SoTier

A correction ... Trump admitted in an interview to Bob Woodward that he knew that the coronavirus was far more dangerous than the seasonal flu back in January. He not only chose to lie about its seriousness -- to call it a "hoax" -- to the American people then, but he has not only continued to pretend it's no big deal for 8 months as more than 230,000 Americans have died.

Be smart and get your flu shot. Be smarter and wear a mask and practice social distancing. October 30, 2020 - The US has surpassed 9 million cases with more than 91,700 new cases reported today, the highest number new cases on a single day ever in the US. October 22, 2020 - The National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University reports that between 130,000 and 210,000 deaths from coronavirus could have been avoided with a better response from the US government policies and crisis messaging. (Avoidable Covid-19 Deaths) October 13, 2020 - The U of Washington's IHME projects that more than 363,000 Americans could die of the coronavirus by January 1, 2021 and more than 394,000 by February 1, 2021 with the seasonal flu making the coronavirus more deadly. November 1, 2020 - 231,003 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 447. October 31, 2020 - 230,556 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 962. October 30, 2020 - 229,594 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 946. October 29, 2020 - 228,648 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 947. October 28, 2020 - 227,701 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 1028. Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 28-November 1, 2020: 866 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 21-27, 2020: 800 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 14-20, 2020: 726 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 7-13, 2020: 851 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, September 30-October 6, 2020: 707 November 1, 2020 - 22,748 Americans died of coronavirus in the month of October, an average of 734 per day. October 27, 2020 - 226,673 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 20, 2020 - 221,078 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 13, 2020 - 215,995 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 6, 2020 - 210,909 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 1, 2020 - 21,311 Americans died of coronavirus in the month of September, an average of 710 per day. November 1, 2020 - 231,003 Americans have died of coronavirus October 1, 2020 - 207,808 Americans have died of coronavirus. September 1, 2020 - 185,594 Amercians have died of coronavirus. July 1, 2020 - 127,299 Americans have died of coronavirus.

The Bills didn't look very hard for a starting QB for 20 years because they were playing money ball even before Mr Money Ball, Russ Brandon, took charge of the team. They were ALWAYS looking for the cheaper option, from scouting and player personnel to coaches to players, and they pretty much got what they paid for. It took a change in ownership and the firing of Brandon to allow Beane to function like a real GM and put the emphasis on winning football games rather than maximizing profits. Herbert was taken #6 IIRC, so he's not exactly dog meat. However, who knows if he ever gets truly better. As DCs "figure them out" and learn their strengths and weaknesses, numerous flashy first year starters have proven to be disappointments. I think QBs who don't show themselves special by their second year as starters, however, are really big question marks going forward. They better show marked improvement by their third seasons to warrant giving them a fifth year option -- and by marked improvement, I mean they have to improve as QBs in terms of understanding the game and making good decisions.

Oh, but Covid Donnie has promised that people with pre-existing conditions will be covered by his "plan" to get rid of the ACA! He's the President, he wouldn't lie. //sarcasm off

Excellent post! Georgia is another one of those Sunbelt states like Texas, North Carolina, and Arizona that are undergoing significant demographic change because of the influx of migrants into their biggest cities. They are becoming much like New York, California, Illinois, Washington, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania where the large urban metros -- the cities and their suburbs -- dominate the political conversation because that's where the bulk of the population lives. I think that Georgia not only is a Biden win, but the two Democrats running for the Senate, Ossuff and Warnock, will also win, although Warnock will likely face a January run off. I think that the spiking coronavirus cases around the country, and especially in the Upper Midwest, is going to suppress Election Day voting. I think Republicans whose families and friends have been infected and are fighting coronavirus are incensed at Trump and his sycophants' Grand Superspreader Tour and will stay home if they don't trudge to the polls to vote against Trump. I think that many people in the worst hit states who have not yet voted will not vote at all, regardless of party, and part of that will be because the Republicans have worked so hard to suppress mail-in voting. I expect that the vote on Election Day to be significantly less than the 90+ million votes already cast, probably in in the neighborhood of 60-65 million, but possibly less due to coronavirus concerns. The biggest jump in votes cast occurred between the 2000 and 2004 elections when about 17 million more people voted in 2004 than in 2000. Trump has made absolutely no effort to court any voting segment except his base all through this campaign. That gives him about 40% of the population except that he's literally been killing off some of that base with his Superspreader Tours to coronavirus hotspots since the summer. Even if he gets 90% of his base to vote for him, that's still only 36% of the electorate. While it's true that it's the Electoral College that matters, he's been consistently behind in the battleground states he needs to win to get to 270, namely Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and fighting to keep traditionally red states like Georgia and Texas with few indications that his Grand Superspreader Tour is making any headway.

