Miscellaneous news items that don't warrant their own thread

[Winterborn]

Saw that in Fox. The families of the 3 boys have a legal firm onboard
https://will-law.org/will-urges-kiel-sc ... -pronouns/
They ought to sue the fuck out of that school and school district, and the principal ought to be fired.

Should have been bullying. Suspend the little twats for a day or two.

I find your comment so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies me equal access to posting on this board.

[SeattleGriz]

I don’t know the background to the story much or how this precipitated but on its surface it’s pretty fucked up.

Just read the background from the police statement.

On Friday, about 300 rioters arrived at Saint Joseph hospital in Jerusalem and prevented the family members from loading the coffin onto the hearse to travel to the cemetery — as had been planned and coordinated with the family in advance,” an Israel Police statement said.

Instead, the mob threatened the driver of the hearse and then proceeded to carry the coffin on an unplanned procession to the cemetery by foot,” it continued. “This went against the wishes of the Abu Akleh family and the security coordinations that had been planned to safeguard the large number of mourners.”

The group refused instructions from Israel Police as well as the Abu Akleh family and an EU diplomat, the statement continued.

[GannonFan]

I don’t know the background to the story much or how this precipitated but on its surface it’s pretty fucked up.

Just read the background from the police statement.

On Friday, about 300 rioters arrived at Saint Joseph hospital in Jerusalem and prevented the family members from loading the coffin onto the hearse to travel to the cemetery — as had been planned and coordinated with the family in advance,” an Israel Police statement said.

Instead, the mob threatened the driver of the hearse and then proceeded to carry the coffin on an unplanned procession to the cemetery by foot,” it continued. “This went against the wishes of the Abu Akleh family and the security coordinations that had been planned to safeguard the large number of mourners.”

The group refused instructions from Israel Police as well as the Abu Akleh family and an EU diplomat, the statement continued.

The brother seems to have a different story. Maybe he's from an off-shoot of the family?

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/16/middleea ... index.html

"They could have easily blocked the road if they didn't want to see the funeral leave the hospital but the attack was intentional and brutal," Tony Abu Akleh told CNN.

[SeattleGriz]

Just read the background from the police statement.

The brother seems to have a different story. Maybe he's from an off-shoot of the family?

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/16/middleea ... index.html

"They could have easily blocked the road if they didn't want to see the funeral leave the hospital but the attack was intentional and brutal," Tony Abu Akleh told CNN.

I have no idea if what he said is possible from a crowd control aspect. The CNN article does mention family wishes, but doesn't go deep enough to see if it matches the police statement.

I have to lean towards the family not wanting their daughters casket paraded around town. More low key. In addition, I just can't help when I see an obvious fuck up happen on video. Meaning those police would have to know they were being filmed. It's the gift of gifts.

Israeli Minister of Public Security Omer Bar-Lev told CNN on Saturday the police “acted to allow the funeral procession for journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to proceed in an orderly fashion, in coordination with her family and from a clear understanding of sensitivity and complexity of the event.

He added that “during the course of the funeral, severe violent events unfolded on the part of those participating that worsened the situation on the ground.”

[GannonFan]

So I'm watching the Herndon Climb that's going on right now (Naval Academy thing, where the plebe class tries to climb the 21ft Herndon monument on the Yard that is covered in grease, take the plebe cover (cap) off the top, and replace it with a regular officer's cover to bring to an end their plebe year at the academy). They must be like 3 hours into it right now. First, they tried to just put the officer's cover up without removing the plebe cover first. And second, they're still 3 hours into this. My thoughts - if these are future officers in the Navy and leaders in our country, how can they 1) not know the rules beforehand about taking the plebe cap off before replacing it and 2) they had all year to think about this, how can they not have a decent plan in place on how to do this?

[Winterborn]

So I'm watching the Herndon Climb that's going on right now (Naval Academy thing, where the plebe class tries to climb the 21ft Herndon monument on the Yard that is covered in grease, take the plebe cover (cap) off the top, and replace it with a regular officer's cover to bring to an end their plebe year at the academy). They must be like 3 hours into it right now. First, they tried to just put the officer's cover up without removing the plebe cover first. And second, they're still 3 hours into this. My thoughts - if these are future officers in the Navy and leaders in our country, how can they 1) not know the rules beforehand about taking the plebe cap off before replacing it and 2) they had all year to think about this, how can they not have a decent plan in place on how to do this?

