFL is essentially telling its employees they need to get vaccinated, which is entirely within their right to do. The employee can either get with the program or leave the employ of the NFL. It is no different than my health care network mandating that we all have to be vaccinated. All the science supports the value of vaccination. The NFL understands that. Focus on science and not politics and this is a non-issue.

Solid reporter for years. Will miss reading his stuff

The delta variant is hitting the younger population more and is more infectious. The vaccines are incredibly effective and the risks of potential complications, myocarditis with the mRNA vaccines and blood clots with J&J, are extremely rare with around 5 cases per million, with the vast majority of these being non-fatal. And the idea that there are long term risks to the vaccines is not supported by the history of vaccines that shows any side effects are found within weeks of widespread application. The nonsense about things like microchips and the vaccines being gene therapy are just that- nonsense. And all the data show that vaccinated people are at much less risk of contracting Covid and if they do, that their risk of death or significant illness is minuscule. These are the actual facts. Yet you have states like Tennessee actively trying to keep kids from getting not only the Covid vaccines, but any vaccines. You have idiots like Carlson spewing nonsense. There is only one logical conclusion: they want people to die. They would prefer people die so they can promote political nonsense.

To quote a trite phrase used far too often around here with respect to your attempt to be cute: What a mess

Try again

Because they are black kids in a predominantly white town. You can call it profiling if you want; that’s another way of saying racism. Nice you took out the reference to slavery since you realize that was off base.

Interesting points. From a private employer perspective, you educate your employees on DEI (and not CRT, let's not artificially conflate the two), because it helps you in the marketplace. A more inclusive workforce attracts the most talent and as such should improve your bottom line. From an educational perspective, the school system in my town just added a DEI officer; they did so primarily in response to reports of bullying and racist actions by students. From a broader educational perspective, educators should not be afraid in introducing difficult concepts in class and having students discuss them. I think CRT does not belong in secondary schools as the content is more complex than should be taken on there, but certainly in college and grad school. Should we legislate against how an individual feels about another individual? No, and even if I thought we should it would be impossible logistically. But individuals that act out on their anger or feelings can do harm to others, and then the legal system takes over. I'd prefer it if things did not have to get to that extreme. One more thing. Training on things like DEI is educational, it is not indoctrination and such. I have no reason to disbelieve them. They're good kids.

Where did I say that? Don’t be ridiculous. My daughters each have friends that are African-American that live in my town, and upper middle class town where over 90% of the population is white. When I talk to these kids they tell me they get pulled over a lot and for no reason. That’s reality. Your comment just shows why this issue will likely never be resolved. Instead of a honest dialog you take things and throw them wildly out of proportion. So all you can do is deny and not face the fact this happens. You’re the problem, not me. And throwing around the Marxist label. Another classic deflection.

If you want an open and honest discussion then you need to acknowledge that conservatives have a politically driven agenda as well. I think we have made progress since the 60s in terms of race relations. But we have a long way to go. And when you have blacks still being treated unequally when say applying for mortgages, when I know young black men in my community who will tell you they still get pulled over for no reason and still hear derogatory comments directed at them by their white counterparts, when you have the George Floyd type events such as the young black man in Georgia who was shot and killed because he was jogging in a more white neighborhood, then sorry those are real world events and not fantasies. The reason why you have protests frustrations and such now from the black community is they see this and wonder when our society will truly be color blind. And because they know there are folks like Biden’s Basement who want it to be that way.

Great work as always, Shaw.

As if conservatives want to compromise. Give me a break. Racism is a real thing in this country, we all know that. Blacks that don't like whites, whites that don't like blacks, both who don't like Asians. Racism is a subset of the overall intolerance of others who don't look and think like the biased person. The crap that gays and transgender people have had to put up with and still put up with. The fringes on both sides preach hatred against those whose opinions differ from theirs. The only way we get rid of it is to bring it all out in the open and demand treating all equally, with everyone having the same rights as granted under the Constitution. Not more rights to make up for past injustices like the far left wants, not less rights for some people like the far right wants. The same rights. Oh, and the comparison to animals? One of the things that make humans a higher species is the ability of humans to reason. Unfortunately that is in short supply these days.

I agree.

Biden’s Basement doesn’t like this. Well, here the reality friend. There is no way you and the far right wing Trumpists ever control this country. If the Democrats had run anyone other than Hillary in 2016 Trumpism never would have occurred. And the same for the far left wing kooks. This country is still composed primarily of centrist type people. Conservative on some issues, more liberal on others. So go ahead and continue bowing down to Trump. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. He’ll lose elections for you again, you can continue to howl at the moon, and the country will move on. Enjoy your fantasy.

Arizona will stay blue given the inanity of the Trumpist party there. I saw a statistic yesterday that about 15.000 registered Republicans have so far left the party due to the nonsense going on there. And NC would have elected a Democratic senator had Cunningham kept it in his pants. It is amusing and somewhat sad to watch the party I used to belong to implode. And equally sad that so many in this country have chosen to be a lap dog to a huckster and con man. Under Trump the former Republican (now Trumpist) party lost the White House, the Senate, and the House. And for some bizarre reason they seem to think the way back to prominence is to double down on a bad bet. Watch the 2022 midterm. While historically the party out of the White House picks up seats, the Trumpist party is going to nominate people that are going to make former mistakes like Mourdoch in Indiana or Akin in Missouri look like choir boys. And while that may animate the Trumpist base, it will also animate Democrats to do what they did in 2020 to be sure they don't have nut cases elected. And moderates and Independents like myself are never going to vote for these kind of Trumpist crazies. The only chance some of these folks will have is if the state legislatures start overthrowing results of valid elections, and if that happens there will be riots that will dwarf anything seen in modern times.