Senator Warren explained the GOP and Covid Donnie's health care plan perfectly in an interview a few days ago: get rid of Obamacare and then go after Medicare and Medicaid.

Be smart and get your flu shot. Be smarter and wear a mask and practice social distancing. October 30, 2020 - The US has surpassed 9 million cases with more than 91,700 new cases reported today, the highest number new cases on a single day ever in the US. October 22, 2020 - The National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University reports that between 130,000 and 210,000 deaths from coronavirus could have been avoided with a better response from the US government policies and crisis messaging. (Avoidable Covid-19 Deaths) October 13, 2020 - The U of Washington's IHME projects that more than 363,000 Americans could die of the coronavirus by January 1, 2021 and more than 394,000 by February 1, 2021 with the seasonal flu making the coronavirus more deadly. October 31, 2020 - 230,556 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 962. October 30, 2020 - 229,594 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 946. October 29, 2020 - 228,648 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 947. October 28, 2020 - 227,701 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 1028. Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 28-31, 2020: 971 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 21-27, 2020: 800 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 14-20, 2020: 726 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 7-13, 2020: 851 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, September 30-October 6, 2020: 707 November 1, 2020 - 22,748 Americans died of coronavirus in the month of October, an average of 734 per day. October 27, 2020 - 226,673 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 20, 2020 - 221,078 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 13, 2020 - 215,995 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 6, 2020 - 210,909 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 1, 2020 - 21,311 Americans died of coronavirus in the month of September, an average of 710 per day. October 1, 2020 - 207,808 Americans have died of coronavirus. September 1, 2020 - 185,594 Amercians have died of coronavirus. July 1, 2020 - 127,299 Americans have died of coronavirus.

Unfortunately, thanks to Covid Donnie and his sycophants' Superspreader Grand Tour of the big swing states, at least parts of the US are likely to end up in the same place within a month of the election. I caught a commentator on the news this morning refer to Trump's campaign as the "most immoral" in American history. He's literally demanding that his true believers put their lives on the line just to stroke his ego.

Hysterical much?

Are you referring to the Patriots trading away Garappolo (ie, flipping him)? In the short term, it was a good move because the Pats won a SB and appeared in another one with Brady because I don't think that the Pats get to either of those SBs with Garappolo. However, Garappolo was never the starter in NE. He was a backup QB who had a handful of decent games over three years and was just good enough to expect a big pay day and a starting gig in the near future. Lots of teams have promising backup QBs (off limited samples of games) that they trade away for picks. That's very different from what I took to be your original premise that teams shouldn't pay their starting QBs big bucks unless they're elite but trade them away and find another QB in the draft. It makes sense if you subscribe to playing "money ball" but I haven't seen many examples of money ball actually working out. Trading away a proven veteran worked out long term for GB with Favre and Rodgers but Favre was at the end of his career not coming off his rookie contract.

Here's mine: So Tier's Prediction This election is a referendum on Trump's response to the pandemic, and Covid Donnie pays the price for his incompetence.

Be smart and get your flu shot. Be smarter and wear a mask and practice social distancing. October 30, 2020 - The US has surpassed 9 million cases with more than 91,700 new cases reported today, the highest number new cases on a single day ever in the US. October 22, 2020 - The National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University reports that between 130,000 and 210,000 deaths from coronavirus could have been avoided with a better response from the US government policies and crisis messaging. (Avoidable Covid-19 Deaths) October 13, 2020 - The U of Washington's IHME projects that more than 363,000 Americans could die of the coronavirus by January 1, 2021 and more than 394,000 by February 1, 2021 with the seasonal flu making the coronavirus more deadly. October 30, 2020 - 229,594 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 946. October 29, 2020 - 228,648 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 947. October 28, 2020 - 227,701 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 1028. Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 28-30, 2020: 974 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 21-27, 2020: 800 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 14-20, 2020: 726 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 7-13, 2020: 851 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, September 30-October 6, 2020: 707 October 27, 2020 - 226,673 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 20, 2020 - 221,078 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 13, 2020 - 215,995 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 6, 2020 - 210,909 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 1, 2020 - 21,311 Americans died of coronavirus in the month of September, an average of 710 per day. October 1, 2020 - 207,808 Americans have died of coronavirus. September 1, 2020 - 185,594 Amercians have died of coronavirus. July 1, 2020 - 127,299 Americans have died of coronavirus.

