🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@Kcmatt7 You have entirely missed my point, but I appreciate your work on this. My point is that the divisions in society are deep but the system is set up to in the long run curtail the ability of one side of the divide to impose its will on the other permanently.

The most important point is that this divide will not go away just because of a change in systems. Want a constitutional convention? Great, kiss the Bill of Rights goodbye. Most Americans think rights have been extended too far. Watch thousands of people write their personal policy preferences into constitutional law. Watch the Supreme Court become part of the Executive. Watch a whole bunch of crap happen as everyone wants their own gored ox to run amok. Want Congress to exercise more control of the president's foreign policies? Then be happy with a European style of government, with executives and ministers replaced willy-nilly--that offers no stability or continuity of direction.

The founders were the students of political theory, informed by centuries of philosophy and history. A future constitutional convention will be happy to dispense with wiser minds from long ago, and eager to adopt the popular, the expedient, and the cause du jour.

You have done a nice job of pointing out what you see as the problems stemming from our system. So, again, what system could do better? And how do you get the existing America to create a new system without creating new, and worse, problems? Until that question can be answered, let us not be too hasty to discard what we have.

KUSTEVE said:

@approxinfinity I guess you could say he will do little for awhile.

A significant lesson here about getting too big for your britches. If you remember your Shakespearean tragedy themes regarding people who fail to keep their place in the universe and doo too much.

@wissox Just hop on your raft and you will be back in BR in no time, Huck!

@KUSTEVE Crap, I never saw my typo. That was supposed to be "NASCAR is noisy".

@Kcmatt7 If you think the list of contentious issues is different in kind than before, you might be right. New technologies, new communication methods, new social and economic problems all facing us and a divided citizenry.

Yet the magnitude of those issues isn't any different. Problems previously weren't solved by some magical compromise eventually drawing the country together. Instead, one side prevailed and the other side either gradually faded away or got enough power to reverse the policy. Big moral crises and political upheavals existed long before anything you listed, and some are festering today in your list.

You decry the system as preventing compromise, but you also say it isn't working like it used to. That is kind of self-contradictory. Here is why:

The system is working just fine, because the system is designed to be plodding, inefficient, and unsusceptible to immediacy. Beware an efficient government, because that is one where dissent is crushed, where rights exist only to serve the powers in charge, and policies are efficiently carried out because no one dares be different. That list you cited? On many issues I am very glad that they aren't settled, because it means a method of solving them needs to be found, rather than imposing a solution by wild-assed majorities who are no more intelligent than the Brexit sponsors.

I am tired of all the lamenting done about the effect of big money on politics. Money has always ruled politics. And people across the spectrum donate to everything. If any particular policy seems bought, or if someone seems to have an easy path, don't wring your hands and lament about your lack of influence. Build support, find allies, raise money, and go to work. If you aren't able to prevail, sometimes you might be the one who has to compromise.

Nothing you have said is unique. A system that imposes upon us transient clowns (like, say, a Buchanan or our modern Voldemort) can also provide glimpses of genius (like, say, Lincoln or FDR).

@wissox Looks like Harv may be going a little west of where they thought before. But it is apparently planning on a few days near the coast. BR will likely get lots of rain, but hopefully spread out (miserable as that is). Hope she and your cuz are okay!

@JayHawkFanToo Loosely translated, I believe, as "NASCA is noisy" and I heartily agree.

@JayHawkFanToo Well, you do have a history of occasionally nitpicking.... not that I don't....

@JayHawkFanToo Okay, edit that to, "He could play NAIA or D3." I thought that was obvious, but maybe not.

@KUSTEVE All picks by the organization running it along with conference officials. I wonder if that will happen, though, since I suspect conference officials don't want to p.o. anybody. Unless they do it anonymously.

@JayHawkFanToo When it involves boosters, it is considered to be the school. I just think these "OMG! Someone could cheat to try to get that money!" scenarios are very far-fetched.

@HighEliteMajor I have always worried about players declaring early for the draft and blowing off their second semester classes like Simmons did, screwing up a school's academic progress rating the next year. Thankfully Self has always had good results with our players who left.

