southsider2k5

Would be interested to see if the guys we are chasing are the ones who are still minor leaguers, or if it is still guys like Maraza and/or Profar as headliners.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 02:15 PM) And this is why its really hard to even pin down what his argument is. At first I just thought it was naturally about countries that are considered to sponsor terrorism, and that those countries posed a danger/risk. Once that argument was debunked, it seems that it has moved towards the more "Jews dont assimilate in German culture, so we should keep the Jews out." Oh wait, I mean Muslims dont assimilate in European culture. Oh never mind, I meant Muslims may not assimilate well in the United States because they dont assimilate well in Europe. When in reality, a lot of our families didnt assimilate well in their European country of origin, which is exactly why they came here. And strangely, when they were removed from their European country of origin, they seemed to do just fine in the US. So I am not sure why we would think that Muslims are somehow different than Jews, Protestants, Catholics, or any other religious group that has found sanctuary in the United States. At least Trump is trying to cloak it under "security" concerns and saying that its "countries" not religions. Conte just stepped up the rhetoric and made it all about Muslim religion. Interesting fact: http://www.tolerance.org/publication/ameri...s-united-states But I guess none of those Muslims ever assimilated, because you know, Europe. My hometown holds a pretty cool historical distinction. Because of a massive middle eastern migration we had a huge population push come to us primarily for work in the Haskel Barker and then Pullman Standard train car factory starting in the 1880s, but really up until the Great Depression. We had a big push especially from Syria. At one point we had the largest middle eastern population of anywhere in the WORLD outside of the actual middle east. Our first mosque was built in 1924 primarily from donations from Syrian and Lebanese workers. It was literally one of the very first Shia mosques built anywhere in the US. The first Islamic society in my hometown was established in 1914. I quite literally have 100+ years of history of Islam in my home town. Assimilation? Uh yeah. Absolutely. All of the multi-generational families I grew up with you barely knew they were Muslims. Because of this we still draw new immigrants to the area because they know there is a support system already in place, so they know they have some institutions that will help them adapt to the culture. In that time frame, you know how many terror attacks I have seen? Guess.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 01:57 PM) My post got deleted accidentally so Ill paraphrase. You are the one who keeps comparing the US to Europe, it is your argument, you need to support it. But since you want some differences. 1) Europe is a continent, the US is a country. 2) Europe is comprised of different countries, the United States is a single country. 3) The US explicitly separated church and state. I could keep going, but I think the first problem you have is that you are lumping "Europe" together instead of discussing individual European countries. The last part is, you keep using terms and you fail to define them which is really poor form. My original comment about the US isnt a country of assimilation, was based on the idea of "forced" assimilation. After reading more of your posts, I now believe you were referring to "cultural" assimilation. You arent specific enough when you articulate your position. And its interesting that you loled about respect for laws: http://www.ceousa.org/immigration-assimili...on/assimilation Not saying I agree with that website, but most would agree a part of assimilation is respecting the laws of the country you are in. And what is sad/funny, is that many of the problems Muslim assimilation has in Europe is based on laws in certain European countries, such as the burka ban, that make it impossible for Mulsims to truly assimilate. But maybe youre right, maybe I dont know have a freshman level understanding of this subject, as clearly in your opinion a continent is comparable to a country. This is BY FAR the most important thing to remember. When people post things about locking their doors and the like, keep in mind no individual wrote a constitution with all of the rights and responsibilities that are mapped out in it. This is pretty straight forward "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." When you pass an executive order that essentially establishes a law that bans people because of a religion, you are flat out in violation of the constitution. It would be another thing if you had shutdown all immigration to try to fix the system, because at least that would effect everyone equally s***ty. This law explicitly targets people on the basis of one religion in overwhelming numbers. One could have even tried to make an argument that this wasn't the case until the President actually went a step further and talked about giving preferential treatment to Christians. While a lot of the country will look at that and see no problem with it, realize that if this stands, this gives a legal precedent to any future President to do the same to Christians, or any other religion, in the name of "safety" Giving that power to anyone should scare you. The constitution agreed this was dangerous, and flat out said so. Using scare tactics to try to circumvent it is a flat out power grab.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 01:19 PM) Not taking sides but didn't Trump run on these issues? Why is everybody so surprised there's a wall coming and a ban on immigrants? I thought he ran on these issues. And he won the election. So why the outrage now? America elected the guy on these issues. Not surprised. But that still doesn't mean we can't be outraged either. I would argue that Christians should be most outraged than anyone as this administration is in direct violation of the constitution by choosing to ban people on the basis of religion. This opens the the door to any and all religious discrimination into the legal realm in the name of "safety".

