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statsman

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  1. Posted here, rather than in DT, because the linked story is from opinion page. https://www.wsj.com/opinion/a-yazidi-woman-is-liberated-from-slavery-in-gaza-connection-isis-hamas-jihadists-3e94060e?st=WDWonf&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink
  2. https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/college/big-12/texas-christian-university/article293368134.html
  3. Ok. We have to talk about Fletcher’s. I understand if you want to neg me; let me have my say. At the RRS, I have always made sure to get a Fletcher’s corn dog. There is always a huge line, and when the middle was not hot (even cold), I have just attributed it to a busy staff running them through the frier too fast. I took my daughter and her friend today, and decided to get a Fletcher’s, figuring it should be perfect, without much of a line. The first couple of bites were perfect. Then,…not hot. Not lukewarm. I may have to just hit Hans Mueller or get a turkey leg from here on out. It’s sad when legends fade.
  4. You know, every SWC school had at least one legendary coach- Neely for Rice, Yeoman for UH, Bell for SMU, Meyer and Martin for TCU, and so on. About ten years ago, I did a spreadsheet comparing achievements of coaches at schools, in comparison to the school’s performance without that coach. Royal still ranked very high, even as a UT coach. No one ranked higher by that metric than Patterson. I think Patterson’s first 15 or so years, along with their steady climb back to P5 status, convinced TCU that their program had achieved a new level, that they were no longer a SWC also-ran, that their floor as a program was a full level higher than it was from 1963-1999. Then, after firing Patterson and seeing Dykes take the team he inherited to the CFP CG, they felt affirmed. Right now? It’s looking like TCU, as a program, may be a Big XII also ran. (Cautionary tale for OSU).
  5. Is the 14.5 point spread quoted everywhere for real? Or an outlier being used for dramatic effect? Sagarins indicate Texas should be a nine point favorite. I’m pretty sure no one in the program is treating this like anything but a total effort game.
  6. It’s crazy how much career boost Harrell got out of the throw to Crabtree. If Gideon had caught that duck a couple of plays earlier, would he have half the recognition?
  7. Official? By who? Hamas (who counts all dead as civilians and refuses to count any as militants)? Or the UNRWA (with members in Hamas)? (Edited- I see your source article gets the data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, in other words, Hamas) The IDF says they have killed 20,000 Hamas militants. I recognize they have a bias (I assume they are possibly victim to the same counting issues the U.S. had in Vietnam). Who is official? Should we accept both? 41,000 dead, 20,000 of them Hamas militants, and 21,000 civilian Gazans caught in the (literal) crossfire? (Which is awful, but nowhere near as bad as civilian casualties in every other urban conflict, almost as if Israel really isn’t trying to kill civilians as it pursues Hamas through the towns and cities it bases in) Does Israel get any credit for warning civilians to leave areas? Is that “wanton”? I get that there is another interpretation, that Gaza is not distinct from Israel, that Israel has jurisdiction over it, and responsibility for the Gazans. Per this argument, Israel should treat the Hamas matter as more of a criminal issue, and address it more through policing, with utmost care to not harm civilians or their property. Israel rejects this argument, though. Does Egypt get any blame for refusing admission to fleeing Palestinian civilians? Isn’t that wanton? (Definition- “deliberate and unprovoked”) This war, I believe, is a serious issue, and I don’t think hyperbole in pursuit of a moral equivalency is helpful. As for war crimes, that is a real topic. It affects all armies. What differentiates them is how they are handled (or not handled, as the case may be). There are four U.S. servicemen, for example, imprisoned in Leavenworth, who will never again see the light of day as free men. They raped and killed a young Iraqi girl, and murdered her family to cover it up. I’m sure Iraqis think the punishment too lenient, perhaps rightfully, but there was a formal investigation and trial. As an American, I’m ashamed of these soldiers, but not ashamed of their handling and disposition. Similarly, the IDF has a formal process for investigating proposed war crimes. Do you believe it inadequate? How do you think it compares to the other belligerents in this conflict?
  8. That is a pretty damning claim. I have reviewed offered data from Hamas, and from IDF, as well as reviewed data from U.S. actions in Iraq, and data from the Syrian civil war on civilian deaths, and can’t say that I agree that Israel killed dozens of thousands of civilians, let alone “wantonly”. What is the minimum number that meets the threshold of “dozens of thousands”? Given that Hamas bases in civilian population centers, do you attribute any Gazan civilian deaths to them? Can you share your calculations and sources? I am open to being persuaded.
