LTS

Welcome to the board.. The continued escalation of "wielding power" is the problem. Each cycle the party in charge will seek to enact more and more extreme legislation and thus force people further and further apart. Our entire existence, and I don't just mean within the United States, is based on balance. Balance comes not from rocking things to their extremes but by finding ways to keep things in the middle. What you prescribe would see each side rocking the proverbial boat until there's a point where it cannot be righted. The tipping point as it were. When all occupants of the boat are dumped into the water, causing chaos. As a society, we're being pushed further and further from that middle Whether it's left or right, rich or poor.. the middle has been eroded. Why? Because no one likes the middle, it's boring. The middle does not sell well. The middle, average, whatever way you phrase it is not acceptable in this country. The concept that the "winning" party has the right to destroy the losers is the mentality we see in the Middle East. No one should be "rounding up" Trump supporters or making lists. The entire concept of "putting people on lists" invokes images of times that should never be repeated in the existence of humanity.

Maybe I am incorrect.. but if he stays in Rochester he doesn't have to be protected right? I would imagine that's why a bunch of middling D were signed to 1 year deals. Borgen may be worth a shot, but he's not a bona fide roster player yet. As such, the better play is to keep him in the AHL.

Yes.. it's not surprising a contagious disease spreads in groups of people. Frankly, Mr. Darwin would applaud those not wearing masks and taking preventative measures as they are increasing their odds of selecting themselves out of the gene pool. If masks and hygiene are effective then you don't need lockdowns. If they are not effective, then you need to put everyone in their own biosphere. If the government wanted to put rules in place that really made a difference, why not just implement $5k fines for anyone not wearing a mask in public, except when allowed to be removed? That would be far more effective than closing bars at midnight and reducing tables to no more than 4 people. Two examples of restrictions placed by the government that have no impact on reality. Hell, make it $50k for all I care. Just stop screwing with people's lives with regards to living life.

Perhaps you shouldn't be looking to Trump or Biden? Thinking that Trump was interested in pulling the country together is definitely an interesting belief you had. The guy has always existed for himself. The fact that Republicans then caved to him said all I ever needed to know about their entire party. I can't find a defense of voting for Trump. Willingly doing so was saying "I support hatred, bigotry, and racism." over anyone else and what they might bring to the table. The country did not fall apart the 8 years Obama was in office, despite what people want others to believe. It did not fall apart when Bush or Clinton or Reagan were in office. For what it's worth, if you don't want to live in a world where being a white man is deemed oppressive, then perhaps you should not vote for white men who represent and spout those oppressive ideals every chance they get. Your view points here really are in line with the old, white dude mentality. You don't want to accept change. You want everyone to stay where they are and deal with things. The Eat the Rich BS happened before... it's kind of what led to this country. The whole taxation without representation, royal families owning the land and forcing peasants to work for them and not make their own way. You do want people to abandon their culture. You want immigrants to come here and be American. imagine if the Irish had done, or the Italians, or the British, or the French, or really any of the other immigrant families that originally came here. I bet the Native Americans would have really loved it if those cultures had not just shown up and taken over. Mexicans should be proud of their heritage. It's their right to take over the South Western states, if they choose to live there and have entered the country legally. The law of the land once said black people were property and women had no rights. Imagine if everyone had continued to conform to those laws of the land? People come to America, not to fundamentally change America, but to have a chance they did not have elsewhere. You are free to leave this country to find your way elsewhere as well. Do you think the people in the Middle East loved when the US showed up and interfered in their politics? When our country caused wars to happen to further business interests there? Do you think the Japanese loved the infiltration of Western culture? The Chinese? I mean, the things I am referencing happened much more recently than the 600+ year ago battles between Ottomans, Goths, Turks, etc. What is an American belief anyway? Honestly, how could you define it without reaching back into history into one of the many different cultures that have settled here over time? You can't. Immigrants have every right to come here and impose their ideas because welcome them into the country, as we always have, with the expectation that here, in the United States, we can blend all cultures together to create a better place. Everything you have said above is against that concept.