Close agencies and cabinet departments that we don’t need because they assume responsibility for policies that should be under state and local governance (like the Department of Education). Take some of that money and significantly increase the number of agents and electronic surveillance on the border. Forget the wall because it’s ridiculous. And to really control it start putting employers who hire illegal immigrants in jail.

I can. Multiple experts in electoral law and policies, multiple courts, multiple Secretaries of State and such have declared so. The only, I repeat ONLY, reason some are questioning it is because Trump started crowing about it way in advance of the vote to give himself an excuse.

I favor having a uniform voter ID card easily accessible to all. And with that we should have the goal of meeting our constitutional dictate and make sure the franchise is not blocked for any citizen by expanding ways to vote and not eliminating them. And no state legislature should have the ability to cancel out votes deemed properly cast by local and state authorities in charge of elections.

I agree with the data to date, however the delta variant is starting to show up in the younger population with more frequency and potentially more severe effects. Regardless of the Covid vaccine, for a state to say they are going to prevent vaccines of all kinds is sickening (literally and figuratively) and flies in the face of all that is known about the science of infectious disease. It's ridiculous. I would give senators one term and the house a max of three 2 year terms. But you're definitely on the right track.

First, racism still exists in this country. It is useless to deny that. We're a lot better than we were a generation ago, but it's still there. I tend to believe Chief Justice Roberts (a good former Buffalo guy!): to paraphrase, we get rid of racism in this country when we decide to actually treat all people the same. We are not there yet unfortunately. Second, I have talked to my niece who teaches elementary school in a Buffalo suburb, as well as a number of elementary and secondary school teachers where I live, and they all tell me that CRT is not being taught in their schools. My niece tells me that they do not come close to the CRT theory with 3rd graders, only that they should respect their classmates regardless of who they are and how they look. In my community parents are going on and on about getting rid of CRT in the schools, even though they have been told specifically and repeatedly by the superintendent that it is not part of the curriculum. What IS taught is diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the recent hiring of a DEI officer for our school system (hired in response to incidents of racism, bullying, etc.) has been conflated into the schools teaching CRT. They are not, but it is being used as a political pawn. My view is that we should be honest about the past. Our ancestors did some horrible things to African-Americans, native Americans immigrants of all kinds including my Irish ancestors when they first arrived. That can and should be taught at a junior high/senior high level. And along with that the message should be that we cannot change the past, but learn from it for now and the future (a reason why I am decidedly not in favor of paying reparations now for sins committed centuries ago). CRT is a theory, and to me should be kept at a collegiate or graduate school level for discussion and debate.

Let's hope. I think the majority of this country has been and will always be moderate. We are letting the fringes of each party, the 10% you speak of, have far too much of a voice today. The reason people still keep talking about Trump are because: 1. he is still lurking about, suggesting he may run again, and 2. he has usurped the Republican party and made it into something Republican giants like Reagan and Baker and Dole and on and on would not recognize. The party now is all about bowing to him and his rabid supporters, despite the fact that the party lost the House, Senate, and White House under his tenure. One of the saddest things I have seen in a long time is the story today about Tennessee supposedly stopping vaccinations of all kinds for children, not just Covid. Out of fealty to the far right fringe, the state is basically saying we're OK with killing children. We live in an increasingly irrational world politically and socially, but at some point rational thought will take hold again when those in the middle refuse to stand for this crap (both from the far reaches left and right) anymore.

After the Trumpists lose the next two elections the actual Republican Party will return. They will then win because the Democrats will run too many far left nuts. So 10-15 years from now each party will realize that the country actually is a centrist nation, moderates from both parties will take office, and we will get back to how government was supposed to work.

I am. Yes, Ralph had warts as an owner. Later in life it was because he let Litman have too much say. But Buffalo is a major league city because of him. As you say, he kept the AFL afloat, and the number of charities in WNY that benefitted and continue to benefit from him are many. And without Ralph negotiating the merger may not have occurred, and for sure the lucrative TV deals that ultimately over the years have made both owners and players rich would not have happened without Ralph. No, he did not choose to live full time in WNY, but he is in the top three most important individuals in the history of the region. God bless his memory.

Football: Jim Kelly Baseball: Luke Easter Basketball: Randy Smith Hockey: Gilbert Perreault

It is their plan, it does not mean they have it in place. I do not condone teaching of CRT in secondary schools as stated previously. I do favor DEI training for staff and inclusion in curricula.

I teach biological sciences, not social. In my classes I challenge my students in class daily to make them actually integrate concepts and not just memorize and drone back to me. If I was charged with teaching CRT at a university setting, I would likely take students and put them on both sides of the issue and have a debate. Probably put kids I think favor one side going in on the opposite team so they’d be forced to critically analyze their position.