caulfield12

Elementary students told they can't say no when asked to dance — what's happening with school dances? https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/elementary-...-022913785.html

Obama Deep State Operatives in FBI Deliberately Holding Up Background Checks to Make Trump Admin Look Even More Incompetent? Stay tuned for Ron Johnson/Devin Nunes joint presser Ricketts: Pres. Obama and Mayor Rahm Emmanuel influenced Jake Arrieta to sign with MLB team evidencing Democratic-aligned ownership values

He had a really good reputation in the minor leagues, too...all the fans in Augusta really liked the guy and adopted him as one of their own, as much as a Latin American player can be adopted in the Deep South.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 12, 2018 -> 08:33 PM) They're not going to spend anything now, so there really is no point in saying what they should spend now. Keep in mind this ownership took Sanchez to arbitration over a small amount of money. They're doing the same thing to Ave Garcia. The White Sox probably have the fewest cases going to arbitration of any MLB team the last two decades...

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Feb 12, 2018 -> 08:20 PM) As one of the resident Iowans, these are *not* good numbers for Trump in Iowa. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/new...eras/302181002/ His favorable/unfavorable is 44/51. The worse numbers come when asked if they would definitely vote for Trump or would be open to considering another candidate in 2020. 26% Definitely Trump 20% Considering voting for another candidate 48% definitely voting for another candidate 5% Not sure I expect that to move back and forth a bit, obviously depending on the democratic candidate, but this is from the best pollster in the state (and regarded by 538 as the best in the country). That 26% seems really low for an incumbent, even with three years left. 54%/33% think Mueller is doing the right thing. It's kind of odd when you dig into the numbers that highlight mostly socially conservative stances among respondents (38/59 against recreational pot, 58/36 for the death penalty in certain circumstances, 55/34 defining life beginning at conception) but some others going different ways (71/25 in favor of planned parenthood funding being restored for non-abortion, 65/26 for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented) and a big split on the wall (30 no matter what, 15 depending on a deal, 50 saying no). Respondents also said that mental health is the biggest crisis facing the state. Moreover, respondents favored a 1% tax increase 67/29 to pay for mental health services/water quality. Having lived here my entire life, a bunch of those numbers are quite interesting. You’re starting with women, minorities and young people all pretty much united against. Trump has done so much damage to the Republican Party with his constant assault on women. While Iowa has more evangelical voters, the demographic trends are going to work against Trump with so many older workers and Boomers feeling their health care and entitlements like SS and Medicare threatened under Ryan. And farmers aren’t seeing any great dividends from administration policies, either.

And pitchers just don’t have the longevity anymore. One more major Giolito injury and Lopez/Fulmer going to the bullpen and we’re suddenly back to Kopech/Hansen/Cease/Dunning and a bunch of unknowns, especially with Rodon’s status so up in the air. That would require filling at least one major rotation hole in free agency, instead of filling two holes in the starting lineup with the MLB equivalent of LBJ and Paul George. If you could pencil in All Star next to Tim Anderson and Carlos Rodon’s names in 2019, it would be much easier to feel 100% confident.

QUOTE (wrathofhahn @ Feb 12, 2018 -> 07:37 PM) If the guys are young enough sure but at this point it's kind of hard to even know where the holes are on the roster. It's all projection and wishful thinking That and the fact that Abreu and Avi Garcia are the two biggest unknowns for the future...and Moncada is their other realistic All-Star despite scuffling for long stretches of 2017. You can project Anderson, Moncada and Jimenez pretty safely into 2019 but everything else is up in the air, with that group of Robert and then Burger/Collins/Rutherford/Adolfo/Sheets having so many possible outcomes. Are Delmonico, Yolmer, Leury or Cordell everyday players? Or just trade bait?

What’s an “expensive” rebuild? 2009-2016? But having Miguel Cabrera instead of the Tigers?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 12, 2018 -> 03:13 PM) Hope so. The more DJTJ trolls on the internet the more people are going to detest him. Why not just stay in the background? He’s just another proxy for his father, created in the same image. He simply can’t resist, like Eric somehow manages to do. It’s actually pretty remarkable Rep. Steve Scalise is the only pol who was nearly killed last year given the current charged environment, especially on race/religion/immigration/domestic violence/LGBTQ rights.