Learned something new today.

https://www.usna.edu/PAO/faq_pages/herndon.php

[GannonFan]

So I'm watching the Herndon Climb that's going on right now (Naval Academy thing, where the plebe class tries to climb the 21ft Herndon monument on the Yard that is covered in grease, take the plebe cover (cap) off the top, and replace it with a regular officer's cover to bring to an end their plebe year at the academy). They must be like 3 hours into it right now. First, they tried to just put the officer's cover up without removing the plebe cover first. And second, they're still 3 hours into this. My thoughts - if these are future officers in the Navy and leaders in our country, how can they 1) not know the rules beforehand about taking the plebe cap off before replacing it and 2) they had all year to think about this, how can they not have a decent plan in place on how to do this?

Learned something new today.

https://www.usna.edu/PAO/faq_pages/herndon.php

It's a cool thing. My middle son (sophomore in high school) is seriously considering the Naval Academy and has the grades and scores and other things that it's certainly a possibility. The class this year just finished - something like 3 hours, 35 minutes. Beat the class before them who had a ridiculously slow 3 hours and 40 minutes. Again, you'd think they would plan this better. They didn't knock off the plebe cover until more than 3 hours in, and ended up hitting it off with a balled up tshirt thrown from the ground. Probably could've done that a few hours ago.

[Ibanez]

So I'm watching the Herndon Climb that's going on right now (Naval Academy thing, where the plebe class tries to climb the 21ft Herndon monument on the Yard that is covered in grease, take the plebe cover (cap) off the top, and replace it with a regular officer's cover to bring to an end their plebe year at the academy). They must be like 3 hours into it right now. First, they tried to just put the officer's cover up without removing the plebe cover first. And second, they're still 3 hours into this. My thoughts - if these are future officers in the Navy and leaders in our country, how can they 1) not know the rules beforehand about taking the plebe cap off before replacing it and 2) they had all year to think about this, how can they not have a decent plan in place on how to do this?

Or copy what previous years have done....

[Ibanez]

So I'm watching the Herndon Climb that's going on right now (Naval Academy thing, where the plebe class tries to climb the 21ft Herndon monument on the Yard that is covered in grease, take the plebe cover (cap) off the top, and replace it with a regular officer's cover to bring to an end their plebe year at the academy). They must be like 3 hours into it right now. First, they tried to just put the officer's cover up without removing the plebe cover first. And second, they're still 3 hours into this. My thoughts - if these are future officers in the Navy and leaders in our country, how can they 1) not know the rules beforehand about taking the plebe cap off before replacing it and 2) they had all year to think about this, how can they not have a decent plan in place on how to do this?

That's pretty cool. I love traditions like that.

[cx500d]

So I'm watching the Herndon Climb that's going on right now (Naval Academy thing, where the plebe class tries to climb the 21ft Herndon monument on the Yard that is covered in grease, take the plebe cover (cap) off the top, and replace it with a regular officer's cover to bring to an end their plebe year at the academy). They must be like 3 hours into it right now. First, they tried to just put the officer's cover up without removing the plebe cover first. And second, they're still 3 hours into this. My thoughts - if these are future officers in the Navy and leaders in our country, how can they 1) not know the rules beforehand about taking the plebe cap off before replacing it and 2) they had all year to think about this, how can they not have a decent plan in place on how to do this?

That's pretty cool. I love traditions like that.

yeah, kinda like stacking logs for a bonfire at texas a&m

[UNI88]

I posted about this book in the Locker Room but this is political so I'm putting it here.