Frankly, what you are presented with in media and online is not necessarily the grand opinion of medical professionals. I doubt ANY of us are capable of having a widespread understanding of how they feel on the subject. I know a few medical professionals who share the opinion that lockdowns, etc. are nothing more than placebo for the masses and do just as much damage as COVID does. They believe in the safety protocols, but the lockdowns are garbage. They don't share those opinions openly because being derided and harassed by people is not something they want to take on given their already stressful lives. I know medical professional who disagree with their opinion as well. To pretend that anyone has the right answer is pure folly. Think of it this way. Despite all the safety measures, the protocols, etc. Cases are rising. Why? Are you going to pin on a few careless people or is it more likely that the safety protocols and lockdowns are not as effective? Well, at least not as they are right now. Certainly forcing everyone to live within their own sealed biosphere would be more effective, and I think that's really what those who oppose the lockdowns are getting at. How far do the lockdowns have to go to be as effective as people want them to be and at that point are people giving up too much of their freedom and thus being impacted psychologically and in other ways? Do you believe that the percentage of people who are against the lockdowns (and further increasing them) is roughly the same as the percentage of people who believe Martians live on the moon? Asking since you are relating the two.

Who keeps electing them?

Your clock is fine. The SSL certificate has expired and since its recent its basically telling you that the certificate MIGHT be right, so check your device time in case its wrong. In this case.. it's fine and the SSL certificate needs to be renewed. I am sure @SDS will get it done.

This is a particularly narrow take. You are associating the majority vote getter with the county being 100% for that candidate. 50.1-49.9 accomplishes a majority without there being a clear split. In the case of Erie County it appears to be ~204k to ~174k... a whopping 30k votes of separation.

To be fair... MODO is more than a handful. 🙂

Kids can be raised as jerks.. and I blame the parents and those who support that behavior. That said, events like this need to happen because it needs to be a punch in the face for every kid out there with dreams of the NHL that acting like an asshat in your teen years is going to come back to haunt you. One hopes that those who are currently being enabled by their parents and peers see this outcome and think twice about the way they are choosing to live day to day while they pursue their NHL dreams. I can't definitively say what life influences led this kid to act in such a way, but I wouldn't try to defend it anyway. Point is, he did these things, and now he's paying the price. Perhaps this motivates him to get more involved in organizations that work with children with developmental disabilities so he can truly understand the challenges they face. More importantly, I hope he sees just how amazing so many of them are and how their disability allows them to see life different from so many of us and through that can help others realize how they let trivial matters impede their quality of life. That's probably some poor grammar there at the end, but I hope my point comes across.

Is it really crap? I listened to a 16 year old tell me about all of his racist tendencies this past weekend without him ever knowing he was being racist or caring at the very least. I only had to look at the parents. People do tolerate forms of racism.. especially if that's the group you are in while growing up. One hopes that he does change or has changed, but it seems clear, from his words, that they were meant more to be polished than heartfelt and certainly failed to convey that he truly feels remorseful and changed over it.

I'm sincerely not trying to be disrespectful here. The situation sucks. But the government's response had nothing to do with the situation your office assistant faced. The odds are good that she would eventually be exposed and the odds are good that the virus would impact her in this way. That is part of life. She was treated, she had medical care, and this still occurred. Why does anyone think it would not have occurred with any different government response? People are hanging their hats on vaccines... something that has NEVER existed for a coronavirus and still does NOT exist for even the flu. But somehow, this time, there will be a vaccine. Which, I might add, if you look up the anecdotal stories on people's adverse reactions to flu shots, you can find stories similar to your co-workers. This is why anti-vaxxers exist, they glom onto those anecdotal events as some widespread conspiracy theory. There are billions of people on this planet and we are all different. Some of us are predisposed to being at risk to certain diseases, infections, etc. Some of us will naturally have high blood pressure. Some of us will naturally have terrible lungs. All of it bad for the person, but that's nature, and whether we choose to believe it or not, we are just highly evolved animals. None of that diminishes the situation for her and how much it sucks, but I read articles every day on the potential side effects of the virus. I'm not sure what's being covered up. The President is an idiot and he's proven his ignorance on pretty much every topic thrown at him. A cover up? Only the ignorant would believe that blowhole at this point and there's no fixing stupid.

