Dominic Tierney has an awesome look at the UK’s relationship with its flag. It’s also an issue over here, though not with the flag itself, how to reconcile the more unsavory aspects of our past with a sense of national unity and purpose. Some attempts are comically bad. DC Comics had a two-part series of their Uncle Sam character which essentially said “America is putrid and terrible and it exists on blood and treachery” and its attempt at reconciliation and patriotism is “but it doesn’t have to be this terrible going forward.” Here’s another Atlantic piece on the decline of the Confederate Flag.
Michael Moynihan asks why so many tour guides make excuses for dictators. My mother reads travel magazines and it’s interesting to read the same guy who called George W. Bush a tyrant explain that Hugo Chavez is misunderstood. There is some serious psychology at work here.
How call can buildings get? There is apparently a council looking at such things.
Arguably, the question is not whether God exists, but whether society is better for it believing He does.
Who is to blame for student debt? The upper middle class.
Lynn Beisner wishes her mother had aborted her. Michael Brendand Dougherty wishes his mother had had a man in her life.
Our fertility has apparently dropped below that of France. Not to get too deep into That Subject, but I wonder if this is related to the dramatic decline in illegal immigrations,among our more procreative demographics?
Japan’s idol singers are not allowed to date. I actually remember Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas complaining about this. He had a serious girlfriend (now his wife) when he rose to stardom and everyone kept trying to get him to keep it under wraps (have her make entrances ten feet behind him, etc.).
More surprising to me than the rise of Android is the fall of Symbian. From market-leader to non-entity in three years. That takes effort.
Cats, apparently, are mean.
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I’d say that the drop in U.S. birth rates is mainly due to the economy. People haven’t suddenly lost the desire to have children, instead they’ve lost the financial means to do so.
I think that’s right, Peter. I think most of it is timeshifting. There may be some overall loss if the timeshifters don’t have the ability to have kids later, but I expect an uptick whenever things either improve or people determine that they can’t wait this thing out.
flags
Part of the problem with the UK is that its flag is a bastard flag. Also, while all four countries are subjects of the queen, they don’t necessarily fell that they are countrymen. After all, there is no word for a citizen of the United Kingdom. Some people use British, but that excludes the citizens of Northern Ireland. Also, in most international sporting competition, the four nations of the United Kingdom compete seperately.
As for the confederate flag, it is worth noting that the flag in question was never the official flag of the CSA per se, it was the Second Confederate Navy Jack.
As for its modern usage, as much as its wavers want to claim they are honoring the concept of states’ rights, I have never known anyone who uses it who wasn’t also a racist. Therefore, even if someone is of pure motive, they are going to be lumped in with the racists, fairly or unfairly.
Michael Brendan Dougherty
There was a great comment by Regrets in this article that said “feminists persuaded me that I could behave any way I like, and nobody had a right to judge me. But the feminists were lying: others do in fact have a right to judge, because judgment exists for a reason.”
This is so so true, and very well put. As Jack Nicholson said in As Good As It Gets when asked how he writes women so well: I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability.
Part of the problem with the UK is that its flag is a bastard flag.
Are you talking aesthetics or what it represents? Even though it was revised to bring in other elements, I still consider it to be a pretty good looking flag. You’re right that the UK is a somewhat awkward arrangement.
As for the confederate flag, … Therefore, even if someone is of pure motive, they are going to be lumped in with the racists, fairly or unfairly.
It’s becoming increasingly true as those that don’t have the racial baggage put it away. My brother had one on his door growing up, but no way would he have one now. Nor would his kids, if they had any.
As much as anything, though, in the south, it’s becoming distinctly a class marker.
Michael Brendan Dougherty
Well, I don’t like the Nickolson quote, but agree with Regrets.
Are you talking aesthetics or what it represents?
What it represents. I have no problem with how it looks per se. It is like the Mr Sparkle logo.
Also, I forgot to mention that South Carolina took its preseason top 10 rating and almost lost to Vanderbilt.
Did you know that touchbacks from kickoffs now come out to the 25? I guess they want to encourage the kicking team to not kick it into the end zone.
As for Rutgers, they have the bad timing of playing at Tulane this weekend. We are really hoping for a Big East title this year, something Greg Schiano was never able to accomplish. Of course it helps that there is no more West Virginia to worry about.
Did you know that touchbacks from kickoffs now come out to the 25? I guess they want to encourage the kicking team to not kick it into the end zone.
I think this is to reduce kick returns and the injuries caused by them.