It’s not even Jiminez, right now. It’s being stuck with Zobrist/Heyward, a lack of elite arms after Edwards in the pen and the defensive hodgepodge that is Happ/Schwarber. Their most desirable trade piece, Baez, is the one with the most positional versatility and best defender, so they can simply not afford to lose him. They really were fortunate to get Wade Davis for Soler last year, but a lot of other breaks have gone their way (Rizzo, Bryant draft, Kendricks, developing one of the best catchers in baseball internally, Lester connection to Epstein). They also don’t have a true CFer or leadoff hitter. And they lost Gleyber Torres for a closer who almost ended up costing them the title, bringing a domestic abuser into their midst before it really cost them with female Cubs’ fans like it MIGHT in a post #metoo world. All those things said, it’s hard to imagine doing any better than 3 consecutive NL Champ series appearances and still having at least 4 or even 5 good shots to get back there again. And while the Brewers and Cards improved, the Pirates and Reds are two more small market teams who are being forced by circumstances to rebuild. Last but not least, undo history and put the Astros back in the NL Central and you might not have a Cubs’ World Series title. But we can do that same exercise with the 2004-2005 Chicago White Sox just as easily, if not moreso.

Kelenic would be the best choice from that write up...but everything will change again completely in 5 months. Don’t really want to risk a pick that high on a pitcher already with one TJ, or high school pitchers in general.

QUOTE (dpd9189 @ Feb 11, 2018 -> 08:58 PM) They might have preferred Darvish to Arrieta but haven't the Cubs been trying to extend Arrieta for a few years now but he wants an Elite contract like Price/Grienke? They were in a spot where they needed a top end SP and if Arrieta/Boras were/are still sticking to their guns of their desired terms, then Theo probably did what he had to do in signing Darvish. I really want to see what Arrieta signs for. I can't see Boras let it being a penny less than the Darvish deal and I have no idea who would give Arrieta that type of deal right now. If the Cubs wouldn't then who will? It will be interesting to see if Arrieta overplayed his hand. https://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfxo.aspx?pla...=P&pitch=FA There’s your answer. Plus, using a lot more pitches, walks up, missed bats down...ip/appearance way down. Also, Cubs can’t afford to get into their bullpen in the fifth or sixth like they used to when they had a better pen.

http://www.espn.com/blog/onenacion/post/_/...s-seasoned-pros Ozzie Guillen was a spring training instructor for Puebla in the Mexican League last year, recruited Endy Chavez to play down there

New infrastructure plan coming out....pass all the costs down to states and municipalities, aim is to reallocate any Federal program’s money that goes to poor people, loads of toll bridges and toll roads for the private sector to profit from, lots of well-qualified Trump officials supervising the permitting process (yet another job for Jared?) https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trumps-half-...-220006903.html Everybody seems to favor new and improved roads and bridges. It’s finding the money to pay for them that’s the problem. President Trump will unveil a long-awaited infrastructure plan on Monday with a lofty goal: to stimulate $1.5 trillion in new spending to modernize the nation’s transportation and public works systems. But the plan won’t identify any new revenue sources to finance those projects. Instead, it will call for killing other programs and shifting that money over to infrastructure. “They’re not serious about infrastructure,” says a representative of the business community familiar with the White House plans. “They don’t want to put any new money into it. They’re going to use it as political bait, to portray the Democrats as getting in the way of rebuilding the country.” Though Trump is calling for $1.5 trillion in new infrastructure spending, most of that wouldn’t be federal money. The Trump plan only calls for $200 billion in new federal funds, above what Washington already spends, which would be taken from other programs. Those funds would be used in a variety of ways to seed or incentivize projects. The rest of the money would come from states, cities and private sources. Trump also wants to speed the permitting process, requiring approvals in 24 months or less. His plan would cut back on bureaucratic overlap by identifying a single agency to take the lead for every permit required, eliminating duplicative procedures. “The process we have in the United States just takes way too long and is not really focused on outcomes,” a senior White House official told reporters on February 10. “We want to shorten the process while at the same time preserving environmental protections.” Aetna California scandal demonstrates why private insurance “death panels” shouldn’t be trusted to make medical decisions https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/11/health/aetna...tion/index.html

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 11, 2018 -> 06:08 AM) Dodgers have luxury tax issues the cubs don’t have. And the odds would be staked pretty high that he’d be returning to LA if he’d won one of those World Series starts. Otoh, his FA asking price might have been a notch or two higher and the Dodgers still have do have plenty of potential starters as well as the trade market and a deep system. We haven’t heard anything about the Cubs having legit interest in keeping Arrieta after it became obvious his stuff was falling off last year. Finally, if the Cubs win another World Series in the next four years and Darvish plays a key role, nobody will regret the contract that much because they kept their window open for 6-7 years, which is pretty incredible in this day and age of MLB.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Feb 10, 2018 -> 09:25 PM) Bazinga! Because Lester/Heyward/Darvish accounting for 80M+ per year is something to behold and admire. Like Heyward, cubs fans will come to regret this contract soon enough. How many teams haven’t regretted a contract of six years or more in length? Probably only the Angels with Trout. Cubs still well under luxury tax...$158 million across roughly 20 players. And they still have Almora, Happ, Baez, Schwarber, etc.