Maybe.. I probably am okay with it. It's not a race thing however and you shouldn't make it that. It's certainly a monetary issue and there are definitely economical divides in the country that follow race lines, but hockey is not anti-black. It's anti-poor. Poor white kids also are not playing it. There are things in this world that are expensive... and those without money will not have access to them. Many of those things are far more important than hockey.. and many are far less important. That's just how life goes.

The scope of "everyone" is not based on financial ability. that said.. HOCKEY can be for anyone, since you could play street hockey pretty cheap. If you focus on ice hockey, it's expensive. It's that simple. I get your passion, but you are telling others what they need to spend their money on. As much as I love hockey, if I were giving money to a program to help kids with financial restrictions its going to go towards items that aid in their education. Playing hockey does squat for that. Education is the key to long term improvement in financial opportunities. Convince college scouts and talent evaluators to stop focusing on elite tournaments and you can fix that. Otherwise, you cannot. As I said, there are more people chasing the dream of sports and because of that it's harder for programs to find that talent amidst the thousands of town leagues. So, elite programs spring up to showcase those with talent. Those elite programs cost money because you pay the people to run them and coach them. One other major problem with hockey, compared to pretty much any other sport, is the need for a rink. Those don't just pop up anywhere like football fields, soccer pitches, and basketball courts. The fact that you recognize this is the perfect underscore of my point. People are not interested in helping out the greater good. They have their own financial priorities and would prefer to spend their money where they get benefit. This is exactly why you won't get what you are seeking. You blame people for this, but I think that's quite disingenuous. I mean, what If I suggested you should stop spending $5k on hockey and add $50 to your taxes to fund a program you didn't necessarily agree with or find valuable? You'd be in the same boat.

I agree.. and so the need for business trumps the need for protection. It's akin to locking all windows and your front door, but you leave the side door open. COVID-19 transmission doesn't stop just because you need to commute for work and those who commute don't have to quarantine. So the rules that bind one state do not bind another and that's the problem. It effectively makes all of the bans worthless. State A allows State B and State B allows state C.. ergo, State A allows State C. Nothing is protected.

Who is going to own the rink? A town that builds a hockey rink and maintains it does so at the expense of not spending money elsewhere. If money gets tight in the government the pressure will be to cut the unnecessary programs first. If the rink has no income and is only breaking even, how long do you think it will last? Schools cut arts and music before anything else. Sports would be next but they continue to drive booster support more than any other program but they still get cut. Even sports have a pecking order right? Football/Basketball/Soccer are the last to go. No one makes teams go to tournaments now. MyHockey operates a business and their business is to offer tournaments and people CHOOSE to go to them and they do so knowing they will have to stay in a sanctioned hotel.

Yes, but to NOT put the quarantine in place, even though it's not enforceable is basically giving the green light on crossing the border to everyone. I look at it like a travel ban during a winter storm. Is it enforceable? No. Do they still do it? Yes. Why? Because it discourages SOME to not engage in the behavior and should something happen there is at least some level of mandate to fall back on that says "You should not have been there." Of course that's only arguing for the quarantines and bans. I'm on the opposite side that their unwillingness to do it on the states where the most travel occurs is a good enough reason to not bother with the rest of the states. It's not like COVID-19 only comes from Arizona. So Sally in Delaware wanders into Philly and meets Joe from NYC. Boom.. Delaware has met NY. Those hockey teams are playing teams from border states too. So, the Baltimore Checkers wander on up to Pittsburgh for a tournament and play against the Rochester Ice Dogs... boom. Contact. Travel restriction be damned. Thus.. why bother having them at all?

Again who is to blame? The people running these "elite" programs that are trying to make a living? It's a business. We often joke about how professional sports is a business. Well, so is youth sports. You CAN play certain sports without spending a lot of money. You might never get anywhere... but you can play it. It's hard to fault people whose kids are talented for going to these specialty programs. The reason? Because so many people are chasing the professional sports dream or even the college scholarship dream that people are willing to spend insane amounts of money to give their kids the best chance. Yes, that will leave out those who cannot afford it. People send their kids to elite schools for all kinds of things. Yes, it favors those with money. What can you do about it? Are we to stand in the way of business and tell people "That's wrong"? I would agree. Things like that are great. Perhaps it starts with placing requirements on team owners when they want public money concessions for their stadiums that they are required to operate free to play programs in the city limits where they want their stadium. Of course that would not aid those in rural America.

