Can't We Just Get Along?
I have a theory as to why. People have their own life experiences and tend to believe that is “the truth.” We do something a certain way and/or believe something a certain way and we tend to think that is the “way.” Recently, my oldest son did not talk to me for a year because…
I have a theory as to why. People have their own life experiences and tend to believe that is “the truth.” We do something a certain way and/or believe something a certain way and we tend to think that is the “way.” Recently, my oldest son did not talk to me for a year because he disagreed with my politics. He came to the conclusion that it was a mental health issue and asked if I would see a psychologist with him. I said “sure” (I would do anything for my kids). So I picked a psychologist and he decided to see her without me. After about three weeks, he called me and said “Dad, never let me do that again… that was dumb!” We still disagree, but now he listens and doesn’t say “That’s the dumbest thing I have ever heard.” That was once his “go to.” Things are good between us and we will never let politics stand between us again… but we still talk about them. We disagree without being disagreeable. Why can’t everyone do this?
Recently Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Prince Harry, and Freaking Megan Markle as well as others have tried to silence Joe Rogan because he dares to have people with opinions outside the mainstream media on his show. Jon Stewart (of all people) says it is a mistake. Donald Trump in his imbecilic manner ridiculed and taunted people who disagreed with him. It’s probably a Republican move to call people names. I don’t approve of that… unless you are a moron who deserves to be called one. But the Democrats like to cancel or silence people who disagree with them. I have been canceled by numerous Democrats and the cancellation just proves that they have no ability to form a cogent argument, so in lieu of that, it is easier to cancel that person. Take your ball and go home. That is the Democratic Playbook! Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat I would vote for, said this:
A recent controversial Johns Hopkins Report reignited a discussion about the adverse consequences of lockdowns after finding they had no significant mortality benefit during the first wave of the 2020 pandemic in the United States and Europe, according to the report.
“We find no evidence that lockdowns, school closures, border closures, and limiting gatherings have had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality,” said the authors of the study. The study authors, however, did find closing nonessential businesses reduced COVID-19 mortality by 10.6%, which is likely most related to the closure of bars.
Lockdowns “… have contributed to reducing economic activity, rising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence and undermining liberal democracy,’, but are those unintended consequences or planned effects? The alpha variant had a higher mortality rate than the Delta or Omicron. We did not have the “vaccine” during the alpha, we did during the lower mortality rates of the Delta and Omicron, yet more people died in 2021 than in 2020. That is a fact.
Of course, I was lectured and blasted by many of you on this very site because I was not in agreement with much that they said about COVID-19, its origins, the lockdowns, and the mandates, so like last week when I posted the proof that the Dodgers are still really a TOP 10 Organization, I am doing the same thing here. Take it from none other than one of your very own, Bill Maher:
Free Speech
Spotify, If you de-platform Joe Rogan, I’m done with you! I will cancel my membership. Some people are using Joe Rogan’s COVID interviews as a pretext to silence his voice because he’s not woke. Zealots of wokeism try to censor voices who don’t agree with theirs because they fear the absurdity and weakness of their positions will be exposed. Rapper Zuby Music said: “Joe Rogan has helped millions of people, all around the world, in a myriad of ways he can’t possibly fathom. He has contributed more good to humanity than ALL of his haters and detractors combined. Bunch of salty losers. Joe is a genuine, honest, kind human being. That’s why he is such a threat to people who are none of the above. I will vouch for him and defend him.“
#I Support Joe Rogan
Gone Fishing!
I will likely be back when MLB and the MLBPA reach an agreement, but I am tired of all the vitriol from each side. I am tired of the vitriol from the Left and Right. The handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a disaster that is only eclipsed by having to listen to Trump say the election was stolen and the three years all the media and left spouted the Big Fat Russian Lie. Can we just stop with all the dis-information? Think Sheeple, Think! Maybe someday soon, this will again be a baseball blog.
OK… Who is This With me?