Checks and balances are a good thing but it might be a a good idea to review if those checks and balances are actually working as intended or if they are doing just the opposite. I would not be surprised to see the constitution amendments proposed to deal with issues that have surfaced in this election campaign: limiting the confirmation of new Supreme Court justices within 60 or 90 days of national elections; having a national standard of dealing with mail-in ballots for national elections that are postmarked by election day but arrive after the polls close; outlining a specific process for transfer of power when the incumbent POTUS loses his re-election bid; and possibly modifying/abolishing the Electoral College.

What's "tempting" about this scenario? Having a top QB is the key to building a winning team, so why would a team trade away a very promising young QB on a rookie contract like Allen to chase the 2nd or 3rd best QB from the next QB class when about half of first round QBs end up not becoming even average NFL starters? Moreover, I can't see another team giving up a first rounder for a QB that his original team wants to send packing after three seasons. It's not the market size, but the quality/reputation of the organization that attracts top FAs. All of the NFL teams are located in big metros. "Big market" and "small market" is simply a divide between the largest metros and not-so-large metros. In order to attract top FAs, crappy organizations have to overpay whether they're in big markets or small markets. A team that can figure out how to develop and flip QBs is a myth.

Right-o. California Wildfires

The wildfire season in the west has been starting earlier and ending later for several decades. Moreover, hotter average temperatures coupled with drought dry out ground vegetation and make it more combustible. Those are functions of climate change. A major driver of hurricanes is increased ocean temperatures. Ocean temperatures have been increasing slowly over the last several decades. This is very true. I never realized how much I spent on going out to eat/socialize with friends or just doing recreational shopping. I always have extra money in my checking account at the end of the month that I put in my savings. Unfortunately, I also know several people in the bar and restaurant industries who are either out of work or struggling to keep their businesses afloat.

Trump did that to the tune of $287 million he borrowed to build a skyscraper in Chicago: Chicago. Why shouldn't ordinary people have the same opportunity? BTW, the forgiven loan/mortgage amounts count as income, so these people who get these breaks pay taxes on these breaks -- except for Trump who avoided paying taxes on most of that $287 million.

But the stock market is soaring, so everything's great, right????? Newsflash: the stock market is likely to finish this past week as its worst since March.

You're partly right. Covid Donnie is only losing to his own stupidity because incumbent POTUS have only failed to win re-election three times in the last century: Herbert Hoover in 1932, Jimmy Carter in 1980, and George HW Bush in 1992. All of them failed to deal with crises, just as Covid Donnie has failed to deal with the coronavirus. Unlike Hoover, Carter, and Bush, however, Covid Donnie has chosen to pretend the pandemic isn't a problem. You underestimate Biden as a candidate, however. His quiet, sensible demeanor is the perfect foil for Covid Donnie, and it has struck a chord with voters overwhelmed by the pandemic and its attendant economic misery. He's the voice and image of competence and reality versus Covid Donnie's bombastic claims that the coronavirus is "no big deal" and is "going away" and that the economy is "great".

Be smart and get your flu shot. Be smarter and wear a mask and practice social distancing. October 27, 2020 - the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy claims that ending the Covid-19 pandemic is one of the major accomplishments of the Trump administration. October 22, 2020 - The National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University reports that between 130,000 and 210,000 deaths from coronavirus could have been avoided with a better response from the US government policies and crisis messaging. (Avoidable Covid-19 Deaths) October 13, 2020 - The U of Washington's IHME projects that more than 363,000 Americans could die of the coronavirus by January 1, 2021 and more than 394,000 by February 1, 2021 with the seasonal flu making the coronavirus more deadly. October 28, 2020 - 228,648 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 947. October 28, 2020 - 227,701 Americans have died of coronavirus with a single day death toll of 1028. Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 28-29, 2020: 988 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 21-27, 2020: 800 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 14-20, 2020: 726 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, October 7-13, 2020: 851 Average daily deaths from coronavirus, September 30-October 6, 2020: 707 October 27, 2020 - 226,673 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 20, 2020 - 221,078 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 13, 2020 - 215,995 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 6, 2020 - 210,909 Americans have died of coronavirus. October 1, 2020 - 21,311 Americans died of coronavirus in the month of September, an average of 710 per day. October 1, 2020 - 207,808 Americans have died of coronavirus. September 1, 2020 - 185,594 Amercians have died of coronavirus. July 1, 2020 - 127,299 Americans have died of coronavirus.

