Middle Buffalo

I was watching the Lakers/Celtics 30 for 30 (good doc by the way), and I saw that there's going to be a 30 for 30 podcast starting this month. Should be worth a listen.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jun 23, 2017 -> 07:36 AM) Obviously I am not a Trump supporter, but I really wish he would figure out this Presidency thing. Reagan, probably suffering from Alzheimer's, was able to present a solid public profile to the nation and the world. Why can't Trump be corralled even a little bit? Arrogance?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 23, 2017 -> 01:19 PM) When you want people dead as many in our world do today, it's past the realm of hope. It is going to take a lot to reverse course. Show me an example of America coming together at any time besides natural disasters (quakes, tornadoes) or horrific crimes (9-11). The Olympics, World Cup, William Hung,....

I've heard and read in different places recently that "the ball is juiced" this year. Heard radio show hosts suggest it. Have read it on message boards and in the comments below articles. Are we falling for this again? Aren't people suspicious of PEDs again? I am. I don't know that I'll ever trust athletic accomplishments again.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jun 18, 2017 -> 07:01 PM) I started mis***ting so many shots thin and to the right. It's a good thing this site has a vulgarity filter. I can't believe they let you coach kids with a mouth like this. You think you're Bobby Knight or something?

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jun 18, 2017 -> 11:09 AM) They both have no movement clauses. Would have to give permission to be left unprotected See, I told you I wasn't paying attention.

List is out. Not sure why they'd protect Seabrook or Hossa, but I haven't paid much attention to the rules of this draft. https://www.secondcityhockey.com/2017/6/18/...ckhawks-players

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 17, 2017 -> 08:44 PM) So do agree with the proposed $1 trillion infrastructure plan (most is disguised as hybrid govnt/private projects that are profit oriented, like tollways or bridges)....to create/stimulate the growth of jobs with $15-25 wages for qualified American workers? No. I don't like the idea of privatization of our roads/bridges, etc. The government should maintain control of these. By the way, in your initial post on this construction subject, it didn't include the part of the article that stated that Martinez' workers typically work 15 hour days 6 or 7 days a week. Tell me they're not being exploited. No way they are getting overtime pay. And no way Martinez is reporting his true payroll.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jun 17, 2017 -> 06:58 PM) Jones - he hath been on the DL since what... April? Yep, I was editing while you typed this. I just don't think they should focus on the max they can get for Q or DRob. Throw in another veteran with the idea that it doesn't matter if we "win" the trade. We just want a number 1 prospect.

Sox should be packaging DRob with Jones to pull the best prospects from a team. Same thing with Q. Don't worry so much about getting multiple prospects at this point, just offer enough to get the best prospects from other teams. So, Q and Jones for.... Or Frazier and Jones for.... just focus on getting the top prospect, not a haul of players.