Any idea? Hint: he has a baseball brother.
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Discussion (107)
Disagree, not disagreeable
If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it’s probably a duck…
If this upcoming season, a couple of players hit 400 and a couple more hit over 75 homers, it’s probably safe to assume that the ball was tampered, or steroids came back in a big way…
In the last election, both candidates received the most votes ever for a President. Yeah, everything was on the up and up, nothing was stolen.
We had a President that was tough on China. Pandemic originated in China. Voting laws changed due to pandemic. Nothing to see here, everything was on the up and up. Water main breaks in Georgia, then an overflow of Biden votes come in, in the middle of the night. Caught on tape were people running the same stack of ballots multiple times through the same machine. Also caught on tape was a suitcase of ballots being pulled from under a table to be counted. All in the middle of the night. That’s all legit. Sure.
The Democratic party is pushing for nationalized voting that includes 100% mail in ballots sent to everyone, similar to what was implemented during the pandemic response under the guise of an “Infrastructure Bill”. They also want no ID, but want you to have a vax status ID to do everything else. Sure, nothing fishy about any of this.
Riots with burning buildings are called peaceful protests, a much more peaceful protest is call an insurrection. Seems legit.
If you look back through history, the ones doing the censorship are never on the righteous side. Even Ray Charles can see that!
Not a lot of baseball to talk about until the lockout ends. Freddie Freeman will be a Dodger, then we need to find an arm for the rotation.
Clayton Kershaw has thrown 2454 innings in his career, David Price 2103, Max Scherzer 2536, Justin Verlander 2988. Why is it that no one thinks Price is an option for the rotation?
Something is wrong with him… not sure what.
BTW: In 1974 at the age of 27, Nolan Ryan threw the fastest recorded pitch in baseball history. That pitch was calculated to have reached the speed of 108.5 mph. In 1993 at the age of 46, Nolan Ryan’s final pitch with a torn elbow ligament was clocked at 98 mph.
In case you haven’t heard, Keith Law of The Athletic ranked the Dodgers Farm System #1 in all of MLB:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Last year: No. 10
The Dodgers’ system is just ridiculous. They are hitting on every cylinder right now. They have depth and ceiling, pitching and position players, near-in prospects and long-term Players. I don’t think any other organization can rival their consistent success in drafting, international scouting, player development and pro scouting right now, which is probably the last thing fans of the four other NL West teams want to hear. Every player in their top 10 was in broader consideration for my top 100 – I don’t make a “longlist,” like this was the Booker Prize or something, but if I did one with 200 or so names, the Dodgers’ entire top 10 would make it. The only nitpick I’d offer is that they only put one prospect in my top 40 because the rest of their high-ceiling guys, players who have a chance to be frequent All-Stars or top 10 in baseball at their positions, are higher-variance or just further away from the majors. They make up for it by having so many of those players that they should end up with multiple stars from their current roster of prospects even with typical attrition.
Man, I took a lot of flack when I said the Dodgers have a TOP 10 FARM SYSTEM.
Turns out… well EAT THAT CROW!
I’m glad you reconciled with your son. One of the worst things that our current revolution/cold civil war is doing is destroying families. In a way, what happened is a microcosm of the way our two opposing sides view each other. For me, and for you and others who think more or less like us, I like to think that my views are somewhat grounded in rational analysis: What are the facts? Where is the evidence? Ok, that doesn’t make any logical sense! Conversely, If someone makes with an opposing view makes a good argument with sound evidence, I think I’m capable of changing my view.
To the other side, theirs is a faith based belief system. When you think about social justice in this environment, it is simply right versus wrong, good versus evil, righteous versus the infidel. There is no vigorous debate. When you believe to your core that your positions are moral, just, and unassailable as part of some overarching doctrine of justice, anyone outside that sphere is not just factually incorrect, but evil and, in your unfortunate case, literally crazy. More ominously, if you truly believe that your cause is the righteous one, there is very little you won’t do to your mortal enemies. The worst atrocities are usually committed by those convinced that righteousness is on their side.
