YellowLinesandArmadillos

This begs the question? Who shot JFK?

So after reading this thread, I get the sense that Bray is just another big dumb Assquat from TN, witih a big arm and an enabling father who is now upset at the process that is the NFL... Note to DAD: Don't believe what you hear and be a little humble" But, if Bray is the talent his Dad claims and he can still be teachable then maybe he makes it. Being an immature dumbass doesn't mean he will be a bad football player, look at Dan Marino or for that matter Patrick Kane. Still, I am glad the Bills chose Emanuel and passed on Bray during the FA signing period. Just another headache best left to teams that are more qualified.

You don't pick up a franchise QB in FA, if the Bills stink this coming year, draft another QB till you hit on the right one. Drafting QBs is such a crap shoot anyway. Either Franchise QB or just one that can be part of a Superbowl winning team, I don't care which, just as long as the coach and players can make it work and that won't be known until the end of next year unless some of you are Nostradamus and even then I am skeptical.

Oh I agree that is the latest trend, but I disagree entirely that that is the only way to do it. The Dolphins did it without a great quarterback in the 70s, but an incredible running game and an outstanding defense and the Redskins and the Hogs did it in the 80s and early 90s with an aging quarterback and two numb skulls behind center and a great defense. The Ravens did it with who is that idiot sports announcer on ESPN. Even the team this year in Flacco wasn't the team's identity till the last game. Though the QB position can be very important, it doesn't always win superbowl otherwise Tom Brady would have at least 5 wins and it is not required, but that is the lastest catch term on ESPN and by repeating it over and over again like the drones at Fox news it has you all believing it. Pulease.

Easy their, no sense in jumping off the roof. I am intrigued by the pick and the rest of them too, that doesn't mean it is the be all end all. Joe Gibbs won three superbowls coaching the Redskins with 1 talented but aging quarterback and two guys who could only throw it long but couldn't read a defense if you paid them. The jury is still out on the pick, though hopeful, and Marone as a coach at this level. We will see. The Whaley guy is nothing more than a sales pitch guy (as others mentioned) at least in this rendition that we saw in the clips. So what, he is doing his job addressing some well healed potential box owners or sponsors okay, good for him. This is not a reflection of him as a football guy good or bad. Can't tell that from these clips. P.S. I like Koolaid, I just am skeptical of anyone selling it as cherry pie...

Not sure if EJ will turn out to be a franchise quarterback, QB's are too much of a crap shoot. That being said, I thought he was the best one available and glad the Bills chose him. As far as drafting down more, it assumes the Bills could have found a dance partner that would have offered them more for the 16th pick or more for the original 8th. My guess is the talking heads are just blowing wind out their back sides in this regard. You cut the best deal you can and once you do you don't get too greedy or you lose what you were originally aiming for.... Not worth the risk, imo. Like politics, people believe it just cause the echo chamber repeates it a bunch of times. Even if it is really just Rush Limbaugh oxy inspired made up crap.

I agree, but wouldn't blame this one on unions and regulations, but on control issues of corrupt local politicians. Things could be done under the current deals except the amount of graft that has to be paid out to make things happen kills businesses especially upstate. It is disheartening and it isn't even a Democrat or Republican thing because they both are corrupt and the few that are not get villified and don't last long. All I can say is crabs in a pot.

This is an intersting topic and I have some personal knowledge of it. I worked for the House Agriculture Committee as a low level staff assistant and background researcher when the leadership shifted from Democrat to Republican. Calista was added to be the office manager and scheduler under the leadership of then Chairman Pat Roberts now Senator Pat Roberts (KS). It was known that Calista was Gingrich's??? other woman back then and she had a pearl ring the size of my knuckle on her hand as evidence. She was always nice to everyone, but was written up in Roll Call as being "Handsome in a Capitol Hill Sort of Way" at the time the affair was exposed. She by and large kept to herself, but I don't know how to judge the Gingrich reactions to the press as anything other than politics and knowing the press would likely lead with the question. My only other thought about the whole deal is, was this a set up by Newt and the campaign to get him some attention as he saw his votes slipping away to Santorum. The old adage is even negative publicity can be good. It often hardens your supporters. Still an interesting moment. P.S. I still think Newt is a slimy devil who when dealing with you should always keep your hand on your wallet pocket.

Ah, kinda like the girls at Sacred Heart Academy when I was in High School years ago.