I don't know if what he's doing this year is legit, but he wouldn't be the first 26 year old to finally put it all together. I'd want something legit in return.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 17, 2017 -> 06:07 PM) Just taking advantage of the system, like our President has stated many times. Okay, let's imagine every single illegal immigrant has been forcibly evicted from Texas back to Mexico...a huge need for skilled construction workers will still exist. You are Republican, so you disagree with a "livable" guaranteed wage of $15 per hour, right? What are you going to do about distortion in the market, with not enough local workers willing to work for prevailing wages? Should the government step in and subsidize salaries? Give incentives for relocation from other regions of the state? Wouldn't a Republican argue that these construction businesses should all close, if a similar quality of, let's say cement, could be made in Mexico for 1/2 the price? If there's a surplus of jobs, local workers (with close to full employment) won't agree to work for those "sub standard" wages, then what? So do you 1) let companies fail, 2) allow for legal immigrants from other places to take those jobs or 3) intervene into the market and sudsidize the wages of "local" American workers? Or do you force those who are on semi disability, EIC recipients, Medicaid beneficiaries to take those jobs...or have a government program to train them? Shouldn't the business be responsible for the cost of apprenticeship? (Who know what Trump thinks, he just proposed a $200 million apprenticeship program we will never hear about again.) I don't know where to start since you asked so many questions. - Trump is a terrible person who will do say/anything for personal gain. I won't defend him, but hiring and exploiting illegals is not taking advantage of "the system." - I'm not a Republican - The market will correct when wages increase enough to draw Americans and legal immagrants to the work. iIf deportation leads to a lack of available workers, construction projects would have to cease until there is an available work force to complete the work. Offering higher wages might compel Americans to move to fill the jobs - say from Louisiana to Texas. The government does not need to incentivize this. It would be no different than people who have immagrated to this country for years because of the opportunities available here. - I don't think the government should subsidize private business construction projects.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 17, 2017 -> 05:40 PM) But it's not irrelevant to the labor market that exists today in the US, at this exact moment in time... So, you're saying it's ok for business (small & Walmart sized) to exploit the labor force? Ok. I guess I disagree.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 17, 2017 -> 04:58 PM) How is that any different from Wal-Mart? Let's not forget the premium that wage represents compared to wages in Mexico...it's the same reason the majority of most skilled Filipinos seek work in other countries, legally or not. The point remains if all those smaller construction companies can't stay in business...the larger ones might enjoy economy of scale, but they're still going to struggle to retain contracts if non-Mexican labor isn't interested in those jobs. Basically, it's about the forces of capitalism and supply and demand. We don't blame insurance companies for pulling out of markets when they can't make enough profit...we blame Obama or liberal Democrats instead of the real answer, which is greed and hyper profit orientation. If that boss raised wages 25-50%, he would lose out on contracts...obviously small town grocery stores in the face of competition didn't raise wages, either, they cut back on labor and pushed workers to do 50% more for the exact same salary. This is the way it has been for decades with immigrant labor in America...whether it's fair or right or legal/illegal, both parties adopted this compromise. There probably isn't a Congressman who hasn't employed an illegal/undocumented worker for a lower salary, lol. Martinez said that Americans couldn't handle the precise, difficult work. That's what I quoted. I quoted that portion of your post because it is nonsense. It is all about him wanting to pay illegals less than the minimum wage - which itself is not a livable wage for a skilled laborer. And, even if an illegal laborer is making more in the US than he could in his own country, he is still living in the US when he is earning that wage. So, it's irrelevant if it's more than he could make in Mexico or wherever.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 17, 2017 -> 02:15 PM) Martinez, who relies on immigrants in the U.S. illegally for labor and has failed to find replacements for the physically grueling, precise work. "The Americans I hire can't last in this job more than half a day," Martinez said. This is nonsense. He wants to be able to keep exploiting illegals by not paying a livable wage. If his business tanks, he should just take a job as a drywall laborer making whatever he paid his workforce. I'm sure he's a skilled and hard worker. Plenty of jobs available in the capital city, too.

I'd say I'm an independent ideally. I'm more left minded socially and right minded fiscally. Like you, however, I've voted heavily in favor of Democrats. I have voted for some Republicans, though. I know I have voted for McCain and Arpaio (years ago before he changed to a primarily anti-illegal immagration candidate - which I felt he only did to stoke fear and get re-elected). Ultimately, I feel identifying as an independent is a bit of a cop out since we don't have many viable third party candidates. So, I really doubt that "independents" truely consider both candidates when voting. I'd guess that very few independents have anything close to a 50/50 Dem/Rep voting record. And, if the people in power in the two parties vote along party lines all the time, there is no point in a voter being an independent. It's a waste of time to consider a candidate issue by issue if ultimately he or she is just going to vote with party in the end.

In admonishing Bill Maher for using the N-word, Ice Cube said he knew Maher would screw up some day because sometimes Maher sounds "like a redneck trucker." So, I guess it's ok for a black guy to refer to a white guy as a redneck? Seems a little hypocritical to me. I'm sure someone will come on and educate me about the historical significance of the N-word now. It's not necessary. I get it. But, for the record, "redneck" is not exactly a term of endearment, so people who aren't white probably shouldn't be throwing it around.