And it’s about power. Literally that’s what Marxist Critical Theory is based on. It’s about power structures and leveraging identities to “dismantle” the existing power structure. Marxist power is, at root, not one based on individualism. It is collectivist, authoritarian and coercive.
The Left, as we used to know it, used to be the biggest champions of free speech and free expression; of judging people based on character versus skin color. Their motto was “question authority.” They were deeply suspicious of intelligence communities and hated the influence of corporations. They were consistently anti-war, and looked at the conservative Cold War push to face down the Russians with deep skepticism. They have completely reversed themselves. Their values are the complete opposite of what they used to be. Why? They now have institutional power – universities, media, corporations, and government.
The Joe Rogan response is what happens when that hegemonic power is threatened. He’s a free thinker, mostly apolitical or libertarian (he said he was going to vote for Bernie), asks honest questions and has speakers talking about diverse topics. Some of those speakers have challenged the narrative, and Joe is more popular than CNN or MSNBC combined.
So they will try to destroy him. They tried with the “disinformation” canard. That didn’t work at first, so they brought out the old tried-and-true technique – accusing him of racism. The people who created the video of Joe using The Offensive Word without context went through a decade of podcasts – hundreds of them, each lasting 2-4 hours, to find offensive material to slander him with. It had to have been a huge undertaking, which tells you just how motivated they are to destroy him. It’s the modern day accusation of witchcraft. It will probably work.
Joe represents the value we always placed on free expression, asking questions, the ability to challenge official narratives, to think critically with information that is not censored, to discuss, debate and think about big issues – the freedom to dissent; the freedom to think.
People like William will never get it. They’ll talk about some book that some random parent wanted to remove from a school library while the Joe Rogan bonfire is raging right in front of them – and they cheer it on without a hint of ironic self awareness.
If Joe is purged, will we be the same?
Good for you Mark (restored relationship with son)
#I absolutely support J Rogan
#mlb players stand strong and make mlb competitive for all
No guesses on who the person in the photo with me might be?
Glad you and your boy reconciled. I had a falling out with my son, and also my daughter several years ago. Albeit for different reasons. My son had lost his son. A grandchild I had never met. I did not even know he had a son at the time. He had been in the Navy and living with his mom, so I was not really involved in his life. I was on the road all the time. But by this time, I had settled into a local driving job in Phoenix. Anyway, when he got the news, his perception was that I did not seem broken up enough over the loss of a grandchild. I had much more sympathy for him losing a child in the manner he did. His exe-girlfriend had been living with another guy, pretty much completely under his control. And they starved a seven year old kid to death. He and she are both still in prison. My son, who, like me at his age at the time, had serious anger issues, wanted to do something to get thrown in jail so he could go after this piece of trash. My argument to him was do not ruin your life. He will get his. He got pretty mad that I did not back his idea up. So, for a couple of years we had basically no contact. That changed after he calmed down a lot. My daughter quit talking to me after I had a disagreement with my granddaughter. The disagreement? Baseball related. She is a Giant fan, and naturally she was giving me the business on facebook after a Dodger loss. Really dumb stuff. But then she stepped over the line and got disrespectful. I called her out on it. And her mom got involved. I told both of them, you might not like me, but you damn well will respect me and not talk to me like I am a child. For the next three years, my daughter would not talk to me at all. As a matter of fact, it has only been about four years now that we finally have reconnected. As for politics, well, the kids have their idea’s and I have mine. We do not discuss them.
A good looking man by comparison.
Oh just kidding
Owners set to meet tomorrow. No negotiations scheduled yet. Players have a healthy disdain for Manfred.
I don’t mind the idea of mandatory voting, but you would need to be able to vote “None of the above” or something similar.
The idea would be to drive the wacky left and wacky right to be less influential.
I’m also a huge proponent of abolishing primaries. Back to smoke filled roooms!
