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I guess the positive is the talks of a hard salary cap seem to have a bit more traction, though probably not enough to see anything in the next few years. I think the biggest problem is with the players. I get why they don't want a salary cap. I also get why some of the teams don't want that.

I hope it doesn't get to the point where we see a contraction in baseball with a few teams just locking the doors and going home, but that may be what it takes.

I like him as well. I also like Rocket Sanders.

We don't have a problem at runningback. Any deficiency we had running the ball stemmed more from subpar O Line play over anything else. The way we used Sampson was because he was the only back on the roster who could fill that role. That may still be true for this season, which is OK. He fills the role well.

Some valid points.

What any of it means won't be known until this 'rash' of candidates goes to the polls. As for eating their own - you're probably right. And I suspect any real voters - or thoughtful voters might realise that. So we'll see.

And yes the Democratic Party and leadership do need to do better.

I still do not know how else you count and quantify the online spamming of about the DSA - there doesn't appear to be standardized metric. But it is absolutely worth highlighting the fringe-ness of who they are compared to the airplay they are receiving. It's the same phenomena as the population that identify as Trans, then the even tinier % of those that are then in some sort of "issue" whether it's about changing rooms or sports or whatever - and then the volume of noise and attention that gets.

Clueless!!!! I am done. No where did I say he was as good or better than Baker. I am saying that IMO if he reaches his full potential, he could be another Baker. That is saying at his best he can be around average. Throwing accuracy has nothing to do with everything else. Many of Baker's INT's when he played with the Browns he threw to the right receiver on time and the throw was high. That is accuracy. He made the correct reads; he threw on time and was picked because he overthrew his receiver. Sanders last year made poor decisions and got picked off. That is much difference. Go ahead and keep arguing your ignorant points I will no longer respond because arguing against an agenda vs reality is what it always is with you.

Trump rips Pirro decision after DOJ drops Reflecting Pool case: ‘I don’t agree’

President Trump called out U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Saturday for agreeing to dismiss the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case against former Olympian David Hearn.

The Justice Department moved to drop the case on Friday, finding that the damage to the tidal basin resulted from a “rushed and botched installation,” not alleged vandalism. Trump a day later distanced himself from that decision.

“I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass, which had a big 86 47 emblazoned in giant letters on it, and other elements of the surrounding area.”

Hearn was indicted earlier this month after prosecutors said he “forcefully and violently” ripped the bottom liner of the pool but pleaded not guilty to the felony charge of destruction of property.

Pirro’s office noted in its filing that the pool’s issues were a result of over spraying and delamination.

“Specifically, the newly released documents reveal that work on installing the lining almost immediately fell behind, due to a combination of very rainy and windy weather, repeated failures of testing on the sealing of the expansion joints, and delays in obtaining sealing product at the worksite,” prosecutors wrote in the filing.

The administration faced heavy scrutiny over the project after the “American flag blue” paint began to peel and an algae bloom formed in the basin. It was drained more than once since the renovation began for repairs.

Trump in his latest post did not dismiss the issues but maintained his argument that Hearn was responsible for some of the damage.

“There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS,” he wrote.

In a separate post, the president shared a video of the alleged incident, stating that the “material is being cut with a knife or a box cutter, for all to see!”

Prosecutors on Friday noted that the section Hearn was accused of tampering with was not in the area where the vandalism likely occurred. It was also reported that a National Park Service engineer raised concerns about peeling days before the ex-Olympian was arrested.

“Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt,” prosecutors wrote.

The Reflecting Pool renovations were part of the president’s efforts to improve Washington D.C. in honor of America’s 250th anniversary.

The final decision on Hearn’s charges will be left to the judge overseeing the case.

https://thehill.com/homenews/admini...irro-doj-reflecting-pool-vandalism-case/

Trump just can't let go of the lie. Nothing new about that.

Hell yeah! Start slow and taper down from there. Sky's the limit!

Once again, the price of crude didn't double. I have no idea how you are making your calculations. Crude oil prices have fluctuated heavily, surging by roughly 20% to 25% overall compared to pre-war levels. Brent crude started the conflict around $70 to $72 per barrel and now trades near $90 a barrel.