On your scenario, I think any player doing that is less likely to get picked. Only 4 players from each conference doesn't leave lots of room for intentional screw-ups to slide in.

@JayHawkFanToo You have caused mme to order a copy of Beyond the Phog after years of putting it off. I read one review that says it is a good reminder of what a pathological liar Giddens is. I look forward to reading it since you obviously had a different reaction when you read it.

@JayHawkFanToo He could always go NAIA or D3.

@approxinfinity Daily Caller: fashion police attack on Trump's kid. Classy.

@KUSTEVE "...including 2 back to back Big Ten titles at Illinois."

And those also came coaching against Izzo.

@justanotherfan I think an important point is that Lee apparently agreed with the decision. Had he not been reassigned to another game (i.e., negatively affecting him), I think it would be a non-defensible decision.

@JayHawkFanToo Once the school approved the payments it was seen as the school's responsibility.

@JayHawkFanToo That is absurd. When was the last lawsuit over a slam dunk or 3 pt contest?

@Kcmatt7 @DoubleDD

Are you surprised at the ESPN decision? Or the MSNBC announcers in this video? I hope it is ESPN!

I remember years ago when the producers of a biography of John Lennon had to halt production nd recast the part after they realized the part went to an actor named Mark Chapman.

For youngsters out there, it was Mark David Chapman who mudered John Lennon. In that case, the coincidence was seen as likely to be too much, so that one I get. Not ESPN, though.

Every summer and fall I find this to be a fascinating site to monitor tropical storms coming across the Atlantic.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gtwo.php?basin=atlc&fdays=2 ↗

@Texas-Hawk-10 Harvey is now forecast to be a Cat 3 hurricane when it hits. Good luck--be safe!
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/24/us/tropical-storm-harvey/index.html ↗

@mayjay That Norlander article also explains that interest in 3 on 3 is high because it has been added to the 2020 Olympics. I had no idea.

@JayHawkFanToo That was from the school, and was seen as a deferred benefit. The organization doing the 3 on 3 is the same group that does the slam dunk contest at the F4 and has no NCAA issues. The Norlander article on CBS site has a bit more.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/new-3-on-3-tournament-will-have-college-seniors-playing-for-100k-during-final-four/ ↗

@JayHawkFanToo With only one team made up of all stars from each conference, the likely profitability of that scenario seems low. I also think it likely there would be only one or two players at most from any given team, so the risk seems lower than if the field or rosters were bigger. All-stars are more likely to make big bucks real soon afterwords, and if they tank in the Tourney early by throwing a game they would be jeopardizing hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, for $25K. Not likely.

@BShark They both have one ring and one runner-up. Izzo lost 5 times in the nat'l semifinal. Bill has gone to the champ game in both F4s. Bill has more losses in the E8, but fewer losses in lower rounds. Izzo has more appearances.

Both are extraordinary coaches that all but 2 or 3 schools would gladly take. Who is better? Who cares?

@Crimsonorblue22 His Sept 7 date was a typo. Sept 2.

And I think he means it will be fun because it should be an easy game for KU, while reality sets in a week later.

But I could just be projecting my own thoughts. Are there really any easy games for KU?

@JayHawkFanToo They won't be eligible because players from FF4 teams not allowed to play.

@Kcmatt7 I believe our system eventually forces more compromise because the elections cycles (2, 4, and 6) generally prevent wholesale domination and immediate upheaval. The European governments mostly have parliamentarian styles, which result in new elections and replaced governments whenever enough people get upset about something.

I know everyone complains about how dysfunctional it is right now, blah blah blah. The same thing has been said periodically throughout American history. We have had crazy ass crap going on for hundreds of years, the party out of power always says it is the end of the universe, and somehow America muddles through.

I happen to think we have a horrible president and I fear for the impact his policies could have. I fear more the effect his disparaging attitude toward opponents and the press might have over time, as he discards any semblance of respectful disagreement.

But I also fear the overreactions--impeach him or get the cabinet to invoke the 25th? Give me a break. Change the 1st Amendment? Nothing could be scarier because the next voice stifled could be your own.