The Variables Governing the ‘Rise and Fall of Nations’

1. Demographics: Including the TFR (total fertility rate) which, along with migration, determines population growth or decline (Russia and Japan are in big trouble - China will struggle to get rich before it gets old - and the U.S. better be thankful for immigration). The other key demographic measure is the age structure, particularly the percentage of the population of working age.
2. Good and Bad Billionaires: According to Sharma, the U.S. is lucky to have lots of “good billionaires.” These are very rich people who have made their fortune by creating new businesses, as opposed to either inheriting their money, or building their wealth through political connections and by controlling monopoly pricing in extractive industries (such as oil or coal). Russia has lots of bad billionaires, Japan doesn’t have enough billionaires (the culture does not reward risk taking).
3. The Cover Story Curse: Any country that ends up on the cover of Time magazine as the “new economic miracle” is likely to have peaked - and will have a bad time of it in the future. No word about the future success of a book if it ends up in a technology and learning blog.
4. Asset Price Inflation: Asset prices include things like housing, as well as a the cost of financial instruments such as stocks. Big run ups in house prices and the stock market may mask problems, as general inflation (which takes into account the changing prices of ordinary goods and services), may stay modest.
5. The Kiss of Debt: When private debt is growing much faster than the economy as a whole a country is in for an eventual reckoning. The growth of private debt is one of the indicators coming out of China that has Sharma particularly worried about the ability of that country to maintain its role as a driver of the global economy in the years to come.
6. The Second City Rule: Any country where the capital city is dramatically larger (5 to 10 times) than the next largest city is likely to suffer from levels of economic and political inequality that will hamper effective governance and long-term economic growth.
7. Follow the Locals: Sharma is a big believer that the actions of local residents are the best indicators of future local economic trends. It is a bad sign when local business people refuse to invest in their own country, or when anyone with money tries to park their assets oversees in houses or bank accounts.
8. Stale Leaders: Putin has been running Russia since 1999, Erdogan Turkey since 2003. Sharma points to these two countries as examples of what happens to economic performance when those at the top hold on to power for too long.
9. Good vs. Bad Binges: The tech bubble of the 1990s was a good binge (or bubble) as lots of fiber optic connections were laid and other digital infrastructure was built. Real estate binges, conversely, create residential and commercial square footage that nobody really needs or wants.
10. Cheap Currency: Sharma uses the strength of a nation's currency as a proxy for the level of government interference with monetary policy. A currency that feels cheap is usually one that has been allowed to find its market value -as opposed to being artificially propped up by central bankers.

Which major party's position on some of these variables puts the US in the best position to economically prosper in the future?

Advantage Republicans:

• Good and Bad Billionaires: Republicans advocate for private sector growth while Democrats advocate for public sector growth. Advantage Republicans.
• The Second City Rule: Democrats seem to be focused on larger metropolitan areas like DC, NYC, etc. Republicans (Trump) tried to move some government agencies closer to their areas of responsibility. Advantage Republicans.

Advantage Democrats:

• Demographics: Evangelicals are reproducing but not fast enough. Democrats want more open immigration. Advantage Democrats.
• Asset Price Inflation: Republicans promote the accumulation of assets and are encouraged by increases. Democrats see them as an other example of the divide between the haves and have-nots. Advantage Democrats.

Advantage Neither:

• The Cover Story Curse: lots of US Presidents on the cover of Time. Advantage neither.
• The Kiss of Debt: both parties spend money like drunken sailors and demonstrate a willingness to underwrite the spending of their pet causes. It's public, not private, debt but Republicans willingness to cut taxes without cutting expenditures is a negative. Advantage neither.
• Stale Leaders: Trump was fresh. Obama was fresh. Biden and Hillary were stale and recycled. Dubya was the son of a former POTUS. Advantage neither.
• Good vs. Bad Binges: Republicans encourage the kind of innovation that can lead to good binges but they also encourage real estate and similar binges. Democrats focus on climate change is encouraging innovation while their attempts to limit sprawl at a local level are driving up the cost of real estate. Advantage neither?

Thoughts? Tear it apart ...

[Skjellyfetti]

Totally normal

[kalm]

I posted about this book in the Locker Room but this is political so I'm putting it here.