A 25% increase in the price of crude isn't double. To keep the same profit margins as before the war based on crude prices their profit would have increased by about 25%.

So whether you calculate it according to the price of gas or the price of oil your math isn't mathing. And now these numbers have came in.....................

ExxonMobil and Chevron reported massive second-quarter profits, with ExxonMobil doubling its earnings to $14.5 billion and Chevron nearly quadrupling its profits to $12.1 billion compared to the same period last year.

The Riff Master. Still shredding at 78. 🤘

Cool video!

Every morning I check the headlines hoping it will all go away.

That somehow some way karma will find a way.

That the scales of justice will balance. Please just disappear.

That is really interesting.

I have never gotten into photography.

I have spent a lot of time outdoors. The best times of my life have come from my time outside.

The Merlin app opens up a new road. Time has slowed me down and this gives me a chance to do something at a pace that fits.

well deserved for Grant too. He's been solid for us

Unconscious Mitch McConnell Scores Higher Approval Rating Than Conscious Version

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In an unprecedented political comeback, the entirely unconscious Mitch McConnell has garnered a vastly higher approval rating than the conscious version, a new poll revealed on Monday.

According to the poll, a whopping 78 percent of voters “strongly agreed” with the statement, “The USA would be in much better shape today if Mitch McConnell had been unconscious for the entire four decades of his congressional career.”

Voters pointed to progress on guns, the environment, and a host of other issues that could have been achieved if only McConnell had not been sentient.

Capitalizing on his newfound popularity, McConnell’s office issued the following statement: “The senator continues to be motionless and unresponsive, and the pile of legislative work near his hospital bed has gone completely untouched.”

I'll take this opportunity to post probably the sickest plays I ever had the privilege to watch live. Even watching the replay felt like my mind playing tricks on me. 🔥

This particular story has already been discussed in this forum. Only 400 out of those 6600 actually voted. No New jersey election was decided by 400 votes. Actually none where closer than several thousand votes.

So him posting that in response to "Can you specifically name one rigged election result" is just pure BS. But then again that's to be expected.

One thing I am sure of is that the executive branch, mainly the president holds far to much power. How much power a president has is not the same as the time of the founding fathers. It has evolved and increased greatly over time. And that's not isolated to which party or who is president. As of today we see executive orders being written on an unprecedented level pushing the boundaries of the constitution and being overturned in our courts.

I'm certainly not going to say that I agree with everything they stand for. Yet I do understand when one side goes off the rails you will get a pushback that goes off the rails as well in reaction to that.

And that's where we are now. Extremism is taking over on both sides and we are all worse off for it. Surely you must have seen something like this coming in response.

Big money QBs make plays that win games or close-out games...big money DEs should do that as well...but realistically less-often.

My memory of MG will be much more of him jumping offside on 3rd/4th and short...and getting 2+ sacks in games that were essentially blowouts...rather than frequent plays that impacted the outcome of the game.

The Ravens might have the most talent, but we'll see how Minter does in his first year.


It feels like the Bengals better figure things out on D and the OL before Burrow is wasted

My daughter just received a PhD.

Her dissertation was on large scale AI integration and scalable AI integration.

She built her own AI to handle her intellectual property at UGA.

I have begun messing around with it and it blows my mind. I feel like I am living the future.

I came from when people sold encyclopedias door to door.

IMO he was one of the truly great actors.

Even when he had small roles like in Sling Blade. He made a mark.

He had a way to capture the essence of the role.

Tender Mercies was an incredible movie. It was like watching real life. The ability to be natural is what great actors do.

Great, they get free power from free solar panels.

It sounds like an effort to lower the high demand period when people come home from work and turn on lights and air conditioners. If it works and lessens the strain on the system great, though I still say it isn't "free".

What do you call it when the trump administration takes taxpayer money and invests roughly $26.7 billion across 30 equity or quasi-equity deals with private companies and corporations?

The U.S. government invested $27 billion in corporate stakes. Good luck finding them

The Trump administration has invested roughly $26.7 billion across 30 equity or quasi-equity deals, headlined by a 9.9% stake in chipmaker Intel that's now worth $42 billion.

