Guard Dog

The Patriots have bought Tom Brady a new weapon: Brandin Cooks from the Saints. They gave up a 1st & 3rd in the dradt to do it. Not a bad return for New Orleans who really are coming up on a rebuilding season or two: http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/saints-trade-wr-brandin-cooks-to-patriots-for-1st-and-3rd-round-picks/ar-AAo7Ou2?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

I cancelled my vacation plans for next week. My dog Tommy is under the weather.

22 days to go with Jim Palmer And last year's AL Cy Young winner Rick Porcello

Now this is something. The Texans trade Orsweiler to the Browns and had to throw in a 2nd round pick to pay them to take out the trash. All the Texans got in return was to swap comp picks. And of course they got rid of a problem.

It's no secret I don't hold law enforcement officers in particularly high regard. Here is yet another reason why: http://wncn.com/2017/03/09/nc-police-sergeant-tells-man-to-stop-recording-him-due-to-imaginary-state-law/ So either the cop knows there is no such law and he's lying, or he has no clue about the laws he's been hired to enforce. The former is bad enough but the latter is utterly inexcusable.

The need to write a bigger check. That solves all land problems.

Cheap gas, in an economy wholly dependent on oil, is actually very good. That's what the "protecting our interests abroad" part in the US military readiness report WoD posted means. Otherwise a two war-capable military would make no sense -- unless you are the aggressor, you never need to fight more than one war simultaneously. Used to be wheat from Egypt, gold and silver from Bolivia and Mexico, etc. Now it's oil. If it weren't the US doing it, it would be someone else. Sucks for parents whose kids get blown to pieces by an IED and for homeless veterans crippled by PTSD, but hey, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. For what it's worth that "Two Simultaneous War" doctrine is a thing of the past. We stepped back from that in the 90's. The saddest part about what you just said here is everything in the ME that people fight over can be had right here in the Western Hemisphere in equal abundance if we could just get out of our own way.

Are you asking if I want the Kurds to have there own region? I would like them to but you also have to realistic, Turkey wont give up parts of there country. This is just not going to happen, Turkey is an important strategic country in the region and we need to recognize that I am not sure on what historical context the Kurds want parts of Turkey but its extremely unlikely any country will just give up parts of there sovereign territory So lets say hypothetically I controlled the military might of the USA I wouldnt get involved in the whole Turkey\Kurdish conflict because it would involve a bitter and violent outcome and Turkey is a friend of the West in certain ways Bennie nowadays when it comes to these interminable sectarian conflicts in the ME I believe the countries involved need to sort the issues out and the West should stay out It's more than that. Turkey is a member of NATO. An independent Kurdistan on their western border is a threat to them because the majority of the population in the eastern regions are ethnic Kurds. They are concerned, with some legitimacy, that and independent Kurd nation annexes part of Turkey at some point. You have to remember, Turkey may be "on our side" and it is a ittle better than than many of the other nations surrounding it but it is not an egalitarian republican state by any means. Blood, ethnicity, and religion count for a lot. Tribal loyalty supersedes any kind of national identity in that part of the world. That is an alien concept to most western nations nowadays. The whole invasion of Iraq was a gargantuan mistake. But keeping it a unified country afterwards only compounded it. Iraq was an artificial country constructed by the post-WWI reorganization of Asia by the allies. The different ethnic and religious factions hated each other and had been killing each other for centuries. The only thing that held them all together at first was the British and then Saddam and the Baathists then the US Military. Once that was gone they couldn't start fighting each other fast enough. George W Bush and his advisers were idiots. The really thought there was a little American inside ever Iraqi struggling to get out. There isn't. The smartest thing would have been to break it up into three independent nations. Or failing that a confederacy of three completely autonomous states. But the biggest roadblock to that option was Turkey.

100% opposed to sending Marines, or any other military asset into Syria. And I have been since the get-go seven years ago. If Russia wants to wade into that quagmire then let them. There are no "good guys" in that mess and the people you help today will be sending suicide bombers against you tomorrow. Beyond honoring our alliances with Turkey & Israel (like them or not they are alliances) the US has no business intervening in the middle east of far east. We've been doing it for seventy years and no good has come of it. Muslims love killing and oppressing other Muslims. Nothing you can do about that. The only thing to do is leave them to it to sort out themselves.