And massive expansion in the size of the house. MASSIVE.
Dick Mountain, aka Rich Hill, absolutely destroyed Manfred in an interview. I mean he let him have both barrels. He said what has the man done for the game? Nothing I can see. Reducing the minor leagues by 40 teams and messing with the structure of the game. Pablo Sandoval signed with a Mexican League team.
New post on Dodgers Nation
Dodgers: Update in Trevor Bauer’s Legal Battle
by Brook Smith
The Dodgers are getting a little bit more clarity on the Trevor Bauer situation today. Even with the lockout and no real ability to do anything with players, the future of Bauer will the team has been an obstacle for the team planning out the pitching rotation.
But TMZ Sports reported today that Bauer will not face any criminal charges stemming from an incident with a woman in Pasadena. The story was initially released by TMZ last Summer and alleged that Bauer had punched and choked a woman unconscious.
The news today also suggests that Bauer will not face charges due to text messages between the Dodgers pitcher and the woman. Those texts reportedly were enough for no charges to be filed against him with District Attorney.
What happens now?????
Trevor Bauer reportedly won’t face criminal sexual assault charges
by Thomas Carannante3 minutes ago Follow @TOMMYS_TAKES
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer’s sexual assault case is nearing the end now that the LA district attorney’s office has come to a conclusion.
According to a report from TMZ, Bauer won’t face any criminal sexual assault charges stemming from an alleged incident with a woman last year. According to her testimony, Bauer allegedly punched and choke the woman while she was unconscious during sex.
Throughout the case, Bauer and his representation claimed the encounter was nothing more than consensual rough sex. Bauer’s lawyers went as far to publicly release text messages between the two parties, which was problematic for a multitude of reasons.
Bauer, with support of his “agent” Rachel Luba, has claimed innocence ever since the allegations forced him onto MLB’s administrative leave list. He hasn’t pitched since the end of June.
Some will always hate him and I completely understand that, but if Bauer is back on the roster the Dodgers off season just got a bit better. Walker, Urias, Bauer, Gonsolin, Heaney, White and Price all vying for the SP rotation with a mid season addition of May doesn’t look so bad.
CK will retire or stay in Texas and the Dodgers will get Freeman. Now the MLB and MLPBA have to get this shit done and we can have pitchers and catchers next week. Not gonna happen, but one can dream
L.A. D.A. has announced that all charges are being dropped against Trevor Bauer.
Well, so far the Bauer Debacle has played out the way I predicted.
Nothing can happen now until the lockout is over.
Then Manfred has to make a decision and while I believe Bauer might accept a short suspension (retroactive, of course) of 10-20 days, I do not think a substantial suspension will stand up. Bauer will sue MLB and probably win if MLB tries to suspend him longer.
What I do not know is how the Dodgers will deal with this. That remains to be seen. Has Trevor Bauer thrown his last pitch as a Dodger? If I were forced to bet, I would say NO!
I don’t think AF is going to trade a Cy Young winner from an already depleted staff just to appease a bunch of Karens.
Check out the comments on this video. I don’t see the outrage.
TB made a video statement on YoutTube.
Pretty much what I’d expect him to say. It will be enough for some, not for others.
But at least he can actually have a conversation with Dodger ownership now that the criminal side to this is settled (whenever the lockdown ends). That will obviously be a while. I’m sure there will be no statement from the Dodgers until the labor issue is resolved.
Yet another lose end to add to all the others the lockout has created.
Former Yankee outfielder and a good friend of Derek Jeter, Gerald Williams, passed away today at 55 of cancer. RIP.
A major league pitcher: T. Gonsolin.
A top 100 prospect: M. Bush.
One player on the 40-man roster: J. Amaya.
A Dodgers top 30: G. Stone.
To get Luis Castillo from the Reds, who says no?