Wigginton needs to go pro...already.

The selling point on the ESPN blurb was his sterling ERA in eight career starts against NL Central teams...

Pressure back to the Brewers to put a deal together for Archer or sign Arrieta/Cobb/Lynn at least...

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 10, 2018 -> 01:44 PM) 1) they are rebuilding 2) they are rebuilding 3) they are rebuilding, and nobody cares about David Robertson’s feelings when he is a reliever making 10+ million a year There are exactly $13 million reasons the NY Post reports he’s happy with whatever role they give him. With Green, Kahnle, Betances and Chapman, that’s five guys with closer stuff.

Big 12 has argument for 8 teams now with Ok State winning at Kansas and WVU the last two weekends. Oklahoma, otoh, might be the likeliest team to get bounced in the first round with the way they’ve played the last 3 weeks. They have gone from #4 to out of the Top 25 with a loss at Iowa State likely now. And shouldn't there be more excitement about a rare Top 5 Big10 match-up?

“But there are some very fine abusers on both sides...” When will Christians actually take the plank out of their own eyes to see Trump for who he is and not who they project him to be? https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/09/t...egations-401367 When a female reporter said Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground, Trump’s response was,“Who said they were bruises from that? How do you know those bruises weren’t there before?” He said he’d reviewed the video of the incident. He went on: “To me, you know if you’re going to get squeezed, wouldn’t you think that she would have yelled out a scream or something?” He did not express any sympathy for the female reporter or regret about the incident. The week after Roger Ailes resigned from Fox News in the summer of 2016 when the sexual harassment allegations became overwhelming, Trump rallied to his defense: “I can tell you that some of the women that are complaining, I know how much he’s helped them.” Trump’s response to reports of payouts over sexual harassment by fired Fox News host Bill O’Reilly: “He is a good person.” His assessment was that O’Reilly, “a person I know well,” shouldn’t have settled. Because, Trump said: ‘“I don’t think Bill did anything wrong.”

https://sports.yahoo.com/fox-news-pulls-exe...-215958834.html

Trump gonna lose the woman’s vote? Nah... ”Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation," the President tweeted. "Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused - life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?" Two domestic violence staffers gone in consecutive days, one handling the most sensitive documents with no security clearance on an everyday basis. (But...look at his sterling academic credentials!...Rhodes Scholar...but didn’t we learn this lesson from Bill Clinton previously?) 40+ still working without clearances after ALL the handwringing about Hillary emails. Yet the idea of Mick Mulvaney as Chief Of Staff doesn’t exactly seem much better. One thing’s for sure, you can stick a fork in Kelly. So much for all those great generals, Flynn and Kelly gone, McMaster is just completely ignored because he’s too honest and detail-oriented for Trump’s limited attention span and inability or indifference about reading/research beyond Fox & Friends/Hannity. Mattis is the only one to stand the test of time.

Isn’t Newsweek on the verge of bankruptcy? https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/09/opinions/bud...izer/index.html A big victory for Trump The next item on the agenda is immigration, and here, President Trump really has the potential to control the terms of the debate. Democrats enter into this debate in a terrible fix. The President will put on the table an extremely difficult choice. If Democrats want to reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, and protect the Dreamers from being deported, they need to agree to an extraordinarily restrictive and reactionary set of policies that will close the borders to millions of others and end the liberalized immigration policies that the nation has had on the books since 1965. Gone is the hope to achieve the kind of grand bargain on immigration -- which would have provided a path to citizenship for millions living here without authorization and with uncertain futures -- that Presidents George W. Bush and Obama had hoped to achieve. Now, Democrats may have to settle for the reinstatement of DACA in exchange for giving right-wing, hard-line Republicans almost everything else they want. Even if some conservatives say no to DACA, the budget bill shows how Trump can build a coalition without them. Without being able to threaten the administration on the budget, the only real threat that Democrats now possess is to kill an immigration deal that includes DACA. The problem is that President Trump can live with that; they can't.