  9. https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/film/intercepted-review-eavesdropping-on-evil-in-the-ukraine-war-c667578e?st=WmXxgK&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink
  10. The B12 schedule was very much targeted at having marquee games on dates where they could get good exposure.
  11. It’s funny how much of this is generational. When I was a student, 40 years ago, there was a dude with a megaphone yelling on defensive stands, “Hold ‘em, Horns!”, and the stands would yell along with him. I notice that, as I yell “Hold ‘em, Horns!” On defensive stands now,…no one else ever yells it. It’s like I never got the memo…
  12. So, Stevie Nicks will be musical guest on Oct. 12. please, please, please can we have Fajita Roundup Redux?
  13. On Sooner Scoop, they are discussing their transfer WR Burks (they went into the season counting on him; I guess they invested a lot of their NIL). Rumor is that he had an abdominal injury (maybe similar to Ewers’?). Venables stated that he hopes he plays against Texas. The fans took that cue and are questioning his toughness and commitment if he doesn’t play.
  14. I think that if a good franchise with a solid foundation had the #1 draft choice in 2026, there would be a concern of him leaving (with it all worked out in advance). Conversely, if some basket case franchise (like my Dallas Cowboys) had the top choice in 2027 and refused to let him find another spot, he might return. Point being- the Mannings like being in control of their destiny and they like being in good situations.
  15. That’s like the Russell Westbrook turnovers stat (or missed career field goals); he’s the NBA champ of the hollow stat accumulation. Bill James used to argue that, given the choice, you’d be better off with Graig Nettles at 3B than Pete Rose. Nettles had a crappy BA, but decent OBP and really good SA, plus he was a terrific fielder (if you measure by range and throwing, rather than just error percentage).
  16. I became a huge MLB fan in the late ‘70s. That was before the great statistical awakening brought by (mainly) Bill James. That’s why a right handed.320 hitting 1st baseman of modest range with a .365 OBP and .395 SA was considered one of the best players in the game. He was pretty-to-very good fora long time, though, and was competitive in a sport where the long seasons make that difficult. I got no problem with him being kept out of the HoF. Shoeless Joe was almost certainly a better player and he can’t get in.
  17. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-n-agency-issues-fresh-warning-over-iranian-nuclear-activities-509ba50f?st=SZqoUU&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink
  18. Guilty pleasure this week- Sooner podcasts. Credit to them- they are 3-1, ranked, with their only loss to the nation’s #6 team, and they are freaking out. It’s clear how they got into this situation, from listening to them. After a quarter century of exceptional coaching and roster management, they truly believed that 5-star QBs should be ready to go from the start, that players mastering complex plays is a given and that something in the water in Norman makes players more resistant to injury and better at blocking and tackling. They overstate how much of their success was due to tradition and desire and understate how much exceptional coaching was happening. They’re probably going to whip Auburn. If so, the podcasts won’t be nearly as much fun.
  19. So, what is the deal with Weigman? Out for some unannounced reason (injury, misbehavior)? On second team, but competing to play again? Relegated for good? Looking to transfer? Some combination?
  20. You had a long post about how Israel was holding back Gazan development. Gaza has another border, with Egypt. I thought that was worth noting, during all the speculation about Arab state stepping in and helping with necessary services- there isn’t really anything stopping them now. I guess they figure the UNRWA and Israel got it. As to your question-I support a sovereign liberal democracy Palestinian nation. As I posted before, I don’t think the world needs another aggressive authoritarian state (but, that might be what we get).
  21. Ok. Now do Egypt.
  22. This is going to shock the hell out of you, but none of the ON3 Sooners noted that there is no way in hell the B1G would accept them academically
  23. What has kept Gaza from using that UNRWA funding to develop their own utilities? And a foreign office to protest Israeli actions? Oh, yeah, the Hamas autocrats who rule Gaza. They take the money for themselves and leave the people dependent on Israel for needs a functioning government would provide. You don’t say anything, Bolverk, about the Iranian weapons smuggled in. One thing to remember- the missiles are for Israelis, sure, but the rifles and bullets? 90% of the time, Hamas has them in use for keeping the Gazan civilians in line.
  24. You say “blockade”. Isn’t a better description “inspecting approaching ships for weapons from Iran”? If there were no weapons from Iran coming to Gaza, do you think Israel would still insist on boarding approaching ships? I guess we’ll never know…
  25. I think thats a distinction without a difference. Israel left Gaza, the PA held an election, Hamas won, the UNRWA gives a bunch of money that enriches terrorist leaders and buys tunnels (not weapons; Iran gives them for free). Israel provides utilities and medical care (Egypt provides neither), and in return the Gazans hate them and the world pilloried them. I don’t see how writing the letter you composed would make anything different. I think the last thing this world needs is another authoritarian and aggressive state. How about this- the Palestinian people organize into a liberal democracy (there are a lot of examples) and then they get a state?
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