You know what would be a cool name for a burger joint? Robo-Burger. No humans, no cash, drive through or walk up only. No need to engage anyone in small talk and no one spits in your food. I can see it coming. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/03/09/genius-burger-flipping-robot-replaces-humans-first-day-work/

23 Days to go with Kirk Gibson. Although he was never considered one of the greats he is know for clutch home runs in the World Series. In the '84 series game 5 he sealed the Tigers championship with a 3 run homer in the 8th with runners on first and second. And then he did it again for the Dodgers in '88. In game one with LA trailing Oakland 4-3 in the 9th Tommy Lasorda sends Gibson in to face future hall of famer Dennis Eckersley who was one out away from saving the win. Gibson had a pulled hamstring in one leg and a swollen knee in the other but that wouldn't matter. Gibson sent an 3-2 down and away slider over the right field fence. Fifteen years later the LA times would call it the greatest moment in LA sports history which is amazing in a town with USC & the Lakers.

If Prescott does have a slump the worst thing they could do is bench him. Confidence is a fragile thing even in pro athletes. Best thing would be to let him work through it. He's either their QB or he isn't.

days to go. The best pure lead off hitter and base runner to ever play. And of course you can't mark 24 without "Say hey Willie Mays": I'd have gone with a David Price picture here too but it just sucks seeing him in a Red Sox uniform.

25 Days and who better to mark that than the home run king himself... Barry Bonds

I think they were a little unfair to Wired. It's really more a giant ad brochure for current technology rather than a news source for the theoretical or of broad interest. The don't really write about "science" other than tech trends whose commercial availability is either already here or is imminent.

So the military is 'unready' and you want to throw another 54 billion dollars at it, but our schools are 'nasty and dangerous' and so you want to take money away from them. Okey dokey. Can I get a voucher for sending money to a private security company? These guys get the job done: There are private schools, but no private military yet. Many people though hire private security when the police aren't doing enough. Private military might not be a bad idea, there was a story in some African country about 100 mercenaries doing more good than 15000 UN "peace keepers". You lost me on this one WoD. You should do a little reading about Odoacer and his foederati infantry of the 6th Century before wishing for something like that. The security and defense of the nation and the integrity of the borders is the first duty of any government. Contractors and mercenaries have their uses but they should never be relied on as the first line of defense.

How about this for an upset. Israel defeats South Korea 2-1 in extras to start the WBC. http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/israel-stuns-south-korea-with-upset-win-to-open-2017-world-baseball-classic/ar-AAnTyRx?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

26 days to go. Billy Williams, 6X All Star, Rookie of the Year, Batting Champion, Hall of Famer and the last Cub to ever wear the number 26.

I found this pretty interesting. Quality of journalism is a somewhat subjective standard but accuracy of journalism seldom is. Realclearscience.com has ranked science news sources by accuracy and quality. Some of the results are surprising, some are not. I am glad to see my magazine of choice National Geographic was in the top category: http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2017/03/06/ranked_the_best__worst_science_news_sites.html

I say we put all left extremists, all violent Nazis and all violent religious fundamentalists just together on one field in the middle of no where and let them do their thing I'd buy a ticket to watch.

Yet again words fail the intellectual left: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/violence-breaks-out-at-pro-trump-rally-in-berkeley/ar-AAnNzBJ?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

days left. The man on the left is Craig Swan, the best pitcher you've never heard of. Twice he led the NL in SO, and ERA and in '78 finished with a 2.43. But the Mets were just terrible then so his record was 9-6 and got no love for the Cy Young. The man on the right needs no introduction to Dodgers fans and haters.... Matt Kemp

I think the only reason I read this thread anymore is to follow this snappy repartee between Hurlshot and WoD.

F-----g Grizzlies. When you play a bad team you are supposed to beat them. Especially with the season winding down. There is just a 7 game difference between the 2nd & 7th seeds in the West. Forget first, GSW has already run away with that. The problem with the Grizzlies is they play to the level of their competition. They go out a dominate Denver and Phoenix then lose to the Pacers, Mavs and Pelicans. Unless you are playing the Nets you don't get a night off in the NBA. Every team can beat you.

Sorry but you are way off here. If the law favors the majority over a minority the judiciary (acting properly) will follow the law. And vice versa. I probably should not have said primary, but if that law violates the constitutional rights of a minority, it is the judiciary's responsibility to challenge the law. Now I am now lawyer, so I totally could be talking out my butt, but that has always been my impression. Isnt that part of the whole rock paper scissors government we have? 3 branches with checks and balances? Sure if the Constitutional Rights of any ​party are violated by another. Of if any party is harmed by the extra legal activity of another then the judiciary has a responsibility to uphold the law. That is the whole idea of "equal protection". Of course there have been many times they have not. Just ask Dred Scott, Carrie Buck, or Susan Kelo. But if the law favors the "evil corporation" over the "benighted and oppressed minority" then the judiciary has a duty to act on the behalf of the "evil corporation" if theirs is the legally sound position.