Of course it helps that there is no more West Virginia to worry about.
Yeah, though for all of the attention they receive, UConn and Cincy have almost as many titles and co-titles since the last realignment. It is (or soon to be was) a surprisingly even conference.
I’m watching UNLV-Minnesota now. It’s about to go into overtime (possibly due to a screwup on the refs part).
To tie a couple subjects together, UNLV used to have a confederate emblem on their helmet.
Okay, that’s two *very* favorable calls for UNLV.
The first, which took it into overtime, was that a kick returner did not touch a ball that went rolling out of the endzone (and would have been a safety if he had touched it). This was a close call, but the refs inexplicably whistled it dead.
The second was the running back not getting into the endzone, but it being called a touchdown anyway. They reviewed it, and despite incontrovertible evidence that he did not get into the endzone, they didn’t reverse the call. UNLV up by 7 with Minnesota getting the ball.
Minnesota won. Justice is restored. Jerry Kill did not suffer a seizure.
Also, Eastern Washington beat the pants off of Idaho. One of the strong arguments for Idaho to drop down to FCS is that they will better be able to compete there. Not if EWU is any indication…
I think this is to reduce kick returns and the injuries caused by them.
Yes, you are correct. The NCAA reason is to increase touchbacks. However, I think teams with strong kickoff coverage will adjust and have a pooch style kickoff.
The irony in all of this is that the spot of the kickoff was moved back to the 30 in order to INCREASE returns. Remember when it used to be on the 40? Now it is back to the 35. I think eventually the kickoff will be eliminated.
Yeah, though for all of the attention they receive, UConn and Cincy have almost as many titles and co-titles since the last realignment. It is (or soon to be was) a surprisingly even conference.
While this is true, West Virginia was Rutgers’ Waterloo. Rutgers was 2-19 against West Virginia in Big East play, including losing the last 17 in a row. As a comparison, here is Rutgers’ record against the rest of the Big East:
SFL 5-2
TEM 9-5
CT 5-3
LOU 3-4
PIT 8-13
SYR 7-14
CIN 2-5
As those records indicate, the Big East is a conference in flux, and starting next year Rutgers will be the dean of the football members.
I’m watching UNLV-Minnesota now.
I just watched the highlights on CBSSports.com, since ESPN is pretending this game didn’t happen. A few observations:
1) The final score is misleading, since it was 13-13 going into the OT. It makes the game seem like more of a shoot out than it really was.
2) On the interception in the 3rd OT, he should have just taken a knee. If he fumbled and UNLV recovered, he would have felt dumb.
3) The announcer, who I have never heard of before, was James Bates. I’m sure the kids in school called him Master…
4) They didn’t show the two plays in question, but from what you described, the play would have been a touchback anyway, since he didn’t provide the impetus to propel the ball into the endzone. A simple touch wouldn’t have been enough. If I end up seeing it for myself I will comment further.
The articles by Lynn Beisner and Michael Brendand Dougherty were very confronting and thought-provoking, indeed.
Cats, apparently, are mean.
They certainly are. I’ve been a life-long cat-lover and their natural-born-killer instincts have long dismayed me.
My sisters once had a pair of brother cats who were so ruthlessly efficient that only did they once have bells on their collars, they later had second bells added because they were still too good at slaughter.
My eldest sister also had a beautiful white Maine Coon called Minka. I especially adored Minka – whenever I visted sis on holidays, she always remembered me fondly – but, sadly, she was one of our family’s worst-ever predator-pets.
If I ever own cats myself, I would definitely make them indoor animals with supervised visits outside. This is partly because cats are a popular target of abuse – one of the brother cats mentioned above got shot and spent most of his life with three legs – but partly so that they don’t harm other animals.
Knight,
I just watched the highlights on CBSSports.com, since ESPN is pretending this game didn’t happen.
Yeah, ESPN has a habit of doing that. Even though they make more money with CBS/NBC than they would ESPN, they pay for it in lack of coverage and negative coverage from ESPN. The Big East is expected to sign a TV deal with NBC and will probably experience the same.
The final score is misleading, since it was 13-13 going into the OT. It makes the game seem like more of a shoot out than it really was.
I think we’ve talked about this before. If not, I shall state for the record that I hate the college overtime system.
On the interception in the 3rd OT, he should have just taken a knee. If he fumbled and UNLV recovered, he would have felt dumb.