Who is supposed to fix that problem? Frankly if I had $100k to give to a program to help those in poor areas it wouldn't go to a hockey rink. It would go towards building out affordable internet access and supplying technology to aid children in their learning. Hockey falls way down on the list. Hockey is expensive, that's just the way it goes. Someone has to foot the bill. I know a few of the hockey programs in Rochester have subsidized the expense of the league fees, etc. for some kids but they do so when they can and its only for the ice time, not equipment. If 100 children suddenly showed up there would be no way they could afford to subsidize that many kids.

That aside, you can still declare the quarantine restriction even if its not enforceable and you'd get some people who would abide by it. You will also get others who will ignore the non-essential travel suggestion. I know this, because I know a travel hockey team going to Pittsburgh this weekend to play a tournament. Which, by the way, is laughable, because within NYS they cannot play games. Teams from Buffalo and Rochester have been going to Erie, PA to play games. Think about that logic.

First note: This is not commentary on Cuomo other than he happens to be the governor of NY State and leads the state in applying the following logic. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-travel-advisory-requiring-14-day-quarantine This is why I have a problem with any concept of travel bans, shutdowns, etc. The state acknowledged that New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania meet the criteria to be on the ban list but are not placed on it due to the interconnected nature of commerce between those states. In other words, a lot of people need to travel between those states to maintain business. So, ideally, the travel bans come with the quarantine requirement. The travel ban excludes those who are in the banned state for more than 24 hours. Commuting into Pennsylvania would actually be a daily trip but you would be in the state for less than 24 hours and not required to quarantine anyway. At least that's how I read it. However, these states are not banned. So, instead, the states with high interstate travel remain off the list while states like Arizona which presumably see far less interstate travel are on the list. Fundamentally this is flawed logic in the effort to achieve protection of NY residents which is the purpose of these bans. Again, you can find these kinds of logic flaws and gaps in every state, county, nation. How can any shutdown/ban be touted as a safety measure without acknowledging that its a pipe dream that it has any impact. The selective nature of such bans/shutdowns are what lead people to question all governments on the real intent. NY state, for as good a job as its done, is also undermining its message with the announcement yesterday. I feel this way with the mask argument as well. We had a local case at school at one parent went on a witch hunt to find out who was infected. The argument was that their child comes into contact with two high risk family members. This, of course, ignores the logic that masks do not prevent the spread of the virus and as such, if her concerns were that great, her children should not be in school at all. Her children could have been exposed and have never known it due to asymptomatic spreaders. Masks are important, they REDUCE the chance of spreading the virus. Unfortunately many people believe it PREVENTS it. Their own ignorance, or perhaps what they pull out of the messaging from health officials. "You are safe if you wear a mask." That's not true. You are also not safe if a business is shutdown or a travel ban exists because of the very selective nature by which those shutdowns and bans are put in place. Bottom line, you end up at use your damn head and practice the very simple practices of wearing a mask, distance yourself, and if you believe or know you are an elevated risk person you are best to not be out in public, as much as that sucks. Of course, that decision, is up to each person since there are no preventions, only reduction in chances and as such, there remains a chance.

All I was told was that he didn't gel well with some people and that led to some issues. I asked and didn't get more. I can only surmise that by him being moved someone felt it was significant enough to remove him from the locker room.

I can see why people would not like him. He has a style and it might not set well with people. I didn't dislike him. My experiences were via the NBC filter, so some of the items he discussed and how he discussed were certainly tainted by that. He did a great job and excelled in his profession. Can't go wrong there.

Yeah.. and I love seeing that they are still paying Phil "The Thrill" Kessel $1.2M 🙂

Perhaps its because it's 3:46PM on a Friday... but your post amused me in the following way: In a thread about random stuff: You advocate for randomness in the removal of pinned threads thus insuring the post at the top of the page is no longer a fixed item and thus "random". You then advocate for a standardized capitalization scheme which would reduce the "random" nature of the board. Are you pro-random or anti-random. I cannot tell. 🙂