Nice bait and I would love to if right wingers could actually have a discussion about fiscal responsibility. Most of my conservative friends have the hearts in the right place, but their answers to getting to where they want to go is fraught with religiosity or big corporate agendas that don't do the job. Cutting taxes is fine if done correctly, but just cutting taxes for the sake of it doesn't equate to fiscal conservatism and leads to more inflated deficits. Nor as so many right wingers claim does it stimulate the economy, but rather shifts spending habits around based on their agenda and makes the situation worse. I don't believe many liberals understand this either, the Federal and State governments are pinching the heck out of the middle class and despite the Corporate Tax rate being high, its effective rate with all the loopholes is actually low compared to the rest of the world. Simplifying the tax code but not flattening the rate it would work well and limit distortions as long as overall revenue stayed the same. If it increase the rates should drop accordingly and that would be stimulative. Doing so, however is fraught with political danger. Various constituents that have their claws in both sides create many problems and despite the talk to the contrary, no one really has found the political will to do much about it. Streamlining bureaucracies would be great. Clinton did a lot of that, and Bush II did just the opposite... Only recently have Obama begun doing so, but not at the rates the Clinton, Delay and Gingrich did. Clinton made sure it was done in a responsible way with targeted early retirement buyouts. The other major issue with all of this is the cost of Medicare and the military. On the military, you can't just deactivate all these troops and expect them to find jobs, so the GI Bill is critical, but it costs and Medicare is important too especially now that the Wall Street Mavens have stolen a high percentage of the 401K money while claiming that pensions cost too much at the same time when CEO/CFO has skyrocketed. Investing in the stock market as so many Republicans claimed as the answer to reducing pensions has proved little consolation to lower and middle class retirement security needs. In fact Social Security, I believe will become more important as Baby Boomers retire, towards maintaining the well being of our population. Raising the age limit may be one way to reducing the overall cost, but in this down economy when age discrimination is everywhere the political will to do so is suspect. But go ahead with you non-sequitor accusations of racism as part of the fiscal conservative argument. That sounds more ideologically conservative and has nothing to do with fiscal discipline.

Rich Perry is worse. Texas while doing well economically is a shiite hole waiting for more Federal cleanup dollars and haven't we learned about elect TX jerks... Johnson, Bush II... Perry, just what this country needs. We need someone level headed but definitively strong... a la Reagan or Clinton minus the zipper/big breasted woman issue. Romney is just a right wing version of Obama... mealy mouthed. I am hoping someone else (a moderate Republican or Democrat will step in late that moderate fiscal responsible people can support... not likely, but one can wish.

Interesting read. I agree that the NCAA is a monopoly and that they violate the tenants of free market principals, just not capitalism. Students in my opinion should be eligible for compensation for their athletic ability at least as far as ownership of their own image or likeness when used in publications or for sale. The amount of students that actually benefit financially afterwards professionally for their participation in college athletics is small. In basketball a High School student still has the choice to go overseas and play, or to play in the NBA's developmental leagues. Baseball is similar and hockey is an interesting hodgepodge, but has different routes to become a professional without going to a University. I suppose arena league football and the CFL might provide another avenue, but I am not sure if this a stable route. My question is why does the NCAA prohibit pay for a student who receives compensation for participating in another sport. That is where the rub comes in to me. Why can't a student football player make money say playing australian rules football during the summer. From reading the above link it seems to me that is the case or am I wrong. I still think the NCAA is a scam for the average student athlete unless that athlete is actually gaining a legitimate degree. Or the NCAA should be prohibited from using the the "term student athlete" as it is dishonest or talented athletes enrolled in questionable accredited high ed programs should not be eligible to play those Div I teams. Since that is not the case, I would call this an exploitation of labor. That being said the only real legal question I have is over ownership of one's image and the compensation a school and business receives from use of said likeness. It is my understanding that is still being worked through the courts. Make no mistake though, the NCAA is a sanctioned monopolistic use of labor. I am just not sure there is a legal argument for a remedy.

Here is the other thing to give comfort to Buffalo Bills fans. Though the city has fallen on hard times as we all know. Many of us ex-pats who left to find work are all around the country follow the Bills and Sabres religiously. I watch as many games as possible and usually go back to Buffalo each year and attend a game or two. If you go to any major city around this country and a few around the world you can find a Bills bar to watch the games. NYC has two near each other that often require reservations. The DC area has at least one in northern, VA and I have heard of one in MD. The fans both in the city and around the nation are among the most loyal in the league and though spread nationwide, this loyalty extend even when are not doing well. If the NFL is not aware of this they are not doing their job as a business and I can't believe Goodell doesn't know. However, if someone in the corporation of the NFL is not, a warning to you, watch the national ratings for the moved Bills drop fast. The new owners will become aware quickly that they were sold an empty bag of goods. Both the Bills and the NFL will lose a loyal fan in me and many others.

Pakistani officials are saying it was a joint effort... Maybe it was with their permission, maybe not official though. News is still coming out. That being said DC as you probably immediately thought about... the memories of watching the Pentagon burn from the windows in the Capitol, the Twin Towers on TV and then receiving a call from my wife whose office was next to the Gannet buildings in Arlington, VA overlooking that side of the Pentagon telling me to get the hell out of there because another plane was in the air. It brings some relief. Not much on the revenge side of things. Just something that needed to get done! "Bout time.....

