Texsox

I agree that it is unacceptable. I'm also confident Vaughn doesn't drive anyone in. Their play this year is unacceptable and not likely to change.

Sure. But they still lose.

I'm confident my third place prediction will come true. No way this franchise could make the playoffs three consecutive years. Twice a decade is an achievement.

Get away from Tony is the right environment. He's ruining careers.

To be replaced by someone else making the out. They aren't good enough to win games.

As bad as everyone is playing, it really doesn't make a difference. They can't hit. It doesn't matter what number is on their back.

On the way home today I picked up some Astros gear at my local sporting goods store. I'm already feeling better about baseball. I'll be visiting my daughter in Houston soon. I think I'll try to catch a game. Fuck Tony and his merry band of losers.

Civilized countries ban those weapons and buy back those weapons at a premium. The challenge here in the US is there are so many and a buy back program will barely put a dent in the total. People would hoard them. I remember back when Obama was first elected the AR-15 type weapons shot up 50% on the used market. Everyone was buying ahead of what was expected to be a ban. I just hope those that own them will respond like Ukrainians if we're ever attacked. I'll admit I always laughed at the notion ordinary citizens could hold off an Army. Now maybe I was wrong.

Men's D1 National Champions The University of Texas Longhorns. In Including a couple players I watched as high schoolers.

For the record ten days ago I would have agreed 100% with you. I expressed those exact same reservations. I believe both scenarios are highly unlikely. A kid will steal a gun from a family member or obtain it away from school. The kid would have much more time and possibility away from school. Are the cops in your school district armed? Do you want them disarmed? Sadly your second question has much different answers based on the person holding the gun. I'm not pulling my gun unless my life is threatened. So would I rather take my chance with a criminal trying to kill me or a police officer? I'll save my life first, then worry about the cop. If your child was calling you while her classmates were getting murdered do you want the teacher to have a gun? That was reality last week. Kids huddled with their teacher begging for help that wasn't coming. As a parent what do you want? So far I've asked that three times and you ignored the question. Scary thought isn't it?

Here are the real challenges and the ones that have filled my head for a week. I'm in my classroom. The door is locked and blocked by a metal bookcase, a file cabinet, and desks (we've practiced this). Someone is working hard to get in. If I'm armed do I wait for them to get inside and shoot before I use my weapon? Currently I'm unarmed and basically about to die. Can I save anyone? Our training is to fight. How many bodies pile up? Or a situation on the other wall. Three big windows that if broken you could easily step through. Someone is breaking the window to gain access. Is it a good guy there to sneak us out through a courtyard then through the building or a bad guy trying to kill us? What do I do? Whether I like it or not the reality is my classroom could be next.

I agree they made it worse. The victim of the original crime shouldn't have retrieved another gun and started shooting. He's protecting property. He's now a criminal for shooting. Same with C. Now my scenarios. Your child is calling for help while watching classmates being murdered? Teacher with a gun or phone? Movie theater shooter standing over your wife about to shoot, do you want a gun or no gun? That's part of the challenge here. There are an unlimited number of scenarios that make sense for either side. My #1 scenario is no one, good, bad, civilian, or cop has a gun, but that isn't happening in my lifetime. My reality is a responsibility to protect my students.

Why not arrest everyone and sort it out later? As a police officer why not only shoot people aiming at you? It shouldn't matter good or bad. Point a gun at a cop, get shot. Don't point a gun at a cop, don't get shot. Each side can create scenarios that prove their opinion is correct. In this one armed folks made it worse. If your child was whispering in their phone for help while people were getting shot, do you want their teacher pointing a gun or a cell phone at the murderer? If a gunman was pointing a gun point blank at your wife do you want a gun or a phone? Do I want someone shooting indiscriminately in a dark movie theater? No. Basically anything outside of self defense is a don't fire. Don't fire to protect property. Don't fire at someone running away.

The difference is point of view. If my point of view is being five feet away from a guy pulling the trigger on a Daniel Defense AR-15 replica and killing students around me, my point of view and response will be different than the more qualified and trained law enforcement individual who is safe a quarter mile away or a politician hundreds or thousands of miles away. I'd literally be fighting for my life and the lives of students around me. If your child is hiding with me in my classroom while listening to kids being slaughtered do you want me to have a cell phone and bullet tipped dry erase markers or a gun? The school Marshall plan is making more and more sense to me.