2022 SP:
1 Buehler
2 Bauer
3 Urias
4 Castillo
5 Kershaw ?
Heaney
White
Price
Jackson
Pepiot
Joe Rogan has a $100 million contract with Spotify. Rupert Murdoch is a multi-billionaire and his top Fox News personalities such as a Tucker, Hannity and Ingraham all earn millions of dollars.
Nobody really has a solid estimate of the wealth of the defeated former president, but it’s a plenty… ..while the evidence of fraud and tax evasion mounts, but never mind about that.
All of these parties have been engaged in promoting medical falsehoods that have now contributed to the deaths of 900,000 Americans. Worst of all, the bully pulpit at the White House was turned into a bullshit pulpit. For weeks the American people were told that virus was no big deal, totally contained, “fake news,” a “hoax.” He even declared that number of cases would go down to zero. Remember that BS? …. Even after the “presidential” rhetoric belatedly steered a bit closer to reality, we had a “leader” suggesting on national TV that maybe people should inject themselves with disinfectant….. Remember that? Millions of Amerians trusted his lies and acted accordingly. And remember how, in his interviews with Woodward, this “leader” admitted that he didn’t want to tell the truth because he was afraid of causing panic.
I will say it again: Americans have died from covid at MORE THAN THREE TIMES the rate of Canadians. (And an analysis of voting precincts shows that resistance to vaccination, and thus cases and deaths, are highest in the most partisan “red” regions where people trusted the BS.)
Perhaps those truckers up north don’t really appreciate how fortunate they are to live in a society in which the political leadership respects science and works to protect public health.
Things are trending down now–but all it takes is another dangerous variant to push America’s covid death toll to more than 1 million–and most of these deaths, as the Canadian experience suggests, could have been averted with sound policies. (Dr. Birx has made the same point.)
Yeah, Joe Rogan has a right to spew BS, but he’s not some kind of hero people should rally behind. He’s much better than Alex Jones, certainly, but even a creep who portrays the grieving parent of the Sandy Hook massacre as “crisis actors.” You wonder why people can’t get along but gee, the defeated former president got along great with Alex Jones and the “very fine people” who staged the white supremacist protest-cum-riot in Charlottesville. The DFP, by all accounts, watched with glee as his self-appointed goons stormed that Capitol–and for more than three hours failed to call off the rabid mob, even those chanting “hang Mike Pence.” Gee, why can’t we all get along? A good question for the former VEEP and now the RNC who, in a written declaration, portrayed the violence and threats as “legitimate political discourse.”
It’s pretty hard to find agreement when millions of Americans, many with an angry disposition, don’t recognize the reality unfolding in front of their eyes. And others, like the Murdoch machine, make millions by promoting the falsehoods.
Retired USMC Gen. James Mattis, Trump’s first secretary of defense, declared that this particular commander-in-chief was the first he ever witnessed who never demonstrated an interest in unifying the American people. He had a golden opportunity to do so against the common threat of the virus, yet he elected to transform into another wedge issue for his culture war.
Americans really did get along much better before the election of 2016. A lot better.
Great news about Bauer. Could never see a different outcome tbh.
Get him back in the Rotation, and if B&P is correct in his thoughts about Freddie being keen to join, then suddenly we are looking in a much better position.
Would just need to add some better Bench Pieces, and we would be set.
Anyone any idea if Kahnle is good to go?
If there is enough money, I would also add another Starter like Cueto on a one year deal, especially if Clayton joins Corey.
Just to say quickly, that Covid is very much on the retreat here, and that life is very much getting back to normal.
Omicron in the main is now not much more than a cold or cough – very mild.
Limitations on overseas travel have been lifted, and there is no longer any need to test when entering or leaving the Uk.
Masks are gone and we’re really moving things on.
I’m sure you guys are not far away from the finishing line now.
Obviously there are and will continue to be questions about the handling of it all – but like the whole Pandemic from the beginning, the country is unified in its deteriorating to move forward as quickly as possible, and not waste any more time.
#determination to move forward