The flu season has barely started ... flu cases (and deaths) tend to peak in February. Less commonly, December, January, and March have seen peak flu cases.

It could have been worse. The Jests are still looking to find a real successor to Joe Namath whose last played for them in 1976 ... 44 years ago. Why wouldn't the Bills pick up Allen's 5th year option by this March? Jackson, Allen, and Mayfield have all earned having their fifth years picked up. At this point, I'm not sure that any of them deserve contract extensions before their fourth seasons, though. Darnold is the guy in limbo because the Jests team around him suck so bad -- and I'd including the coaching as well -- that who knows if his lack of improvement from his rookie season until now is his failure to adapt to the pro game or poor coaching or the lack of talent around him. Allen would have been in the same place as Darnold and the Bills would have been in the same quandry as the Jests, if they hadn't sacked virtually the entire offensive coaching staff in 2019 and brought in better coaches and then gone out and put some decent offensive talent around him. Even elite QBs need protection and talent to show their best. Consider Brady in NE in 2019 and Brady in Tampa in 2020. I don't think that Jackson, Allen or Mayfield have shown enough yet to warrant elite money, but I think that Allen would definitely be worth a $35-40 million contract if he continues this season as he's done so far. I think he's definitely good enough to take the Bills to a Super Bowl win, which makes him a keeper even if he's not Patrick Mahomes. That's okay. The chances of drafting another franchise QB immediately after losing Allen are probably slim to none. A better strategy might be to grab a QB that you really like in the first round even if you already have a franchise QB on the team. Green Bay did this in 2005 when they drafted Aaron Rodgers despite having Brett Favre. In 2017, Andy Reid traded his 2018 first round pick to the Bills in order to move up to draft Patrick Mahomes despite having Alex Smith. I think that too many people are jumping in to crown Burrow and Herbert successes based on about half of season in the NFL. Both have been impressive, but they're still rookies, and they may never improve significantly from where they are now. Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota come to mind. Of course it's better to have a good/spectacular rookie season than not, but it's not a guarantee of future success. Baker Mayfield looked to be the class of the 2018 QB draft class, setting the rookie record for passing TDs. Darnold was considered the next best. Lamar was an outlier because his success was due to his running. Josh Allen was easily the worst passer of the lot. Jackson and Allen have easily become the leaders in their QB classes, Mayfield hasn't improved significantly, and Darnold is struggling, which might be a function of the team he's on. (I'm not including Josh Rosen because he was lousy as a rookie and hasn't shown much since). Tom Brady dropped to the 6th round because he wasn't the starter at Michigan. Athletic Department politics dictated that Drew Henson, a star baseball player and QB, be the starter over Brady, who actually outplayed him when he got in to play. He probably would have gone much higher if he'd gotten a fair chance. Nowadays, a player in Brady's situation would simply transfer to another school.

I've come to the conclusion that in the Trump-controlled GOP, the only part of the US Constitution that Republicans support is the 2nd Amendment, which they interpret to mean any nut is entitled to possess as big an arsenal as he can afford and can take it anywhere he wants, including into schools, churches, and polling places. Every other part of the Constitution is meaningless.

I think that wholesale forgiveness of student debt isn't the best idea. I think that: the federal government owes relief to those who were the victims of scam schools by forgiving their loans. These schools lured in students by the schools' using access to federal guaranteed student loans as "financial aid". all other borrowers should be given an opportunity to "work off" part of their student loan debt. People in certain public service jobs should be eligible for forgiveness of up to 70% of their loans in exchange for working in those fields for up to 7 years. I would include teachers and educational support staff working in public and private schools and accredited trade schools and colleges, most health care professionals, professionals working for local, state, or federal government in non-elective positions (including law enforcement and military), people working in mental health and addiction counseling, etc. people who have been paying off their student loans but run into some kind of economic crisis and need to declare bankruptcy, should be allowed to have their remaining student debt included in their discharged debts.

The federal government has aided and abetted predatory practices by private lenders by guaranteeing these loans and preventing these student loans from being discharged through bankruptcy. Furthermore, the federal government also allows for-profit trade schools and colleges that are nothing more than scams to qualify for federally guaranteed private loans.