A couple notes on that. It's up to the district, not the individual teacher, if they will be allowed to carry on campus. The Marshall program has a requirement that a teacher must first be approved by the district and already be legally allowed to carry. I'm not aware that my district has allowed it. If they have it makes sense on one hand not to advertise it, but on the other it negates any value as a deterrent. I'm thinking of a colleague who was a former LA Country Sheriff. He'd be the poster child for the program. Five years ago I was 100% against it. Now I'm not so certain. Especially knowing the police response isn't guaranteed until after the shooting is over. I'm certain every parent of a child in classroom 111 or 112 wishes the teacher was armed.

Exactly. I have a lectern I custom built a few years ago. I could easily add a hidden and secure storage space. I could also retire and walk away. You can guess which one is more appealing right now.

@Middle Buffalo I'm one of those teachers that many would expect to carry. Currently each morning, I'm stationed out front of my school with a couple other coaches and our ROTC commanders. I guess we're supposed to be deterrents and targets. Would we be more effective with guns than cell phones? My issue is the same as I faced as a young father. To be useful for protection the gun must be available and able to shoot quickly. For those reasons as a father I decided against relying on firearms to protect my family. I would make the same decision for my students. But if I was in classroom 112 at Robb Elementary would I be more helpful whispering into a cell phone or pulling a gun? If I'm signing my death certificate by teaching shouldn't I be given a fighting chance to survive? As you can tell I'm conflicted. I would not trust most teachers to carry on campus. I also can think of several I would in a heartbeat. We have several who are former law enforcement officers.

More sanctions. It's interesting how civilized countries respond to uncivilized actions.

I don't believe I suggested you should be forced to stand anymore than I should be forced to sit.

But group anti nationalism protests aren't hollow? We do agree. The lack of protests for the way we treat millions of good veterans says far more than sitting because of hundreds or thousands bad ones.

Absolutely. People pick and choose if and how and where they protest. Protests aren't very effective unless they get people's attention. If you are trying to pull people together for change I question the effectiveness of alienating people who may be inclined to agree with you. Ask me to carry a sign, write letters, speak out against those horrors then I'm in. If you ask me to sit during the anthem I'm not joining in. Now some folks I agree with on the issue will criticize me, call me old and stupid, because I won't join in that style protest? That seems like a dumb strategy for change.

Your take is no one is insulting them. My take is different. What makes yours or mine any more correct? I support your right to sit. I have students who sit for the US Pledge but stand for the Texas Pledge and moment of silence. It's their choice. I have others that sit and play games on their phone the entire time. It's an interesting question really. If I describe you in a way you claim is an insult and I say it isn't, are you less insulted? I live in Military City USA and know how most active and retired duty members feel. I honor their feelings by standing. It's also similar to places of worship. Walk into a synagogue and cover your head out of respect, walk into a Christian church and uncover your head out of respect. I guess some folks might want to use that time and place as an opportunity to protest and claim it isn't disrespectful. More power to them. I'll continue to stand for the hundreds of millions of Americans that make this a great country while supporting those that choose to sit for the thousands that make it bad.

We're not free when to stand or not to stand isn't a choice. Y'all can insult my son who is serving by not standing, that's your right and I will support it.

Alternate take. A Cy Young winner goes to a shitty franchise with a horrible manager, rookie pitching coach, and falls apart.

Most gun owners aren't crazy and understand guns shouldn't be allowed everywhere. In fairness it's the opposite argument of the pictures of Obama or Biden saying guns are dangerous while surrounded by Secret Service agents with more firepower than anyone else on earth. The real difference between the two sides is one doesn't mind if folks that should not have a gun have them as long as everyone who should can. The other side doesn't mind if folks that should be allowed to have them are denied as long as everyone who shouldn't doesn't. I'll bet more than half my friends own firearms. They hunt. They target shoot. They collect custom shotguns and rifles. They support tougher background checks, tighter registration, various limits. Most are against the constitutional carry laws. They are really normal folks. Years ago I shot an AR-15 style rifle. Yeah it was fun back then to play a grown up game of soldier. But not anymore. I turned down every invitation to shoot or hunt the past couple years.