We have suffered through ridiculous presidencies or congresses, even Supreme Courts, before. And still America muddles on, much like a stumbling drunk weaving down a pot-hole strewn alley in the dark, but coming through it in the long run.

What is dangerous is people thinking the country wasn't intended to work this way. Yes, it was. The founders recognized that popular sentiment could get a president in power who did not represent the whole country. That is the basis for checks and balances, the electoral college, and staggered elections, and the reason the House was set up to ensure popular movements got a voice but having a Senate to prevent that voice from drowning all others.

The angry voices of today are different in their volume and audience only, not their causes or their passion. Any student of American history can point to dozens of periods when political hatred was horribly virulent. The Civil War was a screeching exception to the system working things out peacefully over time, but the fact that our form of government suurvived even that is a tribute to its legitimacy.

People experience their disappointments and dashed hopes and can share them with the world today, with little filtering or perspective. Those reactions build on each other until every policy loss becomes a disaster of cataclysmic proportion, and every dumb thing "the other guys" do is a threat to our existence--each and every day.

Dumping the system because you don't like the output over a several year period puts the immediacy of your own demands at a premium over the values in place for over 2 centuries. Those values actually say that each of us has no right to unilaterally impose what we think is right. Those values guarantee every savant and every idiot a right to be heard--trying to come up with a replacement absolutely guarantees failure.

I am both conservative and liberal in my leanings. Liberal in what I think the government's role should be in improving our country and the lives of its citizenry, but conservative in recognizing that the way to do this is to participate in a system, come up with ways of enacting beneficial policies that convince opponents to help, not tear it down just because your side has lost. Win elections instead of just bitching about it. America is bigger and better than that.

I put this here because of the number of times we have had seniors who could have played in this. Teams made up of seniors (from non-FF4 teams) who have exhausted college eligibility, all star teams from each conference, 12 second shot clock, games to 21 pts or 10 minutes, 2 pts beyond arc, 1 pt inside arc, 4 players on each team, $100,000 prize. I hope Devonte and Svi don't get to participate!

http://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2017/08/22/3-on-3-at-the-final-four-for-100000-its-happening/ ↗

@wissox Chumming for sharks?
:shark:

@KUSTEVE SFU, not STFU. Too bad!

@Kcmatt7 Ours is the worst form of government except for all the others.

@justanotherfan And yet it was the opposite that season against South Carolina. Malik went for 15 in 28 mins in a loss in Columbia (I was at that game!), but he didn't score in 16 mins when Miss St beat the Gamecocks at home. That second game was end of Feb, and maybe the coach didn't want to play Malik too much since he was likely not coming back--4 other guys had dbl figures.

Crimsonorblue22 said:

I heard traffic was bad on turnpike, 3 miles in 40 mins s of emporia.

I was following the roads all day around the country and did not see too much eclips traffic. But a few hours later, you could see where the path of totality had been:

!0_1503371565464_2017-08-21 23.11.52.png ↗

Those were some 80 to 120 mile heavy zones!

@Crimsonorblue22 @DanR

Glad you had clear weather, @Crimsonorblue22! Great pictures, Dan. I decided not to worry about pictures because I didn't want to fiddle with settings.

Good thing, too. We had mostly cloudy and it was breaking through a bit, but it was going to be a race between one gap and totality. So, at T (totality) minus 6 minutes, I grabbed my wife and we drove about 1.5 miles to a school parking lot with a better angle.

At T minus 25 seconds, we lost the sun and thought it was in totality, so we took our glasses off, but it was a tiny thick cloud. The sun then jumped out with about 10 seconds to go. Birds were quiet, crickets were chirping, the parking lot light came on.

Then, wow! Beautiful, stunning corona. I should have brought my camera for just viewing through the 300 mm, but it as a hurried departure. In a way, I am glad we could just see it, holding hands and, well, wow....

It started raining from clouds not in line with the sun/moon so it was really cool to have that unique little detail to our moment. People a mile away saw nothing.

Surrounded by tall pines, so we didn't get the sunset effect. Maybe we will figure out a place to do it in 2024, which has a S-to-N eclipse with over 4 minute totality in many places. Here is a link to that one so y'all can start preppin' for it:

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2024-april-8 ↗

@brooksmd I think by definition any team that gets a wild card spot pretty much deserves it. There might not be much hope they could do much with it, but who knows?