I love signing day on the other end. It is so cool seeing kids that would have never had a chance at college get the chance to go because of football.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 09:47 AM) Can someone explain to me what a OOTP league is? I've heard it mentioned here before. Just curious. http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/out-of-the-park-baseball/

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 10:06 AM) So the last 18 months for both parties from now on? 21 months? Seriously. Donald Trump has already filed to run for President in 2020. By that definition the election cycle has literally begun, so no Supreme Court nominee.

QUOTE (brett05 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 09:50 AM) can't decide if this is serious I am not surprised.

QUOTE (Con te Giolito @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 10:04 PM) Again, this is propaganda. Saying I have "zero idea of history" then coming at me with high school curriculum cliches is kind of insulting. Not all of this is even true, and even the parts that are are often dramatized to the point of fantasy to become the myth and lore that fills the foundation of American Exceptionalism. Immigration is told to n a starry eyed tone as America's great stake to moral relevance. To that point I kind of agree? I dont know, its a bit tough when you start getting into why the USA has behaved the way it has at certain points in history. Why do you think the USA was so cozy with Hitler in the 1930's? Could it have had something to do with the absolutely massive German population wielding its affection for the motherland as political club to force the US into isolationist policy? Its time we start separating immigrants from refugees. Immigrants go through a lengthy, intentionally arduous process and for many countries have to satisfy a points system that basically requires they be at minimum educated or skilled in an in-demand field. As an immigrant the USA is amongst the easiest Western countries to get into, easier than the golden multiculti city on the hill Canada or population hemorrhaging European states. Refugees on the other hand, well you dont really know what you're getting. And you're saying assimilation has never been forced? Do you know what used to fill the area that is now UIC? Or how the military was called into to Quincy IL to deliver a "convert, leave or die" ultimatum to the Mormons? I can pull up hundreds of examples in just this great state of Illinois of assimilation being forced. And even if we accept the romantic retelling of American immigration history, just because a dynamic has existed in the past does not mean it will continue in the future. Things have changed from many angles in the world of immigration. The needs receiving countries, the policies of receiving countries, the nature of what a refugee actually is...I cannot stress enough how different the world is now than it was then. Ellis Island is a museum now. This may or may not be happening with Muslims. Its interesting to note that many of the attackers in the USA and Europe claimed by ISIS are actually native westerners. The sons of immigrants and refugees are the ones committing the attacks, not the refugees and immigrants themselves. Also intermarriage rates and other signs of assimilation dont seem to improve much generation to generation with Muslims. This is different than other recent immigrant groups, particularly hispanics. My position is wait about five-ish years to accept more refugees and then reevaluate. Observe what is happening in Europe and if we decide to reopen the doors learn from their mistakes, or realize that a torrent of refugees is not what's right for the USA and leave only the traditional immigration path open. That is the most sensible option and the one that guarantees best that we handle it correctly. Rushing in trying to save the world like a bunch of big, bad heroes is often the preamble to a classic American tale of "oh god, what have we gotten ourselves into". Speaking of propaganda. I mean if you were to switch the names to things like Italians, Irish, and Negros, the Klan could have wrote most of this post 50/100/150 years ago. This is straight up 20th century "America First" literature. You are right, things have changed. We know way more than ever about immigration and the people coming over here. We have more tools than ever to resettle and bring people over. We bring over a fraction of the people we did during the 19th and early 20th centuries before racist politics were able to again block specific groups from entering. Those groups are back in power again, and using all of the same rationale, even down to the name of the campaign behind it. We have made these mistakes in the past. The history is there. If you want to ignore that, history will judge you along with these groups, just like they do today.

QUOTE (brett05 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 09:31 AM) It was done during the election cycle. The Republicans said they would let the people decide. This is the dumbest reason yet. It is a cycle, which means it is always going on in some stage. A cycle, by definition, is a never ending circle.

QUOTE (brett05 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 06:32 AM) The Republicans did what the Democrats refuse to and that is let the people decide. The people elected the President that made it perfectly clear he would replace the spot with an Originalist. If the people would have elected Hillary, we'd have the hearing on Garland. As such, if the Democrats really do try and filibuster this, it's going to turn off much of America and could be a crushing blow to the Democratic party. As with Obama and ruling by fiat on the Executive Order, the Republicans opened this door. If they Democrats use it, the GOP has no one to blame but themselves.

