The Beast

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 10, 2017 -> 02:42 PM) Don't discount all the kids who were brainwashed by their Boomer parents who then turned around and brainwashed their kids. And I feel that it's mostly a rural/exurban vs. urban/suburban dynamic in play where generational impacts may not be as pronounced going forward. I'm glad you and Steve brought this up because I do hope this is the last stand for people who are racists, against the LGBT community, who refuse to retrain in something when their industry is dead or is dying and for some baby boomers who did what you and him both brought up. I was thinking the other day how I hoped the old people in congress would be phased out with progressive leaders who actually work together across the aisle and compromise. And I hope that racism and discrimination becomes eradicated in the next generation. Plus, I would hope that old industries become obsolete with automation and the next generation becomes educated to the point where those who don't adapt will be forced to adapt or fall behind. I think that is logical, but if that is too liberal, I am sorry.

So...now do the Dems fillibuster to just keep the court at 8 justices? Would the vote go 5-4 in favor of the Travel Ban?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 4, 2017 -> 10:09 AM) Anyone who lives in a town that was decimated by the mortgage crisis and the recession should be up in arms about what's going on with these regulations. But most likely they won't because, you know, the Bible is back. Shouldn't a lot of people be pissed for the amount of money they lost during that time and not just on housing but their investments? I was in school at that time and my parents said a lot of people were losing money then, even those who played fairly.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 3, 2017 -> 12:32 PM) Not that I think Hillary is equal to Trump but I question her decision making when she had Kaine as her VP. He's voted yes on all of Trump's cabinet picks so far. Spineless. Her pick for VP was an odd choice, I would have thought she would have selected someone different. Hopefully next time they get both candidates right to stop the re-election of Mr. Trump.

Gillibrand could be the one who the dems push forward as the nominee in 2020. Who knows? It's just a thought but she might fare better than Clinton.

Nice to see a judge in Washington stand up to this bulls*** EO. Now the DHS is suspending the travel ban - maybe they are sending it to congress for a vote, or they are trying to "legal proof" it before announcing its new implementation?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 2, 2017 -> 06:56 PM) Anyone to the left of Pence has been labled as a Liberal by a certain poster that set of this discussion. I guess a lot of posters are liberal then!

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 2, 2017 -> 05:13 PM) Im guessing we are talking about things like govt paid for college, universal health care, etc. Those are things that Democrats may support, but are not necessarily deal breakers. I'm really not sure who the far left is from reading this thread. Something about Shaun Hill and them not supporting Hillary? If far left is a new term, I just want to be able to define it.

What is the far left and how are they different than "a liberal" or just your average democrat?

I think they'll confirm him and maybe negotiate for something else. With an aging court, I bet he gets at least one, if not two more picks. One would be OK, but two more could be a huge shift for decades to come. If there's any lawyers out there who can confirm for me that settled case law can not be overturned, I won't worry. But if that's not the case, I think lots of people should be concerned by the make up of the court going forward.

QUOTE (Con te Giolito @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 10:12 PM) Right, especially with a new administration that is working off an electoral mandate to stop and reassess our vetting process. Anyone who thought Trump would be a 3rd term for Obama and is absolutely incensed and outraged that it isn't, like all those people at Terminal 5 (fyi I have been to Terminal 5 like 10 times since Sunday and haven't seen anything more than the barricades...so who knows), I gotta ask what you were expecting? With all due respect, who thought Trump would be a 3rd term for Obama? Or do you mean we wouldn't expect someone who would rattle the cages too much?

So, I didn't realize that quite a few of the Supreme Court Justices were rather old and that Kennedy and Bader Ginsburg were that old. I had heard an opinion that Democrats shouldn't disrupt the confirmation of the new Supreme Court Justice - but it doesn't seem like there's much they can do. It's too bad Obama didn't get to confirm his and the potential picks Trump may have over the course of his term or terms may shift the balance of the court for decades to come. Hopefully they don't overturn too many established social issues.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 01:31 PM) A real problem is that our current "labels" dont really fit most people well. I used to say I was more fiscally conservative, but after this election I dont even know what fiscal conservative means anymore. There used to be some good in both parties being counter-balances, but now it seems to just be about power. Whoever is in power wants to expand the federal govt to enforce their agenda, whoever isnt in power tries to check it. Nobody wants to work with the other side because they seemingly fear that they wont get re-elected. We all have different ideas/opinions, but we should all agree that our government should be doing what it can to make life better for the most people. Whether thats more govt/less govt, whatever. But this whole "Im taking my ball and going home" routine has gotten old. I am not going to get into who started it, but when Republican's dont even bother to vote on a Supreme Court judge, they have to expect that there will be some sort of counter-response. Its almost as if we need a movement to vote out every incumbent. Just to put the fear back into them. I just try to keep it very basic for people. I voted democratic in the general election three times for president, one time of which was because I didn't (and don't) like Trump or his policies. I thought Obama did a decent job with what he was handed and felt the republicans obstructed him in the last term big time. I supported Obamacare but felt the implementation was off. I'm not huge on spending money elsewhere when our infrastructure needs it here, but I think we still need to work with other countries. I don't like spending money like Madigan does in Illinois and voted for Rauner. I think there should be a path to citizenship and don't care about illegal or legal immigrants as long as they pay taxes (they are working jobs Americans don't want anyway). So maybe I'm a progressive based on that. I would agree with you when you say labels don't fit most people well. That's why I've grown tired of people just throwing the word "liberal" around like a bad label since many of us don't fit just democrat or republican as a label. And I would agree about the Supreme Court Justice point as well as voting out incumbents. There's a lot of people in there who need to get out...if I didn't do my job I wouldn't get paid or fired and some members of congress almost make double of what I make.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 10:01 AM) I agree. At the end of the day a lot of reasonable moderates and Republicans are getting lumped with the Trump Train. These are people who will play a large role in how our country moves forward. 2 years from now they are going to be the people that could make a change. Trump made promises about jobs, about the economy etc, and some voters saw the "good" in those ideas and didnt necessarily believe all of the potential "bad" about Trump. Its only been approximately 2 weeks, but as of now, Trump has been focusing on the ideas that, I believe, most moderates consider "bad", while a the same time completely ignoring other issues that seemed "good". And I truly believe this is where his inexperience and lack of understanding the system come into play. The election was a battle, he came out on top, but he should have started with some sort of conciliatory position to blunt the opposition. Then over time you slowly drop the sledgehammer. When I say moderate though it is only because I'm fiscally conservative and more liberal minded. Progressive if you will...kind of like Mark Kirk but voting for both democrats and republicans. We really need the army who doesn't agree with Trump to get going in the midterms and fight back so that when 2020 comes around, another candidate can step forward and try to win back the presidency (even though I think it is unlikely).

