The photos of the "crowds" at the tank parade remind me of when Bill Hicks would come on stage in an almost-empty club, scan the room slowly, and announce "I've had more people in bed than this" ...
When the president sends a cabinet member on TV to announce "We are using the military to liberate an American city from its elected leaders," where do you go from there. What is left to say. The idea of that being anything short of a near-universal "Wait, what the fuck is going on" moment proves how far we've backslid.
This is from 2022 but it was absolutely right. The practiced buffoonery of Trump 1, all the "just kiddings" and "seriously but not literallys" absolutely succeeded in desensitizing people who are hardly paying any attention to the harder stuff they always intended to do next. ...
The basic fallacy in chasing votes by being "tough on immigration" is that the modal American's position on the issue is "Deport the Bad ones and keep the Good ones," and they alone know who is which, and that simply does not translate into workable policy. So this kind of gestapo stuff horrifies some of the same people who cheered when Trump promised to do it. There are true sociopaths who love this, but "No, I meant only the BAD immigrants! Not my coworker/friend/neighbor!" is as likely a reaction as enthusiasm. You cannot do immigration policy that satisfies these people because what they want is nonsensical.
So by the time center-left parties fully commit to chasing the far right by "getting tough" on immigration, the backlash has already begun to build and they walk right into it. "I thought you people wanted this!" No, they want something impossible and convinced themselves they'd could have it - the "eat whatever you want AND lose weight!" of immigration policies.
It is hard to grasp but large masses of Americans are both racist/xenophobic AND not racist/xenophobic enough to applaud what Trump is doing. It's goldilocks shit, they want a level of racism/xenophobia calibrated exactly to their personal preferences, and you just can't make that policy. Don't try. ...
AP: Trump extends olive branch, invites Musk to White House cellar to taste some brand new amontillado ...
Tim H. says:
Sorry, when I hear hockey mentioned, I remember an excerpt from The National Lampoon Radio Hour, "Guy Gilbert, guillotined for high sticking!".
Skipper says:
No header? Bummer.
Chicagojon says:
Seriously WTF is with the no header rule. I'm all for preventing people from intentionally swatting a puck in with an arm, leg, penis, etc. but if you manage to jump off your skates for a header and get it past the goalie it should be lauded and a good goal. If I had photoshop skills I'd take the Van Persie diving header meme and photoshop Shaw in.
Kudos if you made it all the way through. I gave up late in the 2nd period then watched the balance of the 2nd/3rd this morning. Once it went to OT I went into fast forward mode. Alas, the DVR recording was only 4.5 hours long and cut out near the end of the 2nd OT.
coin operated says:
Kudos to you for holding out…I couldn't.
On Shaw's header…brilliant goal. How many times do you see the puck that high in the crease? Damn it was fun to watch, even if it wasn't legal.
sluggo says:
Gave at about 11 Minutes of 3ot. Four pucks hitting the post, hard to believe that they won.
D Shannon says:
"I guess it's not correct to call it Ice Soccer anymore."
It was never correct to call it Ice Soccer. Bandy is much closer to soccer than ice hockey is.
*Does it have 11 players per side at one time? Bandy – YES; Hockey – No.
*Does it have two halves of 45 minutes each? Bandy – YES; Hockey – No.
*Does it have a ball? Bandy – YES; Hockey – No.
*Are there red cards which require a team to be a player short for the rest of the game? Bandy – YES; Hockey – No.
*Is the ice surface the size of a soccer field? Bandy – YES; Hockey – No.
*Can there be stoppage time at the end of a half? Bandy – YES; Hockey – No.
*Is the offside rule almost the same as in soccer? Bandy – YES; Hockey – No.
*Does Somalia have a national team? Bandy – YES; Hockey – No.
As you can see, bandy, not ice hockey, is closest to "Ice Soccer."
If you want to see what bandy is like, some matches from this year's world championship can be found at https://www.youtube.com/user/bandyvm2015 .
Geeno says:
Actually you can bank it in off a teammate's face, and it will count so long as he doesn't use said face to direct the puck.
mothra says:
I don't have any idea what much of this post means, but I can glean that you have been sucked into a hockey vortex. Enjoy.
Bitter Scribe says:
I stayed up till Kruger won it even though I had to be up extra early this morning to greet the air-conditioner installation team. Now I can barely sit up.
Corey Crawford is God.
Robert says:
I actually know someone who plays ice hockey recreationally. Why yes, he IS from Canada! How did you know that?
democommie says:
I watched the first OT (because my ride home from the trivia match was NOT leaving until at least one OT was over with) and it looked to me like they were all at about VO2min, then. It's like running a marathon and then being told that you missed a turn a mile out, so you have to do another one.
sluggo says:
What the fuck is bandy?
Xynzee says:
Second for what Sluggo said.
More on "ice soccer" dafuq??!?
In hockey, can you get a free shot by dramatically throwing yourself at the ground and rolling around in "agony" after someone on the other side of the arena happened to glance in your direction?
Do hockey fans feel the need to self-entertain by throwing flares at the opposing team out of boredom—and let's face it, frustration because their team couldn't find the back of an untended net?
Even when the score is nil all, at least the biffo on ice allows the fans to cathars some of that frustration.
Are hockey players able to put a small skippy, bouncy thing into the back of a small net all while under physical attack?
D Shannon says:
Sluggo – in case you missed it, I provided a link to some recent games from this year's Bandy World Championships. Bandy is a game played on ice, with sticks, in which the goal is to put a small ball into a large goal.
If you want to read about it before watching a game, here's an article from 2010:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/sports/olympics/29bandy.html?_r=0
("It's Not Hockey, It's Bandy")
You have now learned about an exciting sport.
sluggo says:
Pass. Sports plate is plenty full as it is.
Bitter Scribe says:
Vermette wins game 4 in double OT. Goooooo Hawks!!!!