QUOTE (gosoxgo2005 @ May 3, 2017 -> 04:50 PM) Appreciate the advice. We do think we've improved, but there are miles of improvements to be made. We're both type A hard ass idiots, so the talking over each other thing is something that will be hard, but also something we absolutely have to work on. Again, we love hearing this kind of stuff because we want you guys to have a good experience listening for an hour twice a week and the better it is for you, the better it is for us on our end. Thanks for listening! In the coming weeks we will start having more away team guests on, as well as more front office people. Zack Burdi is gonna come on as well once he gets called up. Lot of good stuff lined up I finally listened to the BA interview (and one other). He was a really good guest. It really seems like BA's immaturity cost him a career. Sounds like he didn't prepare or listen very well. That said, at least he owned it in this interview. I still think he deserved more of a chance with the Sox, but his lack of preparation probably was a factor in him not playing more. The one thing I'd suggest is less swearing from the hosts. I'm not offended by it, but it's not really necessary. It makes for a less polished sounding podcast. It's good to have a Chicago sports-centric podcast. Keep it up.

For the sake of this argument, let's say Addison Russell cheated one time and never again and got someone pregnant. He apologized, and they agreed to work on their relationship and stay together. Let's also say he lost his temper and hit his wife one time in front of his kids and never again. He apologized, and they agreed to work on their relationship and stay together. Which event would weigh more heavily on his wife's mind over the next 18 years? My guess is that the constant reminder that your spouse is a cheater is pretty hard to move on from, especially when there is an out of wedlock child and your spouse travels regularly as part of his job. i agree that constant physical abuse is probably more damaging, but I don't know that the other situation should be dismissed because it really depends on the circumstances and individuals involved. In either case, my hope is that the abused person finds the strength to get away from the bad situation. Also, since it's just an allegation, it's probably not fair to speculate about the abuse in regard to Addison Russell.

QUOTE (Sox-35th @ Jun 8, 2017 -> 06:26 PM) Maybe, but violence is significantly more damaging. The mental effects of being physically harmed and fearing physical harm from your spouse is one of the worst traumas we can face. Adultery, again, is NOT on the same level of deplorability as domestic violence. This is the real world. We are adults. He did mention health risks. So, if you are particularly reckless (or really unlucky), you could expose your partner to countless diseases. You could also end up with an child out of wedlock. That's a lifetime reminder of your infidelity. Obviously physical spousal abuse and cheating are much different, but emotional scars are still scars.

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Jun 8, 2017 -> 03:02 PM) Rabbit, you are a guy who consistently states that he has no political affiliation. I am genuinely curious to hear how you feel about Comey's testimony as it applies to Donald Trump. Agreed. It would be interesting and informative to hear how someone who is independent viewed the testimony. I don't think raBBit addressed il08's request above.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jun 8, 2017 -> 12:40 PM) The major factual errors, to put it nicely, coupled with essentially accusing Comey of committing perjury is pretty striking. Facts don't matter. Sadly, I'm not even kidding. It's out there, and the Fox News types will run with it and keep repeating it. But, decidedly not "fake news."

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 8, 2017 -> 11:53 AM) I'm sure many of you (not saying you unless you confirm it) can't see the hypocrisy in the Comey situation. Before election: Comey EVIL for what he did to Hillary; after election "that Comey seems like a great guy." Or, possibly Comey learned from the HC situation that it's in everyone's best interests that he doesn't comment publicly about an ongoing investigation. He was doing his job to reopen the investigation, but announcing it may have overstepped his duties, and, in fact, his actions re: HC might have impacted the election, whether they were politically motivated or not. That experience may have informed Comey's response and actions when Trump asked Comey to announce that Trump was not being investigated. Comey explained that it is not a good idea - basically because the investigation was still ongoing. It can be both things, Greg. Remember, leaks were good when they were about HC (Trump). Bad when about Trump (Trump). Do you see the hypocrisy?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 8, 2017 -> 11:45 AM) That's a great post, great great take. All I'm hearing first was what a terrible person Comey is for ruining the election for Hillary. Bad bad Comey. Now all I'm hearing is how great Comey is for having the power to take down evil Trump. Good good Comey. John McCain checks in....

Miscounted the days I'm on vacation. Came up a day short on socks. Have to get a second day out of a pair.