Others include $400 million into rare-earth miner MP Materials to loosen China's grip on magnet supply chains, the "golden share" in U.S. Steel retained as a condition of its sale to Japan's Nippon Steel, or the flurry of stakes in quantum computing firms.

But with all that dealmaking, those wary of government's corruptive tendencies—and of President Donald Trump's own trading—might want to see some transparency. The portfolio, however, is nowhere to be found.

There is no consolidated ledger of the government's holdings; the stakes sit scattered across at least four agencies: 17 deals through Commerce, seven through Defense, six through the Development Finance Corporation, two through Energy. Only one of those, the Development Finance Corporation, has clear statutory authority to own equity at all, under a framework Congress built in 2018 for development deals abroad.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fortune's request for comment. A Treasury spokesperson said agencies report equity interests "in different ways" depending on the legal authority behind each stake.

Some of the "stakes" are signed agreements, while others, including nine quantum computing deals Commerce announced in a single week, remain more ambiguous, closer to term sheets. The most complete public accounting of Washington's portfolio is kept by the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.

"The deals that have been announced to date are only the tip of the iceberg," Jonathan Hillman, the Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow who maintains that tracker, told Fortune, "and the real test will be whether Washington can build a system to effectively manage its growing portfolio of investments over the long run."

The best-documented stake in the portfolio is the biggest one. Intel's August 2025 securities filings name the shareholder: the United States Department of Commerce, counterparty to a "Warrant and Common Stock Agreement" covering 433.3 million shares at $20.47 apiece. It's a passive stake, with no board seat or information rights, and the government has agreed to vote with Intel's board on most matters.

Yet some aspects of the deal, in the filings, look strange. Roughly two-thirds of the shares were delivered to Commerce when the deal closed; the rest sit in escrow to be released as Intel hits milestones under a Pentagon chip program, meaning a slice of the government's marquee holding is not yet in the government's hands. The claw-back and profit-sharing provisions attached to Intel's earlier $2.2 billion CHIPS Act grant were also eliminated. Grants have strings that these stocks don't.

In addition, ethics filings revealed that accounts held in the president's own name began buying Intel in March, months after his administration's stake sent the stock soaring. No insider trading has been alleged, and the White House says his assets sit in a trust managed by his children; but Trump's personal holdings are unprecedented for the modern presidency.

For the government's stakes in private companies—such as Vulcan Elements, xLight, and others—no public securities filings with the SEC exist at all.

Even where the shares can be found, the money is tricky to follow. Federal budget rules, mostly designed for grants and loans, treat an equity purchase as an outlay—money out the door—with very little mechanism for recognizing what comes back, according to research by William Henagan, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. That means the Intel position's rise from $8.9 billion to $42 billion appears in no budget document.

The Development Finance Corporation, established by Congress in 2018 to make equity investments abroad, is one exception. But the framework has a narrow lens: it was designed for financing ports in developing countries. Yet now it is the closest thing Washington has to a legal template for owning chipmakers.

A DFC spokesperson told Fortune it records its equity postions as investment assets and manages the ownership on a case-by-case basis.

The federal government has held corporate equity at scale once before, and it did so under supervision. The Troubled Asset Relief Program, the $700 billion rescue fund Congress created in October 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, came with a statutory special inspector general who filed quarterly reports to Congress, plus a congressional oversight panel and standing GAO audits to boot.

But even that apparatus was judged insufficient: in 2009, the program's own inspector general told Congress that taxpayers weren't being told what recipients were doing with their money.

Today's sprawling portfolio has none of that. The administration, for its part, has never claimed otherwise; it has hinted the stakes are the start of something bigger.

"It's like a down payment on a sovereign wealth fund, which many countries have," Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC after the Intel deal was announced.

https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/u-government-invested-27-billion-120000768.html

This was obvious all along but it's still quite surprising they would openly admit it. Which begs to question....


............... if they are willing to openly admit to this, what in the hell are they trying to hide in the discovery process?

Money money money money… money


I don’t think he has cared to this point, but now he’s playing for a contract. My hope is that his arm remains sore, he is limited in training camp and Monken sets him aside.

Let’s get ready for the season with Shedeur and see what happens.