From Pine View Farm

It’s All about the Benjamins 0

Back when I was a young ‘un the college football season ended with the New Year’s bowl games. Now, it’s still going on shows no sign of ending. Meanwhile, I’ve lost almost all interest in professional and college college-level professional sports. (And, yes, I think there’s cause-and-effect there.)

At Psychology Today Blogs, Tess M. Kilwein takes a look at some of the recent changes in college sports their potential effects on “student” athletes, noting that “(t)hese . . . developments in college athletics pose both benefits and risks to student-athlete mental health.” Here’s a bit of her article:

Many college athletic teams now face year-round commitments. These increases in off-season training and competitions have left reduced room for the rest and recovery necessary to prevent burnout among student-athletes. Student-athletes are more susceptible to physical and mental exhaustion, including overtraining syndrome, than ever before.

Furthermore, student-athletes face a reduced ability to enjoy a typical college experience. Opportunities to engage in formal clubs and organizations or informal social activities outside of the college athletic environment are becoming increasingly rare for student-athletes and can result in further isolation from non-athlete peers.

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QOTD 0

Nancy Astor;

The first time Adam had a chance, he laid the blame on women.

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Addicted to Screens 0

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The Privatization Scam 0

And it is a scam. You can voucher on it.

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“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0

The Washington Monthly’s Bill Scher hears a rhyme in the firings this time. A snippet; follow the link for a parsing of the parallels.

Less than a week after Trump was sworn in, he fired 17 inspectors general.

Inspectors general are federal government investigators embedded in government agencies to ferret out waste, fraud, and abuse. Lofgren’s prediction came in a review of the book Watchdogs by Glenn Fine, a former inspector general fired by Trump after 20 years of exemplary service.

Last week’s pink slips violated a law enacted three years ago in response to Trump’s first-term firings, which mandated 30 days’ notice to Congress before the president could terminate an Inspector General.

Trump’s illegal assertion of executive power echoes the attempt 158 years ago by President Andrew Johnson to fire Secretary of War Edward Stanton.

________________

*Mark Twain.

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Karen, Meet Karma 0

When someone’s actions say one thing, but their words say another, believe the actions.

(Warning: Short promo about at about the two-and-a-half minute mark.)

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Executive Disorders 0

At Above the Law, Joe Patrice points out that Donald Trump’s attempt to halt disbursement of legally appropriate funds by decree executive order is–er–of dubious legality. Here’s a tiny bit of his article:

In case you’re wondering, the 1974 Impoundment Control Act (ICA), yet another good governance statute rooted in America’s Nixon hangover, explicitly bars refusing to spend congressional appropriations like this. But once and future OMB General Counsel Mark Paoletta believes the power of the purse is more of a suggestion and that presidents can take money allocated by Congress and say, “Nah, I’m good. I’ll keep this one.”

Afterthought:

Whatever you might say about the price of eggs and gas (here, they have both risen since the election), it seems clear that Trump intends to keep one campaign promise, however flippantly he made it: To be a dictator . . . ..

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This New Gilded Age 0

Title:  The Broligarchy Salute.  Image:  Billionaires giving a Nazi salute to Trump.  Elon Musk says,

Click for the original image.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Yet another oxymoronic “responsible gun owner” exposes a child to politeness.

During their investigation, authorities learned a 26-year-old man who lived in the home with the boy’s mother and three other kids, kept a loaded gun under the pillow in the bedroom they all shared, according to the complaint.

The man told police he heard the gunshot after leaving the boy alone in the room to bring a plate into the kitchen, authorities said.

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QOTD 0

Robert A. Heinlein:

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.

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Still Rising Again after All These Years 0

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Republican Family Values 0

The Portland Press-Herald’s Victoria Hugo-Vidal debunks de bunk.

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Those “Values Voters” 0

David Masciotra, in the midst of a longer post, makes a trenchant observation:

To applaud Trump and MAGA, one must reject, or at least ignore, values that have regulated American politics and dictated ethical behavior. They are the values of democracy, especially the peaceful transfer of power, the rule of law, acknowledgment of ideological adversaries as legitimate, fidelity to the truth, and the unwavering disapproval of violence as a tool of politics.

Follow the link for context.

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Corporate Carrion Crows 0

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The Party of Flaw and Disorder, Reprise 0

Title:  A Few of the Weapons Used To

Click to view the original image.

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A BLT on Wry 0

At NJ.com, Roy Lehman makes a strong case that the successor to DEI will be BLT. He picks as an one example our (shiver) new Secretary of Defense. Here’s a bit:

Instead of DEI-based vetting, Trump has installed a new system, the “BLT” hiring guide. BLT, in this case, stands for bootlicker, lackey and toady. Under the old guidelines, our new defense secretary would be qualified only if the definition of DEI were drunkenness, egotism and ignorance.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Celebrate your team’s playoff victory with politeness.

Musical NotesGuns and stupid, guns and stupid.
They go together like love and Cupid.
Let me tell you brother,
You can’t have one without the other.

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QOTD 0

Spinoza:

It may easily come to pass that a vain man may become proud and imagine himself pleasing to all when he is in reality a universal nuisance.

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Soldier On 0

Mrs. Betty Bowers offers some advice for living in these Trumpled times.

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“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0

On this, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Andy Tix hears a number of disturbing rhymes.

Follow the link for rendition thereof.

________________

*Mark Twain.

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