LTS

Time to go...

Re: SSA: Your choice. You assume that because that is all I posted that it's all I know. I don't care if we have a discussion or not. Re: Middle East - I'm pretty sure I'm just going to quote you "Perhaps the most short-sighted and uninformed take. Safe to say we have no more to discuss on that subject." So, it's okay for the United States to get involved in other countries because it protects "our interests" and prevents opposition from exerting influence. The same United States that is taking action within its own borders now to protect "its interests" and prevent opposition from exerting influence? Once again we are back to the crucial question "Whose interests?" There are always two sides. You will argue that the other side is wrong because it goes against what you believe in. They will argue the same. And here we are.. no progress is made.

I'm just waiting for the day when the majority of people who voted for this administration are shocked they are getting what they voted for. I'm just sad for all those who knew this crap would happen have to deal with it. I'm just afraid of what the over correction will bring in the future - or if there will be a future.

For what it's worth, I wasn't saying it was. I had said apparent misuse of funds and was directing more at the "uncovered" items. My commentary earlier regarding cutting things like a museum exhibit fall more in the "useless is in the eye of the beholder". I have not seen the museum exhibit on Fauci, I'm not sure I give enough of a damn to want to. I could see how it's wasted money in wondering is there really a need for THAT exhibit? I don't know. And I will say it again. The Social Security system is an absolute scam that takes my money and redistributes it, theoretically, to the "masses". Social Security is the "safety net" for people who cannot figure out how to save their own money and invest it themselves. Worse yet, the government loves to "borrow" that money when they need to. The government, run by both Democrats and Republicans, that have amassed an insane amount of debt because they can just up and spend money without having the revenue to back it up. A very simple concept that every business owner (and human) should understand. The first mistake is involving themselves in the affairs of the Middle Eastern countries in the first place. The United States need to intervene to protect oil interests have led to continued rise and fall of dictators and terrorists. The Democrats and Republicans are both on the same team when it comes to funding the up and coming resistance to only find out that it's yet another power hungry individual hell bent on wiping out those with opposing ideology. In the Middle East I think we don't need a crystal ball. It's best to stop intervening in their affairs and let them be. I don't want people walking in my house telling me how to live my life. Why should they accept that we are in their countries attempting to control their very existence?

Overall I think it's fascinating that suddenly Elon Musk's team (and others apparently) can find all these apparent misuse of funds, etc. It's almost as if someone just looked it would be so obvious. I'd like there to be a new news network called CorrupTV where they do nothing but expose corruption. Or, it's all misdirection to keep us focused away from what else is happening.

Certainly a way to avoid tariffs.

And vice versa sadly. Maybe one day people will wake up and realize the world is not binary and it's not really us vs. them and that there are alternatives. Everything happening right now is designed to divide people all to the same goal. Allow the government to take over our lives. Sadly people don't want to realize it and instead can only be a 1 or 0.

I'm not necessarily advocating or speaking up against anything at the moment. But I would caution that when cuts are made the value of things being cut might be in the eye of the beholder. We can all look at where money is spent by all kinds of organizations and wonder if it was wasteful. If everything were diluted to the bare, only what's needed, model of pure efficiency then the world would become quite sterile. It's what leads to the elimination of art. Again, that's not me saying any of this is right, or that corruption doesn't exist because it certainly does and the government is full of it. Just that caution must be had when any single entity or group begins wielding the machete.

I'm not attempting to explain how anyone is any better off. I'm explaining what happened. That is all.

If I am recalling the situation correctly, Colombia was going to deny the planes. It doesn't matter what they had done prior. It matters that they said they would deny the planes. Trump threatened a tariff and Colombia changed course. Regardless of opinions on the matter those items seem factual. Also, let's not interject petty personal attacks regarding spelling. You knew what was being discussed. If you were unsure if the poster meant the country Colombia you could have asked for clarification.

Wanting to retain players and being able to are two different things. Don't get hung up on the "public speak" of sports. Zucker has also said he's interested in staying here, it doesn't mean he will. Both are statements of possibilities, not probabilities.

For someone...

Really? This is a disappointing response from a mod. We should encourage posters to not only share their opinions but support them. If a post is too long, just skip it.

Well, Ceci isn't good, so no. Granlund is okay. Either way, I don't think the Sabres are trading for any UFA with the hope of them signing in the off-season. There's no debating Buffalo as a destination players want to be right now. They don't help Buffalo make the playoffs either, so its going to create ill will to the Sharks organization if they trade them to Buffalo as rentals. That's a seller's trade only and it takes what Dallas gave up to get it done.

I have not looked it up but I seem to recall that the NHL has begun pushing events to happen early enough that they won't interfere with the normal start time of the game. I think they allow for some ceremonial puck drops but anything that reaches the level of multiple speakers, etc. starts long before the game so that the game timing is not messed with too much. It seems to me that this is a more recent trend as I used to recall seeing longer events where the opposition team is standing around on their bench waiting through the others teams event.