The Variables Governing the ‘Rise and Fall of Nations’

1. Demographics: Including the TFR (total fertility rate) which, along with migration, determines population growth or decline (Russia and Japan are in big trouble - China will struggle to get rich before it gets old - and the U.S. better be thankful for immigration). The other key demographic measure is the age structure, particularly the percentage of the population of working age.
2. Good and Bad Billionaires: According to Sharma, the U.S. is lucky to have lots of “good billionaires.” These are very rich people who have made their fortune by creating new businesses, as opposed to either inheriting their money, or building their wealth through political connections and by controlling monopoly pricing in extractive industries (such as oil or coal). Russia has lots of bad billionaires, Japan doesn’t have enough billionaires (the culture does not reward risk taking).
3. The Cover Story Curse: Any country that ends up on the cover of Time magazine as the “new economic miracle” is likely to have peaked - and will have a bad time of it in the future. No word about the future success of a book if it ends up in a technology and learning blog.
4. Asset Price Inflation: Asset prices include things like housing, as well as a the cost of financial instruments such as stocks. Big run ups in house prices and the stock market may mask problems, as general inflation (which takes into account the changing prices of ordinary goods and services), may stay modest.
5. The Kiss of Debt: When private debt is growing much faster than the economy as a whole a country is in for an eventual reckoning. The growth of private debt is one of the indicators coming out of China that has Sharma particularly worried about the ability of that country to maintain its role as a driver of the global economy in the years to come.
6. The Second City Rule: Any country where the capital city is dramatically larger (5 to 10 times) than the next largest city is likely to suffer from levels of economic and political inequality that will hamper effective governance and long-term economic growth.
7. Follow the Locals: Sharma is a big believer that the actions of local residents are the best indicators of future local economic trends. It is a bad sign when local business people refuse to invest in their own country, or when anyone with money tries to park their assets oversees in houses or bank accounts.
8. Stale Leaders: Putin has been running Russia since 1999, Erdogan Turkey since 2003. Sharma points to these two countries as examples of what happens to economic performance when those at the top hold on to power for too long.
9. Good vs. Bad Binges: The tech bubble of the 1990s was a good binge (or bubble) as lots of fiber optic connections were laid and other digital infrastructure was built. Real estate binges, conversely, create residential and commercial square footage that nobody really needs or wants.
10. Cheap Currency: Sharma uses the strength of a nation's currency as a proxy for the level of government interference with monetary policy. A currency that feels cheap is usually one that has been allowed to find its market value -as opposed to being artificially propped up by central bankers.

Which major party's position on some of these variables puts the US in the best position to economically prosper in the future?

Advantage Republicans:

• Good and Bad Billionaires: Republicans advocate for private sector growth while Democrats advocate for public sector growth. Advantage Republicans.
• The Second City Rule: Democrats seem to be focused on larger metropolitan areas like DC, NYC, etc. Republicans (Trump) tried to move some government agencies closer to their areas of responsibility. Advantage Republicans.

Advantage Democrats:

• Demographics: Evangelicals are reproducing but not fast enough. Democrats want more open immigration. Advantage Democrats.
• Asset Price Inflation: Republicans promote the accumulation of assets and are encouraged by increases. Democrats see them as an other example of the divide between the haves and have-nots. Advantage Democrats.

Advantage Neither:

• The Cover Story Curse: lots of US Presidents on the cover of Time. Advantage neither.
• The Kiss of Debt: both parties spend money like drunken sailors and demonstrate a willingness to underwrite the spending of their pet causes. It's public, not private, debt but Republicans willingness to cut taxes without cutting expenditures is a negative. Advantage neither.
• Stale Leaders: Trump was fresh. Obama was fresh. Biden and Hillary were stale and recycled. Dubya was the son of a former POTUS. Advantage neither.
• Good vs. Bad Binges: Republicans encourage the kind of innovation that can lead to good binges but they also encourage real estate and similar binges. Democrats focus on climate change is encouraging innovation while their attempts to limit sprawl at a local level are driving up the cost of real estate. Advantage neither?

Thoughts? Tear it apart ...

Tough to argue with much of this. The 4 unmentioned
big issues that stand out in American politics IMHO are 1) uniparty outcomes/crony capitalism, 2) fetishism of commodities, 3) lack of planning and living within ones own means, and 4) over-population.

330,000,000 million self centered individuals with a wide diversity of values and opinions on community obligations requires larger government than most realize.