I dunno, it looked for a moment like he might have taken it all the way. In which case, the game would have been over. The likelihood of both a fumble and a run-back is minor. Anything less would have been considered a lost possession, I think (in other words, they wouldn’t get another set of downs). I’d have to consult the rulebook on that, unless you know off the top of your head.
but from what you described, the play would have been a touchback anyway,
You are absolutely right. I was actually fooled by the announcers, who kept talking about a safety. I wondered what they were talking about until I reasoned it out. But there is no way it would have been a safety because he didn’t propel the ball nor take possession of it.
BABM,
I’ve never been much of a cat person, being more of a dog person. I did read that, contrary to the myth, if you die and your dog is hungry, it will eat you. It makes total sense, but is disconcerting nonetheless.
ESPN has a habit of doing that.
Yes, you should have seen ESPN when they got the rights to NBA games. Since the NBA is my least favorite of the big 4, SportsCenter became unwatchable.
I don’t know how well the CBSSports Network and the NBCSports Network will do. They might be a little late to the party, and ESPN is still the go-to place for sports on cable. ABC was smart enough to buy ESPN from Getty all those years ago, so they get credit for that. The smartest people in the whole deal is Hearst. They own 20% of ESPN. 20% of a cash cow is a nice revenue stream.
I’d have to consult the rulebook on that, unless you know off the top of your head.
No need. You are correct. If UNLV recovered and was tacked in the field of play, the ball still would have gone to Minnesota. This is different than regulation, where the offense would have gotten a whole new set of downs even if they didn’t pass the first down marker.
I still think the Minnesota player should have taken a knee, because if he fumbled and UNLV recovered and scored a touchdown, the touchdown would have counted. Especially if the Minnesota player fumbled in the endzone, then UNLV wouldn’t have even have had to return the ball for a touchdown. It would have been a touchdown as soon as they recovered it.
In high school this is all a moot point, since the play would have been blown dead with the interception.
As an aside, any thoughts about a future Big East member losing to a future Sun Belt member this past weekend? I didn’t even realize that coach was even coaching anymore… Also, the only way I can see the WAC surviving after this season is to be a home for schools who are transitioning from FCS to FBS. Or maybe it should go into the history books with the SWC.
I don’t know how well the CBSSports Network and the NBCSports Network will do.
The former has been around for a while now. It’ll always be second-tier, and they’ll never rival ESPN, but remain an option for conferences that don’t want to dance to ESPN’s tune.
Back home, you can’t move a fumble but you can return an interception. Or at least that’s how it used to be. There was some talk a few years back about allowing you to move a fumble.
As an aside, any thoughts about a future Big East member losing to a future Sun Belt member this past weekend?
The Future Big East went 1-6. Two of the losses were pretty embarrassing, including that one. The less said about all that, the better.
The WAC is officially dead as a football conference. They made the announcement last week or the week before. My Montana-Dakota plan did not gain any steam. (Hindered, perhaps, by the University of Montana having bigger issues on its plate – they’ve got to be happy that Penn State is the current lightning rod so that nobody is noticing.)
I had forgotten that you had posted a WAC plan on this blog previously. Maybe I was busy that day and didn’t comment, because normally that sort of post is in my wheelhouse.
I see our plans were similar in that it could be a weigh station for schools making the transition between FCS and FBS. You mentioned that those schools tended to be in the northern half of the Mountain Time Zone.
The whole reason schools want to be part of D-I is to get a piece of the pie from the basketball tournament. Schools would LOVE to be D-III in football and D-I in all other sports; it would be the best of both worlds for those schools who can’t compete at a high level in football. However, the NCAA has made this illegal. I remember that Georgetown and St John’s both had this classification. Georgetown reluctantly joined the Patriot League as a football-only member, St John’s just dropped the sport altogether.
I see our plans were similar in that it could be a weigh station for schools making the transition between FCS and FBS. You mentioned that those schools tended to be in the northern half of the Mountain Time Zone.
The Dakotas are central time zone. But yeah, I was thinking of a “Big North Conference” with a school in New Mexico (which I thought was kind of unlikely since I thought NMSU was a lock for the Sun Belt) and a couple FBO’s in California.
The whole reason schools want to be part of D-I is to get a piece of the pie from the basketball tournament.
The NCAA lets you have scholarship-free football (Ive League, Patriot League, and Pioneer I think). I’m honestly surprised that more schools don’t go this route. It’s probably a matter of playoffs. I kind of support the NCAA having a Division Student Athletes Subdivision where they allow for a small playoff. The only downside is that it might attract some D2 and D3 schools, though if Nebraska-Omaha is any indication, that’s a hard transition to make.