As the game evolves it's really hard to nail down what a C is supposed to be. I think Thorny has it down. Face-offs aren't necessarily taken by the "C" any longer. They are taken by the forward who gives the team the best chance to the the face-off in that particular moment. Left vs. Right dot, defensive vs. offensive zone. I think if you had a "C" that is particularly strong on the dot then that helps, but ultimately it's not the end of the world. As far as of the offensive zone goes, it's such a cycling game at this point that you just need to make sure you have a distribution of skill sets that achieves the output expected from that line. In the defensive zone it can be a bit more defined if you want C who is better at assisting in closing down the net front area. I think the game has become so much more transitional now that it's not too often that teams end up establishing a zone presence (the Sabres defensive coverage notwithstanding) and that they play more F1, F2, F3 than anything. I think Kulich and Thompson work well together so far. So I'll be happy with that. Peterka seems to be benefiting as well.

Any relation to Ethan Bear?

Sorry, I didn't intend to make it sound like i was commenting on the person next to you. It was more in general. I've heard enough digs NOT made in jest in public settings. Not aimed at me... but in general. I'm glad he can at least remember that. My son hits 21 in 8 weeks and he's never known a relevant team. He did drive into Buffalo to meet a friend from UB and they went to the game... so he is still having fun. But he really wants a Buffalo team to win a championship and at least the Sabres in the playoffs. Don't we all kid, don't we all.

In a suit featuring palm trees. Sorry man, I just had to do it. 🙂 The question every hockey insider is trying to scoop now: "Will we see a return of the Doug Allen avatar by a certain Sabrespacer?"

Nah. It's reasonable. No one's value as a human should be judged just because they demonstrate fandom for a team like the Sabres (or any team). I think your willingness to put it on says all that needs be said about your fandom. You stick by them through the bad. You're not supporting the monetarily or with your time, but you remain a fan and hopeful of when better days return. What other option is there? You can write them off entirely. Stop being a fan and then come back? That's a bandwagon fan. Now, if you keep telling yourself that it will be different this time (assuming evidence to the contrary) then you might be in an unhealthy relationship.

Only once... that time at band camp.

Sure, a multi-part problem. Cut $20B and cut the federal deficit? I'm sure we wouldn't see it as a tax break and redistributing it isn't needed. Of course it's not as though they'd pull money from the military budget.. which they should. The states aren't getting it either. In the end, the states need to step up their game. The federal government needs to be smaller and less involved in a lot of things.

I agree, dissolving FEMA would predominantly impact Trump's strongest constituent states, and yet he's still doing it. I'm not arguing that FEMA has not been able to provide some measure of its purpose. I am arguing that en masse, FEMA is a federally funded program that does not provide equal benefit to the nation it covers. I am saying that in the fact of large scale disasters it has often proven inept at handling them in a way that I would consider an organization that's sole purpose is to handle disasters would handle them. Furthermore, in the event of a true nationwide disaster, FEMA would lack the resources to respond to all locations in an effective manner. As such, pushing emergency preparedness to the states, in full, would allow for a more effective emergency response program and also allow it to be appropriately funded directly from those living in the states. There are probably other ways to solve national disaster preparedness and response. What I know though is that most of what I have read about FEMA does not depict an agency that is well run or that responds as well as it should to events that it is specifically tasked with responding to. Some readings I pulled quick for background (I've been reading about FEMA off and on for some time) https://www.brookings.edu/articles/federal-disaster-management-is-a-confusing-patchwork-reforming-fema-and-improving-interagency-coordination-can-fix-it/ (2023) https://www.brookings.edu/articles/abolish-fema/ (2006) https://www.npr.org/2021/06/29/1004347023/why-fema-aid-is-unavailable-to-many-who-need-it-the-most (2021) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-u-s-disaster-agency-is-not-ready-for-catastrophes/ (2019) Centralized disaster response is a commonly used model by nations, but there are others as well. In the end, FEMA is a management organization that focuses on providing information on preparedness and coordination during times of disaster. They assist in coordination of local resources and provide some funding as needed. All of which is something that could be brought closer to "home" by moving these funds to a more localized and segregated management source. Overall? In the event of a major natural disaster FEMA is not going to help everyone. Individuals should be prepared to handle the disasters they will most commonly face and there is overlap in that preparedness (water, food, shelter, etc.). Like any response, the first response is going to be where it drives the most assistance and that will be in the denser population centers and critical infrastructure.

A player who has scored more points than another provides more offense. Goals and assists scored on the PP are still tallied in the points column by NHL statisticians. Players are generally put on the PP because they are the best at generating scoring opportunities during a period of advantage for the team. Scoring = offense. At the point you made the statement, it was in fact incorrect. There is nothing left to say regarding that.

So I've heard and yet in every disaster all I seem to read is how they are not good at actual disaster management. As for how to handle disasters, I think they'll still share information. It's not like states don't share information. I understand the "just in case" scenario and efficiency. However, in the event of multiple national disasters FEMA won't be able to handle all of the response either. There's something to be said for not putting all your resources into a single organization as well. I suppose, but I'm not sure what you are getting at here. This would further support my argument wouldn't it? Those red states are reaping the rewards of the blue state taxes? Perhaps if FEMA didn't exist then those red states would have to fund their own emergency response?