IE: in a perfect world, everyone would live within their means, carry their own weight, and support their community.

This might deserve its own thread.

(And dammit, ‘88 I already have three books currently open).

[UNI88]

Putting this here because I could see it getting political/contentious ...

[GannonFan]

Putting this here because I could see it getting political/contentious ...

That's not just baseball, you see that with virtually all youth sports anymore. Everyone is convinced their kid is special, is an above average athlete, and with the right connections is well on his/her way to athletic success and scholarship money come college time. Soccer has been like that forever, basketball has its AAU path, baseball as the article pointed out, and you see it with even fringe sports now like volleyball. They all require large sums of fees to play year round, have paid coaches (soccer is big on pulling in college assistant coaches from local schools to "train" teams), they travel all around the country just to play, and no matter how good or how bad the kids are, there will always be a team for them somewhere willing to take in your money (and for some sports we're talking more than $3k per year just to be on the team, not counting travel and hotel expenses) to let them play. Every holiday is used as a way to squeeze in another tournament where every team is guaranteed to be in a division or level with great names like "championship", or "superior", or "elite" and the cycle continues every year. At least by the time you get to high school money doesn't matter as much anymore, it's just whether you can play or not - performance eventually matters more than what club outside of school you play for. And when it comes college time, you'll see tons of kids go off and play for D2 or D3 schools (or even fringe D1 schools) that they may or may not get any money to attend (there aren't many sports that give out full rides - I think there are only 6-7 full headcount sports in D1 - everything else is partials, and they can really be split up) and they could be schools they never would've gone to academically were it not for the sport they're going to play. There's less consideration lots of time for the quality of the degree you're going to get versus the chance to play your sport for four extra years wherever a team will take you. And all because too many make youth sports, from as young as 3 really for something like soccer, to be the end all be all for kids growing up. It is crazy and it's something even my generation, generation X, has really screwed up.

[kalm]

Putting this here because I could see it getting political/contentious ...

That's not just baseball, you see that with virtually all youth sports anymore. Everyone is convinced their kid is special, is an above average athlete, and with the right connections is well on his/her way to athletic success and scholarship money come college time. Soccer has been like that forever, basketball has its AAU path, baseball as the article pointed out, and you see it with even fringe sports now like volleyball. They all require large sums of fees to play year round, have paid coaches (soccer is big on pulling in college assistant coaches from local schools to "train" teams), they travel all around the country just to play, and no matter how good or how bad the kids are, there will always be a team for them somewhere willing to take in your money (and for some sports we're talking more than $3k per year just to be on the team, not counting travel and hotel expenses) to let them play. Every holiday is used as a way to squeeze in another tournament where every team is guaranteed to be in a division or level with great names like "championship", or "superior", or "elite" and the cycle continues every year. At least by the time you get to high school money doesn't matter as much anymore, it's just whether you can play or not - performance eventually matters more than what club outside of school you play for. And when it comes college time, you'll see tons of kids go off and play for D2 or D3 schools (or even fringe D1 schools) that they may or may not get any money to attend (there aren't many sports that give out full rides - I think there are only 6-7 full headcount sports in D1 - everything else is partials, and they can really be split up) and they could be schools they never would've gone to academically were it not for the sport they're going to play. There's less consideration lots of time for the quality of the degree you're going to get versus the chance to play your sport for four extra years wherever a team will take you. And all because too many make youth sports, from as young as 3 really for something like soccer, to be the end all be all for kids growing up. It is crazy and it's something even my generation, generation X, has really screwed up.

Yep^^^!

Two examples from a couple of close friends:

Grandsons 9 snd 11 from Phoenix, spending a week in Spokane with my buddy who’s their grandpa. The 9 year old who kicks ass at youth baseball is flying back to Phoenix for a day and then returning in order to play in the leagues all-star game.

Another Phoenix area friend’s HS sophomore plays QB and was recruited to switch schools by a well known coach. Even offered help with commuting by assistants. Head coach leaves and now they’re considering moving the kid to San Diego on his own to follow the coach.

I loved coaching my boys in youth sports and taking them to Eastern games. They never took it seriously and moved on to other interests. I’m left with way too many official EWU jerseys.