QUOTE (flavum @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 09:19 AM) Only six more months of this. You had just better hope it isn't more like six years of this.

The other side of it is that I honestly believe that Barkley doesn't even believe 90% of what comes out of his mouth. I think he gets that his role on that show is to say something outrageous to stir things up. Apparently he touched a nerve with LeBron.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 03:41 PM) I'm on the fence to be honest. Part of me agrees the cubs should have to overpay but the other part me doesn't really care because adding Happ, Candelario and Jimenez would be a huge boost to a farm that could use more quality hitting prospects. Candelario is ready now.Happ could be ready for the '18 season and adding Jimenez to Basabe ( both outfielders) down in A ball would be fun to keep track of. Taking the rivalry aspect of it out of the equation. Those three hitters for Q is probably pretty close to fair value. Now bring the rivalry back into the equation ask ourselves, how much more will it take? This is the part I get hung up on because I'm not sure how much that "rivalry tax" is worth. Throw in Eddy Martinez and I am good.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 03:33 PM) I disagree. Chuck criticized LeBron from a basketball standpoint. If I'm LeBron, I go back at Barkley for being a fat out of shape (and i mean when he was playing), non-practicing, ringless loser. All that personal stuff was pretty wack on LeBron's part if you ask me. LeBron is being a whiny b****. He knows what's waiting for him come June and he's as shook as he's ever been. This is how I took it. LeBron's reply was straight up petty. He didn't go after Barkley's playing ability, nor his ability as a commentator. He went personal. How is that a relevant answer to if LeBron is a top 5 all time player? LeBron was just salty.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 03:14 PM) Fernando Tatis, Jr. Done.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 03:06 PM) Q for Chris Sale What do you think we could get for Shipps?

James Fegan ‏@JRFegan 13m13 minutes ago Hahn and Cooper both say stepping back from last year's mechanical adjustments will help Giolito

Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan 2h2 hours ago Source: Rockies sign Domonic Brown to minor league deal. Three years ago, an All-Star who looked like a future star. Now 29 and a long shot.

Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeyman 1h1 hour ago joe nathan gets $1.25m on nats minors deal. gives them another closing option. Chris Cotillo ‏@ChrisCotillo 1h1 hour ago Nationals sign relievers Matt Albers and Joe Nathan to minor-league deals.

What a crazy spread in his projected WAR. They pretty much are either bust or star.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 02:28 PM) Good point and that would be a Yankee kind of thing to do. It's kind of a similar approach to signing big named free agents except that they make an offer so big that very few teams, if any, can match or come close to the Yanks offer. Call me crazy but I get the feeling Theo is sitting on the fringe with Cashman waiting to see what the offers are to decide if they want to meet or exceed the offers. The cubs have the hitting prospects that are for the most part blocked at the big league level so the cubs could easily part with them without affecting their 25 man roster. It's probably more wishful sinful thinking on my part because I admit I really like Happ, Candelario and Jimenez as prospects. As much as I think we match up well with the Cubs, I think they would have to WAY outbid everyone else in order to win Q from the White Sox.

QUOTE (oneofthemikes @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 12:42 PM) To that point, for a little while now this has felt to me like the Yankees are waiting to strike. They aren't moving because they don't have to yet, but they know that they have an ace up their sleeve in Torres or Frazier. Once HOU, PIT, or ATL blink, I wouldn't be shocked if the Yankees get involved again. Because something like Frazier, Rutherford, Andujar, and Clarkin (or some other projectable pitcher) would be pretty enticing. This is what I keep thinking. With seemingly Houston, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh unwilling to put their top players, or maybe even top couple of players into these deals, the Yankees can just sit here and watch and one up everyone else's offer at any time they want. They can do it with top end player/s, or they can do a much better quantity deal than any of those other teams.

To back up my post on historical immigration fights, check this piece out. It is long, but super interesting. Just for fun, here are a few clips on what was said about Italians for example. A century later, how do we look at Italians? Anyone think we should send back these mafia-infested, illiterate, negroids and criminals? This is my personal favorite. This is without some of the quotes about the Irish, Jews, and Syrians. https://apps.bostonglobe.com/magazine/graph...lflow%3Atwitter

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 12:06 PM) I really have no idea how these f***s can say such idiocy. See that is the fun part. No one in politics today seems to think ahead that the powers they stretch to add to today, will eventually go to the other side of the aisle.