Fair point, but then you need to be specific about examples of individual so called Members in order to discredit their actual adherence to their own beliefs. Kinda like right wing Christians condemning someone who doesn't believe the way they do... Isn't their own belief predicated upon God and Jesus being the judge not them... Nothing like organized religion to F up the teachings of Jesus, but that is my belief and what others would call opinion. Whatever, but that is why I used the example of Mike Pence at the beginning of my rant. The rest of my rant just kinda went on.

Interesting Mission statement. Much of which I agree with, but I just got done listening to Rep. Mike Pence, who claims to be a Member,go off on a partisan rant about cutting funding for things like planned parenthood that hardly make a dent in the budget. Despite some controversial actions of planned parenthood in regard to the life issue, the majority of which's mission and efforts is to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to support parents so that they can successfully raise a healthy child "in pursuit of life liberty and happiness. Also I am confused about the meaning "must be fiscally responsible or it must subject its citizenry to high levels of taxation that unjustly restrict the liberty our Constitution was designed to protect." One does not necessarily beget the other as seen by all this deficit and spend government over the last 10 years. Until both sides quit taking partisan shots as the poster of this thread suggests all Washington is doing right now is relegating itself to the chattering classes. Until defense spending and medicare is addressed as well as transparency in the tax code... i.e. lowering the rates while eliminating loopholes, the best this does is provide rhetorical cover for the many fake so called tea party supporters. Those that are actually sincere are having their message drowned out by the carpet baggers using it a political foil and little else. P.S. Free markets without effective anti-trust is neither. That is to say government intervention is necessary to provide for an orderly enforcement of rules that allow for free markets to be maintained and not monopolized. Monopolies and oligopolies are by definition an antithesis to obstructionist to the operation of free markets. Hence why government intervention under Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution is necessary and needed. Too much however and government becomes the problem and in many respects the Federal Government, especially our legislative branch on both sides is useless in my opinion, and only serves as protection for both sides' special interests. Thanks for allowing me to rant.

It is Drudge. Not saying there is some truth, but more likely Matt just made it up and put it out there to gin up controversy. He does this a lot quite frankly and then like Michael Moore on the left people believe it is true... LOL

Oh pulease... malcontent is a little much. Sounds like you have been taking lessons from the haters...

Understood, but the leverage the NFLPA has on this is that they have anti-trust exemption and by not giving up enough info that the NFLPA demanded. Because the whole TV rights debacle the NFLPA doesn't trust the owners claims of hardship which is the reason for the request for info. So I understand why the owners don't want to give up the info and not sure they should. But the NFLPA has leverage on the anti-trust side and a lawsuit over it which may for the owners to provide the info anyway. From a non-fan standpoint this is very interesting. From a fan standpoint this is infuriating. Neither side has any claim at moral high ground. It is all one of negotiation and leverage. P.S. In my opinion the game has gotten boring. Too many TV timeouts and delays.

Yeh, but what I really find incredible is the Republicans are once again over-reaching by Union bashing and cutting programs they don't like but not really doing anything to cut the deficit. Even in Wisconsin a useful compromise is being offered by the Unions agreeing to much of what is asked except collective bargaining right. You can always count on the right wing teeth grinders to overstep a good victory and snatch defeat from the jaws of a good victory opportunity. By the same token so did the liberal left. I am sick of the uncompromising unpractical extremes of both parties.

Agree, completely. This is a civil matter and unfortunately one for the lawyers and it neglects the fact that everyone got involved in this mess. Yes the banks are still complicit and taking their share no matter what anyone does, but that is not new. Check Dennis Kucinich while he was mayor of Cleveland the first time. Great book at a more micro level called Crisis of Growth Politics. It is about power. I happen to agree with the point that the banks are FOS but that is not news. What would be news is if this journalist actually got off his backside and worked to produce some actual useable info in a civil case. But that would take too much work in this day of gotcha journalism without verification.

It is tenous at best. The problem is Iraq is corruption and that is why the Egyptians are revolting. So a Democracy in name only is not a democracy especially when there is a pay to play ponzi scheme going on there. The problem with the Islamic fundalmentalists aside from their religion is their strong armed and control tactics. But they tend not to be corrupt. It may take some time for all of this to flush out.

Speaking of ignorant statements, The middle and lower classes are making up more than that in so-called flat taxes... sales tax or consumption taxes. Folks who control the money, while their tax rate may be higher, with all the exemptions and loopholes their effective tax rate is a whole lot lower than the middle and lower classes. An addition most people with the exemptions on estate tax will never pay a dime. It is only the super wealthy with huge tangible assets not hidden overseas or through family trusts, that end up paying any of this tax. It is a hedge against the Robber Barons of the 1800s so quite the exaggerating and complaining about something you will probably never be required to pay. If think you might, get a better accountant and be grateful that you have the kind of cash to be subject to this tax.

Needed to redo the crowd too.... only half done. That took a lot of time! Nice though

SI Strengths and weaknesses http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/...yers/62930.html