[UNI88]

Putting this here because I could see it getting political/contentious ...

That's not just baseball, you see that with virtually all youth sports anymore. Everyone is convinced their kid is special, is an above average athlete, and with the right connections is well on his/her way to athletic success and scholarship money come college time. Soccer has been like that forever, basketball has its AAU path, baseball as the article pointed out, and you see it with even fringe sports now like volleyball. They all require large sums of fees to play year round, have paid coaches (soccer is big on pulling in college assistant coaches from local schools to "train" teams), they travel all around the country just to play, and no matter how good or how bad the kids are, there will always be a team for them somewhere willing to take in your money (and for some sports we're talking more than $3k per year just to be on the team, not counting travel and hotel expenses) to let them play. Every holiday is used as a way to squeeze in another tournament where every team is guaranteed to be in a division or level with great names like "championship", or "superior", or "elite" and the cycle continues every year. At least by the time you get to high school money doesn't matter as much anymore, it's just whether you can play or not - performance eventually matters more than what club outside of school you play for. And when it comes college time, you'll see tons of kids go off and play for D2 or D3 schools (or even fringe D1 schools) that they may or may not get any money to attend (there aren't many sports that give out full rides - I think there are only 6-7 full headcount sports in D1 - everything else is partials, and they can really be split up) and they could be schools they never would've gone to academically were it not for the sport they're going to play. There's less consideration lots of time for the quality of the degree you're going to get versus the chance to play your sport for four extra years wherever a team will take you. And all because too many make youth sports, from as young as 3 really for something like soccer, to be the end all be all for kids growing up. It is crazy and it's something even my generation, generation X, has really screwed up.

I know, that's why I posted it. I don't think you can say "everyone is convinced their kid is special" though. Sports for my kids was about them being active and hanging out with the kind of kids we wanted them to hang out with. The focus was always on them getting into college and getting aid based on their academics. A buddy of mine's son turned down an offer to play lacrosse at Marquette (Big East lacrosse) because he was burned out. His dad supported him through the whole decision making process. There are parents out there that are over the top but there are still some reasonable ones out there as well.

Both my sons played club soccer through HS. We had them play for local clubs so it didn't cost a fortune. The middle son's local club team was good enough to play for the Illinois State Cup. They got their butts kicked but it was pretty cool that a bunch of kids who mostly lived within a few miles of each other were good enough to qualify to compete against a bunch of all star teams. The team that won their division and the Cup that year finished 4th in the nation. I will say that my kids' club coaches were absolutely better soccer coaches then their HS varsity coach.

[Skjellyfetti]

[SDHornet]

[SDHornet]

That's not just baseball, you see that with virtually all youth sports anymore. Everyone is convinced their kid is special, is an above average athlete, and with the right connections is well on his/her way to athletic success and scholarship money come college time. Soccer has been like that forever, basketball has its AAU path, baseball as the article pointed out, and you see it with even fringe sports now like volleyball. They all require large sums of fees to play year round, have paid coaches (soccer is big on pulling in college assistant coaches from local schools to "train" teams), they travel all around the country just to play, and no matter how good or how bad the kids are, there will always be a team for them somewhere willing to take in your money (and for some sports we're talking more than $3k per year just to be on the team, not counting travel and hotel expenses) to let them play. Every holiday is used as a way to squeeze in another tournament where every team is guaranteed to be in a division or level with great names like "championship", or "superior", or "elite" and the cycle continues every year. At least by the time you get to high school money doesn't matter as much anymore, it's just whether you can play or not - performance eventually matters more than what club outside of school you play for. And when it comes college time, you'll see tons of kids go off and play for D2 or D3 schools (or even fringe D1 schools) that they may or may not get any money to attend (there aren't many sports that give out full rides - I think there are only 6-7 full headcount sports in D1 - everything else is partials, and they can really be split up) and they could be schools they never would've gone to academically were it not for the sport they're going to play. There's less consideration lots of time for the quality of the degree you're going to get versus the chance to play your sport for four extra years wherever a team will take you. And all because too many make youth sports, from as young as 3 really for something like soccer, to be the end all be all for kids growing up. It is crazy and it's something even my generation, generation X, has really screwed up.