@BShark Then again, sometimes if you look behind the curtain it is dark with nothing going on!

@jaybate-1.0 What format are you reading it in? It looks like a .txt file, and my phone doesn't display iy in any way to be able to read it. I will try my PC sometime to see if it is better.

@DanR Looks like you get 7 more seconds, too. Average time of .... well, we won't go there.

I have wondered about vampires and trolls. These eclipses have to really eff up their biorhythms.

@BShark My comment about behind the scenes was intended about your post on the Robinson transfer, meaning I thought there might still be a positive reason no news has come out. Such as working on getting the waiver applic ready to see how likely it is to be granted. Not talking about the past mystery signings/transfers of Whitman, etc. that you guys were discussing.

@JayHawkFanToo "My son was born right after midnight so I believe great things can and do happen after midnight. "

Our Grandson, too, who decided to wait for 17 hours so he could be born at 1:17 a.m. on July 5. Apparently was scared by all the noise out there so he took his time.

@jaybate-1.0 Interesting. I will have to take a look at it. I like this sentence in the Preface:

"The impartiality of history does not require that the treason of Arnold and the patriotism of Washington, should be alike recorded, without commendation or censure."

@BShark There might be lots of behind the scenes things playing out regarding the transfer.

@HighEliteMajor "...but we’ve all probably had a few good things happen after midnight, right??"

When I was a parent with kids at home, that was precisely the set of happy memories that scared the hell out of me!

@Careful-you The difference, according to one NASA scientist, between a 99% eclipse and a total eclipse, is like the difference between a first date and your wedding night. Seems like a good time for a drive to Atchison!

Hopefully the eclipse will mesmerize Americans of all ideologies long enough to step back, relax, enjoy one of the most amazing and rarest spectacles, and perhaps reflect on our place in the Cosmos.

Or maybe not. It should still be cool nonetheless!

Speaking of spectacles, you all have seen dizens of warnings to make sure you have your special ISO-standards eclipse glasses to avoid damaging your retinas. The danger is real, and ophthamologists say even fleeting glances at the sun can build up over a lifetime.

What discussions with a dozen people this week has revealed to me, however, is that fully half did not realize that the glasses are NOT needed during totality and should be removed to enjoy seeing it. They are needed during all other phases, wherever you are. I reviewed a few of the warnings and saw that only about 25% of them mentioned this, and most just said to wear special glasses "during the eclipse." I hope there aren't a lot of people who are seriously disappointed when they barely see it. I have seen some articles and news reports trying to clear this up, but the initial scary warnings might catch a few.

What are all you Board Rats doing on Monday? And what % of eclipse will you catch? I am fortunate enough to be in one of the cities (Columbia, SC) where totality will be longest--2 mins 30 seconds. I am going to try to get some pictures with my super telephoto lens if our sky cooperates. (Special filters for cameras are not needed in totality.)

Also, please keep this thread politically neutral--thank you!

@JayHawkFanToo There were 3 elements to the statement I proposed, none of which were in Trump's actual statement. Even Fox accepted that Trump backtracked from the middle statement that contained some condemnation.

@HighEliteMajor That is a great topic. Well, Aaron Miles is gone now. He would seem to have had the closest ability to relate to young players, except he might not be "bad" enough. Jerrance Howard is a good age for it, and managed (apparently) to get back into good standing despite his own trouble. I have heard good things about Fred Q. On the team itself, Graham and Svi have the seniority, along with Young, but I dunno if any of them have the necessary gravitas or personality to act in the one-arm-around-the-shoulder-while-the-other-pops-a-hidden-fist-in-the-kidneys approach that seems necessary.

Matt Tait's latest article has an update including quotes from an uncle. He says the waitress was a former HS girlfriend. Ay yi yi, another one!

We just need to make sure our guys stop being in bars where there are former girlfriends.

@jayballer54 Love your invention of new words & phrases! "Jumpin gee hoosie toads" is dead on!

@chriz PHOF!