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 11:26 PM) How does attacking his point of view further your cause? I think his question is perfectly reasonable, how do moderates fit into Trump's universe? And that is really a group who can make a difference. He said he was going to be a president for all Americans - I haven't seen how he's been one for me or people that I know yet. My question was reasonable - right now, they don't fit into his universe. Here's the Goff and Bernstein clip I talked about. Start listening at the 1:55 mark, where they get to talking about Steve Kerr's comments and an escalated caller comes in. What's important is that we can have discussions of civility, respect and tolerance - something I haven't seen done in every day life recently.

Slightly off topic, but Goff and Bernstein had an epic call with some dude named Tony today who went off on them for talking current events instead of sports. He was a clear supporter of the recent executive action on the immigration ban and was very escalated. They sliced and diced his argument in a matter of minutes. It's too bad that so many people say they should stick to sports and they are immediately deemed as liberals when they were just fostering a discussion about something on everyone's mind on a slow sports day.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 09:00 PM) We're turned into a banana republic. Thank you to everyone who voted for this idiot. I think he'll do just enough to get re-elected, thanks to his base that don't care about the facts and instead feed on the garbage he and Spicer spew on a daily basis. There's a lot of time to see what happens, but if the democrats don't do well in the 2018 midterms, it's going to be difficult to get him out of office in 2020. Plus, all presidents since Clinton have had two terms. Also, what is Trump going to do for moderate college educated white guys like me?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 11:44 AM) The midterm election is 2018 is going to be one of the most important in a long time for this country. I just hope people actually go out and vote and participate. Since I live in Illinois and I don't know that my vote really matters in my district, should I reach out to the Democratic Township to make calls to other states or do townships just do outreach locally? I'm an independent but there's no way I'm helping Mr. Trump.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jan 28, 2017 -> 09:43 PM) Im not an immigration attorney, but if anyone knows someone or is affected by this, feel free to pm me. I will not charge anything and I will provide any advice assistance I can. To those of you who I used to have respect for, who always told me that they were libertarians, whatever, who said that they shouldnt be lumped in. Now is the time to be heard. For those who dont have other Americans backs, I am taking names and I will hold you accountable. How can the average American man help the legal system? Donate to the ACLU? Pay legal fees for immigrants? Just curious.

Well, if the rumored three way trade fell apart and we are going into the season with Quintana, I hope he stays healthy and they deal him for a haul before the deadline. That's all we can hope for from a risk perspective.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 26, 2017 -> 10:47 AM) By the way, all the marching and yelling is good, but if you want to get the most bang for your buck, it's three simple things: 1. Get involved in community organzations 2. Vote 3. RUN FOR OFFICE I mean, look at the candidates being run out there. Look at the 2016 Illinois House and Senate races - in half of them, someone ran unopposed. Seriously - in a state that is the massive fiscal disaster that Illinois is, neither party can find enough candidates to run for the f***ing Congressional seats! If I wanted to move to Mike Madigan's precinct and run against him, how long would I have to live there? Do people in his precinct actually think he's doing a good job and vote him in or is there poor turnout?

Mark Cuban.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 20, 2017 -> 01:49 PM) Not so sure the Dems have one. Bernie and Joe will be too old. Corey Booker? Kirsten Gillibrand, Booker, Kamala Harris or John Hickenlooper.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 18, 2017 -> 10:30 AM) Hahn has already said due to market demand or lack thereof, trading away assets for the rebuild could take the rest of this year. I think Frazier is gone by the deadline and if Melky hits like Melky he might be too. That leaves Robertson which if he pitches well could be gone by the deadline or next winter. Bottom line is Hahn can't force teams to trade for the players he wants to trade. I agree with on KW. If he was running the rebuild there probably would be a bit more out there but Hahn is extremsly quiet when it comes to leaking info. Fair enough, where was RH quoted saying the first thing you said? (I trust that he said it.)

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 18, 2017 -> 09:46 AM) Why? Because of impatience? Seriously, this is going to be a long 5 years for you. Because I hope someone has the guts to ask actual questions instead of the typical BS. He won't spill anything but at least we could see what he says about the reports we have. Or we can just continue to sit and speculate as we have in the last four threads...I am patient with losing but I do want to see moves continue to be made.