I know, that's why I posted it. I don't think you can say "everyone is convinced their kid is special" though. Sports for my kids was about them being active and hanging out with the kind of kids we wanted them to hang out with. The focus was always on them getting into college and getting aid based on their academics. A buddy of mine's son turned down an offer to play lacrosse at Marquette (Big East lacrosse) because he was burned out. His dad supported him through the whole decision making process. There are parents out there that are over the top but there are still some reasonable ones out there as well.

Both my sons played club soccer through HS. We had them play for local clubs so it didn't cost a fortune. The middle son's local club team was good enough to play for the Illinois State Cup. They got their butts kicked but it was pretty cool that a bunch of kids who mostly lived within a few miles of each other were good enough to qualify to compete against a bunch of all star teams. The team that won their division and the Cup that year finished 4th in the nation. I will say that my kids' club coaches were absolutely better soccer coaches then their HS varsity coach.

Yeah it's crazy what people pay into youth sports these days. I grew up on rec league ball, mostly because I grew up in a working class family with no money for much more than cleats and a jersey. Just insane what club ball costs (for any sport) for registration, uniforms, tournaments...I don't see why people pour money into this.

Not sure what the plan will be for my kid, assuming sports will be an interest, but no way in hell I'm going to dump thousands of dollars a year into it.

[SDHornet]

That's not just baseball, you see that with virtually all youth sports anymore. Everyone is convinced their kid is special, is an above average athlete, and with the right connections is well on his/her way to athletic success and scholarship money come college time. Soccer has been like that forever, basketball has its AAU path, baseball as the article pointed out, and you see it with even fringe sports now like volleyball. They all require large sums of fees to play year round, have paid coaches (soccer is big on pulling in college assistant coaches from local schools to "train" teams), they travel all around the country just to play, and no matter how good or how bad the kids are, there will always be a team for them somewhere willing to take in your money (and for some sports we're talking more than $3k per year just to be on the team, not counting travel and hotel expenses) to let them play. Every holiday is used as a way to squeeze in another tournament where every team is guaranteed to be in a division or level with great names like "championship", or "superior", or "elite" and the cycle continues every year. At least by the time you get to high school money doesn't matter as much anymore, it's just whether you can play or not - performance eventually matters more than what club outside of school you play for. And when it comes college time, you'll see tons of kids go off and play for D2 or D3 schools (or even fringe D1 schools) that they may or may not get any money to attend (there aren't many sports that give out full rides - I think there are only 6-7 full headcount sports in D1 - everything else is partials, and they can really be split up) and they could be schools they never would've gone to academically were it not for the sport they're going to play. There's less consideration lots of time for the quality of the degree you're going to get versus the chance to play your sport for four extra years wherever a team will take you. And all because too many make youth sports, from as young as 3 really for something like soccer, to be the end all be all for kids growing up. It is crazy and it's something even my generation, generation X, has really screwed up.

Yep^^^!

Two examples from a couple of close friends:

Grandsons 9 snd 11 from Phoenix, spending a week in Spokane with my buddy who’s their grandpa. The 9 year old who kicks ass at youth baseball is flying back to Phoenix for a day and then returning in order to play in the leagues all-star game.

Another Phoenix area friend’s HS sophomore plays QB and was recruited to switch schools by a well known coach. Even offered help with commuting by assistants. Head coach leaves and now they’re considering moving the kid to San Diego on his own to follow the coach.

I loved coaching my boys in youth sports and taking them to Eastern games. They never took it seriously and moved on to other interests. I’m left with way too many official EWU jerseys.

[UNI88]

Geico ordered to pay $5.2M to woman who got HPV in a car

The woman initiated a claim with Geico in February 2021 after learning that she'd contracted the sexually transmitted infection from a partner who knew but did not disclose his status. Since the incident in question happened in her partner's car, she argued that his liability insurance was responsible for damages.

[SeattleGriz]

Throw this guy in jail for fomenting the attempt on Kavanaughs life.

[SeattleGriz]

In other news. Due to the rain, and some work, my front yard looks pretty good this year...bitches.

[Skjellyfetti]